Monday 21st March 2016

With $24.547m, Zenith Records Highest Forex Allocation from CBN Double-digit inflation gives MPC little room for manoeuvre

Obinna Chima For the second time since banks started publishing their returns on foreign exchange (forex) utilisation purchased from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Zenith Bank Plc got the highest

allocation garnering a total of $24,547,235.36 million. Zenith Bank was in fourth place in last week’s review of forex returns by THISDAY. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, which occupied the number one slot in the last two weeks, did not publish its returns.

Zenith Bank was followed

by Stanbic IBTC which got $22,718,300.47 to come in second, while Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria with $20,913,963.04 held the third slot.

Diamond Bank Plc, which published returns of

$16,872,037.80, came in fourth place, while Access Bank reported $16,184,742.36 to place fifth.

Also, while FirstBank Nigeria Limited reported returns of $13,086,352 to occupy the sixth place, First City Monument Bank Limited

with $9,757,979.93, came in seventh; United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) with $9,677,854.93, occupied the eight position, while Citibank Nigeria with $8,689,014, was ninth.

Citibank was followed by Fidelity Bank, which, just like the preceding week, remained

in 10th place; it was followed

by Sterling Bank with returns of $2,690,021.41, Skye Bank Plc - $2,056,427.78, Keystone Bank Limited – $1,725,726.91 and Wema Bank Plc – $1,052,219.39.

Continued on page 8

Monday 21 March, 2016 Vol 21. No 7634. Price: N150

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INEC Releases 10 Results, Suspends Rivers Elections PDPwins eight state constituencies, one House seat, APC victorious in one constituency Wike, Peterside’s security aides in shootout, one killed Amaechi, governor clash over ‘abducted’ collation officer Army explains arrest of SSG, police say four dead, 24 apprehended ErnestChinwo,SegunJamesand Shola Oyeyipo in Port Harcourt The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the results of nine state constituencies and one federal constituency in which rerun elections were held in Nigeria’s oil hub,

Rivers State, on Saturday, but the commission was forced to suspend the electoral process in all other constituencies in the state where results were not announced due to the widespread violence that marred the elections.

Continued on page 8

US, UK Governments Knew Whereabouts of Kidnapped Chibok Girls Zacheaus Somorin with agency reports Almost two years after more than 200 girls were kidnapped from their secondary school in Chibok, Borno State, by the Boko Haram terror sect, it has been revealed that the surveillance carried out by the United States of America and the United Kingdom spotted around 80 of the abducted schoolgirls, but the governments of both countries did nothing about it as a rescue

attempt was considered too “high risk”.

According to the Britishbased Sunday Times newspaper, videos accounts also have emerged showing that the girls were brutally raped regularly.

The terrorists stormed a secondary boarding school in the remote town of Chibok on April 14 2014 and seized 276 girls who were preparing for end-of-year exams.

Continued on page 8

IMPROVING EDUCATION IN THE NORTH

L-R: Former Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Attahiru Jega, presenting a report of the advisory committee set up to revive education in three northern states to Governors Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto, Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara and Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, in Sokoto… weekend

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MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016 • T H I S D AY

PAGE EIGHT WITH $24.547M, ZENITH RECORDS HIGHEST FOREX ALLOCATION FROM CBN Zenith Bank sold forex to a total of 472 customers – individuals and corporate. The bank’s forex sales also showed that a significant number of customers on its list applied to pay school fees abroad and for personal travel allowances.

Just like other weeks, returns

by Stanbic IBTC revealed the huge volume of outflow by foreign portfolio investors exiting the country. 57 of its customers out of a total of 153 who bought dollars from Stanbic IBTC exited the markets. These included equities, FGN Bonds, money market instruments and treasury bills.

Also, 51 customers published

by Stanbic bought dollars for PTA, while the rest imported industrial raw materials and other visible items.

In all, Standard Bank also sold dollars to 184 customers to import industrial raw materials, school fees, repay loans and repatriate capital.

Like its peers, Diamond Bank sold dollars for invisibles comprising school fees and PTA and also for the importation of essential industrial raw materials. It had 330 customers on its list for last week.

Access Bank had 184 customers on its list, of which 91 bought forex to pay school fees abroad, 50 for PTA, while the rest procured dollars to import industrial raw materials.

Overall, returns published by all the banks showed that demand for forex, especially for education overseas was still high.

Commenting on the trend, the chief executive officer, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, said the recent pronouncement on the funding of school fees from the official market by President Muhammadu Buhari was responsible for the huge demand for forex to pay tuition fees abroad.

“If you look at the list of foreign exchange allocation, it is quite interesting that apart from one or two manufacturers, the bulk is going to school fees.

“This is because people heard

RANKING 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14

BANK Zenith Stanbic IBTC Standard Chartered Diamond Bank Access Bank FirstBank FCMB UBA Citibank Fidelity Bank Sterling Bank Skye Bank Keystone Bank Wema Bank

somebody say school fees should not be on the list. So even school bills for 2017, people are already applying for them, thus exaggerating the demand by such pronouncements,” he added.

Meanwhile, as members of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) commence their two-day meeting today, the double-digit inflation recorded in February would top the agenda as the MPC weighs options to stimulate economic activities.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, rose sharply to 11.4 per cent in February, compared to 9.6 per cent the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The latest figure saw inflation breach the CBN’s target band of between 6 – 9 per cent.

The last time inflation hit double-digit in the country was in December 2012 at 12 per cent.

But more worrying this time round is the seeming absence of fiscal policies as well as an economic team to chart the direction of the federal government’s policies.

Most analysts have expressed concerns over lack of coordination among the various ministries, departments and agencies, as even the budget,

AMOUNT ($) 24,547,235.36 22,718,300.47 20,913,963.04 16,872,037.80 16,184,742.36 13,086,352 9,757,979.93 9,677,854.93 8,689,014 7,938,944.69 2,690,021.41 2,056,427.78 1,725,726.91 1,502,219.29 an essential fiscal policy tool, has remained the subject of controversy.

At the end of its January meeting, the MPC had maintained the benchmark MNonetary Policy Rate (MPR), the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR), and the liquidity ratio at 11 per cent, 20 per cent, and 30 per cent respectively.

The MPC also maintained the asymmetric corridor at +200 basis points and -700basis points respectively. Nigeria’s external reserves stood at $27.864 billion as of last Thursday.

However, the most positive developments in the domestic economic environment since the last MPC meeting was the slight rise in oil prices which touched a year high of $41.38 per barrel penultimate Friday, above the 2016 budget benchmark of $38 per barrel.

The premium between the parallel market rate and the official market rate at the forex market, nonetheless, remained wide at an unacceptable margin, as the exchange rate at the official market stood at US$1/N197 as at March 16 and at US$1/N325 at the parallel market, representing a premium of N128.

In the fourth quarter of 2015, the economy grew by 2.11 per cent (year-on-year), compared with 5.94 per cent

in the corresponding period of 2014. The issues surrounding the currency curbs introduced by the CBN and weak purchasing power were responsible for the sluggish growth recorded in the fourth quarter of 2015.

In a chat with THISDAY, Rewane, said there might still be some indecision at the meeting.

“I think there will still be some indecision. And the longer you hold back the decision(s), the more difficult things will get.

The rational thing to do is to come out with a policy, especially an exchange rate.

“It is very clear that something has to be done, but I don’t think anything would be done.

“There would be an attempt to rationalise the spike in the CPI, but I don’t think they (the MPC members) would do something.

If you had made up your mind before that you are not going to do something, you may decide not to do anything.

“But if they take us by surprise and come up with a clear policy, which would allow the currency to adjust in both directions, fine. Now that oil is about $41 per barrel, the naira should be appreciating. So we should have a flexible exchange rate. Without that, we are not going to solve any problem,” Rewane added.

FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, in a report at the weekend, noted that the MPC members were faced with difficult monetary policy choices going by the current economic developments in Nigeria and the short-tomedium term outlook.

“There are arguments in favour of currency adjustment, interest rate hike, and a reduction in interest rate. Notwithstanding the conflicting signals, the MPC needs to act quickly to boost investors’ confidence in the Nigerian economy.

“The fundamentals of the oil market still tend towards lower oil prices in the shortterm. Therefore, the revenue of the federal government and the value of the naira still face significant external shocks. While the MPC does

US, UK GOVERNMENTS KNEW WHEREABOUTS OF KIDNAPPED CHIBOK GIRLS Although 57 of the girls managed to escape, the rest have remained missing and have not been heard from or seen since, apart from in May that year, when 130 of them appeared in a Boko Haram video wearing hijabs and reciting the Koran.

Dr. Andrew Pocock, former British High Commissioner to Nigeria, has now revealed that a large group of the missing girls were spotted by British and American surveillance officials shortly after their disappearance, but experts felt nothing could be done.

He told The Sunday Times that Western governments felt “powerless” to help as any rescue attempt would have been too high risk – with Boko Haram terrorists using the girls as human shields.

Pocock said: “A couple of months after the kidnapping, fly-bys and an American eye in the sky spotted a group of up to 80 girls in a particular spot in the Sambisa forest, around a very large tree, called locally the Tree of Life, along with evidence of vehicular movement and a large encampment.”

He said the girls were there for at least four weeks but authorities were “powerless” to intervene – adding that the Nigerian government did not ask for help anyway.

He said: “A land-based attack would have been seen coming miles away and the girls killed, an air-based rescue, such as flying in helicopters or Hercules, would have required large numbers and meant a significant risk to the rescuers and even more so to the girls.”

He added: “You might have rescued a few but many would have been killed. My personal fear was always about the girls not in that encampment — 80 were there, but 250 were taken, so the bulk were not there. What would have happened to them?

You were damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”

In an investigation for The Sunday Times Magazine, Pocock said the information was passed to the Nigerian authorities but they made no request for help.

The magazine has also seen brutal rape videos which showed the schoolgirls were used as sex slaves by the terrorists.

“They film schoolgirls being raped over and over again until their scream become silent,” reported the magazine.

Some of the girls who managed to escape said they were kept in “women’s prisons” where they were taught about Islam. Boko Haram fighters would visit and pick their wives. The girls were

powerless to resist as even then the men would be heavily armed.

They were shown videos of people being raped, tortured and killed as a threat of what would happen to them if they tried to run away.

Dr. Stephen Davis, a former canon at Coventy Cathedral, who spent several years attempting to negotiate with the terror group, said Boko Haram “make Isis look like playtime” and said it is “beyond belief” that the authorities both in Nigeria and the West do not know where the schoolgirls are.

He insisted that the locations of the camps where the girls are being kept are well known and can even be seen on Google maps.

He added: “How many girls have to be raped and abducted before the West will do anything?”

Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau previously claimed that all the girls, some of whom were Christian, had converted to Islam and been “married off”. The mass abduction brought the brutality of the Islamist insurgency to worldwide attention and prompted the viral social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls.

Boko Haram violence has left at least 17,000 dead and forced more than 2.6 million from their homes since 2009. The Global

Terrorism Index ranks the group as the word’s deadliest terror organisation.

The group, now officially allied to the Islamic State fighters who control swathes of Iraq and Syria, has responded with suicide bombings and hit and run attacks against civilians.

In recent months, the insurgents have turned away from direct confrontation with the military in favour of suicide attacks, which are increasingly carried out by women and girls – raising fears that they are kidnap victims.

Less than a week ago, two female suicide bombers killed at least 24 worshippers and wounded 18 in a dawn attack during prayers at a mosque on the outskirts of Maiduguri.

One bomber detonated the bombs up inside the mosque and the second waited outside to detonate as survivors tried to escape, said coordinator Abba Aji of the civilian self-defense Vigilante Group.

The mosque is on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the city that is the military command center of the war against Boko Haram. Several suicide bombers have exploded recently at roadblocks leading into the city, preventing attackers from reaching crowded areas.

not have any control over oil price, an increase in rates and adjustment in the exchange rate may reduce speculative demand for foreign exchange.

“Looking at the conflicting macroeconomic developments in the Nigerian economy, a combination of an adjustment in the exchange rate and an

upward movement in yields are required.

“We maintain our exchange rate range of $/N230-$/N240 while we expect the CBN to implement inflation adjusted yields to produce positive yields in the region of 200 basis points,” FSDH Merchant Bank stated.

INEC RELEASES 10 RESULTS, SUSPENDS RIVERS ELECTIONS However, based on the results released yesterday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) consolidated its control of the state by emerging victorious in eight of the nine state constituencies and one federal constituency seat, while the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) won one state constituency seat.

But as results were announced, the state continued its descent to anarchy as the violent battle for control of the state was exacerbated by the exchange of gunfire between security men in the convoys of the Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, and the Chief of Staff to the Rivers State governor, Mr. Emma Woke, in Port Harcourt yesterday, resulting in the death of Woke’s personal assistant. Sporadic shooting was also reported at the Abonema area in Akuku Toru Council, few kilometers to Port Harcourt, the state capital.

This came as Governor Nyesom Wike and the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, squared off against each other at the Mile 1 Diobu police station over a collation officer, Mrs. Ekwi Adebisa, who was purportedly abducted Saturday night by the former governor in company of soldiers.

Confirming the outcome of the rerun polls, the Director of Voter Education Publicity of INEC, Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, informed THISDAY that the results were released in nine state constituencies and one federal constituency in the state.

He said PDP won in eight of the state constituencies, while APC won one seat.

PDP, he said, also won one federal constituency but did not give the names of the state or federal constituencies in which results were declared.

Osaze-Uzzi also revealed that the release of further results were suspended due to reports of violence, attacks and even the deaths of INEC officials and ad hoc personnel in the state.

He said all INEC personnel were relocated to Abuja yesterday due to the escalation of violence in Rivers State.

Also in a statement yesterday, he said INEC conducted the polls in Rivers State pursuant to the orders of the Court of Appeal, but “rather unfortunately, some of these elections witnessed the disruption of the process, including the barricading of some of the INEC local government offices and Registration Area Centres (RACs) used for the distribution of electoral materials which led to the late commencement of the exercise in some places and consequently, its smooth take off.

“Of more serious concern was the level of threats, violence and intimidation of election officials and voters by well armed thugs and miscreants allegedly acting on behalf of some politicians, which marred the elections in some areas.

“There were reports of numerous attacks resulting in fatalities, kidnappings, ballot snatching, diversion of officials and materials, amongst others, which necessitated its suspension in 8 local government

areas.

“Regrettably, such deviant behaviour has continued today (yesterday). Several permanent and ad hoc staff engaged by the commission have been attacked, again resulting in fatalities, while some have been forcibly abducted and taken to unknown destinations.

“Under such difficult circumstances, the Returning Officers were only able to collate and declare results in one federal and nine state constituencies where the disruption and malpractices were not so widespread.

“Having reviewed the situation, the commission is compelled to suspend all further action concerning the exercise in all the other constituencies in the state pending the receipt of a comprehensive report from its field officials and monitors.

“For the avoidance of doubt, it should be noted that the suspension does not affect the constituencies where the exercise has been completed and the results declared by the Returning Officers,” he said.

However, unconfirmed results obtained by THISDAY from the various collation centres for 11 state constituencies showed that PDP won 10 constituencies, namely: Akukutoru I (Major Jack), Omuma (Kelechi Wogu), Degema (Farah Dagogo), Ahoada East II (Edison Ehie), Ahoada East I (Martins Manna), Emohua (Sam Ogeh), Akukutoru II (Tonye Alalibo), Obio/Akpor I (Martin Amaewhule), Obio/Akpor II (Michael Chindah), Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni (Christopher Ahiakwor).

The candidate of the APC won in the Opobo/Nkoro state constituency, while Betty Apiafi of the PDP won the Abua Odua/Ahoada East Constituency to the Federal House of Representatives.

Speaking on the shootout between the security detail attached to Woke and Peterside, which occurred yesterday evening at the UTC junction, Azikiwe Road, Port Harcourt, Wike told journalists that Peterside, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last governorship election in the state, had gone to INEC Registration Area Centre (RAC) in Isiokpo, headquarters of Ikwerre Local Government Area and allegedly snatched the election result sheets for the council.

Continued on page 10

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Niger Biscuit: Felled by an Inferno Martins Ifijeh There was nothing on the Lagos skyline that could have foretold what was about to happen.

It was a clear, warm Sunday afternoon in Nigeria’s biggest economic hub, Lagos. Lagosians and visitors who had business in Apapa went about their normal activities, while enjoying the peace and tranquility that accompanies most Sundays in the ever busy mega-city, oblivious of what was about to unfold. Then suddenly, there was an eclipse: an explosion and a wildfire like an eruption of volcanic lava forcing people to scamper for safety, while property worth several billions of naira were destroyed by the raging inferno that took hours to put out.

Just like the Hollywood movie, “City on Fire”, the popular seaport neigbourhood of Apapa experienced its own taste of a fire disaster. It was around 1.48 pm yesterday at the Niger Biscuit Company Limited, at 31 Creek Road, Apapa. The building was gutted by fire. According to an eyewitness, it started when a loose socket let out a spark, a bang, then smoke and balls of fire razed the building, equipment, products, gas tanks and cars parked within the premises of the factory that, for decades produced the ever popular Cabin Biscuit brand.

People within a five-kilometre radius of the company’s building could see the thick smoke as it billowed into the atmosphere, while thousands of onlookers watched helplessly, probably wondering if the windows of hell had been let loose as the inferno

raged, rendering initial efforts to quell it ineffective.

Giving an account of how it started, a staff of the company, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed that the fire started when an electric socket close to one of the gas tanks let off a spark, resulting in the burning of the electric wires around it.

He explained that the fire then snowballed into a large one because there was a leak from one of the gas tanks.

“Before we could comprehend what was happening, we heard a loud explosion. One of the gas tanks started burning, spilling its contents everywhere. And then the fire started to spread to other gas tanks, as well as other areas of the building, leaving everyone scampering for safety,” he said.

An eyewitness also revealed that the gateman who was sitting close to the first gas tank that exploded was affected by the fire, but was rescued immediately, even though he suffered extensive burns all over his body. He was immediately rushed to the hospital to save his life. At press time, THISDAY could not ascertain whether he has been stabilised or not. But feelers from the company’s staff suggested that he was in critical condition.

According to a THISDAY reporter who stationed in the premises to monitor the responsiveness of the company’s management and government emergency agencies, the company’s fire engine, which was quickly prepared to put out the inferno, did not achieve much because its water pressure was low, leaving

Niger Biscuit premises engulfed in flames… yesterday the buildings and other property at the mercy of the wild fire.

Lagos State’s fire trucks, however arrived at about 2:36pm, to compliment the efforts of the company’s truck.

In an interview with THISDAY, the Head of Station, Assistant Chief Fire Superintendent, Mr. S.A Kehinde, explained that the Cabin Biscuit maker called his station at 2.15 pm, while he in turn mobilised his men to the scene of the fire.

“We got here with some of our trucks 20 minutes after we were called. But when I got here, I discovered there was need to mobilise other fire trucks from

other stations to join us since the fire had gone out of control,” he explained.

In the end, there were over nine Lagos State fire trucks, three Nigerian Ports Authority fire trucks, Niger Biscuit’s fire truck, and at about 7pm, a Julius Berger fire truck joined in the mission to quell the fire.

According to Kehinde, two of his men were injured while trying to put out the fire. “You can see that an hour ago, a part of the building collapsed due to the heat from where the fire started.

Unfortunately, one of my men was directly under the building when it collapsed. He has been taken to

the hospital for treatment. I was also injured,” he said.

Also speaking on the incident, one of the fire fighters from the Lagos Fire Service, Mr. Ogunbanjo Kazeem explained that with the joint effort by several fire fighters from the Lagos State Government, NPA and UBA, among others, the inferno was put out.

When THISDAY contacted the factory manager of the company, Mr. Ganesh Kherede, he said he would address the press later, adding that he was not in the right frame of mind to speak.

One Mr. Peter, who talked to THISDAY, however, said he was from the insurance firm covering

Niger Biscuits, and that he was on ground to see for himself the damage caused by the fire, adding that his company would look at its policy to ascertain the compensation that would be made.

Other companies such as the THISDAY Newspaper Group around the affected building were forced to shutdown operations temporarily or carted away some valuable goods out of fear that the fire would spread to their buildings.

THISDAY, which shares a fence with the affected company, had some of its window glasses shattered by the loud explosion.

duress to write a statement that she had been abducted and made to falsify the ward result by agents of All Progressives Congress (APC).

“That they forced her to the police station and kept her under traumatic conditions was in itself criminal.

But that they had forced the result she had lawfully collated out of her custody was more criminal,” Anyalewech said.

According to him, “Governor Wike had arrived the police station accompanied by Sen. George Sekibo, Mr. Austin Opara, Azubuike Nmerukini, as well as other aides of the governor.

“As a leader in APC, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, acting Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), being in attendance at the meeting, was among those delegated to go and see what the actual development was.

“When Semenitari and others arrived the police facility, they confirmed the report. In conclusion, we state therefore, that it was shocking to read a statement issued by Mr. Simeon Nwakudu, Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor on Electronic Media, linking Semenitari to facts contrary to the truth as stated here.”

Reacting to the performance of his political party, the PDP, Wike said the rerun elections in the state had shown clearly who is on the ground and is accepted by the people.

He said the rerun elections had proved that the control of INEC, the federal might, military, police and other security agencies cannot translate to electoral victories, as the people will always resist agents of rigging.

Wike blamed the military for the deaths recorded in Saturday’s election, alleging that the victims were killed by the military and not by politicians or residents of the state.

He also said most soldiers deployed for the elections were used by the APC leaders to hijack materials, illegally arrest PDP members and manipulate the process.

He said the people resisted the attempt by the military to subvert the electoral process.

He said the number of troops unleashed to intimidate and harass Rivers people was regrettable, even as they failed to tackle security challenges in the country.

In a related development, the Nigerian Army explained yesterday that it arrested the Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), Chief Kenneth Kobani, for allegedly disrupting the last Saturday’s rerun elections in the state.

This is as the Nigerian Police, Zone 6 Command, said a total of 24 persons were arrested from different parts of the state for various allegations of criminal and electoral offenses during the rerun elections.

The Commander, 2 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Brigadier General Stephenson Olabanji, who spoke to newsmen at the police headquarters in Port Harcourt yesterday, said: “Many people were arrested yesterday (Saturday) for disrupting the electoral process and the law is not meant for just the lower cadre alone. No matter who you are, if you go against the law, you will definitely face the music.

“So there is nothing like being the

Secretary to the State Government, many people were arrested as you have been told. A lot of people were arrested.”

The army commander denied claims by the state government that some of its commissioners and other top officials were manhandled by men of the Nigerian Army during the rerun elections.

He said: “If you say arrest, we can say yes, but there was nothing like manhandling. We are meant to protect civilians, not to manhandle them.”

In his remarks, the AIG in-charge of Zone 6 said those arrested during the rerun elections were currently undergoing interrogation at the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID), Port Harcourt.

“It is pertinent I let you know that we have 24 suspects comprising 22 males and 2 females in police custody, who were arrested from different parts of the state. They are presently undergoing interrogation on allegations of criminal or electoral offences or both,” Bolanta said.

Bolanta insisted that four deaths were recorded in the state during the polls, pointing out that two persons were killed at Buguma in Asari-Toru Local Government Area, while two others were killed at Nonwa-Tai, and Omuanwa communities in Tai and Ikwerre Local Government Areas, respectively.

He said: “I am startled this morning after seeing outrageous figure of deaths associated with the elections as dished out by the media. To put the records straight, four deaths were recorded with two in Buguma, while Nonwa-Tai and Omuanwa each recorded one.”

INEC RELEASES 10 RESULTS, SUSPENDS RIVERS ELECTIONS According to Wike, Peterside, who was with his running mate, Honourable Asita and the APC state chairman, Dr. Davies Ikanya, were then pursued by Woke, who was the PDP agent for Ikwerre.

“The shooting happened because they were chasing them (Peterside and Asita) from Isiokpo,” Wike said.

He said when the security detail of Peterside saw that the PDP agent was still following them as they got to the junction leading to his (Peterside’s residence, they opened fire leading to the death of Woke’s aide.

But in his own account of the incident, Peterside said it was an attack on his life, adding that he was attacked by gunmen in two sports utility vehicles when he was on his way home from the Port Harcourt International Airport.

According to a statement he issued last night, “Two SUVs belonging to Emeka Woke, Nyesom Wike’s Chief of Staff, carrying two unknown gunmen trailed us to UTC Junction and opened fire on my car.

“Our car however did a detour to the DSS office gate where we drove to seek refuge, but the unknown gunmen opened fire again at the SSS men on guard.

“The exchange of fire between the DSS men and the assailants lasted for more than 30 minutes.

This is a very ugly experience but I thank God that my colleagues and I escaped unhurt.

“Today’s experience is not only terrifying but also shows the parlous state of security in Rivers State. If I can be engaged openly by gunmen for nearly an hour in the heart of Port Harcourt, only God knows the fate that will befall members

of our party and those sympathetic to our predicament.

“What is happening today in our dear state is not only horrible but also constitutes a serious national security risk.”

Before the shootout, however, Wike and Amaechi, squared off against each other at the Mile 1, Diobu police station in the state capital over a collation officer, Mrs. Adebisa, who was allegedly abducted by the minister, Saturday night.

The development, which led to the suspension of collation of results in the constituency, led to a standoff between the leaders of the PDP and APC yesterday.

Adebisa was allegedly taken to Novotel Hotel where the duo of Amaechi and Peterside and the acting Managing Director of NDDC, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, were lodged and results doctored.

The electoral officer was said to have been placed in protective custody by Amaechi and Dakuku.

However, when PDP leaders including Wike got wind of the fact that she had been placed in protective custody at the Mile 1 police station, they rushed to the station seeking an explanation.

Wike later alleged that Adebisa is the girlfriend of the APC candidate for the Port Harcourt Federal Constituency who framed her abduction alongside other APC leaders. He went further to claim that she had compromised the results placed in her care in favour of the APC. When Wike and some other PDP leaders stormed the station, more than 400 soldiers arrived the station with Amaechi, Peterside and

Semenitari and directed that Adebisa be released to them.

The former governor, Peterside, Semenitari and the AIG Zone 6, Calabar, Mr. Baba Adisa Bolanta, were said to have eventually left with her.

But reacting to the report, the Special Adviser (Media) to the acting Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NDDC, Bekee Anyalewechi said there was no iota of truth in the story that was peddled by the PDP-led Rivers State Government.

“We have received, with bemusement, the attempt by the Rivers State Government and its image managers to retell the facts of the incident of Sunday, March 20 which occurred at the Mile 1 Police Divisional headquarters in Port Harcourt when Rivers State governor, Ezebunwo Wike, in the company of a retinue of aides, invaded the police station and held the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) collation officer for Port Harcourt Ward 10, Mrs. Ekwi Adebisa, hostage.

“Whereas it is not in our style to join issues with any tier of government, it is imperative that we state the facts because of the need to safeguard our electoral process and strengthen the confidence of our people in their leaders.

“Mrs. Ekwi Adebisa, the Port Harcourt City Ward 10 Collation Officer, for the March 19 rerun legislative election in Rivers State, was moved by force to the police station. The result she had collated was separated from her.

“While at the police station, agents of the Rivers State Government, brought her under

MONDAY MARCH 21, 2016 • T H I S D AY

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NEWS

News Editor Davidson Iriekpen Email davidson.iriekpen@thisdaylive.com, 08111813081

Rivers Polls: Hold Buhari Responsible for Bloodletting, Says Fayose Moves to check over-billing by private schools

Olakiitan Victor in Ado Ekiti Following the deaths recorded in the rerun elections in Rivers State at the weekend, the Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has said President Muhammadu Buhari must be held accountable for the violence and loss of lives in

the highly violent elections.

Fayose said: “Members of Buhari’s party, All Progressives Congress (APC) are emboldened to unleash violence on the people of Rivers State and other states in Nigeria because they know that the president won’t lift a finger provided his party members are

Soldiers Ambush, Kill More Boko Haram Fighters, Suicide Bomber

Recover weapons, hijabs Senator Iroegbu in Abuja In continuation of the clearance operations in the North-east, the Nigerian military has killed more Boko Haram fighters and intercepted a suicide bomber in parts of Borno State.

The Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, in a statement yesterday said troops from the 7 Brigade ambushed and killed seven sect members at Dawashi in the early hours of yesterday.

Usman said the troops keept vigil at the terrorists’ suspected crossing point where they engaged them on sight, “killing the seven terrorists and recovering a Peugeot Station Wagon loaded with 2,010 litres of petrol in 67 jerry-cans, uniforms, some materials and improvised explosive making devices.

He listed others items recovered to include dry cell batteries, AK-47 rifle, tools and fish.

In a related development,

Usman said the troops of 25 Task Force Brigade ambushed and killed a suicide bomber at Kumala and Musafanari villages general area last night effectively saving lives and properties of innocent citizens.

He said: “The troops who on receipt of information, laid an ambush for the terrorist at suspected sect member crossing point, engaged the terrorist who was obviously on suicide mission, from Sambisa general area.

“The bomber paid the price of his wicked activities as he was dealt with decisively.”

The army spokesman said the troops recovered a motorcycle, 12 primed IEDs and a hand bag containing personal effects which included a hijab obviously meant for disguise and concealment of explosives for the intended nefarious act.

He also assured that “the morale of troops remains high as they continue to mop up all surviving terrorists”.

the ones perpetrating evil.

“Those who called the Ekiti State governorship election in which soldiers and other security agents made sure that that there was no violence, no live was lost during and after the election and no ballot was snatched Ekitigate should be asked what the Rivers election in which eight people were killed and several others injured will be called.”

In a statement yesterday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications, Lere Olayinka, Fayose said President Buhari was culpable in the killings in Rivers State and that the manner Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted itself has destroyed the legacy of free, fair and transparent elections bequeathed on Nigeria by former President Goodluck Jonathan was.

“Can President Buhari fold his

arms if the people being killed are from Daura in Katsina State? Is it that any soul that is not a Fulani is not important to the president?”

While calling for the immediate sack of INEC chairman, Prof.

Mahmood Yakubu, the governor said Nigerians must ask questions as to how INEC produced Results Sheets of over 230 polling units with PDP omitted.

Meanwhile, as part of efforts to check over-billing of parents by owners of private primary and secondary schools, the Ekiti State Government has mandated them to clearly define items on the bills they are giving to parents to pay in respect of their wards and children.

Also, the state government has said no school owner should hide under the guise of paying the mandatory Education Levy to the

government to exploit parents or charge parents more than N500 per term for students in primary school and N1000 per term for students in secondary school.

To help parents check any erring school owner, a Parent Complaint Section has been set up in the Ministry of Education where violators of government’s orders should be reported to.

Fayose, gave this directive at a meeting with some concerned parents at the Governor’s Office, Ado-Ekiti.

In a press release by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, yesterday the stance of the governor followed the discovery that some school owners were charging parents more than the approved levy.

It was discovered that most private school owners charged

double the amount stipulated by the state government.

Also, Fayose, said he will not meddle into the process of selecting a new Onisan of Isan-Ekiti or any candidate for any vacant traditional stool in the state.

He stated this at the weekend when some community leaders from Isan-Ekiti visited him at the Government House, Ado-Ekiti.

The governor said filling vacant traditional stool is a sacred assignment that must be allowed to take its natural course.

The governor opined that whoever should pervert justice and fair play in selecting rulers for vacant traditional stools might not be able to stand the consequences later in life.

Isan Ekiti is the country home of Fayose’s predecessor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

Police Arrest Nurse for Allegedly Selling Teenager’s Baby for N500,000 James Sowole in Akure The Ondo State Police Command at the weekend paraded a nurse, Mrs. Chibuzor Okoye who was arrested for selling a baby belonging to a 17- year-old girl, Miss Tessy Obianua to a couple in Onitsha, Anambra State, for the sum of N500,000.

The state Commissioner for Police, Mrs. Hilda Ibifuro-Harrison, who paraded the nurse and teenage mother at the command headquarters in Akure, the state capital, said five persons were involved in the child trafficking case.

According to the commissioner, Tessy fell victim to a specialised child trafficker, Mrs. Chibuzor Okoye, who convinced her to sell the baby to Mr. And Mrs. Sunday Kalu, who were desperately looking for a baby.

She said the police got a tip off when Tessy’s father, Mr. Henry Obianu, who lives at Ogbese in Akure North Local Government Area of the state, reported to the police that his pregnant daughter was missing.

According to her father, who claimed Tessy ran away while still pregnant in January last year, he said she later resurfaced without the baby or pregnancy in May. After pressure was mounted on Tessy to reveal the whereabouts of the

baby, she was said to have confessed to one of her uncles that she sold the baby to a couple in Onitsha.

The police investigation also discovered that Tessy was lured to Onitsha by her father’s neighbour, identified as Mr. Jude Azuka who resides in Ogbese.

It was learnt that at the time Tessy was declared missing, she was lured away to Onitsha byAzuka to Okoye’s house who took care of her during the pregnancy until she was delivered of the child.

The police boss said: “Through investigations that led us to Onitsha, the police arrested Mrs. Chibuzor Okoye at No. 3, Tonny Olisa Street, Awada in Onitsha, who specialises in child trafficking.

“It was Okoye who sold the said baby girl to the couple at No. 8, Uzogwu Street, Onitsha for the sum of N500,000.

“She claimed to have given Jude the sum of N200,000, out of which Jude claimed to have bought clothes and shoes for Tessy and also gave her N30,000. Tessy, however, denied collecting N30,000 from Jude.

“Mrs. Chibuzor thereafter forced Tessy to sign an undertaking that she would never come back for the baby.”

Ibifuro-Harrison advised parents to be wary of the antics of criminal elements who disguise as neigbours around their wards.

CELEBRATING PALM SUNDAY

Christians celebrating the Triumphant Entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem at the Palm Sunday service at The African Bethlehem Church, Ebute-Meta, Lagos...yesterday Sunday Adigun

Tinubu Appeals to Nigerians to Be Patient with Buhari’s Government A national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, at the weekend assured Nigerians that the change agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari was still on course.

Tinubu, while speaking at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University convocation in Sokoto at the weekend where he was honoured with the Honorary Doctor of Business Administration, said the change process requires time especially coming after “the conscience of our nation has been under attack for many years.”

According to an online news Portal, Premium Times, the former Lagos State Governor said: “We were handed a way of governance in which anything goes and too much went – as if gone with the wind.

Our present was squandered and future mortgaged.”

Tinubu while pleading for support and patience with the APC administration said “Nigeria has the greatest opportunity to get it right with a leader like Buhari.

“There is much to fix. President Buhari is committed to fixing them.

But he needs your support and patience. He cannot do it all alone.

We must stand beside him or else we may be knocked down and not stand at all.

“Thus, let us be resolved to see reform and change that will make Nigeria rise as the nation it should be,” Tinubu said.

The former Lagos State Governor also took on the those he described as “nay Sayers and negative spinners” who argued that no change was taking place.

“It’s easy for those who are greedy to think that change is easy. Change is not about comfort of today, but the success

of tomorrow. Nigeria was in the rollercoaster of losing hope.

Then our party brought cure.

Don’t let anyone deceive you, the cure is here.”

Tinubu soon after eulogising the man after whom the institution was named and also recognising the leadership of the Sultan and the Sokoto State governor focused on the issues dominating the national discourse.

“I am honoured to be at the historic seat of the Caliphate a place where history, culture, religion and tradition merge to form the architecture of one of the world’s most impressive and venerable civilisations. The man after whom the institution is named was a foremost Islamic scholar. An extraordinary leader who understood the deep yearnings and needs of the people. He provided visionary yet

practical leadership and taught us all that we must be ready to personally sacrifice to advance and secure those things in which we truly believe”.

And as if comparing some of the principles Dan Fodiyo lived by with that of President Buhari, Tinubu said “Nigeria has begun the process of turning to its better self.

The government of President Buhari is cleaning out the rot of years of galloping corruption and avarice.

This government is also moving to pursue policies that will spark development and bring prosperity to long oppressed Nigerians. Be reminded that this will be a battle.

No battle is easy. We must be firm in our resolve to reform this nation.

We must have the courage to stand fast in the times of difficulty, having faith that the rightfulness of our cause will see us through to the success of our collective efforts and yearnings.”

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MONDAY MARCH 21, 2016 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

Why FG Withdrew Case against Orubebe at CCT Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja Fresh facts are now emerging on why the federal government last week withdrew the charges against Mr. Godsday Orubebe, a former minister in charge of the Ministry of Niger Delta under the Goodluck Jonathan administration who was arraigned before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on allegations of false declaration of assets.

Sources confirmed that the decision to withdraw the charges was based on a legal advice from the Federal Ministry of Justice in which it was strongly canvassed that the case against Orubebe as presently constructed and filed was fundamentally defective.

The legal advice from the Ministry of Justice was to the effect that since Orubebe was not invited to make a statement on the allegations against him, the process of arraignment was fundamentally flawed.

The legal advice referred to Section 379 sub-section (1) (a) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 which listed the ingredients that must be forwarded as part the process to be filed by the prosecution before the commencement of the case as including in (iv) “copies of statements of the defendant.”

Other documents mentioned by the section of the Act included

the proof of evidence, consisting of: the list of witnesses, the list of exhibits to be tendered, summary of statements of the witnesses, copies of statement of the defendant, any other document, report, or material that the prosecution intends to use in support of its case at the trial, particulars of bail or any recognisance, bond or cash deposit, if defendant is on bail, particulars of place of custody, where the defendant is in custody, particulars of any plea bargain arranged with the defendant; particulars of any previous interlocutory proceedings, including remand proceedings, in respect of the charge, and any other relevant document as may be directed by the court.

Also to be submitted is a copy of the form for information on legal representation as provided under section 376 (9) of the Act. Another source confirmed that the ministry further argued that without the statement of the defendant, the prosecution may have provided a strong case for the defence legal team to argue that the case be dismissed on technical ground.

“That case cannot survive because the tribunal judges are not there to help the prosecution to prepare a water tight case. If the prosecution leaves a loose end for the defence team to explore, the judge will have no option than to throw away the case. This has been

the bane of the anti-corruption war in this country. That is why the investigators and the prosecution must always do their job diligently if we are going to make a headway in punishing corrupt practices,” the source added.

It was however learnt that the federal government might have withdrawn the case to enable its investigating and legal teams do the proper thing.

It is believed that the former minister might be invited and confronted with the allegations against him so that he can make a statement and “after the due process is followed, he might be compelled to re-appear at the tribunal.”

The issue of failure to invite a defendant to make statements before commencement of prosecution is now an issue of contention in the Saraki case before CCT as the lead counsel to the Senate President, Mr. Kanu Agabi (SAN) at the last hearing of the suit on March 18, contended that the failure of the Code of Conduct Bureau to invite his client to make statement has resulted in denial of fair hearing and therefore vitiate the validity of the suit against him.

Sources said the prosecution in the Saraki case has realised the fundamental flaw in the case as it would have also preferred to withdraw the matter against the Senate President and file it again after getting him to make a statement.

T H I S D AY MONDAY MARCH 21, 2016

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

COMMENT

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

THE PRESIDENT MUST WATCH THAT VIDEO

President Buhari needs to invite members of the Independent People of Biafra for a talk, reckons Chibuzo Ziggy Azike “I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people” Indira Ghandi: 1917 – 1984

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just finished watching a footage of the Interview our President, General Muhammadu Buhari, granted to Al Jazeera on his most recent trip to Qatar and I knew I must write this article.

Some foundation about my political relationship with President Buhari (PMB) is necessary here. In 2007, I was the governorship candidate of ANPP in Imo State and General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB) was my presidential candidate. We rode in the same car for the three days he was in Imo campaigning. In my political career, PMB is the only presidential candidate I have ever campaigned for, spent my money on and voted for.

Anybody who knows me will tell that I am a very passionate person, and when I commit, I commit. So I am not “one of those disgruntled opposition” out to spot one mis–step, then make a song of it.

In that Al-Jazeera interview the charming interviewer, the very brilliant intrepid Ms. Martine Dennis, asked PMB to watch a video of what the Nigerian Military did to members of “Independent People of Biafra” (IPOB) who had been “protesting peacefully for the most part in the South East State of Abia” and PMB waved it off and refused to see the footage; the interviewer then showed (we) the viewers the footage of the carnage by the military against members of IPOB; and it was gruesome and horrific, it was cold-blooded unprovoked murder of defenceless citizens. The interviewer described the military action as “very heavy handed”.

In that interview, where PMB often admitted that the interviewer Ms. Dennis was better informed than himself about so many facts and happenings in his government; Mr. President had always said that he would investigate the allegations of corruption and other malfeasance in the government and “pursue and punish” the perpetrators, for instance those who padded the budget an d those who round trip the forex.

As a prologue to the interview, PMB had been described as a “man under pressure”, but he managed to maintain his calm as he answered the questions in his own style. But when the issue of Biafra was raised towards the end of the interview, he was clearly intolerant of countenancing any reasoning. PMB rightly stated that most of the persons who are canvassing or agitating for Biafra were those who were born after the Nigeria Civil war (which ended in 1970) and who do not comprehend the consequences and futility of their agitation. And when Ms. Dennis asked PMB: since you know that they may not have a good reason or justification for their agitation “why don’t you invite them for a talk?” My president replied “invite them for what?”

Now, Mr. President you must not only watch that video which you failed to see during that interview; you will also need to invite those IPOB agitators for a talk; and I will now tell you why

MR. PRESIDENT YOU MUST WATCH THAT VIDEO BECAUSE UNDER PART I CHAPTER I ARTICLE 4 OF THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS ‘HUMAN BEINGS ARE INVIOLABLE. EVERY HUMAN BEING SHALL BE ENTITLED TO RESPECT FOR HIS LIFE AND THE INTEGRITY OF HIS PERSON, NO ONE MAY BE ARBITRARILY DEPRIVED OF THIS RIGHT’

you must do both.

Mr. President, as the Commander-In-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, you are vicariously responsible for the actions of your military. Charles Taylor who died in the custody of ICC jailors; former President Gbagbo who is on trial at the ICC; President Omar of Sudan who is a fugitive, are not implicated for directly pulling the trigger against their citizens; they are facing the charges, because those crimes were committed by soldiers/forces under their command as Commander- in- Chief.

We pray that this shall never be your portion; that is why you must watch that video.

Mr. President you must watch that video because under Part I Chapter I Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights “Human beings are inviolable. Every human being shall be entitled to respect for his life and the integrity of his person, no one may be arbitrarily deprived of this right”. As for the legality or otherwise of the activities of IPOB and their ilk; suffice it to say that they enjoy the full protection of Article 20. To ensure that PMB is not implicated as condoning acts of genocide and mayhem by the military in their “very heavy handed” treatment of IPOB peaceful agitators, Mr. President must watch that Video, then order an investigations, “pursue and punish” the perpetrators of those crimes against humanity.

Now, why would Mr. President have to follow the advice of the charming Ms. Martine Dennis and “invite them for a talk”?

PMB must take that path because as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the 73 years old patriarch is a father to all these agitators and it is his sworn duty in his Oath of Office.

He swore inter alia while holding the Koran that he “will do right to all manner of people, according to Law, without fear or favour, affection or ill will”. Now if PMB had repeatedly invited non-existent “known and credible leaders” of Boko Haram, who have declared some parts of North Eastern Nigeria “an independent Islamic caliphate” and have been killing whole villages, soldiers, police and bombing the United Nations office and every other person, institution and places they can destroy for discussion and settlement, how can he, a good moslem forget his oath of office and not invite IPOB whose known and credible leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is under captivity for a talk; or any other nominees of the group.

Even the Holy Father Pope Francis has received the IPOB agitators who have managed to organise themselves formidably in the diaspora. Our president must remember that he is being watched and observed by the whole wide world. His profile as an upright and austere leader who will fight corruption and clean the Augean Stables of the Nigerian system recommended him for support from the whole World.

Now he is being watched and I dare say he must be wary of being profiled as a leader who allows his military to kill and decimate his own defenceless and peaceful citizens.

Chief Azike, Ksc., is a member of the honourable Body of Benchers

NON-MILITARY INTERVENTION AND THE CRISIS IN NORTH-EAST

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hmad Salkida argues for mediation rather than brute force to resolve conflicts It is easier to get into a conflict than to come out of it, and every war has its consequences, whether for the aggressors or the victims. Certainly, nearly everyone that survives a war lives with painful memories of its devastation.

The event of June 2009, where security operatives shot at 20 followers of Muhammad Yusuf, the leader of Boko Haram, which prefers to be called Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), in Maiduguri over a mere traffic offence - and the subsequent mismanagement of the crisis by the former Borno State Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, leading to the extra-judicial killings of Mohammad Yusuf and several others - was a clear indication of how an unnecessary intervention could escalate into a viciously destructive force.

That decision by the late President Musa Yar’Adua in 2009 to resort to a military option in dealing with an unruly religious sect on his way out to Brazil on an official trip may have looked strategic to him and his aides, but he clearly misread the situation and which has led to a chain of events which Nigeria is still paying dearly for. More so, a recall of the recent violent altercation between the Nigerian military and Shia adherents in Zaria, Kaduna State, and the numerous other extra-judicial killings preceding it, not only compounds the fog of security challenges in Nigeria, but shows how political and security leaders in the country have not learnt anything from history.

Many observers thought that early non-military intervention and timely mediation at the outbreak of violence could have saved West Africa the

Idang Alibi urges the association to live up to the times

ongoing brutal war it is going through in the Lake Chad region. The same would have prevented the recent mass murder of hundreds of citizens in Zaria that is now nurturing the culture of violence in a region that often chooses violent confrontations over mediation in dispute resolution. Clearly, mediation would have created short and long-term solutions to several of the violent outbursts witnessed in the last decades in Nigeria, but the government, whose duty it is to ensure peace and stability in the country, hardly explored options in this direction other than the brute application of force in addressing conflicts.

Today, people the world over seem to be entrapped in a unipolar choice of resorting to military force in the resolution of conflicts instead of seeking non-military alternatives, and worse still, the issues serving as the founts of these crises are often ignored by those with the responsibility for their resolution.

For example, the ongoing military action by the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad region, particularly in North-East Nigeria and Northern Cameroun has cut down ISWAP’s access to arms and ammunition and blocked several of the insurgent’s supply lines and routes of unleashing terror, yet the number of the group’s fighters willing to die for what they believe in remains strong. So, how well does it serve society when you take away guns from people, but still leave their yearnings for violence unchanged? I imagine both are important, but apparently, the reaction from Nigeria is one that focuses on military action alone, without seeking investment in non-military interventions that dissuade and kill the motives for bloodshed.

The reality in the North-East today is one in which there has been a significant diminution

of violence as a result of the militarisation of the region, but the intelligence and non-military interventions necessary to complement such efforts are either non-existent or in dismal forms, giving ample room for the resurgence of violence.

Today, there are several members of ISWAP in the vicinity, in Nigeria and in different parts of Africa that still guard their beliefs tightly and continue with the indoctrination of their wards and a growing number of youths who still find the group’s campaign attractive. Such groups can never be reached and disarmed through military force, except through far-reaching theological countering of the doctrines that drive religious extremism, and the encouragement of behavioural changes that can curb the renewal of violence.

Today, proponents of the peaceful settlement of conflicts as against military action are often criticised as sympathisers of those that “deserved nothing but death,” but there is hardly any contemporary religious rebellion anywhere in the world that has been resolved by force. It is, nonetheless, important to note that ‘Sulhu’ or comprehensive peace settlement of the current impasse in the North-East is far-fetched because the leaders of the sect entertain nothing outside their brand of Islam; and while many Nigerians consider mediation as a means of ending the conflict, this is largely not so, as mediation is only a process, which many others are not even ready to contemplate. Nevertheless, if mediation fails, it is still not a wasted exercise, it affords those with the responsibility to enable a termination to the conflict more accurate readings of what and who they are dealing with.

Also, non-military intervention is not only about mediation. Humanitarian interventions by the international community, the civil society and

well-meaning citizens to reach vulnerable groups during conflicts are one of such. Also, another life-saving non-military approach is through the peaceful release of captives or cessation of violence in certain areas, with both sides making concessions in this regard. Other facets including the address of the socio-economic and political issues in the region that may have created and exacerbated the conflict in the first place is an important form of non-military approach. The global expectations for Nigeria to deploy her potential in focusing on development programmes in the country have been embarrassing; and, indeed, government efforts at the state and federal levels at embracing participatory democracy and accountability have been tarnished by corruption and repeated instances of violence over the years.

Sadly, critical national institutions that ought to intervene and mediate in this crisis in Nigeria today are either too weak or totally compromised. It is thus in the interest of Nigeria to work through three key institutions in society - the legal establishment, faith-based organisations and the media, and to strengthen each of them to become decisive in making quality interventions that would scale down the levels of violence and criminality in the country.

The World Development Report 2011 acknowledges that there are no “standard fixes suitable for all” manifestations of violence, but urges that “efforts to resolve conflicts should be nationally led from within affected countries”. Faith-based organisations, local governments and community leaders must lead by introducing programmes and measures that curb the inequalities and marginalisation in society that often leads to violence.

Salkida is a freelance journalist and conflict analyst

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T H I S D AY MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

EDITORIAL ISSUES IN THE LAGOS BUILDING COLLAPSE The regulatory agencies should live up to their responsibilities

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n dealing with the issues surrounding the recent collapse of a five-storey building in Lekki which led to the death of about 35 people, there is need for the Lagos State Government to exercise care and caution so as not to compound the problem of innocent residents at the Lekki Gardens Estate. It is also important that appropriate lessons be learned beyond the audit of structures as directed by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, given the fact that this is a recurring tragedy across the country.

While we commiserate with the families of the deceased persons, it is unfortunate that we continue to witness unethical dealings by project promoters leading to such a huge number of fatalities. From the use of cheap and inferior materials to improper supervision and distortion of original building plans, it would appear some unscrupulous people just create problems for the society in the bid to make easy money.

A statement by the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, said preliminary reports and investigation by the state revealed that A POLICY SHOULD BE the collapsed buildPUT IN PLACE WHERE ing was served a ANY PROFESSIONAL contravention notice CONNECTED WITH A for exceeding the COLLAPSED BUILDING approved floors and WILL FORFEIT HIS LICENCE thereafter sealed by AND FACE THE FULL the Lagos State BuildWEIGHT OF THE LAW ing Control Agency.

Whatever may be the case, we hope that lessons will be learned not only by Lagos, but by the authorities of other states so that we do not keep witnessing this kind of avoidable tragedy.

All over the country today, the failure of the regulating agencies to properly perform their supervisory roles has given rise to a situation where quacks have taken over in many areas. Indeed, some land speculators have also become estate developers and selfstyled construction experts all rolled into one. From the architectural design stage to civil and structural

Letters to the Editor

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engineering, actual construction and project completion, most of these characters are interested in how to cut costs, even if it means circumventing laid down regulations. This can only breed the kind of disaster we experience from time to time.

According to the Nigerian Society of Structural Engineers, the construction of a building is expected to be managed by “qualified professionals including structural engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, architects and quantity surveyors, among others”. In an ideal situation where all these professionals are engaged, there are site engineers and inspectors whose duty it is to ensure that everything is done in accordance with approved plans and standards, but above all, they are expected to pay attention to the use of the quality of materials. It is therefore unfortunate that in spite of the abundance of a great number of building and construction professionals in Nigeria, buildings still collapse like packs of cards.

T H I S DAY

EDITOR IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU DEPUTY EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN

T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, EMMANUEL EFENI, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR OLUFEMI ABOROWA DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS PETER IWEGBU, FIDELIS ELEMA, MBAYILAN ANDOAKA, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS HENRY NWACHOKOR, SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI GENERAL MANAGER PATRICK EIMIUHI GROUP HEAD FEMI TOLUFASHE ART DIRECTOR OCHI OGBUAKU II DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

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esides the non-adherence to approved plans and the absence of qualified professionals at one or more stages of construction, other reasons for frequent building collapse are traced to lack of geo-technical information which is about obtaining the necessary information concerning the soil where a building is to be erected. Even though one-storey buildings take a lot of load, Nigerian builders often embark on the construction of multi-storey buildings without carrying out soil tests, a critical requirement prior to the erection of a solid structure.

While we recommend sanctions for those who may be found guilty of the kind of criminal negligence that led to the Lekki tragedy, there is a great need for a complete overhaul of the nation’s building and construction regulations. A policy should be put in place where any professional connected with a collapsed building will forfeit his licence and face the full weight of the law. Unless drastic steps are taken and building codes implemented to the letter, the nation will continue to experience these avoidable serial disasters.

TO OUR READERS Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-200 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (9501000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer.

LAGOS, STREET BEGGING AND PUBLIC SECURITY

rmed with a Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) prescription paper, 56- yearold Kehinde Olatubosun, a drug addict and an indigene of Oyo State, recently confessed to making about N300, 000 monthly from unsuspecting Lagos residents through begging.

Begging is an age-long activity prominent in urban centres where it is common to see the physically challenged, visually impaired, the deaf and even supposedly “stranded” visitors (famously referred to as corporate beggars) throng walkways, street corners, religious centres, etc., begging for alms.

Due to the influx of people from different parts of the country in search of the proverbial Golden Fleece, Lagos, like cities such as Kaduna, Kano, Johannesburg, Shanghai and others, has to contend with various socio-economic challenges peculiar to cities with exponential growth and metropolitan composition. Lagos, no doubt, has a high number of assorted street beggars. While some of them are genuinely in need, others, like the aforementioned Mr. Olatubosun, have turned begging into a business enterprise. In the years gone by, there was a case of a Lagos beggar who made a fortune by deceitfully collecting money from unsuspecting Lagosians and used the proceeds to build a house on which he boldly inscribed: ‘Eko go’ (Lagosians are gullible).

Studies have revealed that people resort to begging for reasons ranging from poverty, to health challenges. Today, people take to begging for sundry reasons which include substituting begging for hard work, allegiance to tradition as in the case of parents of twins who still hide under the cloak

of tradition to beg for alms. To drug addicts such as Mr. Olatubosun, it is a means of gratifying appetite for hard drugs.

In other cases, some people are exploited and forced to beg while someone else collects the proceeds. This, indeed, is the multifaceted face of modern day begging. Aside constituting environmental nuisance and health hazards to the public as some beggars have one infectious disease or the other, beggars sometimes complicate traffic situation in Lagos.

Lately, street begging has been identified as a means of defrauding as well as a source of insecurity in the state.

Compared to highbrow areas like Ikoyi and Victoria Island where residents would rather prefer to alert the police rather than give alms to beggars, people living in densely populated suburbs of the metropolis are typically friendlier to beggars.

In fact, there is a particular street on the mainland mostly inhabited by visually impaired beggars. It is also not uncommon to notice groups of people in branded T-shirts, soliciting for alms in major bus stops and markets, to treat patients with various health challenges by displaying the latter’s pictures. It has been revealed that oftentimes, the monies collected are not usually utilised for the purpose for which they were collected.

Opinions on begging differ. While some view it as part of religious obligations of reaching out to the less privileged, others are of the view that such alms should be taken to appropriate institutions such as the destitute homes and motherless babies homes. In fact, a critical observation of religious concept of alms giving reveals that no religion encourages street begging.

Although the two most popular religions, Christianity and Islam, promote giving to the less privileged in the society, but

resorting to begging as a way of life is sharply frowned at by the tenets of the two religions.

However, while it is not inappropriate to give alms to beggars, their activities have, however, suggested otherwise as people now hide under the pretext of begging to dispossess members of the public of their valuables, either on the road or in their residences. A report had it that a beggar that was given alms during the day led his group of armed robbers to attack his benefactor at night. Also, some beggars are accomplices to various forms of crimes.

Perhaps, taking a cue from the Kaduna State Government which recently banned street begging in the state, the Lagos State Government has concluded plan to enforce section 166 sub-section 1(b) of the criminal code which prohibits street begging with adequate penalty for defaulters. This, according to the state governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, becomes necessary in the interest of public security. He said: “We’ve had security reports on the activities of persons who pose as beggars, especially in traffic, but their sole aim is to perpetrate evil. We are putting a search light on this trend and one way to do that is to ensure that we take preemptive measures to forestall this development.” To this end, he said efforts will be made to rid the state of street beggars and the homeless.

Towards achieving this, the State Taskforce on Environmental and Traffic Offences has been mandated to arrest any beggar found on the highways, bus stops and street corners while transferring same to the State Rehabilitation Centres.

Bilkis Bakare, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Lagos

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

POLITICS

Group Politics Editor Olawale Olaleye Email wale.olaleye@thisdaylive.com 08116759819 SMS ONLY

T H E M O N D AY D I S C O U R S E

A Region’s Rising Threat With the rising spate of terror attacks in West African countries, the threat of terrorism has become a real and present danger in the sub-region. THISDAY Politics Desk writes

O

n regional matters, we have at the ECOWAS level several security meetings of security ministers, defence ministers and we’ve been planning in the next two weeks to have a meeting of the monitoring unit of the ministerial committee. So, the regional aspect is being well treated too,¨ said President Alassane Ouattara at a joint news conference last Tuesday with his counterparts from Togo and Benin, Presidents Faure Gnassingbe and Yayi Boni, following penultimate Sunday’s attack on Grand Bassam, one of Ivorian beach towns.

The attack on Cote d’Ivoire reportedly left no fewer than 18 people dead, including a Nigerian, Adekunle Sikiru from Ejigbo Local Government in Osun State. It was the first in the French speaking country and had since left an uneasy calm in the hitherto quiet, beautiful and serene tourist state.

Before the Sunday attack on Ivory Coast, the terrorists had in November last year, attacked a Malian hotel and two months after, launched another in Burkina Faso, thus sending very strong subliminal message to the sub-region.

Suffice it to say that soon after the Mali and Burkina Faso attacks, attention had shifted to Ivory Coast for many reasons, chief amongst which was its solidarity with France. Indeed, the French intelligence saw it coming and had issued a red alert to both Ivory Coast and Dakar in Senegal as likely destinations marked out for the next series of attacks.

Interestingly, President Ouattara did not appear dazed in anyway because not only did he see it coming, he claimed to be prepared for it and was proud of the nation’s security forces, which according to him, repelled the assailants and also followed up. He argued that the quick response to the external aggression with calculated precision was quite evident of a competent security system, ready for the unintended at every point in time. ¨We were prepared in case an attack would happen and I think our reaction showed that we managed the situation quite well. We dismantled their attempts and we have also shown our ability to have good follow-up for such an event. But there is no zero risk in this kind of thing. We think what was important was to react very quickly and I use this opportunity to restate the pride of the security agencies in this regard,”Alassane said, speaking in French to THISDAY in Abidjan, the nation’s capital.

Since the 80s, no part of the world has been insulated from Islamists terror attacks, Africa inclusive. Many of these attacks had been followed with huge press coverage, with the list growing by the day. But particularly disturbing, Africa appears to be getting more than its fair share of terror.

For instance, in Nigeria since 2013, the Boko Haram sect has continued its reign of terror, bombing, kidnapping and destroying property and subsequently coasting from Nigeria to Cameroon, Kenya, Mali, Chad and several other African countries, with gradual penetration and increased presence from country to country.

However, experts have attributed the rise of terrorism in Cameroon to the formal declaration of war on Boko Haram issued by President Paul Biya after the regional summit on the insurgency in Paris in May 2014, which resulted in increased military confrontations in Northern Cameroon region – a border with Nigeria.

There have been severe casualties on both sides. The terrorist group displayed a daring confidence in July 2014, when it attacked a residence of the Cameroonian deputy prime minister in the North and captured his wife.

French and Chinese citizens were also kidnapped with large ransom allegedly paid The spate of attacks in the Nigerian territories had peaked in the run-up to the presidential elections of March 2015. Though intensified action of the combined armies of Nigeria, Cameroon and the other interested neighbouring countries, notably Chad has forced Boko Haram

President Buhari with his Ivorian counterpart, Ouattara...hoping for a productive partnership

onto the defensive lately, the terror group seemed to have shifted strategy from direct confrontation to some more guerrilla tactics, while the number of attacks and suicide bombings had generally shot up on the African continent.

In the coastal town of Zliten, Libya on January 7, 2016, Islamist militants detonated a truck

The need for a regional review of strategy to confront this real and present danger cannot be over-emphasised given the facts on the table.

Not only have the terror groups shown to be strong and daring; they have consistently proven to have the capacity to carry out the most incredible attacks and in the most impossible places.

bomb at the police training camp, al-Jahfal.

Not less than 50 died in that attack and over 100 persons were wounded. On that same day, there was another car bombing at a checkpoint in the Libyan oil port of Ras Lanuf, which left seven people dead and 11 wounded.

On January 8, 2016, two militants armed with weapons and a signal flare stormed the Bella Vista Hotel in Hurghada, Egypt and injured three persons. Few days later, precisely January 15, 2016, Al-Shabaab terrorists attacked an African Union, Kenyan Army base in El-Adde, Somalia, where over 63 people died and injuring several others.

News of terror attack broke in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on January 15, 2016 when gunmen armed with heavy weapons attacked the Cappuccino Restaurant and the Splendid Hotel in the heart of the capital of Burkina Faso, killing at least 20 people and injuring 15 others.

Somalia too came under attack on January 22, 2016 when Al-Shabab militants attacked a beachside restaurant and killed 20. On January 25, 2016, suspected Boko Haram insurgents blew themselves up in a market in Cameroon, killing at least 25 people and injuring 62 others.

Nigeria too got into the news on January 30, 2016 when Boko Haram raided Dalori village in Borno State. At least, 65 people were killed and 136 others injured. In the March 13, 2016 Grand-Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire shootings, Al Qaeda gunmen stormed three hotels in the beach resort area, leaving 18 people dead.

Apart from these highly publicised terror

attack for which the perpetrators take responsibility, there have been hundreds of unreported attacks, rapes, killings, arson and other unwholesome practices by terror groups daily.

According to the Executive Director of the Institute of Research and the Promotion of Alternatives in Development (IRPAD) in Mali, Mr. Modibo Goïta, who works for USC Canada in West Africa from the head office in Bamako, Mali, said in his research work published in African Security Brief in February 2011 and titled: West Africa’s Growing Terrorist Threat: Confronting AQIM’s Sahelian Strategy,’ “ Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is increasingly well integrated with local communities and criminal networks in the Sahel.”

Goïta, a Professor at the Alioune Blondin Beye Peacekeeping School in Bamako, Mali, noted that counterterrorism efforts among Sahelian governments remain uncoordinated and too narrowly focused to contain and confront AQIM’s long-term and sophisticated strategy in the region. He emphasised that to prevent AQIM from further consolidating its presence in the Sahel, regional policies must be harmonised and security forces refocused so as to minimize collateral impacts on local communities.”

In the same breath, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ivory Coast, Mrs. Ifeoma Akabogu-Chinwuba, while speaking on the essence of regional coperation said, “There is the need to widen the dragnet because more countries are being CONT’D ON NEXT PAGE

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

POLITICS/ THE MONDAY DISCOURSE A R E G I O N ’ S R I S I N G T H R E AT

President Ouattara inspects the scene of attack on learning of the development

Africa, particularly, West Africa is endangered and there is no gainsaying that fact. From Nigeria to Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and lately, Cote d’Ivoire with Dakar now believed to be on the chart of the terrorists as their next stop, a reviewed and renewed regional cooperation to subdue this menacing monster is not negotiable and most importantly, time is of essence. affected. Initially, it was concentrated in northern Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger and so, it is normal for a nucleus of that multi-national force to be composed of.

“As the attacks are now widening and consuming the whole region, we have to also widen the dragnet. I read recently that Benin was willing to send some troops, of course, what does that tell you? It’s a collective and concerted effort that we need,” said, claiming Nigeria has shown support and solidarity with the country since the attack.”

The diplomat also reckoned the Ivorian government knew it could be attacked soon and was somewhat prepared for it, saying: “We had expected it and we had beefed up security at our level and we’d also asked the host authority to help us beef up security in terms of diplomatic police patrol. We also know that Burkina Faso was recently attacked; Mali too was attacked and already the government here had also expected that such a thing would happen here too.

“This is due largely to the high number of French people and high number of Lebanese too and the cooperation that exists between France and Cote d’Ivoire and in fact, in certain quarters, they say Abidjan is a new Paris – the African Paris. So, if an attempt had been made in French Paris, so you could expect that it would happen here too.

“We have always felt that Nigeria has been at the receiving end of a lot of these terrorists attacks and people used to ask us in form of jokes that ‘have you caught Boko Haram’s Shekau’

First responders attending to one of the survivors in the Sunday, March 13 attack on Grand Bassam in Cote d’Ivoire

and I used to tell them, ‘you are laughing; it is not a laughing matter’. Terrorists, what do they want? Can you negotiate with them? At least, if they tell you what they want and if you cannot supply, maybe then you can react but, hey, nobody knows what they want.

“It has happened here now because from nowhere, they just appeared and started shooting indiscriminately – blacks, white – it is now clear to everyone now that it is not by national boundaries and every country has to team-up with the other and fight collectively,” she said.

The Nigerian Perspective Perhaps, of all the countries in the sub-region, Nigeria has been the most affected in terms of terrorism attacks. When he assumed office about nine months ago, President Muhammadu Buhari had one major problem on its hand and it was that some of the Northeastern parts of the country were still under the stronghold of the terrorist sect Boko Haram, thus fuelling the argument on whether or not the Nigerian military has been able to tame the sect.

The Boko Haram issue is one that is capable of casting negative aspersions on the government of the day with many Nigerians feeling that whatever needed to be done should be done to win the war against the sect. A lot of Nigerians

are still looking forward to the rescue of the Chiboks girls, who were abducted almost two years ago. Most shocking was the announcement by former president Olusegun Obasanjo that the there was no hope of rescuing the girls alive.

While it would seem that the war has not been won yet, as the insurgents have continued to unleash terror in Borno State and other parts of the North-east, the federal government and President Buhari have continued to proclaim that the Boko Haram was not holding on to any Nigeria territory.

President Buhari reiterated this position to the German President, Joachim Gauck during his recent visit to Nigeria and had also explained at many other fora that “Boko Haram is not what it used to be,” because according to him, they were holding on to 14 government areas, hoisting their flags and were collecting taxes from local when the administration came to power, but that is no longer the order of the day.

The president had told the BBC that the terror group could no longer mount “conventional attacks” against security forces or population centres and that it had been reduced to fighting with Improvised Explosives Devices (IED), while remnants are in the heartland of Borno State.

But those who disagree with the president and the government on the issue have maintained

that he was exaggerating the scale of its success against the sect, and that each time the army claimed to have defeated the Boko Haram, the sect had quietly rebuilt themselves and resurfaced stronger.

The suspicion was that President Buhari’s assurance that no territory was under the control of the sect was in sharp contrary with the position expressed by the Senator representing Borno Central, Senator Baba Garbai, who said recently that the story about the terrorist group being completely defeated was not true as they have continued to maintain 50 per cent presence in the troubled state.

Garbai contradicted President Buhari’s claim, noting that both the military and Boko Haram have full control of three separate local governments areas in the state and share control in all the 21 other local governments.

“I feel highly demoralised and devastated in the sense that this is the village we came to during the election and they were going about their normal business. It is a wrong assumption that most of the local governments in Borno State are recaptured from Boko Haram. In reality, this is not true in the sense that apart from Maiduguri metropolis, Bayo and Kwaya Kusar, these are the three local governments

CONT’D ON NEXT PAGE

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

POLITICS/ THE MONDAY DISCOURSE A R E G I O N ’ S R I S I N G T H R E AT that are under the occupation of the Nigeria government, where the military and police are maintaining law and order.

“Mobbar, Abadam and Kala Balge are 100 per cent occupied by the sect. There are some local governments that are partially occupied by the insurgents, especially as the local government secretariats have been liberated but their hinterlands are still controlled by the insurgents.”

He however alleged negligence, stating that in spite of the tip-off a few days before the sect eventually struck, nothing was done to avert the onslaught. He called on the military to intensify efforts in beefing up security around the villages and communities that share borders with the Maiduguri metropolis. “It is very important and more so that this place is porous; there could be attack from any direction.”

The senator, who referred to Konduga recently liberated, but still has many communities in the local government under the sect control, added that though Gwoza town has been liberated, there are still six wards in Gwoza local government that are still occupied by the sect.

“From my count, only three local governments are fully liberated, 21 Local Governments partially occupied by the sect, that is, there is still some level of Boko Haram occupation side by side the military or any constituted authority.

We should not live under the illusion that Boko Haram has been decimated or weakened; these are not reality and neither a true reflection of the reality. The reality is that most of the local governments in the state are partially occupied

by Boko Haram,” Garbai maintained.

He was however confident that the Nigeria military is capable of retrieving the captured communities from the sect, stressing that the military was still on top of the situation and that the recent setbacks were not limited to Nigeria as the United States and France had come under terrorist attacks.

But in what was an apparent bid to dissuade the public from accepting Garbai’s position as true, Special Adviser to the Borno State Governor on Communication and Strategy, Mallam Isa Gusau, who said the ultimate goal of Boko Haram was not the killing of people, but to control territories and governments, added that the sect was not anywhere near achieving that.

“What Governor Kashim Shettima is saying, which is true is that, that is no longer in place, so people are mistaking attack for occupation.

The issue of control and having government in place, which is very fundamental in the case of Boko Haram, is no longer in place. This is a very serious issue to the military because it is like the sovereignty of the country is in doubt,” he said, distinguishing between attacks and the way things are.

He said before October 24, 2015, when the federal government sent a delegation to the state led by the Secretary to the Government of the federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir Lawal, Boko Haram was controlling two local government areas, where they had governments in place. And that Governor Shettima explained to the SGF that the two local government areas were still under the control of Boko Haram, which meant that the governor is not hiding the problem the state is facing under Boko haram.

“Therefore, the issue is to understand the difference between occupation and attacks. This is a very serious issue to the military and the Gwoza community, when you say that insurgents control territories, they have government in place. It used to be the case in the past, where they had 20 local government areas. They had government; they imposed taxes, administered territories and declared places as caliphates in those 20 local governments.”

Borno, the Hotbed in Focus

In an effort by both the government and the sect to claim superiority, there have been conflicting reports coming from Borno on the control of the state. But in order to get a particularly more distinct picture of the prevailing situation, a recent investigative report by THISDAY showed some startling findings.

From Maiduguri to Bama is about 75 kilometers journey. Three weeks back, Dalori was safe and from Dalori to Mairamri, you can travel without hindrance. It is equally safe to get to Madarari and from there to Konduga.

But from Konduga, you can get to Bama with security escort.

Bama town is presently well secured, but there is apprehension that the insurgents might attack the town unexpected. The people of the town have been evacuated to Maiduguri long ago before it was liberated and immediately after its liberation.

Those living in the adjoining villages before the liberation of the town have also been evacuated to Bama town and presently camped within the General Hospital in the town, where the military largely and complemented by the local government, attend to their needs. The numbers of IDPs stand between 20,000 and 25,000.

Etoile du sud, one of the beach hotels attacked penultimate Sunday in Grand Bassam

Bama was one of the major economic towns of the state, with a population of about 269,986 going by the 2006 census. It has an area of 4, 997m. The inhabitants are largely farmers and businessmen. Right from the time of occupation of Bama on September 1, 2014 till date, no one can boast of reaching the Banki route as an individual and no individual has traveled through the Gwoza route without military escort.

It takes 70 kilometers from Bama to Banki, a border town with Cameroon and there are numerous villages and hamlets on that route that cannot be assessed. It is believed that the insurgents are still residing along these routes.

When it is 4pm, no one travels in or out of Bama town, the journey into and out of Bama with military escort is from 10am to 4pm.

Konduga, until the attack on Dalori about two weeks ago, was reachable, but presently, there are no inhabitants in Konduga town. But in Mandarari, a roadside settlement, there are inhabitants with normal life basically because of the security around Konduga town. From Bama to Gwoza is about 80km. It is still unreachable.

The only way to get there is with security. But presently, some people have started relocating to Gwoza as they protest that they have not been adequately provided for in the camps in Maiduguri and that it was preferable that they go back to their former life than living in Maiduguri in hardship.

From Bama to Gwoza is relatively safe.

Travelers can travel with security escort from Bama for about 70km without any problem.

There is heavy security presence in Gwoza and it is presently safe of insurgency. The only place on the road that is not safe is Wala

Although it is common knowledge that combating terrorism is not the same as the conventional warfare, the debate about governments upping their game on the security of life and property is equally sacrosanct in this time and age. The increasing threat of terrorism is not one to be taken with levity and therefore, African leaders are expected to approach this with all its seriousness, knowing full well that their survival too, rests on it

and Warabe and some people have relocated to Gwoza, though traveling into and out of Gwoza is largely unsafe.

Behind the mountains of Gwoza, some members of the terrorist group still reside. It is said that six wards in Gwoza local government are occupied by the insurgent among which is Bayan Dutse, a border town with Cameroon.

The population of people within Gwoza town is gradually growing by the day but the people are escorted into the town by the military.

Maiduguri to Nganzai is relatively safe and can be reached without security. It is about 40 kilometers in the Northern part of the state.

Nganzai to Monguno is about 80 kilometers.

It is relatively safe, though sometimes there are attacks by insurgents on the road.

In Monguno, the larger population is there. Three kilometers away from Monguno is unreachable. The only safe route is the Maiduguri-Monguno road.

Anywhere within three kilometres radius down North of Monguno is unreachable. That means Kukawa is unreachable. Important villages like Kukawa Cross, Baga are inhabited by the military. The military patrols Kukawa during the day and comes back to pass the night at Kukawa Cross.

The insurgents are largely found around the waterside of Kukawa, and mostly in Kangarwa, Tungini, which is the headquarters of the insurgents with some of their leaders believed to be residing in Metele, Kaukiria. They are said to have been harassing the people living around the area. Kukawa town is unreachable.

There are no inhabitants presently there.

180 kilometers from Maiduguri is Damasak, the headquarters of Mobbar local government area, also in the North. Before you get to Damasak you would have reached Magumeri, Gubio, 30 kilometers to Damasak is Kareto. From Maiduguri to Kareto there is minimal access but from Kareto to Damasak which is about 30 km you cannot access. There is no security whatsoever beyond Kareto. There is the fear that the insurgents are current occupying Damasak and other parts of the local government that are inaccessible.

Mafa is 40 kilometers away from Maiduguri; it is in the central of the state. Presently, there is no inhabitant in Mafa. It is only with military escort that it can be reached. It is 45 kilometers away from another local government, Dikwa, which inhabitants have been evacuated to Maiduguri.

They are presently at Sanda Kwarimi Primary School. But now in Dikwa are over 73, 000 IDPs from different areas camped in the town. The town is not reachable without military company.

There are no persons living in the villages in both Mafa and Dikwa local government area, which are believed to have large presence of Boko Haram.

Ngala local government is also unreachable.

It shares border with Cameroon and Chad. It is 45kms away from Dikwa. Most of the inhabitants that earlier fled to Cameroon have returned.

Those that returned are about 40, 000. Gamboru as its major town and economic nerve centre is largely unsafe. There is heavy security presence in Ngala and life is returning back to normalcy.

It is difficult to travel from Maiduguri to the

area without military escort and at present, the inhabitants of the town who fled into Maiduguri and are in IDPs camp seeking a way to return to their homelands.

Kala Balge is 150 kilometers from Maiduguri, in the Central senatorial district of the state. It is unreachable and believed to be occupied by the insurgents. There is no military presence in the area, which shares border with Cameroon and Chad. Damboa, is 85 kilometers away from Maiduguri, in the Southern senatorial district.

It is not accessible to the people but there are about 25, 000 IDPs camped in Damboa town.

It is surrounded by insurgents. A village to its North, Anjigin is said to be highly populated by insurgents.

Damboa is on the road to Biu from Maiduguri.

It is a road inaccessible because insurgents are believed to be living in the villages. To travel from Maiduguri to Biu, a distance which normally takes two hours, now takes eight hours because travelers have to go through Damaturu then to Gombe before getting back to Biu. Biu town is safe, although in some of the villages are pockets of insurgents.

Marte is less than 60 kilometers away from Maiduguri, in the Northern senatorial district.

It was at a time under the insurgents but later reclaimed by the Nigerian troops and is presently under heavy military presence, although the inhabitants remain in Maiduguri. But most of the villages in Marte local government area are still under the insurgents.

Guzamala is about 170 kilometers from Maiduguri, it is now unreachable. Formerly, the military used to be in the town but they have since vacated. The insurgents are around the bushes and only attack the town at night.

The inhabitants have all fled to Maiduguri.

Abadam is about 265 kilometers from Maiduguri, in the far North and is inaccessible.

From Cross to Abadam which borders Niger is about 100 kilometers and it is a desert with untarred road. It is under the control of insurgents without military presence and no one dares travel there.

Kaga with its headquarters at Beneisheikh is on Maiduguri/Damaturu highway and it is relatively safe with heavy military presence but the surrounding villages are believed to be accommodating insurgents.

Jere is largely free from insurgents because it is metropolitan and believed to be part of the state capital (Maiduguri), seen as the safe zone. Though there are some parts that are rural, where insurgents still occupy, Maiduguri is a safe haven as there is heavy security presence there. The eagle-eyed military officers, paramilitary groups and youth vigilance groups are ever present to ward off attack on the town. It can even be admitted that the town is impregnable.

Local governments in the south of the state, Shani, Hawul, Askira-Uba, Chibok, are largely safe although some say that a few insurgents are still living within them and on few occasions had breached security. It is however largely peaceful.

Many IDPs, who spoke anonymously with CONT’D ON NEXT PAGE

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

POLITICS/ PERSPECTIVE

Introducing America’s ‘Donald Drunk’ Republican presidential candidate, Mr. Donald Trump is one mistake America cannot afford at this material time, writes Goke Omisore

D

runkenness and madness are the same, only that madness is longer. This political spring of presidential debates is poisoning and gathering ill storm of hatred; and when it rains, it pours! A one man character and characteristics is corroding and somewhat infectious for all bad reasons on the podium, where great knowledge of discussions are expected to expose the best of American values, hopes, dreams and best ways forward to the future growth of a great nation. Self-sponsorship should be a moral asset not a liability in a presidential campaign.

The whole world is watching this mellow-dramatic madness in astonishment, bewilderment, shock and disbelief in an almost no-holds-barred trading of personal insults, do-or-die politics in this 21st century. Mr. Donald Trump, You have personally, passionately over-driven this political debate to the realm of lunacy, which even your own children, grandchildren should be ashamed of when this insanity clears and reality dawns, even if you win!

Listen to your daughter – start acting presidential. But then that will be denying your human beings’ constitutions, running against the grains of your real-self. Mr. Donald Trump, this is only a presidential party nomination! If gold should rust, what will iron do? Be presidential, Jack! Posterity reserves the worst for your candidacy. This is nothing short of corroded liberty.

America, this Republican debate is debasing the presidency sought for in a leader of the free world? Mr. Donald Trump, enough of these theatrics and vituperations! The Apprentice was a show of glamour per excellence; this ain’t one for its entertainment variants, but best of exposition for great virtues need to be exhibited with uncommon discipline and suppressed malice, if any. The truth is, you are a nobody’s Boss on this world stage and in this most exalted reality show, your brand stands the worst from this republican debate performance.

Americans, if this is a joke, the world is laughing hysterically at you. Mr Trump, your temperament, demeanor, convulsion and a most erratic display of immaturity on this political stage smacks and reeks of a man full of rough edges and drowning intrigues of a Banana Republican! I am sure it offends a great chunk of decent conservatives. I am also sure, both parties – Democrats and Republican – might need an overhauling of their selection processes and will definitely need a revisit to a prequalification, including financial, medical (mental) and probably, legislate morality in party constitution on nominations.

America, home of liberty, freedom and the pursuit of happiness, yes Mr. Trump has all the rights and liberty well rooted in freedom of expressions, but not in this spirit of wallowing in muddy water.

However, your rights in this unwholesome expression might turn into a grand delusion, regrets, liability and national calamity on the world stage and the order of protocols and diplomatic ways destroyed beyond recognition. He Brags and basks in the euphoria of a chronic drunk gambler! Nations don’t find themselves in situations. Leaders of his ilk – Hitlerites – often trust their nations in situations of delusion.

Hyping and gloating on self-evaluation and a glorified common sense business of Real Estate and such mundane enterprises that grew from a well-funded inheritance that should count very low on the rung of presidential yardsticks of best man for this

Trump...trudging on unpresidentially

most revered job. That is no Rocket Science but an American dream comes true!

Donald Trump, stop being bullish before the youthful ingenious Mack Zukerburg of Jewish extraction, who has left a supreme legacy, which has positively changed the whole world. Yet, he ain’t bragging! His achievements stand tall, dwarfing your self-centered all American dreams earnings and fame.

He alone can call your bluff! I pray you catch my drift! Left alone Mr. Humility, the very humane Bill Gates towering achievements and that of the ingenious late Steve Job of blessed immortal memories live on, treasured by millions. Growing a greater American nation is not about Red, White, Black Americans - apology Barack Hussein Obama of African descent has spoken about all of us – watch posterity crown his chains of achievements in your life time.

Mr. Donald Trump’s victory will breed mitigated quagmire or an awkward, complex, or hazardous political, economic and religious conflagration of immense proportions. If a President Donald Trump wins this highly coveted seat…Americans, the most patriotic citizens of any nation on planet earth, please don’t put a Trump Bull in the China shop of The White House, that might result in a reckless and very costly politically flawed decision of all times.

His dream is pregnant with hydra-headed monster that might defile all ailments. He should not be trusted with the nuclear botton, period! If Donald Trump is elected, there may be a chain of unpredictable variables of immense calamity. Even though American system of government is firmly rooted in checks and balances, there are enormous powers to be wielded in the presidency. A keen observer in this political race will note.

Donald Trump is sending a very strong, wrong but subtle and powerful,

unabashed subliminal foul message of White supremacy ringing through Mr. Trumps divisive plots to conquer and divide Americans. In these times, in this world of today begging for wholesomeness in unity in her diversity, one privileged wealthy American is toying with America’s greatest assets against the strength of a disordered world’s growing hostilities, laced in religious intolerance, insurgencies and madness.

Will someone please help bell this cat – “Mr. big stuff, who do you think you are?

Mr. big stuff.....” That peace should reign in the world is our collective responsibility and honourable duty and mark of wisdom in our leaders. America, please live up to the billings as leader of the free world. The world expects no less and to think otherwise could be very, very costly.

Generally, America is usually perceived as tough, aggressive, eagle-eyed sole predator and more so, strengthened by a resentment of America as worlds’ Chief Superintendent of Police by her enemies, yet there are very few, kinder, generous and caring people of other nations than Americans in today’s world. America is caring but daring under justified provocations.

Please don’t fail the free world in your choice of this most revered vacancy, your next President, as we are waiting in anticipation and bated breath. The thought of kim Jong-un, the eratic, unpredictable, youthful North Korean leader, backed by an almost deity devotion and zealousness of his nationals in a conflict with American President Donald Drunk, sends chills down the spine of all sane men. Don’t even think of it, please, like you Americans are wont to say.

Here is a lesson of strength in humility to Mr. Donald Trump. On a political campaign trail in the late 70s,… President Jimmy Carter was in a reelection bid. He was pelted from the crowd in the audience with an Egg by a one-man protest. Expectedly, the FBI moved in swiftly and subdued the assailant with marked precision.

When President Cater regained his composure, he flashed his famous grim smile and said, ‘I guess that is one American vote I cannot count on’ and a roaring applause greeted his maturity, wisdom and statesmanship…Donald Drunk, where were you when this lesson was taught?

Here is a lesson of strength in humility to Mr. Donald Trump. On a political campaign trail in the late 70s, if my memory bares me right, President Jimmy Carter was in a reelection bid. He was pelted from the crowd in the audience with an Egg by a one-man protest. Expectedly, the FBI moved in swiftly and subdued the assailant with marked precision. When President Cater regained his composure, he flashed his famous grim smile and said, “I guess that is one American vote I cannot count on and a roaring applause greeted his maturity, wisdom and statesmanship.

A profound, most significant admission from a Statesman of immense substance!

Donald Drunk, where were you when this lesson was taught? The Assailant seeking a fifteen minutes of fame; the FBI, who did their job and former President Jimmy Carter in that incident demonstrated the true spirit of liberty and freedom – stood America proud in that simple but challenging situation on her Constitution.

In other climes, the assailant may not live to tell the story or he will rotten in jail. Fact!

Donald Trump’s campaign is intrinsically powered by values of racism, a very low note on humanity, now or never when we need America most in world leadership positions.

Donald Tantrum? Please stop tripping in a fit of irritability in every campaign, stops! Learn the impregnable, resilience of Barack Hussein Obama. He wrote the book of manliness under pressure – cool like a cucumber. Imbibe the strength of Hilary Rotham Clinton under intense veracity to extract facts and fiction of her email-gate, damning but she stood her forthright ground firmly, when she was gruesomely grilled by the US Senate on the email scandal for hours and days! Where were you?

Hilary Clinton, a woman of immense substance with steely hearts you are paradoxically propelling to victory as the next President of the USA or better yet, the Commander-in-Chief! She is an American first eleven intellectual material, nurtured and grilled in the arts and science of government with strings of successes.

Her victory may be indebted to your tons of tantrums! I can’t wait to see both of you one-on-one on the debate podium, when her ruthless but with finesse attacks will provoke the worst tantrum in you manliness egoistic-self, from her depth of Ivy league intellect, that would drown your ego and pedestrian knowledge of your positions on issues.

Her positions on issues are the true ingredients of a strong Commander-inChief, not brawns and rascality. Mr. Trump, you will be roasted sweaty on the debate podium. Then, the real Donald Trump will then stand out like a sore thumb.

The Republican party and a host of his conservatives, White Americans are still wound-gathering on the Victory of President Barak Hussein Obama’s election as first African American President and a more resounding second term victory topped by a great performance billed for posterity to judge! Please, fellows, stop hurting; Obama is now in the leagues of great legendary chains of Presidents in America’s history.

My final take on American 2016 presidential election: The world behind you Americans today is much more a saner world than the world ahead of us all, indeed, very cloudy times of ISIS. God bless America and may the Lord have mercy on the entire world! I humbly submit.

-Omisore wrote from Lagos

A R E G I O N ’ S R I S I N G T H R E AT THISDAY, said they were unwilling under this present situation to relocate to their homelands as “it would be suicidal” to do such. Some officers and men of the Nigerian Police and the paramilitary, who also spoke to THISDAY off-the-record, said they were not willing to take charge of the security of many liberated towns in Borno as they are still largely unsafe with the insurgents still much around.

With over about 1,000 people said to have been killed since President Buhari took over

the mantle of leadership in May last year and contrary to widespread expectations that the attacks would subside with the new administration, it appears the seeming inability of the administration has further emboldened the insurgents.

By and large, the need for a regional review of strategy to confront this real and present danger cannot be over-emphasised given the facts on the table. Not only have the terror groups shown to be strong and daring; they

have consistently proven to have the capacity to carry out the most incredible attacks and in the most impossible places.

Africa, particularly, West Africa is endangered and there is no gainsaying that fact. From Nigeria to Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and lately, Cote d’Ivoire with Dakar now believed to be on the chart of the terrorists as their next stop, a reviewed and renewed regional cooperation to subdue this menacing monster is not negotiable and most

importantly, time is of essence.

Although it is common knowledge that combating terrorism is not the same as the conventional warfare, the debate about governments upping their game on the security of life and property is equally sacrosanct in this time and age. The increasing threat of terrorism is not one to be taken with levity and therefore, African leaders are expected to approach this with all its seriousness, knowing full well that their survival too, rests on it.

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MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016 • T H I S D AY

FEATURES

Acting Features Editor Charles Ajunwa Email charles.ajunwa@thisdaylive.com

Defeating Boko Haram As military operations against Boko Haram terrorists in the North-east enter their mop up phase to reclaim previously lost territories, Senator Iroegbu reports that the terrorists have resorted to an asymmetric warfare that requires timely information, intelligence sharing and active citizen participation including civil-military relations to overcome

I

n 2013, the then head of United States African Command (USAFRICOM), Gen. Carter Ham (rtd), at a symposium in Garmische, Germany,stated with certainty that Boko Haram terrorists cannot be defeated by the military might alone but by a concerted efforts of all the relevant stakeholders. Ham’s emphatic assessment was in response to a question from this reporter who wanted an expert opinion on how the rampaging terrorists, wreaking havoc in the North-eastern parts of Nigeria could be successfully defeated.

Ham made it clear that even though the military component is very critical to crushing the terrorists, it is however ineffective in the absence of strong political will and broad national support. He advised at the height of obvious geo-political divide and bickering in the country, for all parties to close ranks and deploy the needed resources including support from the local communities and neighbouring countries, for effective counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations.

Meanwhile, Ham’s position re-echoed that of the then Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika (rtd), who lamented lack of national consciousness and broader support for the raging war against terror. Ihejirika who was having running battle with the Borno Elders Forum (BEF) at the time over the cause of the war, warned that the public mood was rather too nonchalant to the military efforts to save the country from the Boko Haram menace.

According to him, the citizenry ought to have been mobilised in a war-mood to back the military efforts, especially in the area of timely information and intelligence. He was of the opinion that the environment under which the military then were operating was rather too hostile and antithetical to the whole state of emergency declared by the Federal Government in parts of the North-east.

Unfortunately, these warnings were not heeded as politicians continued to bicker and were practically accusing each other as the sponsors and enablers of terrorism, rather than forging a united front needed to tackle the terrorism menace. While the military were able to confine Boko Haram terrorists to the Sambisa forest with their leader, Abubakar Shekau, reportedly killed or sustaining fatal injuries, it was obvious that the seemingly lack of local support was impeding the whole operations.

Consequently, this polarised the populace, disenchanted the already helpless communities affected and displaced by terrorism. The prevailing situation further emboldened the terrorists who following the change of leadership at the top military hierarchy a year later in 2014, seized large swathes of territories in the three North-eastern states- Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

Fortunately, security has improved tremendously since last year, with almost all the territories recovered. However, the concerns raised by the duo of Ham and Ihejirika, which bordered on effective civil-military relations and people-enabled intelligence led operations, persist.

According to the military experts, effective civil-military relations and public participation through provision of timely information and actionable intelligence,will be critical in the final phase of major military operations to end terrorism in the North-east in particular and the country in general.

Accordingly, Gen. Ham, three years after he made the first suggestion, was quoted to have still insisted that the war will not be won with military alone.

“The biggest step has been recognising that they need to work together, that this is bigger

Buratai (middle), flanked by other senior officers after inspecting new equipment at the Maimalari Military Cantonment, Maiduguri...recently than Nigeria and they cannot do it alone. That’s a bigger pill for the Nigerian military to swallow, “said the former Commander of USAFRICOM. He warned that with Boko Haram shifting tactics to offset its lost territory, the threat is different not inherently diminished.

To counter this, Ham suggested that the military needs to infiltrate the ranks of Boko Haram, to gather intelligence and stop the suicide bombings.

In the same vein, a Jos-based political analyst, Mr. Chris Ngwodo agreed with the fact that Nigeria needs a robust and critical public support to successfully overcome the menace.

“Orthodox terrorism itself — attacks on urban areas — can only be dealt with by adequate intelligence infrastructure, not by raw military power. The military is only now beginning to build that capability,” Ngwodo said.

The security expert envisioned that with the terrorists losing territories and resorting to

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen.Tukur Buratai, during the maiden meeting declared that the war against Boko Haram terrorists in the North-east has now entered into mop up phase of the operation.

He however appealed to the Borno Elders for support and to exercise patience in allowing the military complete the work of clearing the region of terrorist activities and restoring normalcy

asymmetric warfare by infiltrating communities, the information and intelligence supplied by the civil populace will be key to winning the war.

This need was also underscored by the Minister of Informational and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who disclosed that the Federal Government will soon launch National Security Campaign Policy aimed at mobilising the citizens’ support and buy-in to the counter-terrorism operation against Boko Haram.

Mohammed, who stated this at the Operation Lafiya Dole Media Centre, Maiduguri, towards the end of 2015, when he visited Borno State to inspect the military operations in parts of the North-east, said that “without the support of the civil populace there is little the military could do to defeat terrorism in the country.”

The minister expressed regret that Nigerians instead of supporting the military have viewed the war against terror from religious, ethnic and regional perspective, saying the country needs the kind of citizens’ participation of 1967-70 civil war periods.

He said, “We are here to get the first hand information that the military is winning the war.

This is because there are so many resettlement centres where the civilians are coming back. The military has been better than the civilians in this war against terror because the population has not taken the war as theirs. They still see it as an ethnic, religious and regional angle.

“We will launch national security campaign for Nigerians to take possession of the war. The same way they took control of the war during the 1967-70s. While the military has done their beat, we the civilians have to do ours, which is intelligence gathering. Our ministry will take possession of this, especially in this period of festivity. We will partner them. National Security Campaign Policy, which we will launch very soon. We will meet regularly with ONSA (Office of the National Security Adviser) and other security agencies on how we can bridge the information gap.

“Nobody in the world has succeeded in the war in fighting the insurgency through the military alone; some of the causes include bad governance, poverty and unemployment.

However, we need to put more emphasis on deradicalisation and to say Boko Haram is not

about Islam but pure evil.”

President Muhammadu Buhari was very strategic in his decision to appoint some of his security chiefs and government officials from that part of the country ravaged by terrorism. It is on record that both the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj-Gen. Babagana Mungonu (rtd); COAS, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir Lawal, came from the North-east.These are people who could communicate and speak the language of the affected people, understood the terrain and geopolitics of the environment where they grew up.

Nevertheless, amongst all these appointees, none exemplifies the home coming and the importance of connecting with the people than Buratai, who has led the war campaign from the battle front. He has often travelled through the dangerous routes, interacted with the people, visited the war front and led operations even at the risk of his own life, having survived ambush on two occasions.

He has since then held a crucial meeting with the very influential Borno Elders Forum at the Military Command and Control Centre, Maiduguri, to seek their all-important support for the ongoing operations.

Buratai, during the maiden meeting declared that the war against Boko Haram terrorists in the North-east has now entered into mop up phase of the operation. He however appealed to the Borno Elders for support and to exercise patience in allowing the military complete the work of clearing the region of terrorist activities and restoring normalcy.

He stated that their target of defeating Boko Haram has been achieved except few setbacks of which the military is determined to complete the clearance of the terrorist remnants.

According to him, two out of the three targets set by the military in the quest for successful counter terrorism and counter insurgency operations in the North-east has been achieved. He listed the targets achieved to include military defeat of Boko Haram and the ongoing rescue of all terrorists’ hostages with Chibok girls as a top priority.

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

FEATURES

Buratai (middle), flanked by the members of Borno Elders’ Forum

The motorbike battalion launched at Damboa, Borno State...recently

Buratai (middle), with the Amnesty International team after meeting on human rights issues at the Army Headquarters, Abuja

Buratai (2nd left), at the Special Forces location in Gajigaram, Borno State

He said: “The three things we promised you, two have been carried out. The first task is to defeat Boko Haram and I want to tell you that as at today Boko Haram has been defeated.

When I said defeat it doesn’t mean that there won’t be hiccups here and there but we are doing the mop up operations. So we are at the mop up phase of the operation. We are also making efforts to rescue those who are being held hostage at some marked locations.

We hope to rescue the Chibok girls but our target is not just limited to the Chibok girls but all the hostages.

“The second task is to support the civil authorities in caring and protecting the Internally Displaced Persons. The last task is to help the civil authorities in restoring normalcy and rebuilding those areas that have been liberated. It has already commenced as you had the Minister of Defence setting up a committee.

Most of these liberated areas like places such as Bama, Gamboru Ngala, Baga, Mungonu, are deserted because they are afraid that they could be attacked. So we will embark on confidence building to encourage them to come back by assisting the civil authorities.”

The Army Chief however commended the Borno Elders Forum for their contacts and influence that have contributed to the return of socio-economic activities and return of some of the IDPs back to their homes “You know the significance of Borno State to counter-insurgency efforts. Your role has been very vital in this military operation through your contacts. Without your cooperation and inputs this would not have been possible. You know the kind of damage this terrorism has caused this region and the state in particular.

“Thank God that today things are returning to normal, socio-economic activities are picking up and the IDPs are returning back. We have cleared many towns and rescued more hostages.

We know it has not been easy as this affect you directly or indirectly. There are certain measures we need to take to control the flow of movements and logistics, to stop where these terrorists transact their markets. We have to close this market because we discovered these are where they conceal some of their weapons.

We appeal to you to be patient with us for the closure of these markets until we finish our operations so that the socio-economic activities can fully return to normal,” he explained.

“Apart from few challenges like communication, mobility, and command and control have been addressed. We want to assure that the Nigerian Army will do its best to ensure that security is restored. We also continue to solicit your support to use your influence in support of the state and federal government for the

rebuilding of the area,” he added.

It would be recalled that the Nigerian Army, as ealier highlighted, has had a running battle with the Borno Elders Council with regards to the counter terrorism operations. It was however expected that Buratai unlike Ihejirika who was viewed as an outsider,would have enjoyed the maximum cooperation of Borno elders,since he is regarded as the “son of the soil.” Unfortunately, this was not to be, as the incumbent Chief of Army Staff had to work hard to endear himself to the elders whose hostile posture initially irritated the military authorities.

Not ready to take chances, Nigerian Army who had earlier voiced their frustration over seemingly lack of cooperation from the Borno elders were forced to clarify that “some indigenes of the state are planning to prolong the Boko Haram-led terrorism in the North-east.”

The Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman, who made the clarification, explained that the Army did not refer to the elders in their ealier statement, adding “the attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to observations and concerns by well-meaning Nigerians especially the Borno Elders Leaders of Thought (BELT) about the misinterpretation of the warning.”

Therefore, he added, it becomes necessary to clarify to the effect that the statement does not refer to the leaders of Borno Elders Leaders of Thought or majority of the good people and law abiding prominent citizens of Borno State.

He however noted that the warning was to inform a specific group of people whose activities are inimical to the collective quest for peace as enumerated in the said release.

Usman said it is important at this crucial period for everyone to rally round the Federal Government to bring to a speedy end to the wanton destruction of lives and property by the Boko Haram insurgency.

“The Borno Elders and Leaders of Thought cannot hold any clandestine meetings and therefore as a responsible organisation the Nigerian Army holds them in high esteem.

“We however wish to reiterate unequivocally that the Nigerian Army has credible information that certain individuals and groups are losing out of the successes being achieved and therefore want to discredit the renewed fight against Boko Haram. We would not tolerate nor allow them to actualise their nefarious intents,” he assured Also recognising the importance of the civil populace in the war against terror was the involvement of vigilante groups popularly acknowledged and known as “Civilian JTF”.

This security set up are localised in different towns and communities of the North-east to

maintain and sustain security in collaboration with the Nigerian military.

Moreso, the role of these vigilantes cannot be over-emphasised and that was why the Governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar, recently advised the group to be mobilised and empowered to support the security agencies within their respective areas of operation.

“As a responsible government, we have promised to provide security to our citizens.

We have serious security challenges like Boko Haram terrorists, cattle rustling and arms banditry.

“Today Bauchi State is one of the safest in the North-east and the country as a whole. We urge the citizenry to participate and support by providing information to the security agents and as well as forming Vigilante groups,” Abubakar said.

Accordingly, the Civilian JTF were fully represented together with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), when Buratai re-opened the Maiduguri-Damboa-Bui road, which was closed for the past three years as well as during the launch of the Motorbike Battalion to maintain security along the major route connecting the state capital with the central and southern part of the state.

In continuation of the civil-military cooperation, Buratai had after launching the specialised Battalion in Damboa, also released another list of 100 suspected members of the terrorist sect, Boko Haram, wanted for various acts of terrorism in the country.

This effort, which has been one of the most effective civil-military relations information and intelligence gathering strategy ever adopted by the military since the counter terrorism and counter insurgency operations, was a follow up to the first set of 100 suspected members of the Boko Haram terrorists published last year.

Assured of its effectiveness, Buratai had appealed to the public to come out with information that would assist in the arrest of terrorists, adding that many terrorists in the first list of 100 wanted were identified and arrested.

He also said that the new list of 100 suspected terrorists was for the members of the public to identify and report their whereabouts so that they could be brought to justice. He since then one of the kingpins with number 95 has been gunned down.

In the same vein, effective information dissemination and intelligence sharing tool was utilised at apprehending four Boko Haram suspects, one of whom were among the masterminds of the 2011 Christmas Day bombing of the St. Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla in Niger State.

The suspect named Victor Moses, was paraded alongside three other accomplices, at the 33

Artillery Brigade, Bauchi State, were exposed by information from members of the public who alerted the security personnel.

Parading the four suspects, the Brigade Commander, Brig-Gen. Abraham Dusu, said that Moses, was apprehended at Alkaleri in Bauchi State, while he was conducting surveillance for the Boko Haram terrorists inside a mosque in the town.

Dusu disclosed that upon further interrogation and investigation, the four others suspects were apprehended including Messrs- Abubakar Shettima Bama, Umar Sadiq Madaki, and Salisu Mohammed Bello.

“Our troops in Alkaleri were alerted about someone trying to convert to Islam but they noticed he wasn’t from the area and the community people informed us. He was subsequently arrested, and revealed his name as Victor Moses, who also said he was among those that made the Madalla bombing successful,” he explained.

In addition, the Army Chief has also reorganised and re-invigorated the Department of Civil-Military Affairs (DCMA) at the Army Headquarters, which has since embarked on a positive mission to enhance the Nigerian Army’s image and human rights records.

Armed with Buratai’s support, the Chief of Civil-Military Affairs (CCMA), Maj-Gen. Rogas Nicholas, has established a human rights desk that will be open to the members of the public to air their grievances and register complaints.

Nicholas with the approval of the Army Chief has also brokered a dialogue with the team from Amnesty International to resolve the impasse regarding the allegations of gross human rights violations against some officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army.

Meanwhile, it is apt to state that despite the fact that all these efforts that hinge on cordial civil-military relations, strategic information and actionable intelligence, is very crucial in the ongoing war against terror and more efforts should also be made to get the maximum cooperation of members of the Lake Chad Basin Commission.

Many believe that the current administration has consolidated on the pact initiated and reached

by Goodluck Jonathan’s administration with the member countries of Chad, Niger and Cameroun to secure their contiguous borders.

There still remain some grew areas, particularly the ambiguity of Chad, which must be resolved urgently. It is however, significant to note that the Federal Government has bolstered relations with neighbouring countries with the creation of an 8,700-member regional military alliance under the re-structured Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to combat the Boko Haram terrorists.

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IMAGES

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

Photo Editor Abiodun Ajala Email abiodun.ajala@thisdaylive.com

L-R: Executive Director, Finance & Asset Management, ARCO Group, Mr. John Nejoh; Media Adviser, Atilade Atoyebi; Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu; Group Managing Director, ARCO Group, Mr. Alfred Okoigun; and Managing Director, ARCO Integrity Solutions Ltd, Mr. Pius Ajabhu, at the sixth African Petroleum Congress & Exhibition in Abuja…recently ABIODUN AJALA

L-R: Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya; Foundation for Science Education, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye; and founder and former Chairman, Diamond Bank PLC, Mr. Pascal Dozie, during the 21st Annual Lecture, Award of Honours and Postgraduate scholarships of the Foundation, at Onikan, Lagos…recently

Residents of Gyagyi community protesting against the marking of 40 churches and 3,000 houses for demolition by the Kaduna State Government, in Kaduna…recently.

IDRIS EGAJI

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Light Level Limited, Mr. Uwamai Igein, welcoming the Managing Director, Visotec, France, who is in Nigeria for a four-day business visit to the signage company in Lagos…recently

Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon. Namdas Abdulrazak (left), and his Senate counterpart, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, during a joint press briefing on the inability of the federal lawmakers to pass the 2016 budget in Abuja…recently.

JULIUS ATOI

L-R: President/CEO, Coscharis Group, Mr. Cosmas Maduka; Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Lanre Tejuoso; Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole; and Managing Director/CEO, Siemens Limited, Mrs Onyechi Tifase, at the partnership launch between Siemens and Swiss Biostadt Company in Abuja…recently ENOCK REUBEN

L-R: Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Admin), University of Ibadan (UI), Prof. Emilolorun Ayelari; Guest Lecturer, Prof. Benjamin Ehigie; Vice-Chancellor, UI, Prof. Idowu Olayinka; and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, UI, Prof. Gbemisola Oke, at the 2016 matriculation ceremony of the school, in Ibadan…recently.

FELIX ADEMOLA

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Senior Vice President & Managing Director, Addax Petroleum, Mr. Cornelis Zegelaar (right) explaining the operations of the company to the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (left), during his visit to the company’s pavillion at the 6th African Petroleum Congress & Exhibition in Abuja …recently

Nigeria’s GDP Projected to Hit $6.4trn by 2050 Obinna Chima The Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been projected to rise to $6.4trillion by 2050, thereby moving the country to the ninth position on the world ranking, surpassing Germany, United Kingdom, France, and Saudi Arabia.

This was stated in a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, titled: “Nigeria: Looking Beyond Oil”.

Nigeria’s rebased figures had put the value of the nominal GDP in 2012 at N71.1 trillion (about $453.9 billion) as well as a projected figure of about N80.2 trillion (about $509.9 billion) in 2013.

However, in order to achieve the 2050 GDP projection in the report, PwC stressed the need

ECONOMY for diversification of the country’s economic overdependence on crude oil. It pointed out that Nigeria’s intrinsic potential lies beyond oil, maintaining that harnessing this potential had become an imperative given the expectations of lower for longer oil prices and heightened competition in the oil market.

Based on recent trends, the report reviewed the impact of low oil prices on key economic indicators and the real sector as well as addresses the question of priority sectors that should be targeted for diversification efforts.

The PwC report identified agriculture, petroleum, retail

and ICT as priority sectors with the most dominant transmission links to the overall economy.

It also noted that forward linkages to agro-processing and other services such as logistics as well as backward integration to input supply sectors could improve farm incomes, increase employment and improve domestic food security.

Potentially, Nigeria’s global agriculture exports could takeoff at a rate similar to Brazil’s, with $59 billion in export revenues by 2030, it added.

Similarly, value added to oil and gas output needs to urgently improve by implementing diversification within the sector. This implies investments across the downstream sector to develop petrochemicals,

fertilizers, methanol and refining, industries relevant in both industrial and consumer products which Nigeria currently imports.

Commenting on the findings of the report, the Country and Regional Senior Partner for PwC Nigeria and the West Market Area, Uyi Akpata noted: “Consumer spending is the largest driver of the economy, accounting for about 70 per cent of GDP and this is expected to be the boost for the retail sector growth even as population continues to expand.

“Thus, as incomes rise along with rapid urbanisation, it is projected that household consumption expenditure could Continued on page 24

States’ Internally Generated Revenues Rise to $4.0 Billion Eromosele Abiodun States in the country now rely less on federal allocations as latest statistics released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have revealed significant increase in their Internally Generated Revenues (IGRs).

The CBN data for 2014 revealed that internally generated revenue provided 21.8 per cent of the total revenue of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), compared with 15.3 per cent the previous year.

Analysis of the data showed that aggregate IGR grew by 37 per cent to N801 billion ($4.0 billion) from N586 billion in

ECONOMY 2013.

Again, Lagos emerged as the leading state, achieving an IGR/ total revenue ratio of 67 per cent while Ogun, Rivers and Anambra States recorded 40 per cent, 32 per cent and 31 per cent respectively.

Given that the oil price has been on the slide since mid-2014, analysts posit that states have no choice than to reduce their dependence on the oil-driven monthly distributions from the FAAC by bolstering their IGR. The CBN data also revealed that Value Added Tax (VAT) receipts stood at N389 billion,

representing 10.6 per cent of total revenue in 2014.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, recently disclosed that there would be no increase in the standard 5 per cent rate of VAT “at the moment.”

This, analysts stressed, means that states will have to make do with what they are getting at the moment.

Analysts at FBN Quest stressed that states must double their efforts at raising their IGR since a good number of them are highly indebted.

“According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), states’ domestic debt at end-2014

amounted to N1.7 trillion. Lagos has the best record for IGR and is also the largest debtor among the states, with total domestic obligations of N268 billion. The figures include arrears due, for example, to contractors and employees.

“The total at end-2014 was reduced last year by the restructuring of many states’ bank borrowings into FGN bonds.

This operation, supervised by the DMO, was then balanced, even undermined in the eyes of some, by the CBN rescue facility for the states, “said FBN Capital.

Continued on page 24

TECNO, a leader in mobile Telecoms technology in Nigeria, has been commended for installing 88 solar powered streetlights around the computer village and environs in the Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos State.

The project, which was concluded on January 21, 2016, has been a huge success. The Ikeja community has since remained grateful to the multinational that it undertook such capital intensive project for the good of the community.

Sharing his experience of constant power supply and improved security around the electronics market at night since the ‘Light up Ikeja’ project was inaugurated, Chairman Ogunbiyi Community Development Association, Ikeja Local Government Area, Mr. Adeniyi Olasoji said the project couldn’t have come at a better time when the economic situation in the country is biting hard and state governments are trying to cut costs.

According to him, alternative power sources like solar is clean, sustainable and a good replacement for the power generators that light up Lagos streetlights at night and costing the government millions of naira in after sales maintenance.

“TheseTECNOsolarstreetlightshavereallysavedIkejacommunity a lot of headache. Imagine the streetlights we have were not solar powered but had to run on diesel-engine generators through the night, how much money would the government throw into buying diesel now that there is fuel scarcity across the country? And if you should think in terms of the current cost of servicing these huge generators, the purchase price for most generator parts in the market is almost twice what it used to be,” Olasoji said.

Conference to focus on Untapped Potential

The Verdant Zeal Group Ltd, a marketing communication agency based in Lagos, has announced plans to host the 5th edition of its annual ‘Innovention’ lecture series tagged: “The Next Big Thing Identifying Africa’s Untapped Potential .”

Scheduled to hold tomorrow in Lagos, this year’s edition and fifth in the series will seek to call stakeholders interest on the need for African nations and Nigeria in particular to see the need for a concerted agenda towards ensuring that it creates multiple streams of income if it must remain relevant globally.

According to a statement issued by the company in Lagos, the conference will be declared open by the managing Director and chief Executive Officer of the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Mr. Kyari Bukar who will chair the event. The keynote address will be delivered by Nigeria born professional and academic, Professor Pius Adesanmi – A Professor of English and Director, Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.

The statement further stated that Bukar and Adesanmi will be joined by the Chairman, Chocolate City Entertainment, Audu Maikon, Managing DirectorTBWA/Concept Limited and President, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Mr. Kelechi Nwosu and the Founder/CEO, JC Capital, Mr. Joel Chimhanda.

Winner Emerges in Cussons Baby Competition

Cussons Baby’s promotional flagship platform, Cussons Baby Moments, has produced Oritsejolomisan Nina Grant, as winner for the 2016 edition. The baby winner defeated over 500 babies who entered for the season 3 of the competition.

Grant won for herself the N1million educational grant grand prize, Cussons Baby products, a smart learning tablet, shopping voucher and Thermocool refrigerator.

Baby Grant was closely followed by Similola Alexis Onabanjo and Obianamma Adele Anammah, who emerged first and second runners up respectively. Baby Simisola won N500,000, Cussons Baby products, shopping voucher, a smart learning tablet, and a Thermocool generator while Anammah won N250, 000, Cussons Baby products, a smart learning tablet, shopping voucher, and a Thermocoolmicrowave.Other20babieswhomadeittothesemi-final stage were also rewarded with shopping vouchers and Cussons Baby products.

“The biggest impediment to insurance in a developing economy is the inability to buy insurance and in most cases, the perception of the consumers of insurance” Commissioner for Insurance, Alhaji Mohammed Kari

24

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD NIGERIA’S GDP PROJECTED TO HIT $6.4TRN BY 2050

reach $1.1 trillion by 2030, from $317 billion in 2014. With tele-density at 107.87, a large population of urban, young people and massive scope to improve internet broadband penetration, Nigeria is likely to see accelerated growth of its digital economy. More importantly, the opportunity to leverage technology to generate improved social and economic outcomes across other sectors has to be created.”

In detailing what needs to be done to support the projected economic growth, a PwC Partner and Chief Economist, Andrew Nevin, opined that the transition to a non-oil economy would not be an easy task.

Furthermore, PwC’s Partner and Head of Tax & Regulatory Services, Taiwo Oyedele noted that a well-structured tax system was important in the diversification of the economy.

According to Oyedele, Nigeria needs to ensure sustainable fiscal management that is resilient to the global oil price cycles.

STATES’INTERNALLY GENERATED REVENUES RISE TO $4.0 BILLION

Recently, the state governments were advised to lay less emphasis on supply-focused strategies such as increase taxes, blockage of leakages, and diversification of the revenue base through increased focus on agriculture, increased focus on solid minerals, in tackling the current revenue challenge facing the country.

This was contained in a report on the public sector in the country put together

by H. Pierson Associates The report stated that, while these remained strong and viable options, there was an even stronger need for a demand-side focus.

Such a demand-side focus, the report stressed, requires that state and federal entities give more strategic attention to maximising the application of available resources through more sensible and optimal deployment of available funds.

“This involves better

Group Business Editor

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku Maritime Editor

John Iwori

AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Crusoe Osagie

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

Chinedu Eze (Aviation) Linda Eroke (Labour) Eromosele Abiodun (Cap Mkt) Ejiofor Alike (Energy) James Emejo (Nation’s Capital) Obinna Chima (Money Mkt) Reporters

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (AgriBusiness)

NEWS

Four Banks Boost Economy with N5.8trn Loans Despite Headwinds Goddy Egene Four banks- Access Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc and Zenith Bank Plc- boosted the nation’s economy with a total loan of N5.801 trillion to their customers in 2015, despite the headwinds that prevailed during the year under review.

Declining oil price and poor infrastructural base, high inflation and political uncertainty in 2015 combined to increase the risk of debt repayments by customers, a development that was expected to reduce the level of lending by banks to customers.

However, THISDAY checks revealed that despite those challenges, the four banks that released their audited reports for the 2015 financial year last week recorded loans and advances to customers worth N5.801 trillion. The loans value indicated an increase of 11.5 per cent above the N5.20 trillion recorded in 2014.

The four banks, except UBA increased their lending customers. While Zenith Bank Plc recorded the highest value of loans in absolute terms, Access Bank Plc led in terms

of percentage increase.

Zenith Bank recorded loans and advances of N1.989 trillion, up by 15 per cent from N1.729 trillion recorded in 2014. Access Bank Plc followed with N1.409 trillion, showing a jump of 25 per cent compared with N1.123 trillion in 2014.

The GTBank Plc extended

loans and advances worth N1.372 trillion to its customers, up by 7.5 per cent from N1.276 trillion recorded in 2014.

However, UBA Plc gave out N1.031 trillion as loans and advances, which is a decrease of 3.8 per cent from N1.072 trillion recorded in 2014.

Market analysts said the

increase in lending despite the challenges is a positive development that should be improved upon by the banks in the current financial year.

The four banks have also shown significant level of resilience, closing the year with growth in the bottom-line.

GTBank and Zenith Bank grew its bottom-lines by 5.3 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively ,while UBA posted a growth of 25 per cent. However, Access Bank led with the highest growth of 53 per cent as its profit after tax jumped from N43.1 billion in 2014 to N65.9 billion.

BRANSTORMING ON THE ECONOMY

L-R: Member of the Senate Committee on National Planning, Senator Danjuma La’ah; Council Member, LCCI, Dr. Olawale Cole; Country & Regional Snr. Partner, PWC Nigeria, Mr. Uyi Apata and GMD/CEO, Skye Bank Plc., Mr. Timothy Oguntayo at a Roundtable with the Theme: ‘Nigeria, Beyond Oil’ , which held in Lagos … recently

NAICOM to Enforce Compulsory Concerns over Govt Undue Interference in NCC’s Role Insurances among State Govt Ebere Nwoji and Nume Ekeghe The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has said it will henceforth, ensure effective implementation of compulsory insurances nationwide through its on going campaign for implementation of the six compulsory insurances among state governments.

The Commissioner for Insurance, Alhaji Mohammed Kari disclosed this at the annual insurance seminar for business editors and insurance correspondents, organised by the Commission in Abeokuta, Ogun State at the weekend.

He said the move was to deepen insurance penetration among Nigerians and upgrade Nigerian insurance industry to attain the global best practices standard.

Kari also said disclosed plans to institutionalise the Risk Base Supervision (RBS) model among insurance operators.

The six compulsory insurances are Group life Insurance in line with the Pencom Act 2004; the Employers liability Insurance in line with the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1987; Buildings Under Construction insurance, under section 64 of the Insurance Act 2003; Occupiers liability Insurance as stipulated by section 65 of the Insurance Act 2003; Motor Third party Insurance as contained in section 68 of the Insurance Act 2003 and the Health care Professional Indemnity Insurance, under section 45 of the NHIS Act 1999.

Kari said the Commission has embarked on visitation of the various state governors beginning with the Ogun State government for the purpose of sensitising them on the need to enforce the compulsory insurances in their states through the insurance of the state governments’ assets and encouragement of the citizens of the states to insure their assets.

He expressed the regret that the compulsory insurances, publicly launched since 2010, was yet to be implemented among Nigerians, yet cases of collapsed buildings, which are killing people and destroying properties abound in different parts of the country.

The Commissioner said the compulsory insurances put in place by various legislations in the country including the Insurance Act of 2003 are very important because they mainly protect the interest of the third party According to him, “We have taken the campaign to state governments to see how we can enforce compulsory insurances adding doing this at the state level will open up several opportunities that will be to the benefit of the states as well as the insurance industry.”

He said that discussions were going on with some state governments on the need to adopt compulsory insurances, of which Ogun State is part of, adding that the commission will extend such crusade to other states of the federation, to ensure that the motive of the MDRI was achieved.

’’Our motive is to ensure that all the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) comply with these insurances’’, he stressed.

Kari added that the commission is equally discussing with insurance market operators, to see how the industry can be expanded using other additional channels to sell insurance products and services, noting that all stakeholders are seriously working to deepen insurance market, in a bid to contribute more to economic growth of the country.

He also said NAICOM will also perfect the implementation of the Risk Based Supervision (RBS) model in April this year to ensure that Nigerian insurance operators meet global best practices standard in their provision of insurance services.

Also speaking on the RBS Implementation, Director, Inspectorate Division of NAICOM, Mr. Barry Thompson described the RBS as a structural Supervisory approach that identifies the most critical risk that faces each company, adding that no two companies face the same risk.

He said the RBS is current and futuristic in nature adding that its implementation guides underwriters in the business they are undertaking.

According to him, its implementation in Nigeria, will help Nigerian underwriters assess how they are business wise, level of capitalisation as well as the future capitalisation that will enable them carry on with prospective clients whose businesses are growing every day.

Emma Okonji Telecoms industry stakeholders have expressed concerned that the Presidential arm of government is making too much incursion into the activities of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). They have expressed worries that such action could usurp the powers of the NCC and make nonsense of telecoms regulation in the country, if not checked.

The Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), the umbrella body of all telecommunications companies in Nigeria, raised the alarm during the visit of ATCON delegation to NCC in Abuja, recently.

Led by its President, Lanre Ajayi ATCON was particularly worried about what it regarded as the overbearing attitude of the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) to intervene in the N1.04 trillion fine imposed

by NCC on MTN Nigeria for its refusal to deactivate 5.2 million improperly registered SIM cards on its network.

Although negotiations are still ongoing between MTN and the ONSA, the Association said it was wrong for the Presidency to open up negotiations with MTN, without the involvement of the NCC, the industry regulator, which imposed the fine, based on certain infractions committed by MTN. The association noted that the action of the Presidency may whittle down regulatory powers of the NCC. Specifically, Ajayi observed

that the NCC’s independence was being gradually eroded and called on the Commission to rise up to the challenge.

The House of Representatives had last week, also insisted that the NCC be involved in the ongoing negotiation process between the Presidency and the MTN, to enable it make useful impact as the telecoms regulator that initiated the fine.

According to Ajayi, “Decree 75 of 1992 deregulated the telecoms industry which led to the emergence of some private telecoms companies but it did not lead to remarkable growth of the telecoms industry. Significant growth commenced after the enactment of Telecoms Act 2003 which granted NCC independence that kept its operation away from political interference. The immediate result was a transparent auction of the GSM spectrum contrary to the earlier practice of issuing out license based on patronage.” ’’The independence of NCC had led to an unimaginable transformation of the sector.

Regrettably in recent times, NCC is being robbed of the independence contrary to the spirit and letters of Telecoms Act 2003. This became more manifest when the issue of MTN fine arose, as some other organs of government virtually took over the responsibility of NCC. We consider this trend ominous and call on NCC to take charge of its responsibilities and exert its power as guaranteed under the law,’’ Ajayi said.

25

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

MARKET REPORT

Panic-Stricken Investors Dump Shares on Profit Warnings Goddy Egene and Eromosele Abiodun The negative investor sentiment on the back of profit-warning announcement by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) Plc and the rush by investors to take profit on recent gains on some positive earnings released, dragged the equities market southwards last week.

GTBank Plc, the United Bank for Africa Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and Access Bank Plc all released their audited results for 2015, showing improved profitability. However, the ETI sent a profit warning to the market. This led to negative reactions by some investors. The stock ended the week with a decline of 20 per cent as investors dumped the shares.

Generally, The market was volatile in four days of the week as panic stricken investors’ dumped shares while others maintained a wait-and-see approach.

The market recorded a marginal gain on Thursday and Friday helped by positive earnings released by Nestle Nigeria Plc. But the gains recorded on Thursday and Friday were not enough to reverse the losses of the previous days. Consequently, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) and market capitalisation depreciated by 1.13 per cent to close the week at 25,694.79 and N8.839 trillion respectively.

Similarly, all other indices finished lower during the week, with the exception of the NSE Premium Index and the NSE Consumer Goods Index that increased by 0.89 per cent, and 0.78 per cent respectively Meanwhile, analysts believe earnings release as well as attractive dividend yield may continue to support the market in immediate term.

“We expect hope of positive earnings release as well as attractive dividend yield to continue to support the market in immediate term. However, we advise investor to embrace a medium to longer term investment horizon as market will still be volatile post corporate earnings announcement on account of weak macro fundamentals, highlighted by the softening oil prices and pegged exchanged rate regime which has kept foreign portfolio investors on the side-line,” said analysts at InvestmentOne Limited.

Daily Performance Analysis Trading resumed on Monday on a negative note, falling 0.52 per cent134.82 points to 25,853.58 points.

The decline was driven by sell offs in Dangote Cement Plc (1.22 per cent), Nigerian Breweries Plc (3.00 per cent) and Lafarge Africa Plc (1.70 per cent) offsetting gains posted by Zenith Bank Plc (4.45 per cent), Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (2.22 per cent), FBN Holdings Plc (2.71 per cent) and Access Bank Plc (1.81 per cent). Guaranty Trust Bank Plc’s performance was spurred by the release of its full year results on the day, which showed a 3.7 per cent y/y rise in PBT to N120.69 billion, and a proposed final dividend of N1.52 kobo. Banking and Oil and Gas sectors rose 1.17 per cent and 0.21 per cent respectively against consumer and Industrial tickers which both shed 1.35 per cent and 1.32 per cent respectively.

Negative sentiments on the back of more profit warnings dragged the index to a negative close on Tuesday shedding 0.42 per cent to end at 25,738.25 points corresponding to market capitalisation of N8.8 trillion.

This happened despite impressive

billion traded the prior day.

The NSE All Share Index recorded a marginal gain last Friday as positive sentiments from newly released company results waned. The NSE ASI rose by 0.06 per cent to 25,694.79 points. The appreciation recorded in the share prices of Unilever Nigeria Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, UBA Plc and Zenith Bank Plc were mainly responsible for the gain recorded in the Index.

Similarly, the market capitalisation appreciated marginally by 0.06 per cent to close at N8.84 trillion, compared with the marginal appreciation of 0.08 per cent recorded the prior day to close at N8.83 trillion. The total value of stocks traded on the floors of the NSE last Friday was N1.89 billion, down by 75.35 per cent from N7.68 billion traded the previous day.

scorecard from UBA Plc, and could be largely blamed on losses recorded in ETI Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Oando Plc, which outweighed gains in Dangote Cement Plc, UBA Plc and Julius Berger Nigeria Plc. Activity level was on the increase with volume and value of trade rising by 64 per cent and 90 per cent respectively to end the session at about 287 million and N2.67 billion each. In line with the general negative sentiment prevailing in the market, performance of major sub-sector indices worsened.

Investor sentiment remained negative on Wednesday as the Nigerian equities market shed 0.34 per cent to close at 25,657.48 points. This was driven by the continued sell off in ETI (4.98 per cent), after its FY 2015 profit warning on the day, and Zenith Bank Plc (3.74 per cent), despite the company announcing a N1.55 kobo final dividend after market close the prior day. Nestle Nigeria Plc (1.45 per cent), which announced a 20 per cent y/y increase in PBT in its FY 2015 results on the day, Oando Plc (9.54 per cent) and UBA also contributed to this outcome, offsetting Nigerian Breweries Plc (3.28 per cent), Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (1.23 per cent) and Dangote Sugar Plc (4.99 per cent).

The market closed flat on Thursday with a marginal appreciation. The NSE ASI rose by 0.08 per cent to 25,679.03 points. The appreciation recorded in the share prices of Dangote Cement Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Transcorp Plc, UBA Plc and Skye

Bank Plc were mainly responsible for the gain recorded in the ASI. Similarly, the market capitalisation appreciated by 0.08 per cent to close

TOP TEN BROKERS(BY VALUE)

at N8.833 trillion. The total value of stocks traded on the floors of the NSE on the day was N7.68 billion, up by 63.85 per cent from N4.69

AS AT LAST FRIDAY

BROKER

VALUE

CSL STOCKBROKERS LIMITED STANBIC IBTC STOCKBROKERS LIMITED AFRICAN ALLIANCE STOCKBROKERS LTD EFCP LIMITED CARDINALSTONE SECURITIES LIMITED RENCAP SECURITIES (NIG) LIMITED APEL ASSET LIMITED - BRD A.R.M SECURITIES LIMITED - BRD FIDELITY SECURITIES LTD CORDROS CAPITAL LIMITED - BRD

TOP TEN BROKERS

(BY VOLUME)

BROKER CSL STOCKBROKERS LIMITED EFCP LIMITED

% VALUE

1,770,193,067.81

11.87

1,638,116,844.72 1,092,840,199.57 1,031,747,145.26 856,103,627.85 799,013,005.26 784,775,767.64 718,743,837.47 412,120,387.58 390,312,930.81 9,493,966,813.97

10.98 7.33 6.92 5.74 5.36 5.26 4.82 2.76 2.62 63.64

AS LAST FRIDAY VOLUME %VOLUME 235,783,634

10.61

195,918,255

8.82

MORGAN CAPITAL SECURITIES LIMITED

113,473,801

5.11

CARDINALSTONE SECURITIES LIMITED

112,263,802

5.05

PLANET CAPITAL LIMITED

108,897,355

4.90

STANBIC IBTC STOCKBROKERS LIMITED

96,009,376

4.32

APEL ASSET LIMITED - BRD

74,113,856

3.34

AFRICAN ALLIANCE STOCKBROKERS LTD

71,734,998

3.23

READINGSINVESTMENTSLIMITED-BDR

61,397,717

2.76

PILOT SECURITIES LIMITED

48,350,459

2.18

1,117,943,253

50.31

Market Turnover Meanwhile, the value and volume of trading soared to 11.907 billion shares worth N18.338 billion in 19,508 deals, from 1.111 billion shares valued at N7.448 billion that exchanged hands the previous week in 15,562 deals.

The Financial Services Industry led the activity chart with 11.692 billion shares valued at N14.734 billion traded in 13,094 deals, thus contributing 98.20 per cent and 80.35 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The Conglomerates Industry followed with 71.891 million shares worth N175.603 million in 777 deals. The third place was occupied by the Consumer Goods Industry with a turnover of 69.718 million shares worth N1.179 billion in 3,019 deals.

Trading in the top three equities namely-Wema Bank Plc, Unity Kapital Assurance Plc and Zenith Bank accounted for 11.006 billion shares worth N11.274 billion in 2,856 deals, contributing 92.43 per cent and 61.48 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

Also traded during the week were a total of 294,047 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N3.209 million executed in 42 deals, compared with a total of 72,054 units valued at N637,635.25 transacted the prior week in 26 deals.

A total of 12,470 units of Federal Government Bonds valued at N14.348 million were traded in 8 deals last week. However, there were no transactions recorded on bonds last week.

Gainers and Losers A total of 20 equities appreciated in price during the week, lower than 39 equities of the previous week. Forty-one equities depreciated in price, higher than 22 equities of the previous week, while 128 equities remained unchanged same as previous week.

Nigerian Breweries Plc led the price gainers with N5.00, followed

by Conoil Plc with N3.54. Others top gainers included: Okomu Oil Palm Plc (N1.57), Unilever Nigeria Plc (N1.39), UBA Plc (33 kobo), Tiger Branded Consumer Goods Plc (16 kobo), Champion Breweries Plc (24 kobo), Law Union and Rock Plc, Learn Africa ( six kobo apiece) and Neimeth Plc ( three kobo).

Contrary, the top 10 losers included: Seven-Up Bottling Company Plc (N9.91), ETI Plc (N3.65), Oando Plc (N1.35), Access Bank Plc (47 kobo), E-Transact Plc (29 kobo), Ikeja Hotel Plc (25 kobo), Honeywell Plc (18 kobo), Diamond Bank (12 kobo), Transnational Corporation Plc (8 kobo) and Wema Bank Plc (seven kobo).

26

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

INSIDE BROAD STREET

A view of Lagos financial district

AKINWUNMI IBRAHIM

Caging the Inflation Monster Obinna Chima Inflation in Nigeria, which has been on a steady rise since last year, breached the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) target band of between 6 – 9 per cent in the February figures released last week. The development has been a source of concern among investors, consumers as well as regulators in the country.

Precisely, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, rose significantly to 11.4 per cent in February compared to 9.6 per cent the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The bureau attributed the 1.76 per cent rise in the headline index to the faster pace of increase across almost all major divisions that contribute to the index with the exception of the restaurants and hotels division, which also rose, albeit, at a slower pace.

The inflation figures, which came in few days after the NBS released data showing a sharp decline in Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth to 2.11 per cent year-on-year in the final quarter of 2015, was a reflection of the weakness in macro environment.

According to the NBS, the pace of increase of food prices as recorded by the food sub-index increased at a faster pace in February, with the food index rising by 11.3 per cent, up by 0.71 per cent from what was recorded in January.

The NBS stated that “during the month (February), all major food groups, which contribute to the food sub-index increased at a faster pace during the month with the exception of potatoes, yams and other tubers group and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery groups”.

The urban index rose by 12.3 per cent (yearon-year) from 9.7 per cent in January, while the rural index also rose to 10.7 per cent in February from 9.5 per cent the month before.

Indeed, inflation means different thing to different people. To the lay-man, inflation occurs when he is spending more money to purchase the same quantity of goods. On the other hand, to an economist, it is the general increase in price level over a period of time.

Clearly, high inflation distorts consumer behaviour. It can also destabilise markets

MARKET INDICATOR by creating unnecessary shortages. Similarly, high inflation, which is not the desire of any economy, leads to income redistribution and brings about weak purchasing power.

That is why central banks globally, are never comfortable with a rising inflation rates usually seen by them as ‘evil.’

The presidency and the CBN are of the opinion that devaluing the currency would result in import-induced inflation. However, the currency curbs it put in place since last year to conserve foreign reserves and prop up the naira, have led to sharp spikes in the prices of goods and services in a slowing Nigerian economy.

The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, had told THISDAY in an interview that although the rate of inflation has risen beyond the upper limit of the band that was fixed by the central bank, the regulatory body would continue to work hard to ensure that price stability is maintained.

Analysts blamed the situation on the forex restrictions, noting that the different currency curbs made it difficult for local businesses to

import and created a riskier environment for foreign investments- thus creating scarcity of goods and services, which resulted to higher prices and slowdown in economic activities.

CSL Stockbrokers Limited, in a report stated that while they were expecting a rise with all that was going on in the economy – and particularly with the weakness in the parallel market exchange rate – the magnitude of the increase in the CPI for February, came as something of a surprise.

“The cause of this massive surge is controversial and may yet be short-lived. At the beginning of February, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), reportedly acting on a directive of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, implemented steep increases in tariffs.

“In response to a public outcry, the Senate ordered the increases to not be implemented.

However, this data suggest that electricity increases were applied for February at least.

Indeed, the head of the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, Dr. Yemi Kale told CSL that his team did incorporate the increases into the CPI data for February.

“It remains to be seen whether these increases will remain in place indefinitely, however, as it is unclear whether the Senate has the

Source: NBS.

power to reverse NERC’s decision. If the tariff increases are reversed, we would expect to see the year-on-year headline inflation number head back towards 10 per cent in March and then rise to just above 11 per cent by the end of 2016,” the CSL stated.

They argued that if higher tariffs are maintained, the nation should expect to see second round effects in locally-produced goods as manufacturing businesses deal with higher production costs. As such, they predicted that inflation to continue rising steadily to above 12.5 per cent at the end of 2016.

Also, Cowry Assets Management Limited, stated that the rising cost-push inflation effect merely reflects the difficulty of Nigeria’s undiversified export base and foreign exchange reserves to adequately support an import-dependent consumption behaviour as well as settlement of obligations to external creditors.

Nevertheless, there appear to be more trouble for the country as Standards & Poor’s (S&P) last week revised its sovereign credit outlook to negative, from the stable it was previously. Nigeria currently has a B+ rating by the agency. However, in a note, S&P stated that Nigeria’s foreign exchange policy was creating dislocations in product and financial markets. It stated that the negative outlook it assigned to Nigeria reflected the possibility of downgrade in coming 12 months, “if there is deterioration of Nigeria’s fiscal or external accounts.”

Furthermore, it stated that the decline in oil prices has continued to hurt the Nigerian economy.

It added: “Nigeria’s monetary policy has also weakened the country’s credit profile, in our view.”

The Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria proposed to the central bank in February that it sell dollars directly to the industry group’s members at weekly auctions, bypassing commercial lenders.

The plan is an attempt to counter a shortage of foreign exchange and to save jobs, vice president of the association, Ali Madugu said recently.

Nigeria derives about two-thirds of government revenue from oil, which slumped to a 12-year-low this year. Authorities have rationed dollars and brought interbank foreign-exchange trading to a halt since February last year in a bid to prevent the naira falling. The measures have all but pegged the currency at N197-N199 per dollar. As dollars have become scarce; the black-market exchange rate which stood at about N325 at the weekend has been the major source of supply for most firms.

But there were indications last week that the Trade and Investment Minister Okechukwu Enelamah and Emefiele are discussing ways to ensure supplies of foreign exchange to manufacturers in the West African nation as the plunge in oil prices constricts dollar inflows.

“My minister is engaging with the central bank governor and other key stakeholders to ensure that the interests of manufacturers are taken care of” in the provision of foreign exchange, director of trade at the ministry of industry, trade and investment, Omotara Awobokun said during the week.

Companies have written to the ministry, expressing the difficulty they face obtaining dollars, Awobokun added.

“Manufacturing is the alternative to the dwindling oil sector” and to be able to support efforts to diversify the economy, producers need foreign exchange to import equipment, she said.

The CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee is expected to meet from today and are expected to make key monetary policy decisions.

Wema Bank, Ibrahim Babangida Boulevard, Oke- Ilewo Abeokuta, Ogun State Nume Ekeghe This branch situated directly opposite the Central Bank of Nigeria in the state capital, has very beautiful surrounding outside, whereas inside the banking hall was very dirty. For instance, the tiles, which hitherto were white, have changed to brown colour. Also, the wall was looking very dirty with stains. It was also

INSIDE BANKING HALL observed that some of the air conditioning systems were not functioning. In terms of service delivery, there were four tellers attending to all banking transactions. The tellers were slow not withstanding that there was constant

influx of customers into this branch. However, it was observed that the two customer service personnel were carrying out their duties in a commendable manner.

Another disturbing incident that was observed in this branch on this day, was that a customer, who was simply identified ‘Honourable’ who came to the branch for transaction was walked behind the counter to a restricted area, skipped

the queues and was given preferential treatment, whereas many customers were in the queue.

In general, the services at this branch were satisfactory but the management should quickly carry out some renovation to make this branch look better. Also if the management of Wema Bank has decided to give special consideration to its high net worth customers, a section should be created section for this class of customers.

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INTERVIEW

Kari: We’ve Adopted Adequate Measures to Sanitise Insurance The Commissioner for Insurance,Alhaji Mohammed Kari, who visited the Corporate Head office of THISDAY Newspapers in Lagos recently, spoke on the measures put in place to sanitise and rebrand the Nigerian Insurance Industry. Ebere Nwoji presents the excerpts: Commissioner Sir, you are welcome to the corporate head office of THISDAY Newspapers. Can you throw some light on the purpose of this visit and what you hope to achieve?

It is Part of our current strategy to visit reputable media houses like yours, to share our vision and opinion on our industry and the economy and to use the opportunity to re -emphasise what we are trying to do with insurance industry because the Nigeria economy today, like other economies,is going through trying times. We however believe that in every challenging situation, there is always an opportunity.

For the Nigerian insurance industry, we feel it has now gotten another opportunity to re -awaken itself to play its rightful role in developing the economy. Nigeria’s economic development definitely needs everybody’s hands to be on the deck. As far as the financial sector is concerned in this country, other sectors of the financial world seem to have moved ahead of insurance sector, not for any lack of effort but principally, I think the industry has not woken up to the challenges it met along the way.

You know the biggest impediment to insurance in a developing economy is the issue of inability to buy insurance and in most cases, the perception of the consumers of insurance. But in a clime like ours, the perception is held more by non-consumers than consumers. When you find ten people complaining about insurance, you find out that only one of them has insurance policy. In Nigeria we like to amplify complex situation.

But together with the insurance operators, the regulator is building calculated plans to improve awareness on insurance and to rebrand the whole profession and the industry so that potential consumers can now appreciate what insurance can do for them and their business.

You will be surprise to find out that even the public sector which is government, whose responsibility it is to protect public asset,is found wanting in most cases. They don’t comply with the requirements of the law even to their own employees and the aspect, which requires them to protect public assets.

Secondly,to ensure that they do not infringe the law of the country like the law, which made certain classes of insurance compulsory and we are trying to highlight those deficiencies with the public sector to government in particular and to individual consumers.

We found that with enforcement,every policy can succeed. The pension industry was removed from insurance sector. But with the enforcement, see what happened to it in less than 13 years. It has overshadowed insurance sector, the kind and amount of investible funds it has been able to create, the kind of security it has been able to provide for workers and ultimately,its employment contribution to the public. So, we believe that insurance can be as big or bigger because that was a subset of insurance. I mean if it can be given the proper opportunity and supported by the law to enforce the compulsory area of insurance which in all cases were made compulsory because they protect public interest.

Take for instance, simple motor insurance.

A friend of mine challenged me by asking why Third party Motor Insurance should be made compulsory arguing after all is it not my property.

And my reply is this, it is not the asset that is compulsory, it is your liability to the road users and other members of the public

Kari because it is meant to protect public interest, likewise buildings and public places.

This is because the liability you incur by the use of that property is so huge. Look at now the rate of fire out brakes in our markets. There is fire everywhere, we have these markets full of valuable goods but they are not insured and in the mist of these wastes, ability of government and other property owners to replace those assets is

You will be surprise to find out that even the public sector which is government, whose responsibility it is to protect public asset,is found wanting in most cases. They don’t comply with the requirements of the law even to their own employees and the aspect, which requires them to protect public assets

being challenged every day by difficult times.

So insurance is one of the best mechanisms to transfer those risks.

What in specific terms do you wish to do to make Nigerians begin to buy insurance?

There is a regulatory authority now.We have refocused our emphasis into creating value for the stake holders of the industry not only the consumers of the services but the investors. Insurance is the biggest sector quoted on the Nigerian stock exchange but the Stocks are not doing well, but of recent, we have noticed that there are positive changes in the price movement and it is going to do the reawakening of the investors and the opportunity they are not seeing existing in that sector because with the saturation you find in other financial services sector, insurance is the only area of opportunity.

What it needs, is proper nurturing and we do that nurturing especially to the consumers and investors by ensuring that insurance companies play according to rules, pay claims on time, pay their taxes, meet all other corporate social responsibilities, employ people, provide the spread so that their services can be reached by everybody who want their services especially the compulsory classes.

We also identified from the exercise

undertaken by the World Bank few years ago that there is a huge unserviced population of Nigeria not serviced by insurance, which is the micro level. The bank also during the exercise discovered that there are some parts of the country where the citizens have reservation for conventional insurance services based on their religious and cultural beliefs and the bank has been addressing this with the financial inclusion policy, which it established worldwide to encourage developing economies to create products in those areas.

We have responded positively to this by issuing guidelines on areas of micro insurance and Takaful insurance which is based on Islamic Sharia principles, to be able to include in our services provision for people who were not included before. Now we have micro insurance that cater for insurance of assets or liabilities as little as N5000. Which before were not available. We have provided lower capital requirement for such companies and conventional companies.

We are now scaling it down further to provide licence to operate at micro level like one unit Licence, like micro finance banks where you can have licence for an insurance company to operate in one area if you like or to operate in state alone like the banking licence , which we believe will expose insurance to the common man who need small covers that the big people take for granted.

We have brought the market together into an insurance committee structure,a kind of the bankers’ committee structure we had before where all the Managing Directors of all the providers meet regularly with the regulators to consider challenges and opportunities and discuss how to go about it and how to manage them rather than the operators issuing guidelines and directives.

We meet every two months. That committee has constituted six other subcommittees with specific responsibilities. The two most important of all the subcommittees are:one is to deal with customer services that are managing the consumer properly and the investors and ensure that their complaints are attended to. The second is the publicity committee, which has to do with changing the conception of insurance and rebranding the industry so that a common man can understand the benefit to him and in effect.

The minimum capital base for operators of micro insurance has received a lot of criticism from the public,with some saying the minimum capital base of N150 million,N200 million andN300 million is out of reach of people who supposed to make the micro insurance market grow like the agents. Now you said a new capital base will be spelt out by your office how much is the minimum?

We received report of the review committee set up during the National micro insurance forum held in Abuja.The committee recommended that the minimum figure recommended is too small to capitalise on national operation and too big to have a one unit operation so we are planning to stagger it into a unit licence, a state licence and regional and national licence. And each of them with different capital base and the unit licence will be cheapest. once you are licenced, you can decide to have an office without chairs and air condition because if you have a unit licence set up at Ajegunle, CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

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INTERVIEW

KARI: WE’VE ADOPTED ADEQUATE MEASURES TO SANITISE INSURANCE ministries and departments of government (MDAs) so that the public will know that we are asking government to also comply and a lot of government MDAS may not see the circular before they see your publication in your papers.

you don’t need to have a poach office as long as you will be there for the consumer to walk in to you every day and deal with you. If you have a licence to operate near a market, all you need is to stay close to the market where consumer will deal with you on daily basis and if they have issues, you will be there to attend to them. So you don’t need the kind of capital a conventional company will need to operate in Victoria Island.

But we will come out with exact minimum capital by the second quarter. Definitely the unit licence will be cheapest, the state licence will be the next, the regional and the national will be bigger.

Similarly, the level of structure you need to set up will differ and will be such that the unit licence will have only one operational branch, the state will have minimum number of local governments, the regional minimum number of states in that region and national, minimum number of states around the country.

What about minimum capital for Takaful Insurance operators?

Takaful is similar,we have also issued guidelines on that.

Now because the two lines are new, we did something there, we allowed registered insurance companies now with conventional license to sell the same products through windows. So with the licence they have, they are qualified to sell micro and Takaful insurance subject to product approved for them. But with the experience we have had in this four years, we encouraged them to take up standalone licence as specialised operators so instead of companies operating through windows, they combine specialist license and sell it through the same branch network .

Takaful too is still Under the same consideration but we have received application for specific specialist companies We have interviewed one and advertised one for public comments, which will be concluded any time from now. In the last two weeks,we have interviewed second applicant which we will soon publish, because our law provides that before we licence any operator, intermediary or company, we must publish the name of the company, and the directors for public comments. Interestingly,we have been getting good comments from the ones we have published so far. And the last publication we did on insurance licensing was more productive to make people be aware that we are issuing Takaful licencing. When they saw the publication, they said oh! You have started licencing on Takaful and we said since and we issued guidelines but they said they missed it. So that is what convinced us that actually, publicity should not be one off thing but should be done constantly.

So we are going to be disturbing you with a lot of publications so get ready for us.

We have listened to you carefully and I’m personally thrilled by what is happening in the industry today but don’t you think it has taken too long for insurance to wake up from its slumber in terms of sanitising the industry and educating the people on the relevance of insurance especially in the grass root?

We believe it has taken this long not because of lack of effort of the regulator but because of the cultural and religious perception and the wealth and ability level to finance insurance. As I explained earlier, a lot of people see insurance services in the light of essentials. It is always in the lowest part of their preference list. They don’t see or understand the benefits but this effort we are making now together with the industry, is to really bring it to the fore front for the consumers to understand the benefits and how it can help their businesses.

We are not working alone, we are working with government and other commercial sectors.

We invited the Dangote industries during the last insurers’ forum and Dangote came and told us the size of his business and all eyes were bulging. And we realised that we have been providing only 50 percent of the company’s insurance requirements.

Kari So you see the opportunity, even in one company, not to talk about others. I don’t want to ask if THISDAY is properly insured, but you will be surprised that even if the organisation is properly insured, half of the staff do not enjoy the benefit of insurance.

May be on their personal insurance, on their product insurances not because they don’t want but may be because they are not even aware of the policies they will buy to protect their properties. As little as you have is worth protecting. So it is only this kind of effort we are making that can bring insurance to the fore front and we agreed that we could have done more that is why we are emphasising on doing more now. In our corporate strategy, we have just concluded that in the next five years, from now to another five years, we have put publicity and customer awareness at the top of our agenda. And it is what actually guided this visit in addition to other media we will visit

A lot of people see insurance services in the light of essentials. It is always in the lowest part of their preference list. They don’t see or understand the benefits but this effort we are making now together with the industry, is to really bring it to the fore front for the consumers to understand the benefits and how it can help their businesses

for you to hear first time from us.

Like you mentioned in your opening remarks, also keep us on our toes. Not only government even NAICOM, if you think there is more we need to do tell us by writing editorial, by writing articles. But occasionally, the same media are used wrongly. Recently we had an article written in THISDAY by somebody who claimed to be a practitioner from Ibadan, A very critical article, which reading in between the lines, you will see that he was misinformed by some players in the market. One way of bringing discipline into the market is through deterrent factor. We do not see penalties we serve to companies for failure to comply as penalty. We hope it will be a deterrent to companies that have not failed as such, a lot of companies now are paying penalties and the penalty is working in the sense that level of compliance has improved drastically so a few aggrieved operators that have been penalised will go to the press and structure rubbish that looks intelligent and publish. But what we have always appreciated is that people like you will always give us right to reply and this one too we are writing a reply, which we hope will be given exposure.

What is your reaction to ailing operators’ complaints about monetary penalties and sanctions as well as government’s indifference to insurance of public assets?

We have the understanding that a regulated entity, who is being properly regulated, will always scream. But for the benefit of the consumer, the investor and the general public, it is important that discipline be instilled in all license operators because that is the principal role of the regulator to protect the consumers, policy holders and the public. We are the official adviser of government by our law but government has not been taking our advice when it comes to insurance of their assets. So we are trying to awaken them.

We have just issued some circulars to all

When we talk about regulation and sanitisation of the industry, you seem to focus more attention on the insurers with little attention to intermediaries like insurance brokers and other intermediaries whose activities tarnish the image of the industry more.what are you doing to brokers or other intermediaries who go about selling policies to buyers only to abscond when the buyer must have paid premium to them without any record of any business transaction with the buyer in the underwriting company they are marketing ? What are you doing to separate the wheat from the shaft among these intermediaries?

Recently, precisely towards the end of last year, we did a review of licenced operators especially intermediaries and your paper was among those that published the list. 108 insurance brokers with lapsed licenses. And that caused an uproar, not from consumers but from those class of intermediaries, who feel that we have deprieved them of their means of livelihood. They argued that we have caused unemployment; they argued that we are unjust, but the interest of the public we protect is more important than their complaints. Because we found out that all those companies that we published, we did not cancel any licence. They are operating without genuine licence from us so we only alerted the public not to do business with them because they don’t have genuine licence.

And that caused a panic but since then, if you see the level of attempt to comply with appropriate licensing procedure, you will be surprsed.

But that is not the issue, we are checking our records to identify more that will go out of practice because it is those rotten ones that cause problem and create the bad publicity and bad name for the industry and there will be more to be published no matter their level of complaints. All of those complaining when they do in their own name and they have specific cases we look at them , if they have merit, we listen to them but most of them don’t operate with their names. They operate with silly names because they know they have no legal licence.

They will rather stop defrauding people.

But we have taken it a level further. New we are going to prosecute the individuals behind such frauds thank God people are more weary of law enforcement now. So we believe that time is right to do things right in the industry. We are doing it with the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria which is the body that registers every professional operator and the institute has agreed with us that when we find a professional wanting, he will be suspended from using his licence for sometime and depending on the level of infringement, he will be suspended from using the Licence for life. These are the measures we have adopted to sanitise the industry. The insurance companies also agreed with us that companies that don’t pay claims should be published, so that people will avoid them. The name and shame policy has now been agreed between the operators and us, so that nobody will say we are spoiling their market. They have agreed with us because they also accept that there are bad eggs in the market. For that reason, we have also taken up another project to enforce the risk-based supervision approach.

This really looks at the individual liability of companies via- a-vis their capital and asset provision. We don’t want to line them up and say because you have paid N 3 billion minimum capital, you can do all businesses.

No N3 billion capital will not give you the ability to insure a refinery or an aircraft. So if you want to do that class, you have to push up your capital and asset base. If you have small capital and small asset base, may be you convert to micro insurance; if you don’t have big capital to insure an aircraft, may be you specialise in Keke Napep.

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Lafarge Africa Revenue Hits N267bn, S’Africa Revenue Up 7% Eromosele Abiodun Lafarge Africa Plc has announced its results for the year ended December 31, 2015, showing a 2 per cent growth in revenue against last year’s reaching N267 billion.

The company in a statement said revenues from its South African operation grew by 7 per cent in the last quarter of the year under review.

Also, its South West operations grew by 8 per cent behind a number of initiatives such as the Key Distribution Scheme, a strong route to market and solid capacity utilisation.

Giving further details about its performance, the company stated that Ready Mix Nigeria, a strategy it introduced recently, continued its strong growth with a 29 per cent increase over prior year.

“The Ashaka operations were normalised, following the security challenges in the region, which affected demand for cement in the North. The management remains very optimistic about the long term outlook for Ashaka, which is foreseen to return to strong growth in 2016.

“The Plant operations were

mostly stable with gas utilisation in the 90s in South West and Mfamosing operations. The South African cement operations returned to growth in Q4 with production up by 28 per cent vs. last year, following the kiln overhauls in Q1 2015, “it stated.

The statement added: “The Group after tax profit declined by 20 per cent versus last year, when taking into account the one-off restructuring costs and the unrealised exchange impact on the Mfamosing operations foreign currency borrowings from the parent group, LafargeHolcim, the world’s largest building materials company.

“The one-off impact of the adjustment to the naira value of the foreign currency borrowing, due to the deterioration in the naira exchange rate, is to a large extent an accounting exercise as Lafarge Africa Plc is not foreseen to repay the shareholder loans in the foreseeable future, which makes up the majority of the foreign currency borrowing.

Excluding these one-off/none operational impacts, profit improved by 6 per cent versus last year behind the strong underlying fundamentals of Lafarge Africa Plc’s operations.

Cash flow from operations was

robust at N57.9 billion.”

According to the statement, Nigerian operations of Lafarge Africa have been successfully unified and rationalised under one management team while being cognisant of the different stakeholders.

“Lafarge Africa has strengthened its foundation further by increasing its shareholding in Mfamosing operations from 35 per cent to 50 per cent, with full management control and consolidation. Similarly, the shareholding in Ashakacem Plc. also increased from 58.61 per cent to 82.46 per cent in the year. The unified management team promises to drive efficiencies and ultimately generate synergy savings of N9 billion for the group by mid-2018, “it added.

Commenting on the results, the Chief Executive Officer, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr. Peter Hoddinott said: “Our company continues to deliver good performance with significant upsides to come as new cement and power generation capacities come on stream and synergy benefits from the merger in Nigeria flow through. Our business integration process has been successful and as a

Company we are optimistic to deliver improving performances in 2016 and beyond, improving value to our shareholders.”

Speaking on its future outlook, he said: “The overall Nigerian cement market is foreseen to grow robustly in 2016 behind a strong Individual Home Building Segment. The Federal Government of Nigeria has also shown strong indications to support Infrastructure growth in the coming year.

Lafarge Africa will be able to leverage its unique footprint in 2016 with Ashaka returning to growth, ReadyMix securing high volume contracts to support its 8 existing, and new plants to be commissioned as well as the new 2.5 million tons cement line due to be commissioned in Mfamosing in H2.

“The South African market will remain challenging, but Lafarge Africa will leverage the 2015 investments within the cement operations with a revamped sales team and route to market. In aggregates, the company will continue to benefit from its strong network delivering results with two new quarries, being opened in the Gauteng market and Ready-Mix growth.

NANTA Condemns State of Nigeria’s International Airports Chinedu Eze The National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) has expressed worry over the current state of Nigeria’s international airports, including the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos; Mallam Aminu Kano International airport, Kano and the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, saying the airports have suffered serious neglect and infrastructural decay over the years.

The outgoing National President of NANTA, Alhaji Aminu Agoha, who made the observation after stakeholders meeting in Lagos recently said the poor state of the airports, prompted the plan by major foreign airlines operating in Nigeria to withdraw their operations.

But in a swift reaction, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has denied that the airports are in deplorable condition, insisting that the NANTA’s observation was exaggerated.

According to spokesman of the FAAN, Yakubu Dati, construction work is going on at the airports mentioned and new terminals are being built at those airports, which would come on stream later in the year. He said that no

international airline has given indication to leave Nigeria due to poor facilities at the airport; rather some of the airlines are increasing frequencies into the country.

NANTA also faulted the international airlines for the higher fares in Nigeria compared to what they charge in other countries in Africa. ’’The disparity in fares is alarming and we wonder why Nigeria should be singled out for this rip-off. We see no reason why a flight ticket from Accra, Ghana to Europe or USA on some airlines would be cheaper than from Lagos to the same destinations on the same airline. For instance, a first class ticket to Las Vegas from Lagos is N1.8 million more than a first class ticket to the same destination from Accra! Nigerian travellers are now developing Ghanaian economy. These travel agencies are making huge sales from the Nigerian travelers while most of our Nigerian agencies are folding up,” Agoha said.

He said before the current monetary policy in Nigeria, there was an increased influx of foreign airlines into the Nigerian market, noting that ordinarily, this should depict great revenue potential for Nigerian travel agents, but this however was not the case

BoI Shortlists 311 for N600.5m Loan under GEF Scheme Crusoe Osagie

CAPACITY BUILDING

L-R: Group Head, Retail Banking North, FirstBank, Idris Ado; Group Executive, Retail Banking North, FirstBank, Abdullahi Ibrahim (third left) with students of Harmony Secondary School, Lokoja and the school principal, Mr. Johnson Oladejo, during the FirstBank financial literacy day in Lokoja…recently

British Council, First Bank Launch Playable City Lagos Nume Ekeghe First Bank of Nigeria Limited under its Arts initiative, First@ arts is collaborating with British Council Nigeria to announce the launch of Playable City Lagos, a series of creative, collaboration workshops bringing together artists, producers and technologists from Lagos and the UK as part of UK/Nigeria 2015–16.

The Playable city concept is a network that convenes creative practitioners to develop and exchange ideas and solutions that make the city more fun, reimagines the way in which public spaces within the city are utilised and can be transformed into places of amazing interac-

tions and play.

FirstBank is again pleased to support this initiative under the auspices of its First@arts initiative, which is driven by the quest to promote the arts and preserve cultural heritage, Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Folake Ani-Mumuney said in a statement.

Playable City Lagos, the statement added, further underpins FirstBank’s vision to promote creative arts as a veritable vehicle for cohesion amongst family and friends through the entertainment. The statement added: ’’The project would explore the changes we would like to see in our cities of the future. The selected project

group will collaborate to create playful, creative prototypes which tackle some of the issues people face in Lagos with the aim of generating conversation and engagement among people.

The Playable city artists will be challenged to respond to specific social challenges in geographic locations in Lagos and create ideas and working prototypes that can be demonstrated as part of a public showcase.

The participating artists and technologists were selected by a panel of experts after an open call issued for 11 creatives (4UK based, seven Lagos based) with an open, rigorous and experimental approach. The participants are Bankole Oluwafemi, Desiree Craig, Gbadebo

Rhodes-Vivourand,InuaEllams, Other participants are JeremiahIkongio, Ju Row Farr, Logo Oluwamuyiwa Adeyemi, Shania Silva, Simon Johnson, Tosin Oshinowo,and YannSeznec.’’

According to the statement, over eight days participants attended a full programme that included workshops and discussions, which produced model prototypes demonstrated as part of a public showcase in Lagos on March 17, 2016.

The public tested the prototypes at the showcase and provided feedback. The Playable City concept was developed by Bristol’s Watershed Arts Centre, the producerof the Lagos edition, in collaboration with Future Lagos.

Following the completion of its appraisal exercise for applications under the Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF) Programme, the Bank of Industry (BoI) has said 311 business proposals have been shortlisted for funding.

The financial intermediation exercise, which will see the bank providing an aggregate sum of N600.5 million for small businesses under the GEF scheme, is expected to provide intervention to 28 SME clusters out of the identified clusters in the country.

According to the bank, a breakdown of the applications received showed that applications received were spread across the six geo-political zones with the South West ranking top with 130 applicants requesting for N252.5 million, followed by the North Central with 57 applicants requesting N110.2 million in loans and the North West ranking third with 42 applicants requesting N83.4 million.

Others are South South, with 42 applications for N82.8 million; South East had 23 applicants requesting N38.47 million and 17 North East applicants requesting N33 million.

“After screening of the applications, 1,000 candidates were selected for the three-day capacity building programme,

which was held at seven designated training centres in Lagos and across the six geopolitical zones of the country.

“The three-day training programme was facilitated by top nine BOI partner Training Institutions in Nigeria and the Institutions have continued to provide advisory/mentorship support to the candidates in the processing of packaging their loan applications. This gesture from the respective trainers and the intensiveness as well as quality of the 3-day training has made it possible for many of the participants to submit bankable loan applications.

“An online loan application portal was subsequently commissioned to enable the 800 candidates that successfully participated in the 3-day training submit their applications for a maximum loan amount of N2 million. At the expiration of the deadline of February 15, 2016 set for the submission of loan applications, a total of 311 candidates submitted financing requests for an aggregate sum of N600,545,781.26.

“The nine partner training institutions will continue to hand-hold the young entrepreneurs through the early stages of running their businesses to ensure proper utilisation of the loans, viability and sustainability of their respective ventures”, the bank explained.

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Operators Call for Establishment Banks Train Students on Financial of Aircraft Maintenance Facility Management in Nigeria Obinna Chima

Chinedu Eze The Managing Director/CEO of Toucan Aviation Support Services, Achuzie Ezenagu has called on the federal government and stakeholders in the industry to urgently establish a major Maintenance, Overhaul and Repair (MRO) facility in Nigeria.

Ezenagu, who made the call at the Nigerian Business Aviation Conference, which ended in Lagos at the weekend, said the establishment of the facility would save Nigeria huge financial resources, help to train and employ indigenous aircraft engineers, make aircraft checks cost effective for Nigerian airlines as well as reinforce Nigeria as a hub in West Africa.

It is estimated that Nigeria spends over N15 billion annually on periodic maintenance of its aircraft overseas. In addition to retaining this huge amount of money in Nigeria; the setting up of MRO facility in the country would create thousands of jobs for Nigerians.

However, Ezenagu observed that establishing an MRO in the country would face chal-

lenges, noting that it would be costly because Nigeria does not have the necessary infrastructure to facilitate it.

He added that the cooperation of government and industry stakeholders were needed to make it possible.

Speaking in the same vein at the conference, the former Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren said Nigeria was overripe to have such facility and noted that if 40 per cent of the funds spent on the re-modelling of airport facilities in the last few years was deployed by government to establish the facility, it would have been invaluable for the development of aviation in the country.

Demuren noted that Nigeria loses huge resources maintaining aircraft overseas adding, besides the economic losses, Nigerian trained aircraft engineers cannot secure jobs locally. He also pointed out that for Nigeria to become the West African hub, it must have the MRO facility.

The annual Nigerian Business Aviation Conference is about the development of business aviation, which

includes private charter services, cargo operations and others and how they help as catalyst to the nation’s economic development.

Ezenagu who was a panelist at the conference said Nigeria needs to focus on aviation development because it is the fulcrum of the nation’s development.

“We should make the airport more accessible and make them more available.

Government can encourage stakeholders to grow the sector by providing incentives.

Government should also find a way to bring all the data from different sectors of the economy together because every sector works hand in hand with another.

“MRO is costly to set up in Nigeria because of the heavy levies from government, but this can be done. In our own company we operate Embraer aircraft and we have standby engineers for line maintenance for the planes.

We don’t have the facilities to get the checks done here but government can partner with the private sector to establish a major MRO in the country,” Ezenagu said.

In commemoration of the 2016 Financial Literacy week held last week, banks took out time to dedicate several hours to the teaching of financial literacy in selected schools across the country.

The financial literacy week is observed annually under the Global Money Week and it is recognised nationwide as part of efforts to establish and maintain healthy financial habits among kids and teenagers.

The Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, for the third year running, took its financial literacy campaign to Uyo, Akwa-Ibom state.

Speaking at a workshop in Uyo, the Head, Client Relationships, Port Harcourt, Mrs. Ebiti Sam-Yudo, who represented the Managing Director/CEO, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, Mrs. Bola Adesola, said, giving students the fundamental information about financial literacy empowers them with the right tools towards becoming financially sound and independent individuals in the future.

She added: “This is an excellent initiative of the CBN as it equips children across the country with information around how to be financially responsible through training materials that touch on vari-

ous topics including savings, budgeting, earning and investing money. Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria is proud to support the CBN in this initiative.”

The Principal of Rayfield Secondary School, Uyo; Mr. Unyimi Umoren thanked the bank for facilitating the workshop at the school.

Also, the Sterling Bank Plc disclosed that no fewer than 15,000 students in primary and secondary schools across the country benefitted from its voluntary teaching programme.

It revealed that although it was assigned Gateway Secondary School, Abeokuta, Ogun State by the CBN, it decided to include additional schools from states such as Ekiti, Zamfara, Kano, Katsina, Plateau, Bornu, Gombe and Bauchi. Others are Kwara, Lagos, Edo, Delta and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The Group Head, Strategy and Communications of Sterling Bank, Mr. Shina Atilola, who represented the Managing Director and Chief Executive, Mr. Yemi Adeola in Abeokuta, explained that the bank took the decision to expand the coverage beyond the scope assigned to it by the CBN in order to reach out to more students and teach them how to imbibe the culture of financial management at a young age.

On its part, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc revealed that it ad-

opted Maryam Alooma Muhktar Girls Secondary School, Kano, as part of activities marking this year’s Global Money Week.

“At Union Bank, we recognise the significance of promoting Financial Inclusion in Nigeria.

We have developed a range of banking solutions tailored to service the under-banked businesses, communities and individuals across Nigeria. With our extensive network of over 300 banking centres, we have demonstrated our continued commitment to serve the Nigerian public,” the bank’s Group Managing Director and Chair of the Financial Literacy and Public Enlightenment Sub-committee of the Bankers’ Committee, Emeka Emuwa said.

The Executive Director, Commercial Banking Union Bank, Mr. Kunle Sonola, led the team to Maryam Alooma Muhktar Girls Secondary School, where they taught the students a module on Financial Literacy from a curriculum developed by Junior Achievement Nigeria, a non-governmental organisation focused on educating children on economic matters.

In the same vein, the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc said it organised a financial literacy day event for about 500 students at Imaguero College in Benin City.

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NEWS

Ogun State Partners Vitafoam on Industrialisation Eromosele Abiodun The Ogun State Government has endorsed the proposal by Vitafoam Nigeria Plc to partner the state on industrialisation.

The state government has also given its nod to the request by Vitafoam Board and management to patronise its diversified products.

Addressing the Vitafoam’s team, during a courtesy visit to his office, the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosu commended the company for the foresight and unalloyed goal of adding value to the society through introduction of innovative products.

Amosu expressed delight that Vitafoam would soon commence work on its multi billion Naira factory to be established on a large expanse of land along Lagos Ibadan Express Way. He noted that the state government was desirous to partner the private sec-

tor operators for enhanced industrialisation as a way of reducing unemployment.

According to him Ogun State government would continue to create an investor -friendly environment where business could be done with ease.

Earlier in his speech, Vitafoam’s chairman, Dr. Bamidele Makanjuola expressed gratitude to the state government for its provision of land for Vitafoam at a substantial discount.

Makanjuola, who said the company was ready to take possession of the land, noted that the company had also diversified into building construction with its production of heavy insulation for houses.

Corroborating him, Vitafoam’s Group Managing Director, Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi stated that as part of Vitafoam’s strategic plan, the company had six subsidiaries whereby each produces distinct products with that serve as synergy for one another.

At the company’s recent

annual general meeting in Lagos, Makanjuola assured the shareholders that the manufacturing firm had almost concluded arrangements to commence production of oil filters and allied motor spare parts through its newly established subsidiary, He explained that the ongoing inclement operating environment had forced the company’s board and management to embark on cost saving initiative in order to sustain the company’s competitive edge.

Makanjuola, who reviewed the current challenges facing manufacturing firms in Nigeria, noted that Vitafoam was able to remain, profitable due to the prudent approach towards management of human and material resources.

“The foam business is operating in a very competitive environment. There are over 300 manufacturers. It is stressful to operate in the foam industry.

As professionals, we have tried

to keep administrative and financial cost under control.

This prudent approach enabled us to generate profits and declared dividend of 25 kobo per share in an environment where many companies are closing business. We were able to achieve this feat despite the high cost of operation because of our careful management practice.

“As we try to control our cost, we have decided to limit our exposure to our subsidiaries to a maximum of 40 per cent.

This is expected to relieve us of financial burden of 100 per cent ownership. We can always raise 60 per cent equity through private placement. We have almost concluded plan to commence production of oil filter in our new subsidiary.

As for Vono Products, we shall keep the brand. We have gone to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to ensure that the brand is not taken away, “ Makanjuola said.

NSE to Delist Vono Products after Merger with Vitafoam Goddy Egene Vono Products Plc will be delisted from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), following its planned merger with Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, The Exchange said at the weekend. It said, preparatory to the delisting, trading on the shares of the Vono would be suspended from today.

According to the NSE, Vitafoam and Vono Products have obtained Court’s sanction of their scheme of merger effective March 11, 2016.

“At the conclusion of the merger process, Vono Products Plc will be dissolved and de-listed from the Daily Official List of the NSE. Dealing Members and all stakeholders are hereby notified that effective Monday, 21 March 2016; trading on the shares of Vono Products Plc will be suspended on the floor of The Exchange. Transactions on Vitafoam Nigeria Plc will however, continue as it will become the surviving entity from the merger of the two companies. This is in line with Rule 21.1: Suspension, Cancellation and Withdrawal of Listing, Rulebook of the NSE,” the exchange said.

Vono Products Plc had reported a loss of N102 million for the year ended September 30, 2015, compared with a loss of N11.9 million in 2014.

Also, the company ended the period with a negative working capital of N645

million, a development that made the company’s auditors, Ernest & Young to raise doubt about its continuing as a going concern.

Vitafoam Nigeria had in August 2010 acquired majority shareholding in Vono Products and took over the board and management of the company. Vono Products in 2012 launched a N840 million rights issue to strengthen its operations and pursue expansion programme as part of efforts to emplace the company on the path of sustainable profitability.

The Group Managing Director, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi recently said merger of the two companies would create better values for shareholders and enhance the long-term competitiveness of the larger company.

According to him, the shareholders of the two companies voted in favour of the merger because of potential benefits such as economies of scale, cost savings and improved operational and administrative efficiencies among others.

“If we produce foam and Vono produces furniture, they are complementary. It is a strategic decision for Vitafoam to have Vono as a subsidiary. As you are aware, we have other subsidiaries such as Vitabloom, Vitagreen and Vitapur. Each of them produces distinct products.

But they have something in common and this defines the unity of purpose,” Adeniyi said.

Aero Introduces Easter Family Promo PROMOTING EXPORT

L-R: Managing Director of Koinonia Ventures & President, Koinonia Global Services Inc., Canada, Olufemi Boyede; Executive Director, Shared Services & Products, Fidelity Bank Plc, Chijioke Ugochukwu; a representative of the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Alhaji Labaran Yinusa and Lead Consultant, ECOWAS, Professor Ken Ife at a one-day workshop on export promotion organised

by Fidelity Bank Plc, in conjunction with Koinonia Ventures Ltd in Lagos… recently.

MTN Clarifies Withdrawal of Suit against NCC Emma Okonji MTN Nigeria, at the weekend, officially withdrew the suit it instituted against the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) before a Federal High Court, explaining that the decision was taken in good faith and in the interest of Nigeria.

MTN had last month, promised to withdraw the suit, after it paid N50 billion to the federal government, as part payment for the N780billion fine imposed against it by the NCC. The NCC had in October

last year, sanctioned the telecoms company for contravening its (NCC’s) directive to deactivate 5.2 million improperly registered SIM cards on its network.

A few days to the December 31, 2015 deadline given it by the NCC to pay the fine the MTN had instituted the court action against the NCC, challenging the telecoms industry’s power to impose such huge amount of fine on it.

Announcing the withdrawal of the case on Friday, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Mr. Ferdi Moolman said the telecoms

company kept to its promise to act in good faith and withdraw the court case.

“This paves the way to continue settlement discussions with the Nigerian Authorities towards an amicable resolution of the matter in the best interests of MTN and Nigeria,” Moolman said.

The MTN made the part payment in preparation for an out of court settlement of the matter.

According to Moolman, ‘’We have kept our promise to withdraw and we have followed through by formally doing so. This is in line with

the premium we place on good corporate citizenship.”

The formal withdrawal on Friday last week at the Federal High Court, with all parties in attendance, signalled a further progress in the negotiations between MTN Nigeria and the Nigerian authorities, Moolman added: “This is another manifestation of good faith and intent by MTN Nigeria. We have confidence in the equally good intentions of the Nigerian authorities and the strength of our mutual commitment to an amicable resolution.”

Aero Contractors, one of Nigeria’s airlines, has announced special offer for its passengers ahead of the forthcoming Easter celebrations.

The airline said the aim of the promo tagged, ‘Family and Friends Promo’ was to appreciate and reward its loyal customers during the Easter period and to encourage Nigerians to fly more often.

“To further reward passengers Aero branded T-shirts can also be won in-flight as our passengers travel this Easter season. Any passenger may be lucky to win one,” the airline said in a statement.

Aero’s Commercial Manager, Chima Okereke said: “To participate in the ‘Family and Friends Promo,’ which will commence today and last throughout the Easter, customers will have to purchase five tickets in a group, and then get one ticket for free. All the five bookings must come under the same booking reference.

“The free sixth ticket can be used at any other time within the validity of the complementary ticket and based on applicable terms

and conditions.”

He urged customers to take advantage of this special promo, which would be available online and across its sales counters.

He further explained that the T-shirt is a way of rewarding the airline’s customers, promising that the airline is working to offer more rewards to its esteemed customers in the coming months.

“We are committed to providing world-class flight services at competitive rates for customers who will be travelling to visit families and friends within the Easter period.

“Aero is most delighted to introduce this special promo. We appreciate our customers, and we promise to continue to offer them memorable travel experience, with on-time departures, and commitment to wonderful customer packages. We shall endeavour to introduce more innovative products and services during the year,” Chima added.

Aero flies to major cities in Nigeria and Accra in Ghana.

It has operated scheduled and charter air transportation for over the last fifty-five years.

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Strategic Communications in Nation Building Udeme Ufot A good place to start a meaningful discussion on the growth and development of any African nation will be the famous Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 where leading European powers (Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Belgium) scrambled for and finalised the partition of the continent of Africa.

The decisions of that conference created the foundation for many of the set-backs and institutional dysfunctions that most nations of Africa (including Nigeria) are still grappling with today.

A continent of over 10,000 distinct polities was partitioned into about 40 geographical entities without consideration of the varied ethnic nationalities, customs and cultures of the people of the continent. Homogeneous ethnic groups were split into two or more new, artificial entities while completely unrelated and sometimes rival groups of people were yoked together into a single geographical entity.

Though the partition ensured the peaceful co-habitation of the colonial powers and prospered their economic and political interests in Africa, it created a serious dislocation and truncated the smooth evolution of strong, stable and viable nation states.

Nigeria’s fate was not different from the rest of Africa when, 29 years later, Sir Lord Lugard brought together the different tribes to the North and South of the Niger River into one entity in the famous AMALGAMATION of 1914.

The name ‘Nigeria’ was coined by Flora Shaw who later became Lord Lugard’s wife. This leads the imagination wandering into possible permutations of the uncanny circumstances in which two supposed ‘love birds’ supervised both the birth and naming ceremony of our great country.

On the surface, the amalgamation delivered a key political and economic convenience by creating a single geographical and administrative entity for the British. Beyond that, it was an amalgamation of other very complicated and complex variables: - People and tribes at different levels of economic, political and social development - Tribes and nationalities with differences in cultural heritage, different judicial and educational systems, land tenure system, moral values, language, worldviews and religions - Flourishing empires and kingdoms with their own highly organised political structures, sophisticated military, advanced economies and commerce – Oyo Empire, Benin Kingdom, Nupe Kingdom, Kanem Bornu Empire, Sokoto

values, single-minded vision and clearly articulated purpose that is acceptable to all.

The doctrine of unityin-diversity and federalism adopted by the founding fathers was hampered by the faulty political legacies inherited from the colonial powers and by the absence of commonly shared values and vision.

President Muhammadu Buhari Caliphate, etc.

Building and organising these disparate entities and nationalities into one unified people with one heart and one purpose has been the critical challenge of the last one hundred years.

The Struggle for Independence The agitation for selfgovernment and struggle for Nigeria’s independence which started out in the early 1920s with Herbert Macaulay and other nationalists had, by the 1950s, dovetailed into an intense regional contest for superiority led by frontline nationalists who championed the interests of their respective regions more than that of the entire country.

The political platforms and parties that were created also followed a regional pattern: The Northern Region had Sir Ahmadu Bello and Sir TafawaBalewa who rallied the people of the North under the Northern People’s Congress (NPC); Chief ObafemiAwolowo and his team rallied the West under the Action Group (which was created on the ethnic and cultural root of ‘EgbeOmoOduduwa’); Dr. NnamdiAzikiwe started on a nationalistic note with the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) but ended up forming government in the Eastern Region; and United Middle Belt Congress was also formed by Senator Joseph Tarka to create a political platform for the various ethnic groups in central Nigeria.

What we had was a situation where heterogeneous regions with different ideologies, administrative styles, agricultural and judicial systems yoked themselves together for the purpose of securing independence, while at the same time fighting to ensure that the interests of their respective regions were well represented in the newly independent country.

There was no clearly defined national ideology or common sets of shared values subscribed to by all the nationalists in the quest for self-governance. Also, we had no central hero or national figure like a Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi. Instead, we had regional actors and tribal leaders who were sometimes at each other’s throats. They fought each other as much as they fought the British colonialists.

At independence, there was no clarity of the kind of nation we wanted to build beyond the euphoria of self-government, a geographical entity named ‘Nigeria’ and a few national institutions like the Army, Police, etc. The central government that took over from the British was a merger of two political parties, NPC from Northern Region and NCNC from Eastern Region, leaving Action Group from Western Region in opposition.

Meanwhile, each of these leading political parties still retained and held on to their regional strongholds – with the same political party in government, the same administrative and political structures it had prior to independence. The Northern Region was led

by NPC under Sir Ahmadu Bello as Premier, Western Region was led by AG with Chief LadokeAkintola as Premier and Eastern Region was led by NCNC with Chief Michael Okpara as Premier. A clear reflection of how the national interest was subjugated to the regional was the fact that Sir Ahmadu Bello preferred to remain in Kaduna as Premier of Northern Nigeria while his Lieutenant, Sir AbubakarTafawaBalewa was delegated to head the national government as Prime Minister.

Regionalism or geopolitical identity, a product of colonial legacy, is still very much a strong feature of our national life and politics. It constitutes a major hurdle to building a united and progressive nation anchored on shared

Strategic Communications As a seasoned practitioner in the field of marketing communication and brand building, I am a firm believer in the power of strategic communication in building a united nation and creating a positive identity that inspires hope, confidence and pride. My task here today is to explore how we can deploy and utilize strategic communication as effective and credible tool in Nation Building and National Development.

For the purpose of the subject matter under discussion, I will attempt to define Strategic Communication as: A systematic choice and act of defining, designing and implementing tailored communication ideas and initiatives about the programmes and activities of a product, an individual or institution to select publics in order to elicit a desired response.

It is a series of coordinated communication initiatives designed and tailored to influence the attitudes, behaviours and perception of an organised group in favour of a common cause.

Wilbur Schramm-“Father of Communication Studies”buttressed this fact when he pointed out that: “By making one part of a country aware of other parts, their people, arts, customs, and politics; to the leaders and to each other; by making possible a nation-wide dialogue on national policy; by keeping the national goals and national accomplishments always before the public--thus modern communication, widely used, can help weld together isolated communities, disparate subcultures, self-centered individuals and groups, and separate developments into a truly national development.”

Strategic communications will help clarify and paint a clear picture of the policy direction and overriding ideology of the government.

Removal of Fuel Subsidy - The fuel subsidy removal system has been a major burden and a drain of our national resources.

Previous efforts to deal with it failed abysmally. Its removal without increase in cost of fuel is a major milestone but it was not leveraged to drum support and commendation for the government as one that means business and cares for the people.

- What are the accrued short term and long term

benefits of the fuel subsidy removal?

- At least six months to the attempted subsidy removal in 2014, if a communication programme had been implemented that effectively drew attention to the distortions of the subsidy system while pointing to the better uses to which the money could be put, the riots witnessed in January 2014 may have been avoided.

• The attempt to ambush Nigerians on New Year’s Eve with subsidy removal was a clear case of poor communication and lack of sustained efforts at building understanding and dialogue.

If I am to be less benevolent, it reflected an acute lack of respect for the citizens by their government.

• If the populace had been sufficiently educated and persuaded on the immediate implications and the expected long term benefits, maybe the policy would have enjoyed a softer landing.

For example, the UK Government under Margaret Thatcher in the nineties launched intense nationwide campaigns educating, engaging and convincing its citizens on the benefits and implications of its planned privatisation before it ever embarked on the actual implementation. The result of that privatisation was the rejuvenation of many moribund British industries The current government secured victory at the last poll under the philosophy of CHANGE. - How well has this philosophy of CHANGE been sold to the average Nigerian? Beyond the change from one party to another, what else is changing?

- What is the role of the citizenry in the actualisation of the CHANGE dream?

What will CHANGE look like, when it is pursued and realised? What is in it for the citizens?

- Why should they actively embrace change and

work assiduously towards its realisation?

- Has there been a structured communication plan by government to sell its vision and secure buy-in and ownership of its change agenda by the citizens?

People cannot willingly and openly support or defend what they do not understand. A carefully planned and sustained communication/dialogue will help educate and mobilise the people to become active participants as well as advocates for actualisation of the Nigerian dream.

In Conclusion….

Communication is a bond that brings a nation together, yet respects the multiplicity of perspectives that is essential to the search for truth and meaning. A nation consists of individuals with diverse needs but bound together by a common dream.

It fosters meaningful dialogue among different sectors of society; it nurtures a shared vision for the country’s future; and helps harness non-material and material resources to realise the national shared vision that will allow us to find the driving force for development. Every citizen is an actor and object of development. Everyone contributes to nation building or sadly serves as a drag, generating friction and causing a huge waste of scarce resources and energy. Perhaps, only when citizens of a country have nurtured a true-shared vision, transcending personal agendas, can the process of national development reach the tipping point for accelerated growth.

According to Benjamin V. Lozare, “a country may develop only when its leaders realise the wisdom in the principle – power shared is power multiplied, not power diminished.”

Ufot is the Group Managing Director SO&U

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Infrastructure As A Catalyst for Growth Chidiebere Onyia We rely on infrastructure for a substantial portion of our daily activities; from the pipes carrying water to our taps; the roads we ply to work; the bridges we cross; the structures delivering the energy we access when our light switches are turned on, to the runways our planes land on and so on. Infrastructure can be dimensioned into economic and social categories. The former constitutes part of an economy’s capital stock at a given point in time and is used to facilitate economic production, or serve as inputs to production (e.g. electricity networks, roads, and ports). The lattersocial infrastructure- refers to services such as health, education and recreation that directly and indirectly impact people’s quality of life.

Globally, infrastructure is synonymous with development and is instrumental to productivity, growth and social well-being. The World Bank estimates that a percentage increase in infrastructure stock in developing countries could raise GDP growth by as much as 1 to 2 percent.

Furthermore, a detailed examination of the impact of infrastructure spending on job creation in Canada found that for every $1 billion in spending, GDP growth is boosted by $1.14 billion, resulting in a multiplier effect of 1.14 and 16,700 jobs (across construction, manufacturing, business services, transportation and financial sector employment). Other studies have shown similar effects, with estimated multipliers ranging from 1.14 to a high of 1.78.Understanding this effect is easy. For households, the availability of transport, electricity, clean water and sanitation, and other basic facilities has a tremendous impact on improving quality of life. For industry, infrastructure services facilitate production, transportation and trade, which spurs economic growth and helps in reducing poverty.

China’s Growth Miracle At this time, China is perhaps one of the best illustrations of the impact of infrastructure on a country’s economic growth. Very few are unfamiliar with China’s growth rate which is a real economic phenomenon that has been studied by many development scholars. Many still marvel at how one of the poorest developing economies under communist rule transformed into the world’s second-largest economy in just over 30 years.

China’s average annual growth rate exceeded 9% for over 30 years. Hundreds of millions of people have been pulled out of poverty (its population living on less than $1/day drastically reduced to 8% in 2009 from 60% in 1980). Just 10 years ago, China ranked as the 5th largest economy and the 4th largest exporter in the world.

However, by 2011, China’s

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah GDP soared up to around $7.4 trillion, making it the 2nd largest economy and the biggest manufacturer in the world. Chinese education, science and technology have also developed by leaps and bounds.

These days, China’s importance is underscored by the sensitivity of countries and investors to even the slightest fluctuation of its economy and the prospect of a down turn sending jitters down the spines of investors globally.

So, what are the defining features of China’s growth?

First, massive public investment in infrastructure and; secondly investment in human capital to increase productivity. Since 1992, China has spent at least, 8.5% of its annual GDP on infrastructure investment.

This scale of this investment in absolute terms is massive; far exceeding what any other region or country spends including the United States and European Union.

Current State of Nigeria’s Infrastructure With China’s story at the fore of our minds, let us bring the discussion home. Nigeria became the biggest economy in Africa in 2014, after an economic rebase nearly doubled the size of our GDP. At approximately $510bn, the Nigerian economy surpasses South Africa’s and is among the top 30 in the world. Despite these laudable achievements, our inadequate infrastructure continues to constrain our economic growth. The gap applies mainly to energy, transport, water and sanitation, but we are also struggling to develop our education, culture, tourism and healthcare infrastructure. Our core infrastructure stock is estimated at 20-25% of GDP compared to the 70% that middle-income countries of our size normally have.

In terms of power, we currently generate approximately5000MW of power with more than 50% of our population without access to electricity. Those fortunate enough to have some access to electricity, experience an average of 7 hours of daily black outs. According to the African Development Bank’s

‘Infrastructure Action Plan for Nigeria’, 80% of businesses in Nigeria depend on generators to power 61% of their power needs.

With regards to transport, less than 20% of Federal roads are paved, out of which, only about 27% are easily motorable. The situation is even worse for state and local government roads. When it comes to water and sanitation, a mere 4% of the population had access to piped water in 2010 compared to the 60% average for middle-income African countries. In addition, only 31% of the population had access to improved sanitation in 2010. The implication is that almost 110 million people in Nigeria did not have access to improved sanitation at that time. Some 12% of the Nigerian population in urban areas and 31% of the population in rural areas still practice open defecation.

The effects of this deficit on economic growth and on the living conditions of Nigerians are glaring. We know that when people lack access to basic infrastructure, their world of possibilities narrow. Therefore, for every naira that has been wasted on abandoned or poorly scoped projects, there is someone whose living conditions could have been significantly improved by well-directed investment. There are countless lost opportunities in terms of productivity, efficiency and quality of life as a result of investment that has been misdirected or withheld.

Needless to say, the infrastructure deficit also has significant impact on the ease of doing business in Nigeria.

The 2015 Doing Business report ranked Nigeria 170 out of 189 countries, far behind South Africa and Ghana at 48 and 70 respectively, and also behind Niger at 168.

Areas that Nigeria ranked particularly badly included getting electricity, registering property, paying taxes, dealing with construction permits, trading across borders and enforcing contracts.

How has Nigeria gotten to this point? The power sector is an apt case but the same views would be applicable to all the other sectors. The poor state of the power

sector is the result of several years of under-investment and misappropriation of funds for new infrastructure, shortage of gas supply from gas producers, disruptions to gas supply, poor maintenance of existing facilities and rampant corruption and graft.

Most of the power assets in Nigeria from generation to transmission to distribution were constructed or started in the 1970s during the oil boom but successive governments did not place a premium on maintenance and new investments. Neglecting necessary expansions for so long while the population of the country has almost doubled in the past 30 years has made access to electricity the most problematic obstacle to Nigeria’s growth. In addition, the sector has been subject to several years of mismanagement with successive caretakers not dedicating adequate attention to the sector’s financial viability and sustainability in terms of cost reflective tariffs and billing collection efficiencies.

Infrastructure Planning The question then arises how do we fix the problem?

Planning is critical and a necessary first step towards closing the infrastructure deficit. China’s 5 year plans, now in their 13th version have been instrumental in keeping its policy goals and objectives in focus, articulating the policy actions and

funding options necessary to facilitate the achievement of those goals.

In 2014, the Government of Nigeria released a long-term blueprint for infrastructure development titled the “National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan” (NIIMP), the plan covers requirements for key infrastructural sectors including energy, transport, agriculture, water and mining, housing and regional development, information and communication technology, social infrastructure and security. It estimates that $3tn will be required in the next 30 years to build and maintain infrastructure adequately. Of those, energy and transport are prioritized and allocated the lion’s share of funding, requiring $1tn (a third of the total) and $775bn respectively over the next three decades.

Planning for the power sector and indeed all sectors must be proactive and futuristic. Today, for instance, over 70% of Nigeria’s power generation comes from gas plants, therefore the need for sustainable gas infrastructure and a broadening of the energy mix for electricity supply from hydro and gas sources needs to be factored into the sector’s infrastructure plans. Policies and regulations need to be proactive rather than reactive to accommodate and encourage investment in

solar, wind, biomass/biofuels, coal and nuclear. Likewise, investment in transmission capacity must be prioritized and should also reflect new power generation sources.

Finally, routine maintenance of infrastructure should be factored into plans to ensure that the network growth is in tandem with that of generation.

The blueprint is undoubtedly a step in the right direction but it is important to keep in mind that between independence in 1960 and today, at least half a dozen national development plans have been launched in Nigeria. However, their impact could be said to be far less than desirable mainly because they were all inadequately planned, poorly implemented and/or not continued by successive governments. With the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan, what is perhaps more critical is to ensure effective implementation of the right projects. Nigeria’s history is replete with “bridges to nowhere” and “white elephant” projects.

Redressing this challenge would require improved planning techniques and proper risk management from execution to completion of projects.

Onyia serves as the Chairman/CEO of TOL Consult USA and OrgLearning Nigeria.

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BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Metal Exporters Commend Fayemi on Solid Minerals’ Blueprint Eromosele Abiodun The Association of Metal Exporters of Nigeria (AMEN) has commended the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi for his vision to develop a multi-level developmental blueprint for the Nigerian solid minerals industry and urged him to include industry operators in the process of determining the future of the industry.

Fayemi recently inaugurated a 17-man committee to develop a 24 month short-term plan, 10-year mid-term plan and 25-year long term plan for the solid minerals industry. The committee is chaired by Professor Ibrahim Garba and co-chaired by Professor Siyan Malomo.

The president of AMEN, Mr. Seun Olatunji, said the terms of reference of the committee, which included prioritisation of activities, development of a consensus strategy for buy-

in by all stakeholders in the industry and improvement of the sub-sectional activities along the minerals value chain, reflected a thoughtful directional leadership by the Minister.

Olatunji, who is also the managing director of Olatunji Global Nigeria Limited, a metal exploration and exporting firm, said while the minister has laudable idea and the commitment for the overall good of the industry, there is a need to engage industry operators with visible records of active operations such as members of the AMEN in fashioning a practicable and realistic blueprint for the industry.

According to him, while the minister has a good knowledge of a number of challenges affecting the rapid growth of the solid minerals sector, the industry consultation and engagement should be broadened to include key stakeholders like metal exporters.

“For a fact; the Association of Metal Exporters of Nigeria has not been invited to any of the engagement talks by the Ministry. Yet, we, metal exporters, put several Nigerian-origin solid minerals on the foreign markets map including Lead ore, Zinc ore, Copper ore, Beryl ore, Manganese ore, Cassiterite, Zircon sand, with verifiable, valid NXP forms opened in compliance with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) monetary policies,” Olatunji said.

He noted that there is also the need for inclusion of those already achieving feat in the sector by generating export proceeds in order to achieve quick gains, pointing out that it would be counterproductive to neglect those with end-to-end knowledge on the conversion of the available base metals, minor metals and others into the much desired foreign exchange for the Nigerian economy as it stands today.

Uzoka: UBA Committed to Sustaining Net Interest Margin at 6.3% in 2016 Obinna Chima The United Bank for Africa Plc has reiterated its commitment to sustain net interest margin at a minimum of 6.3 per cent in 2016.

The Group Managing Director Designate of the bank, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, said this during the presentation of 2016 Strategic Imperatives and Earnings Guidance at the Investors and Analysts Conference held in Lagos at the weekend.

The UBA Group had last week released its audited 2015 financials announcing N69 billion profit before tax; representing a 22 per cent year-on-year growth.

“We will leverage on our balance sheet optimisation

initiatives, to further improve asset yields. Interestingly, our improving deposit mix and funding cost will enhance our ability to sustain our NIMs,” Uzoka said.

Uzoka noted that despite the external cost pressure, UBA Group would remain committed to its cost efficiency initiatives. He emphasised that UBA will keep its cost growth below inflation rate and further moderate the cost-to-income ratio to a level below 65 per cent.

“Whilst we are not completely immune to the impact of macroeconomic pressures on risk assets, we are confident in the quality of our portfolio. We are working closely with our customers and

will continue to proactively monitor developments in the global and domestic economic environment to address its probable impact of our portfolio.

“We will defend our asset quality to keep non-performing loans ratio below 2.5 per cent as we believe cost of risk should remain around one per cent in 2016,” Uzoka who takes over the mantle of leadership of the bank from August 1, 2016, said.

The incoming CEO also used the opportunity to inform investors and analysts from Nigeria and around the world that UBA would grow customer deposits book across its 19 African subsidiaries by between 10 to 15 per cent.

Skye Bank Partners Kia on Auto Finance Deal The Skye Bank Plc has said the high interest shown by its customers and members of the public in the strategic auto finance agreement between it and Kia Motors has produced a new generation of car owners who contribute just 20 per cent of the actual cost of their cars.

The bank said in a statement that its customers and non-customers alike have been attracted by the good terms that go with the deal, which include free first three services, discounted prices, free delivery, 5-year warranty and free tracker.

According to the statement, the arrangement enables customers of the bank, who wish to purchase brand new Kia vehicles do so without difficulty. The arrangement, it added, covers Kia models like Picanto, Rio, Cerato, Optima and Sportage.

The auto finance arrangement was put in place following the huge interest which Nigerians have shown in the Kia brand and its wide acceptance by corporate bodies that use Kia as official cars.

The statement said interested members of the public must

first be account holders with the bank who will make only 20 per cent equity contribution before taking possession of their choice cars.

It therefore urged those interested in new and comfortable cars to avail themselves of the funding window provided by the bank to come on board, noting that Kia spare parts are readily available in the country, just as maintenance facilities for the cars are provided everywhere across the country, thereby offering convenience to the teeming car owners.

StanChart Unveils Digital Retail Banking Product The Standard Chartered Bank has announced the global launch of its retail workbench, a digital tablet-based sales-andservice tool that “brings the bank” to clients.

Seamlessly integrated with the bank’s back-end infrastructure, the retail workbench will allow sales staff to open an account for a client in any location and makes banking services like loan approvals and credit card issuance fast, simple and completely paperless.

“Banking should be easy and convenient. That’s what the Retail Workbench is all about.

We’re harnessing technology to make banking a really ‘wow’ experience. And as we build the digital retail bank of the future, we’re getting rid of paper and improving cost efficiency along the way. This is a first of its kind and we are glad to champion this in Nigeria,” the CEO, Standard Chartered Nigeria, Bola Adesola, was quoted to have said in a

statement.

The Retail Workbench is now going live in six markets: Malaysia, India, the UAE, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Kenya. The launch, according to the bank, marked a milestone in Standard Chartered’s strategy of using digital technology to deliver a better banking experience to clients.

The bank last year announced it will invest $1.5 billion in technology over three years.

Fayemi

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

NOVEMBER 2014 Broad Money (M2)

16,696,663.77

-- Narrow Money (M1)

6,678,249.30

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,231,005.96

---- Demand Deposits

5,447,243.34

-- Quasi Money

10,018,414.47

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,183,427.14

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

9,513,236.63

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

16,353,454.75

---- Credit to Government (Net)

-1,755,121.92

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

419,550.98

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

-2,174,672.91

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

18,108,576.68

--Other Assets Net

-6,840,218.12

Reserve Money (Base Money)

5,068,556.90

--Currency in Circulation

1,577,889.36

--Banks Reserves

3,490,667.54 • Source - CBN

MANAGED FUNDS Initial Price (N) Stanbic Balanced Fund

Buying Price(N)

Selling Price

1,660.29

1,685.29

Stanbic IBTC NEF

1,000.00

11,002.32

11,326.67.11

Stanbic SIBond

20

120.47

120.47

Stanbic IBTC Ethical

1

1.10

1.13

Stanbic IBTC GIF

142.90

143.38

UBA Balanced Fund

1.2563

1.2493

UBA Bond Fund

1.3443

1.3443

UBA Equity Fund

0.8205

0.8074

UBA Money Market Fund

1.1510

1.1510

ARM Aggressive Growth Fund

N13.1141

N13.5095

ARM Discovery Fund

N288.9978

N297.7112

ARM Ethical Fund

N22.6462

N23.3290

ARM Money Market Fund

13.1161 (Yield % ) • Monetary Policy Rate - 13%

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT 17 MARCH 2016 The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $36.36 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $34.50 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Murban (UAE), Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

35

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

MARKET NEWS

Shareholders to Receive N6bn Dividend as DSR Posts N11bn Profit Goddy Egene and Eromosele Abiodun Shareholders of Dangote Sugar Refinery (DSR) Plc are to share N6.0 billion dividend for the year ended December 31, 2015, following a profit after tax (PAT) of N11.54 billion.

The dividend, which translate to 50 kobo per share is 25 per cent higher than the 40 kobo

received the previous year.

In the audited results, DSR reported revenue of N101 billion in 2015, up seven per cent from N94.8 billion in 2014.

Profit before tax rose by eight per cent from N15.27 billion to N16.55 billion. However, profit after tax fell marginally from N11.64 billion to N11.54 billion.

Some of the high light of the company’s operations in 2015

T H E MAIN BOARD Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board EQTY AGRICULTURE Crop Production OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Crop Production Totals Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. Livestock/Animal Specialties Totals AGRICULTURE Totals CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. CHELLARAMS PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. Diversified Industries Totals CONGLOMERATES Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Real Estate Development UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED Real Estate Development Totals Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Totals CONSUMER GOODS Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. GUINNESS NIG PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. JOS INT. BREWERIES PLC. NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Totals Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Totals Food Products DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC TIGER BRANDED CONSUMER GOODS PLC Food Products Totals Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. Food Products--Diversified Totals Household Durables VITAFOAM NIG PLC. VONO PRODUCTS PLC. Household Durables Totals Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. Personal/Household Products Totals CONSUMER GOODS Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED FIDELITY BANK PLC GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. SKYE BANK PLC STERLING BANK PLC. UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC UNION BANK NIG.PLC. UNITY BANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC. Banking Totals Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services AIICO INSURANCE PLC. CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC CORNERSTONE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC. GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. UNIC INSURANCE PLC. WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals Micro-Finance Banks NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC Micro-Finance Banks Totals Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UNITED CAPITAL PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC PHARMA-DEKO PLC. Pharmaceuticals Totals HEALTHCARE Totals ICT

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

No. of Deals 7 5 12 No. of Deals 13 13 25

Current Price 31.5 34.25

No. of Deals 3 1 115 13 132 132

were season sugar production at Savannah was 6,610 tonnes, up from 6,333 tonnes in 2014. The full year refinery production at Apapa stood at 740,350 tonnes, down from 832,660 tonnes the previous year. Group sugar sales improved from 781,319 tonnes in 2014 to 782,120 in 2015. The company added 100 trucks to the fleet under its management.

Commenting on the results,

N I G E R I A N QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

Quantity Traded 16,210 20,554 36,764 Quantity Traded 156,000 156,000 192,764

Value Traded 536,064.70 739,121.84 1,275,186.54 Value Traded 184,400.00 184,400.00 1,459,586.54

Current Price 0.76 3.58 1.2 19.96

Quantity Traded 7,158 100 15,679,497 32,003 15,718,758 15,718,758

Value Traded 5,546.92 341 18,591,559.21 670,462.85 19,267,909.98 19,267,909.98

No. of Deals 14 14 No. of Deals 1 1 15

Current Price 5.1

Quantity Traded 58,614 58,614 Quantity Traded 100 100 58,714

Value Traded 309,619.46 309,619.46 Value Traded 1,000.00 1,000.00 310,619.46

No. of Deals 1 12 25 1 97 136 No. of Deals 10 10 No. of Deals 33 157 45 6 26 267 No. of Deals 18 33 51 No. of Deals 7 2 9 No. of Deals 11 11 22 495

Current Price 2.88 113 18.5 1.51 100

Quantity Traded 20,000 57,456 54,635 10,000 1,663,198 1,805,289 Quantity Traded 5,540 5,540 Quantity Traded 407,861 1,568,201 1,994,900 206,500 1,605,499 5,782,961 Quantity Traded 173,102 69,284 242,386 Quantity Traded 43,520 12,000 55,520 Quantity Traded 213,123 217,273 430,396 8,322,092

Value Traded 54,800.00 6,459,824.00 966,926.25 14,400.00 163,326,191.79 170,822,142.04 Value Traded 859,829.50 859,829.50 Value Traded 2,427,955.12 31,554,660.94 3,461,969.89 1,557,429.00 4,398,911.26 43,400,926.21 Value Traded 2,859,017.68 47,814,159.99 50,673,177.67 Value Traded 178,683.00 10,320.00 189,003.00 Value Traded 5,305,320.82 6,099,709.06 11,405,029.88 277,350,108.30

No. of Deals 113 32 22 126 189 58 2 151 17 6 7 723 No. of Deals 11 6 2 1 1 2 6 8 10 1 1 71 120 No. of Deals 9 9 No. of Deals 2 2 No. of Deals 108 3 131 44 109 395 1,249

Current Price 4.42 1.52 18 1.26 16.25 0.98 1.7 3.44 5.98 0.7 0.87

Quantity Traded 3,696,616 2,462,325 199,398 16,116,091 10,266,428 3,616,693 79,315 10,375,915 328,453 100,597 161,472 47,403,303 Quantity Traded 768,860 460,000 2,807,142 50,000 100,000 700,000 100,000 253,000 2,319,076 3,200 100 15,077,784 22,639,162 Quantity Traded 269,200 269,200 Quantity Traded 13,822 13,822 Quantity Traded 4,560,260 10,674 9,862,317 584,807 5,653,418 20,671,476 90,996,963

Value Traded 16,641,609.17 3,719,437.97 3,587,735.63 19,914,529.15 167,103,385.75 3,506,208.00 133,942.90 35,334,327.31 1,941,125.99 67,797.90 141,434.85 252,091,534.62 Value Traded 620,507.30 422,700.00 1,403,571.00 25,000.00 50,000.00 350,000.00 64,000.00 559,290.00 1,778,745.90 1,600.00 50 7,538,892.00 12,814,356.20 Value Traded 282,805.30 282,805.30 Value Traded 59,158.16 59,158.16 Value Traded 15,034,828.65 40,758.44 7,967,370.50 8,732,732.74 9,561,771.24 41,337,461.57 306,585,315.85

Quantity Traded 2,500 2,610,086 34,306 149,020 544,003 18,000 3,357,915 3,357,915

Value Traded 1,250.00 6,939,546.70 852,708.60 147,531.50 372,997.89 37,160.00 8,351,194.69 8,351,194.69

No. of Deals 1 29 8 7 5 2 52 52

Current Price 1.18

Current Price 10

Current Price 161.5 Current Price 6.01 20.16 1.8 7.5 2.74 Current Price 17.2 690 Current Price 4.3 0.9 Current Price 25 28.06

Current Price 0.81 0.92 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.64 2.2 0.77 0.5 0.5 0.5 Current Price 1.11 Current Price 4.5 Current Price 3.3 3.81 0.82 15 1.69

Current Price 0.5 2.75 24.98 0.99 0.69 2.14

the acting Group Managing Director of DSR, Abdullahi Sule, said: “2015 ended with remarkable volume pickup in the fourth quarter as our strategy to reduce margins in September by 28 per cent and the addition of 100 trucks to our fleet improved delivery to customers. As a result we gained market share from competition and smugglers.”

STO C K

He said he was glad that the company was able to grow its revenue by 11 per cent and improve sales volumes compared to 2014 despite the current macro-economic challenges, with an especially difficult first and second quarter.

“To improve efficiency, we have redeveloped our sequencing strategy to self-sufficiency through the production of

refined sugar from cane and remain zealous in our efforts to execute the “Sugar for Nigeria” project, which will replace our current production in the next four to five years as we execute the first phase of our backward integration plans, which now includes the Savannah rehabilitation, Guyuk and Zaria projects,” Sule added.

E XC H A N G E

MAIN BOARD Processing Systems CHAMS PLC Processing Systems Totals ICT Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials ASHAKA CEM PLC BERGER PAINTS PLC CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. Building Materials Totals Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. Electronic and Electrical Products Totals Packaging/Containers BETA GLASS CO PLC. Packaging/Containers Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals NATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals B.O.C. GASES PLC. Chemicals Totals Metals ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. Metals Totals Mining Services MULTIVERSE MINING AND EXPLORATION PLC Mining Services Totals NATURAL RESOURCES Totals OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Energy Equipment and Services Totals Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CONOIL PLC ETERNA PLC. FORTE OIL PLC. MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals Exploration and Production SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD Exploration and Production Totals OIL AND GAS Totals SERVICES Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals Courier/Freight/Delivery TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals Hotels/Lodging IKEJA HOTEL PLC Hotels/Lodging Totals Printing/Publishing ACADEMY PRESS PLC. LEARN AFRICA PLC Printing/Publishing Totals Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Transport-Related Services Totals Support and Logistics CAVERTON OFFSHORE SUPPORT GRP PLC C & I LEASING PLC. Support and Logistics Totals SERVICES Totals EQTY Board Totals Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board ASeM CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC Food Products Totals CONSUMER GOODS Totals ASeM Board Totals Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board PREMIUM FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC Banking Totals Other Financial Institutions FBN HOLDINGS PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials DANGOTE CEMENT PLC Building Materials Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals PREMIUM Board Totals Equity Activity Totals Daily Summary (ETP) Exchange Traded Fund Name LOTUS HALAL EQUITY ETF NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND (ETF) VETIVA BANKING ETF VETIVA CONSUMER GOODS ETF VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF VETIVA INDUSTRIAL ETF Exchange Traded Fund Totals ETF Board Totals ETP Activity Totals

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

No. of Deals 1 1 1

Current Price 0.5

Quantity Traded 2,000 2,000 2,000

Value Traded 1,000.00 1,000.00 1,000.00

No. of Deals 5 4 4 15 41 69 No. of Deals 2 2 No. of Deals 5 5 76

Current Price 24 9.42 38.5 8.88 85.5

Quantity Traded 13,693 19,000 1,457 84,170 121,524 239,844 Quantity Traded 36,302 36,302 Quantity Traded 46,810 46,810 322,956

Value Traded 338,568.00 180,275.00 55,815.75 747,876.10 10,307,831.72 11,630,366.57 Value Traded 59,016.02 59,016.02 Value Traded 2,024,064.40 2,024,064.40 13,713,446.99

No. of Deals 1 1 No. of Deals 1 1 No. of Deals 2 2 4

Current Price 3.95

Quantity Traded 2,934 2,934 Quantity Traded 380 380 Quantity Traded 10,000 10,000 13,314

Value Traded 11,031.84 11,031.84 Value Traded 3,553.00 3,553.00 Value Traded 5,000.00 5,000.00 19,584.84

No. of Deals 3 3 No. of Deals 125 125 No. of Deals 8 4 3 23 1 25 64 No. of Deals 21 21 213

Current Price 0.5

Quantity Traded 191,076 191,076 Quantity Traded 4,843,725 4,843,725 Quantity Traded 41,391 50,165 110 1,406,227 5,000 39,448 1,542,341 Quantity Traded 93,500 93,500 6,670,642

Value Traded 95,538.00 95,538.00 Value Traded 25,912,878.75 25,912,878.75 Value Traded 715,134.36 90,027.57 30,642.70 240,083,077.40 224,150.00 5,872,992.62 247,016,024.65 Value Traded 32,331,326.15 32,331,326.15 305,355,767.55

Quantity Traded 2,000 2,000 Quantity Traded 184,125 184,125 Quantity Traded 20,000 20,000 Quantity Traded 16,580 41,400 57,980 Quantity Traded 10,000 118,011 128,011 Quantity Traded 1,500 107,311 108,811 500,927 126,157,045

Value Traded 1,000.00 1,000.00 Value Traded 226,473.75 226,473.75 Value Traded 49,836.00 49,836.00 Value Traded 9,450.60 34,404.00 43,854.60 Value Traded 22,000.00 499,959.32 521,959.32 Value Traded 2,385.00 53,655.50 56,040.50 899,164.17 933,313,698.37

No. of Deals 2 2 No. of Deals 5 5 No. of Deals 3 3 No. of Deals 2 4 6 No. of Deals 1 19 20 No. of Deals 2 8 10 46 2,308

Current Price 1.58 Current Price 45.5

Current Price 9.84 Current Price 0.5

Current Price 5.35 Current Price 16.56 1.85 293.23 171 47.18 150 Current Price 350

Current Price 0.5 Current Price 1.18 Current Price 2.6 Current Price 0.55 0.82 Current Price 2.2 4.1 Current Price 1.52 0.5

No. of Deals 3 3 3 3

Current Price 1.29

Quantity Traded 62,873 62,873 62,873 62,873

Value Traded 80,719.98 80,719.98 80,719.98 80,719.98

No. of Deals 289 289 No. of Deals 237 237 526

Current Price 12.35

Quantity Traded 15,216,913 15,216,913 Quantity Traded 23,978,993 23,978,993 39,195,906

Value Traded 188,751,004.20 188,751,004.20 Value Traded 88,621,728.84 88,621,728.84 277,372,733.04

No. of Deals 58 58 58 584 2,895

Current Price 164

Quantity Traded 562,590 562,590 562,590 39,758,496 165,978,414

Value Traded 93,014,006.22 93,014,006.22 93,014,006.22 370,386,739.26 1,303,781,157.61

No. of Deals 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 6 6

Current Price 8.52 2,413.00 2.47 6.04 11.74 20.21

Quantity Traded 5 51 5 5 5 15 86 86 86

Value Traded 42.6 123,063.00 12.35 30.2 58.7 303.15 123,510.00 123,510.00 123,510.00

Current Price 3.69

36

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

CITYSTRINGS

Acting Features Editor Charles Ajunwa Email charles.ajunwa@thisdaylive.com

A Perfect Mother’s Day Gift Chiemelie Ezeobi writes that after six days in captivity, the three female students of Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary were rescued and six of the suspects arrested, making it the perfect Mother’s Day gift

The three rescued girls and the school Principal, Venerable Ola Oluwa Adeyemi, leaving the school premises after their rescue

S

ave for providence and intelligence driven policing, they would have spent the recently held Mother’s Day celebration in gloom and despair as their three children were held captive in the clutches of a 12-man dare-devil kidnap syndicate in the heart of the creeks.

The three girls, Olusa Oluwatimilehin, Popo-Olaniyan Tofunmi and Akinayo Deborah, were abducted by the gang on Monday night, February 29, and were held in captivity for six days.

In fact, when other mother’s were preparing to celebrate Mother’s Day, the trio of Akinayo, Popo-Olaniyan and Olusa were heartbroken.

Against hopes their three teenage daughters were still held against their will.

But all that was to change on Sunday, March 6, 2016, by 9.44am, six days after the three female students were abducted from Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary (BMJS), Ikorodu, by a 12-man gang, they were finally rescued and returned to the warm embrace of their parents on Sunday morning.

A Joyful Reunion Expectedly, the three girls and their parents are in high spirits as they were reunited by the Lagos Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni.

It was a joyful reunion at the Anglican Church inside the college when the girls and their mothers reunited. One of the mothers, identified as Mrs. Akinayo could not hold back her tears as she gazed at her daughter unbelievingly.

The girls who were all dressed in white gowns, were taken in front of the congregation whilst the entire church went agog, thanking God for showing mercy on the girls. When THISDAY visited the school at about 10.34am, parents and residents were seen in clusters, some dancing, basking in the euphoria of the rescue.

Attempts to access the church inside the

school where the girls were during the church service, proved abortive, as one of the prelates stopped THISDAY in front of the administrative office of the school. Stressing that the reporter wasn’t a member of their church, the elderly man insisted that the principal would address the press at the end of the sermon. The school security’s guard later came to escort the reporter outside, allegedly on the instructions of the police and school authorities.

Whilst heading back to the state police command for the parade of the suspects, this reporter was opportuned to see the girls in high spirits. In a convoy of seven cars led by a police patrol team and followed closely by their respective parents in their individual cars, the girls were seated in the middle of a white bus belonging to the Anglican Communion.

The girls were seen laughing and discussing amongst themselves as they were sped away quickly to an unknown destination, as THISDAY lost the convoy in a traffic snarl at Ikorodu roundabout.

How They Were Abducted It would be recalled that the students of BMJS were busy in the classroom that night

I want to also say that what was employed in rescuing the girls is more of application of intelligenceled policing using the platform of technology, partnering with members of the community and mounting pressure on the kidnappers

doing their night prep in preparation for the text scheduled on Tuesday. At about 8pm, some armed men suspected to be dislodged pipeline vandals from the Isawo area of Ikorodu, had stormed the school premises located at Agunfoye-Lugbusi village, gained entry by breaking the perimeter fence and successfully took the girls. Numbering about 12, the heavily armed men stormed the school with automatic rifles and AK47 and accessing the school through the perimeter fence, they stormed the classroom and picked the three students without any resistance.

How They Were Rescued On how the girls were rescued and released, the state Commissioner of Police, Owoseni, said Arigidi was arrested from Adama Creeks after he had came out to buy food. He said they had earlier infiltrated the gang and mopped up their parents in a bid to force the hand of the kidnappers, adding that one family had two of their sons in the gang.

After Arigidi was arrested, one of the fathers of the two other gang members, who are still at large, was called in to speak with him and he gave them directions to the creeks. When he got to the creeks, the septuagenarian was said to have appealed to their baser nature, while informing them that the police have arrested one of their gang members.

He also told them that if they don’t release the girls, that the police had stationed their helicopters for aerial bombardment. Seeing no other way out, the suspects quickly took the girls to Igbo-Okuta Bridge, Imota, dropped them there and called in anonymously before they fled from their hideout.

Owoseni, who slept at the area that night, quickly stormed the bridge and carted the girls away to safety and reunited them with their parents. He said they were found at Igbo-Okuta, a suburb of Ikorodu area, after the pressure they put on the gang yielded results.

He also said the command was able to arrest two other members of the gang, simply identified as Henry and Seun, whose duty was to register the different SIM cards used to negotiate with the families. Owoseni said despite the fact that the gang has fled, efforts are ongoing to mop them all up and get them face the wrath of the law. This is just as he said the command has decided to release their respective parents and siblings who were held in police custody, to force them release the girls.

A few days later, the police had another breakthrough as the detectives attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos Police Command arrested another three suspects from the armed gang that kidnapped the three female students of Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary in Ikorodu. The arrest of the three suspects brings to six the numbers that have been arrested since the girls were rescued.

A police source said that the three men were arrested from their different hotel rooms where they were hiding.

“We tracked them through the mobile network providers and they have confessed to being the ones cooking for the girls and ensuring that they did not escape when they were in captivity.

“They further told us that they fed the girls with noodles, and that they had attempted to kidnap the students two previous times but they only succeeded in their third attempt,” the source disclosed.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that no ransom was paid to secure the release of the girls because the gang had first demanded for N100 million each as ransom for the release of the girls. Two days later, they reduced the ransom to N20 million each and as it Thursday, the amount was further reduced to N10 million despite the presentation of N1million from the student’s parents.

Owoseni, who disclosed that the girls were rescued around Imota in Ikorodu, declined to

37

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

CITYSTRINGS

L-R: Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, commending the Officer-in-Charge of the Special Intelligence Response Team (SIRT), CSP Abba Kyari, for the team’s effort disclose further details in order not to jeopardise ongoing investigation. He said, “With respect to the state of the girls, they are very well and they are stable. I can confirm that immediate medical attention just to test them up has been given to them by the police medical team and I can as well tell you that as we picked them up, one of the questions we asked the girls was whether they were molested in any way and the three of them stated unequivocally that they were not molested in any way.”

When asked if ransom was paid, Owoseni said nothing of such happened as police deployed intelligence-led policing using the platform of technology and partnering with members of the community to put pressures on the kidnappers to secure the release of the girls.

He added, “When you talk about ransom in cases like this, you are glorifying kidnapping.

We should not be talking about ransom anymore in this country because if you do, you are telling others that kidnapping is viable and you can be going and kidnapping people to collect money.

“But I want to also say that what was employed in rescuing the girls is more of application of intelligence-led policing using the platform of technology, partnering with members of the community and mounting pressure on the kidnappers because what we have done with other security agencies is that we also went for members of their families including their mothers, their fathers, their children and with that pressure they found out that there was no way again for them to keep on keeping the girls and that was what led to the success we recorded in rescuing the girls.”

He assured residents that Lagos remains safe and secured saying that the state government and security agencies have the capacity to pursue any criminal who dare at all to come and disturb the peace or to commit crime in the state.

The Kingpin’s Confession But for the arrest of the kingpin, the reunion of the girls would not have happened. The police were able to arrest first three members of the armed gang and later additional three, including the kingpin, 37-year-old Emmanuel Arigidi, who in an exclusive interview with THISDAY divulged their modus operandi, even as he swore that they did not rape, touch or beat the girls.

The native doctor turned kidnapper with a previous stint in armed robbery, also confessed to the role he played in last year’s robbery of First and Zenith Banks in Igokoda area of Ikorodu. Arigidi, who admitted that he was the one that sailed the robbers in their get-away boats, said he made N100,000 from that particular deal. Speaking on his role in the Ikorodu kidnap, the unmarried father of one said they were contacted by one Lami Ami, for the job with the promise that they would rake in money.

He said they had first attacked the school two months ago and were able to abduct one of the female students, but she was able to escape to safety. Going back to the drawing board, he said they restrategised and this time came back with more men, who were detailed on their specific duties.

He identified the entire gang including Felix aka Tradition (the contact man), Lami Ami (the informant), Abokin, Ekpokeme aka Ekpos, Gift aka Bayelsa, Prieye, Owe and Godfrey.

Having mapped out their plan, they struck this school this time with seven canoes, using the Adamo Creek as a get-away.

This was contrary to earlier media reports that the gang had stormed the school in seven Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs). He also told THISDAY that they attacked the school after they parked their seven canoes at the edge of Adama Creeks. He said they escaped from the school using the canoes since the water was too shallow for their boats to ply on.

He said, “We entered the school from the back fence and we carried off the girls. We did not wear any masks or charms. Some of us were inside the school while others were outside waiting for further instructions.

When those that went inside brought the girls, they passed them to us outside and we bundled them to the canoe and left for the creeks. It was Felix who bought another set of clothes (jeans and tops) for the girls to change into after they got to the creek. We fed them well too.

Asked on why they targeted and abducted the girls he said he could not readily explain, adding that while the girls were in their custody, they were not harmed. The suspect, who was arrested by the Officer-in-Charge of the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team (SIRT), CSP Abba Kyari and his team, was later taken to the Lagos State Police Command.

Ambode’s Promise Kept In the days after the abduction, the governor had sworn that the girls would be rescued unhurt and that was exactly what happened. Therefore,

Let me warn that the state government will not tolerate kidnapping or any forms of crime in the state.

Our position is clear and unambiguous, Lagos State has the capacity and the will to go after every form of crime and criminality in order to safeguard lives and property in the state

L-R: The suspects; Arigidi (kingpin), Seun and Henry it was only fitting that after they were arrested, the suspects were taken to the Lagos State Government House at Alausa, were Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and his entourage were waiting. While addressing the press, Ambode said the state government was extremely pleased to announce that the three students were rescued successfully by security forces.

He said, “The Lagos State Police Command, the Department of State Security and members of the Armed Forces worked tirelessly round the clock in the last six days to secure the release of the children. I thank them for a good job. The three girls have been safely re-united with their families and the Government wishes to assure Lagosians that their security is top priority and it will not relent in ensuring that Lagos remains safe and secure. I am reliably informed that one of the suspected kidnappers – one Emmanuel Arigidi was arrested during the operation to secure the release of the abducted children.

“Let me warn that the State Government will not tolerate kidnapping or any forms of crime in the State. Our position is clear and unambiguous, Lagos State has the capacity and the will to go after every form of crime and criminality in order to safeguard lives and property in the state. As our daughters are re-united with their mothers and other members of their families, I would like to seize this opportunity to wish all mothers in Lagos State and Nigeria at large a happy Mother’s Day.” Kyari’s Charm The question keeps resounding; what makes the Officer-in-Charge of the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team (SIRT), Abba Kyari, an Chief Superintendent of Police, thick? While some would project luck as the answer, those in the know would however want us to know that his nose for crime, sharp radar against criminals and most importantly, commanding the loyalty of his men, who would willingly die for him.

While he held sway at the helm of affairs of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), Lagos State Police Command, criminals knew better than to cross his part. That mystique and subsequent successes have continued to trail him even as the officer in charge of the SIRT. As usual, Kyari being instrumental in the rescue of so many high profile kidnap cases, including that of the kidnapped three kids of the Orekoya’s. He has also solved cases like the Lekki, Ikorodu, Festac and Agbara bank robberies, thus begging the question on what the police command intends to do with this intelligence driven CSP and his team.

It was therefore not a surprise when Kyari was called in by the IG to fast track the release of the girls.

Thus, the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase had on Thursday deployed the Special Intelligence Response Team (SIRT) to compliment the efforts of the Lagos State Command. Three

days after their deployment, they nabbed the kingpin, which led to the rescue of the girls.

Thus again confirming Kyari’s mystique as a crimebuster.

BBOG Calls for Prosecution In the same vein, the Bring Back Our Girls Group, (BBOG) has called for the prosecution of the suspects. Earlier, chief champion of the group, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, said the failure of our institutions led to the abduction of the Chibok and Ikorodu girls.

In a series of tweets Ezekwesili had said, “The fact that we do not have credible Intel on the whereabouts of our Chibok girls suggests deeper problems. Had our institutions been stronger, our Chibok girls and now Ikorodu girls would not have been abducted.”

After the rescue, the group made this demand in a a press statement titled ‘Girls education under attack: The time for decisive action is now’ signed by its leaders, Ezekwesili, Aisha Yesufu, and Hadiza Bala Usman.

Anglican Prelature’s Heart of Gratitude With a heart full of thanks, the Anglican Prelature led by the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, and the Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, recently commended the Lagos State Government and the state Police Command for spearheading the safe rescue of the three female students.

Okoh who led Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Lagos Mainland Diocese, Most Rev. Adebayo Akinde and other bishops to commend the Lagos State Police Commissioner, Owoseni, said the rescue of the girls cannot be complete without the laudable efforts of the police command.

He said, “It was a most traumatic moment and sad for us as proprietors. Today, we are thanking God for his intervention that a most unfortunate and traumatic event ended on a joyous note. All three pupils are now safe in the custody of their parents, they have been reunited. You acted and responded. Your response was prompt, your response was positive, your response was practical.

“We feel very happy that our school have not been stigmatised. The police delivered a resounding result in less than one week. We the church of Nigeria feel elated and encouraged by the promptness of the police. We felt that it is not only when we have complaints we should visit. When you do well, we should appreciate. The parents of the school children were encouraged that we have a caring police.”

In his response, Owoseni said, “I must say that we feel highly humbled. The job is not complete yet, we have just started. We require your prayers to surmount challenges. God has helped us to rescue the girls, but we still need to get other suspects at large.

“With this lessons we have learnt, we would commence enlightenment campaign on school security. We have put structures in place in that school and we would continue to maintain presence in all schools in Lagos.”

38

MONDAY MARCH 21 2016 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY MONDAY MARCH 21, 2016

39

40

MONDAY MARCH 21 2016 T H I S D AY

PDP

PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP) Power to the People...

Motto: Justice, Unity and Progress National Secretariat: Plot 1970, Wadata Plaza, Michael Okpara Street, Wuse zone 5, Abuja. Tel: 09-7822806, 09-7822781

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT PDP National Chairman’s Meeting With Former State Governors And Deputy Governors

Sen. Dr. Ali Modu Sheriff National Chairman

In furtherance of the strategic all-inclusive consultations for the rebuilding and reposition of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff hereby invites all democratically elected former State Governors and former Deputy Governors who are members of our great Party to a special meeting as follows:

PDP

Date:

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Venue:

PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza Plot 1970 Michael Okpara Street, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja

Time:

3:00pm Prompt.

Signed:

Chief Olisa Metuh National Publicity Secretary

T H I S D AY MONDAY MARCH 21, 2016

41

42

MONDAY MARCH 21 2016 T H I S D AY

43

MONDAY MARCH 21, 2016 • T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

Russia Mourns Plane Crash Victims as Investigation Begins

Relatives yesterday gathered to mourn the 62 victims of a passenger jet that crashed in southern Russia, with officials saying investigation could take weeks to determine the cause of the downing.

At Rostov-on-Don airport about 400 people paid their respects to the 55 passengers and seven crew who died when the Boeing (BA.N: Quote) 737800, operated by Dubai-based budget carrier Flydubai, crashed in the early hours of Saturday.

Bereaved relatives laid red and white carnations on a growing pile of flowers, candles and children’s toys, framed by photos of the dead.“We mourn,” read an inscription listing the victims’ names.

“What happened cannot be expressed with any words. I can’t comprehend how the relatives of the victims will go on living,” Rostov resident Marina Bondar told Reuters.“The whole world is expressing its condolences to us. But it is impossible to forget this.”

At the crash site, Russian workers finished their search of the snow-covered wreckage, having sifted more than 200 pieces of the victims’ bodies scattered across the airfield, Russian TV reported.

Russia’s airline regulator said work had started extracting information from the doomed plane’s flight recorders, which were badly damaged in the crash. “The received recorders are badly damaged mechanically,”Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) said in a statement on its website, alongside a photo of a crumpled recorder.

“Specialists ... have started the inspection, opening and removing the memory modules from their protective coverings for further work to restore the cable connections and prepare to copy the data,” the IAC said.

RIA news agency cited an IAC official as saying it could take one month to decode information from the recorders.

Under international aviation rules, the investigation will be led by Russia’s air safety investigation agency with representatives from the United States, where the jet was made, and the United Arab Emirates, where the airline is based.

Flydubai’s CEO Ghaith al-Ghaith said on Saturday it was too early to determine the cause of the crash, but officials have suggested it could have been caused by pilot error, a technical problem or strong

winds at the airport.

Speaking at a news conference in Dubai on Sunday he said:“We have high confidence in the Russian authorities who are capable of managing local conditions for flights,” he said.

“We fully trust the Russian authorities in this.”

“The airport was open. It was good enough to operate and good enough to land, as per the authorities,” he added.

“The weather conditions were good enough for the flight.”

Flydubai said in a statement it was organising hardship payments to families of the

victims amounting to $20,000 per passenger, in accordance with its conditions of carriage.

The airline has not cancelled or delayed any flights because of the crash, it added, and Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said the airport would reopen on Monday

morning. Security services in the Middle East and Russia are on heightened alert for militant threats to aviation following the Islamic State claim of responsibility for downing a Russian passenger plane over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in late October.

Niger Votes in Presidential Run-off amid Opposition Boycott Niger voted yesterday in a presidential run-off which incumbent President Mahamadou Issoufou is heavily favoured to win after his jailed opponent was flown out of the country for medical reasons and an opposition coalition called for a boycott.

Issoufou, an ally of the West in its fight against Islamist insurgents in West Africa, won the first round comfortably last month with 48 percent of votes but failed to clinch the outright majority required to avoid a second round.

Voting officially opened at 7 a.m. (0700 GMT) though there were only a few early voters visible outside polling stations in

the capital Niamey.“I am against any boycott. I’ve just voted,”said Sadou Ide, who cast his vote at the Nogare school in Niamey.

Southern Niger, which borders Nigeria, has been the target of regular deadly raids by Islamist Boko Haram militants. It also shares borders with Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, where al Qaeda-linked groups are active.

Libya, home to Islamic State affiliates, lies to the north.

Speaking after casting his vote on Sunday, Issoufou appealed to Nigeriens to stay the course amid the growing menace from regional militants.“A single term in office is not enough to overcome all

the challenges, in particular I am thinking of the security challenges,” he said.“We need a sacred union ... We must remained united.”

Late on Saturday, the regional governor of Niamey Hamidou Garda issued a ban on gathering outside polling stations citing security reasons.

“All gathering is forbidden.

Voters come, vote and then leave,” he said on state-owned television. Security forces were posted at polling stations. They also patrolled the streets of Niamey and monitored the city’s main intersections. Issoufou’s main opponent Hama Amadou, who came in second with 18 percent

of the vote in the first round, was jailed in November in connection with a baby-trafficking scandal.

Hama, who has not been convicted, says he is innocent and claims the charges are politically motivated. He was flown to Paris just days before the second-round vote for treatment of a chronic health issue, a government spokesman said.

The Coalition for an Alternative (COPA), which unites about 20 political parties including Amadou’s MODEN, called for a boycott of the polls on Friday, claiming the process had been tainted by fraud.

SALES

13 Egyptian Policemen Killed in Sinai Attack At least 13 Egyptian policemen were killed in the Sinai Peninsula when Islamist militants fired a mortar round at a security checkpoint in the city of Arish, security and medical sources said on Saturday.

Islamic State claimed responsibility on several websites for the attack, and Egyptian state media later confirmed it. Ambulances were subjected to heavy gunfire as they attempted to reach the wounded, the sources said. Eyewitnesses reported hearing a massive explosion and said the city’s entrances and exits had been closed off by security forces.

Egypt is battling an insurgency that gained pace after its military overthrew

President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s oldest Islamist movement, in mid-2013 following mass protests against his rule.

The insurgency, mounted

by Islamic State’s Egyptian branch Sinai Province, has killed hundreds of soldiers and police and started to attack Western targets within the country. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the former military chief who led Mursi’s ouster, describes Islamist militancy as an existential threat to Egypt, an ally of the United States. Islamic State controls large parts of Iraq and Syria and has a presence in Libya, which borders Egypt.

Former Official Adds to Allegations against Zuma Pressure on South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma intensified on Sunday when in a newspaper interview, a former high-ranking official added to mounting allegations that Zuma had a corrupt relationship with a prominent family of business owners.

Zuma has so far insisted his ties with the Gupta family are above board, but investors fear further political uncertainty could hasten a credit ratings downgrade, potentially into “junk”territory, and sharply raise

South Africa’s borrowing costs.

The allegations also reinforce concerns over governance and stability in Africa’s most industrialised economy.

South Africa’s opposition has called on Zuma to resign over the row. Former cabinet spokesman Themba Maseko told the Sunday Times newspaper that in 2010 Zuma asked him in a telephone call to meet the Gupta family at their home in Johannesburg and to “please help them.”

SEEKING

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We are seeking entrepreneurs who want to start their own company and are determined to succeed by selling the best product and by servicing their customers.

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Please email HYTORC USA at careers@hytorc.com with any additional questions or inquiries. No Phone Calls.

44

MONDAY, march 21, 2016 • T H I S D AY

47

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY MARCH 18, 2016

Nigeria’s top 50 stocks based on market fundamentals

16-Mar-16 15-Mar-16

% Change

Capitalisation

EPS

P/E

P/S

Div. Yld

Price/ Book Value

01 Dangote Cement Plc

162.00

164.00

-1.22%

2,760,562,199,610.00

10.91

11.40

5.53

5.63%

3.38

02 Nigerian Brew. Plc.

96.05

93.00

3.28%

761,590,140,292.40

5.37

17.72

2.73

4.73%

4.42

03 Nestle Nigeria Plc.

680.00

690.00

-1.45%

539,006,251,360.00

24.20

29.04

4.10

3.91%

11.94

04 Guaranty Trust Bank Plc.

16.40

16.20

1.23%

482,671,339,273.60

3.67

4.33

1.90

9.12%

1.17

05 Zenith Bank Plc

12.35

12.83

-3.74%

387,746,698,257.10

3.34

3.88

1.12

13.47%

0.71

06 Lafarge Africa Plc.

84.05

85.50

-1.70%

382,839,497,130.50

8.64

9.26

1.77

4.13%

1.85

293.23

293.23

0.00%

381,926,533,832.69

5.18

59.85

2.96

1.29%

8.78

15.45

16.26

-4.98%

283,500,566,271.75

1.39

11.12

0.55

4.00%

0.76

09 Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd.

351.00

350.00

0.29%

194,211,919,863.00

94.70

2.49

0.96

6.78%

0.63

10 Guinness Nig Plc

109.50

112.79

-2.92%

164,894,756,586.00

6.24

19.60

1.64

0.00%

3.78

15.50

15.30

1.31%

155,000,000,000.00

2.65

5.29

1.18

0.71%

1.25

12 FBN Holdings Plc

3.67

3.73

-1.61%

131,735,724,546.64

2.39

1.66

0.36

25.19%

0.25

13 United Bank for Africa Plc

3.60

3.74

-3.74%

130,606,294,759.20

1.44

1.94

0.37

17.86%

0.31

28.05

28.06

-0.04%

106,121,459,812.50

0.93

32.52

1.93

4.12%

15.86

4.51

4.58

-1.53%

103,201,964,275.08

1.97

2.08

0.44

8.54%

0.27

16 P Z Cussons Nigeria Plc.

25.00

24.70

1.21%

99,261,926,125.00

1.10

19.09

1.15

6.21%

1.98

17 7-Up Bottling Comp. Plc.

151.59

154.00

-1.56%

97,107,093,127.17

11.12

15.97

1.46

1.24%

4.74

18 Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc

6.31

6.01

4.99%

75,720,000,000.00

1.11

5.30

0.70

8.46%

1.44

19 International Breweries Plc.

18.50

19.05

-2.89%

60,943,611,680.00

0.64

30.59

3.48

1.28%

5.34

159.95

159.95

0.00%

57,677,212,156.90

11.22

12.52

0.62

4.27%

3.42

41.50

41.50

0.00%

54,780,000,000.00

6.00

7.25

0.26

6.21%

2.25

4.36

4.82

-9.54%

52,470,938,377.84

0.50

7.80

0.08

19.23%

0.30

19.24

19.29

-0.26%

50,490,323,477.88

1.84

10.77

0.16

10.09%

0.51

142.95

142.95

0.00%

48,534,646,599.15

12.41

11.48

0.21

6.32%

3.92

25 Sterling Bank Plc.

1.62

1.70

-4.71%

46,640,477,364.12

0.26

6.80

0.52

14.04%

0.07

26 Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc

1.09

1.14

-4.39%

42,205,887,193.25

0.02

51.43

1.18

4.07%

0.51

27 U A C N Plc.

20.02

20.95

-4.44%

38,455,705,027.74

3.62

5.25

0.46

9.21%

0.52

28 Presco Plc

34.25

34.25

0.00%

34,250,000,000.00

3.28

10.37

2.99

0.29%

1.52

29 Fidelity Bank Plc

1.18

1.20

-1.67%

34,190,260,487.14

0.23

5.43

0.29

11.20%

0.20

30 Diamond Bank Plc

1.40

1.35

3.70%

32,424,544,555.20

1.05

1.68

0.21

17.05%

0.18

31 Wema Bank Plc.

0.82

0.83

-1.20%

32,380,466,034.66

0.00

24.86

0.63

0.00%

0.85

32 Cadbury Nigeria Plc.

17.20

17.20

0.00%

32,305,075,088.00

3.21

5.92

1.06

6.84%

3.45

33 Okomu Oil Palm Plc.

31.50

31.50

0.00%

30,048,165,000.00

2.25

13.58

3.28

3.28%

1.18

34 Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig. Plc.

24.98

24.98

0.00%

29,872,994,670.24

2.05

11.90

0.97

5.33%

2.29

35 Cap Plc

38.50

38.50

0.00%

26,950,000,000.00

1.66

22.37

3.91

2.69%

14.82

36 Mansard Insurance Plc

2.14

2.20

-2.73%

22,470,000,000.00

0.18

12.24

1.53

1.83%

1.24

37 Custodian And Allied Insurance Plc

3.81

3.80

0.26%

22,409,902,582.95

0.70

5.52

0.90

2.84%

0.88

38 National Salt Co. Nig. Plc

7.87

7.50

4.93%

20,851,080,034.86

0.97

7.23

1.73

12.86%

3.31

39 FCMB Group Plc.

0.82

0.86

-4.65%

16,238,222,818.28

0.82

1.08

0.13

33.71%

0.11

40 Skye Bank Plc

0.99

0.98

1.02%

13,741,498,395.90

0.90

1.22

0.11

27.27%

0.11

41 Honeywell Flour Mill Plc

1.62

1.64

-1.22%

12,846,920,205.96

0.14

10.34

0.24

10.96%

0.54

42 Cement Co. Of North.Nig. Plc

8.88

8.88

0.00%

11,159,298,562.08

1.13

8.08

0.70

7.68%

1.07

43 Continental Reinsurance Plc

0.91

0.92

-1.09%

9,439,197,323.92

0.16

6.09

0.63

10.31%

0.66

44 UACN Property Development Co. Limited

5.10

5.10

0.00%

8,765,624,974.50

1.81

2.96

0.82

13.08%

0.28

45 Unity Bank Plc

0.67

0.64

4.69%

7,831,856,421.14

0.54

1.22

0.12

0.00%

0.09

46 Wapic Insurance Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

6,691,369,124.00

0.03

17.47

1.78

0.00%

0.45

47 Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc

4.04

4.10

-1.46%

6,561,843,750.00

0.45

8.10

0.72

8.24%

0.97

48 Resort Savings & Loans Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

5,664,866,202.00

4.68

0.11

0.02

0.00%

1.89

49 AIICO Insurance Plc.

0.81

0.81

0.00%

5,613,465,628.80

0.18

5.08

0.23

0.00%

0.47

50 Fidson Healthcare Plc

2.70

2.75

-1.82%

4,050,000,000.00

0.63

4.26

0.18

15.56%

0.63

07 Forte Oil Plc. 08 Ecobank Transnational Incorporated

11 Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc

14 Unilever Nigeria Plc. 15 Access Bank Plc.

20 Mobil Oil Nig Plc. 21 Julius Berger Nig. Plc. 22 Oando Plc 23 Flour Mills Nig. Plc. 24 Total Nigeria Plc.

TOTAL

8,116,659,818,859.14

TOTAL MARKET CAP

8,825,696,601,788.13

% OF MARKET CAP Annotation - MA* = Simple Moving Average

91.97%

Table 1 Market Statistics Mkt Indicators NSE All Share Index NSE Market Cap (N'Trillion) Thisday BGL 50 Index Thisday BGL 50 Market Cap (N'Trillion)

Open 15-Mar-16

Close Change % 16-Mar-16

25,745.13 8.86

25,657.48 8.83

-0.34 -0.34

105.14 8.19

104.24 8.12

-0.86 -0.86

Table 3 Top 5 Gainers Stock

Open Close Change 15-Mar-16 16-Mar-16 %

Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc National Salt Co. Nig. Plc Unity Bank Plc Diamond Bank Plc Nigerian Brew. Plc.

6.01 7.50 0.64 1.35 93.00

6.31 7.87 0.67 1.40 96.05

4.99 4.93 4.69 3.70 3.28

Table 4 Top 5 Losers Stock

Open Close Change 15-Mar-16 16-Mar-16 %

Oando Plc Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Sterling Bank Plc. FCMB Group Plc. U A C N Plc.

4.82 16.26

4.36 15.45

-9.54 -4.98

1.70 0.86 20.95

1.62 0.82 20.02

-4.71 -4.65 -4.44

Bearish activities in the market leads to 0.34% decline Market pulse on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today- Tuesday March 16th, 2016, was bearish due intense sell pressure and profit taking. This was further highlighted by negative performance from NSE Sub sectors; Insurance and Consumer Goods (Save Banking and Oil & Gas). Trading activities increased in volume as 4.35 billion shares worth N4.68 billion in 4,125 deals exchanged hands today. This is an increase from the 310.65 million shares worth N2.06 billion in 3,010deals carried out on Tuesday. Topping in volume terms was Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc and FCMB Group Plc, while Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc ended trading as the most active stocks in value terms.

The All Share Index (NSEASI) closed negative with a 0.34% (-87.65) decrease to 25,657.48 from 25,745.13 the previous trading day. Market Capitalization depreciated in tandem to N8.83 trillion from N8.86 trillion of prior trading day. The Thisday BGL 50 Index followed suit with 0.86% decrease to close at 104.24 from 104.24 the previous trading day, while its market capitalization stood at N8.12 trillion from N8.19 trillion of the previous trading day.

A total number of 9 stocks gained on the bourse today while 23 stocks declined, leaving 65 stocks unchanged. Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc emerged the toast of investors as it topped the Thisday BGL 50 Index gainers’ list with a gain of 4.99% to close at N6.31 per share. It was followed NASCON Plc with a gain of 4.93% to close at N7.87 per share. Others on the gainers list include: Unity Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc and Nigerian Breweries Plc while on the decliners’ list; Oando Plc led with a loss of 9.54% to close at N4.36 per share. It was followed by ETI Plc with a loss of 4.98% to close at N15.45 per share. Others on the losers list include; Sterling Bank Plc, FCMB Group Plc and U A C N Plc REQUIRED DISCLOSURE This report has been prepared by BGL Plc. BGL Plc does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should use this report as one of many other factors in making their investment decisions.

For more details go to www.thisdaylive.com

T H I S D AY MONDAY MARCH 21, 2016

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Boko Haram: Maiduguri Groans under IDP Influx Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Michael Olugbode Maiduguri, capital of Borno State, is groaning from pressure on its housing, health facilities and other social facilities as a result of influx of persons displaced by Boko Haram crises, which has resulted in a sharp rise of over 150 per cent in its population, from one million to 2.5 million persons.

With a total land mass of 70,898 square kilometres, Borno is second to Niger State out of the 36 states in Nigeria. It is 20 times the size of Lagos.

Consultant, ENT Surgeon and Chairman, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Mala Bukar Sandabe, in the state said over 20 per cent of the 305 doctors employed by the federal and state governments medical facilities in the state have ‘systematically’ abandoned their duty posts under various legitimate excuses including sabbatical and leave of absence; private medical practice was as good as dead. There were 200 doctors at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), while 105 doctors were in the employ of the state government.

According to him, the normal health care system was over stretched, leading to a critical emergency situation when 21 out of the 27 general hospitals in each local government area of the state were displaced and many personnel in the hospitals relocated to Maiduguri.

“In these 21 local government areas, the insurgents destroyed hospitals, banks, police stations and the local government secretariats,” he said, resulting in an influx of patients, particularly those in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp which has put the hospitals in Maiduguri under serious pressure.

Sandabe cited the example of routine ante-natal visits by pregnant women. “At 7a.m.,” according to him, “you could notice over 200 women in all the hospitals, those who would come later would be turned back.

The accident and emergency wards are filled with patients with many of them now lying on the floor.”

All the nine public hospitals in Maiduguri which include the Specialist Hospital, Gen. Shuwa Specialist Hospital, Maryam Abacha Specialist Hospital, Infectious Disease Hospital, Molai General Hospital

(Leprosorium), Umaru Shehu Specialist Hospital, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital and the State NeuroPsychiatric Hospital have been stretched to their limits according to Sandabe.

Painting a pathetic picture of private medical practice in Maiduguri, he said: “Right now, there are only 10 members of my association that are in private medical practice. Many of their hospitals were in the ‘no-go’ areas. Even when insurgency started to subside, their services have dwindled. They no longer have the number of capable personnel in their service.

“The curfew in the state has not helped private medical practitioners. They cannot admit patients. It is difficult to monitor patients under that condition. On many occasions, soldiers threatened to shoot ambulance drivers who convey patients and medical personnel.

We had to adopt a system that required doctors on duty to stay all night. In a private hospital, with one doctor? That is not possible.”

Sandabe also disclosed that there was an emerging pattern of diseases which indicate that diarrhea and vomiting, psychological problems and kidney diseases are becoming prevalent in the state, particularly in the IDP camps. He said this could be linked to the sanitary condition in the IDP camps.

“Lack of water and fluids destroys the kidney. These people are forced to take drugs that are not prescribed by physicians. They eat anything they can find. At some point, they were not allowed to go out.

And people were not allowed to bring anything to them. Most of these persons move by foot on a 60 kilometres journey from Bama to Maiduguri. Some of them died on the road. It is expected that they will suffer from dehydration and exhibit symptoms of schizophrenic disorder,” he stated.

Other noticeable ailments which Sandabe highlighted, included malaria, weakness, pain and typhoid.

Most homes in Maiduguri are spilling over with persons who fled other troubled local government areas in the state.

Apart from the IDP camps, public spaces and uncompleted buildings have become home to the IDPs. At the Maiduguri

National Assembly Hosts Roundtable Today on the Economy Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The federal legislature will today hold the inaugural session of National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER) in Abuja with key stakeholders drawn from the executive, legislature and private sector coming together to find workable solutions to the nation’s economic problems.

A statement by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Senate President, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, said the session would deliberate on the recommendations of the Business Environment Legislation Review Report that was submitted by a team of experts on February 29.

“As part of the activities leading up to the inaugural NASSBER, a Business Environment Legislative Review was conducted and the final peer-reviewed report was submitted to the National Assembly on February 29, 2016; which identified institutional, regulatory and legal instruments currently constraining and impeding business activity in Nigeria,” the statement said.

Furthermore, the statement said findings and recommendations of the Business Environment Legislative Review Report “provides a framework for the assessment and improvement of legislation and policy affecting businesses in Nigeria and will direct the deliberations at the first NASSBER event.”

Terminus of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), every available space was converted to makeshift homes.

Royalty is not also left out of the unfortunate housing situation. Of the eight traditional rulers in the state, only three have the comfort and good fortune of residing in their domain. They are the Shehu of

Borno, the Emir of Biu and the Emir of Shani. The royal fathers from Gwoza, Bama, Askira and Guba have been forced to seek shelter outside their kingdom, it was also learnt.

The Deputy Chairman of the Borno State Land and House Dealers Association, Bunu Umara, confirmed a huge increase in the cost of residential

accommodation in Maiduguri.

A two-bedroom apartment which used to cost N150,000 per annum, now goes for N250,000; while a one bedroom has gone up from its previous cost of N80,000 to N150,000.

“In the thickly populated areas, rent has witnessed a dramatic change from N20,000 to N50,000 per month,” he stated.

According to the state Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information and Culture, Dr. Mohammed Bulama, the influx of persons into Maiduguri has presented a huge challenge, adding that: “There is no doubt that all these young people roaming about may be tempted to commit crime.

That is a worrisome reality.”

GOOD TO SEE YOU

Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki in a handshake with the Director of Da’awa, Jibwis Nigeria, Sheikh Yakubu Musa.

With them is the National Chairman of Jibwis Nigeria, Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau at the closing ceremony of the International Islamic Conference at the Eagle Square, Abuja yesterday

Lagos Govt Throws up Falomo Shopping Complex for Open Tender Seeks partnership on urban development projects Gboyega Akinsanmi Seven months after the termination of a concession that granted the redevelopment of Falomo Shopping Complex to Afriland Properties Plc, the Lagos State Government yesterday threw up the complex for bidding under a public-private partnership arrangement.

Likewise, the state government asked appropriate business entities, also under a PPP arrangement, to undertake the development and delivery of a wide range of facilities in different parts of the state.

The intention was expressed in a statement the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde issued yesterday, saying it was part of the plan of the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to achieve its aggressive urban development goal in the state.

The state government had on August 18 terminated the Falomo Shopping Complex concession, which the state Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) granted to Afriland Properties, a subsidiary of Heirs Holdings under the chairmanship of Mr. Tony Elumelu.

The state government then argued that the decision to terminate the concession was carried out based on a recent discovery that the concession was grossly detrimental to the interests of the people of the state, noting that the concessionaire only paid N50 million for a 50-year lease of the property belonging to the government.

But the concessionaire disputed

the claim of the state government, saying the shopping mall was not leased to it for 50 years for N50 million.

Rather, it said it paid a sum of N50 million to the state government as an expression of interest in the redevelopment project.

After the controversies subsided, a widow of dialogue was opened between the state government and Afriland Properties Plc to review and possibly renegotiate the terms and conditions of the concession, which the former said, was sealed to the detriment of the state’s interest.

But in a statement yesterday, the state government called for proposals from suitable business entities to redevelop the shopping mall into a world-class residential apartment, thereby suggesting a breakdown of the renegotiation bid between the conflicting parties.

The statement, which was signed by the information commissioner, said former Falomo Shopping Complex was one of the facilities, which it said, the state government “is seeking proposal to redevelop in the state.”

It explained that the state government “is seeking proposal under PPP on how the site could be redeveloped into a world-class residential condominium complex with the full complement of lifestyleenhancing facilities and complete communities direction strategy.

“The site is intended to be developed as a low density, mixed use residential development that will include the integration of the multi-use nature of the area,” the statement said.

Also under the PPPredevelopment

programme, the statement said the state “has equally made available lands in various locations across the state, on which it intends that malls, hotels and other lifestyle facilities would be established.”

The statement listed the areas reserved for such urban development “to include Epe, Ibeju-Lekki, Badagry, and Ikorodu. Other locations are in Ojokoro, Gbagada, Oshodi and Amuwo-Odofin.”

It added that the reserved parcels would be allocated to investors, who would be interest to develop such facilities as residential apartments, shopping/business malls, recreation parks, hotels, theme parks, zoos, car parks and other facilities that will add to a moderncity lifestyle.

It explained that the state government is also interested in having a complete make-over of the CMS Marina axis to bring it up to standard comparable to similar choice locations in the world.

With the planned commissioning of the Blue Line of the Lagos light rail project this December, the statement disclosed that the state government “intends to redevelop the entire stretch of the Marina starting from the Apongbon end to the NECOM House end of the Marina.

“The state government intends to have multi-level car parks, shops, offices, restaurants among others.

All the projects are positioned in an integrated design to create a more harmonious experience for shoppers and other visitors to the Marina,” the statement explained.

It said the area “is the prime

business location and undisputed hub for commercial activities in the state, for which the government intends to redevelop the stretch in line with its actual value and importance by having a comprehensive development scheme that will have all the state of the art features.

“The state government plans to develop the location of the cancelled Paradise Residential Scheme along the Anthony/Oworoshoki/Oshodi Expressway to a Recreational/ Theme Park with elements of educational/entertainment and leisure activities, that will cater to the whole family.”

It said the same “is being considered for the areas abutting the Yaba interchange on the Third Mainland Bridge with integrated water sporting activities on the expansive and serene waters of the Lagos Lagoon with a proposed commercial scale boat jetty to provide a gateway for water transportation so as to increase the intermodal transport system in the state.

“The state government is interested in bringing to the Epe-Ejirin Road abutting the Sala Metal Crushing Plant, a world class leisure park cum lifestyle facilities.

Proposal that will include retreat/ conferencing facilities which would provide support to the nearby Lekki Free Trade Zone will be welcomed.”

He added that a zoo on about 50 hectares of land “is also being considered for the Epe axis to provide the sector at this stage before urban sprawl will make it more difficult to do so in the future.”

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IPOB Rejects Army Investigations, Wants ICC’s Investigation Kanu claims he is being persecuted

Tobi Soniyi in Abuja and Emmanuel Ugwu inUmuahia The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has rejected the moves by the Nigerian Army to investigate the alleged killings of pro-Biafra activists in Aba, the commercial city of Abia State on February 9, 2016.

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai, had last week announced that the army was “already investigating” the incident as it was usually “our procedure” to investigate incidents involving loss of lives.

But in a statement issued by its spokespersons, Emma Nmezu and Dr Clifford Iroanya, IPOB demanded an impartial investigative team, arguing that “the army is the aggressor” in the incident under investigation.

“The so-called investigating team arranged by the Chief of Army Staff is foundationally riddled with conflict of interest and lacks the moral compass to conduct quality investigation in a case of this magnitude,” IPOB said.

The pro-Biafra organisation recommended that the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague should wade into the matter because it is “the only credible entity which can carry out in-depth investigation” and give an unbiased report.

To achieve the expected impartial investigation, IPOB called on the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) and other allied organisations to intervene and work with the ICC to conduct a thorough investigation.

Alluding to the statement credited to COAS saying that soldiers could not have opened fire on the activists

without provocation, IPOB said it was as “open confession” that the army “actually shot and killed unarmed Biafrans.”

It therefore insisted that an impartial investigation of the February 9 incident was necessary as “it is now indisputable that unarmed Biafrans were mowed down by the Nigerian soldiers.”

The IPOB also faulted Buratai for saying that troops could not just open fire as the army has rules of engagement and that “in situations that entail the use of fire, the protection of human rights does not apply.” He was also quoted to have said: “The 1999 Constitution and the Armed Forces Act all provided for eh use of force when necessary.”

IPOB said: ”But we could not locate in any of the 320 sections and seven schedules of the 1999 Constitution which section that supported the dastardly acts of his soldiers. Neither did we find in any of the 292 sections and four schedules of the Armed Forces Act, CAP – A20 LFN 2004, where it stipulated the shooting of unarmed peaceful civilians in peacetime within the Federation of Nigeria ”In addition, the civilised world will be interested to know what the Nigerian Army’s Rules of Engagement (ROE) are when confronted with Christians praying in a separate ground.“ Meanwhile, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has described himself as a victim of travesty of justice and gross human rights violation following his continued detention by the federal government.

Kanu, who expressed his

Jega Heads C’ttee to Revive Education in Three Northern States Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has been appointed to head an advisory committee that will revive the education sector in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States.

Jega, who hails from Kebbi State, would work with six other professors from the zone and would advise the governors of the three states on how to fix the myriad of problems facing the sector, especially at the tertiary education level.

Presenting a report of the committee at the weekend in Sokoto to Governors Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Abdulaziz Yari and Abubakar Bagudu of Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi States respectively, Jega said time had come for all stakeholders in the three states to close rank and collectively face the challenges together.

He said there was the need to reposition institutions of higher learning in the three states that made up the old Sokoto State to enable them operate according to their core mandates.

Jega, among other recommendations, stressed the need for improved funding of the institutions, reinvigorated training and promotion of exchange programmes among institutions in the three states.

The committee also advised

the three states to establish a joint Education Tax Fund in the mould of the federal government-funded TETFUND and revive the former remedial school to be established in one of the states to prepare students for higher studies.

Receiving the report on behalf of his colleagues, Governor Yari of Zamfara state said even though Sokoto had already declared a state of emergency on education, both Zamfara and Kebbi States would follow suit.

He said the three governors would liaise with their various state Houses of Assembly and state Attorneys-General to review the laws that established the institutions.

“We will pass the recommendations to the Attorneys-General to look into them, with a view to review these laws. We will also strive to formulate all the requisite policies to make these higher educational institutions function effectively.

“We will also allocate nothing less than 35 per cent of our annual budgets to the education sector,” he added.

The five other members of the committee are former Vice Chancellors of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Prof. Riskuwa Shehu and Prof. Tijjani Bande. The rest are Professors Zayyanu Umar, Lawal Bilbis and Umar Chafe.

readiness to stand trial, said all he was asking for was a fair trial and not persecution.

In a statement by one of his counsel, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, the Biafra agitator who has filed a suit before the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), against the violation of his rights, said he was wrongly arrested and put in detention.

In the suit to enforce his fundamental enforcement rights, he is specifically seeking requisite redress under the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and other International Conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory.

It was the submissions of his counsel that the unlawful detention

of his client from October 14, 2015 till January 20, 2016, without any lawful orders of court, and in flagrant disobedience of orders of courts of competent jurisdiction, all ordering his unconditional release and discharge, amounted to a gross violation of his fundamental human rights.

Ejiofor, who chronicled all the alleged abuses of Kanu’s fundamental human rights, stated that he was discharged by a Chief Magistrate court in Abuja in the First Information Report filed against him which contained bogus and frivolous allegations.

He said: “The Department of State Services (DSS), that dragged him to court refused to obey the

orders of the same court.”

The statement further read: Recalled that on December 29, 2015, during the Presidential Media Chat, the president told the whole world that Nnamdi Kanu could not be granted bail, alleging that he came into the country without a valid travelling passport. This pronouncement was roundly condemned by both local and international commentators. His pronouncement was viewed as a clear usurpation of the functions and powers if the judiciary.

“Though very regrettable and extremely unfortunate, Nnamdi Kanu was refused bail on 29 January, 2016. In refusing him and other defendants bail, the court also

cited the facts of his possession of dual passports as a flight risk, and as such, held that he couldnot be granted bail.”

This position, according to Ejiofor, “Was in keeping in line with the pronouncement of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in his media chat telecasted live on December 29, 2015. It is a case of a witch crying in the night and a baby dying in the morning.

“The same Kanu who has been announced to the whole world, to have sneaked into the country without valid passport, now has his two valid passports (British and Nigerian) seized by the operatives of the DSS.”

I AM VERY LOYAL SIR

Former Vice-President and Chieftain of the All Progresives Congress (APC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in a handshake with Governor Muhammed Jibirilla Bindow of Adamawa State on his arrival from a two-day visit to South Africa, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja... yesterday

Osun will Pay Salaries Despite N6m Federation Account Allocation, Govt Assures Workers Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo The Osun State Government yesterday described as uncalled for insinuations that the state would not pay the salaries of its workers in March as a result of the N6 million Federation Account allocation that accrued to it for the month of February.

The government assured its workers that just as the Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration had weathered the storm to pay salaries up to December, the government is executing with the support of all stakeholders, including the workers, a wellmapped out strategy for ensuring that workers are not made to pay more price for the dwindling allocation than they have done.

A statement by the Bureau of Communication and Strategy in the Office of the Governor, which was signed by its Director, Semiu Okanlawon, explained that the considerably reduced FAAC allocation is no more news to the state.

The state received less than N150 million from October till date, due the repayment obligations for the Infrastructure Programmes it has been prosecuting. In spite of

the heavy obligations, has paid more than N5billion in salaries between the same period.

FAAC is not the only source of revenue to the state, and the commendable support of workers has allowed us to stretch our reserves and other sources to pay workers on mutually agreed terms as well as fulfill our development promises to the majority of the people.

“As at today, the process for the payment of January salaries is at the final stages. The workers will receive their salaries from this week in preparation for Easter holidays.

The state today remains a major projects site employing thousands of our people simultaneously in the construction of major roads, models schools and other infrastructure mostly to be completed before the end of the year. The state is therefore fulfilling it’s obligations to the people and running government. The state call all that care to come to visit the state to see for themselves the moods in the state rather than pander to rumours, conjectures and lies,” the statement said.

The statement added that the state by virtue of its poor

allocation, has never had the opportunity of ample resources that are commensurate to the humongous responsibilities of payment of salaries, payment of pensions and gratuities, and implementation of capital projects.

“But due to prudent management of resources, creative infrastructure financing, this government has been able to fulfill its obligations in all these critical areas of governance.

“The fact remains that Osun State, under Aregbesola, did not have to wait for the day the state would get N6million as allocation before proffering solutions towards sustainable economic self-reliance.

“This is why the state has reduced the cost of governance, moved aggressively to increase Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), sought to attract investments into the state through provision of hitherto non-existent infrastructure and enabling environment and instituted performance-driven governance.

“It must be noted that all hands are on deck towards more convenient repayment schedule of existing loans as part of plans to free the state’s resources for critical needs of governance.

This is in addition to the drive

for internally generated revenues the performance of which is very encouraging,” the statement added.

The bureau therefore called on some critics of the government who are capitalising on the last allocation to make unguarded statements noting that Osun’s resources could not have been better utilised than what the Aregbesola had done in the last five years.

“We are aware of those whose job it is to confuse unsuspecting members of the public through their mischievous statements.

The question these self-appointed critics of the Aregbesola administration should be asked is: if they demand that further funds should not be released to this government, what has happened to all the loads of lies-laden petitions they had sent to the federal government?,” it added Saying that the ordinary people of the state recognise the people-oriented programmes of the administration, the statement added saying: “We are consoled by the fact that the ordinary people -the focus of this administrationappreciate the enormous work this government has done.

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Secret Recruitment: Withdraw Job Offers Now, SERAP Warns CBN Sunday Okobi A civil society organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP),

has sent a letter to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, requesting him to “immediately withdraw hundreds of letters of

FIRS, Police Meet to Check Illegal Fees, Levies at Road Blocks Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Chairman of the Joint Tax Board (JTB), Mr. Tunde Fowler, has asked for collaboration between the Nigeria Police Force and various tax authorities to stem collection of illegal fees and levies at road blocks.

Fowler made the request when he led a delegation of some members of the JTB on a courtesy call on the Inspector General of Police (IG) , Mr. Solomon Arase.

A statement signed by the Secretary to JTB, Mohammed Lawal Abubakar, said Fowler emphasised that the existing working relationship between the JTB and the police needs to be further strengthened given some challenges encountered in our tax system, especially on illegal taxes and levies across the country.

Unauthorised persons mount road blocks, for purpose of collecting revenue and selling of emblems or stickers to motorists on the highways, Fowler noted.

He also noted that activities of such people are not only counter productive but affect development of the nation’s tax system. He therefore called on the IG to continue to support the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the state Boards of Internal Revenue Service in their operations.

The chairman said: “It is clear that what is needed now is collaboration and cooperation among stakeholders, particularly the Nigeria Police Force, members

of JTB to stem the tide of multiple taxation, which impedes voluntary compliance.

In his response, Arase expressed his appreciation for the courtesy call and assured the delegation of the support of the police force in providing the needed security for revenue officers across the federation.

He also informed the JTB members that he had directed all police commands nationwide to apprehend and prosecute any person or group of persons involved in mounting illegal road blocks for purpose of revenue collection.

“I have told my men that if a Commissioner of Police (CP) allows his jurisdiction to be used, I will hold such accountable. Be rest assured I will do that,” Arase said.

To this end, he gave the Police Compliant Response Unit Phone numbers; 0805700001 and 0805700002 for the general public to call and report mounting of road blocks and illegal collection of taxes and levies.

Re-emphasising the police support for tax authorities to achieve optimum revenue collection, Arase commended President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing Fowler as the Executive Chairman of FIRS, describing it as a step in the right direction.

Other areas of collaboration among the JTB members and the Police, such as training and exchange of information were also identified and agreed it would be explored appropriately.

Journalists Have Nothing to Fear from FG, Says Minister The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said journalists in Nigeria have nothing to fear from the federal government in the performance of their duties. ‘’Under this dispensation, we have never even contemplated stifling the freedom of the media not to talk of hounding them to death,’’ the minister said in Doha yesterday when he featured as a panelist at the ongoing 2016 Annual Congress of the International Press Institute (IPI) in the Qatari capital. ‘’Not a single journalist is in detention in Nigeria today. The government of the day is not a threat to the media, and it is not about to stifle press freedom or deny anyone his or her constitutionally guaranteed rights,’’ he said at the session devoted to a debate on the implementation of the document on the ‘’International Declaration On The Protection of Journalists’,’’ which was presented at the congress.

Mohammed said having identified lack of communication and mutual suspicion as part of the reasons for regular frictions between the government and

the media in Nigeria, he said he had taken measures to enhance communication and also reduce suspicion between the two. ‘’These (measures) include strengthening the rapport between the government and the media, which I have done by meeting with the major stakeholders in the media industry, and setting up a committee between the media and the security/intelligence agencies to deepen communication and understanding,’’ he said.

The minister also said while the government had ensured the protection of the premises of vulnerable media establishments when required to do so, that does not affect the independence of such organisaions.

Commenting on the role of governments which regularly target journalists for their work, he said: ‘’The state which ought to protect life should not be the one to snuff it out.’’

Mohammed stressed the need for capacity building for media practitioners as a way of enhancing the performance of their duties, saying the local chapters of the IPI and other media organisations have a role to play in this regard.

employment issued following a seriously flawed recruitment process, and to put in place a system of recruitment and hiring based on the principles of non-discrimination, transparency, participation and objective criteria such as merit, equity and aptitude.”

The group warned that “Should Emefiele and the CBN fail or neglect to act as requested within 14 days of the receipt or publication of this letter, the it will take appropriate legal action to ensure effective remedies for millions of Nigerians who have been denied equal opportunity to participate in the recruitment process. And this may be without further notice to you.”

The letter dated March 18, 2016, and signed by SERAP Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, read

in part: “This corrupt process amounts to a fundamental breach of constitutionally and internationally recognised human rights of millions of Nigerians particularly the right to equality and non-discrimination to work and human dignity.

“Instead of the CBN to promote equality of opportunity and access to employment for all Nigerians, it has perpetrated discrimination, therefore denying an opportunity for economic self-reliance and in many cases, a means for millions of Nigerians to escape poverty and live a life of dignity.

“The process also directly breaches article 7 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption which Nigeria has ratified.”

SERAP further stated that: “Article seven requires institutions like the CBN to

adopt, maintain and strengthen systems for the recruitment and hiring of civil servants that are based on principles of transparency and objective criteria such as merit, equity and aptitude.

“We believes that by the secret recruitment, millions of otherwise qualified Nigerians have been treated less favourably than the children of the politically and economically connected. This differential treatment is arbitrary and cannot be reasonably and objectively justified. It can in fact result in pervasive discrimination, stigmatisation and negative stereotyping.

“The secret recruitment also offends the requirement for Nigeria to make the labour market open to everyone in the country.”

“SERAP notes that

non-discrimination and equality are essential for the exercise and enjoyment of other constitutionally and internationally recognised human rights, as well as equal and effective protection before and of the law.

“We therefore remind you that every Nigerian has the right to work, allowing him/her to live in dignity.

“According to reports, CBN carried out an alleged secret recruitment of over 900 employees on your directive and under your supervision. Many of the beneficiaries are said to be children and relatives of the politically and economically connected. Our information suggests that there were no prior notifications on the recruitment through advertisements to give all Nigerians the opportunity to participate.”

MORE LAURELS

L-R: Former Senate President, Senator David Mark; Wife of Governor of Ogun State, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun; and Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, at the Novena University where Mark and Mrs Amosun were conferred with honourary doctoral degrees at the university’s third convocation ceremony in Ogume, Delta State ...weekend

‘FCT Minister Wrongly Advised on Centenary City Project’ As controversy over the status of the Centenary City Project lingers, there are strong indications that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello, may have been deliberately misled by certain officials of the ministry into making his recent statements before the National Assembly concerning the ongoing Centenary City Project.

A senior staff of the ministry who is very knowledgeable about the project, insisted at the weekend that the minister “means well” but that “he was wrongly briefed,” and deliberately so, by a clique of what he called “the old older” in the establishment.

According to our source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the aim of this group is “to completely scuttle the well-conceived project” by confusing the public or leading

the FCT minister into making high profile misstatements and factual errors that would embarrass him out of office.

Either way, any minister who means well is in the line of fire, said our source.

Bello last week accused the promoters of the Centenary City Project of seeking to have parallel authority in the FCT, declaring the request for revocation of the development agreement between the Centenary City Plc and the FCT Administration as untenable and unrealistic.

But sources explained that there was no such thing as demand for parallel authority, or even the remote possibility of same.

He said the agreement being touted by the FCTA was lawfully overtaken by two developments, namely the declaration of Centenary City as a free zone by the president and

the simultaneous acquisition of supervisory authority and rights over it by NEPZA. Its regulations were gazetted by the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) as the Centenary Economic City Free Zone Guidelines and Regulations, 2015. All staff of the ministry know about this. They also know that the Centenary City land was obtained under the FCTA’s Land Swap Scheme, and that the President declared it a “Free Zone” “Centenary Economic City Free Zone,” on the recommendation of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.

“How can you speak of them signing an agreement with `a third party`, when they are simply drawing our attention to their new status, which puts them under NEPZA and not FCTA? Our source asked.

Continuing, he said: “A call

for good record keeping should not be given another name by mischief makers, in order to drive their personal vested interests. No one can speak of an entity waking up one day and entering into an agreement with NEPZA and we all know that,” he concluded.

The demand for a formal amendment of the development agreement entered into with the FCTA is simply to eliminate a double regulatory regime, which is the sort of things that scares away investors.

Reveal that many FCTA officials are aghast that the ministry is being made to appear unaware that every “Economic City” in the world, including EKO Atlantic City in Lagos, have “free zone status.” Even the FCTA has its own free zone, the Abuja Technology village, which it has not been able to develop.

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NEWSEXTRA

Power: NERC Approves Licence for 550MW Ondo IPP Average of 2,872MW constrained last week, says regulator

Chineme Okafor in Abuja The

Nigerian

Electricity

partners, Kingline Development Company, a South Korean firm, to generate 550 megawatts (MW) of electricity in the state’s Independent Power Project (IPP) project.

A statement confirming this was sent to THISDAY yesterday in Abuja.

The statement had the officials any evidence against him, charge of the power project describing him to court. We are law-abiding the license from NERC as a major people in Ekiti. milestone and a huge push to “If you can’t charge him to bring the first phase of the court, then, you have no reason Kingline Ondo IPP to realisation. under the law to continue to hold The statement was signed him. He has been in your custody by the Business Development for close to three weeks now, yet, Director and Head of Nigeria you have not proffered any charge operations of Kingline, Mr. against him.

Akinnola Fola. He noted that What kind of democracy is this? the NERC licence was signed “On Thursday, the Director of DSS in Abuja and that the promoters in Ekiti State promised us that they of the IPP were excited with the were already contemplating to development. release Akanni, and that latest, by Fola also disclosed that Saturday, he would be released.

Why is he not with his family now?

We forced them to show him on television to know whether he is alive or not.

“They showed him. Is that man alive? He needs immediate medical attention. You have denied him access to doctor, family, lawyer and medication in about three weeks.

Even a common criminal has right to live until otherwise decided by the court,” the speaker said.

He added: “People should not toy with human lives that they cannot create, in the name of politics. If anybody has done anything wrong, Regulatory Commission (NERC) has issued a generation licence to Ondo State Government and its

Lawmaker’s Arrest: Ekiti Speaker Accuses DSS of Playing Double-standard Olakiitan Victor in Ado Ekiti The Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon. Kola Oluwawole, has again accused the Department of State Services (DSS) of deceiving Nigerians over the detention of a lawmaker, Hon. Afolabi Akanni, saying it has reneged on its promise to release the suspect on Saturday.

Astatement by his SpecialAssistant on Media, Stephen Gbadamosi, yesterday noted that if it was not a case of political vendetta and misuse of state’s machinery , the DSS would have adhered to its promise to release the incarcerated lawmaker.

Oluwawole said it was rather incongruous, illegal and undemocratic for the DSS to have promised that the service was already contemplating releasing Akanni before the House staged a protest to its state office along New Iyin Road on Thursday only for the lawmaker to still be in custody of DSS till yesterday.

“We have said that injustice to one is injustice to all. This is the only one of our missing four lawmakers that the DSS has accepted is with them. We said if you are holding him, tell us why, or if you have

actual construction of the plant would commence in June 2016.

According to him: “The project is in the final stage before achieving finance close.”

He added that Ondo State Government in 2015 sealed an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract with POSCO E & C of South Korea for the first phase of the state’s proposed 1100MW IPP project.

Fola explained that the state government is currently partnering Kingline through its Nigerian subsidiary for the development of the IPP. “The first phase of the project involves the construction of a gas-fired power plant that will generate 550MW of power to be sold into the national grid.

The second phase is expected to add another 550MW. “POSCO is to see to the

design, engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and testing of the 550MW open cycle gas turbine power plant in Ondo State,” Fola stated.

He further explained that actual construction of the first phase is expected to take about 26 months from commencement and date of issuing the Notice To Proceed (NTP).

According to him: “Kingline Ondo IPP Limited is to implement the power generation project. The Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract between international engineering and construction company, POSCO E & C of South Korea and Kingline Ondo IPP Ltd is considered a crucial milestone. The contract covers the turnkey delivery of the power plant.”

Meanwhile, a weekly energy watch of the NERC has said that an average of 2872MW of electricity was constrained in the system last week. The figure also suggests an increase from 1895MW which it recorded in the previous week.

According to industry experts, the development means that the country’s energy systems had the capacity to generate that much but was unable to either because of lack of gas to thermal generation plants or low water levels in the hydro dams. They also said that transmission challenges could have resulted to such.

The NERC watch indicated that on the average, 3682MW of electricity was generated, transmitted and distributed to consumers across the 11 distribution networks of the country last week.

Okowa Hails Midwestern Oil on CSR Projects Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has commended Midwestern Oil and Gas (MWOG) for a remarkable contribution to the growth of its host communities through its many Corporate Social Responsibility programmes.

Okowa, who made the remark during the inauguration of the Amenity ward in Kwale General Hospital and that of the rehabilitated Akala street, as well as the award of 40 scholarships to students, noted that Midwestern Oil and Gas, has over the years been a partner in the development of its host communities.

Represented by his Commissioner for Information, Mr. Patrick Ukah, Okowa remarked that consistently, the oil company had been showing acts of commendable corporate social responsibility.

He further promised that as a result of the company’s CSR record, there would be continued partnership with government just as government would ensure that its operations and activities in the state enjoy maximum protection.

“We are happy to say that Midwestern Oil and Gas has continued to be responsible in joining hands with government to develop its host communities.

And I can therefore assure them that they will never regret coming to Kwale for their exploration activities,” Okowa said.

Earlier in his address, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Charles Oditah, said the

company has established a tradition of partnering the communities in its operation area by assisting in various areas of need like provision of road networks, provision of transformers to boost electricity supply, provision of solar-powered boreholes, building of and equipping blocks of classrooms, offer of scholarships, as well as training youths in various skill acquisition schemes, among others.

He further noted that the 20-bed Amenity ward at the Kwale General Hospital which was commissioned last Monday to provide additional comfort and privacy to patients “was constructed and fully equipped by the Midwestern JV as part of its contribution to improving health care facilities and economic development of the people of our host communities.

In the same vein, we undertook the full rehabilitation of the Akala Road”, adding that, “we also have many other ongoing projects that we will also commission in a couple of months.”

Oditah who tasked the host communities to always co-operate with the company by ensuring that they also mount surveillance on the safety of oil facilities in the area to forestall vandalism, crude theft and all such vices that affect profitable production, informed that the scholarship scheme offered to the students drawn from both the community and across the state carries annual price of N150,000 to aid in the tuition, books and academic expenses of beneficiaries.

THE PROBLEM WILL BE OVER SOON

L-R: Deputy Managing Director, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), Mr. John Ayodele; Managing Director, Mr. John Donnachie; Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola; and Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, during IBEDC management’s visit to the governor to clear issues on the power situation in Ilesa and its environs in Osogbo.... weekend

NBA Presidency: Gadzama, Mahmoud Storm Lagos Branch Two leading aspirants for the presidency of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief J. K. Gadzama (SAN) and Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) have given reasons why they should be the preferred candidates in the forthcoming general election to elect the next president for the lawyers’ umbrella body.

The NBA will in July elect a new president to succeed the incumbent, Mr. Augustine Alegeh (SAN), who assumed office in August 2014.

There was an unwritten understanding within the bar that the leadership should rotate among the three geographical zones, namely eastern, western and Northern zones.

The zoning arrangement has now been cemented by the amended NBA Constitution 2015.

Section 2.2 (b) of the Second Schedule to the constitution provides that “The positions

of the President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Third Vice President and General Secretary shall rotate among the three zones.

In determining the eligibility of a candidate to contest for any of the rotated offices, regard shall be had to a candidate’s geographical zone of origin and not the geographical zone where he/she carries on legal practice.”

Speaking at the recent monthly general meeting of NBA Lagos Branch, Mr. Mahmoud noted that he had held several professional positions including his role as former Solicitor-General of Kano State.

He was also at various times Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Kano State as well as member, Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee.

He said he would run a

“thoroughly professional bar,” adding that his leadership would tackle the recent odium being heaped on lawyers for alleged complicity in derailing the anticorruption fight by instilling discipline within the association.

On his part, Gadzama urged members to recall his record as a consummate bar-man in electing him as the next NBA President.

“You know me, I know you; we are not strangers to one another,” he said.

Gadzama emphasised that he was neither cajoled nor co-opted into the race by any group or individual, saying: “The decision to run for NBA presidency is my personal decision made upon deep reflection on the need to serve the bar.”

Speaking earlier, the chairman of the branch, Mr. Martin Ogunleye, urged members to take keen interest in the

forthcoming NBA general elections, noting that the quality of leadership of the bar invariably affected the professional lives of lawyers.

He said only competent and reliable lawyers should be elected to lead Africa’s largest bar, adding that “the time has come to take NBA to the next level.”

The meeting was attended by leading lawyers including octogenarian, Pa Tunji Gomez, Mrs. Hairat Balogun, Chief Emeka Ngige (SAN), Chief Ziggy Azike, Otu Oka-Iwu President, Zik Obi, Chief Ladi Williams (SAN), Dr. Dapo Olanipekun (SAN), Dr. Joseph Nwobike (SAN), Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN), Mr. Wale Akoni (SAN), Dr. Garba Tetengi (SAN), Lady Debbie Obodoukwu, and former Lagos Branch chairmen Messrs Foluso Fayokun and Alex Muoka.

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Mark to Nigerians: Rise up against Barbarism, Insecurity The immediate past Senate President, Senator David Mark, has again tasked Nigerians to rise up against the unabating insecurity

in the land in order to stop the needless killings of country men and women.

Mark noted that although

FG to Reform Police for Primacy in Internal Security Yemi Akinsuyi in Abuja The Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, has said federal government will reform and equip the Nigeria Police to make it the lead internal security organisation and to enable the force combat crime and criminality in the country.

Osinbajo described the force as a critical actor in the criminal justice system, stressing that any nation that is desirous of national security must have a friendly and rule of law-compliant police, noting that it was based on this that President Muhammadu Buhari approved the recruitment of 10,000 personnel into the police.

He said this at the weekend in Abuja during the inauguration of 200 Toyota Hilux double cabin vehicles, springbuck armoured personnel carriers (APCs), 15 Mercedes Benz troop saloon cars and three ambulances for the deployment of policemen to liberated communities in the North-east.

Others are nine water tankers, 50 Toyota salon cars, 20 Toyota hilux armoured vans, five Camry salon cars, assorted communication and power generating items and tents.

Osinbajo also launched a legal centre for police lawyers built by the police to enhance law practice

by its legal officers.

The vice-president said with the inauguration of the vehicles, effect had been given to the initiative of government to deploy the police to the North-east.

He said: “It is the expectation of the government that with the acquisition of operational assets, the capacity of the police to support the integration process in the North-east will be engendered.”

Osinbajo said with the acquisition of the operational vehicles, the challenges of kidnapping and organised crimes which had threatened the nation’s security would be a thing of the past.

He commended policemen who paid the supreme price in the fight against terrorism and other internal engagements.

The vice-president urged serving police personnel to remain courageous and professional in the discharge of their duties and promised that the federal government would provide all necessary logistics to stabilise communities in the North-east.

The Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, said the vehicles would be deployed as part of logistics for security stabilisation in the North-east and also to strengthen other internal security operations of the police, including safer highway patrol scheme across the country.

Ogun Announces Mrs Lambo’s Death The Ogun State Government has announced the death of Mrs. Dinah Vivian Lambo (nee Adams) matriarch of the Thomas Adeoye Lambo family.

The late Mrs. Lambo died on March 19, 2016 at the aged of 93.

Mrs. Lambo was the widow of the late Professor Thomas Adeoye Lambo, Africa’s first Professor of Psychiatry and former Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) who was an

indigene of Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The state Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, while commiserating with the family, also thanked God for the life of Mrs. Lambo who he described as “a virtuous, resourceful and committed ally of her late husband.”

The governor added that although she would be sorely missed, the late Mrs. Lambo lived a life worthy of emulation and should therefore be celebrated even in death.

Abe Calls for Probe on Disruption of Electoral Materials by PDP Leaders The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the Rivers South East senatorial district re-run election in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, has called on the law enforcement agents to investigate the attitude of Secretary to State Government (SSG), Kenneth Kobani and other Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders in Gokana Local Government Area, who used armed youths to disrupt the distribution of electoral materials to the various polling units in the area.

Speaking with journalists at Bera in Gokana Local Government Area at the weekend, Abe said lack of prosecution of offenders was responsible for flouting electoral laws and called on the federal government to set up an

inquiry on the matter.

“In the last election that preceded this rerun, the same atmosphere of violence and threat were perpetuated, people were killed and nothing was done.

So, in an atmosphere where people do things and there is no consequence, there is really no need for them to stop what they are doing because what they are doing enable them to get the result that they desire.

There is no reason for this people to stop their acts of violence and impunity,” he said.

According to him, a situation where the state government through Kenneth Kobani armed the youths who attacked the INEC office and chased away electoral officials and voters was unfortunate.

insecurity had taken a global trend, Nigeria cannot afford to allow the challenges degenerate further to an intolerable level.

The former Senate president was speaking at the weekend in Ogume, Delta State, when he bagged a doctorate on Intelligence and Security Studies (Honoris Causa) from Novena University at the institution’s convocation ceremony.

The university also established a new faculty named Senator David Mark Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies to study issues relating to insecurity and conflicts.

According to him, it is sad that hundreds of thousands of

lives have been lost to conflicts and insurgency regretting that “Productive men and women who should ordinarily contribute to national development have been needlessly wasted. That is why we must all rise up to say enough is enough.”

He was pleased with the establishment of the Intelligence and Security Studies faculty named after him and requested that higher premium be placed on strategic research that would provide better understanding and knowledge of the security challenges facing the nation today.

Senator Mark therefore tasked security agencies and scholars

alike to take advantage of the intelligence and security faculty of the university to focus on research, teaching and learning in order to fashion out a blue print to navigate through the myriad of security challenges.

Presenting the certificate to the awardee at the university campus, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof.

Chris A. Okafor, acknowledged the role Senator Mark played as the president of sixth and seventh Senate in bringing peace, stability and security to the national polity, which he described as unprecedented in the history of Nigeria.

He particularly extolled the

wisdom with which Mark piloted the affairs of the National Assembly, stressing that: “The David Mark Centre for Intelligence and National Security Studies will work closely with the distinguished senator and some international partners from the Republic of China to fully train the undergraduates in personal and national security.”

The event was attended by Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa; his cabinet members, former Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro; House of Representatives Committee Chairman on Airforce, Hon. Samson Okwu; Hon. Ezekiel Adaji among others.

INSPIRED PEOPLE

L-R: Founder/CEO, HealthPlus Pharmacy, Mrs. Bukky George; CEO, Sheer Ambience, Mrs. Busola Songonuga; Head, SME Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Obinna Ukachukwu and CEO/Vice Chairperson, Fine and Country West Africa, Mrs Udo Okonjo, at the 2016 Global Possibilities Summit of Inspired Woman of Worth (iWOW) network in Lagos...weekend Abiodun Ajala

Supreme Court Sets Aside Firm’s $5m Damages The Supreme Court has set aside the $5million damages awarded to a firm, Q Oil and Gas Services Limited, against GE International Operations (Nigeria) Limited by a Rivers State High Court.

It held that the money amounted to double compensation to the respondent.

The plaintiff, Q Oil and Gas Services (respondent in the appeal), had sought a declaration that the Master Services Agreement between it and the defendant, GE International Operations (appellant), was still valid and subsisting.

The plaintiff said it was asked to provide a contract worker to the defendant, which it did by bringing an Indian expert, Mr. Raja Kumar.

But the defendant rejected the Indian in breach of the contract, the plaintiff said.

The plaintiff, through its lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), said the defendant’s refusal to allow it fill the vacant slot/position following its rejection of Kumar as provided in the agreement was illegal and breached the contract.

It sought $20,000 being money spent to bring Kumar to Nigeria to work for GE International; $500,000 being payment due to the claimant for five years of the contract of skilled labour provided for the defendant, and general damages

in the sum of $5million for breach of contract.

On June 8, 2010, the plaintiff urged the court to enter judgment in its favour since the defendant failed to file its statement of defence and other processes within the time allowed by the court’s rules.

On September 29, 2010, the High Court granted the application and awarded all the monies the plaintiff prayed, including N35,000 as cost of the suit.

Dissatisfied, GE International, through its lawyer, Tunde Olowu, appealed to the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division. The appellate court, on April 16, 2014, struck out the appeal for being incompetent “as there was no evidence that the appellant paid any fee for the filing of the appeal.”

Aggrieved by the judgment, the appellant, on June 10, 2015, appealed to the Supreme Court on seven grounds.

Among the four issues raised for determination were whether the Court of Appeal was right to strike out the appeal on its own on the grounds of non-payment of filing fees; whether the lower court was right to grant the default judgment and whether the damages amount to double compensation to the respondent.

Resolving the issues, Justice

Sylvester Ngwuta, in the lead judgment, held that not all the grounds of appeal were incompetent.

“One competent ground can save the appeal from being struck out as incompetent,” he held.

The Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal was wrong to have struck out the appeal due to non-payment of filing fees.

“I think it is mechanical justice to strike out an appeal on the mere fact that on the face of the process there is no endorsement relating to payment of fees. It would have been more in tune with justice to enquire from the registry whether or not the fees were paid and the appellant could be asked to satisfy the court that the fees were paid, especially when it applied to validate the appeal, perhaps by showing evidence that the fees were paid,” Justice Ngwuta said.

According to him, the Court of Appeal could have compelled the appellant to pay the fees if it did not.

“On no account should a litigant be made to suffer for the mistake of the registry as is apparent in this appeal. The order striking out the appeal is hereby set aside,” the Supreme Court held.

On the award of $5million as general damages in addition to

the $520,000, the Supreme Court said the principle of restitution “is not meant to give a windfall to the respondent.”

Justice Ngwuta held that the two heads of claim ($20,000 spent to bring Kumar and $500,000 for the five-year contract) were what would restore the respondent to the position it would have been if there was no breach of contract.

“That is all the respondent is entitled to and not general damages.

The $5million damages awarded to the respondent as general damages cannot stand as the respondent cannot be awarded both special and general damages for the same set of facts.

“The $20,000 awarded as claimed ‘being money spent by the claimant in bringing Kumar to Nigeria to work for the defendant’ includes all the expenses in bringing the expert to Nigeria also includes the immigration requirements.

“In conclusion, the appeal succeeds in part. I set aside the $5million awarded as general damages to the respondent. On the facts of the case, the award amounts to double compensation.”

Other justices on the panel – Mahmud Mohammed, Suleiman Galadima, Olabode Rhodes-Vivour and Musa Muhammed, all agreed with the lead judgment.

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T H I S D AY MONDAY MARCH 21, 2016

Daddy you left us 10 years today.

Your exit seems like yesterday.

The brilliance of your star continues to illuminate all parts of our lives as you still live in each and every one of us.

Though we have all survived and progressed these years.

Your amazing memories will forever remain with us and your grandchildren.

In loving memory of His Excellency, Chief Dr. Chima Nwafor, First elected Deputy Governor of Abia State.

June 10th 1946 – March 21st 2006.

His Excellency,

Chief Dr. Chima Nwafor, First elected Deputy Governor of Abia State.

Fondly remembered by

Wife – Her Excellency Dame Gladys Nne Nwafor

Children – Barr Chiemerie & Ngozika Chima-Nwafor Diasy Akwaugo Ndukwe Ginger & Ijeoma Nwafor Engr Enyinnaya & Dr Kelechi Nwafor Chimaeze & Dr Chigozie Nwafor Dr Onuaguruchi Nwafor

Grand Children: Paris Onyenma Ndukwe Chelsea Nneka Ndukwe Chidera Justice Ndukwe Uchenna David Chima-Nwafor Uzoma Joshua Chima-Nwafor Kelechi Clement Chima-Nwafor Daisy Chiamaka Enyi-Nwafor Dawn Chiagoziem Enyi-Nwafor Dilys Chikamara Enyi-Nwafor Michele Nne Nwafor David Chiekeziem Enyi-Nwafor

52

T H I S D AY •MONDAY MARCH 21, 2016

MONDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

AFCON 2017 QUALIFIER

Nigeria vs Egypt: IG Tasks Siasia, Guarantees Security in Kaduna Police Games begin

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The Inspector General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, has appealed to Super Eagles caretaker, Samson Siasia, to avoid conceding any goal that will give Egypt any advantage in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday.

Nigeria and the North African country, both bidding for slots to Gabon 2017, will slug it out at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna in a Group G qualifier.

Speaking at the colourful opening ceremony of the 11th Police Games at the weekend, Arase charged Super Eagles to press for goals and go for

outright victory as that will put smiles on the faces of Nigerians.

The Police chief tasked the team not to be too defensive against the Pharaohs.

“If we can score, we are home and dry. We cannot be on the back foot at home as we must score goals because we have the ability and assets to do so,” Arase noted.

He similarly appealed to football fans to turn up in numbers in support of the Eagles, saying the police and other security agencies will collaborate to ensure their safety for the match.

Arase said that he had held interactive sessions with

Siasia and Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Amaju Pinnick, on issues related to the security at the match.

The biennial Police Games is featuring officers from 13 zonal commands nationwide,

including Force Headquarters.

It is a platform by the Force to discover and groom budding sports talents that can be put at the service of the country.

The Nigeria Police is reputed for producing world-class sportsmen including the

country’s first individual Olympic gold medalist, Chioma Ajunwa. The late Sunday Bada and former boxing heavyweight champion, Samuel Peters are also among the personnel that have made Nigerian sports great.

Arase also said that the games present an opportunity for policemen to excel and give good account of ourselves as managers in terms of security and sports.

The officers are to compete for medals in 28 events.

L-R: President, Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Habu Gumel; Member, House of Representatives’ Committee on Sports, Hon. Mohammed Nur Sherriff; Manager, Zenith Bank, Maitama Branch, Mr. Lanre Ishola and President, Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Tijjani Umar, during the opening ceremony of the 12th Zenith Bank National Women’s Basketball League in Abuja ……

Saturday.

Siasia... tasked to beat Egypt

Team Nigeria Qualifies for Davis Cup Zenith Bank League: First Bank, Dolphins in Flying Start As Osewa wins silver in ITF/ CAT Juniors The impressive performance of Team Nigeria at the 39th ITF/ CAT African Junior Championship concluded at the weekend in Pretoria, South Africa has been rewarded with a ticket for the Junior Davis Cup scheduled for Egypt later this year.

Also, Michael Osewa emerged silver medalist in the boy’s 14&under category of the 11-day tournament following a 7-5, 6-4 loss to Damien Laporte of the Seychelles.

Osewa went into the match as the favourite having triumphed 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the most recent meetings between the two players which was at the Top 8 African Junior Masters held in Casablanca,

Morocco last November but it was his opponent from the Indian Ocean Island that carried the day.

Osewa had made it a trademark of recovering after losing the opening set –a feat he achieved against top seed Younes Adnane of Morocco in the last-16, Jason Espitalier of Mauritius in the quarterfinal and Ryan Randiek of Kenya in the semifinal but it was not to be this time as Laporte broke him in the ninth game of the second set before taking his remaining two games on his own serves.

Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) boss, Sani Ndanusa, commended the feat achieved by the Nigerian team which was highlighted by

Osewa’s masterful display.

He said: “The fear of the North Africans is now a thing of the past for us. Our immediate task is to complement our performance here which is the best in Nigeria’s history with a bigger support for our junior players especially now that we are back in the Davis Cup after missing for about three years.”

Yousef Khamis claimed the Boys’ 16 & under singles title beating Philip Henning of South Africa 7-6, 6-2 butMakayla Loubser restored the pride of the host nation by winning the Girls’ 14& under title with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Aisha Niyonkuru of Burundi.

Women’s basketball league dunks off in Abuja First Bank’s Elephants Girls of Lagos and the reigning champions, Dolphins, also of Lagos won big in two of the eight Zenith Bank sponsored Women’s Basketball League games played on Saturday.

First Bank humiliated Coal City Angels of Enugu 91 - 13; just as the current champions, Dolphins of Lagos also tamed Zamfara Queens 100 - 41.

In other matches played, Benue Princess outclassed Taraba Queens 56 -17 while Sunshine Girls of Akure outsmarted Plateau Rock

45 - 44.

In all, eight matches were played on Saturday, four before and another four after the very colourful opening ceremony put together by the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF).

The opening ceremony was watched by some sports enthusiasts among them the President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Habu Gumel, Member, House of Representatives’ Committee on Sports, Hon. Mohammed Nur Sheriff, and representative of Zenith Bank GMD/CEO,

Winners Emerge at Lagos International Squash Classics Tinubu pledges support for U-19 league

After four days of exciting matches at the Lagos International Squash Classics, winners emerged at the weekend with the Chairman, Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC), Deji Tinubu pledging his support for the proposed U-19 squash league.

Top seeds players, Wale Amao and Yemisi Olatunji confirmed their supremacy over others after claiming the titles in the men and women’s events of the competition.

To claim the diadem in the men’s event, Amao over-

powered wildcard entrant, Lanre Abdulrahman 11-4, 11-6, 11-4 to cart home the N170,000 star prize while Olatunji pummeled Veronica Sunday 14-11, 11-4, 11-1 to claim the N90, 000 prize money.

In the U-19 event, Temiloluwa Adegoke beat Michael John 11-8, 5-11, 11-8, 12-10 while Busayo Olatunji sealed the girl’s title after outclassing Idowu Ogunyemi 11-3, 11-2, 11-1.

For their efforts, the U-19 champions were awarded education grant by the LSSC. According to LSSC Chairman,

Deji Tinubu, efforts would be made to kick-start the U-19 league to grow the sports in the state.

“We are going to sit with the Lagos State Squash Association (LSSA) and they will come up with the logistics and how they want to start the U-19 league.

Ours is just to create an enabling environment and also to support because it is very important that at that age we need to keep them focused. We want to encourage, we want to support. If the U-19 squash players know that they have a regular competition, they

will stick to it and develop their talents,” he noted.

Tinubu was impressed with the entire arrangement for the squash classics.

“I’m very impressed with what they did today as well as the prize-money. You can imagine if the U-19 know that in a year they will playing in six or seven competitions and they know that at the end of year, they can make decent money and other advantages of having their school fees paid, training grants and all, it will get excited

and settled,” he said.

Tinubu added: “For the U-19 boys and girls that we’re supporting next year in their education, they don’t need to worry about their school fees.

That burden is taken care off so they can concentrate on the game and school. It’s all about encouragement and creating enabling environment and like Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has said, it’s all about keeping the youth busy and most importantly, let everyone feel the impact of government.”

Lanre Ishola, who is the manager of the Maitama branch of the bank.

President of NBBF, Tijani Umar, was on hand to direct affairs in company with other board members.

The opening ceremony, among others, featured a match past by the 18 teams participating in this year’s league and representatives of some states of the federation.

The rendition of Whitney Houston’s ‘I will always love you’ by an Abuja-based artiste set the indoor sports hall of the Abuja Stadium on fire as both fans and players joined the singer in chorusing the timeless masterpiece.

In his speech, the NOC president urged the girls to make the best of the platform provided

by Zenith Bank to advance their career.

He commended the bank for such ‘magnanimous contribution’ to building the Nigerian youth by helping positively harness their talent.

Also speaking at the ceremony, GMD of Zenith Bank, Mr. Peter Amangbo, said that the bank was proud to associate itself with the women’s basketball league, reassuring them that Zenith will continue to stand by the league in order to take them to whatever heights they dream of in their career in basketball. Lanre Ishola represented the Zenith Bank chief at the event.

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T H I S D AY •monDAY MARCH 21, 2016

MONDAYSPORTS NPFL… NPFL… NPFL… NPFL…

Rangers Crush Akwa Utd 3-0 to Return to NPFL Summit Enugu Rangers trounced visiting Akwa United 3-0 to go back on top of the Nigeria league on Sunday.

Rangers have now returned to the summit of the standings with 14 points from seven matches, while erstwhile leaders MFM FC fell 1-0 at Heartland.

Bobby Clement put Rangers in front after half an hour courtesy of an assist by Bright Esieme.

Former Heartland ace Tope Olusesi doubled Rangers lead seven minutes into the second half with an assist by Chisom Egbuchulam.

Egbuchulam then turned from provider to scorer in the 73rd minute, when he found the back of the net from a well-taken free kick.

Egbuchulam was voted man of the match by journalists covering the game.

Elsewhere, Niger Tornadoes lost their early lead to go down1-2 to hosts, Wikki Tourists at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium (ATBS) in Bauchi.

Ismaila Gata scored the match opener for the newly promoted side but striker Mubarak Umar’s brace ensured the Bauchi side picked the whole three points at stake.

The defeat leaves Tornadoes on seven points from possible 21 in the seven-week old Nigerian top flight.

Despite the defeat, Tornadoes’ Head Coach, STANDINGS

Match-day 7 Ikorodu Utd 1-2 Giwa FC El Kanemi 2-1 IfeanyiUbah Heartland 1-0 MFM FC Rangers 3-0 Akwa Utd Plateau Utd 2-1 Lobi Wikki 2-1 Tornadoes 3SC 1-0 Rivers Utd

Team

P

Rangers

7

4

2

1

7 6 6 6 6 7 6 6 7 5 7 5 6 NigerTornadoes 7 El-Kanemi W 6 Ikorodu Utd 7 Enyimba 3 Sunshine Stars 5 Nasarawa Utd 3

4 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 0 0

1 2 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 0 0 2 2 1 0 2 0 2 0

2 1 2 2 2 3 0 2 3 2 4 1 2 4 4 4 2 3 3

MFM FC Kano Pillars Ifeanyiubah Wikki Akwa Utd Lobi Stars Abia Warriors Giwa FC Plateau Utd Shooting Stars Rivers Utd Warri Wolves Heartland

W D

Abdul Usman Biffo, insisted that he was not going to give up on the search for away points in the ongoing top flight season.

Biffo said it’s becoming unacceptable how careless mistakes have cheated his side of deserving away points in the ongoing league season.

“Well, that’s football we took the lead only to concede two goals to the opponents, Wikki Tourists.

“It’s becoming unacceptable how little errors keep cheating us of well deserved points on the road.

“We remain undaunted the search for away win will continue and I have this inner confidence that in the next three or four matches the jinx will be broken.

“The players are getting better and stronger I believe their orientation will soon change for the better.

“Wikki Tourists are clearly the better side on matchday and ably deserved the hard fought victory.

“I praise my players, too they played well to at least deserve a point in the encounter but we will keep the fight on till we get it 100 per cent right,” said the former Giwa FC coach to supersport.com.

L

GF

GA GD

Pts

12

6

6

14

9 9 10 7 10 9 7 7 8 7 8 3 3 9 6 4 1 4 1

8 7 7 4 8 7 5 6 12 5 8 2 3 10 10 11 3 7 5

1 2 3 3 2 2 2 1 -4 2 0 1 0 -1 -4 -7 -2 -3 -4

13 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 9 8 8 7 6 5 3 2 0

Chiamaka Madu of Rangers (middle) is challenged for ball possession by Niger Tornadoes’ Chinedu Nwaeze during their Match Day three clash in Enugu PHOTO LMC Media

Nasarawa, Wolves Crash out of Continent Warri Wolves and Nasarawa United will play no further part in CAF club competitions this year.

This was after the respective clubs lost their second leg, first round CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup games on Saturday.

Wolves were beaten 1-0 at the El-Merreikh Stadium, Omdurman by Sudanese club, El-Merreikh.

February 2014.

And their own 59-10 record leaves them three behind the Warriors in the race for top seeding in the play-offs.

Warrio r s g u a rd Stephen Curry only added one-three pointer f ro m n i n e a t t e m p t s i n a total of 14 points, but extended his own N B A re c o rd - b re a k i n g tally for a season to 337 baskets.

chance of progressing to round two.

They even led 2-1 on aggregate in the 67th minute of the second leg after Bature Yaro cancelled out Yacine Bezzaz’s penalty on the stroke of half time.

Late goals from Ahmed Messadia, Mourad Meghni and Paulin Voavy condemned the Lafia club to an early exit, with the Algerians progressing

4-2 on aggregate.

Akwa United, Nigeria’s second representative in the CAF Confederation Cup, had earlier exited in the preliminary stages.

This means that only one Nigerian club is still in the running in Caf club competitions this year Enyimba - following their 6-3 aggregate success over Burundian champions, Vital’O.

Aussie Grand Prix: Alonso Suffers Huge Crash, Rosberg Wins Fernando Alonso has walked away uninjured from a huge crash at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

The two-time champion’s McLaren was launched into the air and came to rest upside down after hitting the back of Esteban Gutierrez’s Haas.

Alonso was able to climb out of the wreckage unaided after the incident at Turn Three at Albert Park.

The Spaniard was taken to the medical centre for a check-up and subsequently

NBA: Warriors Suffer Rare Defeat Golden State Warriors suffered a setback in their quest for an NBA record of most wins in a season after losing 87-79 to San Antonio Spurs.

Warriors are 62-7 for the campaign and must win 11 of their final 13 games to beat Chicago Bulls’ 1995-96 mark.

Spurs restricted Warriors to their lowest points in a regularseason encounter since

The Nigerian club had suffered a 0-1 reverse at home in the first leg and duly crashed out 2-0 on aggregate.

Nasarawa United made more of a fight of their second leg, first round clash against Algerian club, CS Constantine before imploding spectacularly.

United won the first leg 1-0 in Abuja and arrived the Stade Mohamed Hamlaoui, Constantine with a fighting

Alonso’s wrecked car

released.

“I feel good. I’m trying to put everything in place again in the body. It was a big, big crash,” Alonso told BBC Radio 5 live.

“I tried to take the slipstream until the braking point and in the last moment it was a combination of factors that ended up in a crash, luckily we are both OK. “I’m thankful for the safety of the cars - I am alive talking to you.

“I think it is a race incident.

We both tried to fight and

sometimes we forget we are at 300km/h and every little crash can become much bigger.”

Meanwhile, Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg won a dramatic Australian Grand Prix, after Alonso’s crash.

A bad start dropped Lewis Hamilton from pole to sixth but he fought to second.

Rosberg took advantage when the race was stopped following Alonso’s high-speed barrel-roll to switch strategy and overhaul early leader Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel’s strategy gamble on super-soft tyres mid-race failed and he took third ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.

A thrill-a-minute race, with action throughout the field, provided the start to the season for which F1’s bosses were hoping.

But its unpredictable nature meant it was impossible to form a definitive judgement on the exact relative competitiveness of the Mercedes and Ferrari teams who will dispute the season

54

T H I S D AY •MONDAY MARCH 21, 2016

MONDAYSPORTS EPL

Rashford’s Early Strike Settles Manchester Derby

Rashford Marcus Rashford was Manchester United’s hero again as his goal secured a 1-0 win away to Manchester City in the Premier League yesterday.

The teenager, who scored four times in his first two United appearances this season, struck in the first half to seal the derby spoils and reignite his side’s hopes of a top-four finish.

City lost captain Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi to injury this week and suffered further blows when both Raheem Sterling and Joe Hart had to be taken off in what proved to be a frustrating game for the Etihad Stadium faithful.

Sergio Aguero hit the post with a header but clear-cut chances

EPL

Team Leicester Tottenham Arsenal Man City West Ham Man Utd S’hampton Stoke City Liverpool Chelsea WBA Everton B’mouth Watford Swansea Palace Norwich Sunderland Newcastle Aston Villa

La Liga

Team Barca Atlético Real Madrid Villarreal Sevilla Athletic Celta de Vigo Málaga Eibar Deportivo Sociedad Espanyol Real Betis Valencia Las Palmas Rayo Granada Getafe Gijón Levante

were few and far between as United defended diligently against a flat City attack, while attempting to use the pace of Anthony Martial on the break to stretch the home side.

Wilfried Bony almost turned in Yaya Toure’s cutback and Jesus Navas fired narrowly over, but United held out for a first win at the Etihad since December 2012.

Louis van Gaal’s side are now just a point behind fourth-placed City, who remain 15 behind league leaders Leicester City and are now almost certainly out of the title race.

Navas fired a half-volley narrowly wide after United failed to clear Sterling’s cross, but chances were scarce in a

P 31 31 30 30 30 30 31 31 29 30 30 29 31 30 31 30 31 30 30 31

W 19 17 16 15 13 14 13 13 12 10 10 9 10 10 9 9 7 6 6 3

D 9 10 7 6 11 8 8 7 8 11 9 11 8 7 9 6 7 8 7 7

L 3 4 7 9 6 8 10 11 9 9 11 9 13 13 13 15 17 16 17 21

GF 54 55 48 52 47 38 41 34 45 45 30 51 38 30 31 32 32 36 29 22

GA 31 24 30 32 35 27 32 37 40 41 37 41 49 32 40 40 54 55 55 58

GD 23 31 18 20 12 11 9 -3 5 4 -7 10 -11 -2 -9 -8 -22 -19 -26 -36

Pts 66 61 55 51 50 50 47 46 44 41 39 38 38 37 36 33 28 26 25 16

P 30 30 29 30 29 30 29 30 30 30 30 30 30 29 30 30 30 30 30 30

W 24 21 19 15 13 14 13 10 10 7 9 10 8 8 9 6 7 7 7 6

D 4 4 6 9 9 5 6 9 8 15 8 5 10 10 6 10 7 7 6 6

L 2 5 4 6 7 11 10 11 12 8 13 15 12 11 15 14 16 16 17 18

GF 86 46 83 37 43 48 41 29 42 39 37 31 27 33 32 41 32 28 32 28

GA 24 14 28 25 31 39 51 28 42 43 41 56 40 34 42 63 56 52 52 54

GD 62 32 55 12 12 9 -10 1 0 -4 -4 -25 -13 -1 -10 -22 -24 -24 -20 -26

Pts 76 67 63 54 48 47 45 39 38 36 35 35 34 34 33 28 28 28 27 24

cagey opening period.

David de Gea saved well with his legs when Navas drilled in a low shot after David Silva picked him out at the far post, but City were dealt a sucker punch as the visitors snatched the lead in the 16th minute.

Juan Mata fed Rashford, who skipped easily past the challenge of Martin Demichelis before slotting beneath Hart from close range.

Manuel Pellegrini was forced into an early change, with Sterling - who appeared to pick up a groin injury - replaced by Fernando, and matters could have been worse for City just before half-time had referee Michael Oliver chosen to penalise Demichelis when he bundled Rashford to ground inside the area.

City were struck by another blow when Hart, having stretched to beat Martial to Demichelis’ poor backpass, had to be carried off with heavy strapping on his right leg within three minutes of the restart.

Replacement Willy Caballero did well to parry a Martial shot before Rashford just failed to convert Matteo Darmian’s cross, as United looked to score a killer second.

Aguero had been quiet throughout but came within inches of an equaliser when he nodded Yaya Toure’s cross onto the post, with De Gea beaten by the effort.

Results Everton 0 - 2 Arsenal Chelsea 2 - 2 West Ham Palace 0 - 1 Leicester Watford 1 - 2 Stoke W B A 0 - 1 Norwich Swansea 1 - 0 Aston Villa Newcastle 1 - 1 Sunderland Southampton 3 - 2 Liverpool Man City 0-1 Man Utd Tottenham 3-0 Boutmouth

Results Getafe 1 - 1 Eibar Gijón 2 - 1 Atlético Granada 2 - 2 Rayo Sociedad 0 - 1 Las Palmas Deportivo 2 - 1 Levante Real Betis 0 - 1 Málaga Espanyol 2 - 1 Athletic Villarreal 2 - 2 Barcelona

T H I S D AY MONDAY MARCH 21, 2016

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Monday March 21, 2016

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Price: N150

MISSILE Ikoiwak to critics

“I don’t think there was anything like fake result sheets; I think I have said that time without number. You can imagine what you think but what we know in the commission was that only a result sheet was produced and you cannot say a thing that does not have a duplicate because fake must be compared with the original. So what we had was the original; the fake may be in the imagination of those making such allegation.”

Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Aniedi Ikoiwak, responding to allegations accusing the commission of distributing fake result sheets in the re-run polls

TONYELUMELU GUEST COLUMNIST

Open Letter to Africa’s Aspiring Entrepreneurs

I

commend your courage and determination to build a business in the face of constraints that inhibit the viability of your startup and significantly threaten its survival.

Last year, over 20,000 of you participated in a series of surveys we conducted to ascertain the key challenges you faced as you doggedly pursue your entrepreneurial endeavors.

The results are revealing - 87% of you shared that you had no access to seed capital; 80% still sought business mentors after years of searching; 90% desired additional training, especially in business management and accounting to build capacity; and 93% longed to be part of a network of entrepreneurs for support, encouragement and prospective partnerships. Despite the restricted availability of the aforementioned support systems, you continued to strive to transform your idea to reality, to convert your dreams to flourishing enterprises.

As an entrepreneur like yourself, I know what it feels like to yearn for a lifeline, to hope for a ‘big break’, to look forward to enjoying some luck.

I am unashamed to share that, I owe part of my success to someone that believed in me, and was prepared to invest in my talents and bet on my future. It is for this reason that the Tony Elumelu Foundation decided to institutionalise luck and democratise access to opportunity, to empower more entrepreneurs, to build sustainable businesses that eventually contribute to the economic transformation of our continent.

On January 1, 2015 when the Tony Elumelu Foundation launched the application portal for the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) to identify, fund, train, mentor and provide networking opportunities to 1,000 African entrepreneurs, the media hailed TEEP as “unprecedented”, “first-of-a-kind”, and a little too “audacious”. A few critics labeled our intent as “unachievable” because we were attempting to roll out at such a gigantic scale! But little did they understand the potential of Africa’s new generation of entrepreneurs – your ingenuity, your hunger for excellence, your dedication to results and your boundless capacity to constantly innovate.

In our first year, 1000 entrepreneurs

Nigerian entrepreneur, Paul Orajiaka, 38, has built a $10 million dollar toy company

from 51 countries were selected, covering all of Africa’s geopolitical regions – North, East, South, Central and West Africa – and major language blocs – Anglophone, Francophone, Lusophone, and Arabic Africa. In our second year, the number of applicants has more than doubled in size – leaping from 20,000 to 45,000; the number of countries represented has increased from 52 to 54 and the number of women who applied more than tripled. Well done, African entrepreneurs!

Last week on my Facebook page, I shared the story of a #TEEPWoman making great strides in business - Agboneni Isazoduwa - a female mechanic and founder of Neni’s Garage in Lagos, a one-stop shop for car care needs. Neni’s Auto Care Garage is the first automobile repair workshop to partner with the global taxi service, UBER, in Lagos. In this capacity, she will handle professional vehicle inspections for over 4000 cars in the UBER Lagos network. As the father of five daughters, it is inspiring to see women like Neni thrive in a business environment that often isolates women entrepreneurs.

The week before, Gabino Guerengomba, a #TEEP entrepreneur and CEO of Integrated Solar Technologies (IST) from the Central African Republic, signed a USD 80 Million MoU with the Benin Government to provide electricity to 10 rural areas across the country.

In Gabino’s own words, “We are on pace to become the very first TEEP start up in Africa to generate USD $100 Million in revenue.” Tazania’s

Elia Timotheo, CEO of East Africa Fruit Farm and Company, which trades and markets fresh fruit and vegetables in order to significantly reduce post-harvest losses, has just bagged the African Entrepreneurship Award for the best business idea in the Environment category.

These success stories I have outlined are by no means exclusive to only the three entrepreneurs listed above. They simply serve as living case studies to illustrate a much wider wave of accomplishment that encompasses the entire inaugural class of TEEP. In the most popular sector – agriculture - our just over 300 agricultural entrepreneurs have reported that they have created nearly 15,000 casual and part time jobs.

As I have travelled across Africa to meet with TEEP entrepreneurs in their countries including: Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, Zambia, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, South Africa, Benin Republic, Congo, Gabon, Egypt and Zimbabwe as well with TEEP entrepreneurs in Nigerian cities - Lagos, Calabar, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Kaduna, I am both humbled by their success stories and invigorated by their passion.

It has been 25 years since my mentor,

Chief Ebitimi Banigo and the board of All States Trust Bank appointed me as branch manager of the Port Harcourt city branch, though I was only 26 years old at the time. Chief Banigo trusted me then just as I am now entrusting the existing 1000 African Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs and the soon to be selected 2016 cohort to transform Africa with their business ideas.

As our comprehensive selection process unfolds, I call on all of Africa to join me in congratulating the 45,000 African entrepreneurs, who completed the TEEP application before the deadline of midnight March 1st.

Congratulations for taking a first bold first step in the TEEP journey. And as we look forward to March 22, 2016, when a new set of 1000 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs would be announced, I call on all applicants to continue to push their ideas and not to lose steam and hope. Regardless of whether you are selected or not, we are certain that Africa NEEDS you. And remember, entrepreneurs don’t quit.

• Elumelu, Chairman of Heirs Holdings and Founder Tony Elumelu Foundation, writes from Lagos

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