Wednesday 6th April 2016

CCT: Saraki Expresses Happiness as Trial Begins Witness says huge inflow into his account was loan

Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja The trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki for alleged concealment of assets

finally got under way yesterday in Abuja with the embattled senator expressing happiness that he now has an opportunity to clear his name.

The Senate President’s confidence probably arose from the first prosecution witness, Michael Wetkas’ testimony that Saraki’s naira account with

one of the banks, which his team analysed, had an in-flow of about N4 billion, saying the major source of inflow into the account was a loan

taken from Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB)within the period of 2005 and 2013.

Saraki is facing a 13-count charge of false declaration of

assets while he held sway as the governor of Kwara State between 2003 and 2007.

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DHQ Establishes Camp for Repentant Boko Haram Members… Page 8 Wednesday 6 April, 2016 Vol 21. No 7650. Price: N150

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Buhari to Submit Electoral Reforms Proposals to N/Assembly INEC at crossroads over Rivers rerun polls Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja, Ernest Chinwo in Port-Harcourt and James Sowole in Akure In line with his commitment to comprehensive legal reforms, President Muhammadu Buhari has begun the process of reforming the nation’s electoral laws in order to bring them into conformity with best global electoral practises.

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CHARTING A NEW BEGINNING

L-R: National Secretary, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prof. Adewale Oladipo; National Chairman, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff and Deputy National Chairman, Uche Secondus, at the inauguration of the national convention organising committee, in Abuja… yesterday

Kachikwu: Fuel Scarcity Eases Today in Abuja, Lagos Says downstream privatisation is long-term solution to frequent scarcity Chineme Okafor in Abuja and Ejiofor Alike in Lagos For Nigerians who had been under the excruciating spell of petrol scarcity for months, hope for reprieve came yesterday as the Minister

of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, said the product would be available in abundance from today.

But he said, during a town hall meeting with workers of the Petroleum Products

Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) in Abuja, that the reprieve would be for Abuja and Lagos in the first instance, while the rest of the country, especially Port Harcourt, Warri, Sokoto and Kano, would begin to

experience relief by the weekend.

The minister also said that on the long term, the government’s choice to privatise the country’s downstream petroleum sector would be the surest

solution to the perennial challenges of products scarcity.

“Hopefully by today through Thursday, the fuel queues in Abuja should be over. Hopefully, the same thing will happen

to Lagos and thereafter, by the weekend, we should see Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Port Harcourt and Warri get off this state,” Kachikwu said.

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DHQ Establishes Camp for Repentant Boko Haram Members Warns reluctant terrorists to either surrender or be crushed Senator Iroegbu in Abuja In an apparent offer of amnesty, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) yesterday said it had established a rehabilitation camp for repentant members of the terrorist group, Boko Haram, who laydown their arms and seek rehabilitation and

integration into the society.

The Director of Defence Information (DDI), Brig-Gen. Rabe Abubakar, in a statement yesterday, said the camp, a component of a military exercise code named Operation Safe Corridor, was in line with the federal government’s commitment to the war against insurgency in the North-east

and in furtherance of its efforts to rehabilitate and reintegrate Boko Haram terrorists who embrace peace.

According to Abubakar, who said details about the camp would be disclosed at a later date, the repentant terrorists in the camp would be taken through various vocational training so that they could

be useful to themselves and be empowered to contribute meaningfully to the economic growth of their fatherland.

He said: “The DHQ, therefore, wishes to appeal to other recalcitrant terrorist members that are still carrying arms against their fellow citizens in our nation to repent today and benefit

from numerous opportunities offered by the camp.

"The DHQ wishes to state further that the final onslaught against the remnant group of the terrorists would continue unabated and would not relent until the power of evil forces in the North-east is completely neutralised".

The Defence spokesman,

however, warned other Boko Haram members who are reluctant to lay down their arms to do so or face the music in an impending mop-up military operation.

He urged members of the public to be extra vigilant and report any unusual persons, objects and movement to the security agencies.

the defendant was governor of Kwara State between 2003 and 2011, the commission received several petitions from various groups. One of the petitioners was the Kwara Freedom Network. They brought several petitions all bordering on abuse of office, misappropriation of public fund and money laundering by the defendant.

“Sometime in 2014, the then executive chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde, received intelligence reports of suspicious transactions involving the defendant. He set up a team of investigators. Our task was to investigate the intelligence reports”.

He said further: “The investigation report was reviewed by my team. In the course of our investigation, we discovered that there were several companies, which were linked to the defendant. Some of them include Carlisle Properties Investment Ltd, Skyview Properties Ltd, LimKvars Ltd, and TIly-lie Ltd." The witness claimed some of the companies maintained accounts with some commercial banks. He further claimed that from the investigation, it was discovered that the defendant

maintained three accounts, saying: “The first account is a naira currency account, the second is a US dollar account and the third is a pound sterling account.”

The witness further testified that the naira account was analysed and it was discovered that between 2005 and 2013, the account had an in-flow of about N4 billion, saying the major source of inflow into the accounts were loans taken from GTB within the period.

He said the loans were about N2.5 billion, and the other sources of inflows into the account were lodgements by individuals.

Even though the witness could not give a clear link between Saraki and the properties, he said that the investigations carried out by EFCC, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), which indicted the defendant, were based on properties located at 17A and 17B McDonald, Ikoyi, Lagos; No 2A Glover Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; No 37 Glover Road, Ikoyi, Lagos and No 1 Gagus, Maitiama, Abuja, which he claimed were owned by Saraki but were not declared while he was in office as executive governor of Kwara

State.

The tribunal admitted the asset declaration forms as exhibits. Saraki’s lawyer, Usoro, however, said he was ‘’reserving his objection for now” over the forms.

The case was adjourned till 10 am this morning (Wednesday) for the first witness to continue with his evidence against Saraki.

Decked in white flowing Babariga, Saraki who arrived at the CCT yesterday with about 38 senators, said in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Yusuph Olaniyonu, that he was happy that the trial would offer him the opportunity to clear his name.

The Senate President said yesterday’s proceedings gave him confidence that if the trial was conducted fairly, he would be vindicated.

“Even though the prosecution tried to bring in some dramatic narratives, it was clear that they were merely thrashing around and hoping to titillate the public with salacious tales”, he said, emphasising that he was hopeful, however, that when the time comes, his lawyers would have the opportunity to present his case.

attention of all the politicians and their parties, including miscreants are focused on the single election thereby making it appear very contentious.

The electoral body’s boss who said the commission will conduct 69 elections in the Federal Capital Territory and one bye-election in Osun state this weekend, promised that INEC would undertake a review of security arrangements for subsequent elections due to the security lapses witnessed in the rerun elections in Bayelsa and Rivers states.

While welcoming stakeholders at the forum, Executive Director PLAC, Mr. Clement Nwankwo, said members of the civil society have recorded some of the serious challenges facing INEC to include violence, opposition to use of card reader machine as well as fault-lines in the electoral laws.

There are, however, indications that INEC may be at crossroads over the remaining results of the legislative rerun elections in Rivers State.

The electoral body’s dilemma might have been worsened by intense pressure from both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the All Progressives Congress (APC) and non-governmental organisations.

A senior official of the Rivers State Headquarters of INEC, who would not wish to be named, yesterday admitted that the

commission had been under intense pressure, even more than in the build-up to the rerun election.

He said the commission was under pressure on how to handle the impasse created by the suspension of election in the eight local government areas and the affected federal constituencies.

He said: “The mandate given to us, through the various court orders, was to conduct election into 37 seats declared vacant by the court. We were in the process of doing that on March 19 but it was scuttled by violence and other forms of disturbances. This made us to suspend the election in some of the affected areas.

“As things stand now, we have announced 15 results out of the 37 seats mandated by the court.

Our main headache is how to handle the remaining 22 seats.

This is more problematic than the real election of March 19”.

Controversy had trailed the conduct of the re-run elections with the major contenders pointing accusing fingers at INEC for its poor handling of the exercise.

Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr Austin Tam-George, yesterday alleged of a desperate move by INEC to “subvert the will of Rivers people.”

In a statement in Port Harcourt, Tam-George called on INEC

officials to act within the law and respect the free choices made by the Rivers people in the rerun election. He warned a national INEC Commissioner, Mrs. Amina Zakari, and the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi “to desist from subverting the electoral outcomes in Tai-Eleme Federal Constituency, Ikwerre local government and other constituencies in the state, whose results are still being held hostage by INEC, in collusion with APC in the state.”

The information commissioner condemned, “the sickening

CCT: SARAKI EXPRESSES HAPPINESS AS TRIAL BEGINS Yesterday’s trial proceeded with a three-hour battle by Saraki’s lawyers, who sought an adjournment of the case to enable them dispose of their client’s appeal, challenging the jurisdiction of the Danladi Umar-led Code of Conduct Tribunal at the Court of Appeal.

Justice Umar, however, dismissed the application for adjournment on the ground that the Supreme Court had already rested the issue of jurisdiction.

“The motion for adjournment based on an appeal challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal at the Court of Appeal is not necessary,” the judge ruled and ordered the prosecution to open its case.

Paul Usoro (SAN), who represented Saraki’s lead counsel, Mr Kanu Agabi (SAN), had requested an adjournment on the strength of a notice of stay of proceedings filed at the tribunal.

He argued that the defendant was challenging at the Court of Appeal, the tribunal’s March 24 ruling, which ordered the continuation of the trial.

He, therefore, prevailed on the tribunal to adjourn the matter until the hearing and determination of the application

at the Court of Appeal, saying he was not asking for ‘’a stay of proceedings, but for an adjournment of the matter.”

But the prosecution lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), replied that both terms, stay of proceeding and adjournment, were the same thing.

According to him, after the defendant filed a notice of appeal, he also filed a record of appeal at the Court of Appeal, which was supposed to be confirmed by the tribunal and then forwarded to the Court of Appeal, arguing: “It is only when the tribunal fails to compile the record that the appellant is obliged to do it himself.”

Jacob added that the Supreme Court had already given the tribunal a clean bill to proceed with the trial, saying it would amount to judicial rascality to disregard the order of the highest court in the land.

The prosecuting lawyer further argued, “The application for adjournment is predicated on false and void grounds; I urge your lordship to refuse this application for adjournment because it is becoming too much.”

The tribunal later took a recess at 12:45 pm and upon

resuming at exactly 1: 35 pm, rejected Saraki's application as lacking in merit and asked the prosecution to open its case.

As the prosecution’s first witness, Wetkas, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) detective, who headed the investigation of the Saraki case, mounted the witness box, the Senate President’s lead counsel, Agabi, walked into the tribunal but asked Usoro to go ahead with the case.

Wetkas testified that Saraki’s naira account with one of the banks, which his team analysed, had an in-flow of about N4 billion, saying the major source of inflow into the account was a loan secured from Guaranty Trust Bank within the period of 2005 and 2013.

He gave an elaborate account of how Saraki allegedly used made-up names to launder billions of dollars. The EFCC detective gave an account of how one Abdul Adama, one of Saraki’s personal assistants, allegedly made 50 transactions on the account in a single day, broken down to N600,000 and N900,000 each.

According to him, “When

BUHARI TO SUBMIT ELECTORAL REFORMS PROPOSALS TO N/ASSEMBLY According to the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation and Minster of Justice, Alhaji Abubakar Malami, who spoke yesterday in Abuja, President Buhari’s administration has started consultations with the leadership of the National Assembly and the judiciary to identify the electoral laws that need to be reformed.

"I have begun consultations with the leadership of the National Assembly and the judiciary to identify key laws and priority areas for reform.

Our priority areas will be clearly outlined in our justice sector reform that we will propose to the National Assembly and align it with their agenda in order to achieve reform within the tenure of this administration," he told participants at the Nigerian Civil Society Situations Room's Stakeholders Forum on Elections in Abuja.

Malami’s revelation of the presidential reform initiative incidentally coincides with the dilemma of the Independent National Electoral Commission over the inconclusive rerun elections held in Rivers State on March 19, 2016.

A senior electoral officer at the INEC Headquarters in Port-Harcourt told Thisday on Tuesday that the electoral body had difficulties deciding on what to do with the outstanding results of the elections in 12 out of the

37 constituencies as ordered by the courts.

But the AGF stated that one of the priority areas of the administration's reforms are the proposals for the amendment of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended and other laws in order to empower INEC and similar bodies to deal with perpetrators of serious offences.

He said some of the gaps in the electoral laws manifested in the recent decisions of the Supreme Court on election petitions, adding that the administration is concerned about the increasing levels of electoral violence.

Malami pledged the administration's readiness to ensure a level playing ground for competitive elections and guarantees for all democratic rights and freedoms as enshrined in the constitution.

"This administration intends to carry out a comprehensive legal reform to address the challenges posed by some of our outdated electoral laws. One of my top priority as AGF is to lay a solid foundation for a sustainable reform of the justice sector where the rule of law takes pre-eminence over and above rule of man," he said.

On its part, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) lamented the challenges it is facing in the effort to conduct free, fair and credible elections.

The INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, said the commission is greatly constrained by the resurgence of violence that had attended elections in recent times in the country.

According to Yakubu, INEC could do little or nothing to stop the spectre violence during elections since it does not have control over security agencies.

Recounting some of the ugly incidences recorded by the electoral body, the INEC chairman said the commission suffered setbacks in Adabi and Dekina in Kogi State where two offices of the commission were razed by hoodlums during the last governorship polls.

"INEC is really challenged and INEC is constrained by the resurgence of violence.

Remember, INEC is not security forces and we are not going to overstep the security forces. We have our own responsibilities; responsibility to the regular staff and the ad-hoc staff as well as the voters” he said.

The INEC chairman who noted that his commission has so far conducted 50 elections since the last general elections, described by-elections and re-elections as tougher and more difficult to handle compared to the general elections.

Yakubu said the reason the stand-alone elections created more problems for INEC was that during such contests, the

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PAGE NINE

Driver Remanded in Prison Custody for Defiling Minor Akinwale Akintunde Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of an Ikeja High Court, Lagos, has remanded a 30-year-old driver, Samuel Akanni, in prison custody for defiling a seven-year-old girl.

Akanni was alleged to have committed the offence on July 14, 2013 at his residence located at No. 31, Powerline Street, Oko-Oba, Agege, Lagos.

The prosecution led by Mr. Babajide Boye told the court that the defendant was a neighbour of the victim (name withheld) and her family, at a one-bedroom apartment

popularly known as 'face me I face you'.

Boye alleged that the defendant, whose one room apartment was directly opposite that of the victim's parents, had on two occasions lured the child to his room, where he had unlawful sexual intercourse with her.

"The defendant's apartment was opposite the child and her family's apartment. He had the habit of always sending the victim on various errands on his behalf.

"On two occasions, he lured the victim to his apartment where he had unlawful sexual

intercourse with her", he said.

According to the prosecutor, Akanni's evil deed became known after the victim's mother noticed unusual discharges from her daughter's private part, after the second defilement.

Boye added that the victim and her family had to relocate from the apartment after the incident because of the trauma suffered by the child.

Justice Ipaye revoked the bail earlier granted the defendant by the lower court and remanded him in prison custody.

The judge also adjourned the case till April 19 for continuation of the trial.

Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase

Four Arraigned for Alleged Theft of 100 Litres of Diesel Worth N14,000

Akinwale Akintunde

The Nigeria police yesterday arraigned four men before an Igbosere Magistrate's Court in Lagos for allegedly stealing 100 litres of diesel valued at

N14, 000.

The defendants, David Osaekete, 28; Chukwu Maxwell, 30; Patrick Agada, 46; and Inusa Momodu, 23, were arraigned before Magistrate B. A Sonuga on a two-count charge of

conspiracy and stealing.

The prosecutor, Corporal Kingsley Jackson, told the court that the defendants committed the alleged offences on April 4, 2016 at about 7:30pm, in Eko Atlantic site, Bar Beach in

Victoria Island, Lagos. Jackson said the stolen diesel is the property of South Energy Nigeria Limited.

He said the offence committed is punishable under Sections 409 and 285 (7) of the

criminal laws of Lagos State.

The defendants whose addresses were not given, pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail in the sum of N500,000 each, with one surety each in

like sum.

According to Magistrate Sonuga, the sureties must show evidence of three years tax payment to the Lagos State government and have their addresses verified.

Nigerians should rather blame the prolonged leadership crisis that had rocked IPMAN as the cause of the crises.

But the National Operations Controller of IPMAN, who is also the immediate past National Secretary of the association, Mr. Mike Osatuyi said in a statement last night that it was a pure defamation of IPMAN for Ngoa to say that IPMAN had accepted responsibility for the scarcity of petroleum products and that Nigerians should hold the association responsible for the scarcity.

According to Osatuyi, “While the intervention of the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, in resolving the internal crisis in IPMAN is appreciated and commendable, the forefathers, past presidents, leaders of IPMAN and the general members of IPMAN nationwide will not allow Mr. Lawson Ngoa who is not a marketer less an IPMAN member to use IPMAN's name as a shield to defend or protect a system failure of NNPC.” “Crisis in IPMAN with government intervention is not new today. Previous government agencies had intervened in IPMAN crisis

without blackmail from the agencies concerned right from the time of Alhaji Jarfau Paki, the then Special Assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo on Petroleum Matters. Dr. Oluwole Oluleye, the former Executive Secretary of Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), had intervened in IPMAN matter without blackmailing the association. Some former Managing Directors of PPMC had also intervened in IPMAN matter without destroying IPMAN’s name,” Osatuyi explained.

He further stated that IPMAN controls over 80 per cent of the retail outlets in the country and had partnered with previous governments to solve previous fuel crisis without damaging the association’s name.

“It is also on record that no member of IPMAN has voiced out against peace since this government stepped in to resolve IPMAN crisis few days ago. That is evidence that IPMAN and all IPMAN members want peace and are ready to embrace peace for seamless operation of the association's administration and by extension the Nigeria oil sector. IPMAN don’t want any government agents,

representatives, coordinators that will add more wound to the association injury or destroy the association name that was established over 35 years ago.

IPMAN members nationwide have invested trillions of naira in the Nigeria downstream oil sector,” Osatuyi added.

“Mr. Lawson Ngoa should answer the following questions to Nigerians: Does IPMAN issue import permit? Does IPMAN allocate forex for import?

Does IPMAN involve itself in import planning of NNPC? Is it IPMAN that altered the 60 /40 import permit formula? Is it IPMAN that failed to carry other stakeholders along? Is it IPMAN that is responsible for infrastructure decay of NNPC?” Osatuyi asked.

He added that Ngoa had no authority or mandate to be using IPMAN’s name to shield any of the government agencies in Nigeria’s oil sector for any operational or administrative mismanagement.

He assured Nigerians that IPMAN is ready to work with the government in ensuring that products are available to Nigerians so as to deliver the promises of the government to the masses.

can be entrenched through the principle of one man one vote, all the problems confronting Nigeria shall be a thing of the past”, he said.

Mimiko, therefore, urged President Buhari to do all within his power to create an enabling environment for credible election.

At the conference supervised by officials selected from the National Secretariat of the party and monitored by the INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner

(REC), Mr Segun Agbaje, Chief Clement Faboyede was returned unopposed as the state chairman of the party.

Other officers elected by voice votes are the Deputy Chairman, Fatai Adams, Secretary, Chief Oyedele Ibine, and three vice chairmen for each of the senatorial districts.

Also, other officers recommended by the party constitution were elected unopposed through voice votes.

Commenting on the exercise, the Chairman of the Delegate Congress Committee from the National Secretariat of the PDP, Hon Mohammad Imam, expressed his excitement about the success of the conference and commended the organisers of the congress and members of the party for the peaceful manner they conducted themselves.

Also speaking, Agbaje described the conference as very successful and well organised.

KACHIKWU: FUEL SCARCITY EASES TODAY IN ABUJA, LAGOS According to him, the country would have to find a sustainable way to keep her downstream sector working efficiently to avoid recurrent scarcity of products.

He added that such option that privatising the sector provides would be productive without necessarily having prices of products go up.

“What concerns me more is not just getting the present queues out that will definitely wear out, what concerns me more is how do you avoid having to have that ever again in this country and to do that there are certain things we need to do,” said.

Speaking more on the rationale for a long term solution, he said: “But really, in the states, we do not have queues as such, people are paying double the price to get product, and there is no place for that practice. Not right but what it says to you is that obviously, there are some statistical philosophy we need to watch in terms of whether we are pricing our products rightly for people to be able to participate in this chain.”

He also spoke about the passion which he deploys to service and which he said he wanted workers in PPPRA to adopt in their jobs within the

sector.

He said: “First and foremost I am a servant and I'm here other to try and serve you and the Nigerian public. The ministerial toga and titles are important but frankly they mean nothing in the absence of good service and I think that should be the call to duty in this country.

“There isn’t any problem I have seen that does not have a solution, every problem must have a solution. What we need to do is to do our research thoroughly, find that solution, target it and execute it. And that is what I have been doing, because the petroleum ministry is the last hope of Nigeria, we are the 90 per cent revenue earner, we are the foreign exchange galvaniser. If we fail, this country fails.”

He further said: “We have to ensure there is accountability and professionality in everything we do. We are very conservative about our costs, and we will continue to cut cost. Everything we do is a mirror of what Nigeria needs to do to be successful as a country.

“If there is no power, we complain, but if there is no fuel, we will bring down this country.

If there is fraud anywhere, we

will say well, that is OK but if there is fraud in NNPC, we will bring down this country and what it says to you is that so much is expected of this ministry and we must take leadership.”

On his plans to reposition PPPRA, Kachikwu said: “We need to enhance PPPRA and we need to ensure that as you advance your careers, they are in the right direction and one of those things we are going to do is to ensure that promotions that are long outstanding are all done and we are going to be looking at that within the next two weeks.”

Meanwhile, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has debunked the claim by the Interim Management Secretary of the association, Mr. Lawson Ngoa, blaming the association for the current scarcity of petrol.

It said Ngoa is not a member of IPMAN but an agent of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources brought in to mediate in the internal crisis of the association.

Ngoa had on Monday exonerated the federal government of any blame associated with the current lingering fuel shortages across the country, clarifying that

BUHARI TO SUBMIT ELECTORAL REFORMS PROPOSALS TO N/ASSEMBLY desperation of the APC in wanting to impose its candidates on the Rivers people, even when those candidates have been resoundingly defeated at the polls.”

In Akure, the Ondo State capital yesterday, the need for credible electoral processes agitated the mind of Governor Olusegun Mimiko as he tasked President Buhari to provide the platform for more transparent elections in the country.

“The greatest thing the current administration can give to Nigeria is credible election”, he said.

Mimiko spoke at the State Delegate Conference of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ondo State Chapter, where officers to run the affairs of the party for the next four years were elected.

The governor expressed his excitement about the way the conference was conducted, and said once democracy is entrenched in the country through

credible, free and transparent electoral processes, Nigeria will be great.

He noted that one of the greatest legacies bequeathed to Nigeria by former President Goodluck Jonathan was credible electoral processes, which was appreciated by everybody in the country and outside world.

“Credible election is the key to Nigeria’s greatness irrespective of the various challenges confronting the country. Once democracy

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NEWS

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

Stop Blaming Us for Your Failure, PDP Cautions APC LP tackles Buhari on economy, energy crisis

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to face the business of governance and stop blaming the past administration for its shortcomings.

Speaking on next Saturday’s council poll in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the National Chairman of the party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, alleged that some APC governors had relocated to Abuja for this weekend’s FCT area council elections but warned against rigging the elections.

The opposition party said barely one year after it was handed over the affairs of the country, APC ought to have been able to chart its own course and stop blaming it (PDP) for its administrative lapses.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on Monday said Nigerians should hold the PDP’s 16-year reign responsible for the nation’s prevailing economic woes, and said the party failed to save for the rainy day.

Also, following the lingering fuel scarcity that has continued to ravage the nation, the National Leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu, asked Nigerians to hold the PDP, responsible.

However, speaking at the inauguration of four special committees for the forthcoming national convention of the party, PDP National Chairman, Sheriff, expressed dismay that almost one year since the governance was handed over to the APC, the party was still blaming PDP for current fuel scarcity in the country.

“The leadership of the party share the pains of Nigerians after one year in office of the APC-led government. Nigerians have now have the opportunity of comparing the PDP and the APC. The ultimate judge of this exercise are Nigerians.

“Instead of the APC addressing the problems of the country, the

ruling party has kept blaming the PDP for lack of petrol in the country. I saw the other day a publication by one of the leaders of the APC that we are responsible for lack of petrol after their one year in office.

“I would like to advise the leaders of the APC to stop blaming us in the PDP, we are now in the opposition, repositioning our party to show Nigerians that we could do better,” Sheriff said.

He said the inauguration of the four committees was one of the important steps being taken by the party to strengthen and reposition itself for challenges ahead. “We are taking the PDP back to the owners. We are going to organise congresses all over Nigeria and we are going to let Nigerians elect their own leaders,” he said.

Speaking on the ongoing effort to reconcile aggrieved members of the party, Sheriff said that his doors are open and that is prepared to take advice from any of the leaders on how best to rebuild the party into a potent force.

The national chairman advised party members, whom he accused of not observing the party’s rules.

He also enjoined members of the committees to work towards successful conduct of the national convention, adding: “We are taking PDP to the grassroots.

“We will allow Nigerians to choose their leaders. People should respect the party’s rules.

Nobody runs a party on pages of newspapers. The doors of the national chairman are always open. We welcome advice from members.”

On the forthcoming council election in the FCT, Sheriff said his party has information that APC has invited its governors to storm Abuja to try and assist their party’s candidates during the polls.

“We don’t want violence in PDP, so APC should be guided. Let’s play this game according the rules.

Buhari Calls for Stronger Collaboration in Tracking Sponsors of Terrorism Tobi Soniyi in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja said ending insurgency in Africa would require stronger collaboration and commitment from governments, financial institutions and security agencies in tracking the sponsors of terrorist activities.

A statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the president spoke during a farewell audience at the State House with the High Commissioner of Kenya to Nigeria, Mr. Tom Amol.

Buhari said terrorist attacks in Africa bear similar trademarks of intense planning, strong alliances and proper financial sponsorship, which must be thoroughly investigated and reversed.

‘‘Terrorist activities always have financial sponsorship and this can be seen in their acquisition of weapons, their movements and other logistics. ‘‘Here in Nigeria, we saw that Boko Haram had strong material resources and they had a close link to ISIL,’’ he said.

The president also said African governments must make efforts to dissuade the younger generation from joining the ranks of terrorist groups, which explored youthful minds for suicide bombings. ‘‘We need a whole cultural orientation in order to succeed against terrorism,’’ he added.

In his remarks, the outgoing High Commissioner said he enjoyed his stay in Nigeria and still looked forward to returning to the country in the near future.

PDP will not be part of violence but we will protect our votes. We don’t want rerun or inconclusive elections,” he warned.

While responding, the Chairman of the National Convention Committee and Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, assured Nigerians that they would do their best to ensure the party has a successful and rancour-free convention.

In the same vein, the Chairman of the zoning committee and Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Emmanuel Udom, promised that his committee would carry out its assignment in a most transparent and unbiased manner so as to engender confidence and trust among members.

“This must not be a period of rumour; we should not suspect

ourselves,” he added.

Meanwhile, Labour Party (LP) has said the last last 10 months of the President Buhari administration has not brought joy to the land instead dramatic elements of fear and traits of political and economic siege on the people.

The party also expressed worry over what it described as the growing disharmony among various arms of government which is threatening the stability of the polity.

Speaking to journalists yesterday in Abuja on the state of the nation, the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Abdulsami Abdulkadir, blamed the lackluster attitude of APC-led government for the prevailing economic crisis which has

been further compounded by shortcomings in the energy sector.

He said APC’s ‘Change’ mantra had only been successful in the fostering a siege mentality, a shared feeling of victimisation, defensiveness and defenselessness on the people.

“The president should know by now that with Nigeria in economic crisis and the lack luster attitude of the government in power to setting up a powerful economic machine, there are only two courses open to the government which are the, ‘monetarist, deflationary course” and ‘the protectionist course,” he said.

Abdulkadir accused some officials of the federal government of carrying on as if they were

not aware of current difficulties being faced by Nigerians, adding that a situation whereby Nigerians are being “oppressed, isolated, manipulated, disoriented, dejected and disjointed in the face of the negative manouvering of the ruling party is regrettable.

“But, the government, legislature and judiciary creating signs of political instability and therefore not allowing a deeper analysis on the working of the different branches of government which is leading to the supremacy of the executive and weakening the judiciary and democratic principles: “Even much more worrisome is that a sitting senate would direct the reversal of hike in electricity tariff and the minister would refuse to honour the directive of the law making chamber

SEE WHATWE HAVE DONE

L-R.: Corps Marshal and Chief Executive, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi; Sultan of Sokoto, Alihaji Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakarar III; and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir David Lawal; at the sixth annual lecture of the commission in Abuja .... yesterday ENOCKREUBEN

China Invites Buhari for StateVisit Lists benefits of the invitation Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja At the invitation of the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, President Muhammadu Buhari will embark on a state visit to China in midApril.

In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday by the China Ambassador to Nigeria, Gu Xiaojie, he said the visit would be Buhari’s first visit to China since he came to office last May. He said President Buhari would be the first African Head of State to visit China after the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Johannesburg Summit, which is of great importance to both ChinaNigeria and China-Africa relations, and draws great attention from both countries and Africa. ‘’Distance cannot separate true friends who feel so close even when

they are thousands of miles apart.

The China-Nigeria friendship has stood the test of time and became stronger and more vigorous despite the vast oceans between the two countries. ‘’On February 10, 1971, China and Nigeria established diplomatic relationship, and ever since then, the bilateral relations have been developing smoothly and steadily,’’ the ambassador said.

He added that in April 2005, China and Nigeria, the most populous developing countries in the world and Africa, declared the establishment of strategic partnership, which lifted the bilateral ties to a new high and sounded the clarion call to form an all-directional, multi-layered and wide-ranging cooperation.

“Since then, the pragmatic

cooperation in various fields between the two countries have been leading in many ways in China’s cooperation with African countries, featuring fruitful achievements and exemplary highlights,’’ he added.

The ambassador further stated that in recent years, China had witnessed frequent high-level exchanges between Nigeria and his country, saying the political mutual trust has been enhanced continuously.

He added: “In 2014, Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, visited Nigeria and reached extensive consensus with Nigerian leaders.

Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping, met with Nigerian president twice, exchanged views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern, reached wideranging agreements and charted

the direction of future development of China-Nigeria relations. ‘’Economically, the cooperation between China and Nigeria in various areas such as infrastructure, energy, trade and finance, has scored impressive achievements.

Nigeria is the first African country to accept Chinese RMB in its foreign reserve. ‘’Last year, the bilateral trade volume stood at $14.94 billion, which represented 8.3 per cent of the total trade volume between China and Africa, and 42 per cent of the total trade volume between China and ECOWAS countries.’’

Xiaojie said Nigeria remains China’s No.1 engineering contract market, No.2 export market, No.3 trading partner, and major investment destination in Africa, adding that China has invested a total of over $2.5 billion in Nigeria.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 6, 2016 • T H I S D AY

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NEWS

Buhari: Fall in Crude Oil Price Blessing for Nigeria Osinbajo says patronising made-in-Nigeria products, good for the country Tobi Soniyi in Abuja and Adams Abonu inLafia President Muhammadu Buhari has declared the current slump in the price of crude oil at the international market was a blessing for Nigeria in the country’s bid to “diversify and revitalise the national economy.”

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the National Agricultural Show in Keffi, Nasarawa State, yesterday, President Buhari, who was represented by the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Chief Audu Ogbeh, further reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to

harnessing the huge agricultural potential of various parts of the country.

“After almost 40 years of neglect, agriculture has come to occupy its rightful place in national development. This administration is wholly committed to realising the wealth that could accrue to the country from our endowments.

“It is time to recognize that the greatest gift that god gave to Nigeria is not only oil and gas but good soil, good climate and a hardworking mass of people.

“The need to put in place adequate measures to ensure food security and economic

Soldier Killed, Two Expatriates Kidnapped in Bayelsa Emmanuel Addeh inYenagoa Just 24 hours after the rescue of a soldier abducted by suspected pirates, another gang of heavily armed kidnappers yesterday killed a soldier and abducted two expatriates along the Ogbia-Nembe Road, Bayelsa State.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Asinim Butswat, confirmed the kidnap of the two expatriates, but added that he had not received any report of the killing of a soldier.

“I am aware that the expatriates were kidnapped, but I can’t say whether any soldier was killed during the exchange of gunfire,’’ Butswat said last night.

It was learnt that one of the soldiers attempted to resist the plan by the hoodlums to forcibly take away the expatriates, a development that resulted in the exchange of

gunfire.

One of the abducted expatriates a Lebanese construction worker identified as Ramzi Bau Hadir, aged 53 years.

The security operatives were said to have run into an ambush laid by the kidnappers who overpowered them and took the foreigners away.

THISDAY learnt that the security operatives were attached as security details to the expatriates working with Setraco Construction Company. ‘’They (the soldiers) came under heavy fire from the bushes. It was an ambush but they did not notice,” a source said.

A driver identified as Monday, who claimed to have witnessed the scene, said: “it was a movie scene.

The soldiers were shooting and the armed men were shooting. We later saw signs of blood everywhere when the soldiers removed the blood soaked colleague and some expatriates.”

development is crucial and this is what we are committed to do in this administration.

The minister who attributed the current economic crunch being experienced in the country to the neglect of agriculture as a productive sector, also assured that the federal government was committed to reversing the trend.

“Common sense dictates that we come back to agriculture as the current hardship in the country is a result of over reliance on a monoproduct- oil and gas,” he said.

The minister enumerated various economic policies being considered by the federal government in the bid to make the agricultural sector a major base of the national economy, among which is the monetary policy to make interests rates charged on agricultural enterprises bearable for intending farmers, government’s policy on importation of food products that could be produced in Nigeria and export potentials for local agricultural products.

“Under the leadership of President Buhari, we have begun an agricultural revolution and we shall launch a roadmap to this revolution in the nearest future. A highlight of this

revolution is to involve youths and enhance national productivity.

“Between 1967 and 1970, Nigeria was at war and so could not sell oil yet the country prosecuted the war. This was done through local agricultural production.

“Now, any attempt to slow down import raises objections but we cannot continue to be a country of imports.

“The appeal, therefore, is for Nigeria to produce what it needs to feed,” the Aagric minister charged.

He further gave various initiatives being developed by government to address recurrent frictions between Fulani pastoralists and local crop farmers over grazing paths.

Earlier during the ceremony, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and former governor of Nasarawa State, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, had called for urgent steps to ensure food security in the country as a means to growing the national economy.

“The current posture of commitment being demonstrated by the current administration gives us hope that Nigeria can get it right in bringing back agriculture from the doldrums.

“The recommitment to

harnessing our huge agricultural potentials is a measure of the seriousness of government towards food security. All we can do is to support government’s initiatives to ensure that they succeed,” Adamu, a farmer of repute said.

Meanwhile, the Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has said patronising made in Nigeria products by Nigerians is important and can contribute to the revival of the cotton, textile and garment industries.

A statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, said Osinbajo spoke at the Presidential Villa, Abuja during a meeting with industry stakeholders and members of the Implementation Committee on the National Cotton, Textile and Garment Policy.

“Nigerians buying Nigerian products is very important and it goes beyond the symbolism of wearing Nigerian-made dresses. It is important for our economy and well-being,” Osinbajo declared.

Members of the committee composed of both government officials and industry stakeholders

had earlier highlighted a number of strategies for the revival of the cotton, textile and garments industries including the promotion of Nigeria-made dresses among others.

The committee is proposing a “Wear Naija Day,” where public officials and employees of corporate organisations would all wear locally made fabric.

The federal government through the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment had articulated a new policy to revamp the industries through a number of interventions including battling smuggling in order to attain a 15 per cent reduction by next year, facilitating assess to funding for the sector, addressing the challenges of energy, lifting the ban on importation of finished products and using the duties and levies raised therefrom to support the industries, among several other strategies.

Osinbajo noted that the challenge of smuggling of foreign textile materials into the country had to be tackled, adding that, overall “it is up to all of us to see that this particular initiative works, we have talked enough.”

Benue Governor, Ortom Visits Agatu amid Criticisms George OkohinMakurdi Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, yesterday visited Agatu Local Government Area were Fulani herdsmen allegedly massacred over 300 people to ascertain the level of destruction.

The governor’s visit is coming on the heels of wide condemnation and criticism by stakeholders who saw his action as an afterthought.

Aknown critic of the governor and former Lagos State Commissioner of Police,AlhajiAbubakar Tsav, described the visit as belated, adding that: “I am not impressed. The governor is always lagging behind like a tail. He should rise up to the occasion as the chief security and stop playing politics with lives of people.

“I am disappointed his security adviser is not helping him as over two months, the governor foot dragged in visiting the ravaged Agatu people for unknownreasons,howeversendingrelief materialsthroughhisdeputytothepeople.”

Auniversity don and environmental microbiologistandbioremediationwiththe departmentofBiologicalSciences,University ofAgricultureMakurdi,Dr.SmartIchu,who spoketojournalistsonthegovernor’svisit decried that It is belated.

He lamented that the governor showed lackadaisical attitude on

the attack on the Agatu people as the chief security officer of the state, “as he cared less hence as well as his failure to properly brief the presidency on the issue.

“I think the governor should have visited the area long time ago as the chief security officer of the state. He was prompted by the United Nations’ visit during which they described the killings as ‘genocide’. The governor should have been the first to visit the area and appropriately inform the president of the situation but he failed to do so. That is why the President Buhari has shown lukewarm attitude towards the killings inAgatu and other parts of the state,” Tsav sated.

He also, castigated the Inspector General of Police (IG) for allegedly peddling falsehood that he did not see 300 corpses in Agatu while in the real sense he did not visit Agatu.

Smart further lampooned the All Progressives Congress (APC) government for lacking focus in providing alternative change to Nigeria and Benue State, regretting the high level of insecurity presently facing the state. He said the APC presented a better manifesto to what they are offering the citizens today and therefore urged them to engage reverse gear and fulfill their campaign promises.

REFRESHER COURSE

L-R: Deputy Managing Director, THISDAY Newspapers, Mr. Kayode Komolafe; Managing Director, Mr. Eniola Bello; Guest Speaker Lecturer, Mr. Richard Akinnola; and Executive Divisional Director, Corporate Servives,THISDAY, Mr. Emmanuel Efeni, during a one-day workshop on defamation for staff of the company at the THISDAY Corporate Head Office, Apapa... yesterday Yomi Akinyele

C’River NUJ Faction Protests Invasion of ElectionVenue

by Soldiers, Police, DSS Bassey InyanginCalabar A faction of the state’s Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) has protested what it described as “the refusal of the National Secretary of the NUJ to comply with the judgment that nullified the Ndoma Akpet-led State Exco on February 24, 2016, and the brazen breach of the NUJ constitution, we the stakeholders of the union hereby condemn the purported election of Monday, April 4, 2016.”

Meanwhile, amidst tension and booming sounds of gunshots from the barrels of the guns of a combined team of military men, personnel of the Department of State Service (DSS), and men of the Nigeria Police Force, members

of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) , Cross River State, on Monday elected a new executive to run the union’s affairs for the next three years.

Sections of 3rd Avenue, the location of the Ernest Etim Bassey NUJ Press Centre, venue of the election, were condoned off by the DSS and the police and the military, which backed out orders to motorists diverting vehicles to other routes.

Persons residing close to the NUJ Press Centre were prevented from gaining free access to their houses while the election lasted, perhaps due to the terrifying sounds of the gunshots.

Journalists considered not being in support of a candidate termed

“government candidate” were physically manhandled by the soldiers and policeman, allegedly deployed on the orders of a state government appointee.

During the duration of the election which lasted for hours from 8.30 am to 2.30 pm, sounds of gunshots fired by the combined team of the military, the police and DSS were heard intermittently, forcing residents of the area to stay at home.

Those who contested the chairmanship position were Mr. Lawrence Mpama of Watchman Magazine, Florence Oluohu of Chronicle Newspapers and Mr. Victor Udu of the state Ministry of Information.

The election to seven of the offices conducted by Mr. James Uwem and

Mr. Sam Egbala , a national trustee of the NUJ, declared Udu as winner against Mpama, and Oluohu who left the press centre when journalists were attacked.

Other officers elected include Mr Oqua Etim (vice Chairman); Mr Oka Ibor (Secretary); Mr Benson Ezugwu (Assistant Secretary); Mrs Archibong Bassey (Treasurer); Mr Edem Edem (Financial Secretary) and Mrs Itam Offor (Internal Auditor).

Commenting on the outcome of the election, Uwem commended the members of NUJ in the state for their peaceful conduct during the election.

However, some of the contestants and stakeholders have rejected the conduct of the election, saying it was a complete sham.

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WEDNESDAY APRIL 6, 2016 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

Buhari to Receive Full Budget Details This Week, Lawmaker Assures A member of the House of Representatives representing Agege Federal Constituency, Hon. Taofeek Abiodun Adaranijo, yesterday assured Nigerians that the full details of the 2016 Appropriation Bill would be forwarded by the National Assembly to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent before the end of the week.

President Buhari had refused to sign the budget owing to the failure of the National Assembly to send the full details of the budget to him as represented in the N6.06trillion harmonised budget passed by the two chambers, a development which had stalled implementation of the budget.

But speaking in an interview with journalists shortly after inspecting on-going projects in Lagos, Adaranijo disclosed that the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Appropriation have been working assiduously to ensure that the president gets the full details of the budget before the end of the week.

He attributed the delay to some of the lapses identified in the budget, adding that as responsible parliamentarians, the lapses identified had to be sorted out first.

Adaranijo, who is a member of House Committee on Works, inspected on-going road construction by the Lagos State

Government in collaboration with Agege Local Government Area and Orile-Agege Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Fashola Street, Agege; Bakare Lane/Kareem Babatunde Street and Ogundele Street in Orile-Agege LCDA. Adaranijo also inspected the ongoing construction of flyover bridge at Abule-Egba and some borehole projects which he constructed for the people of his constituency. The borehole projects are located in Magbon, Olusanya in Agege and one in Ago Igbira, Mangoro.

Speaking on the work done so far, the lawmaker commended the state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, for taking the initiative to partner the local government, saying the governor has demonstrated his love for the people with the numerous on-going projects across the state.

He also commended the quality of work done on Fashola Street in Agege, saying this was about the first time that such first class road would be constructed with walkways, drainage system and street light.

Adaranijo recalled that: “During the political campaign, we made a lot of promises to the people. This is in fulfillment of our promises to them and

the state government and the local government are collaborating together to fix this Fashola road and we have many other road projects under construction.

“As the representative of the people, I felt it is pertinent for me to come and see what is going on

so I can report back, and anytime I see the governor, I will appreciate him for the ongoing projects.

“All eyes can see what he (Ambode) has been doing and some other things that are in the pipeline. The lighting up of the state it is ongoing. Look at the drainages

and other major projects that are ongoing. This is in fulfillment of our campaign promises and all I like to say is that the people should continue to support us; they should continue to support this government because there are many things still coming.”

Also speaking, Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Orile Agege LCDA, Prince Sunday Ajayi, thanked Ambode and Adaranijo for the projects ongoing in the council, revealing that the work done so far was excellent and fantastic.

Falana Gives Army 24-hour Ultimatum to Release Shiite Leader, Wife Akinwale Akintunde The Nigerian Army has been given a 24-hour ultimatum to release the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Sheik Ibraheem Zakzaky, and his wife, Hajia Zeenat Ibraheem, from detention unconditionally.

The Lagos-based senior advocate and human right activist, Mr. Femi Falana, gave the ultimatum in a letter he addressed to the Director General of Department of State Services (DSS).

Falana said during a meeting with Zakzaky and his wife in Abuja on March 31, 2016, where he was briefed that on December 12, 2015, thousands of armed soldiers unleashed violent attacks on the members of IMN in Zaria, Kaduna State on the orders of the Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai, who claimed that the unarmed

civilians wanted to assassinate him.

He stated that from December 12 to 14, 2015, the armed soldiers killed more people and engaged in the willful destruction of properties of members of the group.

According to him, although Zakzaky and his wife were not at the scene of the attack, the rampaging troops invaded their residence on December 14, 2016 and the troops set the building ablaze and killed three of their children in their very presence, thereby subjected them to untold mental agony.

Falana also condemned the fact that Zakzaky and his wife have been denied access to their lawyers, personal physicians and family members for over three months even though they have not been told that they breached any law.

“Our clients were only permitted to meet with us last Friday after

several requests made by us had been turned down without any legal basis,” he stated.

The senior advocate in his letter further stated: “The murders and vandals were later joined by officials of the Kaduna State Government who demolished the vandalised buildings with bulldozers.

“Thereafter, the armed soldiers shot our clients several times. As a result of the brutal attack Sheik Zakzaky lost his left eye while doctors are currently battling to save the right one. While in custody both of them have gone through many surgical operations to extract bullets from their bodies.

“To compound the physical pain and mental anguish that our clients were subjected to in the circumstance, the Nigeria Police Force and DSS have held them incommunicado for the past three and half months.

Falana also accused the army of a similar attack in 2014 where three of his clients’ children were killed without any lawful justification.

He said the report of the fact finding Commission of Enquiry set up by the government in respect of that attack did not see the light of the day.

“Whereas the military personnel who killed our clients’ children and other unarmed civilians have not been brought to justice some of the victims who survived the deadly attacks have been dragged to court and charged with culpable homicide and sundry offences by the Kaduna State Government.

“Notwithstanding that such criminal charges are pending at the Kaduna High Court, the Kaduna State Government has set up a judicial Commission of Enquiry to investigate the same subject matter.

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY APRIL 6, 2016

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6 2016

COMMENT

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

FAREWELL, TUNJI BRAITHWAITE

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Sonnie Ekwowusi pays tribute to the activist lawyer, social crusader and politician of repute

r. Olatunji Akintunde Braithwaite, activist lawyer, consummate social crusader, politician extraordinaire and elder statesman who died on March 28 at St. Nicholas Hospital, Lagos, aged 82, certainly deserves a glowing tribute not because we take solace in honouring our own after they are dead but because Braithwaite firmly believed in liberating political principles of liberty, equality, rule of law, constitutionalism, moral values and consent of governed and endeavoured to pass them on as his legacies. We must rediscover these principles as a people. It is only when we rediscover them and see how far we have strayed off course as a nation we can realise the choices before us and begin to develop a strategy to reclaim the future. But unfortunately there are many obstacles to the rediscovery of these principles. To begin with, we live in a world of “political correctness” in which many people compromise the truth in order to avoid clashes of ideas and interests. Many speak the language of the crowd; eat the food of the crowd; voice the opinion of the crowd in order to belong to the crowd.

Therefore we must re-dedicate ourselves as a people to the aforesaid principles to secure the future. We must not remain in the crowd. Braithwaite was not a man of the crowd. He was blunt to a fault. For example, amid the successive failed leaderships and systematic corruption in Nigeria, Braithwaite was constantly repeating that what Nigeria needed to get out of the quagmire was a revolution. He fought hard to enthrone a new moral renaissance or a new national re-birth in order to overcome profligacy, unbridled individualism, narcissism and other bundle of vices in public life. Braithwaite fought against oppression, corruption and commutative injustice. He detested injustice. Being a childhood friend of the late Biafran leader Chief Emeka Odimegwu-Ojukwu, Braithwaite was in a good position to speak about Ojukwu and the spirit behind the Biafran revolution.

Once at a public gathering at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, Braithwaite stated, “Emeka did not declare war against his fatherland: he declared war against corruption and injustice”.

As I said, Braithwaite detested corruption and injustice. And the passion to rid Nigeria of corruption and injustice must have propelled him early enough to venture into Nigerian politics. Under the strong influence of Chief Awolowo’s welfarist ideology, Braithwaite founded in the Second Republic (1979-1983) a “new breed” political party called the Nigeria Advance Party (NAP). At that time, NAP was the only new political party that was freshly registered by the then electoral body, FEDECO. The party stood out as a “progressive” party that was committed to promoting social and commutative justice in Nigeria. It is instructive that at the last constitutional conference Braithwaite unwavering canvassed the same NAP ideology, which is, the equitable distribution of the country’s resources in line with true fiscal federalism. One of the tragedies of modern Nigerian politics is the clear absence of ideologies and ideologues among the political parties and the politicians. For example, the leaders of the six political

BRAITHWAITE FOUGHT AGAINST OPPRESSION, CORRUPTION AND COMMUTATIVE INJUSTICE. HE DETESTED INJUSTICE

parties in the Second Republic including Braithwaite were singled out by the political ideologies which they espoused. In those days if you were tired of listening to the highly eloquent and philosophical speeches of Zik and Awo, you could relax by listening to the entertainments of Alhaji Barkin Zuwo of People’s Redemption Party (PRP). Once asked if there mineral natural resources in Kano, the ebullient lexically-challenged Barkin Zuwo spurted out, “‘’kai … mineral berekete for Kano…akwoi Fanta, akwoi Coke, akwoi…’’

So, there were no idle moments in the Second Republic. In the Third Republic (1993), there were no dull moments either. Apart from Chief MKO Abiola stealing the show with his well-grafted Yoruba proverbs and the “M.K.O is our man o” rendition, there was the Abiola-Kingibe-Torfa-Ugo political debate which revealed a lot about the virtues and vices of the Nigerian politician. Now, what is the nature of today’s politics? Emptiness! We are busy catching thieves. Meanwhile, there is no fuel. No electricity supply.

No water. No philosophy. No sense of political humour. One can hardly tell the difference between the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress. The two parties look the same.

No ideologies. No ideologues. No rhetoric. And that is why it is convenient for any failed member of the PDP to decamp to APC and vice-versa. It is interesting that Braithwaite was never a political prostitute. He did not for any reasons decamp from NAP to any other political party. Unlike most Nigerian politicians, Braithwaite remained faithful to NAP and its ideology even when the party had not won any major elections in Nigeria.

Let me end this tribute by stating that Braithwaite’s greatest contribution to Nigerian politics and Nigerian political culture finds its echo in his ability to find a linkage between the City of God and the City of man. Saint Augustine writes that the City of God and the City of man inevitably meet albeit the two cannot be confused.

Like Saint Augustine, Braithwaite was able to establish that the two cities also meet. In his book, The Jurisprudence of the Living Oracles, Braithwaite proffers the convergence between religion, culture and politics. Politics is the attempt to put order in public life by making use of religious ideals. To that effect, politics and morality are no strange bedfellows as some will make us believe. There is morality in politics. Morality is about distinguishing good from evil. There is no political strategy or political decision that does not involve a choice between good and evil. Agreed, politics should not be reduced to morality but if politics is all about the welfare of man, its relevance must be measured by reference to moral values.

A political office holder cannot abandon his morals in the far corner of the church or mosque in order to steal government’s money and afterwards return to his church or mosque to wear his morals. He must bring his morals to bear in his public office. The argument is compelling: we cannot successfully clean up the Aegean Stables without first cleaning up the rot in many public office holders.

NERC, THE DISCOS AND THE SENATE

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The recent directive by the Senate disallowing the enforcement of the new electricity tariff is a major setback, argues Lanre Alaba

he recent directive by the Nigerian Senate to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to stop the announced increase in electricity tariffs seemed to be based on the assumption that the regulatory body and the electricity distribution companies have colluded to defraud or cheat the Nigerian electricity consumer. That is a false assumption.

The nature of the relationship between the NERC and the discos is like that between a cat and a mouse. Cats catch mice and rats run away from cats. That is the nature of the relationship between NERC and the Discos, with NERC the sole regulator of the electricity , dictating the rules of the game and waiting to blow foul or give a yellow card when the discos violate the rules of the game on electricity delivery to the Nigerian public. So discos are wary of NERC and do not want to be penalised for breaking the rules because they have invested heavily in the electricity delivery system and are looking forward to reaping their dividends in due course under the aegis of NERC direction and control.

It is in this light that we should look at the Senate decision recently that the electricity tariffs increased by NERC and to be collected by Discos should be stopped. The discos are distribution agents for the electricity industry and they cannot single-handedly raise tariffs and collect at the same time. They can only collect based on the pricing regime adopted by NERC which is cost reflective and ensures that the Discos do not make exorbitant profit at the expense of the Nigerian electricity consumer and public. That explains why for now it is NERC that has gone to court to defend the tariff increase even before the Senate intervention to stop the increase. This is because the basic duty of NERC is to ensure that

the Discos play ball in terms of electricity delivery to the Nigerian masses according to the rules.

So in stopping the planned and approved tariff increase we should ask the Senate whose interest it is serving or protecting and what rules on electricity delivery or generation it is following?

Certainly NERC can defend the tariff increase on the grounds that it is to ensure that the Discos function efficiently and optimally. Which means that in the context of the cost reflective pricing regime adopted, the Discos must raise the standard of service delivery of electricity to the Nigeran electricity consumer. This is because the Discos have a stake in making the service delivery successful because they have a huge commitment in terms of the massive amount they have invested. Yet they are making a huge sacrifice to curb any unwarranted attempt at illegal profit because the rules of the game have been computed such that they cannot make profit until five years later to enable the enabling environment for the correct and efficient electricity delivery to take off. The Discos took off in 2013 and are not expected to make profit till 2018.

So why is the Senate crying wolf when there is none and what is its business in the matter any way since NERC, the sole authority in the matter and the statutory approver, has given the green light for the increase and announced it over a year ago? Definitely something is fishy with this unwarranted intervention of the Nigerian Senate in the long march to efficient electricity service delivery in the nation and Nigerians are watching and waiting earnestly for the Senate to rescind its order to stop the approved tariff increase.

These are indeed very hard days for NERC. A court order has just been issued to restrain the commission from increasing electricity tariffs which it announced would take effect from

February 1, 2016. It is subjudice to comment on a case in court so NERC would have to plead its case in court. But before this time NERC has had its authority rubbished by the Senate which ordered NERC to rescind the 45% increase in electricity tariffs. So who got it wrong or right between the Senate and NERC? That is question that we must ask and answer here for the benefit of the Nigerian public and electricity consumers who have become confused and beffudled by this unfortunate chain of events.

By an act of parliament, NERC is the sole authority for the regulation of the generation, transmission, distribution of electricity in Nigeria.

This authority was vested in the Electricity Power Sector Reform Act of 2005 made during the Obasanjo administration from 1999 to 2007.

It was in 2007 that the NERC got a board that made it functional, having evolved from NEPA to Power Holding Company of Nigeria to metamorphose to NERC as we know it today.

NERC’s duties essentially are to regulate the delivery of electricity to the Nigerian populace efficiently and at an affordable rate for the mutual benefit of both the consumers and the distribution companies called Discos in the Nigerian electricity delivery context. This NERC has been doing, albeit with very limited success to the vexation of Nigerians who thought that once NERC had come on board the era of persistent power failure was over . This was not helped by the fact that electricity generation in the nation had become comatose and unbelievably low for a huge nation like Nigeria with a population of about 165m.

Our electricity generation is below 5% of our needs and successive Nigerian governments have promised to improve power generation to an acceptable level but none has delivered on this promise so far.

In spite of this NERC has lumbered on hoping for a better day in terms of improved power generation. It brought on the Discos who invested heavily in the distribution system because of their confidence in the Nigerian electricity delivery dream and in the hope that better days would come in terms of increased power generation. The Discos were monitored tightly to ensure they do not exploit consumers with unaffordable tariffs.

Indeed NERC stipulated that they must charge cost reflective charges with global best standards in electricity tariffs over 10 years.

It also decreed that they cannot make profit in the first five years when they came on board in 2013. In its own little way and given the constraints it faced, NERC has stabilised the Nigerian power sector such that companies and investors who fled Nigeria because of persistent power failure were watching and wishing NERC would succeed with the Discos and the pricing regime on tariffs which it announced .

That stability is what was put under serious threat by the action of the Senate in challenging and liquidating the authority of NERC as the sole regulator of electricity in Nigeria when it asked the bona fide regulator to rescind its tariff increase on February 16, 2016 .

Right thinking and patriotic Nigerians are aghast at this unexpected challenge of the constitutional authority by a legislative institution, indeed an upper chamber in political parlance that should no better. The good advice to the Senate is to rescind its order as quickly as possible.

That is the honorable thing to do in order to save face and not allow Nigerians to think of the unexpected challenge to NERC’s authority as sheer economic sabotage which really is a looming and unfortunate conclusion.

Alaba, an engineer, wrote from Ibadan

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016

EDITORIAL WHEN CAN THE NETWORK BE REACHED? Telecom network operators are yet to live up to expectations

“

My office has been inundated with complaints, petitions and calls on the fraudulent and unauthorised charges by network operators in the country,” said Adebayo Shittu, the Minister of Communications, at a recent meeting with the telecom operators in the country. “It has been alleged that these unauthorised charges have been so prevalent. This action must stop immediately or else severe sanctions will be imposed on any operator that violates this directive.”

That was the latest in a series of warnings to the telecom network operators to get their act together.

Besides the oft-repeated disappointing and unreliable services of the network operators pockmarked by high rate of dropped calls, poor voice quality, call diversions and delays in text message delivery, the minister was disillusioned that the service providers are outsmarting the government by under-declaring the revenue and profit raked off Nigerians. Yet there is also the growing concern of the increasing disengagement of Nigerians for foreigners, including even to do menial jobs. But more worrisome is that THE AUTHORITIES “the network cannot MUST DO EVERYTHING be reached, please try TO ENSURE THAT later”, has become the SUBSCRIBERS ARE common refrain of SPARED THE AGONY virtually all telecom OF CONTINUED POOR operators, as customSERVICE DELIVERY FROM ers are made to endure THE NETWORKS lousy services.

Indeed, attempts had been made in the past to steer the telecom network providers from their uninspiring service delivery. In the midst of their dismal performance, the networks became inundated with advertorials and promotional items that invariably worsened the quality of service.

Telecommunication operations became one big network of gambling businesses while the quality of service nosedived. It is noteworthy that for those same reasons, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) once imposed hefty penalties on all the major operators and a further ban on all manner of promotions.

Letters to the Editor

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However, in spite of repeated sanctions, the networks are again returning to their old ways. The extortion of subscribers has resurfaced in the form of dubious charges like “Fun, music box and sports den messages”

by Etisalat; Hausa Amazing Fact Service charged by Glo; N50 charged for MTN Backup every two weeks; N50 for MTN CallerFeel per month, CallerTunez, Easynews and Holla Back Tones by Airtel, etc.

With dropped calls and non-completion of calls now standard practices, many telecom subscribers have simply resigned themselves to their fate. Even the expensive habit of carrying two or three phone handsets of different networks is to no avail since there are periods when none of the networks would work. Also the impact of the mobile number portability - an initiative which gives subscribers the leeway to move their telephone numbers to any network of choice in search of better service quality- has not provided the desired outcome. The bottom-line is that the quality of service by the telecom operators is still less than satisfactory.

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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ven if we admit that the telecoms infrastructure in the country is inadequate, the nation’s teledensity has continued to grow despite poor services. Operators have not helped their case by repeatedly turning deaf ears to the charge by the former Minister of Communications Technology, Dr. Omobola Johnson that they should “roll out more base stations and other telecoms infrastructure that will improve service quality across the country.”

Currently, there are some 25,000 base stations spread across the country, serving over 150 million subscribers and about 100,000 kilometres of fibre for the same number of subscribers. These structures, according to industry experts, are grossly inadequate for the huge subscriber base that our network operators carry. That may then partly explain why Nigerian subscribers and consumers of telecommunication services are not getting value for their money.

As such, whatever it will take to enforce compliance, the authorities must do everything to ensure that subscribers are spared the agony of continued poor service delivery from the networks.

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.

MARRIAGE: A CULTURAL IMPERATIVE

ave you seen a lady who wore a long, drawn and forlorn face on her wedding day? And bridegrooms were always in a buoyant mood on the days they took their wives to the altar. Marriage is a thing of joy. Newly married couple would start a family.

They’ll breed children, and raise them up under their guidance. The joy of a man watching his son or daughter growing up is inexplicable and boundless.

So, not a few ladies felt happy and extremely joyous on the days their marriages were solemnised with holy wedlock. They did laugh heartily raucously, and swayed beautifully and seductively to the music played on their wedding days. In Africa, especially in the South-East of Nigeria, parents consider the marriages of their children worthy of celebration. Are old maids and ageing bachelors not viewed with disrespect in Nigeria? More so, politicians with failed marriages occupying exalted political offices are said to be unsuitable for such high positions on account of their troubled marriages. Here, in Nigeria, scaling the marriage hurdle has become a cultural and social imperative for people who want to gain acceptance in the society. It seems to me that being married is an open sesame to gaining entrance into the club of responsible and law-abiding people.

But what is marriage? The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines marriage as “the relationship between two people, who are married.” Until now, marriage was seen as a union of a man and woman. The legalisation of same – sex marriage has altered the definition of marriage. Nowadays, in Europe, America, and South Africa, two people, who belong to the same sex, can solemnise their

union in a church. People who traduce same – sex couples are called provincial people, who are with homophobia. Our sexual preferences, behaviour, and orientation have fallen under fundamental human rights. But the sight of a man smooching another is preposterous in Nigeria. Same – sex coupling is frowned upon in Nigeria. The Abrahamic religions – Islam and Christianity – and the African traditional religion take a dim view of homosexual act and lesbianism. Whether it is a learned behaviour or genetic is immaterial to its staunch opponents.

In the traditional African societies, we have closet gays and lesbians, not talk of them publicly declaring their affection to their partners.

Same – sex coupling is criminalised in Nigeria. People caught in the act are vilified and visited with punishment. So, in Nigeria, when marriage is mentioned, the image of a man and a woman living under the same roof comes to mind. As Christianity had dislodged the African traditional religion in the south – east of Nigeria, they’re practicing monogamy. But, in the Moslem – north, polygamy is practiced there.

A man’s performance of the marital rites for his wife marks a watershed in his life. People get into the marriage union for diverse reasons. In order to ensure the continuity of their family lineage, people get married. Again, people enter into the marital union for companionship. But do Africans who are gregarious in nature marry for the reason of companionship? Do they need wives who will be their confidantes? More so, in order to satisfy their sexual cravings and avoid promiscuity, people marry. Yet, nowadays, many married men and women indulge in extra-marital affairs without having moral compunction and the prick of conscience. The wedding ring on the ring finger of a woman confers respectability on her. She waves it

to show her marital status. But African men marry chiefly to beget children who will perpetuate and carry their names into the future.

People who are married are treated with respect in the belief that they are responsible people.

But now, owing to the harsh economic realities existing in today’s Nigeria, millions of people of marriageable ages are incapable of marrying wives. Since they graduated from universities many years ago, millions of Nigerians have not secured jobs, not to talk of those jobs being well – paying or plum. Can an impecunious man marry a wife and take care of her needs? In the south – east of Nigeria, especially in Abia and Imo State, prospective suitors are required to pay huge sums of money as bride price. The monetary cost of performing the traditional marriage ceremonies of a lady is huge.

In spite of the huge sums of money many men paid to formalise their marriages, their marriages failed. Our courts are filled with divorce cases. Nowadays, marriages collapse as fast as amoebae cells disintegrate. These marriages fail for diverse reasons, ranging from infidelity, insubordination, financial problem, to incompatibility.

Although the Bible places women under men in the marriage union, they strive and claim equality with men. This creates tension in many homes, and can lead to the separation of the partners or their divorce.

Again, nowadays, not a few married people have sexual liaisons outside their matrimonial homes. But not everybody can put up with the sexual indiscretions of his or her marriage mate. Some people opted out of their marital unions when they discovered that their marriage mates are past redemption.

Chiedu Uche Okoye, Uruowulu – Obosi Anambra State

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

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

THE NEWSMAKER

Sylva’s Internal Strife

Former Bayelsa State governor, Timipre Sylva seems to have fresh crisis on his hands and this time, it is local. Emmanuel Adeh writes

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hough contenders in the crisis had attempted to hide their interests under the guise of ‘fighting for the welfare of our people’, recent developments may have, however, revealed that the infighting in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State may just be about sharing the spoils of politics.

On the surface, it would seem that the political combatants in the state’s branch of the APC have altruistic leanings, however, there are indications that the jostle is about which party leader gets ‘what, how and when’, to borrow from the late Harold Lasswell, an American Political Scientist and Communications Theorist.

The brewing crisis in Bayelsa APC escalated last week, when what was hitherto thought to be a minor altercation among the leaders of the party led to the exchange of high-octane verbal assaults, not even within the state, but in Abuja, the seat of power.

But beyond the grandiloquence of a faction of the party’s executive committee claiming that Mr Timipre Sylva, a former governor of the state and leader of the party was suspended because he allegedly visited a sitting Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor in the South-south, was the deeper issue of the ex-governor wanting to corner all the bounty and refusing to leave even the crumbs for the party’s executive in the state.

The obviously displeased APC chairman in the state, Timipa Orunimighe, while announcing the indefinite suspension of Sylva, accused its governorship candidate in the December 5 election, and four others of anti-party activities.

Aside Sylva, the other four suspended by the state PDP executive were Joseph Fafi, the party’s senatorial vice chairman central zone; Fortune Panebi, publicity secretary; Tonye Okio, organising secretary; and Edison Sogwe.

Taking its fight to Abuja, Orunimighe, Chairman and secretary, Daniel Marlin, who jointly signed the statement suspending Sylva and the four others, said the decision to bar the five was made after extensive consultations with party elders.

Interestingly, Mr. Panebi, the party’s Spokesman loyal to Sylva, had the previous day announced the suspension of Orunimighe and Marlin as well as the deputy state chairman of the party, Eddy Julius, for alleged misconduct and embezzlement – a case of the hunter becoming the hunted.

Accusing Sylva of destroying the party in the state, Orunimighe and Marlin noted that they had it on good record that Sylva paid a ‘clandestine visit’ to one of the South-south governors of the PDP, saying “This is just one of the series of correspondences between them and we find it grossly unbecoming,” they alleged.

The disgruntled faction accused the former governor of breaching Article 21 of the party’s Constitution, an action they claimed had the capacity to bring the party to “hatred, contempt, ridicule or disrepute”.

According to them, Sylva was trying to form a parallel executive committee, “in complete defiance of Article 21, under offences which states, ‘Factionalisation or creating parallel party organs at any level.”

While also accusing Mr. Sylva of political infidelity, Orunimighe and his group said the ex-governor had been engaging in corruption, indiscipline and trading of political offices, noting that each time the group wanted to correct him, they always met with threats and insults.

“The party will not tolerate acts of indiscipline from anyone, no matter how highly placed the individual,” the faction said, adding that the ex-governor was suspended “to save the image of the party and restore confidence

Sylva...challenged by his own

among members.”

But a faction loyal to the former governor, in a riposte described Orunminigbe and others behind the purported suspension of Sylva as jesters and their action, laughable.

Panebi, the Publicity Secretary, said it was laughable for Oruminighe, who was earlier suspended, to turn around to say Sylva was

Pundits believe that the implications of the current crisis would be unpalatable for the APC, which is just trying to find its feet in the state, given that Governor Seriake Dickson and former President Goodluck Jonathan had successfully sold the PDP as an Ijaw party to the people of the state…

Moreover, the sentiments are still very much alive that a northerner defeated their son (Jonathan) in the last presidential election, an action they describe as a gang up, making the job of the angling leaders a lot more difficult

on suspension.

“They are fighting a lost battle because two people cannot suspend any of us. We properly constituted a meeting of the state executive council where about 21 of us took a decision that suspended Oruminighe and his cohorts.

“Their suspension stands because it was done in accordance with the rules and procedures of the party. We have facts and proofs on their illegal activities that led to their suspension. Let them provide evidence that we ever engaged in anti-party activities,” he said.

Indeed, the Sylva group had after a meeting the previous day noted that, “At an emergency State Executive Committee meeting held on 1st of April, 2016, the following were reached that the cases of gross misconduct, financial embezzlement and anti-party activity against the State Chairman, Chief Tiwei Orunimighe, the Deputy Chairman, Eddy Julius and State Secretary, Daniel Marlin.”

Beyond the noise, however, it was gathered, are the issues of power, money and influence.

In fact, in his first public address before accusing the ex-governor of not being a loyal party man, Orunimighe had spoken of a purported list submitted by Sylva to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), David Babachir Lawal, for key appointments into boards of ministries, departments and agencies.

Orunimighe complained that Sylva compiled and submitted names of some non-APC members to the SGF without the knowledge of the state party executive and accused him of selling the state appointments.

“Why we are standing here before you today is because of the appointments that we feel were supposed to be given to those of us in the APC in Bayelsa. It’s a pity to say that somebody like Sylva, who is supposed to be the leader of the party today, turned against the party and sold our party’s slots. As APC chairman in Bayelsa and very strong exco, we

have spoken with him. We told him we will stand against that as a people.

“If we can stand against Goodluck Jonathan as a president, if we can stand against the governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, to tell him we don’t like his antecedents as governor, we can also tell our leader that we don’t like his antecedents. We are not ready as a people to sell any slot of appointment to be given to Bayelsans,” he said.

But Sylva denied the allegations, saying the current minister was considered in order to not only give a sense of belonging to the new entrants, but also ensure geographical balance.

Sylva said Oruminigha was peeved that he (Sylva) disagreed with his wish to become the minister representing Bayelsa State because he believed that his only experience was being local government chairman.

“When the ministerial slot came,” Sylva began, “the chairman (Orunimighe) told me he wanted to be a minister and he is not qualified to be a minister. His only experience in Nigeria is that he had been a local government chairman and I made him the local government chairman.

“I told them that the people, who are joining us, we need to give them a sense of belonging and so, Heineken was nominated. We also looked at the spread in the state. I was contesting governor from the East; he, as the Chairman, is from the Central and Heineken (Lokpobiri) is from the West, and so, I felt we should take somebody from the West to be a minister and Heineken became a minister.”

He accused the party chairman of hobnobbing with the ruling PDP in the state and collecting a huge amount of money from the governor of the state to betray the party.

But THISDAY learnt that the bad blood between the duo of Sylva and Orumighe may have predated the recent crisis threatening to tear the party apart. In the build-up to the December 5, 2015 governorship election, Sylva, it was learnt, had assured Oruminighe that he would be appointed as his running mate.

Sylva was said to have later changed his mind, citing the reason that Orunimighe was “too ambitious” and was therefore not a deputy governor material.

As a matter of fact, some supporters of the party chairman had in a protest, insisted that if Sylva failed to run with Orunimighe, he should forget his ambition of running for the election at the time.

The ex-governor was accused of changing rule in the middle of the game, before eventually settling for a secondary school principal as his preferred running mate.

But pundits believe that the implications of the current crisis would be unpalatable for the APC, which is just trying to find its feet in the state, given that Governor Seriake Dickson and former President Goodluck Jonathan had successfully sold the PDP as an Ijaw party to the people of the state.

Moreover, the sentiments are still very much alive that a northerner defeated their son (Jonathan) in the last presidential election, an action they describe as a gang up, making the job of the angling leaders a lot more difficult.

Also, for the APC, a party that is fighting at the election tribunal to wrest power from Dickson, who won the last governorship election, having its leaders under one political roof would be a plus. At the moment, that unity of purpose looks like a mirage.

Whether the contenders agree to put their house in order and forge a common front, especially with the involvement of Lokpobiri, a serving minister, who should ordinarily be the rallying point or peacemaker in the entire crisis, remains to be seen.

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016

ONTHEWATCH

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

A Curious Gathering of the Progressives On Sunday afternoon, some old folks of the progressive ideology in the South-west gathered at the Ikoyi home of one of their own, Chief Olusegun Osoba, in a somewhat activated reunion. But there was more to the reunion that has just begun to play out, writes Shola Oyeyipo

Osoba and Tinubu at the reunion and reconciliation meeting...can the two work together

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o the layman, 2019 is yet too far for anyone to begin to contemplate its politics. But to the active players, now is not in any way early to begin to scheme for even 2023.

Thus, Sunday’s reconciliation and reunion between a former Lagos State governor and one of the national leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his former Ogun State counterpart, Chief Olusegun Osoba is seen as a clandestine move to begin to galvanise the South-west ahead of 2019.

To observers, therefore, 2019 is already on the minds of the progressives in the western part of Nigeria and the reconciliation is one particular action whose undertone is yet to be deciphered.

The questions in the minds of the people are numerous. First, since what culminated in the friction between Tinubu and Osoba was a product of some fundamental political differences between him and Governor Ibikunle Amosun, why was the governor conspicuously absent from the reconciliation meeting whereas other South-west APC governors were present at the meeting?

It was a well-attended meeting that had in attendance, Tinubu, former Osun State governor and former acting National Chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande; the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola; Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; former Ekiti State governor, Chief Niyi Adebayo and the Lagos State deputy governor, who represented Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, Mrs. Idiat Oluranti Adebule.

Others present at the meeting were vice chairman, APC, South-west, Chief Pius Akinyelure; former Ogun State deputy governor, Mr. Segun Adesegun, who was later the deputy governorship candidate to Mr. Akin Odunsi of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2015 election; Senator Gbenga Obadara, Akintola Benson and Alhaji Bimbo Awofeso.

When Tinubu was asked about why Governor Amosun was absent at the meeting, he said

the governor was part of the reconciliation and that people who are unavoidably absent could be excused from the meeting.

“Nobody is left out. It is all progressives and no one is left out. The governor of Ogun State is with us. The governor of Ogun State was elected on the platform of the APC and he is for the APC. This is not a leaderless revolution.

Leaders are defined and identified and it is clear that we are all one including the governor of Ogun State. We are not in PDP,” Tinubu said as he left the venue of the meeting held at Osoba’s Ikoyi residence.

Although some sources claimed that Governor Amosun was out of the country, when the reconciliatory meeting held, it was impossible to confirm if he would have been absent if he was around, much as THISDAY was unable to confirm that he actually traveled.

Another question begging for answer is whether

At any rate, the APC would have to go the extra length to correct the impression in the minds of the people that the emergency reconciliation is not a gang-up against the Ogun State governor…

As it is, with time, the essentials of the forced unity will come to the open and the political whizkids will situate the respective issues in their apt context

the Yoruba – or better still, the South-west, is realigning to be the most politically organised section of the country in preparation for 2019 and whether the purported presidential ambition of Tinubu would eventually fly on that platform.

But in explaining the motivation for the reconciliation, which also had its undertone, since the settlement of the rift actually took place at Osoba’s residence, a move that suggested that Osoba did not go begging to come back, Tinubu who said he was happy about the development attributed what happened to the quest for peaceful co-existence among the progressives in this part of the country.

Reacting to whether he was happy about the development, Tinubu said: “You see me here, what do you expect? My happiness is personal to me. What is crucial is forging on one front and for us to remain progressive in our party.

“I am an unapologetic progressive. I will remain a progressive. That is the only philosophy and principle I believe. Whatever it is, the progressives must unite with their vision. I am for it. What is very crucial is forging one front,” he maintained.

Earlier, Governor Aregbesola, who spoke with journalists immediately after the closed door meeting that lasted about three hours, said the discussions had brought Osoba back to the progressive fold in western Nigeria.

“It is my pleasure to address the band of media houses that the leadership of the progressive politics in the western part of Nigeria met today at the residence of Akinrogun Aremo, and have completely resolved all the differences with the leadership.

“We are happy to inform the world that the leadership of progressive politics is united and ready to jointly prosecute the agenda for purposeful leadership in western part of Nigeria as we plan to do at the national level; to revive the economy. I believe with good governance and purposeful leadership, West Africa and the black race will be better for it.

“A time was when Aremo switched to another

party. He was with the SDP but with what we have done, Aremo is back in the progressive leadership of Yoruba race,” Aregbesola said.

He said the reconciliation was on the platform of the APC, adding that “With the leadership united, whoever subscribes to the leadership is part of this.”

Osoba was rather frugal with words. He actually did not make any categorical statement, when asked about the reconciliation.

He sang a Yoruba song he referred to as one of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s political song, which says “The fight is over and the war is ended, the Lord has fought and won the war, halleluyah!”

Indeed, the battle might have been subdued amongst Osoba, Tinubu, Akande and other leaders of the APC but the real question is: has it ended between them and Governor Amosun?

Though Tinubu made efforts to dissuade the people to believe that all was well between the governor and himself, that question is however best answered by Governor Amosun himself, observers reckoned.

Whichever side of the divide Amosun is, another issue the people are curious about is whether the not too rosy relationship between President Muhammadu Buhari and Tinubu may have degenerated to an extent that the West might play the spoiler for him in 2019 or better still, unify to bargain from a position of strength.

At any rate, the APC would have to go the extra length to correct the impression in the minds of the people that the emergency reconciliation is not a gang-up against the Ogun State governor.

There are reports that Tinubu is not happy with President Buhari. And there are also reports that the president has started to woo the APC national leader ahead of 2019 presidential election.

So, as it is, with time, the essentials of the forced unity will come to the open and the political whizkids will situate the respective issues in their apt context.

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016

UPDATE&TRENDING

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

Fayose Moves Opposition up a Gear Ekiti State governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, on Sunday met with select journalists on the state of the nation. Segun James, who was present at the briefing, writes that the South-west governor is leaving no stone unturned in his opposition to the President Muhammadu Buhari administration(PDP), Dr. Tope Aluko, seemed to have put the past behind them. This is as the two held a peace talk to end their feud of over a year

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obody divides opinion in the present Nigerian polity like Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State. The tempestuous governor is a media delight any day or put more precisely, Fayose is bound to generate controversy that could shake the nation for weeks. And so, Fayose and his estranged ally, the state secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Tope Aluko, seemed to have put the past behind them. This is as the two held a peace talk to end their feud of over a year.

Fayose, who is deeply patriotic about issues relating to the country had early spoken on various national issues, and as expected, took the federal government to the cleaners on governance and the unending travels of President Muhammadu Buhari around the world.

Moving away from this, Fayose quickly addressed the purported Ali Modu Sheriff/ Ayo Fayose 2019 joint presidential ticket, which appears to be trending and causing some uproar in some quarters.

“It is interesting when people make this kind of projection. That they were projecting you for presidency shows you are relevant. That you are doing well for whatever it is worth.

But this is only an act to discredit my stance on governance and politics in Nigeria. The second time opportunity given me by the Ekiti people is like that of a man, who has something in his mouth that he is chewing and he is still looking inside the pot of soup.

I am not a character like that.

“Anybody flying the kite of Ali Modu Sheriff and Fayose is a deceit of the highest order. Let me make it clear, even the senate, I am not going. I am not going to contest for the senate. Besides, nobody contests for the position of the vice-president anyway, and in the event that Ali Modu Sheriff wants to contest for president in 2019, I Fayose will not support him.

“I am a man known for my words. My reason is this, you can’t be striving to be the national chairman and in the middle of the game you change the goal post. That cannot be possible. So if Sheriff wants to contest for the post of President of Nigeria, I will not and I will never support him. We must operate with principle.

“This is orchestrated to give people the impression that I have the ambition and that is why I am doing all these. No, it is beyond that. I am the most senior governor in Nigeria today. I served under Obasanjo, served under Jonathan and now under Buhari, they have to tackle me. I still have more than two and a half years in the saddle as governor of Ekiti State before this purported dream to become vice-president. Please tell them that they should not arrange me. Time will sort all things out. Who knows who will be available or alive in 2019? It is an exercise in futility,” he said.

Surprisingly, Fayose has the best of regards for former Lagos State governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and this much he said at the session.

“I was the first to criticise the president.

But forget about party politics, Tinubu is a leader in Yorubaland, a leader in Nigeria.

Call it whatever you like, he is a man you cannot wish away. If Tinubu will now write officially to complain about the fuel situation, then you know there is danger ahead.

“As I speak, the economy of Nigeria is in comatose. We are in serious trouble. If Tinubu can criticise Kachikwu, you know it is not Kachikwu he is criticising but the president.

After all, the president is the minister for petroleum and Kachikwu cannot do anything beyond the president.

Fayose...not resting on his oars

“I was happy when the president was praising Asiwaju Tinubu during his birthday because he had taken the man for granted in the past.

I know that the man would have dealt with him. Thank God people like us are talking and he knows the consequence. That is why he panicked and started praising him that he is the hero of democracy. Did he just know

When a president governs a nation, he must have ability. He must be mentally alert and must have what it takes. But currently as it stands, the president is challenged by age, challenged by exposure and he is challenged by his inability to coordinate Nigerians because of his age. It is not his fault that he has contested four times, but unfortunately, he has been overtaken by time

that? When they were flying him from one state to the other and when he came to Lagos to meet a massive crowd of people welcoming him, did he realise that?

On Goodluck Jonathan, he said “Although Jonathan conducted an election that consumed him, he is a rare human being. He is a model.

He is like the man, who gave up his ghost for others to live. But since he left, we have had cases of rerun inside rerun and inconclusive elections inside inconclusive elections.

“I was the first to criticise the INEC chairman because he is the president’s friend. Even if you want to put your friend in such position, it should not be anyone known to be so close to you,” he said.

Fayose however left his most fervent criticism for the president. Hear him: “People projecting Buhari for 2019 should stop. Buhari does not have the capacity now and he will not have it in seven years’ time to govern this country.

Nigerians will not vote for an octogenarian anymore.

“When a president governs a nation, he must have ability. He must be mentally alert and must have what it takes. But currently as it stands, the president is challenged by age, challenged by exposure and he is challenged by his inability to coordinate Nigerians because of his age. It is not his fault that he has contested four times, but unfortunately, he has been overtaken by time.

“When you look at the rate the president travels out of the country, you see that the president wants to catch and have a gleam of everything before time catches up with him. When someone feels that I have been

denied of this opportunity that is when you find situation like this.

“I remember when the president was campaigning and contesting, he said what does the president need a fleet of nine presidential aircraft for? One expects that he would have sold them by now, but he is now enjoying it. The first lady is now enjoying it. The vice president is now enjoying it.

“Like I said I am the longest serving Nigerian governor. I have experience, so, I know what most governors don’t know. This thing is not about grammar; they are earned. You cannot speak body language to the body of a dictator. I have served with people who are vindictive, people who are average, who are calm and we are still serving in this one, where we have found ourselves.

“As it is now, our president cannot rule with the constitution. He must rule by decree because he wants everybody to go to jail without due process. The current president is a dictator but we will not allow him. A government that does not allow room for opposition will destroy the country over time.

We want a Nigeria that we will all have voice.

That is why I am surprises when some people say Buhari 2019. That is criminal.

“How do we face another seven years without fuel, light and water? I am surprised that people are still asking for that kind of change.

The president left his own people looking for ordinary light to be looking for nuclear energy. Who do they want to kill? We don’t need any nuclear energy. The president should stay home to govern and find solution to our problems,” he said.

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PERSPECTIVE

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

Anambra Central Rerun: Confessions, the Election and the Law The battle for Anambra Central senatorial district in a rerun poll ia ensconced in fundamental issues than the voters are privy to, writes Okelo Madukaife

D

r. Joe-Martins Uzodike, lawyer, politician and now a member of PDP was an adviser to Governor Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo in the Second Republic. In the first term of Governor Peter Obi in Anambra State as currently structured, Uzodike confessed that he was the State Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), when his party joined other political parties to seek an injunction restraining the government of the day from conducting local government elections.

In the second term of Obi’s governorship, however, it was achieved. Joe Uzodike became Commissioner for Information and later made history as the first and only person to hold the position of commissioner and Campaign Director General for a candidate – Willie Obiano – then hand-picked by Obi and his party Chairman, Victor Umeh, as candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance ( APGA). Of course, he had become an APGA man.

When Obiano was declared winner, however it happened, that Uzodike became Commissioner for Information and later Political Adviser. When a breakdown in relationship occurred between Obiano and Obi, his benefactor, the later changed camp to the PDP, where Uzodike used to be a State Vice Chairman and the political adviser was struck by double loyalty.

He lost his job on that count following an interview granted in a radio station, which to Obiano revealed loyalty to Obi while serving his government.

The rest, they say, is history and Uzodike, who declined an assessment of Obiano’s regime, but claimed that Obi’s bid to extend favours to some school in Anambra State is back in PDP, routing for Obi to enter the repeat senatorial election in Anambra Central.

Speaking on a political programme, Viewpoints on Rhythm FM Radio, Awka, Uzodike took core advantage of his Israelite journey in politics, to speak like an insider in many issues and in the process raked up controversy on all the milestones of his political sojourn.

First, he confessed that the Government of Peter Obi had to pay a whopping sum of N650 million for Umeh to endorse the candidature of Willie Obiano. He also authoritatively said the same government paid APGA the sum of N2.4 billion, split on monthly basis for the running of APGA in eight years of Obi’s governorship, yet Umeh could not account for these monies.

He went ahead to accuse Umeh of collecting a total of N308m from APGA aspirants in the failed LG elections of 2009, which rather than return, he converted to personal use, thereby shortchanging APGA aspirants, whom he was supposed to guard. He broke the sum as N1m each from all 210 LG Chairmanship Aspirants and One Hundred Thousand Naira (N100,000) from all the 980 councillorship aspirants.

But, it was not all about money.

Uzodike, relying on his legal knowledge, advanced arguments to show why PDP was not excluded from the Anambra Central senatorial race and why the interpretation of the December 7, 2015 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was wrong, adding that INEC had not appealed the judgment of the Federal High Court Abuja, which ordered the inclusion of PDP in the repeat election.

He insisted that the only appeal against the judgment so far has come again from the candidate of APGA, Umeh ‘who is not

Obiano with Obi...a shocking parting of ways

a party in the matter’ Then, the interesting happened! Victor Umeh called into the programme and surprisingly answered to the all financial issues raised in blanket as ‘tissues of lies’, asking him to publish it in a newspaper.

Asked Umeh: “Do you have any proof of payment of these monies right there with you?” Uzodike asked if he was supposed to show the proof on radio. Umeh did not say the money was not paid, nor did he say he did not receive the monies.

The candidate of APGA then responded to the issue of INEC not having appealed with questions. ‘How do you know that INEC is yet to appeal? Are you the registrar of the court?’ Umeh queried before going ahead to justify that PDP could not participate in the election based on “the decided cases by the Supreme Court and we are working on that”.

Uzodike, however, went ahead to claim that Peter Obi was in the senatorial race, but gave no details of how, and could not raise an answer for a lady, who called in to insist that PDP should put its house in order and name one candidate, since

Anambra Central constituents, looking over the labyrinth of suits in court as the rivers they must cross to fill their vacant seat in the Red Chambers anxiously await a date, and the confirmation of the updated line-up in the epic fresh election that should exclude those who traded with Anambra’s future

there are three persons laying claim to the candidature of the party.

It is actually four – Peter Obi, Annie Okonkwo, Sylvester Okonkwo and Obiora Okonkwo, who is in another court asking to be declared the candidate of PDP, and it is a familiar road. Many will argue that the order of the high court to include PDP is not tantamount to including Obi. But that was not the only assertion Uzodike could not back up. The former commissioner for Information, which some called Mr. Propaganda at the time claimed that Anambra Central should vote PDP because PDP has the minority leader, and 52 seats in the Senate, while APC has 56.

Before Senator Obaisi Ovie Omo-Agege of Labour Party (LP) emerged in Delta Central after a crucial and protracted battle in the judiciary that removed Ighoyota Amori. PDP ordinarily had 49 seats in the Senate, while APC had 60, after winning Borno Central. Of course the 49 includes Senators like Buruji Kashamu, who never attend senate sitting, apart from inauguration and one or two other advertised seats.

But that’s a matter for another day. PDP had 49 seats. Then Omo-Agege defeated the PDP candidate and threw him out of the Senate. It became 48. All three seats in Rivers State were annulled, leaving 45.

One in Anambra Central was annulled by the Court of Appeal leaving 44. Abia North was cancelled, leaving 43 (but won back by the PDP). Imo North seat was lost, but still leaving it at 43. Meanwhile if you deduct the two seats of Kogi Central and Kogi East, APC has 58, hence, 58, 43 and 1 for APC, PDP and LP respectively.

Not even the return of PDP in Kogi Central after a reversal of return and that of Abia North in the same mould, added with Kogi East can give the PDP its original number as yet, not to talk of Uzodike’s exaggeration intended to confuse Anambra Central. PDP currently has 43 seats in the Senate and therefore cannot be anything other than minority, in which case can only be slightly better than APGA.

So can a people leave the best position of majority as represented by APC to pursue a debate between a minority and a micro-minority because hitherto, there is no APGA member in the Senate? Can Anambra Central say they have voted wisely if they leave the chance to vote an APC senator to join the majority, join the ruling caucus, join the arrowhead of the change that Nigeria is adjusting well to and join the crusade to restore their constituency back to reckoning?

It is best to leave that point-toponder in the heads of the deep-thinking people and voters of Anambra Central Senatorial District, where by virtue of the established principle that when an election is cancelled, it does not exist in the eye of the law, and based also on the fact that the custodian of the March 28, 201 mandate now annulled, Hon Uche Ekwunife is now an APC member. APC is the incumbent and the best bet.

Uzodike’s claim to Obi being in the race is roundly flawed as neither he nor Obi has gotten Obiora Okonkwo, Annie Okonkwo and Sylvester Okonkwo – all laying claim to the candidature of PDP in the Anambra Central senatorial race – to say that Obi is now the candidate.

Even then, APC has warned PDP to produce one candidate only as their 13-year old tradition of going into elections in Anambra State with multiple candidates will not be accepted this time.

Consequently APC makes one last appeal in the interest of anything PDP leaders in Anambra State worship that they should for once disappoint those who have predicted with accuracy that PDP would have plural candidates in this strategic race, by getting indoors for a meeting or at least conducting primaries.

APC Anambra Chapter said in a public statement, urging the electorate to ignore any party in which more than one person campaign as candidate.

But there is one other very strong argument in favour of an APC senator.

The judgment of the Court of Appeal was given and now stands against the principle established by the Supreme Court in the governorship cases in the Middle Belt state of Benue and Taraba and so Ekwunife was shortchanged, and where she cannot return to the senate which had eight women and now seven, another woman of quality and good profile should replace her to use the soft approach in winning what the hard tackles have not won.

Anambra Central constituents, looking over the labyrinth of suits in court as the rivers they must cross to fill their vacant seat in the Red Chambers anxiously await a date, and the confirmation of the updated line-up in the epic fresh election that should exclude those who traded with Anambra’s future.

Before then, there are confessions against the law; fury is over the land. The cry of the Children whose future has been aborted rent the air. The blood of the innocent patients, whose forfeited money to buy drugs and other equipment to be siphoned, sing for justice right into every Anambrarian ear and Nigerians alike.

Obi allegedly paid out paid out N2.4 bn of Anambra State money to APGA. Obi, Obinao and Uzodike allegedly paid N650m of Anambra State money to Umeh to endorse Obiano as a candidate; and Umeh reportedly converted N308 million, belonging to cancelled LG election aspirants, and the law has no option, but to react in all directions of infraction, whether Obi’s, Umeh’s, Obiano’s or Uzodike’s ox is gored.

-Madukaife is the Anambra State Publicity Secretary of the APC

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FEATURES

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

A Roadside Vulcaniser’s Dream

Oyeniran Paul Oyeyemi is a roadside vulcaniser whose ambition of becoming a pilot was truncated by poverty. Determined to succeed, he re-awakened his childhood dream and enrolled in a polytechnic where he just graduated with a Higher National Diploma. As he prepares to further his studies in a university, he tells Funke Olaode that his ambition to get a white-collar job is becoming a reality

Oyeyemi at work

H

e operates as a vulcaniser under the scotching sun at Oke-Afa bus stop in Isolo Area of Lagos State, where he tends to luxury and exotic cars of his numerous clients. He appreciates the importance of education as the only liberator from the shackles of poverty and he too desires to be like them. Oyeniran Paul Oyeyemi, native of Ogbomoso in Oyo State and father of three, has this 'can do spirit' which is what a determined heart needs, to succeed in life.

Born into a polygamous home with several wives and many children to fend for, Oyeyemi's dream was to be a pilot but poverty truncated that ambition. Oyeyemi later found solace in vulcanising. Rather than wallow in self-pity, in 2008, Oyeyemi re-awakened his ambition of acquiring western education. He enrolled at the Lagos State Polytechnic for a Diploma which he successfully completed in 2011.

He rested for a year and enrolled for a Higher Diploma in Marketing which he completed in 2015.

Basking in the euphoria of achieving his lifelong wish, Oyeyemi is planning to go to university for a post graduate diploma and probably study for a masters degree. For now, his next target is to work in an office, which is a more comfortable environment.“I didn’t lose that vision even in the face of adversity. I looked at what I could do that would fetch me money and decided to pitch my tent with vulcanising, the vocation I have done till date. I am married with

three children but I realised I don’t really belong working under the scotching sun.

I would have loved to work in an office.”

For motorists who are familiar with Oke-Afa in Isolo area of Lagos, his face will always greet them very early in the morning and probably bade them goodnight at the close of work every day. Diligent, hardworking and polite on his job, Oyeyemi is a vulcaniser with a difference. At a glance, you might think he is one of those artisans you come across on the road, but at a closer look, he is intellectually sound, a discovery

I didn’t lose that vision even in the face of adversity. I looked at what I could do that would fetch me money and decided to pitch my tent with vulcanising, the vocation I have done till date. I am married with three children but I realised I don’t really belong working under the scotching sun. I would have loved to work in an office

that prompted this reporter as far back as July 2013 to want to know this vulcaniser who can discuss anything from politics, to football and happenings across the globe in a clean English.

A date was fixed and he was waiting for this reporter at his small office at Oke-Afa bus stop. Unveiling who he is, Oyeyemi opens up. “I grew up in a polygamous setting at a village called Bolorunduro near Ikoyi-Ile in Ogbomoso Area of Oyo State. I began my primary school at Bolorunduro Community Primary School. I later proceeded to Ogbomosho High School for my secondary education where I graduated and I had almost seven credits. My parents were cocoa farmers and my father had many wives and several children. My mother had eight children with six boys and two girls. I came to Lagos after my secondary education to chase a greener pasture. I wanted to further my education but I didn’t have financial backing that could make it easy for me.

While I was in secondary school, I had a lot of ambitions and one of them was to be a pilot. I like the way aeroplanes were being flown in the sky. And each time I went to the airport I always admired captains in their white uniform and smartness.”

His hope was raised when two out of his mother’s siblings went to the university and acquired degrees. But they were still struggling with life then. “By the time I wanted to go to school they hadn’t found their feet. When the ambition of being a pilot was truncated I decided to take my destiny in my own hands. I summoned up

courage and decided to learn vulcanizing.

I spent three years as an apprentice along Ago Okota Road here in Lagos. Immediately I graduated from my boss, I established my own shop,” he recalls.

After Oyeyemi had worked for four years and even got married in the process, there was a vacuum in his life that needed to be filled. Of course, there is this urge to fulfill his childhood ambition. “I struggled with it and when I looked at my life I realised I don’t belong here but it was the circumstances that pushed me there.”

His first move was to enroll for General Certificate in Education (GCE) at Offshore Tutorial College in Okota in 2003/2004 where he got all his credits in 2004, which he believed had secured his future education wise.

“In 2007, I enrolled for a part-time programme at Lagos State Polytechnic for a Diploma in Business Management, which I successfully completed in 2010. I rested for a while and registered for a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Marketing which I completed in 2015. I opted for marketing because it is easier for me and also help me to relate well with my customers. I just prefer to be a marketer”, Oyeyemi said with a tone of accomplishment.

Working as a vulcaniser in the day and a student in the evening, Oyeyemi says it is by God’s grace and support from his wife and children. “It has not been easy.

I can’t do anything without the support of my wife, Mosunmola Oyeniran. She is a very calm, cool and contented woman

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016

FEATURES

Oyeyemi fixing a tyre

who is not materialistic. When the journey got tough she supported me. I am grateful to her for making life easy for me. I am fortunate to marry a wife who is God fearing. This woman has been giving me a lot of encouragement. It is not easy to cater for the family, my business and at the same time go to school. It is a weekend programme. During the week I will be running the business and go to school on weekends. Determination, consistency and perseverance have been keeping me going though I can no longer be a pilot but my life is treading the path of someone beyond tyre repairer.”

At LASPOTECH where he had his Higher National Diploma, Oyeyemi met both young and old as classmates. How did he relate

Diligent, hardworking and polite on his job, Oyeyemi is a vulcaniser with a difference. At a glance, you might think he is one of those artisans you come across on the road, but at a closer look, he is intellectually sound, a discovery that prompted this reporter as far back as July 2013 to want to know this vulcaniser who can discuss anything from politics, to football and happenings across the globe in a clean English

Oyeyemi at his workshop

with them especially his children’s age. “I am unperturbed. When I resumed school I met young students and my contemporaries. But age is not a barrier in pursuing education. My background also helped me to cope well. Each time we had lectures our lecturers would ask us what position are we occupying in our office I would simply tell them that I am a vulcaniser and not a banker or civil servant. So I got a lot of support from my lecturers. When I had my ND I felt on top of the world and that thing pushed me to embark on my HND. Even with the HND I still feel inferior and still want to go ahead. I want to go for post graduate diploma and go on to do masters.

Is Oyeyemi going to quit his vocation totally? I ask. “Not really. I know God will help me. I am not going to quit the

business; I will modernise it and make it bigger. But I am hopeful that I will have an office job that will take me away from staying under the sun tending or amending punctured tyres.”

How does his children react to his quest for education? “Initially, when I started they used to laugh at me. And when they saw me reading in the middle of the night they would query me that ‘Daddy, why are you disturbing yourself?’ But I became an inspiration to them as it gingered them to read their books day and night that if I can do it, they too can do.”

With his HND in marketing in the kitty and a post graduate degree in view, Oyeyemi’s is worried that with the Nigerian situation, if one is not connected, it is difficult to get an office job. But he is optimistic that Nigerians are very compassionate and he

knows that one day they would fix him up. “Honestly, I will like to work in an office. Vulcanising is hard labour. I too will like to dress in a suit and sit under air-conditioning in an office.

Is there any lesson Oyeyemi has learnt from his life trajectory? Looking into the space as if searching for the right answer. He spoke gently. “I think it is my determination.

When I started many people laughed at me that ‘you ordinary vulganiser what are you looking for?’ What are you going to do with education again? That after all, I have a means of livelihood.If you attach education to your job as an artisan, sky is your limit. To pump a tyre costs 100 Naira while to patch is N300. For me, l believe l cannot run away from destiny and I am happy that I am fulfilling it,” he concluded.

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IMAGES

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

R-L: Manager, Legal Service, Etisalat Nigeria, Seun Timi-Koleolu; Specialist, CSR, Chukuweta Uraih; Principal, Pacelli School for the Blind & Partially Sighted Children, Lagos, Sister Jane Onyeneri; Manager, CSR, Etisalat Nigeria, Oyetola Oduyemi and pupils of Pacelli School for the Blind & Partially Sighted Children, during a visit by the company to donate some welfare materials to the school... recently.

Lagosians searching for fuel along Tin-Can Road, Apapa...recently

Peace Obi

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya (right), and Chairman, Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), Mr. Oye Hassan-Odukale, during a courtesy call on collaboration between LSSTF and Airtel Nigeria at the Telco’s Headquarters in Lagos...recently

L-R: Mother in Israel, Redeemed Christians Church of God (RCCG) and Special Guest of Honour, Pastor (Mrs.) Folu Adeboye, and gospel artiste, Mr. Ouwatosin Adejumobi, during the launching of Tosin Bee Music Album at RCCG Peace Assembly, Victoria Island, Lagos...recently kolawole alli.

L-R: Executive Director, The Learning Place Centre, Mrs. Bolanle Adewole; Service Director, Children’s Development Centre, Dr. Yinka Akindayomi; CSR Officer, GTBank, Mrs. Tolu Onipede; and Director, Patrick Speech and Language Centre, Mrs. Dotun Akande, during the 2016 GTBank Autism Awareness Campaign in Lagos...recently

L-R: Presbyter, Methodist Church, Palm-Avenue Cathedral, Very Rev Kolade Odu; Bishop of Lagos West Diocese, Methodist Church Nigeria, Rt Rev Oluyemisi Ogunlere; Senior Cathedral Steward, Abiona Babarinde; and Cathedral Priest, Rev David Daramola, during the Easter thanksgiving service at PalmAvenue Cathedral, Lagos... recently

L-R: Associate Director, Risk Consulting, KPMG Professional Services, Mr. Tolu Odukale; Head, Sales/ Markets, Mrs. Nike Oyewolu; Partner/Head, Risk Consulting, Mr. Olumide Olayinka; and Partner, Risk Consulting, Mrs. Tomi Adepoju, during a media briefing/launch of KMPG survey report on top 10 business risks for 2016 in Lagos...recently Etop Ukutt

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016

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BUSINESSWORLD NIBOR PRIME 1-MONTH

R A T E S LOAN

4.4583% 9.1071%

3-MONTH 3-MONTH

A S

11.0102% 12.3790%

A T

NITTY 1-MONTH 2-MONTH 3-MONTH

Group Business Editor Chika Amanze-Nwachuku Email chika.amanzenwachukwu@thisdaylive.com 08033294157

A P R I L 6.9949% 7.2368% 8.0819%

1-MONTH 9-MONTH 12-MONTH

2 , 9.2061% 9.5872% 10.5042%

2 0 1 6

EXCHANGE RATE N197/1US DOLLAR* *AS AT LAST FRIDAY

Quick Takes Stanbic IBTC Donates to School

FACILITY TOUR

L-R: Deputy Comptroller General of Customs, Dan Ugo; Deputy Comptroller General Banke Adeyemo; Chairman, Lagos Deep Offhore Logistics Base (LADOL), Mr. Ladi Jadesimi; Comptroller-General of Customs, Col Hameed Ali (rtd); Managing Director of LADOL, Dr. Amy Jadesimi; Deputy Comptroller General Abubakar Umar and Assistant Controller General in charge of Customs Zone A, Charles Edike when the Customs Comptroller-General visited LADOL industrial free zone at Apapa, Lagos... recently

Market Sheds N1.1tn in Three Months on Bleeding Banking Stocks Goddy Egene The Nigerian stock market shed N1.1 trillion in the first quarter of 2016 as banking stocks bled following investors’ negative reactions to profit warnings and huge impairment charges recorded by banks for the 2015 financial year.

The market, which opened January with a value of N9.8 trillion, closed at N8.7 trillion at the end of March, showing a dip of N1.1 trillion or 11. 2 per cent.

Similarly, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index declined by 10.9 per cent in the quarter, falling from 28,335.01

CAPITAL MARKET to 25,306.22.

Although the market grew by 3.0 per cent in March boosted by relatively attractive dividend yield, losses by the banking sector led to a massive dip in market value.

Investors have remained on the sidelines due to lull in the economic activities following continual fuel scarcity, sliding value of naira and dwindling federal government revenue.

However, the Banking sector remained under pressure, shedding 6.3 per cent in March 2016 and recorded highest

sectoral decline of 19.25 per cent in Q1 of 2016.

Market analysts said this was not surprising given the number of profit warnings and un-inspiring performance scorecards submitted during the period as most players in the sector booked huge impairment losses amid tougher economic environment.

Five banks sent profit warnings to the market, saying they would record lower earnings.

The banks are FCMB Group, FBN Holdings Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and Skye Bank Plc. Investors’ reactions to the

profit warnings were highly negative as indicated in the performance of the stocks in Q1.

For instance, the shares of Diamond Bank shed dipped 47.8 per cent while FCMB went down by 47.4 per cent. Skye Bank lost 42.4 per cent of its value, while FBN Holdings closed the quarter 36 per cent lower. ETI shed 9.5 per cent.

FCMB Group was the first to send a profit warning to the market. The banking group had said earnings and profitability for the third quarter ended September 30 ,2015 would Continued on page 24

Customs Boss: Buhari Trilled at Integration of $3.8bn Made- in- Nigeria FPSO Nosa Alekhuogie The Controller General (CG) of Nigeria Customs Service, (NCS), Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd) has said President Muhammadu Buhari was elated at the integration of the first made-in-Nigeria oil services platform also known as floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.

The CG conveyed the president’s delight with the feat during a facility tour of the LADOL Free Zone, in Tarkwa bay, Apapa, Lagos on Monday.

The contract for integration of the FPSO was awarded to Samsung Heavy Industry (SHI) in 2013. Specifically, the contract was for construction of the world class oil production

ENERGY platform in Nigeria with the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL), acting as the local content partner.

Ali, who expressed his delight at the wholly indigenous owned facility, which has so far consumed $600million in local content input, observed that for an indigenous investor to take such a bold step amid the risk in undertaking such ventures, the project must be appreciated by the presidency.

“I have come and I have seen.

They say ‘seeing is believing’.

I will take the message to President Muhammadu Buhari whom I’m sure is impressed at what you are doing here. The president is interested more so

that you are the first people that are doing this kind of project in West Africa…and to say that your organisation is owned by Nigerians, it is amazing!

“With what you are doing here, I have no doubt that government will continue to support and encourage you because the sky is the limit.

Any government will be glad to support an entity such as this that will put us (Nigeria) at par with other industrially developed countries of the world “Not too many of our indigenous investors can take the risk as you have done…I am happy to be here, and the Nigeria Customs Service is also glad that you are generating revenue into government coffers through your activities here”,

Ali said.

The Customs boss added: ’’The free trade zone is one of the areas of our responsibility, hence, the need for us to be on ground to see what is going on is key in other to enable us do our homework. We are impressed with what we have seen so far and we can say it is one of the most successful indigenous companies that is involved in heavy equipment building. It would help us in the classification of industries.

We are here to see for ourselves so that we can factor it to our own mandate.”

He said, through the project, more jobs would be created in addition to the transfer of Continued on page 24

In order to help bridge the gap for qualitative education for Nigerian students, Stanbic IBTC Bank has donated an information and communications technology (ICT) laboratory to Government Secondary School, Apo, Abuja. The Group said the donation was in line with its corporate social investment and forms part of initiatives to provide an ideal learning environment for the students that will help bolster their learning abilities, Stanbic IBTC said.

The ICT lab comes fully equipped with 14 units of high-grade desktop personal computers, two HP Deskjet 2135 printers, 120GB Smile Internet modem subscription, a digital projector with screen, four Channel CCTV system and two 2-horse power air-conditioners. The laboratory also boasts of an ultramodern server and a 15 KVA generator and a 6KVA inverter system as back-up power source.

At the lab inauguration, the Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr. Yinka Sanni, represented by the Head, Public Sector Group, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr. Yusufu Modibbo, said education remains the bedrock of society and that the Stanbic IBTC Group continues to seek opportunities, through its corporate social investment arm, for intervention to help build a vibrant educational sector in Nigeria. According to Sanni, Stanbic IBTC’s donation reflects its understanding of the critical role ICT plays in 21st Century education model and its impact on the learning ability of school children as well as their ability to compete globally.

“We share a feeling of both excitement and fulfilment as this project is commissioned today. The importance of Information and Communications Technology to qualitative education and by extension the socio-economic growth of society cannot be overstated. And neither can its importance to the ability of our children to assimilate and compete favourably with peers globally,” stated.

Uber Expands in Africa

Uber Technologies Incorporated plans to start operating in three new African countries by the end of June, extending its reach two and half years after introducing its ride-hailing service in the continent. The company is set to expand to Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania, the General Manager of Uber Africa, Alon Lits, said in an interview with Bloomberg. Last week, Uber started in Mombasa in Kenya and Abuja in Nigeria, after entering South Africa in 2013. Uber is gaining users in Africa as travelers and commuters seek alternatives to often unreliable or non-existent public transport, Lits said. Uber, whose rivals in the continent of more than a billion people include smaller providers such as Taxify and Zapacab, is also benefiting from customers embracing pooled rides, which allows them to reduce the bill per person.

“This is a smartphone-friendly continent and the lack of publictransport infrastructure means Uber is filling a gap in the market,” Lits said. “The global executives are very happy with the growth of Uber in the African market.”

Uber began its African operations in the three South African cities of Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. The service has doubled its passenger numbers roughly every six months, even amid unclear regulations and opposition from drivers of traditional metered taxis.

Firm Pushes for Agric Mechanisation

Massey Ferguson (MF), one of the worldwide brand of AGCO is inviting farmers and agricultural dealers from across Africa to attend its “Vision of the Future,” farm mechanisation event to hold in Lusaka, Zambia on 8 April 2016. “This major event is a catalyst for ideas focused on farm mechanisation as key a driver for growth in African agriculture,” Vice President Marketing, Europe/Africa/Middle East (EAME), Thierry Lhotte said. “With up to 100 machines on show, this will be the biggest spectacle of MF farm machinery and agricultural services staged in Africa for many years. Our emphasis is firmly on the new generation of farmers, farm workers and agribusinesses and their vital role in advancing the future of African farming.

Till date, the NSIA has approached 14 federal health care institutions across the country and signed seven memoranda of cooperation with as many

MD, Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority Mr. Uche Orji

24

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD MARKET SHEDS N1.1TN IN THREE MONTHS ON BLEEDING BANKING STOCKS be lower than the figures of same period in corresponding period of 2014.

The Managing Director of FCMB Group Plc, Peter Obaseki, had said the lower earnings would result from spike in impairments particularly in the energy sector and the significant reduction in trade finance-related revenues due to foreign exchange illiquidity.

And when the bank released its audited results for the full year ended December 2015, last week, profit after tax (PAT) fell by 78 per cent from N22.1 billion in 2014 to N4.8 billion in 2015.

Commenting on the performance, the Group Managing Director/CEO, First City Monument Bank Limited, a key subsidiary of FCMB Group Plc, Mr. Ladi Balogun, said: “The commercial and retail banking arm of the group saw a significant drop in profitability for the full year to N6.5 billion PBT, following the impairments from two significant defaulting obligors reported in our Q3 audited results.

CUSTOMS BOSS: BUHARI TRILLED AT INTEGRATION OF $3.8BN MADE- IN- NIGERIA FPSO technology, which is also vital.

He added: ”One part of our job is to make sure that whatever is coming whether

by Air, sea or land, must be inspected and certified before it is uploaded which is one of our interactive process with LADOL.” Earlier, the Managing Director, LADOL Free Zone, Amy Jadesimi described the project as a huge strategic economic investment and a single largest capacity development in Africa.

She said the location of LADOL at Tarkwa bay off Apapa is strategic, adding, ’’we need to receive the largest vessel in the world for the first time in Nigeria.’’

She said: “Over the years, we have done our best in terms of customs revenue generation. So far, we have generated almost N16.9billion as customs revenue.”

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 (AgricBusiness)

NEWS

Port Harcourt Chamber Calls for Flexible Exchange Regime Obinna Chima The Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce has stressed the need to have a flexible forex regime in the country.

This, the Chamber said can apparently be achieved with an aggressive pursuit of an export-based economy to earn sufficient forex, relax impediments and ensure unfavourable policies to exportation are expunged from the system to particularly aid expansion of non-oil exports.

The President, Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Emi Membere-Otaji, stated this in a report made available to THISDAY recently.

He noted that over the years, the naira has gone through a series of devaluation and depreciation, saying that at its current value, the nation’s currency is still overvalued.

“Persistently the non-stop argument for and against the devaluation of Nigeria’s currency has remained unabated, analysts have predicted that foreign investors will likely remain wary of Nigeria until there is stability and enduring policies, and a further naira devaluation leading to a dollar surge in the interbank market.

“The belief is that even though international investors want a piece of Nigeria, they will stay away, because, right now, they expect to make a 10 per cent loss on the foreign exchange side since devaluation is likely to happen. Further devaluation of the naira is imminent, as such would make the importation of goods into the country more expensive,

encourage local manufacturing and inflow of foreign capital,” he said.

According to the Port Harcourt Chamber boss, although devaluation of the naira was keenly anticipated by many foreign investors, “words of warning has continued to pervade the air that this could lead to more speculative trade, with questions about how the naira’s ‘fair value’ will be determined.”

Membere-Otaji, however, noted that a strong positive correlation exists between the

exchange rate and crude oil price.

Nigeria’s crude oil – Bonny Light, which traded at $110.2 per barrel in January, last year, hitting $114.6 per barrel

by June same year, is now trading around $30 - $40 per barrel. With the discovery of the shale oil, crude oil prices are projected to moderate in coming years, coupled with the commencement of crude oil sale

by Iran. In addition, the threat by the US to reduce oil imports constitutes a downside risk on crude receipts of Organisation of

Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPECs) members. Nigeria’s dependence on crude oil makes economic growth susceptible to price shocks.

“Apparently, dwindling oil prices around the globe pose serious challenges to a developing economy like Nigeria’s, and that has sparked up the clamour for government to as a matter of urgency consider various diversification options.

“Around 70 per cent of Nigeria’s export income is petroleum crude; due to

this huge dependency on oil, the slump in oil prices to around $30 per barrel has equalled in a reduction in forex earnings from crude oil,” he added.

The drop in oil prices also led to reduced foreign exchange earnings as well as lower revenues for the Nigerian government. This has compounded the Balance of Payment (BoP) position of the country as well as the assumptions under which the 2016 budget was drawn up and anchored.

WE HAVE A DEAL

L-R: Executive Secretary, Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB), Olawumi Gasper; Chief Executive Officer, , Auldon Ltd, Paul Orajiaka and Director, Modern Apprenticeship Training Program, LASTVEB, Awoyera Oluremi, at the signing of MoU between LASTVEB and Auldon Limited for the clothing of the Unity Dolls in Lagos...recently dan ukana

Shareholders Demand Better Economic Diversification: FG Urged to Invest Returns from Insurance Sector in Cruise Industry Goddy Egene Shareholders, under the aegis of Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN) have called on the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to put in place policies that would increase insurance penetration and enhance investors’ returns.

The shareholders, who also decried poor returns on investment from insurance companies blamed the development on over regulation, insisting NAICOM should implement changes that will guarantee them better returns.

In a statement signed by the President, PSAN, Mr. Boniface Okezie, the shareholders noted that the regulator should focus on implementing aggressive expansionary policies that would increase the sector’s penetration.

According to the statement titled: ‘Shareholders Concerns on Growth and Insurance Penetration and its Regulation

by NAICOM,’ the shareholders pointed out that the amended Company Income Tax Act 2007 is punitive to insurance companies, saying that provision for unexpired risks (Section14(8) (9) ‘and provision for other reserves, claims and outgoings, section 14(8)(b) are restrictive.

The shareholders said: “While we agree that sanity is required, it shall not be at the expense of growth. The reality

is growth comes at a risk. The key objective in regulation is to understand these risks and manage them. It also means developing policies to allow insurers to meet the needs of various customer groups. We believe in effective enforcement policies, policies to stop ratecutting, policies to allow various payment frequencies. For instance, monthly premium payment, stricter enforcement of the law on no-premium-no cover for brokers. NAICOM should stop the levying long term business and look for other ways to generate healthy income.”

They also urged the new leadership of NAICOM to change some ridiculous rules that are not friendly to the shareholders in the industry.

Citing examples of some of the rules, they said: “Despite the insignificance of profit before tax (PBT) of insurance companies in comparison to the banks, the minimum tax payable by both is comparable. In reality, it shows lack of understanding of insurance business. The company income tax (CIT) limits unearned premium reserve. Claims paid are management expenses, all of which are reasonably incurred in the insurance ordinary course of business. Therefore, insurance companies are penalised when paying claims. Ordinarily, these expenses should be considered as cost of sales and treated as allowable expenses,” they said.

James Emejo in Abuja The Managing Director, Cruises International, Mr. George Argyropoulos has called on the federal government to tap into the fortunes of the global cruise industry as a way of diversifying the economy and creating job opportunities for Nigerians.

According to statistics, the global cruise industry generated over $36.27 billion in revenue in 2013, after the industry made significant recovery after revenue fell below 25 billion during the 2009 global recession.

Speaking to THISDAY in Abuja during a forum on “Exploring the Potentials of Cruise Holiday Packaging” which was organised by Foshizi Tours Limited, Argyropoulos said the global cruise lines are currently exploring new frontiers, particularly the African continent and urged the Nigerian government to take advantage of the emerging scenario to woo cruise ships into the country.

He said: “It’s a project I have been working on for a number of years with a number of the cruise lines. We are running out of places to put new ships and the African market is becoming mature and more interesting.

“The African continent has not been explored by cruise lines and cruise line passengers. I won’t be able to

tell you when but in the very foreseeable future, we would see ships coming around the African coast, hopefully home basing for a while in places like Lagos or PortHarcourt and do more regular cruises out for Nigeria.”

Interestingly, he noted, that it doesn’t necessarily cost a fortune to woo cruise ships in the country and boost tourism.

He said: “When I say infrastructure, you don’t have to have the fanciest cruise port as long as it is safe, functional and covers the basic needs.

“I am always skeptical when countries that want to get into the cruise line spent millions of dollars building these fancy terminals, that’s really not what will convince a cruise line to come. Yes, a functional and safe terminal plays a role but it’s more important what happens outside the terminal that counts more.”

He added:”If we provide what the cruise lines and cruise passengers require, particularly international cruise passengers to come and visit the west coast of Africa and Nigeria in particular, we have to tick some boxes; first of all, do we have ports that ships can approach and dock safely and securely?

“Can they be provided with provisions; pure water, fresh produce, repairs; is there immigration and customs facilities at ports that it is safe

for people to get off and on the ship using some kinds of basic cruise terminal that they could be serviced in?

“And then, what happens beyond the ports? Where do we take our guests to and what is there to see in Lagos or other coastal regions or nearer coast that will require few hours travel by bus; do we have insurance, do we have medical facilities and is the safety of customers guaranteed. Are their cultural events or and cultural experiences or any natural experiences for our customers? Maybe a game park, a reserve or a national park or anything else that Nigeria as a nation can offer. These are really the kinds of basic criteria that a cruise line is going to look at in order to decide to bring his ship here.”

Also speaking at the occasion, Managing Director/ Chief Executive, Foshizi, Mrs. Ifeoluwapo Olanrewaju said government partnership with private investors to make cruise ships navigate the Nigerian waters would go a long way in improving tourism in the country. She said: “People will fly in here to cruise and when they come here, they will pay for hotels and others and then the cruise line also benefits.

We have the waterways, and we hoping that if big investors can investment into this cruise line and buy a ship, it could go along way enlighten Nigerians.”

25

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

EQUITIES WATCH

Cost Containment Boosts UBA’s Bottom-line Goddy Egene writes that cost containment and improved earnings from its Africa operations combined to help United Bank for Africa Plc record higher profits in 2015 despite economic headwinds United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc was among the earliest banks to announce their audited results for the year ended 2015. Given the regulatory and economic headwinds, many investors were highly apprehensive that they will get lower returns on their investments in banks. Profit warnings by some backs heightened those apprehensions.

However, UBA is among the banks that have put smiles on the faces of their investors having posted improved performance and declared higher dividends. Despite the challenging operating environment, UBA recorded a growth of 24 per cent in profit after tax (PAT) to N69.65 billion.

The bank rode on the back of cost containment strategy to defy competition and macroeconomic pressures to post the impressive performance.

Financial Results United Bank for Africa Plc has gross earnings of N314.8 billion up by 9.8 per cent from N286.6 billion. Net interest income grew by 30 per cent from N106 billion to N137 billion. However, impairment charges jumped by 58 per cent to N5.1 billion, from N3.2 billion. Despite the high impairment charges, UBA ended the year with a profit before tax (PBT) of N68.45 billion, showing an increase of 22 per cent from N56.2 billion to N68 billion, while PAT grew by 24 per cent to N59.65 billion, from N47.9 billion recorded in 2014.

Following the impressive performance, the board has proposed a final dividend of 40 kobo per share, bringing the total dividend for the 2015 financial year to 60 kobo per share. UBA had earlier paid an interim dividend of 20 kobo per share, following the audit of its 2015 half year results.

Management Explains Results Commenting on the result, the Group Managing Director /CEO, UBA Plc, Mr. Phillips Oduoza, said: “Our 2015 profit is a new high, reflecting the hard work and discipline of our board, management and staff in creating value for all stakeholders. We remain committed to growing in a responsible manner that aligns with our vision of building an enduring institution.”

He said the bank’s resilient business model, geographic diversification, proactive strategies, and strong governance created an edge for it through the year.

“We will continue to invest in our future whilst managing cost tightly to generate strong returns to shareholders,” he assured.

Speaking in the same vein, Group Chief Finance Officer (GCFO) of the bank, Mr. Ugo Nwaghodoh said: “Amidst macroeconomic volatilities, we leveraged efficiency gains in our business development and operations to grow earnings. We improved on our balance sheet management and pricing, thus ensuring a strong 19 per cent growth in interest income as well as an enhanced net interest margin of 6.3 per cent.

Our improved service delivery and customised offerings helped in growing transaction banking volume, with attendant fee income. Whilst we were exposed to some external cost pressure, we managed to keep our cost growth at five (below the average inflation rate of nine per cent in Nigeria; our core market which represents three-quarter of our operations).”

He expressed satisfaction at the performance of the bank’s Africa operations, particularly in synergy extraction and pursuit of scale economics to achieve market share and earnings targets.

“Precisely, UBA Africa contributed 24 per cent of our Group’s profit before tax in the 2015, despite the impact of cross-currency depreciation in some of our markets. Whilst our cautious stance on lending in Nigeria moderated the loan book, we recorded a collective 14 per cent loan growth in UBA Africa, as we deepen market penetration and our share of customers’ wallet.

Our prudence and discipline in risk asset creation over the past half-decade sustained the quality of our loan portfolio; non-performing loan (NPL) ratio stabilised at 1.7 per cent with full provisions coverage,” Nwaghodoh stated.

expanded 58.7 per cent to N5.1 billion. We believe UBA’s lower CoR reiterates the Group’s sound risk management structure relative to Tier-1 peers given an average annualised CoR of 1.0 per cent based on 9-month earnings. Higher average CoR across the sector was triggered by huge impairment losses booked in 2015. Similarly, total assets eased 0.4 per cent to stead at N2.8 trillion.

Loan to Deposit ratio stood at 49.1 per cent in 2015 from 50.2 in prior year. When compared to CBN’s regulatory benchmark of 80.0 per cent, the bank remains well positioned to expand risk assets at current level of deposits,” they said.

PAT Surges on Cost Containment Reviewing the performance of UBA, analysts at Afrinvest (West Africa), said despite a turbulent macroeconomic environment in 2015, UBA’s gross earnings expanded 9.8 to N314.8 billion from N286.6 billion 2014, 7.8 per cent less than their (analysts)’ forecast of N341.4 billion.

“Much in line with our expectation, the Group also recorded a remarkable 24.5 per cent growth in PAT to N59.7 billion (relative to our N57.4 billion forecast) from N47.9 billion in 2014. Gross earnings was buoyed by 19 per cent increase in interest income to N234 billion from N196.7 billion in 2014. Net trading and foreign exchange income came in 50.6 per cent lower to N16.0 billion from N32.4 billion in 2014 resulting in a 6.3 per cent decline in non-interest income to N80.9 billion in 2015. We believe the bank’s impressive performance was bolstered by its renewed drive to consolidate its operations in Africa (19 Countries), the United States and the United Kingdom.,” they said.

The analysts noted that UBA’s PBT and PAT margins improved 2.1 per cent and 2.2 per cent to 21.7 per cent and 18.9 per cent in

2015 respectively, even as Return on Average Equity (ROAE) and Return on Average Asset (ROAA) inched higher to 20 per cent and 2.2 per cent in 2015 from 19.2 per cent and 1.8 per cent in that order.

Faster Growth in Operating Income They explained that on the back of stronger growth in operating income, UBA’s Cost to Income Ratio (CIR) eased to 65 per cent in 2015 from 68.6 per cent in 2014.

“A further review of its operating expenses (OPEX) indicated that the Group was able to contain spending on key cost items during the period as against sharp increments noticed in 2014,” they said.

Low Cost of Risk Despite Challenges The Bank’s loan book contracted 6.1 per cent, settling at N1.1 trillion in 2015. This is not surprising given the challenges in the bank’s largest market (Nigeria) in 2015. “Notwithstanding the concerns in the economy, UBA’s Cost of Risk (CoR) settled at 0.5 per cent in 2015 relative to 0.6 per cent in 2014, though impairment charges on loans

Adequately Capitalised with a CAR 20% Afrinvest said UBA is adequately capitalised with Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 20 per cent in 2015, above the required 16 per cent for Systemically Important Banks (SIBs), following the recently issued Tier-I & II Capital.

“Total liability, however, moderated 3.1 per cent to N2.4 trillion from N2.5 trillion in 2014 as customer deposits slipped 3.9 per cent to N2.1 trillion in 2015 from N2.2 trillion in previous year.

Rating The analysts said against the backdrop of strengthening performance in its African market, they expect UBA to sustain the positive momentum in 2016.

This, they said, might, however be slowed by huge pressure in its Nigerian market given the unrelenting challenges in the economy. “ On a balance of factor, we envision loan (+5.0 per cent) and deposit growth (+3.0 per cent) to stay modest, nonetheless we expect UBA’s improved risk management structure and cost containment efforts to support bottom line. Thus, we maintain our earnings projection for the Group in 2016. The Group’s 2015 EPS settled at N1.79 per share higher than N1.50 in the previous year. Consequently, the Bank proposed a dividend per share of N0.40 implying a payout ratio of 22.4 per cent. On the basis of the foregoing, we maintain our target price at N4.99 per share.

Therefore, we retain our BUY rating on the UBA,” they said.

UBA PLC FULL YEAR FINANCIAL SUMMARY 400 350 300

DEC, 2015 N315bn

DEC, 2014 N287bn

250 200

DEC, 2015 N138bn DEC, 2014 N106bn DEC, 2015 DEC, 2015 N68.5bn DEC, 2014 N59.7bn N56.2bn DEC, 2014 N47.9bn

150 100 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15

DEC, 2015 N5.1bn DEC, 2014 N3.2bn

10 05

GROSS EARNINGS

NET INTEREST INCOME

PROFIT BEFORE TAX

PROFIT AFTER TAX

IMPAIRMENT CHARGES

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

ANALYSIS

Agriculture as Sustainable Economic Alternative Obinna Chima highlights the benefits of agricultural financing to the economy Unarguably, the Nigerian agricultural sector has gone through a chequered history. The uninspiring performance of the sector in terms of its contribution to the country’s revenue has also been a source of concern to successive governments. This had led to the creation of various initiatives aimed at taking the agriculture sector out of the doldrums.

Unfortunately, despite various policies that were created in the past, the sector’s contribution has remained insignificant. But with Nigeria’s dwindling revenue profile, especially with the reported wide scale crude oil theft as well as the threats to global food security, more attention is being paid to agriculture. Nigeria, just like most countries and institutions have continued to push for large-scale agricultural transformation as part of efforts to achieve increased growth and reduced rural poverty.

Based on the fact that the country is blessed with favourable climatic conditions, vast arable land and fertile soils, it has never been in doubt, the significant role agriculture should play in the nation’s quest to achieve sustainable development.

That is why the Bankers’ Committee has continued to drive initiatives that would boost agricultural production in the country.

First City Monument Bank (FCMB), as one of the leading financial services providers appears to have realised the opportunities in the agric sector. A major component of the bank’s sustainability principle is on agriculture and empowering farmers with a view to reducing the level of poverty among them as part of its financial intermediation role for national development. This can be buttressed by the fact that the bank’s intervention has resulted in better access to financial resources by deserving individuals, organisations and companies. It has also led to improved processes, better output and profitability. Much more, it has enhanced confidence in the ability of the financial services sector to drive economic growth.

Support for Farmers FCMB’s intervention in the agri-business sector is making far-reaching impact on the crucial sector of the economy, as attested to by the Chairman of Tractor Owners and Hiring Facilities Association of Nigeria (TOHFAN), Alhaji Danladi Garba recently.

The bank provided funding worth N300 million to TOHFAN for the acquisition of tractors that were distributed to farmers in Kaduna state. The bank also collaborated with Doreo Partners to launch a support programme for farmers, known as Babban Gona (or ‘great farm’). This is an agricultural franchise model, where farmers are trained and offered specially packaged loans to carry out their farming activities. Fully conscious of the important role of key stakeholders in the agri-business chain, the bank is connecting to farmers in the Gimba, Soba and Maigana communities. The franchise is comprised of about 3,000 farmers, developed

by Doreo Partners an impact investing firm with a proven track record of exclusively investing in profitable, high growth, early stage businesses that improve the livelihood of Nigerian smallholder farmers. The financial institution’s selection of a region with a high degree of financial exclusion was predicated on bringing into the fold, the unbanked population in its pursuit of the CBN’s drive of financial inclusion for all.

One of the strategies is the provision of agnostic digital services intervention.

The bank recently in addition, designed a series of training for this population of small-holder farmers for all-inclusive agro-finance empowerment with a primary objective of eliminating poverty, encouraging agriculture as an alternative source of economic recovery for Nigeria. Enrolling 68 Babban Gona farmers in Gimba, Richifa and Ikara in Soba local government area, trainings have been given to beneficiaries to expand their knowledge of financial literacy in their business, with 14 additional Babban Gona farmers and 62 field extension officers

Balogun

getting requisite attention.

More like a testimony, a Babban Gona member, Ibrahim Mustapha, featuring in a recent Reuters video titled: “Nigeria: Seeks Farming Revival to Break Oil Curse,” told the story of how he went from 20-23 bags of maize at harvest to 48 bags and what the increase in yield has done for him and his family.

IFC Collaboration In order to adequately prepare itself for this role it is undertaking presently, the bank had collaborated with the International Financial Corporation (IFC). The partnership was targeted at an investment package for the agri-business and education sub sectors of the economy. By the agreement, the IFC was to route more lending to private businesses involved in the agribusiness sector,

The fact that agriculture has the potential to stimulate economic growth is no longer news. It is logical to expect that agricultural financing will become an important instrument of economic policy for Nigeria, in her effort to stimulate development in all directions

Ogbeh

which, as already stated, is a key driver of the country’s economic growth.

The bank had reasoned that continued credit availability for agricultural-based businesses would help maintain the sector’s growth momentum. The package was a long-term senior loan of $50 million and a convertible loan of $20 million aimed at supporting the bank’s growth strategy and helping it increase financing of small and medium enterprises.

The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive, FCMB, Mr. Ladi Balogun, described IFC’s investment as a stamp of approval on the bank’s strategy and commitment to good corporate governance and risk management.

He said: “This partnership with IFC would help First City Monument Bank achieve our strategic growth objectives.”

In the same vein, the Divisional Head, Agricultural Business, FCMB, Mr. Kudzai Gumunyu, while speaking on the bank’s interest in agriculture financing, described agriculture as the first occupation for man from creation, saying it will remain the most vital until the end of days.

He stated: “The fact that agriculture has the potential to stimulate economic growth is no longer news. It is logical to expect that agricultural financing will become an important instrument of economic policy for Nigeria, in her effort to stimulate development in all directions.

“Beyond this is the fact that agriculture is the biggest employer in Nigeria and other developing economies even as it has been demonstrated that economies that are self-sustaining in agriculture have relatively lower inflation rates.

“Nigeria is blessed with fertile soils, good rainfall, reasonably priced labour and a huge demand for agricultural produce owing to a large population base. It would therefore, be unforgivable if such a blessed country does not have bragging rights as a major exporter of agricultural commodities in the

world.”

Gumunyu revealed that the bank intends to continue to partner with players in the agric sector with a view to taking advantage of the many opportunities it presents and ultimately contribute positively towards economic growth, employment creation, import substitution and economic sustainability. With regards to the fears by farmers that the turn-around time and conditions attached to some credit facilities could be prohibitive, he allayed the fears, saying it is a positive experience with the FCMB facility.

“Farmers have a point in complaining about slow approval processes as their businesses are season-bound and need timely access to finance. Most complaints stem from some financial institutions not understanding the farmer’s businesses,” he said.

But he added that the bank has put in place systems and processes to improve its credit turnaround time, including the recruitment of Agriculture Credit Analysts who are dedicated to working on agric transactions and a Structured Trade and Commodity Finance team which to date, has assisted in several structured commodity finance deals that ensured prompt service delivery to customers. ‘’Every loan request is treated on a case by case basis. Requests for intervention funds from the CBN are dealt with using the attendant guidelines governing such schemes,” he explained.

He said the bank’s interventions cut across various enterprises and activities in the agriculture value chain. These include poultry, fisheries, oil palm production and processing, cassava, maize production and commodities trading, among others. The bank is also active in other value chain sections such as agrochemicals, fertilisers, seed and mechanisation, and has been deploying unique solutions for inclusive banking as well as asset financing.

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016

27

BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Anifowoshe: We Aspire to Be Number One Destination for Nigerians Spur Family Restaurant Nigeria, a member of the Spur Steak Ranches International of South Africa, recently opened a new outlet in Lagos, in what the company described as a strategic expansion plan to spread its footprint across Nigeria and make worldclass food and catering services available to more Nigerians. The Executive Director, Spur International Nigeria, Mrs. Ngozi Anifowoshe unveils the company’s plans to Eromosele Abiodun. Excerpts: Congratulations on the opening of Amazon Spur Family Restaurant. How do you feel being able to bring this project to a successful completion?

Thank you. It is very exciting to see Amazon Spur Family Restaurant open right in front of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a dream come true after all the hardwork and planning that went into the project. It is a beautiful store and a place to wine and dine with family and friends.

What factors and/or offerings do you think will differentiate Amazon Spur Family Restaurant from its competitors?

Amazon Spur Family Restaurant brings to the table the reputation associated with the famous Spur Steak Ranches brand. We are an international brand with strong local content. Remember that we are an African business. Our reputation is defined by the vast collection of great foods we have in our portfolio. Among the lot, we have the legendary Steaks export quality beef, which is carefully aged and chargrilled with Spur basting, and served with your choice of French fries, jollof or fried rice or mashed potatoes.

We also have Spur ribs, sizzling grills and combos, sea food, chicken delights, and fresh crisp salads. Amazon brings so much variety that you are spoilt for choice. Note that we have our Nigerian swallow and other local delicacies in the menu. In a nutshell, we will continue to expand our food collections to meet the needs of our guests.

In line with Spur Steak Ranches International’s expansion strategy, are we likely going to see more restaurants established in Nigeria? Are you also looking at other cities outside Lagos?

Definitely; our fourth store will open in Lekki Mall by the middle of this year. We are also looking at spreading our footprint to Abuja, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Enugu and Ibadan. Nigeria is an important market for us. We are committed to the country’s social and economic development.

We have noted a variation in the naming of your outlets. What factors underline this practice? Will this approach not create confusion in the minds of people who may not link the restaurants to Spur Steak Ranches International?

You are right; every Spur restaurant has a unique name. Each of the 240 stores in South Africa has a unique name, just like the 29 international restaurants. The underlining principle is simple: the name creates distinctiveness for each store. So you call each store by name. That is very nice, I think. We have Seven Eagle Spur Family Restaurant at Ikeja City Mall, Golden Eagle Spur Family Restaurant at Isaac John Street, Ikeja and now Amazon Spur Family Restaurant.

About how many guests can accommodate Amazon Spur Family Restaurant at the same time?

The store accommodates a total of about 200 persons. The seating capacity is about 150 inside; the bar sits about 15, while the seat-out overlooking the Atlantic Ocean takes about 40 people.

Will your company be providing outdoor catering services to third parties as well as manage other events?

The Spur brand is about dining in-store and

Anifowose

in the restaurant. Our sister company, Flavours Foods Limited, handles our outdoor catering services.

Your brand prides itself as being a familydining franchise. However, your outlets are located in highbrow areas in Lagos. Does that suggest that it is not open to everyone?

I am not sure your assessment is right. Our stores are located in accessible locations for families to wine and dine. The Ikeja City Mall, where we have one of our outlets, is located right in the heart of Lagos and accessible to virtually everyone. Also our store at Isaac John, GRA Ikeja, is very accessible. In addition, we offer meals to everyone, regardless of your social or economic class. In our words, our prices are very affordable; and within the reach of everyone.

We have heard people describe fine cooking and tasting as an art. To what extent is this true?

This is true for Amazon Spur Family Restaurant and all the other Spur Restaurants here in

Nigeria and elsewhere. The making of all the food, from sizzling appetizers to our fresh crisp salads and chicken delights, our legendary steaks and Spur Ribs grills and combo are definitely an art. The making of delicious meals certainly requires considerable creativity and craftsmanship, through to how the food is served and the setting where it is taken. As the level of sophistication in any society increases, so will be the dexterity and innovations required in meeting those needs.

We invite everyone to come hungry and satisfy your hunger with good quality delicious food at Amazon Spur Family Restaurant.

Can you give us an insight into your plans for the next five years?

We want to roll out the Spur Family Restaurant in most states in our beloved country, Nigeria.

We desire that the Spur Family Restaurant will be the number one destination for Nigerian families cutting across different social strata.

You are better known as the Managing Director of Flavours Foods Limited, another top class catering and event consulting

services. Can you enlighten us on the relationship between both organisations?

Flavours Foods Limited and Spur Family Restaurant have basically the same owners; so they are sister companies. While the Spur brand is about dining in-store, Flavours Foods Limited handles our outdoor catering services.

Can we formally meet Ngozi Anifowoshe?

We understand you trained as a lawyer, but seem to have a passion for the food business.

I first qualified as a lawyer from the University of Benin in 1984 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1985 as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Although I practiced law for the initial years, I chose a career path in the hospitality industry. I am a Certified Food Operator with Spur Steak Ranches of South Africa. I am fully trained in food handling, hygiene and management procedures in food business, in both front and back of house procedures. I am a member of the International Caterers Association (ICA).

I am married to Toyin Anifowoshe and we are blessed with four children.

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BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

NEM Insurance Boss Tasks Operators on Awareness Stories Ebere Nwoji The Managing Director of NEM Insurance Plc, Mr. Tope Smart, has said that insurance industry operators, need to do a lot more on increasing the level of awareness of Nigerians on insurance as well as on building public confidence on the industry.

Smart, who stated this at a media briefing in Lagos said the awareness problem is so high in Nigeria that even the well educated citizens have no knowledge of what insurance can do for them.

He said: “We still need to do a lot more in terms of awareness. Awareness is not about illiteracy. People who are even literate including the professors still don’t know the benefit of insurance. So, we still have a lot to do in that area by trying to let people realise what they can derive from insurance. For instance, somebody who has spent about 5million to acquire a car will not want to pay 300, 000 naira or 200, 000 to buy insurance and protect his investment in that car. He will

tell you he does not believe in that. He will rather get third party insurance which is the minimum requirement by the law.” According to him, because of this, insurance industry’s contribution to GDP has been very insignificant.

Smart however said the industry’s contribution to the GDP, seems so low because pension, which is part of insurance industry was taken away from the industry.

“If you look at other market globally, pension is part of the insurance industry and if you add what they are doing now, it would have added to the contribution of the insurance industry. So we would have done more and our contribution to the GDP would have been more significant,” he stated.

He said another problem of the industry is government’s attitude, pointing out that the government needs to believe in the industry and contribute to its development.

According to Smart, if you look at what obtains in other parts of the world where there

are compulsory insurance and government creates an enabling environment where it ensures that people comply, they enforce the laws. He noted that in Nigeria, enforcement is the problem and without enforcement, premiums are lost to fake insurance.

“Don’t be surprised that a lot of people still carry fake insurance certificate of nonexisting companies like Lion of Africa, victory, ACEN, vigilant insurance, etc. and it is because there is no enforcement and nobody bothers to look at that area. So, you will discover that a lot of money is being lost and until government comes in to actually enforce these laws, we will continue to lose money.’’

He cited example of group life insurance, saying that government has tried to an extent by saying that Nigerians must have group life certificate to do a lot of things Business wise.

He observed that currently, the government is enforcing this through PENCOM.

ForteOiltoRaiseN100bnCapitalforExpansion Goddy Egene Forte Oil Plc is to raise N100 billion fresh capital to expand its operations within Nigeria.

Consequently, the directors of the company are seeking the approval of shareholders at the forthcoming annual general meeting to raise the funds.

According to the company, the N100 billion could be raise through a rights issue, bond or share offering, or global depository receipts.

Specifically, the directors are asking the shareholders to authorise them to “raise by way of a public offering, rights issue, any other methods they deem fit, additional equity and/or deb capital up to N100 billion through the issuance of shares, convertible securities or non-convertible securities, global depository receipts, medium term notes, loan notes, bonds and or any

other instrument(s) whether as a standalone transaction or by way of a programme in such tranches, series or proportion, at such coupon or interest rates within such maturity periods at such dates and time and on such processes all of which shall be determined by the directors subject to all relevant regulatory approvals.”

The capital raising plan is coming less than a year after the company successfully attracted $200 million equity capital injection from Mercuria Energy to acquire 17 per cent in the company. That equity capital contributed to the growth Forte Oil recorded in its profit for 2015 as it helped to reduce interest charges paid on bank borrowings.

Forte Oil posted profit before income tax of N7.01 billion in 2015, up by 16.7 per cent from N6.01 billion recorded in 2014, while profit

after income tax increased 30 per cent to N5.79 billion from N4.46 billion posted in 2014.

Commenting on the performance, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Forte Oil, Mr. Akin Akinfemiwa, had said: “This result in a testing economic climate which we operate, is the reward from the investments made by the company in its core business and its people. It also clearly demonstrates the resilience of our business. Furthermore, our vision to diversify into Power generation has proven to be very successful not just in the near term but in the long term and we see tremendous growth opportunities in that space.”

He also linked attributed the group’s sustained improved performance to highly motivated and skilled employees as well as excellent customer service delivery across all business lines.

FirstBank Records 45% of Bills Payment Services on ATM Nume Ekeghe First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, a subsidiary of FBN Holdings presently accounts for 45 percent of bills payment services on ATM in the nation’s banking industry as at December 2015.

As at December 2015, about 275,000 bill payments were made through the bank’s ATMs while the value of airtime purchase on all its ATMs was about N3 billion. The bills payment option is one of the features of FirstBank’s ATMs, which also have other functional features, which include cash transfer, air-time top-up, cash deposit among others.

A statement by the bank’s

Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Folake Ani-Mumuney said the bank enabled its ATM machines to reach out to more customers which is in line with its strategy to drive ease of service in banking. FirstBank is presently leading in the industry as the bank with the highest number of ATMs with about 2,700 ATMs deployed across the country, making it the nation’s financial institution with the widest retail footprint.

The statement said the bank is also currently responsible for over 40percent of interbank transactions and 27 percent of airtime vending. ’’As active mobile network

users in Nigeria are over 151 million and the need to recharge is on the increase, the bank’s ATMs also provide the platform for easy top-up. To further enhance convenience, FirstBank’s ATMs also operate the cash deposit function, which allows customers to deposit funds without customarily having to enter a banking hall for this transaction. This is a direct testament to its value proposition of putting customers first.

Ani-Mumuney, said this distinct development was achieved as a result of the bank’s desire to reach out to more people in the country and as part of living true to putting customers at the heart of our business.

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

INSURANCE

Insurers Groan under Harsh Business Climate The first quarter of the year 2016, was a very bad period for the insurance industry given a number of negative factors that adversely affected operators. Ebere Nwoji reports

For the insurance sub sector of the economy, the first quarter of the year 2016, was a mixture of rough, tough but hopeful period.

Rough and tough, in the sense that the industry, just as it was trying to wriggle out of the difficulties of the election year 2015, encountered a number of obstacles that greeted businesses in the wake of the year 2016.

Some of the obstacles that operators grappled with during the period included: lack of foreign exchange to reinsure businesses abroad and the lack of funds by businesses to buy insurance cover for their assets. Due to scarcity of funds, some corporate organisations preferred short term cover during renewal period in January.

According to the Managing Director, Risk Analyst Insurance Brokers, Mrs. Funmi Babington -Ashaye, the manufacturing and banking sectors, were the worst hit in this regard.

She said the lack of money in circulation during the period also discouraged people from taking insurance covers while the Central Bank of Nigeria’s forex policy made reinsurance business abroad difficult for insurance firms that wanted to reinsure their businesses abroad.

Other negative developments, which impacted on the industry operators included the decline in government revenue as a result of continued fall in oil price, which to the detriment of the industry, returned government to its former position of being the highest debtor to the industry.

The government’s current indebtedness to the industry despite the “no premium no cover” policy was put at over N10 billion and the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun said this can only be paid when there is a turn-around in the economy, There was also the problem of Naira devaluation during the period, which pushed up cost of doing business.

These, not only reduced the purchasing power of the people, but also delayed insurance contract renewals by individuals and corporates and discouraged people and organisations from buying new policies.

According to a former President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Mr. Sunny Adeda , lack of money in circulation compelled business managers who would have taken full insurance cover for their business to opt for short term cover.

He said industry operators experienced this a lot during contract renewals in January.

According to him, his company’s experience during the period was that most of his clients came for renewals in January, but quiet unlike before, many opted for short term cover.

Also, continued implementation of the ‘no premium no cover’ policy , which had since inception in 2013, reduced level of business transactions in the industry played its own role in reducing the number of businesses that came the way of operators during the period.

These, combined with existing challenges which the industry grapples with year in year out such as apathy of Nigerians towards insurance, unawareness problem, the lack of trust and poverty level among Nigerians to make the industry perform abysmally during the period.

Against this backdrop, some operators, who spoke to THISDAY said their first quarter earnings fell short of their targets and projections just as the industry’s contributions to the GDP of the economy did not record significant improvement from the 0.65 percent position it was by this time last year.

Insurance penetration level also failed to hit the 3 percent target of the industry since the introduction of the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative in 2009. The industry continued to occupy its third position in Africa contrary to target of occupying first position with a long gap for whichever country that

The industry’s premium income hovered slightly above N300billion and as at third week of March, only 12 out of the existing 59 insurance and Reinsurance firms had submitted their audited financial accounts for 2015 to the regulator

will occupy the second position as targeted by the regulator National Insurance Commission during the period of Fola Daniel as the commissioner for insurance in 2015.

The industry’s premium income hovered slightly above N300billion and as at third week of March, only 12 out of the existing 59 insurance and Reinsurance firms had submitted their audited financial accounts for 2015 to the regulator.

Although there are indications that more would have submitted by now but this falls short of 26 firms that submitted their reports to the commission by the same period last year.

As at the end of March, which marked the end of the first quarter, no single insurance firm submitted its first quarter report for 2016 to the commission; but it is expected that many would submit from the first week of April, which is the beginning of second quarter.

As at the time of filing this report, operators could not come up with actual figures of their first quarter performances.

Some operators who spoke to THISDAY said it was too early for them to speak on their performance figures for the period but from insurance stock performances at the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the performance figure of the industry for the first half of this year may not be much better than last year.

But in the mist of these, the operators have high hope of better days ahead for the industry during the remaining months of the year.

Their hope no doubt was based on positive plans and programmes lined up by the industry regulator, the National Insurance Commission and the passage of the year’s budget tagged: ‘budget of change’ by the federal government.

A closer look at the industry reveals that perhaps, because of deep groaning of the industry investors last year over non payment of dividend as a result of non profit making or low profit margin by the operating firms and other similar issues arising in recent times, the Commissioner for Insurance, Alhaji Mohammed Kari is determined to reactivate the industry to channel operating firms to profitability route as well as reposition the industry to make positive impact to the nation’s economic growth.

Kari in a recent interview with THISDAY said his administration in NAICOM will be preoccupied with awareness creation and publicity as well as client satisfaction.

Kari said he would leverage on the founda-

tion laid by his predecessors especially on the Market Development and Restructuring initiative (MDRI)targeted at growing the industry’s premium income from current level of N300 billion to one trillion to grow insurance market and help operating firms make robust profit.

According to him, his main target is to make every Nigerian have one form of insurance cover or the other irrespective of income level.

This he said he hopes to do through promotion of micro insurance nationwide.

To grow the industry’s clientele base and grow premium income for the industry, Kari, at the beginning of the quarter, instituted insurers’ committee , which was a forum of all the insurance chief executives and the commission.

Within the committee, he created six subcommittees most prominent of which was the publicity and client services committees. The insurers committee, which is similar to the bankers’ committee is to look at the challenges of the industry and join hands together with the operators to proffer solution.

The commission also within the period drew a road map to promote and decentralise micro insurance business by proposing to grade the operators into unit, local, state and regional operators.

Having laid down the plan in the first quarter, Kari said implementation will start in the beginning of the second quarter.

Also during the period, the commission covered a mileage in its plan to fully implement the Risk Based Supervision model and corporate governance structure. Within the first quarter of the year, the commission perfected plans on this and said proper implementation will kick off on April 1, 2016.

The target is to position the industry to attain the global best practices status.

Also during the period, more and more insurance firms embraced the micro insurance segment and evolved modern channels of product distribution superior to the conventional method of using agents.

In all, although the industry grappled with a lot of issues that were inimical to a successful business outing during the period, most foundations on how best to reposition the industry for optimum yield was successfully laid during the first quarter. There is high expectation that if all the current prevailing obstacles to business growth is dismantled by government and other stakeholders in the economy, the industry will be at its best during the successive quarters of the year.

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

NAHCO Invests N2bn on Equipment, to Pay N325m Dividend Goddy Egene Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc, (nahco aviance) invested N2 billion on re-fleeting of ground support equipment (GSEs) and inaugurated its warehouse in Enugu, Enugu State in 20156 as part of efforts to deliver improved services to customers.

The Chief Financial Officer of NAHCO, Mr. Bamidele Adelaja, who disclosed this while speaking against the background of the company’s performance in 2015, noted that despite the huge investment, shareholders will receive a dividend of N324.8 million. The dividend, which is N29.5 million higher than

N295.31 million paid the previous year, is 20 kobo per share.

“Although the combined effect of these investment activities has impacted on profitability in the short term, forecasts for the future is projected to show a strong positive in earnings and dividend payout,” he said.

He added that the 2015 political transitional programme, the reduction in cargo volumes, the increasing inflationary trend, unfavourable dollar exchange rate for importers, unsteady power supply and security challenges contributed in no small way to the low margin.

According to the results, NAHCO recorded a revenue of N8.5billion, showing an

increase of five per cent as against N8.1billion in 2014.

Profit before tax grew from N769.5 million to N796.8 million in 2014, while profit after tax stood at N573.8 million, as against N568.6 million in 2014.

The performance showed that the company weathered the unfavourable operating environment to post a result, which analysts described as encouraging.

The company said it would continue to nurture its investment in Nahco Free Trade Zone, which is showing improved signs of business activities and would continually scout for more opportunities in a diversifying economy.

Crude Price: Group Tasks NEPC on Economic Recovery Adebiyi Adedapo in Abuja The New Initiative for Credible Leadership (NICL) has enjoined the Nigerian Export promotion Council (NEPC) to increase its activities towards ensuring increase in non-oil export as solution to the economic hardship caused by dwindline crude oil price.

The group in a statement noted that NEPC has a crucial role to play in Nigeria’s economic recovery since there is finally a consensus that the era of depending on crude oil as the country’s major revenue source was over.

A statement issued by the Group in Abuja stated that the current economic challenge offers a unique chance for NEPC to fulfill its mandate of developing and diversifying the nation’s export trade since

it can easily get the buy-in of Nigerians at this point.

The statement signed by the Executive Director of New Initiative for Credible Leadership, Rev. Samson Onwu must also live up to its responsibility of assisting the development and promotion of export-oriented industries since the country must first have products to sell to the world before increasing its export.

It said: “Now is a good time as any for the Executive Director of NEPC, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo to implement all the impressive concepts and ideas he had articulated in the past.

His public pronouncements have been source of hope in the past and we believe implementation of his idea will bring the much needed succor to Nigerians.

“Our observation is that Nigerians have been looking inwards since the pressure on the naira first manifested and our belief is that it is a matter of time before the small and medium scale industries that were recently re-activated will begin to produce surplus to local consumption.

NEPC must prepare for this eventuality to ensure that there would be no glut and that industries are able to export such surpluses without breaking sweat.

“We equally expect that Awolowo can now activate the various foreign contacts and relationships that the Council has built in the past years for the benefit of Nigerian companies that are ready to export their goods and services,” the statement stressed.

Media, IMC Stakeholders Caution Banks on Excessive Charges Raheem Akingbolu Excessive and multiple charges levied on customers’ account by Nigerian banks, received fresh bashing recently when the Brand Journalists Association of Nigeria (BJAN) and stakeholders in the integrated marketing communication industry gathered in Lagos

and called the operators in the financial sector to order.

Experts from the two groups, who spoke at the consumer rights day symposium in Lagos, under the theme, ’’Banking in Nigeria: Developments and Customers Challenges’’ unanimously agreed that Nigerian banking public are being short changed by the

banks. The symposium was organised by BJAN to mark the World Consumer Rights Day. Among the issue discussed at the event was the concern over cost of ATM withdrawals, debit card issuance and renewals fee of N1000, ATM management charges of N100 annually, The key speaker at the event, who is also the Chairman of

TPT, a public relations agency, Mr. Tokunbo Modupe, said both corporate and individual banking customers are worried about the multiple and excessive charges in the industry.

Modupe said while in year 2015 alone, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) investigated ‘over 6,000 complaints from bank customers and compelled

banks ‘to refund the sum of over 6.2 billion to affected customers’, the apex bank however, failed to state the total amount claimed by customers, whether or not the affected customers were satisfied or not with the amount refunded and whether the culprit banks were sanctioned.

He said such information would have assisted in appreciating the convergence or divergence of what was claimed and what was refunded, the feelings of the claimant customers about the final outcome of their complaints, and CBN’s ‘resolve’ to continuously enforce the provisions of the Revised Guide to Bank Charges.

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY APRIL 6, 2016

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016

EDUCATION Revitalised Education System, Better Alternative to Crude Oil-dependent Economy The National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Dr. Nasir Fagge in this interview with Peace Obi, said the education sector, especially the university system has the capacity of being a major financier of the country’s economy if only government can pay adequate attention to its revitalisation The persistent downturn in the crude oil market in recent times, which seems to have sent many oil-dependent countries to the drawing boards, has seen the call for the diversification of the economy more intensified than ever before.

For the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the current economic dilemma in Nigeria as a result of the market’s competitiveness and fall in the price of crude oil has long been envisaged. The National President, Dr. Nasir Isa Fagge revealed that the union, which had earlier called for the diversification of the nation’s economy, has continued to carry its message from one administration to another.

Fagge said ASUU’s intention was to arouse the government’s consciousness to such reality as “Nigeria without crude oil”, adding, “virtually every new government that takes up the mantle of leadership and mounts up the position of leadership in Nigeria, ASUU makes a presentation on what needed to be done to address our undue over-dependence on crude oil as our major source of income as a country.”

The union, which effort is yet to yield the desired result, however seems undaunted and more resolute in ‘selling’ its ‘product’.

Relentlessly carrying its gospel of diversification of the economy through revitalisation of the education system, the president noted that the union has maintained its commitment by presenting the ‘dummy’ governments from one administration to another.

“We had audience with late President Yar’Adua and we gave him a blue print of turning around the economy. We also engaged President Jonathan on the same issue when we had a 13-hour meeting with him. We have also requested for audience with President Buhari.

We are going to make a presentation also to him on how best to address this problem of crude oil price clash.”

Speaking on ASUU’s competence to advise government on the need for the diversification of the economy, he noted that ASUU is a union of intellectuals that has professionals in every field. Directing the government’s attention to the huge potential and benefits accruable to it from a sound education system, Fagge said, “we are convinced that one way of diversifying our economy is sound investment in our education system.

“If we make our universities work, they will be in a position to attract foreign students.

The huge sums of money, that is, the capital flight from Nigeria to other countries that is running into billions of naira can be retained in the country.

Describing sound university education as key to making education viable enough to serve as a financial base for the nation’s economy, he said, “if well-funded and managed, it will go long a way in attracting foreign students.

Nigeria stands to enjoy a huge economic gain if it can encourage a good number of its citizens who go to foreign countries for education to stay back in the country with a university system that is of international standard.

“This can be achieved once we have very good universities with state-of-the-art research facilities, conducting cutting-edge research that will compete effectively at the international arena.”

The president said the rationale behind the union’s agreement with the federal government in 2009 was the need to revitalise the country’s universities as a way to strengthen the education sector and subsequently attract

Fagge

foreign students.

He said the expectation of what a sound investment in education would afford the country and its citizenry prompted the initial proposal of N1.5 trillion to be pumped into the then 24 federal universities by the Nigerian government in 2009 to kick off the revitalisation process.

The amount, which according to the union, was planned to be a three-year fund injection programme into the federal universities was not only slashed to N1.3 trillion, but extended to a six-year period, and from 24 federal universities to about 82 public universities, and was marred by poor implementation.

“This was the rationale behind our agreeing with government in 2009 that we would revitalise our universities by pumping N1.5 trillion into the then 24 public universities only.

But government said it could not do that and that was supposed to be for just three years.

Rather, government said it would give N1.3 trillion not for three years, but for six years, and not to 24 federal universities, but to about 82 public universities - federal and state.”

Fagge, who said despite the reduction, the union hoped that if implemented completely, it would serve as a take-off point in addressing the rot and decay in the Nigerian universities.

While highlighting the benefits of diversifying the economy and considering education as a better alternative to oil, he said, “it will reduce the loss of good brains, address the problem of capital flight because the huge

sum of money, I mean the billions of naira that goes to a nearby country like Ghana, annually.

We will be able to stop the capital flight and retain the money within the country and use it to boost our economy. It will also help us to retain the best brains for development of this country in such a way that we would also very soon become one of the giants as far as education is concerned.”

Speaking with a tone of certainty, Fagge, said: “That will serve as diversification of our economy because given the analysis we presented to late President Yar’adua, the revenue that universities in Nigeria can generate is much more than the revenue that we are generating from the sale of crude oil as at that time.”

Reinforcing his belief in education as a tool for confronting poverty and other socioeconomic challenges that often stir nations in the face, he described countries like China, India, Brazil, among others as examples of countries that have effectively used education to improve the lot of their citizenry.

He cited the example of the former Brazilian President, Liuz Inacio Lula da Silva, who by offering Brazilians quality and accessible education, lifted many of the citizens that were living below the poverty line above that line.

“I have been telling people that although Brazil is having a problem now, but the fact of the matter is that its former President,

Liuz Inacio Lula da Silva was able to move up to 60 per cent of Brazilians living below the poverty line above the poverty line. That is an achievement.

Contrasting the Brazilian developmental state to that of Nigeria where it is said that about 70 per cent of the population are living below the poverty line, Fagge said, “I can assure you that the secret behind addressing Brazil’s problem is education - quality education.

“If you can give as many Nigerians as possible quality education, it will ensure that they will not be job seekers, but job providers. They will create jobs and engage other people that are not able to do that.

So if we do that, what is going to happen is that in the next five or maximum of 10 years, we will be at par with countries like Brazil, India and even China.”

The ASUU President added: “Because the secret behind the progress of China is sound empirical education. For those who do not know, they need to read books on how China turned its economy around and began to compete with the economies of the world.

While calling on all well-meaning Nigerians to rise to the challenge of having a viable education system, he said, “I am optimistic that we can change this country, but then the challenge is not just for ASUU, it is for every well-meaning Nigerian to join hands and help us in addressing this problem so that we can begin to move our country conscientiously towards development.”

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016

EDUCATION

Touching Orphaned, Vulnerable Children’s Lives through Education For 20 years, Higherlife Foundation, co-founded by the wife of the Chairman of Econet Group, Mrs. Tsitsi Masiyiwa, has been improving the lives of vulnerable children in public schools in Africa by developing their talent in high school and tertiary levels. Funmi Ogundare encountered her at the just concluded Global Education and Skills Forum (GESF) 2016, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates The challenges faced by orphaned and vulnerable children, especially in Africa, are many as they have to grapple with the loss of their parents sometimes leading to difficulties in accessing education, emotional, material and psychosocial distress, among others. Thus, Higherlife Foundation decided to better their lives by using education to create empowerment opportunities and by assisting gifted and talented young scholars to fulfil their potential.

Now in its 20th year, the foundation according to the Chairperson, Mrs. Tsitsi Masiyiwa has been providing its beneficiaries access to education, which they would otherwise not afford.

“We support them with learning resources to improve the quality of their education; making optimum use of technology as a delivery and enabling tool, and we mentor and empower them with life and vocational skills through lifelong engagement. Granted that we deal with vulnerable children and young adults, we undergird our core education programming with soft, psycho-social and spiritual support through our guardianship and pastoral care programme.”

She said in the last 20 years, the foundation has impacted about 500,000 children through variety of interventions, directly or in partnership with others. “We have impacted over 250,000 children in the area of education, and we have awarded scholarships and direct education support to over 100,000 children.

“Our biggest impact has been in Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Burundi, where we have also reached over 240,000 children and teachers through close to 50 online learning hubs, fully connected and equipped computer learning centres where our beneficiaries and the surrounding communities access educational and other learning and research resources for free.”

Asked how the foundation gets its funding, Masiyiwa said, “our anchor partner, when it comes to funding, is the Econet Wireless Group (whose founder and Group Chairman is my husband and the co-founder of Higherlife Foundation, Mr. Strive Masiyiwa). Econet has helped fund the foundation’s programmes over the past 20 years as part of their corporate social investment.

“They have also supported us with technology, which we are going to be using in a big way to bring online learning support to millions of children through a platform called ‘Ruzivo’, which basically brings the entire primary and secondary school curriculum and digital teaching aids to students on their tablets, PCs and mobile devices. Econet has also provided the foundation with expert technical support whenever we required it along with its sister company Liquid Telecoms.”

On the challenges of running the foundation over the years, she said: “We have been blessed with dedicated and highly motivated staff over the years. We of course see to it that they are constantly trained and retrained, upskilled and exposed to contemporary tools and methods of carrying out their work. We are also always feeding the leadership pipeline with new

Masiyiwa

blood and new talent capable of taking on new challenges and taking the organisation to the next level.

“The real challenge has always been the size of the need in comparison to available resources and funding. The 20 years we have been in existence have been the same 20 years in Sub-Saharan Africa in which the region has borne the brunt of the HIV/AIDs pandemic, of repeated droughts due to the effects of climate change, and of civil, political and economic turmoil in places such as Zimbabwe (where we are heavily invested) and the Great Lakes Region (where we are active in Burundi, and have critical partnerships in Rwanda).

“So, our biggest challenge in a place like Zimbabwe, where there are over a million orphans, is how we or others like us, can separately or collaboratively reach all the needy children with access to basic education, and how we can lobby governments to increase their education budgets.”

For the underprivileged who crave for education, Masiyiwa urged the government to be clearer on policies on how technology can be used, especially mobile phones to access content, adding that more people are needed to write local content to educate people because it is easier.

“You can teach somebody via SMS. We need to come out of the mindset that a school is a building to that of a mobile school. We can take a school anywhere and that a school term is not first, second and third term, it can be 24/7, as long as you have your mobile phone.

Sitting in a taxi or sitting under a tree, you can have a school.

“We also have to redefine who a teacher is; a teacher is not the physical person who is paid by the government to give lessons, the teacher can be your parents, colleague or someone in the community who has more knowledge that you have as long as you have the content available with you wherever you are.”

Expatiating her view on whether foreign aids and philanthropy hurt public education, which she argued against at the GESF 2016, and the lessons that can be learnt, the chairperson said, “foreign aid is necessary but we are changing with the times. If we are going to achieve the ambitious targets that we have set, philanthropic and donor aid will play an important role in expanding primary and secondary enrolments, increasing educational attainment and securing gender parity. The reality is that we simply cannot build enough schools and train enough teachers in order to meet the education needs of the future generations. Philanthropic support provides flexibility, the opportunity to think big and innovate, as well as build towards long term sustainable solutions.”

She said as more Africans take ownership of their own social problems, they should also be able to take responsibility of coming up with solutions, adding that they should make decisions that would influence policies and find a common ground, which aid can be delivered in a more efficient way without wastage.

“We have to take advantage of the growing

skills base available in more and more countries such that there will be a growing awareness and strong buy-in from people to solve problems as well as the willingness from the private sector to invest resources, technology, innovative and creative ideas into solving African problems.”

Masiyiwa affirmed that the innovation that the private sector brings when it invests its profit for purpose is something that governments and the public sector should embrace and fully leverage, rather than viewing it as a competition or meddling by the private sector.

“This Private Public Partnership (PPP) has worked extremely well in the markets and communities we serve where governments, burdened by dozens of competing public service priorities, are only grateful to embrace the help of, and collaborate with the private and NPO sectors to build capacity through education.”

Asked how public education is being run in her country, Zimbabwe, she said though its public education system can be credited with the strides the country made in education in the first 20 years of independence (between 1980 and 2000), the economic, political and social challenges experienced over the past 10 to 15 years have had a huge negative impact on the superstructures of a good system of public education that it has built over the years.

“Even today, the fact that Zimbabweans working around the world are famed for being disciplined and professional is evidence that there is something the country has done particularly well in the area of education. However, as alluded to earlier, the economic, political and social challenges Zimbabwe has experienced over the past 10 to 15 years are also very well documented.

“These inevitably have had a huge negative impact on the superstructures of a good system of public education that Zimbabwe built over the years to the extent that some of the gains of over the past 30 years are in danger of being reversed altogether.

“This is why we believe that the work we do is not just relevant, but necessary and critical in helping governments in Zimbabwe and beyond, to fulfill the promise of education for all now in our time, not any time in the future. We believe the dreams of our children for a better future and to contribute fully to nation building cannot be deferred one day longer. That is why we are in education today.”

On where she sees the foundation in another 10 years, she said, “10 years is a very long time. What I can tell you is that by 2020, in the next five years, we will have impacted over two million children with quality education across sub-Saharan Africa.

“In 10 years, I guarantee you that we will have played a pivotal role in the positive transformation of the African continent and African economies by helping to raise an educated and highly trained African workforce and by helping young Africans fulfil their God-given potential. I am excited to be a part of those investing in Africa’s greatness now.”

US Firms Donate to AUN’s Feed, Read Programme for Girls The Feed and Read Programme for Girls, a literacy scheme of the American University of Nigeria (AUN) for disadvantaged young girls in the Yola-Jimeta community, recently received a boost from Vicki Marsha Uniforms, a California-based school uniforms company.

The university said in a statement that it took delivery of the school uniforms worth $48,000 in wholesale value, at the Yola campus. The clothing had been freighted free of charge by FedEx International Couriers.

FedEx’s in-kind donation is valued at $11,000.

According to Mrs. Diane Cologne, whose husband, Tim, co-owns the Huntington Beach-based clothier, “we appreciate being included in this incredible effort to help fellow humans and to make our world a better place for those so in need.”

The donated items include new high-quality trousers, short pants, skirts, sweaters, shirts and dresses. The uniforms will be available for use in other AUN programmes.

Reacting to the donation, the AUN President, Margee Ensign, said: “This generous gift from the other side of the world will make such a huge difference to the children we are seeking to educate here in Nigeria. All of us, and particularly the girls and their families, are enormously grateful to the Colognes.”

The new literacy programme was launched on February 11 with a financial donation by the Irish Government. It targets at-risk, out-of-school girls and orphans aged six-17. Some of

the beneficiaries were orphaned by the Boko Haram insurgency.

AUN’s Feed and Read Programme, which kicked off with 70 girls, has seen the number already double. The Coordinator, Executive Director of AUN Schools, Mrs. Nkem Uzowulu, reported that the number increases daily as parents are encouraged by their children’s improved performance and tell their neighbors about it.

The literacy programme provides basic literacy and numeracy skills for the girls,

with a feeding component that provides one meal per day cooked by local vendors. Besides education, the programme has a local economic impact, as it is a source of livelihood for community women serving as volunteers or facilitators in the programme, as well as for the food vendors.

At the launch of the new programme, Ensign stressed the need for Nigeria to educate girls, noting that when girls are educated, everything in the country changes, from infant mortality to decline

in infectious diseases and family size.

AUN also has a literacy programme that targets Almajiri boys. Both programmes follow the same fundamental pedagogy and include a free meal for participants. The new uniforms are also available for the boys. AUN also runs a USAID-sponsored literacy and numeracy programme, Technology Enhanced Learning for All (TELA), which exposes 22,000 vulnerable boys and girls in the local community using radio and tablets.

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EDUCATION

FEH Projects to Unveil Mobile Lab for Secondary Schools Uchechukwu Nnaike A Lagos-based consulting and products provider in the Food, Education and Healthcare value chain, FEH Projects, is set to introduce the Mobile Science Cart (MSC) to boost the study of sciences and ICT in secondary schools.

The firm, which delivers projects across these industries to governments, private enterprises and multinational corporations either to support social service, core operation or deliver corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes, described the MSC as a world-class alternative to the traditional laboratory.

According to the Director, Corporate Development, Mrs. Florence Acha-Ukamba, “greatly disturbed by the present generation of our public school students that learn in dilapidated classrooms and study science in ill-equipped laboratories, we have provided a fully functionally, compact and innovative approach to science teaching.”

She said the MSC is an innovative, convenient and cost

effective way to teach Physics, Chemistry, Biology and ICT in secondary schools, adding that it saves cost up to 80 per cent. She said it also provides a conducive teaching/learning environment, as it turns any classroom/space into a science laboratory by simply rolling in the bench.

“With over 6,000 science products available on the platform, the MSC can be customised and configured according to the requirement of any grade level.”

Acha-Ukamba explained that “it has workstations for demonstration, providing students the opportunity to perform experiments by themselves.

It is mobile, so saves cost and converts even the dining hall into a laboratory. The MSC is a cheap innovative way to teach large number of students high-quality science education and in an interactive manner.”

She said the company ensures that the equipment is provided with experimental worksheets mapped to the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) curriculum, ICT-based learning

resources, simulation softwares, among others.

Asked why she decided to intervene in science education, she said: “Having graduated from a Nigerian secondary school myself, I experienced first-hand the inadequate state of our laboratories and the creatively stifling environment in which science is taught.

Unfortunately, nothing has changed much since the late nineties, yet there is a constant call for the creative juices of young Nigerian scientists- How? “According to Benjamin Franklin, an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. This is so because education still remains the most powerful weapon with which we can change the world. If education is to be a world-changing tool, there is the need to deliver fully functional education facilities that can truly deliver aspirations and innovation.”

The director added: “If we continue in our current ‘garbage in garbage out’ approach, we will get the output that we have fed our children with and may not be able to break free from the doldrums of being a

developing nation.

“Developed nations have discovered this and proceeded to set high standards to be attained, these are standards that we constantly admire and spend huge sums of money to ensure that our children enjoy in sending them abroad. You find Nigerians everywhere in the world studying, even war torn zones, it is not impossible to attain these standards here, in our own country.”

On how the equipment will arouse students’ interest in the sciences, she said: “To keep the interest levels high and groom other interests, topics must be taught with vivid illustrations and experimental materials. Otherwise complex topics must be broken down to everyday events that these students can very easily relate with, the students must also be given the opportunity to try these experiments on their own. The mobile science cart provides all of these.”

She said the equipment is fairly new across the world, as it started out in the UK about four years ago.

L-R: The Chairman, Literamed Publication, Olayinka Lawal-Solarin; the Chairman, City Academy Educational Foundation, Prof. Grace AleleWilliams;Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo (SAN); and a board member, Mrs. Remi Agbowu, during a courtesy visit to the vice-president by members of the foundation in Abuja… recently

RCCG Donates Computers to Lagos Technical School The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Lagos Province 37, has donated sets of computer to Government Technical College, Ikotun, to enhance the teaching and learning of ICT in the school.

The Pastor-in-charge of RCCG LP 37, Benjamin Ajayeoba, who led a team of pastors to the presentation ceremony at the school recently, said the gesture was part of the church’s corporate social responsibility, which was the vision of the General Overseer, Enoch Adeboye.

He said with the relevance of technical education to the technological advancement of any nation, there is need for all education stakeholders to support technical schools in providing necessary teaching aids and infrastructure that would enable them produce well-trained manpower that

would man appropriate sectors in the country.

Ajayeoba explained that the RCCG being a religious organisation had been in the vanguard of supporting education at the grassroots over the years by donating materials and facilities that could boost teaching and learning to public schools, especially those in areas where its branches are located.

He stressed that if public schools are well equipped with necessary facilities, more out-of-school children would be attracted back to school, thereby reducing the rate of out-of-school children in the country.

On the relevance of computers to modern classroom teaching and learning, Ajayeoba described computers as veritable teaching aides used in developed countries to

impart up-to-date knowledge of different subject matter in students.

He reiterated that it is high time Nigerian students were taught in line with global best practices and called on the management of the college to ensure that the donated items are judiciously used.

Responding, the Principal, Mr. Samuel Adaramola, thanked the church for extending its CSR programme to the school, adding that the sets of computer donated to the school would assist the college to set up a computer laboratory for students offering Computer Craft Course.

Before the donation, he said the school could only boost of an ICT room where every student goes to acquire general knowledge in the use of computers, whereas those

offering Computer Craft as a course needed a separate computer laboratory to carry out their practical.

Adaramola called on other religious groups and notable non-governmental organisations to complement government’s efforts at providing a conducive environment for teaching and learning in public schools in Lagos, as well as technical colleges, by donating educational materials to schools.

He said if technical colleges are well equipped, there would be less youth unemployment in the country since those being trained in the colleges are expected to be job creators and employers of labour.

Some students of the college expressed their gratitude to RCCG LP 37 for its kind gesture by rendering songs of appreciation.

‘Can’tMixLassitudewithLassa With schools currently on vacation, parents are feeling the pinch as the food ladder empties quicker.

As your children are presently eating more at home, ensure that you remind them daily to apply the relevant precautionary measures in these times of Lassa fever.

Lassa Hemorrhagic fever is spread through contact with food or household items contaminated with rats’ urine or faeces. In rare cases, it is contracted after coming in contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. Infected rats drop their bowel movements on your floors, food, table-tops, furniture, crockery, utensils, clothes, as they scurry about the house.

It must be stressed that the symptoms of Lassa fever are similar to Ebola.

Recent updates online inform that at least 19 states of the federation, including Abuja, have suspected cases of Lassa with either expected laboratory results or confirmed laboratory cases.

Updates in February offer a figure of 175 cases with a total of 101 deaths since August.

Lassa Hemorrhagic Fever is caused by the Lassa virus, which is carried in the excrement of infected Multimammate-rat. So people contract the virus in various ways which include: ingesting contaminated food; via cuts and scratches; from the infected blood and bodily secretions of infected people’s particularly in care and hospital settings; by inhaling the virus from dust particles in the air.

Infected persons express the symptoms of Lassa fever within one to three weeks after coming in contact with the virus. Early expressions of the infection in the first week include: fever; headache and general lethargy.

Progressive expressions in the first week of infection also include: nausea; vomiting; abdominal pain and diarrhea. 80 per cent of infected people are said to recover from the illness. But for the rest of infected people who do not get better, virulent complications which include the following occur: •Chest, back and abdominal pains.

•Respiratory distress.

•Persistent vomiting.

•Facial swelling.

•Encephalitis.

•Hemorrhaging in mucosal areas like the gums, eyes, nose etc.

•Shock.

•Death from two weeks into the start of the symptoms as a result of multiple organ failure.

Riboflavin is used to treat Lassa fever. However, it is mostly effective within the first week of experiencing the symptoms. Please note that no vaccine is currently available to prevent Lassa fever. “Prevention is better than cure” in these times, just as the saying goes.

Omoru writes from the UK

Sokoto, Niger Republic to Set up Joint Schools Mohammed Aminu in Sokoto The Sokoto State Government, in collaboration with the Government of Niger Republic, will establish a cluster of new schools that will be run on dual curriculum of English and French.

Governor Aminu Tambuwal, who made this known at the recent inauguration of President Mahamadou Issouffou in Niamey, said the schools would be established in border towns, and the first would be sited in Gudu Local Government Area of Sokoto, and would be established before the end of 2016.

“The schools will promote cultural ties between the two

governments and will train new set of students that will be proficient in both English and French.” He noted that the people of Sokoto have long cultural and historical ties with their neighbours across the border.

Tambuwal emphasised that his administration would introduce wide ranging policies that would strengthen and enhance the ties and restated the government’s determination to raise the standard of education in the state.

He added that the state of emergency declared in the education sector in the state last year would make appreciable impact in the long-term.

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EDUCATION

Oshiomhole Justifies Creation of Edo State Varsity Anayo Okolie Without doubt, establishing a new university in a state does not only create the opportunity of producing more literates in the area, it also plays a major role in reducing the high rate of unemployment.

Apart from creating jobs and producing more literates in the state, a new university also generates income to the locals and local businesses. However, the Edo State University, Iyamo, established by the state government to better the lives of the people has come under serious criticism. The critics are of the view that considering the current financial position of the state government and the total neglect of the existing public tertiary institutions, the establishment of the university

was uncalled for.

They claimed the state already has the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma; School of Technology and Management Sciences, Usen; College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi; Michael Imoudu Institute of Physical Education, Afuze; School of Health Technology, Benin City; College of Education (Tayo Akpata University of Education), Ekiadolor; College of Education, Igueben; and School of Nursing and Midwifery, Benin City.

Apart from these state-owned tertiary institutions, they said there are federal institutions like the University of Benin (UNIBEN); Federal Polytechnic, Auchi; Federal Institute of Construction Technology, Uromi; and some privatelyowned ones such as Igbinedion University, Okada; Benson

Idahosa University; Samuel Adegboyega University, Ogwa; Shaka Polytechnic; and Light House Polytechnic.

But the state government has said the new university was not established to serve the personal interest of any individual, but the generality of the people.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole had in a statement, described the investment as well informed, a progressive initiative, timely, auspicious and people-oriented.

“This clarification became necessary owing to the political slant that was recently laced with the investment, by those I termed ‘political-bureaucrats or red tape’ and their puerile media outing. There is no amount too big to be invested in education that can be said to be a waste. Not even the location of the university can

be faulted except for wolves in wolves’ clothing who would argue blindly and blandly because the decision for the investment either outshined their paymasters or intentionally join the bandwagons for the sake of chewing their jaws.

The governor added: “The decision for a new university is easily the most significant investment in education any progressive and futuristic government can think of.

This type of initiative has the capacity to change the lives of those who live in the host area and beyond and lots of educational aspirations would have been made possible from that investment.

“No doubt, it will stimulate employment generation, urbanise localities, boost economies, infrastructure, and transport,

healthcare and open its doors to the ever increasing cohorts of learning and degree seekers unable to secure admission due to inadequate space in the state-owned Ambrose Alli University, among others.

“When you talk of the funding of the new university, don’t forget that it was built according to sustainability principles with great possibility for positive spin-offs for the state. It will encourage locals to seek for university education as an alternative to the polytechnic in Auchi, Edo North Senatorial District.”

“To argue that the new university is unwarranted is to be short-sighted or parochial and at best, to be an ethnic irredentist who argue blandly because it was not hosted in their birthplaces.”

Oshiomhole stressed that “if there is anything we should and must remove from our present system forever, it would be what I termed ‘political bureaucracy’.

The Oshiomhole-led administration runs hot foot with fresh ideas, but ‘red tape’ and political bureaucrats want government to stop.

“The dualisation, expansion and beautification project of Airport Road is a spectacular case in point just as the new Edo State University. But government is determined that we, the people, cannot be the helpless victims of these detractors and red tape, who have held us back. Red tape, not only exist in government, they abound in politics, but we must rip down the red tape collectively.”

LASU Alumni Celebrate Members, LASUTH Medical Team Uchechukwu Nnaike The Lagos State University (LASU) Alumni Association recently rolled out the drums to celebrate some of its members who have distinguished themselves in their respective fields of endeavour.

The diner and award ceremony, which held at the Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, was also in honour of the team of doctors and medical professionals at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), who successful performed the first indigenous kidney transplant without having to get doctors from abroad.

Recipients of the award of recognition were: the Deputy Governor of the state, Mrs. Oluranti Adebule; wife of the Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode; Mrs. Yeside Oyetayo; and Romola Adeola PhD. On the other hand, recipients of the award of excellence were: the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase; President of the alumni association, Maj. Gen. Cecil Esekhaigbe (rtd); Mr. Lekan Ogunbanwo; Mr. Bisi Olatilo; Prof. Kabir Akinyemi; Mr. Norrison Quakers (SAN); and Mr. Soye Oniagba.

In his remarks, Esekhaigbe said the association deemed it fit to honour the medical team for attaining the milestone in the history of the university and for making the institution and the state proud.

He said the event was also organised to recognise members that have distinguished themselves and excelled in various fields of endeavor, as well as to raise funds for the construction of a N250 million alumni hall at the main campus of the university.

While calling on the alumni to give back to the institution, he advised current students to work hard to graduate and become members of the association. He also appealed to the university management to provide a conducive learning environment for the students.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olanrewaju Fagbohun, described

the feat by LASUTH doctors as inspirational, saying that it is defining, not just for the university, but for the state, because it underscores that rather than Nigerians going abroad, with the right facilities, medical doctors in the country have the intellectual competence to deliver. He said all the country needs to do is look inwards.

Fagbohun, who acknowledged the role of the alumni in the development of any institution, said “what characterises a world-class university? Three factors- excellent students, excellent faculty staff and resources to robustly prosecute the agenda of the university. In relation to this third critical factor, the alumni are key.”

He described the awardees as proven leaders who had taken on major challenges and responsibilities. “They represent the excellence that LASU has always been known for, but which along the line was becoming marred by challenges. Today we are happy to state that with the new dawn at LASU, we are back on the path of excellence.”

Also speaking, the Chief Medical Director at LASUTH, Prof.

Adewale Oke, who commended the team that made the first kidney transplant a success, said its establishment, the hospital has been “work in progress”, with efficient professionals in every specialty of medical practice.

He said several local and international awards of excellence are prove of the competence of the workforce.

While commending that state government for its support, which led to the feat, he promised that the hospital would continue performing kidney transplants and would insist on best practices in all its activities.

In her address, Adebule, who is an alumnus of LASU, said the event is an opportunity for the alumni to rekindle past memories and to count how many miles they have travelled since they left the university.

L-R: The Finance Manager, Oando Marketing Plc, Mrs. Kemi Songonuga; Chief Executive Officer , Oando Downstream, Mr. Abayomi Awobokun; winner of Oando Marketing 2016 FeatureWriting competition, Dr. Racheal Adeyeye; and the Head, Marketing Communications, Oando Marketing Plc, Mr. Seun Adeosun, at the unveiling of the winner of the competition in Lagos… recently Etop Ukutt

AAUA, US Varsity Sign MoU on Exchange Programme James Sowole in Akure The Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA), Ondo State has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Auburn University, Alabama, USA, as part of efforts to deepen its academic programmes, The MoU, which essentially is to facilitate exchange of students and staff, and research collaboration among other benefits between the two universities, was signed by the AAUA Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun.The MoU came barely four months after AAUA signed a similar document with Alabama State University, USA to expand its global partnerships and broaden opportunities for its staff and students. In his remark, Ajibefun expressed delight at the development, which he described as worthwhile and promised to maximise the partnership in the interest of the university.

The President of Auburn, Dr. Jay Gogue, expressed delight with the partnership and expressed hope that it would yield good fruits.

Meanwhile, AAUA has emerged the overall winner of the maiden edition of Professor Akinsola

Akiwowo Inter-university Debate Competition, which held at Obafemi Awolowo, University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State.

The debate titled, ‘Ethnoreligious Bigotry: The Mother of Terrorism’, was organised by the Nigerian Sociology and Anthropology Students Association (NSASA) of OAU. It featured the host institution, University of Lagos, University of Ibadan, Ekiti State University, University of Osun and Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State.

Miss Ifeoluwa Oluwatuase (400-level) and Mr. Samson Adeoye (300-level), both of the Sociology Department of AAUA, were declared overall winners at the end the third and final stage of the competition.

Receiving the winner’s plaque in his office, the Head, Department of Sociology, Dr. Femi Tinuola, said, “this victory is a display of the ability and responsiveness of our students who have yielded to adequate and effective training by the crop of lecturers in the department.

The victory is dedicated to Igbekele, our Vice-Chancellor, who provided the enabling environment for such a giant victory.”

Oando Marketing Writing Competition Produces Winner Funmi Ogundare A medical student of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Dr. Racheal Adeyeye, has emerged winner of the maiden edition of Oando Marketing Writing Competition with the theme, ‘Environmental Sustainability’, designed to encourage literary skills development and eco-friendly attitude among Nigerians.

Adeyeye’s essay was selected among 150 entries and judged on quality of writing, strength of the analysis, grammar, punctuation, layout and audience appeal. She received a cheque of N400,000.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, the Head of Marketing Communications, Mr. Seun Adeosun, said the competition was aimed at affecting lives and educating people, adding that the initiative came as a result of the changing standard of literary skills largely driven by the proliferation of digital age.

“We find that the level of communication is gradually degrading. We organised the competition to give our consum-

ers an opportunity to express themselves by writing on a topic that has a global appeal and impact on the world.”

He said the initiative is part of his oragniation’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), adding that the theme revolved around climate change and the solutions available for developing countries to adopt earth-friendly actions.

Adeosun said since the competition commenced in February, the feedback had been impressive, adding that his organisation intends to continue with it in the coming years with a view to improve literary skills and communications; and build stronger leaders out of Nigerians.

In her response, Adeyeye, who expressed delight about her success, said though it was a bit challenging writing on climate change, she entered the competition not with the intention of winning, but to broaden her knowledge. She dedicated her success to God, adding that her family members were supportive when she was writing it.

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6 2016 • T H I S D AY

CITYSTRINGS An Unrelenting Attention to Security

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

Chiemelie Ezeobi writes that for 12 long years, Security Watch Africa, has continued to be the forefront runner in drawing global attention to emerging security issues and threats in Africa

C

all him a resilient dreamer and you will be right. His dreams are so valid in the sense that he goes beyond dreaming to actualise them and turn them to practical realities despite the strong odds against him.

Welcome to the world of Mr. Patrick Agbambu, the International Coordinator/ Chief Executive Officer of Security Watch Africa. His speciality lies in drawing global attention to emerging security issues and threats in Nigeria and indeed the continent, on issues like terrorism, kidnapping, insurgency, piracy and extremism.

What better vehicle to export this than an award ceremony that not just showcases Africa's best, but also highlights the challenges faced by each African country, while bringing in experts to posit the way forward? Thus, since the inception of the Africa Security Watch Award, Conference and Exhibition in 2004, with Abuja, Nigeria, as its first host, Agbambu has not looked back in taking the Security Watch Awards and Lecture and spreading the news of security in Africa worldwide. In line with his quest to conquer the world, one city at a time, the award ceremony went continental in 2008 and was renamed Security Watch Africa Awards and Lecture. The event has grown over the years to incorporate other African, Middle East and American countries.

In 2013, the event marked the 10th edition with an intercontinental outlook and at that particular occasion in Johannesburg, South Africa, participants were drawn from various African countries, USA, United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, India and Phillipines with Conference and Exhibition and it was there the name was then changed to Africa Security Watch Awards, Conference and Exhibition (ASWACE).

From inception, this event has held successfully in Nigeria, Ghana, The Gambia , South Africa and United Arab Emirates and then the United States.

L-R: Agbambu and Njie-Saidy, at the SWA awards in Houston, Texas

Winning the American Way Again, not one to be restricted by boundaries, Agbambu again took on the burden of exporting the excellence to the world. This time, he created a first by taking the award to America. Held at the prestigious Hilton Houston North Hotel, Houston, Texas, United States of America, the 12th ASWACE was a success by all standards owing to the number of guests that graced the occasion.

Partnered by Arik Airlines Limited, which was the official airline of the occasion, the three-day programme culminated in an awards night, which signaled the end of the 12th SWA awards amidst accolades.

Themed 'The Spread and Challenges of Terrorism and Insurgency in Africa: Any Way Out?, the event was chaired by Ghana's Human Security Adviser to the President, Brigadier-General Joseph Nunno-Mensah (rtd). According to Agbambu, the theme was chosen due to the dangerous increase and extremely disturbing incidences of terrorism, insurgency, kidnapping and sea piracy in notable African countries.

He said, "This has made us to seek security expertise and equipment from knowledgeable countries and manufacturers on how to effectively combat the menace of Boko Haram, Al-Shabbab and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

Affiliation of some of these groups with ISIS poses greater danger to not only Africa but the entire world. This is the main reason of bringing the event to United States of America.

"The conference and exhibition sought a more strategic and pragmatically coordinated approach to keep our communities safe and nip conventional and non-conventional security threats in the bud.

The 12 ASWACE connected manufacturers and vendors with industry and users across Africa and globally. It brought together top African Heads of Governments, heads of governments’ security agencies, stakeholders, professionals, local and international experts, manufacturers, resellers, representatives, government contractors and end users to brainstorm; share experiences, ideas and expertise on a plethora of security issues.

"The conference also examined ways to mitigate and tackle current and future terror threats and proffer best practices for immediate response with focus on counter terrorism and insurgency, critical national infrastructure protection, maritime security, intelligence, border and cyber security and kidnapping."

He also noted that ASWACE is the continent's premier networking and knowledge based platform for Homeland security and National Defense discourse, technologies, products and services, adding that last editions have successfully linked several manufacturers/vendors with buyers.

In his speech, Agbambu said this edition represents a milestone in their journey because this was the first edition of the Awards to be held on the American soil with previous editions having held in Africa and the Middle East.

He said, "Bringing this awards ceremony to the United States of America was an easy decision for us to make especially at this time; this is in spite of the huge logistical challenges we have had to make to get here. Our concern goes beyond rewarding excellence in security, we hope to draw world attention to emerging security issues and threats on the global scene.

"The last decade has witnessed very fundamental and structural changes in the security threats facing all nations of the world. Attention is gradually shifting from individual criminal activities within communities to cross border crimes such as terrorism, insurgency, cyber-attacks and nuclear proliferations. The threat is further heightened by the unfortunate fact that these crimes are conceived, nurtured and propagated by non-state identities with nebulous features, nomenclatures and modus operandi.

"Additionally, the moral demarcation separating good and bad, right and wrong is ever fading, leaving society divided on the panacea to this problem. Security chiefs now fear that fighting a criminal group could generate varied reactions from society such that some criminal attacks have falsely found ridiculous backing in some unexpected quarters.

"While the world leader’s debates go on, the

killings have simply skyrocketed. According to a new study by the Global Terrorism index, the number of killing by acts of terrorism increased by 80 per cent in 2014 alone. Of this figure, Islamic State (ISIS) and Boko Haram were between them responsible for 51 per cent of all claimed global killings and 78 per cent of all deaths occurred in Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Kenya, Somalia and Syria.

"Recent events are however indicating that the theatre of violence is spreading across Africa, Europe, Asia and other unaffected countries recognise that threats to their safety and peace are no longer hypothetical but real. Extremism has become the main causes of all the violent killings and clashes the world is facing now. We must as individuals and groups endeavour to shun extreme beliefs.

"As security personnel, we owe our families, communities and countries the onerous responsibility of re-strategising and re-energising our security apparatus with a view to forestalling further threats to our societies. This is the time to recognise that intelligence gathering is central to our safety and that we must urgently become friends with our communities in order to be able to protect them better. As advisers, we must encourage our political leaders to seek alternative solutions outside increased funding of our defence and security budgets."

The Gambian Testimony Without a doubt, parading the highest dignitaries at the occasion, the Vice President of Gambia, Madam Isatou Njie-Saidy, was also easily the most accessible as she graced the occasion with no airs. Garbed in a simple flowing gown and escorted by a few aides, she came to the awards carrying the staff of office of The Gambia. Whilst representing the President, Sheikh Professor Yahya Jammeh, she came also in her own right and she wowed the guests.

Reading the presidents' speech she said, "It is our honour and priviledge to be delegated by His Excellency the President of the Republic of the Gambia, Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya A.J.J

Jammeh, Babili Mansa, to receive on his behalf this prestigious award by the Security Watch Africa in recognition of his leadership qualities and achievements. It is pleasing to note that this has been deservedly due to his selfless, patriotic and untiring efforts in bringing sanity, safety and security for people and business in the Gambia as well as his personal commitment to security, peace and good governance in Africa and the world at large.

"The President commends Security Watch Africa for its concern with the security situation in Africa.

Security guarantees peace and stability which are essential pre-conditions for the socio-economic development of the continent. Thus your efforts to raise awareness on the importance of security and expose Africa governments, Africa Private Sector Operators and civil society institutions to state of the art security equipment and technology through the conference and exhibition of this year’s awards are quite plausible.

"We support without reservations the decision of the Africa Security Watch to hold the awards outside Africa in order to draw attention to the achievements of African government in socio-economic development in general and in the maintenance and creation of peace, stability and security not only in Africa but at the global level. Indeed, if we Africans do not sing our own praises and showcase the stellar qualities of our national leaders, our vibrant cultures and rich traditions and heritage no one will do so for us.

"The president has always placed a high premium on security as demonstrated by his success in maintaining peace and stability in The Gambia for the past 21 years and his untiring efforts to mediate settlement of conflicts and broker peace between adversaries in the sub-region. The President’s penchant for security and prowess in formulating and overseeing the execution of security policies is informed by his rich military career and the qualities of statesmanship he has cultivated throughout his presidential career. His perception of security transcends the definition of security as the absence of conflict and a situation of anarchy.

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6 2016 • T H I S D AY

CITYSTRINGS

"For His Excellency, security entails the quest for food security through vision 2016 as well as educational enlightenment. This is why The Gambia government’s achievement of surpassing the MDG 1C target by reducing the prevalence of malnutrition and under nourishment to less than five per cent in 2015 was recognised by the UN and FAO through a similar award. It is also the quest for nationwide educational enlightenment as an instrument of security that prompted His Excellency to revamp the entire educational system of the Gambia by making educational opportunities accessible to all Gambians up to the University level by not only creating the University of the Gambia but by being firmly committed to developing the University of the Gambia to a cluster of institutions of excellence endowed with state of the art technology in all fields, highly qualified professional staff and well motivated students.

"Because of these achievements and leadership qualities of the president, he has had worldwide recognition and has been honoured and decorated with numerous prestigious awards. And since this is the second time Africa Security Watch is honouring him, the award is an eloquent validation of His Excellency’s meritorious and deserving qualities, therefore wish to once again reiterate the President’s gratitude and sincere appreciation of this award and his firm commitment to collaborate with Africa Security Watch in support of its laudable efforts to build, maintain and create security throughout the continent. There cannot be a cause worthier than keeping the African people safe and secure in their environment in order to facilitate their sustained progress and prosperity."

Also advocating for tackling insurgency through proactive national security using the Gambian experience, the Gambian Minister of Interior, Honourable Ousman Sonko, said terrorism and insurgency are growing phenomena of our times which poses daunting challenges to the way of lives of people in rich and poor countries, small or big and in essence the very foundation of our international peace and relations.

He said, "In the Africa context, groups including Boko Haram, Al-Sabbab, and AQIM directly comes to mind in discussion on terrorism given the threat they pose not only to countries they operate in but to the entire sub-region. Whilst theoreticians go to great lengths in differentiating between terrorism and insurgency, I think to us here, what is important is that they all employ terror and the use of force or guerrilla tactics to achieve an end which is often political.

"Moreover, the media and modern telecommunications and communication technologies have further blurred the difference between these two as it has enabled insurgent and terrorist groups to corporate her, even if only in the virtual world, to provide support, exchange ideas and methods, and spread their violence.

"Terrorists and insurgents now cross borders with relative ease while the threat of weapons of mass destruction provide small groups with powers once preserved exclusively for nations. These technologies have similarly aided insurgents who once fought from remote bases using captured, locally manufactured or externally supplied weapons, to now operate from urban hideouts and fight as loosely organised networks with the latest technologies gained from the open market and strike at regional and international targets.

"Mushrooming urbanisation, poverty, unemployment, social exclusion, religious fundamentalism and weak governance structures are often some of the reasons touted as root causes of terrorism and insurgency.

"In the Gambia, thanks largely to an astute political leadership under the President, and the merciful blessings of the Almighty, we have so far succeeded in curtailing and containing activities of terrorists and insurgents on our land. This has largely been achieved by putting in place security as well as other administrative measures that ensure that the threats of these are nipped in the bud.

"To start with, the security services consisting the army, police, national security and other state security units have in place intelligence gathering units with responsibilities to monitor and gather intelligence on any subversive/terrorist activities.

"Such information are communicated to the Joint Security Council made up representatives of the aforementioned services which meet weekly where it is promptly acted upon. In addition, the various security services both in the Greater Banjul Area and across jointly conduct routine patrols of their areas of operations with a view to monitoring suspected flash points of crime

L-R: Ogunsakin presenting the award for Best Investigative Crime Reporter in Nigeria to THISDAY Crime reporter, Chiemelie Ezeobi, in Houston, Texas

or other subversive activities.

"Community policing is also another important security measure put in place by the Gambia government. As crimes and other vices are carried out in communities, it is essential that the Police work closely with all facets of the community to identify concerns and to find the most effective solutions. In this vein, community institutions committee are drafted as the first line of defense against disorder and crime. At their level, they hold regular community meetings and forums which provide an opportunity to air concerns and find ways to address them.

"Religious fundamentalists as mentioned earlier may initially manifest itself in less violent ways but overtime metamorphose into violent groups.

In the Gambia a secular state, the responsibilities of religious affairs is placed on the Supreme Islamic Council and the Christian Council representing the two religions practiced in the country. Whilst both oversee the interest and conduct of its adherents, the two occasionally come together and support each other publicly where needed. Inter faith dialogue on periodical basis have also provided the forum for thorny issues or minor misunderstanding between Christians and Muslims to be thrashed out and resolved.

"As a result of these measures, religious tolerance and respect has remained a great feature of the intercourse between Christians and Muslims in the Gambia. This is evidenced by intermarriages between Christians and Muslims and joint celebration of religious festivities. I must point out that no state or nation is immune from the threats of terrorism and insurgencies.

We in the Gambia are well aware of this and in addition to the above mentioned measures in place, we continue to work closely with regional and international partners in the fight against these scourges of our times."

Rewards for Excellence After the rounds of talks by dignitaries and diplomats, the guests all settled down for the main reason of the convergence, which was to honour excellence, of which this THISDAY reporter was first honoured for the night and she carted away the enviable award of 'Excellence in Investigative Print Reporter in Nigeria', amidst a loud ovation from the gathering.

Others who were recognised for their outstanding performance in service, which was the biggest award for the night; was His Excellency, Sheikh Prof. Dr. Alhaji Yahya Jammeh, President, the Republic of The Gambia, and Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Lagos State governor, who both carted away the Golden Star Award for the Most Innovative African Leader in Governance and for Exemplary National Service in Africa, respectively. Also in the category for Golden Star Awards were the Premier of Gauteng Province, South Africa, Mr. David Malemolla1 Makhura as the Best Security and Safety Conscious State/ Provincial/Regional Premier in Africa, while Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi was recognised as the Best Security and Safety Conscious State/Regional Governor in West Africa.

Others in the same category were Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha as Best Governor on Security Matters in West Africa.

He was represented by Mr. Victor Nwachukwu,

a consultant to the state government, who also doubles as the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Security Shields.

Another Golden Star Award was given to Chief Willie Obiano, the Governor of Anambra State and his Kwara counterpart, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, in recognition for their outstanding performance, in being the Best Security and Safety Conscious State Government In Nigeria, respectively.

Also recognised was the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, who bagged the award for Most Innovative Security Chief in Africa, as well as Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasiru el-Rufai, who bagged the award for Most Innovative Security and Safety Conscious Governor/ Premier in West Africa. They were joined in that category by Mr. Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, the Inspector General of Police, Ghana Police Service, who won Most Innovative Security Chief in West Africa.

Another Golden Star award was given to the trio of Lieutenant General Lesetja Joel Mothiba, the Provincial Commissioner, Gauteng Province, South Africa; Alhaji Umaru Tanko Almakura, the Governor of Nasarawa State and Mr. Chris Ndulue, the Managing Director, Arik Airlines Limited, for Urban Crime Control in Southern Africa, as Best Governor on Security Matters in Nigeria and Most Outstanding Aviation Personality in West and Central Africa, respectively. Ndulue was represented by one of the Vice Presidents, Mr. Francis Okafor.

Senator Domingo Obende received an award for the Most Outstanding Security and Safety Conscious Legislator in Nigeria, while Best Security and Safety Conscious Legislator in Nigeria went to Honourable Toby Okechukwu, member representing Awgu/Aninri/Oji River Federal Constituency and the Golden Star Award for Exemplary Service in National in Defense West Africa was carted away by Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, the Chief of Army Staff, Nigerian Army. Although he represented the IG, crime buster, Assistant Inspector General of Police, Ayotunde Ogunsakin, the AIG in charge of Bauchi Zone, also carted home the Golden Star Award for Crime Fighting in West Africa.

Also AIG Mbu Joseph Mbu went home with the award for Best Zonal Command in West Africa.

He was represented by his Aide SP Hussaini Abdullahi.

Also recognised was AIG Umar Manko, an Assistant Inspector General of Police, Nigeria Police Force, who collected the Golden Star Award for Exemplary Security Service in West and Central Africa, while the Best Anti-Crime Police Chief in West and Central Africa went to CP Chris Ezike, Commissioner of Police, Edo State Police Command and the Most Outstanding Anti-Crime Police Chief in West Africa went to CP Frederick Taiwo Lakanu, Commissioner of Police, Imo State Police Command.

Commissioner of Police, FCT Police Command, Wilson Inalegwu went home with the award of Most Outstanding Anti-Crime Security Chief in West Africa and Most Outstanding Crime Bursting Police Chief in West Africa went to Commissioner of Police, Abia State Police, Habila Joshak, while Best Anti-Crime Police Chief in West Africa, Best Crime Bursting Police Chief

in Nigeria and Best Anti-Crime Police Chief in Nigeria went to CP Hassan Hosea Karma, CP Samuel Damilola Adegbuyi and CP Isaac Eke; Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Police Command, two IC Nigeria Police Maritime Department and the CP Federal Special AntiRobbery Squad, Nigeria Police Force, respectively.

Recognised also for Crime Bursting in Nigeria was the Commissioner of Police, Delta State Police Command, CP Usman Baba Alkali, while the Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Police Command, CP Emmanuel Ojukwu, was awarded the Most Vibrant Police information Manager in West Africa, just as the Most Outstanding Pro-Active Police Chief in Nigeria, went to CP Sani Mohammed, the Commissioner of Police, Nasarawa State Police Command and another Golden Star Award for Exemplary Community Service was given to Alhaji Leke Shittu.

Best Security Information Manager in West Africa went to Director, Army Public Relations Department, Nigerian Army, Colonel Shehu Usman and Best Crime Bursting Police Squad in West Africa went to CSP James Nwafor, the OC, Special Anti–Robbery Squad, Anambra State Police Command, while SP Aisha Haruna, OC, Oil Producers Guard, was recognised for being the Best Divisional Police Officer in West Africa.

This is just as the Best Divisional Police Officer in Nigeria went to CSP Olusegun Ajamolaya the Divisional Police Officer of Victoria Island Police division, Lagos State Police Division, while the Best Community Public Relations Police Officer in West Africa went to DSP Ebere Amaraizu, the Police Public Relations Officer, Enugu State Police Command and SP Mohammed Tijani, the OC, Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Ogun State Police Command got the Best Crime Bursting Police Squad in Nigeria, even as the Best Command Police Public Relations Officer in Nigeria went to DSP Ahmad Kadiya Muhammed, the Police Public Relations Officer, River State Police Command.m Best Community Public Relations Police Officer in Nigeria went to ASP Magaji Majia, the Police Public Relations Officer, Kano State Police, while an outstanding performance award for Best Investigative Crime Reporter in Nigeria (Print) was given to THISDAY Chiemelie Ezeobi and that for electronic was given to Ada Ononye of AIT, even as the Best Community Friendly Police Officer In Nigeria was given to DSP Daniel Itse Amah, the DPO, Bompai Police Division, Kano State Police Command.

Plaques were also given to Enugu, Ogun and Delta State Police Commands for being the Most Outstanding Community Policing Command in West Africa, Most Outstanding Community Policing Command in Nigeria and Most Outstanding Crime Bursting Police Command in Nigeria, respectively.

Also recognised for a Distinguished Service Award was given to the Nigerian Police Peacekeeping Operations Department for Police Peacekeeping Operations in West Africa.

The award night was brought to a close by Emmanuella Owobu, SWA Country Coordinator for the United States of America, followed by several photo ops. Although the 12th SWA awards ceremony has come and gone, Agbambu is not relenting in his stance to sell Nigeria to the world, even as plans are underway for the 2016 version of the laudable awards.

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WEDNESDAY APRIL 6, 2016 • T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

Again, Jacob Zuma Survives Impeachment South African president, Jacob Zuma, has again survived impeachment despite a court ruling against him.

The governing African National Congress (ANC) defeated the opposition-sponsored motion, saying Zuma was not guilty of “serious misconduct”.

Last week, South Africa’s highest court said he had breached the constitution by failing to repay public money used to upgrade his private home. The opposition said Mr Zuma was a“crooked”president, not fit to govern.

After a rowdy debate, with MPs heckling and shouting at each other, a vote was called in the lower house, the National Assembly.

The motion was backed

by 143 MPs and opposed by 233. Mr Zuma was not present.

The ANC had denounced the impeachment proceedings as a publicity stunt.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) needed a two-thirds majority - 267 MPs out of 400 - to impeach Mr Zuma.

The party has 89 seats, and the combined opposition 151.

Left-wing MPs had vowed to prevent Mr Zuma from addressing parliament if he attended.

DA leader, Mmusi Maimane, said public anger towards Mr Zuma was palpable, but he did not expect the ANC to back the impeachment motion because corruption had affected the entire party “like a cancer.”

“The ANC has lost its way

IS Hints of Attacks in London, Berlin, Rome The Islamic State has released a video suggesting it may carry out further attacks in the West, naming London, Berlin and Rome as possible targets.

“If it was Paris yesterday, and today Brussels, Allah knows where it will be tomorrow. May be it will be in London or Berlin or Rome,” said a member of the group in English on

the video which showed footage of the aftermath of previous attacks.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for bombings that killed 31 people in Brussels in March and attacks in Paris last November that killed 130.

The video showed images of the House of Commons in London and Rome’s Colosseum.

and there’s no way back,” he added. Deputy Justice Minister John Jeffery rejected the call to impeach Mr Zuma, saying the president was not guilty of “serious misconduct”.

Earlier, opposition MPs called for speaker Baleka Mbete to step down, after accusing her of taking sides.

Mbete rejected their demand, after an adjournment to consult parliamentary officials, but then left her deputy to chair most of the debate.

Zuma has been dogged

by allegations of corruption since before he was elected president in 2009. He was accused of taking bribes over an arms deal but he denied the allegation and the charges were controversially dropped just before he took office.

He later found himself at the centre of controversy over the use of $23m (£15m) of public money to upgrade his private home in the rural area of Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal province.

In 2014, South Africa’s

anti-corruption watchdog Thuli Madonsela ordered him to repay the portion of the money not related to security upgrades.

Zuma had “unduly benefited” from the building of a swimming pool, amphitheatre, cattle enclosure and chicken run, Ms Madonsela said.

The DA and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) went to the Constitutional Court to challenge Mr Zuma’s refusal to pay the money.

The court ruled against Mr

Zuma and also condemned parliament for failing to hold Mr Zuma accountable, and rejecting the public protector’s findings.

In a televised address to the nation on Friday, Mr Zuma apologised for the “frustration” caused by the long-running controversy and said he would abide by the ruling.

He had acted “in good faith” and “never knowingly and deliberately set out to violate the constitution”, he added.

Detained Migrants on Greek Island Demand Freedom Several dozen migrants being detained at a holding camp on the Greek island of Lesbos protested behind the barbed wire fence of the compound on Tuesday, shouting“We want freedom!”

They were among thousands of refugees and migrants who have arrived on Lesbos on or since March 20 from Turkey and who are being held under a new EU agreement with Ankara until their asylum requests are processed and they are accepted or sent back.

The first group of 202 migrants, most from Pakistan, were returned to Turkey on

Monday from Lesbos and the Aegean island of Chios.

Through barbed wire at the Moria camp on Lesbos, one man held up a piece of cardboard, which read: “Kill us if you want.”

On the wall of the sprawling gated complex, which was once an army camp, graffiti read: ‘No one is illegal’.

The European Union and Turkey reached a deal in March to seal off a route used in the past year by hundreds of thousands of migrants, many fleeing conflict zones.

In return, the EU will take in thousands of Syrian

refugees directly from Turkey and reward it with financial aid, visa-free travel and progress in its EU membership negotiations.

Reporters have been barred from entering the Moria site, initially set up to register arrivals.

The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR stopped transporting arrivals to and from the site since it became what it calls a “detention center”.

Other aid groups have pulled out from the site in protest at conditions there.

UNHCR says there are

some 600 people above capacity at Moria, including pregnant women, lactating mothers and children, with insufficient food.

Just over 172,000 refugees and migrants have arrived by sea in Europe through the first weekend in April, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.

The figure includes small numbers of migrants arriving in Cyprus and Spain, as well as the busier routes connecting Turkey to Greece and North Africa to Italy, the agency said in a statement.

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BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Helios Acquires Crown Agents Bank, Investment Mgt Firm Nume Ekeghe Helios Investors III, L.P., a fund advised by Africa-focused private investment firm Helios Investment Partners (Helios), has completed the acquisition of 100 per cent of Crown Agents Bank Limited (CAB) and Crown Agents Investment Management Limited (CAIM), following the receipt of regulatory approvals.

CAB and CAIM provide payments, trade finance, foreign exchange and investment management services to frontier and emerging markets, primarily in Africa, the Caribbean and South-East Asia, and acts as a commercial gateway for entities seeking to operate in these regions.

They have been active in the developing world since 1833, providing solutions to governments, non-government organisations, central banks, commercial banks, nonbank financial institutions, international companies, and pension and investment fund managers.

According to a statement, the financial services businesses were previously owned by Crown Agents Limited, an international development company that partners with governments, aid organisations and the private sector in almost 100 countries around the world. It pointed out that while client relationships will be unaffected by the transfer of ownership, the Helios

investment will add financial resources to better meet the growing needs of CAB and CAIM’s customers.

Co-founder and Managing Partner of Helios Investment Partners, Tope Lawani said: “Helios is delighted to be partnering with CAB and CAIM’s experienced management team, and we look forward to bringing our African knowledge and financial services expertise to bear in realising the significant growth potential of these businesses.”

He added: “We share a vision to transform CAB into the leading wholesale bank for small- and medium-sized countries; and to transform CAIM into the leading investment management company for those operating in our markets, including central banks, commercial banks, non-bank financial institutions and investors looking to participate in frontier and emerging market growth.”

On his part, the Managing Director of CAB and CAIM, Richard Jones said: “The acquisition brings together our trusted reputation and longstanding experience in small- and medium-sized countries with Helios.

“A stronger capital base will allow us to enhance our services to existing and new clients during a time of widespread retreat by mainstream banks from emerging markets, enabling us to help our clients maximise their commercial

opportunities.”

Also, the CEO of Crown Agents, David Richardson described the deal as a great opportunity for Crown Agents, saying that CAB and CAIM would benefit from the capital and expertise that Helios can provide to help them to expand in the financial services market. “ Crown Agents Limited will be able to invest in and grow the broader areas of the business that make a positive and sustainable impact on the lives of people around the world.”

Helios operates a family of funds and their related co-investment entities, aggregating more than $3 billion in capital commitments, pursuing a full range of investment types, including business formations, growth equity investments, structured investments in listed entities and large scale leveraged acquisitions across Africa.

The firm also managed the $110 million Modern Africa Fund on behalf of a range of investors which included the U.S. government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation and several leading U.S. corporations.

Established in 2004 and led by co-founding partners Tope Lawani and Babatunde Soyoye, Helios is one of the largest investment firms focusing on Africa and is among the few independent pan-African private equity investment firms to be founded and managed

by Africans.

FXTM Launches New FX Trading Account FXTM Shares Account, an account tailored to suit the needs of investors who trade Share Contract for Difference (CFDs) in their portfolio and are ready to leap into an allnew trading environment.

This new account provides traders with a direct connection to the NYSE and NASDAQ exchange, allowing them to trade CFDs on more than 180 US shares – including Apple, Facebook, Alibaba, Twitter and Microsoft.

According to a statement, as opposed to going through a third party provider, FXTM established the direct connection to the pricing of the products listed on the NYSE and NASDAQ exchanges.

It explained that the connection enables FXTM’s clients to

benefit from a real-time feed, deep liquidity and extremely low latency.

They are also provided with a significant time-saving advantage through the assurance of better pricing and immediate execution speeds.

The Shares Account offers more instruments and better trading terms for Share CFDs. With zero commission, a highly competitive margin starting from three per cent and over 180 shares to choose from, this new account is a long-term investment tool which adds real value to traders who are looking to enhance their trading portfolio.

The Chief Market Analyst and Vice President of Corporate Development at FXTM, Jameel Ahmad said: “FXTM

is proud to present the new Shares Account, which has been developed to provide a localised solution to those clients who trade Share CFDs. We are also pleased to have developed direct connections with the NYSE and NASDAQ exchanges, which enhances FXTM’s credibility as a leading broker. “ With unrivaled pricing terms, this new account shows FXTM’s commitment to providing our clients with products tailored to their needs, whether in forex, spot metals, commodities or shares.

“The launch of the Shares Account is also part of our bigger vision to expand the choice of financial instruments our clients can have when trading.”

Orange to Invest $85m in Nigeria’s Africa Internet Group French telecommunications company, Orange is to invest 75 million euro ($85 million) in Nigerian e-commerce group Africa Internet Group (AIG) and become a shareholder, the two companies said on Tuesday.

AIG, which was founded in Nigeria in 2012, already counts Goldman Sachs, South African telecoms group MTN and Germany’s Rocket Internet among its shareholders.

It owns several technology firms across 26 African countries including online retailer Jumia, delivery app HelloFood, hotel

booking platform Jovago and online real estate marketplace Lamudi.

“With this strategic investment, Orange now has the capacity to play a leading role in the fast-growing ecommerce market in Africa,” Reuters quoted the chairman and CEO of Orange, Stéphane Richard, to have said in a joint statement with AIG. “This investment will enable us to significantly develop our ability to market products and services developed by Orange Middle East and Africa over

the Internet,” he added.

Orange said last week that it plans to grow in Africa, among other regions, after its talks to buy French peer Bouygues Telecom collapsed.

“We are thrilled by Orange’s equity investment and are eager to translate our strategic partnership into unique offers for our customers,” said AIG founders and co-CEOs, Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara.

Last month AIG announced additional funding worth a total of 225 million euros ($245 million).

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

FEBRUARY 2016 Broad Money (M2)

20,489,166.72

-- Narrow Money (M1)

9,095,578.34

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,377,483.11

---- Demand Deposits

7,682,095.23

-- Quasi Money

11,429,588.38

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

5,471,351.78

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

15,017,814.94 22,414,322.75

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC) ---- Credit to Government (Net)

3,424,029.62

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

4,807,604.55

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

1,383,574.93

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

18,990,293.13

--Other Assets Net

7,396,507.81

Reserve Money (Base Money)

5,095,380.23

--Currency in Circulation

1,711,623.51

--Banks Reserves

3,383,756.72 • 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

N13.0544

N13.4480

ARM Discovery Fund

N288.2515

N296.9425

ARM Ethical Fund

N22.5268

N23.2060

ARM Money Market Fund

13.1030 (Yield % ) • Monetary Policy Rate - 13%

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT MONDAY, 4 APRIL 2016 The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $33.33 a barrel on Monday, compared with $34.47 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Minas (Indonesia), 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), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

4347

TTHHI S April 2016 I SDDAY AY• •WEDNESDAY TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 6, 2016

Nigeria’s top 50 stocks based on market fundamentals

30-Mar-16 29-Mar-16

01 Lafarge Africa Plc.

% Change

Capitalisation

EPS

P/E

P/S

Div. Yld

Price/ Book Value

79.00

77.00

2.60%

359,837,242,990.00

5.93

13.33

1.35

3.80%

2.04

1.87

1.87

0.00%

19,635,000,000.00

0.16

11.81

1.18

2.67%

1.00

156.00

156.00

0.00%

56,252,860,872.00

13.51

11.54

0.88

3.85%

3.66

7.08

6.60

7.27%

18,758,023,716.24

0.79

8.91

1.16

7.77%

2.65

700.00

700.00

0.00%

554,859,376,400.00

29.95

23.38

3.67

4.14%

14.60

4.00

4.00

0.00%

6,496,875,000.00

0.34

11.79

0.76

5.00%

1.07

107.00

111.83

-4.32%

848,413,795,016.00

5.37

19.93

3.07

3.36%

4.98

3.99

3.98

0.25%

48,018,129,387.06

0.50

7.98

0.08

18.80%

0.30

09 Okomu Oil Palm Plc.

31.42

31.42

0.00%

29,971,852,200.00

2.25

13.99

3.38

3.18%

1.22

10 P Z Cussons Nigeria Plc.

22.71

23.90

-4.98%

90,169,533,691.95

1.10

20.70

1.25

5.72%

2.14

11 Presco Plc

34.60

34.60

0.00%

34,600,000,000.00

3.28

10.55

3.05

0.29%

1.54

0.50

0.50

0.00%

5,664,866,202.00

4.68

0.11

0.02

0.00%

1.89

310.00

300.00

3.33%

171,526,197,030.00

23.48

13.20

1.52

2.57%

0.61

0.92

0.92

0.00%

12,769,877,297.20

0.85

1.08

0.09

32.61%

0.09

15.00

15.00

0.00%

150,000,000,000.00

2.04

7.37

1.27

0.67%

1.34

1.55

1.63

-4.91%

44,625,148,095.30

0.36

4.34

0.40

5.81%

0.47

146.50

146.50

0.00%

49,739,949,120.50

12.41

11.80

0.21

6.14%

4.03

1.11

1.16

-4.31%

42,980,307,141.75

0.04

29.76

1.05

4.50%

0.49

20.00

20.48

-2.34%

38,417,287,740.00

3.62

5.52

0.48

8.75%

0.55

4.61

4.61

0.00%

7,923,437,476.95

1.81

2.55

0.71

15.18%

0.24

29.25

29.50

-0.85%

110,661,415,312.50

0.32

92.81

1.87

4.27%

13.83

22 United Bank for Africa Plc

3.23

3.96

-18.43%

117,182,870,020.06

1.64

1.96

0.37

18.58%

0.35

23 Unity Bank Plc

0.67

0.70

-4.29%

7,831,856,421.14

0.54

1.23

0.12

0.00%

0.09

24 Wapic Insurance Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

6,691,369,124.00

0.10

5.16

0.94

6.00%

0.45

25 Wema Bank Plc.

0.79

0.76

3.95%

31,195,814,838.27

0.06

13.40

0.68

0.00%

0.69

02 Mansard Insurance Plc 03 Mobil Oil Nig Plc. 04 National Salt Co. Nig. Plc 05 Nestle Nigeria Plc. 06 Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc 07 Nigerian Brew. Plc. 08 Oando Plc

12 Resort Savings & Loans Plc 13 Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd. 14 Skye Bank Plc 15 Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc 16 Sterling Bank Plc. 17 Total Nigeria Plc. 18 Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc 19 U A C N Plc. 20 UACN Property Development Co. Limited 21 Unilever Nigeria Plc.

26 Zenith Bank Plc

10.96

11.31

-3.09%

344,105,571,894.56

3.37

3.26

0.80

16.42%

0.58

27 Mobil Oil Nig Plc.

159.95

159.95

0.00%

57,677,212,156.90

11.22

12.52

0.62

4.27%

3.42

7.35

7.02

4.70%

19,473,372,078.30

0.97

7.23

1.73

12.86%

3.31

715.00

715.00

0.00%

566,749,220,180.00

24.20

29.04

4.10

3.91%

11.94

4.10

4.00

2.50%

6,659,296,875.00

0.45

8.10

0.72

8.24%

0.97

98.00

98.20

-0.20%

777,051,887,024.00

5.37

17.72

2.73

4.73%

4.42

3.49

3.49

0.00%

42,000,819,940.06

0.50

7.80

0.08

19.23%

0.30

33 Okomu Oil Palm Plc.

30.00

30.00

0.00%

28,617,300,000.00

2.25

13.58

3.28

3.28%

1.18

34 P Z Cussons Nigeria Plc.

24.10

24.10

0.00%

95,688,496,784.50

1.10

19.09

1.15

6.21%

1.98

35 Presco Plc

34.25

34.25

0.00%

34,250,000,000.00

3.28

10.37

2.99

0.29%

1.52

0.50

0.50

0.00%

5,664,866,202.00

4.68

0.11

0.02

0.00%

1.89

350.00

349.52

0.14%

193,658,609,550.00

94.70

2.49

0.96

6.78%

0.63

0.98

1.00

-2.00%

13,602,695,381.80

0.90

1.22

0.11

27.27%

0.11

14.15

14.15

0.00%

141,500,000,000.00

2.65

5.29

1.18

0.71%

1.25

1.63

1.70

-4.12%

46,928,381,545.38

0.26

6.80

0.52

14.04%

0.07

137.75

137.75

0.00%

46,769,133,046.75

12.41

11.48

0.21

6.32%

3.92

1.13

1.13

0.00%

43,754,727,090.25

0.02

51.43

1.18

4.07%

0.51

20.10

20.10

0.00%

38,609,374,178.70

3.62

5.25

0.46

9.21%

0.52

5.10

5.10

0.00%

8,765,624,974.50

1.81

2.96

0.82

13.08%

0.28

27.50

27.50

0.00%

104,040,646,875.00

0.93

32.52

1.93

4.12%

15.86

46 United Bank for Africa Plc

3.11

3.18

-2.20%

112,829,326,861.42

1.44

1.94

0.37

17.86%

0.31

47 Unity Bank Plc

0.63

0.63

0.00%

7,364,282,903.46

0.54

1.22

0.12

0.00%

0.09

48 Wapic Insurance Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

6,691,369,124.00

0.03

17.47

1.78

0.00%

0.45

49 Wema Bank Plc.

0.87

0.88

-1.14%

34,354,884,695.31

0.00

24.86

0.63

0.00%

0.85

50 Zenith Bank Plc

12.17

11.94

1.93%

382,095,329,375.62

3.34

3.88

1.12

13.47%

0.71

28 National Salt Co. Nig. Plc 29 Nestle Nigeria Plc. 30 Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc 31 Nigerian Brew. Plc. 32 Oando Plc

36 Resort Savings & Loans Plc 37 Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd. 38 Skye Bank Plc 39 Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc 40 Sterling Bank Plc. 41 Total Nigeria Plc. 42 Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc 43 U A C N Plc. 44 UACN Property Development Co. Limited 45 Unilever Nigeria Plc.

TOTAL

8,023,551,903,821.00

TOTAL MARKET CAP

8,649,508,663,299.79

% OF MARKET CAP Annotation - MA* = Simple Moving Average

92.76%

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 29-Mar-16

Close Change % 30-Mar-16

25,277.29 8.69

25,145.28 8.65

-0.52% -0.52%

103.60 8.07

103.05 8.02

-0.54% -0.54%

Table 3 Top 5 Gainers Stock

Open Close Change % 29-Mar-16 30-Mar-16

National Salt Co. Nig. Plc Flour Mills Nig. Plc. Wema Bank Plc. FCMB Group Plc. Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd.

6.60 18.54 0.76 0.80 300.00

7.08 19.40 0.79 0.83 310.00

7.27% 4.64% 3.95% 3.75% 3.33%

Table 4 Top 5 Losers Stock

Open Close Change % 29-Mar-16 30-Mar-16

United Bank for Africa Plc FBN Holdings Plc P Z Cussons Nigeria Plc. Sterling Bank Plc. Continental Reinsurance Plc

3.96 3.17 23.90 1.63 0.91

3.23 -18.43% 3.00 -5.36% 22.71 -4.98% 1.55 -4.91% 0.87 -4.40%

Market Index sheds 0.52% due to high sell pressure Market pulse on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today - Wednesday, March 30th, 2016, was negative as the market closed red due to profit taking opportunity provided by the 2015 full year earnings announcement by company’s coupled with dividend declaration to the delight of some investors. This was further highlighted by negative performance from the NSE Sub sectors; Banking, Insurance, and Consumer Goods (Save Oil & Gas).

Trading activities increased in volume as 504.21 million shares worth N2.139 billion in 3,374 deals exchanged hands today. This is an increase from the 282.7 million shares worth N2.647 billion in 3,225 deals carried out on Tuesday. Topping in volume terms was Livestock Feeds Plc, Sterling Bank Plc and United Capital Plc, while Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Nigerian Breweries Plc ended trading as the most active stocks in value terms.

The All Share Index (NSEASI) closed negative with a 0.52% (-132.01) decrease to 25,145.28 from 25,277.29 the previous trading day.

Market Capitalization depreciated in tandem to N8.65 trillion from N8.69 trillion of prior trading day. The Thisday BGL 50 Index followed suit with 0.54% decrease to close at 103.05 from 103.60 the previous trading day, while its market capitalization stood at 8.02 trillion from N8.07 trillion of the previous trading day.

A total number of 15 stocks gained on the bourse today while 23 stocks declined, leaving 139 stocks unchanged. National Salt Co. Nig. Plc emerged the toast of investors as it topped the Thisday BGL 50 Index gainers’ list with a gain of 7.27% to close at N7.08 per share. It was followed Flour Mills Nig. Plc with a gain of 4.64% to close at N19.40 per share. Others on the gainers list include: Wema Bank Plc, FCMB Group Plc and Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd, while on the decliners’ list; United Bank for Africa Plc led with a loss of 18.43% to close at N3.23 per share. It was followed by FBN Holdings Plc with a loss of 5.36% to close at N3.00 per share. Others on the losers list include; P Z Cussons Nigeria Plc, Sterling Bank Plc and Continental Reinsurance 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

48

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016

MARKET NEWS

Union Bank Profit Before Tax Declines by 48% in 2015 Goddy Egene and Eromosele Abiodun Union Bank of Nigeria Plc recorded drops in revenue and profit for the year 2015. The bank reported gross earnings of N117.2 billion for the year ended December 31, 2015, down 14 per cent from N135.9 billion in 2015. Net interest income rose by 7.0 per cent from N52.1

billion to N55.7 billion. But impairment charges soared by 106 per cent from N4.8 billion to N9.9 billion.

Consequently, profit before tax (PBT) fell by 47.5 per cent from N27.7 billion to N14.5 billion, while profit after tax (PAT) fell by 49.7 per cent to N14 billion from N26.8 billion in 2015.

According to the bank, securities trading contributed

T H E MAIN BOARD

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

4.3 per cent of gross earnings compared with two per cent in 2014. Expenses went down two per cent to N56 billion as against N57.2 billion in 2014.

Net loan book was up 15 per cent from N302 billion to N349 billion, reflecting increased customer confidence.

Customer deposits improved by 12 per cent from N507 billion to N349 billion.

N I G E R I A N QUANTITY TRADED

STO C K

VALUE TRADED ( N )

Daily Summary as of 15/03/2016 Printed 15/03/2016 14:36:17.017 Daily Summary (Bonds) No Debt Trading Activity 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. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. Diversified Industries Totals CONGLOMERATES Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Structure/Completion/Other COSTAIN (W A) PLC. Building Structure/Completion/Other Totals Infrastructure/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction Totals 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. 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 UNION DICON SALT PLC. Food Products Totals Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. Food Products--Diversified Totals Household Durables VITAFOAM NIG 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. INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC STANDARD ALLIANCE 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 ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UNITED CAPITAL PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals HEALTHCARE

Commenting on the results, Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank, Mr. Emeka Emuwa, Chief Executive Officer said: “2015 was a challenging year across board, with significant operational and economic headwinds.

Notwithstanding the difficult operating environment, Union Bank maintained its focus on business and transformation

19 5 24

33.07 34.25

116,531 10,700 127,231

3,841,928.14 384,772.00 4,226,700.14

12 12 36

1.22

851,138 851,138 978,369

1,044,028.36 1,044,028.36 5,270,728.50

1 184 28 213 213

0.76 1.14 20.95

240 24,090,695 82,460 24,173,395 24,173,395

180.00 27,641,625.48 1,699,248.06 29,341,053.54 29,341,053.54

1 1

0.50

50,000 50,000

25,000.00 25,000.00

14 14

41.50

92,917 92,917

4,113,798.00 4,113,798.00

9 9

5.10

41,627 41,627

216,923.46 216,923.46

1 1 25

10.00

15 15 184,559

150.00 150.00 4,355,871.46

9 47 10 109 175

3.00 112.79 18.50 93.00

186,330 56,810 38,825 910,268 1,192,233

546,898.50 6,260,194.48 687,308.64 86,403,248.71 93,897,650.33

34 34

154.00

175,349 175,349

26,907,869.08 26,907,869.08

31 35 30 20 189 1 306

6.01 19.29 1.64 8.00 3.04 11.25

226,918 201,814 905,530 151,351 15,627,864 1,282 17,114,759

1,336,423.28 3,895,080.32 1,492,087.65 1,185,227.30 47,491,930.79 13,704.58 55,414,453.92

15 49 64

17.20 690.00

15,705 22,562 38,267

262,529.44 15,371,795.58 15,634,325.02

4 4

4.30

3,949 3,949

16,151.41 16,151.41

22 24 46 629

25.00 28.05

130,500 107,357 237,857 18,762,414

3,100,335.48 3,067,966.81 6,168,302.29 198,038,752.05

230 30 26 135 460 57 366 553 37 17 34 1,945

4.58 1.35 16.26 1.20 16.20 0.99 1.65 3.74 5.71 0.64 0.83

13,454,556 3,849,052 319,603 12,616,743 16,476,426 3,971,581 2,583,895 71,981,533 632,510 615,732 1,508,719 128,010,350

63,541,837.77 5,228,335.10 5,359,956.99 15,258,417.75 273,236,491.23 3,932,566.39 4,263,864.13 269,169,272.92 3,619,529.94 394,068.48 1,256,638.76 645,260,979.46

12 16 1

0.81 0.91 0.50

166,176 7,966,000 450,000

131,718.23 7,260,650.00 225,000.00

1

0.50

598,888

299,444.00

4 5 9 2 1 14 65

0.50 2.14 0.75 0.50 0.50 0.50

1,500,000 63,000 418,199 250,000 1,000 3,383,010 14,796,273

750,000.00 139,386.17 317,306.24 125,000.00 500.00 1,691,505.00 10,940,509.64

7 7

1.07

162,085 162,085

172,360.10 172,360.10

1 1

1.25

250 250

297.50 297.50

160 4 132 1 16 159 472 2,490

3.20 3.81 0.86 0.50 15.30 1.75

7,068,868 177,095 11,539,007 10,000 297,321 15,166,381 34,258,672 177,227,630

23,028,383.26 669,657.55 10,000,439.45 5,000.00 4,489,324.44 26,376,256.46 64,569,061.16 720,943,207.86

initiatives, which yielded desired results. Our gross earnings, excluding one-time gain on sale of subsidiaries, are up by 11 per cent compared to 2014. With the launch of a re-energised brand identity and a retail model focused on customer needs, we increased our customer deposits by 12 per cent year-on-year.”

According to him, the bank’s

simpler and smarter banking solutions have enabled us make strides in customer service delivery, which has reflected in independent industry surveys.

“We continue to strengthen our e-banking platforms as we acquire new customers and migrate existing ones to these platforms, realising increased gains in revenues and reducing service costs,” he said.

E XC H A N G E

MAIN BOARD

DEALS

Pharmaceuticals FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 5 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. 9 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 13 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 1 Pharmaceuticals Totals 28 HEALTHCARE Totals 28 ICT Processing Systems E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 1 Processing Systems Totals 1 ICT Totals 1 INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials ASHAKA CEM PLC 11 BERGER PAINTS PLC 4 CAP PLC 8 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 12 DN MEYER PLC. 1 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 86 Building Materials Totals 122 Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. 8 Electronic and Electrical Products Totals 8 Packaging/Containers BETA GLASS CO PLC. 3 Packaging/Containers Totals 3 INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals 133 NATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals B.O.C. GASES PLC. 1 Chemicals Totals 1 NATURAL RESOURCES Totals 1 OIL AND GAS Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC 112 Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals 112 Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CONOIL PLC 54 ETERNA PLC. 5 FORTE OIL PLC. 11 MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. 3 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 1 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 8 Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals 82 Exploration and Production SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD 24 Exploration and Production Totals 24 OIL AND GAS Totals 218 SERVICES Apparel Retailers LENNARDS (NIG) PLC. 1 Apparel Retailers Totals 1 Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. 1 Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals 1 Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 2 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 3 Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals 5 Hotels/Lodging IKEJA HOTEL PLC 3 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 1 Hotels/Lodging Totals 4 Media/Entertainment DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 4 Media/Entertainment Totals 4 Printing/Publishing ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 4 LEARN AFRICA PLC 5 Printing/Publishing Totals 9 Road Transportation ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC 1 Road Transportation Totals 1 Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC 1 NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC 10 Transport-Related Services Totals 11 Support and Logistics C & I LEASING PLC. 1 Support and Logistics Totals 1 SERVICES Totals 37 EQTY Board Totals 3,811 Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board PREMIUM FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC 425 Banking Totals 425 Other Financial Institutions FBN HOLDINGS PLC 265 Other Financial Institutions Totals 265 FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals 690 INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials No. of Deals DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 60 Building Materials Totals 60 INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals 60 PREMIUM Board Totals 750 Equity Activity Totals 4,561

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

2.70 24.98 0.91 0.72

120,557 18,477 507,725 9,000 655,759 655,759

309,846.49 442,241.10 465,638.71 6,750.00 1,224,476.30 1,224,476.30

3.00

60,000 60,000 60,000

180,000.00 180,000.00 180,000.00

24.00 9.42 38.50 8.60 0.70 84.00

30,185 2,394 60,465 3,541,915 1,000 12,060,208 15,696,167

727,173.05 22,264.20 2,243,736.00 30,462,346.00 670.00 1,002,849,990.28 1,036,306,179.53

1.58

72,500 72,500

115,310.00 115,310.00

45.50

17,169 17,169 15,785,836

742,387.56 742,387.56 1,037,163,877.09

3.95

66 66 66

248.16 248.16 248.16

4.82

1,757,769 1,757,769

8,473,384.08 8,473,384.08

20.10 1.80 293.23 171.00 47.18 150.00

342,445 90,000 5,223 357 150 9,000 447,175

6,767,782.21 162,315.00 1,454,971.11 57,994.65 6,724.50 1,338,064.00 9,787,851.47

350.00

202,644 202,644 2,407,588

70,931,581.10 70,931,581.10 89,192,816.65

3.00

15,000 15,000

42,750.00 42,750.00

0.50

10,000 10,000

5,000.00 5,000.00

4.00 1.18

154,695 2,562 157,257

618,780.00 3,151.26 621,931.26

2.47 5.51

97,060 500 97,560

239,747.20 2,620.00 242,367.20

0.50

111,000 111,000

55,500.00 55,500.00

0.57 0.86

65,000 68,575 133,575

37,000.00 58,439.50 95,439.50

0.50

10,000 10,000

5,000.00 5,000.00

2.20 3.91

3,000 211,963 214,963

6,930.00 828,703.07 835,633.07

0.50

11,111 11,111 760,466 240,996,082

5,555.50 5,555.50 1,909,176.53 2,087,620,208.14

12.83

31,187,922 31,187,922

403,549,637.99 403,549,637.99

3.73

14,091,156 14,091,156 45,279,078

53,063,627.44 53,063,627.44 456,613,265.43

Current Price 164.00

Quantity Traded 762,374 762,374 762,374 46,041,452 287,037,534

Value Traded 124,340,537.50 124,340,537.50 124,340,537.50 580,953,802.93 2,668,574,011.07

8.47 2.44 5.92 11.59 20.01

269,790 5 980 5 2,080 272,860 272,860 272,860

2,277,329.70 12.20 5,801.60 57.95 41,620.80 2,324,822.25 2,324,822.25 2,324,822.25

Daily Summary (ETP) Exchange Traded Fund Name LOTUS HALAL EQUITY 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

6 1 1 1 1 10 10 10

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY APRIL 6, 2016

49

50

WEDNESDAY APRIL 6, 2016 • T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

There was No Truce with Fayose, Says Aluko We will jail ex-PDP scribe for perjury: , says Ekiti AG Olakiitan Victor in Ado Ekiti Former Secretary of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Dr. Temitope Aluko, has denied reconciling with the state Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, saying the parley between them was an organised propaganda to stain his image and malign his integrity.

But state government has vowed to go ahead with its perjury charges against the former party scribe.

Addressing journalists in Lagos yesterday, Aluko said the parley was a script aimed at misinforming Nigerians.

The former PDP scribe, who recanted his earlier stance, said: “One fact remains clear, there is nowhere that I, Temitope Aluko, refuted anything I have earlier said before Nigerians and the whole world about the manipulations that characterised the 2014 governorship election in Ekiti State.”

Expressing displeasure over the purported reconciliation meeting, he said: “I was shocked to see Fayose walk into the meeting at this point. I won’t want to bore you with the drama and face-off that ensued between me and Fayose inside the meeting. It is worthy of note that it was at this point that my wife came into the meeting

to inform me that she noticed the presence of journalists downstairs and said ‘there is a problem’ but it was Fayose that interrupted her and said ‘madam, there is no problem.”

He added that “at that point, I became enraged and decided to leave the place but I noticed the governor rushing after me downstairs in a gestapo manner.

My wife was already fidgeting and almost crying and suddenly I could not find her around me. I immediately realised that I needed to yield to his (Fayose) instruction of facing the press because of the safety of my family.”

He, however, appealed to Nigerians to disregard the peace treaty, saying it was a tactical error on his part.

Meanwhile, in spite of the alleged reconciliation between Fayose and Aluko, the state government has insisted that it won’t withdraw its perjury charges against the estranged secretary.

Also, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Owoseeni Ajayi, has appealed to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to continue to guide President Muhammadu Buhari, to forestall increasing human rights abuses and gross violation of court’s

orders in the polity.

At a press conference in Ado Ekiti yesterday, Ajayi said the state government won’t collapse the case of perjury it has instituted at an Ado Ekiti High Court, in spite of Aluko’s perceived reconciliation with Fayose.

The state government had instituted a case of perjury against Aluko shortly after an open confession that the election that brought Fayose to government was massively rigged, after serving as the principal witness at the election petition tribunal.

The court had granted a warrant of arrest against Aluko, ordering the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Etop James, to arrest the embattled PDP secretary for allegedly lying under oath.

Lampooning the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Solomon Arase, on his refusal to carry out the arrest as well as allegedly providing Aluko with security cover, Ajayi said the state would file for an order of mandamus, compelling the IG to carry out the order in due course.

According to him, “The Aluko’s apology to Fayose was personal. We can’t because of this interventionist apology collapse all our cases; government is not run that way.

“We can’t abandon our responsibilities as a state just because someone apologised to our governor on a case that was already pending in court. They are not fresh cases and we will pursue it to a logical conclusion.”

Ajayi urged the Attorney General of the Federation to counsel the federal government on the alleged brazen impunity being exhibited by the Department of State Services (DSS) and abuse of court orders by the security agency.

He said the case involving the arrest of a member of House of Assembly, Hon Afolabi Akanni, vividly conveyed a signal of alleged impunity in the system, appealing to the AGF to advise Buhari’s government to take prompt action to prevent the country from sliding into anarchy.

“Akanni was released after 18 days in the DSS custody despite March

11 order of the federal high court in Ado Ekiti that ordered his release. As I speak with you, the DSS has not come to court once to file its case as a case of protection of fundamental human rights filed against it. This was a gross abuse of court orders and constitutionality.

“On the notorious issue of Aluko who is enjoying DSS, police and military protection despite a court order, the matter has been brought to the notice of the Attorney General for his appropriate intervention about this impunity.

“The evidence given by Aluko led to the premature sack and compulsory retirement of some military officers from the army for carrying out their constitutional roles during the governorship poll,” he said.

Meanwhile, All Progressives Congress(APC) has said the purported truce between Fayose and Aluko will not alter anything on the revelations so far on the probe of the June 21, 2014, governorship election alleged fraud.

The party’s reaction followed insinuations that the weekend peace

meeting between the duo was a blow to the just conclusion of the military probe into an election in which the federal government deployed the military and cash to influence the result in Fayose’s favour as revealed in the secretly recorded audio tape by army Captain Sagir Koli.

The state APC Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said in a statement yesterday that the reported truce between Fayose and Aluko would not alter anything in the revelation at the probe panel.

He said it was mischievous to insinuate that Aluko was lured

by APC to lie against Fayose and the military officers who were dismissed after they were found guilty by the army probe panel.

Dismissing allegation that Aluko was lured by APC to implicate Fayose and the soldiers, Olatunbosun explained: “This is purely an internal matter within PDP, so APC has no hand in it. The reported meeting between Fayose and Aluko brokered by PDP leaders has proven conclusively that the latter is a full member of PDP.

First Social Media Clinic Holds in Lagos The stage is set for the launch of Nigeria’s first ever Social Media Clinic (SMC) which comes up today from 4p.m to 9p.m.

Social Media Clinic was founded

by Mr. Sunday Dare, a Harvard and Oxford trained journalist with close to 25 years journalism experience.

A leading media expert with multi-media skills spanning print, broadcast and digital media, Dare has conducted one of the pioneering academic research work on the rise of citizen journalism/social media in Nigeria and the impact on democracy and accountable government.

The Social Media Clinic Initiative

derives from the Social Media Solutions (SMS) Ltd, a sustainable platform for true and distinguished journalism in an age of free and unguarded press. Social media is set up to be a socio-conscious check for today’s upscale instant journalism in sachet media, a free for all to write and publish whatever. The maiden edition holds at Bogobiri Art Hall 9 Maitama Sule, Ikoyi. Lagos.

Speakers at the interactive session include, Uche PedroBella Naija, Tolu Ogunlesi, Simon Kolawole, TheCable News online, Sunday Dare and Obi Asika.

Kaduna Bans Sale of Petrol in Jerrycans John Shiklam in Kaduna Following the indiscriminate sale of petrol in jerry cans, the Kaduna State Government has placed a ban on the business which has become rampant following the scarcity of petroleum products.

The government in a statement by the the Special Assistant to Governor Nasir el-Rufai on Media and Publicity, Mr. SamuelAruwan, said the decision was taken at state security council meeting presided by the governor.

The statement said security agencies had been directed to arrest and prosecute anyone found violating the ban as well outright confiscation of any petroleum products found in their possession.

“Noting the difficulties imposed by the current petrol scarcity, the council appealed to citizens to remain patient and assured the public that the state government is working with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other agencies to reduce the hardship associated with the shortages of petroleum products.

“Council also observed that the unsafe handling of petroleum products during periods like this has been associated with fires, destruction and fatal consequences for innocent victims,” the statement said.

It warned those engaging in sabotage and illegal sale of petroleum products in the state to desist with immediate effect or face the wrath of the law.

The statement further urged residents to help uphold and enforce the Kaduna State Petroleum Products (Anti-Hoarding and Adulteration) Law of 1992, which empowers a task force to ensure that petrol is sold in a safe manner, and imposes a financial penalty on violators.

The ban is coming at a time when many young people had taken to the brisk business of selling petrol in jerrycans following the biting effect of the scarcity of the product.

Investigations also showed that the few filling stations that have the product, preferred to sell it to people carrying jerry cans than motorists.

FOR OUR GALANTTROOPS

President of Brothers Across Nigeria (BAN), Charles Okonkwo (fourth right); Chairman, Board ofTrustees (BoT), BAN, Patrick Etim (fourth Left), and other members of the group during their visit to the traditional Prime Minister of Umunevo Ogui Nike in Enugu State, Chief Emmanuel Okafor Nguw (middle), to sensitise the monarch on the group’s ‘Support Our Troops Programme’...recently

Ayade: FG Halts Construction of 260-kilometre Super Highway Bassey Inyang in Calabar The Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade, has disclosed that the federal government has temporarily stopped the construction of the proposed 260 kilometres super highway pending the conclusion of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the project.

The proposed 260 kilometres road, on completion, would serve as evacuation route for cargo from the proposed Bakassi Deep Sea Port in the southern part of the state to the northern part of the country through Gakim in the northern part of the state.

A statement from the office of the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Christian Ita, which was made available to THISDAY last Monday quoted Ayade as making the disclosure

when he played host to the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, when the latter paid him a courtesy visit in his office.

“President Muhammadu Buhari deserves the commendation of every Cross Riverian as one of the simplest and truest Nigerian president who loves this country and committed to the wellbeing and oneness of Nigeria.

“This is a president who appointed three prominent Cross Riverians, including the Chief of Naval Staff, Minister of Niger Delta and the Head of Service of the Federation to serve the government. He is one of the finest leaders of the world who means well for his people. Again, the state was also the very first to be visited

by President Buhari and made a firm commitment to return to

inaugurate the superhighway and the deep seaport.

“For us to honour the words of the president that he will come back to inaugurate the projects, all the bottlenecks militating against the project must be removed.

“Today, as we speak, there is no work going on, all the equipment mobilised have been down-sized. The EIA has been issued but because of the petty concerns that have been raised, the Minister of Environment decided to come to see things for herself and she left very satisfied,” the governor stated.

On the alarm raised in some quarters that the project would degrade the environment, Ayade said the multi-billion naira project would not degrade the environment, rather, it would add value to it.

The governor said: “I want to

put it on record that I have the signature that is characteristic of me to protect the environment.

There is no person outside our state that is better positioned to protect the environment than me.

“For the superhighway, I have no intention to degrade the environment but to add value. As I speak, we have been asked to stop work for a project that the president wants to inaugurate during my tenure.”

According to the statement, the governor lamented that it was regrettable that some persons have chosen to play politics by ignoring the technical aspect of the project which he noted was important to the socio-economic development of the state.

It stated further that Ayade appealed to Oyo-Ita to help the state, so the work can go on smoothly and be completed on schedule.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 6, 2016 • T H I S D AY

51

CRIME&PUNISHMENT

Police Nab Suspected Killers of Seven Tricycle Riders in Enugu Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu

The police in Enugu State have nabbed a two-man gang suspected to be behind the recent missing and serial killing of tricycle riders in Enugu whose bodies were exhumed from an uncompleted church at Ugwuaji along the Enugu Port-Harcourt road.

The reported disappearance of three tricycle riders popularly known as keke all of whom hail from the northern part of the country led to the discovery of other decayed bodies in an uncompleted building about a month ago and subsequent arrest of the two suspects.

It was however discovered that the gang had already killed

Passerby Injured as Soldier’s Car Collides with Truck, Explodes Chiemelie Ezeobi A yet-to-be identified young man was yesterday injured at the Fagbems Filling Station, Jakande Estate, along Oshodi - Apapa Expressway, after a Toyota Camry saloon car and a truck collided.

The Toyota car, belonging to a Nigerian Army personnel identified as Lasisi Adeleye, was said to have exploded because of the petroleum products he was carrying in the car.

The car had exploded after collision with a Mercedes Benz 1428 truck marked AKM162ZW, who had recklessly hit it from the rear.

Following the impact of the crash, the Camry veered off the road, somersaulted several time and knocked down a passerby who fell and suffered a fractured leg.

However, the soldier was able to escape unhurt from the wrecked car before it eventually exploded upon hitting the pedestrian kerb.

While passersby were

attempting to assist the injured victim, the truck driver, who was identified as Joseph Chima, was said to have attempted to flee, but was caught by the soldier, who took him to the nearest police station to make statement.

The arrival of the officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) saw the injured man being taken into their patrol van for onward journey to the hospital.

Confirming the incident, the Assistant Corps Commander, Emmanuel Edeh, said the victim was taken to New Age Hospital, Kirikiri Apapa where it was discovered he fractured an ankle.

Meanwhile, a commercial bus, said to have been fully loaded with petroleum products, also exploded at the Ojota bus stop, close to Total filling station.

Although no life was lost, the fire razed the commercial bus and it’s contents, even as it caused vehicular snarl along that axis.

Hotelier Kidnapped by Gunmen in Army Uniform in Ilorin Hammed Shittu in Ilorin An Ilorin-based hotelier, Chief Boniface Ifeanyi Okoli, was on Monday night kidnapped by gunmen in army uniform in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

Okoli, who is the proprietor of Bovina Hotels, Ilorin, was said to have been kidnapped in his shop along Ibrahim Taiwo Road, between 6p.m. and 700p.m.

Okoli’s kidnappers were said to have drove in a Toyota Camry car.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Sam Okaula, who confirmed the incident to journalists in Ilorin yesterday, said three persons had been arrested in connection with the incident.

Okaula stated: “We were told that the men were in army uniform and in a Toyota Camry. I heard that this is the third time, they are attempting to kidnap that man.We will try and go after these people and make sure that we rescue him.

“He was abducted between 6p.m and 7p.m on Monday. We got the information late. The

police got the information one hour after the incident. As at now, we have three suspects in our cell.

“They were picked at that hotel( Bovina). There are indications that they have connection with the kidnappers, working on with them. We are after the criminals. They were found in the hotel, they were within that vicinity when the incident happened. Because of their conduct, police suspected them and they are being interrogated now.

“We are after the hoodlums and we have directed the Area Commanders and DPOs in that area to make sure that they go and get those behind it.”

The wife of the hotelier, Mrs. Chinyere Okoli, told journalists that “his boys in the shop told us that he was kidnapped by some guys in military uniform.”

She said her husband’s kidnappers came around 6p.m on Monday and said up till now the family has not heard any information about his whereabouts.

seven persons and made away with their tricycles.

Parading one of the suspects before journalists in Enugu yesterday, the state Commissioner of Police, Nwodibo Ekechukwu, noted that the duo of Nonso Azubuike and Kennedy Ihunegbo started the crime of killing and robbing commercial motorcycle riders of their bikes in Abuja in 2014 before they moved over to Ado area of Nasarawa State.

They had a failed operation in Keffi the same year when a man they thought they had killed raised the alarm leading to the arrest of Nonso who managed to get out of the case before both of them relocated to Enugu in January this year.

In Enugu they operated by stopping and entering tricycles at a point along Ogui Road or Mosque area of Artisan and requesting the rider on each occasion to drop them at

their purported building site at Ugwuaji, off the Port-Harcourt expressway.

At the fake building site usually a lonely place the suspects would request the keke rider to carry bocks for them to another location. The unsuspecting victim would be hit on the head with a very heavy iron hammer as he bends to carry the block.

Nonso who confessed that they had killed seven keke

COMPLETE LOCK DOWN

Heavy gridlock along the old toll gate, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Lagos...yesterday

riders since January, said they would thereafter take away the victim’s tricycle, wipe off the fleet numbers and sell to prospective buyers.

The commissioner of police disclosed that the second suspect, Kennedy, fell ill and was taken to Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Parklane, Enugu where he died.

Others paraded by the police were seven car robbery suspects and accomplices.

Sunday Adigun

Man Arrested for Allegedly Raping Neigbour's 8-year-old Child Chiemelie Ezeobi Barely a week after a vulcaniser was arrested for raping a young girl in Lagos, the state police command has again arrested another suspect for raping his neighbour's eight-year-old daughter.

The incident, which happened at the Idimu area of the state, occurred after the 33-year-old man identified as Okwuome Henry, reportedly invited the victim, a primary school pupil

to his house.

The victim, whose parents had gone to their respective business places, was invited by Okwuome to his apartment at Abio Frank street, under the pretext of sending her on an errand.

He however, was said to have forced the unsuspecting girl into his bed, where he had carnal knowledge of her, with a warning not to tell anyone about what transpired.

The incident would have

gone unnoticed but for the sharp eye of the girl's mother, who sighted blood stains on her cloth while washing them later that night.

Upon inquiry, the victim revealed what transpired, upon which Henry was arrested by policemen attached to Idimu Division.

According to eyewitness account, no one had at first believed the girl because of the closeness between Henry and her parents.

But on closer observation, it was discovered that her private part was still blood stained and had bruises.

THISDAY gathered that Okwuome had been charged to court last Friday, where he pleaded not guilty.

Although the case was adjourned till April 25, 2016, the presiding Magistrate, Mrs J.O.E Adeyemi granted him bail in the sum of N250,000 with strict instruction that his two sureties must show evidence of tax payment for four years.

Two Pregnant Women Collapse, Die During Teachers' Verification Exercise in Bauchi Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi Two pregnant women collapsed and died in Bauchi yesterday while waiting to be screened by the verification team from the Office of the Accountant General of the Bauchi State government.

The two pregnant women were among the about 6,000 teachers in the state who were asked to assemble at the state government education secretariat for screening before collecting their salaries.

An eyewitness who pleaded anonymity, told THISDAY that

the first woman who was about seven months pregnant, fainted when the crowd were pushing to be verified, a situation that triggered a congestion during the exercise.

According to him: “We all assembled at the local government education authority to be verified because we have not been paid for three months.

People came from the local government areas of the state so there was a massive crowd that gathered at the venue” “The verification exercise took us by surprise because we were

in the classroom teaching when we were called upon to be screened. That was why there was a large turnout of people” “Some of the people who came early were lucky enough to be verified, but as the crowd kept increasing, people began to push each other, not minding who was standing close .In the process, an unidentified pregnant woman fainted and went into a coma” Speaking further on the issue, another eyewitness called Abubakar Yusuf, said: "As we were yet to recover from the tragic incident that befell the first

woman teacher, another pregnant woman collapsed and had a miscarriage instantly. The two pregnant women were rushed to the hospital for treatment. We later heard that they died.”

Yusuf then called on the state government to ease the sufferings teachers are experiencing during verification exercises by finding other alternative methods that would not lead to congestion of workers.

He expressed dissatisfaction with the exercise, describing it as excruciating for their age and health conditions.

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WEDNESDAY APRIL 6, 2016 • T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

There will Be No Strike by Doctors, FG Declares Bans import of mosquito- treated nets, insecticides Launches new guidelines for pharmaceutical products Paul Obi in Abuja The federal government yesterday declared that there would be no strike by doctors in the country notwithstanding the threat by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to down tools after the expiration of a 21-day ultimatum given to the government on Monday.

NARD had accused the government of alleged negligence and arbitrariness over the non-payment of their salaries, reckless sack of its members and poor health care infrastructure around the country.

But speaking with journalists in Abuja at the launch of new guidelines for regulatory activities by the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration Control (NAFDAC), the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, said government would do everything it can to prevent any strike in the sector.

“I am not aware of it yet. When I get to know, I will address it. You know I am a former member of NARD and I was also the general secretary of the group. So, I can handle

my people. Leave us to handle that as I assure you that there will be no strike,” the minister noted.

Adewole explained that the government was already working out modalities to reposition the health sector for optimum results, stressing that strike is the last distraction Nigeria should face now.

He also announced the ban on importion of Mosquito-treated nets and insecticides into the country.

According to Adewole, “There is absolutely no reason for importation of Mosquito treated nets and insecticides from Tanzania.”

NAFDAC acting Director General, Mrs. Yetunde Oni, said the launch of the new guidelines was aimed at strengthening the agency to ensure effective regulation of the pharmaceutical industry and monitor the efficacy of products in the country.

Oni explained that “given the scientific nature of the operations of NAFDAC, it is expected that we would regularly engage in activities to sharpen delivery on our mandate through availability of adequate tools to enhance productivity. These guidelines aid compliance by stakeholders and make regulatory activities

seamless between regulators and the regulated.”

She said the guidelines clearly spelt out details on regulations and

how they are to be implemented in line with relevant laws and extant statutes.

The World Health Organisation

(WHO) Country Representative, Dr. Rui Vaz, stressed that the organisation would continue to support Nigeria to enhance

its capacity to regulate the pharmaceutical industry, with emphasis on quality and standardisation.

Fulani Herdsmen May Cause Imminent Civil War if Unchecked, Says HURIWA Sunday Okobi A civil society organisation, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has expressed strong worry over what it described as ‘graveyard’ silence, ineptitude and inaction by the President Muhammadu Buhari to the violence perpetrated by armed Fulani herdsmen.

The group warned that Nigeria could dangerously be on the path of civil war if nothing is done.

Also, the group warned the law enforcement agencies to rein in their commanders and management to stop deploying armed security operatives to work in cohort with suspected armed Fulani herdsmen to create anarchy and civil unrest across Nigeria.

HURIWA in a statement by its

head, Emmanuel Onwubiko, alleged that some top commanders within the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, without any express authorisation from the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, had illegally deployed armed soldiers to invade Awgu, an Enugu State community, whereby 76 indigenous Igbo farmers were arrested and hauled into the Umuahia prison for allegedly resisting the plots and activities of some Fulani herdsmen to annex some of their ancestral farmlands for the purposes of grazing of cattle.

The group strongly recommended the security operatives acting in the most efficiently professional manners to immediately dismantle and arrest the armed Fulani herdsmen “who are currently engaging in the criminal kidnap of prominent Nigerians for

the purposes of extorting heavy ransoms.”

HURIWAparticularly condemned the kidnap in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State of a Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Aniako Celestine, was abducted by suspected Fulani herdsmen recently on his way from his home town, Ezeagu.

The rights group therefore said military and police commanders within the South-east must stop “this dangerous trend,” adding that the fact that the herdsmen demanded a ransom of N10 million through the hostage’s mobile number has demonstrated the sophisticated nature of this crime.

It wondered why the law enforcement agents are yet to deploy the necessary tracking technological systems to arrest these armed kidnappers.

HURIWA stated that: “The frightening report in the dailies that the activities of herdsmen in Ugwuleshi, Awgu Local Government Area of the state last week, led to destruction of farmland and livestock worth millions of naira and the detention of 76 members of the community, who were later granted bail by Umuahia Magistrate’s Court last Friday, following Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s intervention, is a serious cause for concern.

“The further aggravating news that Fulani herdsmen had also killed two sisters in Abbi last month leaving 17 houses burnt is reprehensible and abominable. The president should therefore implement transparent measures to disarm these armed Fulani marauders who are currently rampaging all across Nigerian communities.

53

T H I S D AY Ëž ESDAY APRIL 6, 2016

ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ăš ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ? ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ™Ăœ Duro Ikhazuagbe Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă– duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

NFF Given One Month to Submit Report on Foreign Coach Olawale Ajimotokan Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, has mandated the Technical Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to furnish him with a report detailing the viability of employing a foreign technical adviser for the Super Eagles, including the source of his salary.

Dalung asked that the report should be ready and sent to him within four weeks.

NFF Board headed by Amaju Pinnick is inclined to hiring a foreign coach as the only way forward, following the Eagles’ failure to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon next year.

But addressing the press after the expanded meeting of the board yesterday that reviewed the AFCON debacle, Dalung asked the NFF to send to him a technical report in four weeks, detailing the specifics required in employing a foreign coach.

He also sought to know how the coach will be paid as government is not in a position to cushion the salary of the foreign manager. “The report from the main

actors should tell us what happened (during the failed AFCON 2017 qualifier) and the way forward. We must take our destiny into our own hands, but if we want to hire a foreign coach, the enabling sources of funds should be provided. NFF must tell us if they can afford to pay a foreign technical adviser. In the future, however, the rampant hiring and firing of coaches should be a thing of history in our football,’’ Dalung said.

Though NFF is funded by government which pays a monthly grant of N150 million, the subvention does not cover the salary of coaches which is raised from other means, including sponsorship fees and grants from international governing body, FIFA. Yesterday’s meeting unanimously agreed that Nigeria came short in the qualifying

The All Progressives Congress, (APC) Governorship aspirant in the September 10 election in Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has revealed plans to restore versatile sporting activities in the state as a way of creating jobs for youths.

Obaseki stated this yesterday at the Edo Football Association final match between Inneh Football Club and Dynamite Football club of Benin at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.

Inneh FC defeated Dynamite 3-0 to emerge champions.

Obaseki who is the chairman of the state’s Economic Team described as disturbing the little support for sports by individuals and companies in the state, noting that there will be a policy formulated to ensure that people involved in sports are supported and funded adequately as at when due.

According to him, “It is very exciting for us and the whole sport industry is something we must encourage. You know part of our agenda is to create jobs and

Sunday Oliseh and Samson Siasia, who filled in the gap after Stephen Keshi, who guided Nigeria to victory at the AFCON in South

as a way of identifying talent and plugging the architectural problem inherent in Nigeria’s sports development.

Bayern 1-0 Benfica Barca 2-1 Atletico TODAY Wolfsburg v R’ Madrid PSG v Man City

we see sport as an opportunity to create lots of jobs. You can see the energetic young men, very talented and fit, the way they have played is something we must encourage and sustain. “What is distressing is that the resources required is not a lot and when I inquired how much it will cost to support a club it was less than N5million a year and that I am sure can be afforded by individuals and companies in Edo state. “We are formulating a policy to encourage sports particularly football and the Edo state league and I will make sure that both the boys and girls playing football are supported.

Inneh FC players made their intent to win the trophy known early on when they grabbed the opener under 45 seconds before they sealed an emphatic victory with two late goals to send their fans into rapturous celebrations.

In the women’s final, Edo Queens triumphed over Martin White Doves 2-0, while Fortress Princess came third. Buffalo FC defeated last year’s winners BJ Foundation in the men’s third-place game.

Luis Suarez celebrating his brace in Barcelonaí s 2≠1 defeat of Atletico Madrid in UEFA Champions League... last night

Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Others Ready for 4th Okpekpe Race As many as eight countries will participate in next month’s fourth Okpekpe International 10km Road Race in Okpekpe, Edo State.

In a statement by the spokesman for the race, Dare Esan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Israel, Uganda, Morocco, Bahrain and of course Nigeria would participate in the IAAF Bronze label race scheduled to hold May 7. “Our international elite athletes manager, Walter Abmayr, has confirmed the participation of athletes from seven countries

abroad for the May 7, 2016 race,�

Esan confirmed yesterday. “This is in fulfillment of the IAAF conditions for a label race.

The rules state that all label races, from gold to bronze must have a certain number of international elite field spread across four or five countries depending on the class of the label,�explains Esan who added that the desire of the Okpekpe organisers is to move to the silver label rating by next year. “Bronze Label races must have an international elite field with

line-up to commemorate the fifth edition of the award.

Idowu noted that Nigerian Sports Award has built for itself a reputation of a credible and respectable award set up to recognize and reward outstanding performances by Nigerian Athletes. ‘’We are very excited and planning to ensure that the 5th edition of the Nigerian Sports Award which is an anniversary edition is better than the past four

a minimum of five men and five women participating in the competition and a minimum of four different nationalities must be represented,� Esan revealed.

For gold and silver labeled races, the international elite field is a minimum of five men and five women from at least five different nationalities.

This, according to Esan, could be, for example, elite men from three countries and elite women from two countries for mixed gender races which Okpekpe is. “It is clear that we are already

on the right track for a silver label rating come next year. From the list of confirmed athletes for the race, we have as many athletes from six different nationalities for the men and three for the women,� he said.

The Okpekpe international 10km road race is the only IAAF label road race in West Africa and one of only two in Africa this year.

It is organised by Pamodzi Sports Marketing in conjunction with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria.

Omoluwa Propels Kaduna Investment through Golf The Kaduna State Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA) was officially unveiled at the Kaduna Golf Club Invitational Tournament last Saturday.The event was solely sponsored by Pinnacle Investment Group, whose Chairman is Lucky Omoluwa, an astute businessman and international investor. The

event attracted numerous investors and corporate big wigs into the state.

Omoluwa incidentally has a long history that revolves around the game of golf in the state.

He came to Kaduna in 1972, as a professional golfer, and through his efforts, golf courses in Nigeria

Organisers Set for Anniversary Edition of Nigerian Sports Award The organisers of the Nigerian Sports Award (NSA), Unmissable Incentives Limited is set to commence activities for the 5th anniversary edition of the most prestigious sports award in Nigeria.

According to the Executive Director, Unmissable Incentives Limited, Mr. Kayode Idowu, the 2016 edition of the Nigerian Sports Award promises to be very exciting with series of activities

Africa in 2013 was sacked.

Dalung similarly said that Nigeria should consider a strategic investment in grassroots sports

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Obaseki Unveils Plan for Sports as Inneh FC Wins Edo FA Cup Adibe Emenyonu Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă˜Ă“Ă˜ ÓÞã

campaign for the Africa Cup of Nations because of instability, lack of internal cohesion and the use of too many players by coaches

editions not only about the award night event but also in all aspects of the awards from nominations, participation and attendance by the nominees ’’ he said Kayode Idowu stated that the Nigerian Sports Award is the country’s number one sports award recognised by the Federal Ministry of Youth & Sports, National Sports Commission (NSC), the Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC), all sports federation and the Sports

Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN).

Recounting the success of the 2015 edition of the award, Idowu revealed that the award was further given credence by the attendance of the Minister of Sport, Mr. Solomon Dalung, the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Alhassan Yakmut, Nigerian Football Federation President, Amaju Pinnick among others.

Defence Academy, Kaduna, Command and Staff College, Jaji, and the Cantonment Golf Club in Minna, were all constructed.

In his desire to increase the awareness of the game in Kaduna and make the game accessible to more people, he provided free golf kits to many intended players. Omoluwa’s sponsorship of the tournament was seen by all, as an indication of the return to the glorious days of the sport in the state.

In his speech, Omoluwa praised the foresight of the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir-el Rufai in establishing KADIPA and is confident that with him at the helm of affairs, the state would surely experience development and growth.

He assured the people of his firm commitment to partner the state in its development goals and agenda and also assist in

staging golf tournaments as a vehicle of attracting Investors to the State and stimulate growth and development.

The businessman was of the firm view that golf can do so much for business and investment in the State, and there will be need for all hands to be on deck to support the good policies of the governor.

In closing, el Rufai, who is also a golfer, remarked, “I am delighted to see my brother, Lucky is back, after going outside to make fortunes. I am just coming from Paris where I held talks with officials of Peugeot and I can assure you Peugeot is coming back to Kaduna, and with the person of Lucky coming back to Kaduna, I am sure our investment can only hit the top in a very short time. I know Lucky very well and I know what he can do.�

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MISSILE

Buhari to PDP

“In the First Republic, more enduring infrastructure were built with meagre resources. But in the past 16 years, we made a lot of money without planning for the rainy day.” – President Muhammadu Buhari blaming the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the current poverty because it failed to plan for the rainy day.

KAYODEKOMOLAFE When Silence is not Golden O THE HORIZON

ne of the passions for which the great nationalist Anthony Enahoro would be remembered was his unyielding advocacy for a return to parliamentary system of government.

Clearly, he preferred the British system. Enahoro was acknowledged as one of the most brilliant debaters in the national parliament of the First Republic. Things changed with the promulgation of the 1979 Constitution; Nigeria adopted a presidential system, the American system.

Among the points that fascinated Enahoro in the parliamentary system was the way the system held the government accountable on a daily basis.

During the Question Time in the British parliament, the prime minister and his cabinet are made to defend their policies and respond to questions from the opposition. So the prime minister or any other minister for that matter could not claim to be “talking as a technocrat” while addressing issues in parliament. In any case, every minister is first elected as a politician before getting a portfolio. As a result, the debate about policies and implementation is not only a matter of election but also a continuous affair. It is the business of those in government to defend and explain policies.

Accountability demands that it should be done all the time. It is, in fact, a democratic imperative.

Continuous policy debate as part of a culture of governmental responsibility might not be one of the great things Enahoro would say distinguished the parliamentary system from the presidential system. But even in the presidential system, policies are not just handed down by “technocrats” in power as if their statements are creeds that the people must swallow as a matter of faith. Debates continue even as implementation proceeds. That is what happened to the Healthcare programme of President Barracks Obama, which his opponents have dubbed “Obamacare.” The defence of the policy is not just technical; it has been fiercely political and ideological. Extreme right-wing elements have called him a “communist” for daring to articulate a policy that could secure health insurance for about 48 million socially unprotected Americans. At the foreign policy level, Obama continues to defend the nuclear deal with Iran while his opponents continue to assail the policy. So in both systems, government is constantly held accountable at the policy level.

Unfortunately, the trend in Nigeria since the restoration of civil rule in 1999 has been a departure from the foregoing. Accountability is perceived as only a matter of naira and kobo, a sort of bookkeeping. Policy accountability is not taken seriously by the government. The government does not feel compelled to justify policies (or explain lack of it) and apologise for failures when they occur. People feel the anguish as result of policy failure or lack of policy. Worse still, a credible explanation or defence is not forthcoming from those given responsibilities to manage the affairs of the nation. Silence cannot be said to be golden in such a circumstance.

Now, the nation faces enormous socio-economic and political challenges. It is within democratic culture to expect that a national conversation should be generated around these issues. What is taking place does not seem to fit the bill of the type of conversation being advocated here.

If you question why things are not working, you are immediately pigeonholed as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). And if you try to make a sense out of the efforts of the Buhari administration, the opponents would promptly label you as a staunch member of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Yet there should still be a huge

kayode.komolafe@thisdaylive.com

Buhari space outside these political territories for citizens who are only prompted by their sense of civic responsibility to raise questions and caution politicians in power and outside power about the direction of the nation. The conversation that is required in the public sphere is too important to be left as a shouting match between APC and PDP. Instead of debating policies that should be implemented in the next three years, politicians are busy fasttracking campaigns for the 2019 elections. It is a most cynical way to treat the sensibilities of the electorate. Again, it is sad to note that the public sphere itself is too ideologically impoverished to offer imaginative ideas on the way forward. So the silence is not only on the part of the ministers; the public sphere too is not robust enough to debate policy alternatives. The sphere is rather polluted by hate speech, insults and abuse while people on the street cannot go beyond lamentation. This forebodes serious socio-political underdevelopment.

Take a sample. Last week, power generation reportedly crashed to zero megawatt for about three hours! However, the sort of conversation that should be taking place about the problematic power sector is sorely lacking. The people are only expected to have faith that the technocrats are working to solve the problem even when the results point to the otherwise. This has been the story since the making of the Power Sector Reform Act of 2005. The law has provided the basis for the privatisation in the sector. From the Obasanjo administration to the present one, the efficacy of the privatisation as a panacea to the

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problem of the sector has never been questioned.

No one is even asking if the process could have been better managed.

So all we hear are the technical lectures by experts and technocrats years after the process of privatisation began. The voices of the technocrats are so loud that fundamental and critical questions about the privatisation process are easily drowned.

The influence of the technocrats on the public opinion is akin to what the Italian Marxist, Antonio Gramsci, would call “ideological hegemony.”

Yet recent economic history around the world has recorded failed privatisation programmes. Yes! Privatisation has not always worked in all cases regardless of what our neo-liberal technocrats may say to the otherwise.

Meanwhile, here it is almost sacrilegious to tell our technocrats that the worsening situation in the sector should compel some fundamental questions about the process and how to make things work better. For instance, beyond the problem of supply of gas, can we honestly look at the capacity of the private operators in the sector? It is often concealed that the capacity of the putative private sector in Nigeria is often exaggerated. The banks, for instance, were regarded as being among the strongest in the private sector even when they relied on funds from the much derided public sector to thrive. Could the situation in the power sector have been different if the privatisation had begun with a pilot project before embarking on a wholesale programme? With a pilot scheme some of the challenges being faced could have been studied and solutions mastered along the way. After all, there is sometimes a place for policy review. But our technocrats have no time for such as they present their technical arguments

as the gospel truth.

In a famous essay entitled “Don’t Trust Technocrats”, Nobel Prize Winner in Economics, Joseph Stiglitz, admonishes governments and the people about the oracular pronouncements of technocrats like this: Look at the litany of technocratically inspired examples of privatisation and deregulation in the 1990s. Banking “reform”, for example, frequently required government bailouts, leaving a few people much richer, but the country much poorer. These failures suggest we should have less confidence in the supposed skills of technocrats - or at least less confidence than they have in themselves. Technocrats play the same role in other sectors as they do in in the power sector in Nigeria. What is offensive is that they do so without a due sense of accountability as required in a liberal democratic setting.

Politicians in power should be reminded that they sought the people’s mandate and so they owe them an explanation as policy implementation proceeds. Technocrats never sought votes and so could not have made promises that should now be fulfilled. Perhaps, if the ministers were busy with some engaging policy articulation and explanation on the situation the worries about the foreign trips of President Muhammadu Buhari would be less on the part of the public. For the politicians outside power, their job should include proffering policy alternatives and not merely carrying on as if the nation is in an election mood now. Citizens (outside the orbits of APC and PDP) who have workable ideas on how to make Nigeria work for the greatest good of the greatest number should also not keep silent. Let there be an informed and sincere national conversation about the problem at hand.

The conversation that is required in the public sphere is too important to be left as a shouting match between APC and PDP. Instead of debating policies that should be implemented in the next three years, politicians are busy fasttracking campaigns for the 2019 elections

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