Wednesday 15th June 2016

Umar’s PA Tells Court How CCT Chairman Met Severally with Accused Facing Trial in His Court Tobi Soniyi inAbuja An Abuja High Court was yesterday told that the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Mr. Danladi Yakubu Umar,

met several times in his chamber with a retired Deputy Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service

(NCS), Mr. Rasheed Taiwo Owolabi, who was standing trial before him on false assets declaration charges.

A former personal assistant to the CCT Chairman, Mr. Ali Gambo Abdullahi, told the court while giving evidence

in a trial within a trial on the disputed statement he made to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in

PDP: Sheriff Acted Lawlessly, May Be Acting APC Script… Page 11

respect of a N10 million bribe allegedly demanded by the CCT chairman from the accused person in order to strike out the charges against him.

Continued on page 8

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The World Waits for Emefiele’s Flexible Exchange Rate Today CBN may adopt single window, devalue naira FG to secure N90bn loan for states Obinna Chima in Lagos and James Emejo in Abuja Three weeks after he announced the introduction of a flexible exchange rate regime, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria

(CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, will today finally unveil the much-anticipated guidelines paving the way for the new forex regime, THISDAY exclusively learnt yesterday.

Continued on page 8

NNPC: How Part of $12.9bn NLNG Dividend Was Spent Says balance now with CBN, DPR to revalue oil blocks assigned to NPDC EIA: Nigeria may add surplus oil in 2017 FG will ensure lasting peace in N’Delta, says Kachikwu Ejiofor Alike in Lagos, Chineme Okafor in Abuja and Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa with agency report The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday finally provided clarification on

how part of the $12.9 billion dividends it received from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Company Ltd over an eight-year period on behalf of the federation was spent.

Continued on page 8

Inflation Rises to Six-year A SPECIAL 53RD BIRTHDAY FOR AMBODE Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (left) and his wife, Bolanle (second right), being welcomed by Miss Teniola and Masters Temitayo Kayode and Iseoluwa Okesanya, during a Special #GivingTuesday organised by the High of 15.6%… Page 51 Egbesola Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP-Nigeria) to mark the Ambode’s 53rd birthday, in Lagos… yesterday

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PAGE EIGHT NNPC: HOW PART OF $12.9BN NLNG DIVIDEND WAS SPENT The corporation also said the balance of the dividend has been moved to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), adding that it was no longer housing the money in line with the federal government’s directive on the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

NNPC stated in Abuja when the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) convened a stakeholders’ dialogue on the 2013 audit report of activities in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, that it took and ploughed back part of the dividends to the new trains that were built by the NLNG. It equally listed BrassLNG and OlokolaLNG projects, as well as other gas projects it did not mention, as beneficiaries of the dividend payouts.

BrassLNG and OlokolaLNG projects have not taken off as no final investment decision (FID) has been taken on either of the projects by their shareholders.

NNPC explained that the reinvestment in NLNG was part of its equity contribution to the cost of expanding the company’s trains. NLNG currently has six trains producing 22 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG. Construction of a seventh train to complement the existing six-train structure is however expected and this will increase its total production capacity to 30MTPA. NEITI had in the 2013 audit report it released last month, stated that while NLNG paid dividends meant for the federation to NNPC, the corporation never remitted same to the government over an eight0year period. It said the total dividends since 2005 amounted to $12.9 billion.

But responding to this on the sidelines of the meeting, NNPC’s Group General Manager, Debt Management, Mr. Godwin Okonkwo told journalists that the corporation had not committed any illegality in the management of the funds.

He said: “Before now, the position was that NLNG belongs to the federal government and NNPC was an arm of the federal government. NLNG dividends are there and if there was any

kobo that went out of it, it was done with the approval of the federal government.

“No kobo leaves NLNG dividends without appropriate approval. Part of the spending for NLNG dividends was the development of NLNG trains, BrassLNG and OlokolaLNG and it is not right for anybody to say the money is now missing.”

He further stated: “And with the current regime who says NLNG belongs to the federation, the balance of NLNG money has been moved over to the CBN. The money is not with the NNPC. “Any amount removed from the funds was done with appropriate approval; like funding of the trains for NLNG, the Brass and Olokola LNG projects and other gas-related projects.

“The balance of that we transferred to the TSA with the CBN. Nothing leaves there without appropriate approval.

NNPC is not a disorganised place where people do things anyhow.”

Okonkwo who also made efforts to justify the transfer of oil blocks to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a transaction the NEITI flagged off as not following due process, explained that the objective for the assignment was well intended.

He said the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has however taken up the asset assignment and would now evaluate its appropriate value to determine if the federation was owed monies as suggested by the NEITI and other audit reports.

“NPDC is being reorganised into asset management teams to ensure that it starts afresh to operate better than its peers in the industry and begins to make money, not only for NNPC, but to put NNPC in the position to declare dividends payable to the federation.

“The objective of the assignment was well intended.

The DPR is evaluating what should be paid to the federation as the appropriate value for the assigned blocks,” he added.

He also admitted that the NPDC had made mistakes in the past with some of its

operations, but that those mistakes were being corrected by the present leadership of the NNPC. In another development, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said that unplanned crude oil production outages

by Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), particularly Nigeria and Libya, as well as non-OPEC countries, coupled with robust demand from emerging economies, have contributed to balancing the oil market in 2016.

In its Oil Market Report (OMR) for June released yesterday, IEA, a Paris-based energy advisor for over 26 industrialised countries, however added that the present equilibrium in the oil market will tilt into surplus if Nigeria resolves the security issues in the Niger Delta and ramps up production in 2017.

The report said outages in OPEC and non-OPEC countries cut global oil supply by nearly 800,000 barrels per day in May. According to the agency, at the present global output of 95.4 million barrels per day, production stood 590,000 bpd below a year earlier - the first significant drop since early 2013.

This development stemmed from spending cuts by producing companies and outages, which reduced nonOPEC production by 1.3 million bpd from a year earlier.

According to the agency, having fallen by 900,000 bpd in 2016, non-OPEC supply growth is expected to rise by 200,000 bpd in 2017, lifting output to 57 million bpd.

The report added that non-OPEC supply growth is expected to return in 2017 at a modest 200,000 barrels per day, after declining by 900,000 bpd in 2016.

“The only other substantial increase from OPEC in 2017 could be from Nigeria, should security issues in the Niger Delta be resolved,” said the report.

“At halfway in 2016, the oil market looks to be balancing; but we must not forget that there are large volumes of shut-in production, mainly in Nigeria and Libya that could return to the market and the strong start for oil demand growth seen this year

might not be maintained,” the agency said.

“We must stress that this is our first look at 2017 and the huge number of moving parts will see us amend our numbers accordingly. However ... the direction of travel seems to be clear,” the IEA added.

“Iran has clearly emerged as OPEC’s fastest source of supply growth this year, with an anticipated annual gain of nearly 700,000 bpd,” IEA said.

IEA predicted that the demand growth in 2017 is likely to reach 1.3 million barrels per day, stressing that the most of the anticipated demand growth this year and in 2017 is expected to come from nations that are not part of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

“Global oil demand growth in the first quarter of 2016 has been revised upwards to 1.6 million bpd and for 2016 growth will now be 1.3 million bpd.

In 2017 we will see the same rate of growth and global demand will reach 97.4 million bpd. Non-OECD nations will provide most of the expected gains in both years.

“The growth rate is slightly above the previous trend, mostly due to relatively low crude oil prices. Commercial inventories in the OECD increased from March levels by 14.4 million barrels to stand at 3,065 million barrels by end-April, an impressive 222 million barrels above one year earlier.

“As the US driving season kicks off, OECD gasoline stocks stand above average levels and last year in absolute and days of forward demand terms. There is a similar picture in China,’ the report added.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government yesterday assured the people of the Niger Delta that it would ensure that the ongoing efforts aimed at addressing the crisis in the region would last.

The government noted that the issue of insecurity in the region was being handled with all the seriousness it deserves, stressing that the measures were not cosmetic but intended to achieve enduring peace and stability in the area.

A statement by the Chief

UMAR’S PA TELLS COURT HOW CCT CHAIRMAN MET SEVERALLY WITH ACCUSED FACING TRIAL IN HIS COURT The witness, who was cross-examined by the EFCC counsel, Mr. Andrew Akoja, told Justice Chizobia Oji that it was at the end of the last meeting the accused person had with the CCT chairman that the sum of N1.8 million was paid into his (Abdullahi’s) account by the ex-customs official.

However, contrary to the statement he made on August 12, 2013 that the N1.8 million was part payment of the N10 million bribe meant for the CCT chairman, the witness said the money was deposited into his Zenith Bank account by the accused person to offset the medical bill of his ailing father.

The witness further told the court that he never met with the former deputy comptrollergeneral of Customs until he started visiting the CCT chairman in the course of his trial and that the money was paid to him immediately after the last visit to his boss.

Confronted with the statement where he implicated the CCT chairman on the N10 million bribery saga, Abdullahi said that the statement he first made on the issue was done under duress and based on the inducement promised him by operatives of the EFCC who investigated the petition of the ex-Customs man in the matter.

Further cross-examined by the EFCC counsel, the witness, who read out some portions of the statement, identified his signature, admitted that he signed the statement and that he also signed an attestation confirming that his statement was made freely and voluntarily by him.

Earlier in his evidence-in-chief, Abdullahi had told the court that he was a protocol officer at the CCT when he was employed in 2009 and that he later became the personal assistant to the chairman.

He told the court that he got to know the former Customs

officer during his numerous visits to his boss, revealing that during the last visit, the said Taiwo met him with sympathisers on the plight of his father and it was as a result of the plight of his father that prompted the payment of N1.8 million to cater for his father.

The witness said on August 12, 2013 he was invited to EFCC’s office in Abuja where he was confronted with a petition from the said Owolabi on the alleged N10 million bribe and that he made a statement on the same day and was allowed to go home on administrative bail but with a condition: to continue visiting EFCC twice a week pending the completion of the investigation.

He also informed the court that the following day, two directors from CCT followed him to the EFCC to perfect his bail condition and that in the course of his several visits to the commission, he made several

statements in addition to that of Auguat 12, 2013.

The witness said that the additional statements where he exonerated the CCT chairman were the true reflection of what transpired on the N10 million bribe and not his first statement of August 12, where he implicated the CCT boss as the beneficiary of the N1.8 million bribe.

He denied that his other statements where he exonerated the CCT boss were after-thoughts, adding that he was made to implicate his boss under duress and promises of inducement.

The trial judge, Justice Chizobia Oji, adjourned the adoption of addresses in the matter to October 20, 2016.

Abdullahi is facing trial for allegedly giving false information, but his denial of his first statement on the bribery allegation prompted the trial within a trial by Justice Oji to determine his claim of duress before admitting the statement in evidence as exhibit.

Press Secretary to Governor Seriake Dickson, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, quoted the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, as making the commitment during a visit to the governor.

Iworiso-Markson said that the minister was accompanied on the visit to the governor by the Special Adviser to the President and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd).

According to the statement, Kachikwu said the federal government was committed to “a financially-driven and economically motivated pattern” of resolving security concerns and development in Bayelsa and the entire region.

The minister appealed to the Niger Delta agitators to embrace dialogue for the common good of all stakeholders, noting that oil as a God-given resource was endowed in the region to unify the people of the country.

Also speaking, Boroh described the ongoing peace initiative as all-encompassing, adding that it was designed to engage all stakeholders, including fishermen in the creeks in terms of information gathering and dissemination

towards achieving “a seamless and peaceful Niger Delta”.

Dickson, Iworiso-Markson said, commended the federal government for its approach in building consensus towards proffering lasting solutions to ending insecurity in the Niger Delta.

He stated that the there were “no military wars to be fought in any community in the Niger Delta with armoured tanks and bullets but that of development, peace and prosperity”.

“But there are wars to be fought nevertheless. Those wars are wars of development, peace and stability and prosperity.

Wars to conquer and reverse the degradation that has been done to our environment,” Dickson was quoted as saying.

While noting that the challenges call for collaborative efforts, Dickson who called on the multinational oil companies to establish their corporate offices in Bayelsa State, said the move would assist in boosting the local economy through the payment of appropriate taxes and levies.

He lent his voice to the call on the Niger Delta agitators, community leaders and other stakeholders to embrace peace across the region, stressing that the people have a responsibility to ensure that the current peace initiatives succeed.

THE WORLD WAITS FOR EMEFIELE’S FLEXIBLE EXCHANGE RATE TODAY This is just as the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, disclosed that the federal government has resolved to facilitate a N90 billion loan for the 36 states of the federation to enable them meet their obligations, but cautioned that it should not be deemed a bailout for the states but a facility with stringent conditions attached to it.

A top CBN official, who confirmed yesterday that Emefiele would brief the press today on the flexible exchange regime however did not provide further details on what the guidelines would entail.

He said the CBN was now adequately prepared and has the firepower to support the new flexible forex regime, adding: “Once it is announced, we expect to see stability in the forex market and some appreciation in the parallel market that will reduce the gap between the official and informal forex market rates.”

Another source with the central bank however revealed that he expects the central bank governor, having held wide consultations with stakeholders in the financial markets on the new structure for the forex market, to announce a single window, not a two-tier forex exchange regime with a special intervention window for critical transactions as announced by the governor after last month’s meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

The source added that he expects Emefiele to also announce a devaluation of the naira to an adjustable rate that will be determined by a two-way quote system.

“The naira will be devalued tomorrow (today) and will be market-driven going forward

by a two-way quote system,” the source revealed.

The CBN has been hamstrung by dwindling oil earnings, brought on by low oil prices and the violent activities of militants in the Niger Delta.

Both had combined to reduce the country’s monthly oil revenue from an all-time high of $3.2 billion about two years ago to about $500,000 in April.

Experiencing great difficulties funding the nation’s imports as a result of scarce foreign exchange, a situation that put increasing pressure on the naira, the CBN for over a year pegged the naira at N197-N199 to the dollar and imposed currency curbs on certain items.

Its obstinacy was worsened

by President Muhammadu Buhari’s ill-advised opposition to the devaluation of the naira.

But as the economy contracted and plunged into a recession, foreign investors fled the economy and inflation spiralled, the central bank was Continued on page 10

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WAEC Certificate: Buhari Files Appeal against Ruling Dismissing His Objection Davidson Iriekpen President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed the ruling of Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja who on May 26, 2016 dismissed his preliminary objection in a suit filed by an Abuja-based legal practitioner, Mr. Nnamdi Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe.

Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe had alleged that Buhari was unqualified to aspire to the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because he did not sit for the Cambridge West African School Certificate WASC) in 1961 as he claimed.

When the suit came up on May 26, Buhari in his preliminary objection challenged the mode of service of the originating summons on him, insisting that he ought to have been served at an address in Kaduna instead of by substituted means at the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja.

However, Justice Ademola,

in his ruling, had held that it was incompetent and upheld the service of the originating court processes on Buhari.

The judge held that the service of the court’s processes on the president through the secretariat of the APC was proper.

The court was satisfied that if it was served on a senior officer of the APC at the national headquarters, it would be brought to Buhari’s attention.

Dissatisfied with this ruling, Buhari through his legal team filed a notice of appeal at the Court of Appeal, Abuja Judicial Division on seven grounds of appeal.

The president’s legal team, which endorsed the notice of appeal, is led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN).

Others are Mr. Lateef O. Fagbemi (SAN), Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), Oluwarotimi O. Akeredolu (SAN), Kola Awodein (SAN), Prof. Taiwo Osipitan (SAN), Charles Edosomwan (SAN), Emeka Ngige (SAN), Femi Atoyebi (SAN), Femi Falana (SAN),

Funke Aboyade (SAN), H.O. Afolabi (SAN), Muiz Banire (SAN), and 10 other counsel.

When contacted on the phone, the plaintiff, Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe said the president has the constitutional right of appeal and was within his rights to exercise it particularly since he had not yet submitted a defence to the substantive action and had filed nothing in defence of the merits of the case.

Meanwhile, the Principal Registrar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Mr. Jane Egbo, has issued a summons to the parties to appear before her on Monday, June 13, 2016 to settle the records of the president’s appeal.

Also, a check at the Registry of the Federal High Court, Abuja confirmed that the plaintiff has filed an application to amend his originating summons to include prayers for the nullification of the election of Buhari, as he was not qualified ab initio to contest the election having contravened the Electoral Act

Buhari and committed perjury in claiming to have had a WASC when he never even sat for the examination.

The plaintiff also wants to add prayers for the court to order the Independent

National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Buhari and issue a fresh one to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan who came second in the 2015

presidential election.

The plaintiff's motion on notice for amendment of his originating summons has been served on all the defendants and will come up for hearing on Thursday, June 16, 2016.

Microsoft to Buy LinkedIn for $26.2bn Computer software giant, Microsoft Corporation, said yesterday it would acquire business-oriented social networking service, LinkedIn Corporation, for $26.2 billion.

It said that the move was to seek new growth opportunities for its business productivity tools.

Microsoft, once the world’s No. 1 software giant for personal computers (PCs), is a multinational technology company, with headquarters

in Richmond, Washington.

Under a definitive agreement, Microsoft will buy LinkedIn, based in Mountain View, California, for $196 per share in cash and the transaction is expected to close this year.

Microsoft’s Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said: “The deal is to bring together the world’s leading professional cloud with the world’s leading professional network.”

The deal is the biggest since he assumed the position in early 2014.

Microsoft, which has moved its Office application suite from a set of personal computer productivity tools to a cloud service known as Office 365 and now has 1.2 billion users, finds a connection with LinkedIn. It runs an online network connecting more than 400 million professionals worldwide.

“We are in pursuit of a common mission centred on empowering people and organisations,” Nadella explained in an email to employees.

“Along with the new growth in our Office 365 commercial and Dynamics businesses, this deal is key to our bold ambition to reinvent productivity and business processes.

“Microsoft Dynamics offers businesses an integrated

productivity solution,” Nadella said.

Nadella said that when people found jobs, “build skills, sell, market and get work done, they need a connected professional world which brings together a professional’s information in LinkedIn’s public network”.

On LinkedIn’s growth and strength, Microsoft listed a number of parameters registered in the past year, including 19 per cent growth

year-over-year to more than 433 million members worldwide.

It would also have nine per cent growth to more than 105 million unique visiting members per month, 49 per cent growth to 60 per cent mobile usage and 34 per cent growth to more than 45 billion quarterly member-page views.

Also included in the parameter is 101 per cent growth to more than seven million active job listings.

Asked whether allocations from states' share from the monthly Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) would be affected as a result of the proposed credit arrangement, the minister said: “We are not suspending allocation from the Federation Account as it will still be there.

“For now, we need to support the states and they have agreed to that and the lenders are ready to make an advance to them to help them through the period.”

On the conditions attached to the loan, she said: “When you want to borrow money, the lenders set the conditions and these conditions are very stringent conditions and they are 22 of them and the states have signed up to them.

“The governors unanimously approved the plan, the commissioners approved the plan and it’s going to involve a lot of work in some places.

“They have to clean up their ghost workers, they

have to set up efficiency unit, they have to reduce their recurrent expenditure, they have to publish their accounts – there are a lot of tough conditions.

“So the governors and commissioners recognise that these reforms are necessary if they want states to be fiscally sustainable.”

Adeosun further stated that under the new dispensation in fiscal sustainability among the tiers of government, every state must now strive to be economically viable by embarking on public-private sector partnerships to unleash their potentials.

She said: “Every state must be viable. We cannot have a situation where states are so dependent on the Federation Account for their revenues and once Federation Account is down they cannot survive.”

According to her, “We have to make sure that within each state, whatever local advantage they have is exploited.

“So if there is no private sector to collect taxes from, maybe there are agricultural produce which can be developed and the states can use that to generate revenue.

“What we are saying is that every single state is a centre of prosperity, every state should go and look inwards and work to generate its own IGR and have the discipline to ensure that they can pay salaries, clear out wastage, so that as the economy improves, we can actually improve to grow with the future.

“The objective of the fiscal sustainability plan is to achieve it in an 18-month period and that is the condition for the loan and it’s not a bailout.”

Responding on behalf of the state commissioners, the Jigawa State Commissioner for Finance Umaru Namadi expressed gratitude to the federal government, assuring it that the states would abide by the conditions of the loan.

THE WORLD WAITS FOR EMEFIELE’S FLEXIBLE EXCHANGE RATE TODAY forced to rethink its forex policy in order to open up the forex market while conserving forex reserves.

The dollar currently trades at N365 on the parallel market.

At the last MPC meeting held last month, members agreed to hold all policy rates constant and introduce greater flexibility in managing the forex rate. As a result of this, a lot of investors were cautiously optimistic and indeed excited.

Emefiele had said the central bank resolved to introduce greater flexibility in the foreign exchange market, but would retain a small window for critical transactions for prospective investors.

Since the announcement, the central bank has been consulting with stakeholders in the economy on the new forex policy.

N90bn Loan for States Meanwhile, the minister of finance yesterday disclosed that the federal government

had resolved to facilitate a N90 billon loan for the 36 states of the federation, but cautioned that it was not a bailout but a facility with stringent conditions attached to it.

“It’s actually a loan that is going to be repaid. It’s not a bailout,” she told journalists at a news briefing, shortly after a meeting with state commissioners of finance in Abuja.

The credit facility followed the approval of state governors to implement a comprehensive 22-point Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP) to among other things make critical reforms, cut wasteful spending, eliminate ghost workers on the payrolls of their respective states, as well as pay salaries electronically to workers’ individual accounts.

The minister explained that the loan would be raised from the private sector through the issuance of bonds which have been guaranteed by the

federal government.

She said: “That is the only way we can get the rates down. The federal government is guaranteeing the bonds and they are being issued in the normal manner that bonds are issued.”

According to her, the sum of N50 billion would be secured in the first three months and shared among the participating states which include all the 36 states, while another N40 billion would be activated for another nine months.

Adeosun said: “The idea is to tide states over for a year so that they can balance their portfolios which on average is about N1.3 billion for the states for the first three months and then N1.1 billion for the next nine months.

“It’s a loan and it’s going to be fully repaid because it’s been secured with future dividends, revenues and any amount that the federal government may owe the states.”

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2016 • T H I S D AY

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NEWS

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

PDP: Sheriff Acted Lawlessly, May Be Acting APC Script Governors BoT, N’Assembly caucus to meet over stand-off

PDP sufferring from its past sins, says APC Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

Confusion continued to reign within the ranks of the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the National Caretaker Committee (NCC) yesterday described the storming of the

national secretariat of the party by the ousted National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as lawless and detestable.

While responding to the comeback bid staged on Monday by the embattled former chairman, Sheriff, the spokesman of the PDP

Hope Rises for Power Sector as NNPC Announces Completion, Inauguration of Four Gas Projects

NCC, Prince Dayo Adeyeye said there was evidence of a possible role of the federal government in present crisis as can be seen through the level of security provided for Sheriff by a team of SSS men when he stormed the national secretariat yesterday.

“The All Progressives Congress (APC) has contracted Sheriff and his cohorts to scuttle the

chances of the PDP in the Edo governorship elections.

We have credible intelligence that Sheriff had a meeting last Sunday night with an APC governor from the North-west, where it was organised that he would be given full security and financial support to exacerbate the crisis in the PDP with the objective of preventing the PDP

from presenting a candidate for the Edo State governorship elections, or in the very least, prevent the PDP from offering a serious challenge to APC whose electoral fortunes has continued to nose-dive,” he said.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, Adeyeye said it had alerted the police of an impending invasion of the party’s premises

but was surprised how Sheriff and the other renegades were allowed to gain entry into the secretariat, where they later proceeded to address a press conference.

He said the party was still trying to understand the role of the police in the entire saga, adding that “it is curious that the police made no arrest of the

Cont’d on Pg 56

TCN completes 20 projects in Gwagwalada, Kaduna, Afam, Apo, Lekki, Omotosho

Chineme Okafor in Abuja A total of 855 million standard cubic feet (mmsfcd) of gas is expected to be added to the domestic gas supply in the short term in the next few months following the forecasted completion and inauguration of four infrastructure projects by Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) and International Oil Companies (IOCs), according to a report of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) at the sixth monthly meeting of the power sector operators.

In the submission made by the corporation in Kano last Monday at the meeting of operators in the power sector chaired by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, NNPC said about 70 per cent of the gas would be sent to power plants across the country for use in generation of power.

According to the corporation, it was estimated that the increase in gas supply to power plants would increase generation capacity by approximately 2000 megawatts (MW) by the middle of 2017 even as the meeting also resolved to persuade oil and gas producers to explore better ways of re-injection to boost oil production by using water instead of gas, in order to increase the amount of gas available for domestic consumption.

In the seven-point communique after the meeting which also had the Minister of State in the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Hon. Mustapha Baba Shehuri, in attendance, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) also reported the completion of 20 projects since the last meeting, listing the projects to include those in Gwagwalada, Kaduna, Afam, Apo, Lekki and Omotosho (Ondo State).

TCN, which said the completion of the projects should improve distribution in Abuja and Lagos, also announced its continuing efforts to improve electricity transmission to be reported at each subsequent meeting while it

also made a commitment to restore power to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, in the next month after a long period of outage.

Acknowledging the need to put in place a more robust mechanism on information sharing between the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, the electricity generation companies (GenCos) and the distribution companies (DisCos), the meeting noted that the public still refers operational issues to the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing that were better directed to GenCos and DisCos for operational action.

The meeting, which also sympathised with the victims of electrocution under the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), commended the company for prompt compensation to the victims while also deliberating on safety rankings presented by electricity industry regulators, the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA).

According to the resolution taken after the presentation, the meeting said the rankings would henceforth be circulated monthly and commended Port Harcourt Disco for the month of May for ranking first in safety.

The full ranking for metering, loss reduction and service delivery would be published in July 2016, the meeting resolved.

In furtherance of aggressive metering plans, the meeting commended Kano Disco for the launch of 68,000 out of its 100,000 meter roll out plan for 2016 while all Discos agreed to use all available media including social media to let the public know all the work being done to roll out metering.

The meeting also recognised the need for the Discos to reinvigorate their efforts to replace obsolete transformers and deploy new ones as necessary even as the Discos agreed to discharge their responsibility to provide transformers where required “so that communities are not required to provide transformers at their own expense in order to

Cont’d from Pg 56

SUPPORT FOR FARMERS

Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, assisted by Sultan Muhammad Saad Abubakar (middle), presenting a bag of fertilizer to a farmer, Mamman Abubakar, during the commencement of fertiliser sales for the 2016 wet season farming in Silame Local Government Area of the state...yesterday

EFCC Storms Obanikoro’s Lagos Home, Carts Away Valuables Commission denies allegations of harassment Jonathan’s cousin yet to meet bail conditions

Tobi Soniyi in Abuja and Chiemelie Ezeobi in Lagos In a surprise raid, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday stormed the Ikoyi, Lagos residence of the former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, and carted away valuables including cars.

Although the reason for the raid was yet to be ascertained, THISDAY gathered that it might not be unconnected with the part he allegedly played during the last general election and allegations bordering on corruption.

Reacting to the raid, Obanikoro, who spoke through his media aide, Jonathan Eze, said the agency harassed his innocent children, took away his cars, wristwatches and other valuables.

He said: “Officials of the EFCC today (yesterday), invaded Senator Obanikoro houses in Ikoyi with unnecessary intimidation and

harassment of occupants of the house who were majorly innocent children, teenagers, his wife and daughters in-law not without carting away cars, wristwatches and other valuables.

“This is against the backdrop of the fact that the anti-graft agency has never invited him or his sons for questioning beyond the tirades and allegations they have been propagating in the media spaces.

“We are using this medium to draw attention of all Nigerians to yet another infringement on the fundamental and inalienable rights of the Obanikoro family.

“Lovers of freedom should not wait until our democracy is put at irreversible damage. The list of human rights violations and political persecution has reached an alarming rate.

“We see this as an affront and a further show of shame and ignominy of this present administration hell bent on politically persecuting its perceived

opponents in other to stoop them and rubbish their hard earned reputation of untainted public services.

“To our chagrin, the vehicles driven away were cars and trucks bought since 2006 and thereabouts when Obanikoro served as Nigerian Ambassador to Ghana among others which obviously has no bearing with the purported investigation they are supposedly carrying out.

“We condemn in strong terms the brigandage and the idea of inflicting trauma on innocent dependants and violating their privacy without recourse to the rule of law.

“Obanikoro has consulted with his lawyers and are prepared to meet them in court to stop this intrusions and persecution.”

When contacted, EFCC spokesperson, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the story, adding that they never harassed Obanikoro or his two sons as

alleged.

He said: “It’s true that our men went there today. It’s part of the investigations involving Obanikoro and his two sons. I don’t want to go into details on why we are investigating him.

“Nobody was harassed.

Anybody familiar with the EFCC knows that we don’t harass people.

Our men went there to do their lawful duty.

“If we took anything during the raid, it’s because whenever we are investigating, anything that is related to the matter at hand, we will investigate those valuables too.”

Meanwhile, one week after he was granted bail by the Federal High Court in Abuja, a cousin to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Robert Azibola who is facing trial with his wife, Stella, is yet to meet his bail conditions to regain his freedom from Kuje Prison.

Cont’d from Pg 56

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WEDNESDAY JUNE 15, 2016 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY JUNE 15, 2016

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2016

COMMENT

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

KILLING OF DEFENCELESS CIVILIANS (2)

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It is the time to re-think the deployment of the military to restore order, argues Sonnie Ekwowusi

careful consideration of the defence of the military against the background of the pronouncements of many judges in many decided cases together with the opinions of many notable jurists and commentators clearly shows that a plea of self-defence neither avails nor exculpates the military from the murder of defenceless civilians. Under customary international law and as was decided in the popular Caroline case (1906), anticipatory self defence is lawful if the necessity is immediate, overwhelming and when there is no other choice. More importantly, the self defence must be proportional to the aggression offered. If it is in excess or far exceeds the aggression offered then the plea is bound to fail. Therefore for the military to succeed, it has to show that in the face of the deadly attack of the civilian protesters the soldiers were in such reasonable apprehension of death that the only option open to them at that time was to kill the civilian protesters.

From the sad tales of military killings in Odi, Choba, Niger Delta, Aba, Zaria and recently in Onitsha, it appears that soldiers deployed to the aforesaid cities went with pre-meditated intention to kill. Obviously, self defence cannot avail a person with pre-meditated intention to kill. In the case of Adeyinka Albert Laoye V The State (1984) Justice Karibi-White stated that self defence is unavailable in a case in which the person using force which causes death first started the assault with the intent to kill. In other words, self defence cannot avail a person who at the onset resolved to kill another person before the necessity of self defence or self preservation arises.

Another plea of the military is the doctrine of necessity. It argues that it intervened in the last Onitsha pro-Biafra agitation out of necessity to protect the strategic Niger Bridge and to “prevent re-enforcement of the pro-Biafran members apparently surging ahead from the far side of the strategic Niger Bridge at Onitsha”. With due respect, this defence clearly lacks merit. Although where life is in danger or imperilled or in an emergency situation such as war which endangers the safety of state, the necessity of saving life may justify certain actions which ordinarily are unlawful but such doctrine of necessity can only apply upon certain conditions such as (a) there must exist an imperative necessity arising from danger affecting the state; (b) the action must be proportionate to the necessity (c) action taken to meet the exigency must be the only available action (d) there must be incapacitation of the state security apparatus which normally maintains security. In his book, “A Constitutional History of Nigeria,” Prof B.O. Nwabueze, SAN persuasively argues that the doctrine of necessity recognised in both private and public law as a legal defence for an action otherwise unlawful but necessary to preserve the life of the state or society but that according to Glanville Williams the defence of necessity involves a choice of lesser evil and requires an adjudication between competing values and a sacrifice of one to the other. Applying this principle to the Onitsha massacre case, there was no imperative necessity arising from the danger of the Onitsha protesters that affected the safety of the state or threatened the lives of the military men warranting the killing of the civilian protesters. And even if such imperative necessity existed,

IF ALL THAT THE MILITARY DO WHEN INVITED TO QUELL CIVIL PROTEST OR INSURRECTION IS TO PUMP BULLETS INTO THE CROWD OF PROTESTERS, THEN IT SERVES NO PURPOSE INVITING THEM

the military should have resorted to doing a lesser evil that did not involve the taking of human life. For example, instead of shooting and killing the defenceless civilians, the military should have incapacitated them with tear-gas or rubber bullets or even tried to injure them to render them immobile or harmless.

Therefore the doctrine of necessity does not exculpate the military.

Come to think of it, if the military is so keen on protecting life in Nigeria as well as protecting the state, why hasn’t it waged a war against fully-armed Fulani herdsmen who have been freely going about killing and maiming their victims in different Nigerian communities? I think a time has come to re-think the involvement of the military in restoring order in Nigeria. I have just finished reading the respective contributions of Prof Itse Sagay SAN and Brigadier-General Patrick Ogah on the vexed subject matter. In his article, “Law and Security in Nigeria: The Role of the Military,” Brigadier-General Patrick Ogah was emphatic in stating that the military plays a complementary role in peace keeping in society. In other words, it is the primary duty of police, not the military, to routinely maintain peace and order in society.

Section 217(2)(c)(d) of the 1999 Constitution has in no unmistakable terms spelt out the circumstances and conditions under which the military can be invited to intervene in civil life. There are: (i) for the defence of Nigeria from external aggression. (ii) for the maintenance of the territorial integrity and securing the borders of Nigeria from violation on land, sea and air, (iii) for suppressing insurrection and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore order when called upon to do so by the President; subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly. Prof. Sagay SAN, Femi Falana SAN and others argue, and I agree them, that whilst the President of Nigeria can freely deploy our military to defend our country against aggression and to maintain our territorial integrity, he cannot freely do so against insurrection and other internal armed conflicts without “such conditions as may be prescribed by an Act of National Assembly, and “performing such other functions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly” pursuant to section 217(2)(c)(d) of the 1999 Constitution. It is obvious that the aforesaid constitutional provision was violated when military troop was deployed to Onitsha on May 30 this year to tackle the Onitsha civil protest. Therefore the deployment of military troop to Onitsha on May 30 was clearly unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.

As I said earlier, now is the time to re-think the deployment of military troops to restore order in Nigeria. In the Aba massacre soldiers were said to have shot and killed countless defenceless civilian protesters who were peacefully holding prayers inside a football field. This, in my humble view, is barbarism in its apogee. If all that the military do when invited to quell civil protest or insurrection is to pump bullets into the crowd of protesters then it serves no purpose inviting the military at all. And if the military must be invited there must be strict compliance with section 217(2)(c)(d) of the 1999 Constitution.

NO PARADISE, BUT BETTER THAN HELL

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esides the usual historical rendition that Nigeria became a political reality following the fusion of the Northern and Southern protectorates of the Niger River area in the interior coast of West Africa in 1914 by Lord Frederick Lugard, a British military administrator, Nigeria actually adopted a federal system of government in 1954. Even though still under colonial rule, party politics was ineluctably, the wheel of the nation’s political development. The leading parties then were: the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) which stood for political democracy in its classical, individualistic form; the Action Group of Nigeria (AG) which stood for federalist democracy; the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), which exemplified the modernisation of traditional political authority; and its radical opponent, the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) which espoused egalitarian democracy.

As a conservative party, pledged to preserve a reformed traditional order, the NPC wished to collaborate with conservatives in the Southern regions of the country. However, the Action Group and the NCNC were transregional parties with strong libertarian and egalitarian traditions. They could not come to terms with the NPC without repudiating many of their own political beliefs. The issue of regional versus transregional extension was the core of inter-party relations in 1959. After the Federal Parliamentary election of 1959, the NCNC joined with the NPC to form a government coalition of convenience, while the AG assumed the burden of parliamentary opposition to the federal government.

In opposition, the AG condemned both regionalism and social inequality, including capitalist and (in the North) quasi-feudal social relations. There was,

Desmond Orjiakor urges the PDP to put its house in order

indeed, a considerable magnitude of ideology in the manifestos of all the political parties in the First Republic. But the civil war destroyed regionalism as a political force.

In 1979, after about a decade of “reconstruction” under the supervision of the military, a quasifederalism had been preserved and strengthened.

Constitutional government with freedom of association to compete for state power had been restored.

However, the right to compete in elections had been restricted to political parties that had demonstrably national, rather than ethnic, religious or sectional foundations. Out of a total of 19 applicants, five political parties qualified to compete in the federal and state elections of 1979. Incidentally, almost all the five political parties and their presidential candidates were rooted in the foundations of parties of the First Republic. In fact, there was still some modicum of ideology in the political parties of the Second Republic. If politicians of the Second Republic were allowed to make their mistakes until they honed their politics to a considerable art, Nigeria would have been close to India today in terms of development. But they were halted by the military on December 31, 1983 led by the same man who has brought everything in the country to a halt today.

Therefore, periscoping the multiple crises that relentlessly attacked the PDP soon after it lost political power at the centre to the then opposition All Progressives Party (APC) during the 2015 presidential election and given the emergence of the present caretaker committee to pilot the affairs of the party in the interim, many analysts believe that there is a silver lining in the horizon. Formed in 1998 by 34 Nigerian elders and statesmen who felt the need to challenge the military and return the country to the path of growth and development through adherence

to genuine democratic ethos, the PDP saw the need to defend the democratic rights and freedom of the average Nigerian. There is no doubt that the nation transited to civil rule in 1999 after a prolonged disruption during which the military held sway.

Sadly, one cannot in all honesty say that genuine democratic practice started immediately. This was so because decades of military imposition stalled the evolution of a democratic culture. Like any other form of societal activity, inducing the acceptance of norms, attitudes and behaviour compatible with the functioning of a democratic culture was bound to take time. But in no time, the party started giving meaning to the anxiety of Nigerians for a liberal and accountable political atmosphere.

In spite of the fact that the new president then, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, had a military background, the PDP inculcated in its members a clear philosophical-cum ideological orientation as well as a sense of loyalty to a strong organisational structure anchored on disciplined esprit de corps, the result of which was its ability to hold Nigeria together for 16 unbroken years as a united country. Since the short transition period from military to civilians necessitated the coming together of strange bedfellows as members of the party, the forced cohabitation had clearly not been harmonious. Hence, the plethora of crises that threatened to put the mega-party out of circulation. But the party which in 16 years had succeeded in building a strong middle class and corresponding social safety nets to cushion the uncertainties of the economy could not have gone into the smoky air of oblivion.

Now, with the one year balance sheet of inefficiency and nonperformance of the APC-led federal government under General Muhammadu Buhari, the PDP has no choice than to co-opt the civil society, the organised labour and the media to

extricate Nigeria and its people from the jaws of establishment political sharks and pythons who in just one year have made the country so suffocating for Nigerians. Senator Ahmed Markafi, a tested and trusted politician and Senator Ben Obi, an ebullient and hardworking politician, Interim Chairman and Secretary, respectively, should sue for peace, bring all the aggrieved parties under the party umbrella and forge a united front. This is not the time for litigation. Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, the immediate past chairman, a patriot of no mean stature, should demonstrate his love for Nigeria and his party by accepting the current situation with equanimity bearing in mind that he will certainly become whatever Allah wants him to become through divine intervention.

The decline in standards in our political terrain can only be arrested by going back to basics. We have to build proper political parties anchored on structure and discipline, funded by the generality of its membership and bound together by coherent philosophical and ideological thrust. There is nothing new about this as PDP clearly manifested some of these attributes in the past. Secondly, all stakeholders must come together to fashion a national agreement on democratic principles, which must set out in clear, unambiguous terms, the way and manner in which the democratic process is to be operated. There is no longstanding democracy in which such an agreement, sometimes unwritten, does not guide the democratic system. Rejigging the PDP is not only in the interest of the party but also in the interest of Nigeria and the people who are now aware of the difference between politics and propaganda. A stitch in time sometimes saves more than nine.

Orjiakor is an Abuja-based commentator on national issues

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2016

EDITORIAL HABRE: A LESSON FOR AFRICAN DICTATORS The trial and conviction of the former Chadian dictator is a reminder that no matter how long, there will be consequences for impunity

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day to the end of the month of May, a significant event occurred in Dakar, the capital city of Senegal. Hissene Habre, a former dictator who ruled Chad with an iron hand for eight years, was convicted of crimes against humanity, including torture, summary execution and rape.

Except he wins the appeal his lawyers promised to file against the conviction, Habre will spend the rest of his life in jail.

“The court’s verdict is a huge victory for human rights and the rights of victims throughout Africa,” said Vukasin Petrovic, director for Africa programmes, Freedom House, who added: “By pursuing Hissene Habre on African soil, the nation of Senegal, with the support of the African Union, is setting a new standard of accountability for heads of state and other senior officials who ignore fundamental human rights and yet have avoided prosecution for crimes committed in power. Wrongdoers, no matter LEADERSHIP IS NOT A their status, can no LICENCE TO PLUNDER longer count on other PUBLIC WEALTH AND leaders protecting TRAMPLE ON THE RIGHTS them.”

OF PEOPLE; IT IS A SACRED Indeed, Habre’s MANDATE TO CATER TO trial and conviction THEIR WELFARE was a befitting consequence for his wholesome crimes against his own people, and a soothing balm on the deep wounds of his victims, many of whom were long dead while their relations and loved ones still carry the scar. Several of them were there in the court room when their former traducer was asked by the Extraordinary African Chambers, a special court put together by the African Union and Senegal, to go behind bars for ever. They pumped their clenched fists into the air, cheered and embraced one another in ecstatic jubilation over their victory against the man that had

Letters to the Editor

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brought so much sorrow to them.

Although it was long in coming, as it took 26 years to bring Habre to the law, it is nonetheless important that justice has finally been done. The former Chadian strongman was pushed out of office in 1990 by Idris Deby in a coup, forcing him to flee to Senegal where he had been living off his humongous loot from his extremely poor country. But his victims did not think wherever he was on earth could be too far for him to be brought to the temple of justice.

In 2001, a court in Senegal ruled that the former dictator could not be tried in the country for torture.

The victims, however, persisted in their quest for justice, and with the help of Human Rights Watch, Habre was arraigned before the special court last year. There he came full face with 90 of his victims who testified to his barbaric acts of torture, murder and sexual slavery.

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

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he trial and conviction of Habre is significant in many respects, particularly for its deterrence value that must by now have warned other African dictators that they would have their day with justice. Before Habre, there was the Liberian dictator, Charles Taylor, who had been tried and convicted for similar offences. There were also the trials of senior government officials of Rwanda for their roles in the genocide that occurred in that country in 1990.

However, the Chadian dictator is the first former leader to be so tried by an African court, sitting in the continent and backed by the African Union. It is a pointer to the growing sentiments not only against dictatorial rule and its devastating abuse of citizens’ rights, but also the uprising for justice, democracy and good governance. As Habre goes to jail, therefore, the lesson must not be lost on all those entrusted with the responsibility to govern the affairs of their people: leadership is not a licence to plunder public wealth and trample on the rights of people; it is a sacred mandate to cater to their welfare.

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CALLING ON POLICE AUTHORITIES IN BENUE

he activities of the Nigerian police in Benue State have become worrisome. If something cannot be done now to prevent more robbing of the people by the men of the force serving in the state, then, the police in Benue would soon begin robbing from house to house, causing panic and discomfort in peoples’ homes.

In the state capital, Makurdi, police men are arresting motorcyclists, both commercial and non commercial ones, collecting all their money, all in the name of “late hours.” Once it is 8pm, if the police found anybody riding motorcycle, such a motorcycle would be seized.

Thereafter, he would be asked to bring out everything on him if he wanted his motorcycle back. After giving them the money, they would still search your pocket for more money before giving you back your motorcycle. Is that right? Is that legal? Is that Godly? Is that not armed robbery? Is that not extortion? Is that not corruption? Are they not criminals? Are they not terrorists?

Aside the state capital, in some local government areas of the state like Kwande, Ushogo, Katsina-Ala, the police would arrest and ask you to present receipt for your handset, laptop, bag, etc. When you failed to do that, they would accuse you of being a criminal and threaten to take you to the station. As soon as you start begging, they would ask you to bring the money you have with you. They would collect your money and then return your handset, laptop, bag and so on. Is that the new system of checking crime?

I am speaking from experience. Recently, I left Abuja to Makurdi but got to Makurdi very late. The motorcyclist that had accepted to convey me to my house was speeding and I told him to slow down but he said that once it was eight o’clock, his journey would end. I asked him why? As he was trying to explain, the police were already

on the road, but it was not yet eight. Surprisingly, the police stopped him and asked him to bring the key to his motorcycle; he told them that “it is not yet 8pm”. One of the officers slapped him and collected the key from him. I was calm. I called the officer aside and asked him the meaning of what he did. He asked me to tell the motorcyclist to co-operate. If not, I would trek to my house. In my presence, the officer in question collected N2000 from the motorcyclist before giving him back the motorcycle. I left Makurdi the following day to Adikpo, the headquarters of Kwande Local Government Area of the state. I was heading to Ishagev-Ya on a motorcycle from Adikpo. On reaching where the police mounted a road block, they stopped us and asked me to open my bag and I did. They saw my laptop and demanded to see the receipt for it. I then asked: do I need to carry the receipt for my laptop to everywhere I am going? One of the officers got angry and vowed to deal with me for being rude. He called me a criminal and collected my laptop. I gently introduced myself to him, showed him my identity card. Thereafter, his boss, who was standing closeby, intervened. I said to him, “I must agree that you people are doing your job but the motive behind asking for my laptop’s receipt is to get money from me and I cannot give you anything.” He argued that it was not true, but finally gave the laptop back to me. Meanwhile, there were many people standing there, whose handsets and bags were seized from them because they were not having receipts. Is it right to carry the receipt of your handsets, bags, laptops and other things with you when you want to travel with them?

If the policemen serving in Benue State cannot be called to order by the appropriate authorities now, they will soon begin to ask for the receipt of the clothes you wear while travelling.

Awunah Pius Terwase, Mpape, Abuja

E SHALKUMBO: AN UPRIGHT CIVIL SERVANT

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rowing up in Gwadabawa ward in the 1980’s in the heart of Jimeta, he exhibited sense of discipline and moral ethics, which was as a result of his upbringing by his father, who was then serving with the Gongola State Police Command. Mr. Joseph Shalkumbo, even in his primary school days was never found wanting. Though a Kilba by tribe, a lot of people thought he hailed from Jimeta. He grew up in the cosmopolitan city with a lot of people including this writer in Gwadabawa ward. We attended the same primary school.

Immediately after the completion of his secondary education, he proceeded to the University of Maiduguri, where he studied engineering.

Upon his graduation and the mandatory one year National Youth Service, he was employed by the then Gongola State Government and posted to the state Water Board as water engineer where he served meticulously untill he was appointed the General Manager of the Adamawa State Water Board by the present governor. Joseph Shalkumbo has been with the water board since he graduated from the university. He is an astute engineer who proved his mettle in his chosen field of endeavour.

He is cool and level headed in the discharge of his responsibility as he does not have time for frivolity.

He can be naughty in the course of doing his official duties and he is one, who believes in the division of labour and always eager to share responsibility so as to achieve the desired goal.

No wonder, that his appointment was greeted with joy by not only staff of the Adamawa State Water Board, but the generality of the people in the state because they believe that Joseph is quite equal to the task in providing quality drinking water to the people of state.

Usman Santuraki, Demsawo jimeta, Yola

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY,JUNE 15, 2016

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

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

THE NEWSMAKER

In Kogi, It’s No Winner, No Vanquished For the Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, his victory in all the five cases filed against his election notwithstanding, it is a victory for all, his opponents inclusive. Yekini Jimoh writes

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he name of the first executive governor of Kogi State, the late Alhaji Abubakar Audu, who was also the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last governorship election will not be forgotten in a hurry by the people of the state. As the first executive governor of the state, he was generally said to have brought about rapid development to the state during his first term and so, when he was re-elected for a second term, he repeated similar feats in critical sectors of the state economy.

There is no doubt that his record as the governor etched his name in the consciousness of the people so much that when delegate members of the APC voted him as the party’s candidate in the November 2015 governorship election in the state, it was merely for the asking. He was indeed leading in that election when suddenly news broke out that he was dead. It was a painful piece of news to the entire people of the state because election was nearly concluded except for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to announce the winner.

His demise then brought in Alhaji Yahaya Bello, who was the runners up during APC primary election as the party’s replacement after series of meeting by its leadership. And by the time supplementary election was conducted, it was a walkover for Bello, who rode on the strength of the efforts of the late Audu.

But the running mate to Audu, Chief James Abiodun Faleke, challenged the nomination of Bello as well as the immediate past governor of the state, Captain Idris Wada and the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Mr Goodman Aku at the Kogi State Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal which sat in Abuja. At the end of the six months of the tribunal sitting, Justice Halima Muhammed affirmed the election of Alhaji Yahaya Bello as the validly elected governor of the state.

In a statewide broadcast following his judicial victories, Bello said “in this matter, I declare that there is neither victor nor vanquished.

Today, and as always, I celebrate the life and times of Prince Abubakar Audu, the first Executive Governor of Kogi State. It is our hope that those, who want to lay claim to his legacy will at least develop the same heart for the growth and development of Kogi State that he demonstrated throughout his lifetime.

“We will continue to honour him and recognise his contributions. It is against this backdrop that I immortalise our fallen hero by naming Kogi State University after him Prince Abubakar Audu University. To this end, I will send an executive Bill to the State House of Assembly for confirmation,” he promised.

He noted that a total of five Elections Petitions were filed against him by various actors, who also contested as candidates or not, but failed in those elections.

“They canvassed many legal issues, some of which were confronting the Nigerian Legal System for the first time. Lawyers on all sides found their professional ingenuity heavily tasked as they sought to make sense of provisions the Electoral Act, 2010 and the various Electoral Guidelines and Regulations in the light of the Constitution and extant Judicial Precedence.

“Punditry lost meaning in the plethora of

In a dispute between brothers of the same family, there cannot be a winner and a Loser. In this matter, I declare that there is neither Victor, nor Vanquished… It is my desire that Kogi State be united in purpose and action. In the days ahead, I will still continue my peace building and reconciliation efforts. I want to reiterate that there is room in the New Kogi for everyone to play a positive role in moving it to a greater height

Bello...now that the battle is ove

opinions canvassed in and out of court and in the news Media. The situation in Kogi State, for a while was the focus of most discussions wherever politically knowledgeable persons gathered to talk. We are thankful indeed that the Tribunal, despite what must have been unbearable pressure from many strong quarters stood her grounds on the side of Justice.

The governor stressed that the Petition by Honourable James Abiodun Faleke was a bit harder to come to terms with because it came from within the ranks of their great party, the APC. “It is never an easy task when a leader finds himself in conflict with elements of his own support group and I found it particularly hard to face off with fellow party men in the press and in court. Honourable James Faleke’s was a petition that greatly polarised our party at a time when we really needed to act as one in order to survive the heavy blow dealt the APC in Kogi State by the sudden and painful death of our leader, Prince Abubakar Audu.

“However, it has also served the purpose of giving every loyal member of our party who may have had concerns about the legality of the events that brought us into office a definite answer from the Judiciary itself.

“The Kogi State Elections Petitions Tribunal has proclaimed it loud and clear, five times this week for emphasis, that Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello was validly elected and returned as the winner of the 2015 Kogi State Gubernatorial Elections, that his swearing-in as the fourth Executive Governor of Kogi State was in accordance with the law in all respects and that he is duly entitled to exercise the powers of that office,” he stated.

Bello said he was sober because “in a dispute between brothers of the same family, there cannot be a winner and a Loser. In this matter, I declare that there is neither Victor, nor Vanquished.”

He noted that there is only the consolidation of the new direction agenda which it has pleased God to unveil for Kogi State in this season, and under his administration, as he enjoined all citizens of Kogi State to support our journey in this New Direction.

“It is my desire that Kogi State be united in purpose and action. In the days ahead, I will still continue my peace building and reconciliation efforts. I want to reiterate that there is room in the new Kogi for everyone to play a positive role in moving it to a greater height.”

The governor said he would particularly

reach out to the absentee members of the Kogi State House of Assembly at this time and urged them to return to their lawful duties.

“Now that the courts have spoken and nothing remains for any law-abiding citizen but to respect the judgment or appeal them if unsatisfied, I call on all our people, whether in the APC, PDP, LP, APGA, PPA, etc who have found themselves on one side or the other in the fallout from the last gubernatorial election to put aside all bitterness and rancour and join hands with us to develop Kogi State.

“I must also sound a serious note of warning to any unruly element, who may wish to use the failure of these petitions or any other reason for that matter, as a ruse to foment trouble anywhere within Kogi State to have a rethink. The Security Agencies are on Red Alert, and you can rest assured that all troublemakers will be apprehended, and they will face full wrath of the law,” he warned.

On the way forward, Bello said the New Direction Agency in Kogi State remains fully on course. He said following the disposal of these petitions and with the road ahead now cleared of the distractions and obstacles they constituted hitherto, he would formally unveil the full new direction blueprint in the coming week.

“The Blueprint will provide an insight into how to make government work for our people in all indices of development over the next four years, and beyond. Kogi State has all the potential to become the preferred tourism and business destination in all Hinterland of the Nation.

“The New Direction Blueprint, as promise during our Campaigns, is a Marshall plan – an actionable proposal for how we intend to activate those potential. Beyond that is a template for every enterprising individual willing to learn and act to identify a dream, pursue it and find fulfillment. It is our roadmap to lifting at least one million Kogites out of the national poverty index over the tenure of this administration,” he stated.

The people of the state do hope that with his victory, Bello will be more focused and determined to deliver on his promises for the state.

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY,JUNE 15, 2016

EVENTS&REPORTS

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

Ize-Iyamu’s Governorship Journey Begins…

A frontline governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Osagie IzeIyamu, recently declared his intention to contest the Edo State governorship election fixed for September 10. Iyobosa Uwugiaren, who was at the event, reports

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enin City, the state capital of Edo State was literally shot down last week, June 9 to be precise, when many of the uninvited visitors visited the ancient city. They came from the 18 local government areas of the state; some of them from outside the state.

With different bands entertaining the huge crowd made up of the young and the old, they were in a blissful mood, hopping up and down, boogying and hitting their foots on the ground as if they were being controlled by the demon. But they were not. They came to witness a ceremony – a “rough but hopeful” journey by Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu to occupy Denis Osadebe House, the Edo State number one political office through the gubernatorial election fixed for September 10 this year.

A leading governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ize-Iyamu, said his desire to contest the election is predicated on the change the state desires and not based on sloganeering or deceit.

“As the journey progresses, we shall keep you informed of all our activities and we enjoin you to be part of them. Our state cannot be left the way it is,” the governorship hopeful, who was excited by the show of love to him by thousands of supporters, states.

“We cannot continue in lamentation and suffering. Now is the time to change the unfortunate change. And the future they have always told us to wait for is not in another time; it is not in another election; it is now. This is what I represent and it is what I present to you; take it!’’

He said he had analysed the challenges facing the state, consulted widely across the 18 local government areas, and on the basis of his party’s manifesto, had come up with a robust blueprint to launch Edo State on the path to sustainable prosperity and holistic development.

The former Secretary to the Edo State Government stated after picking his form to contest the election on Thursday in Benin City that his move is a genuine roadmap to transform the state from its present “unacceptable condition of underdevelopment” to an attractive state with vibrant economy.

“My blueprint, code-named SIMPLE Agenda, offers measurable commitments that would be implemented with passion, single-mindedness, incisive competence and experience,” he stated.

Examining the issues at stake in the coming election, Ize-Iyamu said any government that intends to bring real development and prosperity to its citizens must focus on comprehensive and sustainable development that encompasses several aspects including improvement of infrastructure, health, education, human resource development, job creation, industrialisation, agriculture, security and improvement of municipal services in the state.

“Unfortunately, over the past seven years, Edo State has been denied this best practice approach to sustainable development. Rather, the state government has been obsessed with a single item, road maintenance. It completely neglected all other important areas of the development crying for attention,” he added.

The PDP chieftain who was accompanied to the state secretariat by a thousand of his supporters including, Christians, community leaders, market men and women, students from different high institutions in the state and others, said the state under the All Progressives Congress (APC) had not fared well in the past seven years. He said despite the receipt of colossal revenues that surpasses those of successive administrations, the state has the highest level of external debt of $168 million among the South-south states assuring of his determination to fix the state.

“As we proceed on this journey, I am mindful

Ize-Iyamu...taking the bull by the horn.

of the huge challenges ahead of us. I am aware of the apprehension of our adversaries and their desperation to maintain the status quo in spite of the cloud of depression that they have cast over the land. The change slogan they chant haunts them and justifiably so even as it reminds us that power is truly transient. But we shall prevail.

“As we begin this walk towards freedom,

As we proceed on this journey, I am mindful of the huge challenges ahead of us. I am aware of the apprehension of our adversaries and their desperation to maintain the status quo in spite of the cloud of depression that they have cast over the land. The change slogan they chant haunts them and justifiably so even as it reminds us that power is truly transient. But we shall prevail

I am conscious of the agony and the silent cries of our long-suffering people, who have been victims of the criminal neglect of our land despite abundant resources. I carry in my heart the affliction of a people that have been made to live under the hand of taskmasters.

“I am propelled to act, inspired by the hope and confidence that our people have freely reposed in my ability to change the change, reverse the retrogression, root out the rot and clean the messy stable so that Edo may truly experience the prosperity our people deserve and desire.”

The Director-General of former President Goodluck Jonathan Presidential Campaign in the state added: “Today, I make a solemn pledge of my commitment to give this noble enterprise my all, to do my best as could ever be expected of me.

“And sincerely, with the fear of God to run a government in Edo State that will be transparent and accountable; a government that will put the interest of the entire state far and above personal interest. I am irrevocably committed to ensuring the judicious use of our resources for the progress and development of the state.”

Ize-Iyamu added that though the journey to the Promised Land may not be long, he said the road would not be easy.

“No matter how rough and difficult the road may be, I have faith that with your prayers, wise counsel and sundry support, we shall overcome. Though we work through the valley of the shadow of death, God is with us and will not let us down,” he assured his supporters, adding, “He sees our heart and knows that we mean well. Therefore, we shall not be afraid of the terror by night or the arrows that flieth by the day (PS 91:5).

We go into this contest with the boldness and faith of David.

“No matter the size of the Goliath that the enemy confronts us with, in the name of

our God the king of kings and the Lord of lords, we shall be victorious and the name of the Lord shall be glorified.”

On how he intends to effectively mobilise resources to execute his projects if he wins the election, Ize-Iyamu said he plans to establish an economic management team that includes the best minds in the industry and a team leader that has the credentials to perform in a holistic and broad-based manner and not the one that will promote extortive taxation.

“Edo State presently does not have a blueprint for economic development, despite the new challenges facing the country. Within six months of our coming into office, we will convene an international Edo Development Summit that will sell the Edo brand to investors both at home and abroad.

“Edo citizens are some of the most enterprising and progressive minds in economic development both within and outside the country. We will reach out to them to support our efforts to re-build a new and prosperous Edo State.”

The Regional Pastor of the Redeemed Christ Church of God added that his economic model would be based on diversification to harness the immense economic potential that abound in the state, which include agriculture, solid minerals, oil/gas, cultural products and tourism.

A trained lawyer, the governorship hopeful said although taxation would remain a veritable part of revenue generation in his government, the administration’s policy on taxation would be pursued alongside a wealth creation policy that will bring about economic empowerment of the people so as to promote happiness among the greater majority of the people.

He also promised to plug financial leakages, improve efficiency in public expenditure and build a robust and sustainable financial base for the state that will include transparent public procurement process and procedures to ensure value for money, and a leading edge funds management system anchored on cutting edge technology.

On security, he said the change he intends to purse would build brand new security system that collects information and data from all security agencies and is able to analyse and use the information to identify threat and take appropriate and timely action to deal with them proactively and decisively.

Other areas he promised to pay more attention if elected include social welfare, infrastructure development and urban renewal, road and drains, electrification, water supply, healthcare, environmental health and sanitation, housing and education.

“The programme on education under our stewardship will ensure that no Edo child is left behind. Edo State under our leadership will provide free and compulsory education from primary school up to the end of junior secondary school,” Ize-Iyamu further stated, appealing to the leaders of PDP to ensure that the process that will lead to emergency of the candidate is free, fair and acceptable to all stakeholders.

Already, the campaign organisation of the “presumptive” PDP governorship candidate has started to sensitise the people regarding the details of the recently unveiled SIMPLE agenda, tagged “A manifesto of hope”.

The group said sensitisation would be delivered to the people in a sector-by-sector analysis in order to help them know how Ize-Iyamu intends to fast track the transformation of Edo State through transparent, effective and accountable governance that will improve the living standards and social well-being of our people.

“We encourage the good people of Edo State to follow these series of analysis by our team of experts and social media commentators,” the group appealed to the people. The PDP primary election is fixed for September 20.

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY,JUNE 15, 2016

UPDATE&TRENDING

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

With Umahi, New Hope Beckons for PDP

With the election of Austin Umahi as the new Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party for the South-east zone, chances are that the party might get back on track, Benjamin Nworie writes

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t’s the wish of members of the Peoples Democratic Party that old things should pass away and let new life begin in the party. It’s also the wish of the PDP fans and supporters that the party’s historical defeat should not demoralise the party from forging ahead and strategising to reclaim power in subsequent elections in the country, taking notes of the factors that pulled the party down. However, with Austin Umahi, as the new Vice Chairman of PDP in the South-east zone, the party stands good chances to reclaim its lost glory.

With the internal crises and mudslinging that riddled the Peoples Democratic Party, which unfortunately led to the factionalisation of the party by the aggrieved stalwarts in 2014, when some governors broke away at the national convention of the party to form the New PDP, which contributed to the loss of the presidential election, the party has been advised to properly look inwards, and devise a functional approach in dealing with varied interests and internal politics.

The problem of PDP has majorly hinged on clash of interest and over-bearing tendencies of some bigwigs, who always want their voices to be heard in all matters. With the defeat of the party in 2015, after being in power for 16 years, hoping to rule for 60 years, the PDP is expected to critically examine the situations and challenges that led to its defeat in the presidential election.

To start the examination, the need to elect credible and popular officers that would steer the ship of governance in all the wards, local, state, zonal and national levels should be of paramount importance.

Over time, people of the South-east, known as Ndi Igbo had adopted the PDP as a true nationalist party and this may underscore the fact that it has remained a dominant political party in the zone. However, with the victory of the APC at the presidential election, Observers believed that if PDP did not put its house in order and resolve its intra-party differences, the APC may begin to occupy the political territory in the zone. This is because the Igbos can’t adapt or survive in opposition coupled with their age long marginalisation in the country.

In Ebonyi State, the PDP though has existed seriously unchallenged since the return of democracy in 1999; it has always put to bear some of the issues that may trigger mixed feelings among stakeholders and members at a distance.

In the just concluded congresses, which were adjudged to be the most credible and peaceful in the state as most of the executives emerged unopposed, the reconciliation and harmonisation strategies paid off in the peaceful conduct of

After a solemn search and series of zoning arrangements and peaceful harmonisation, the leaders of the party found the proper and fit person in Ebonyi state. In this apparent journey of self-recovery, the PDP has taken a bold step to elect a person of proven character, groomed in the private sector to lift the party to an enviable height…With him, no doubt, PDP would be rebuilt and rebranded and would therefore serve as reference point for emulation

Umahi...all eyes on him

the congresses.

This is also not surprising because the state governor, David Umahi, who was once the state PDP chairman must have known the intrigues and demands of party politics and did not relent or take a softer line in making sure that PDP has leaders that would lead it to victory in subsequent elections in the state.

In preparing itself to retake its lost glory in the zone, the PDP is expected to extend its tentacles to the two opposition states in the South-east – Anambra and Imo – and other zones in the country. The South-east needs a leader that will not be parochial; a leader that will place public interest above his or group; a leader that will not succumb to intimidation just to dance to the tone of some power brokers or so called god-fathers; a true leader that will belong to everybody and at the same time, belong to nobody.

The party craves a leader that will pay optimum attention to superior demands of the people and the party in accordance with the constitution; most importantly, a leader that will be accountable, transparent and abhors bribery and corruption – a leader that will not give preference to the highest bidder and will be a good manager of people and resources.

After a solemn search and series of zoning arrangements and peaceful harmonisation, the leaders of the party found the proper and fit person in Ebonyi state. In this apparent journey of self-recovery, the PDP has taken a bold step to elect a person of proven character, groomed in the private sector to lift the party to an enviable height.

At the Michael Okpara Square in Enugu on

May 14, the party overwhelmingly elected a Chartered Accountant, Mr Austin Umahi, who is the younger brother to the Ebonyi State governor to pilot the affairs of the party in the zone, as the zonal vice chairman, replacing Col. Austin Akobundu (Rtd).

The Choice of Umahi has been described in many quarters as a welcome development and a right step in the right direction so that he would handle the party with as much dexterity and commitment. With him, no doubt, PDP would be rebuilt and rebranded and would therefore serve as reference point for emulation.

Not only because he’s the younger brother to the governor, Umahi, too has also contributed immensely to the stability, peace and growth of the PDP in Ebonyi State. As hopes and open doors beckon on the party with Umahi’s election in the zone, he has maintained that part of his cardinal points was to reach out to the aggrieved members and embark on a serious membership drive that would be rooted on true and genuine reconciliation.

As a servant leader, Umahi said he would work cordially with the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremmadu; Governors of Abia (Okezie Ikpeazu); Ebonyi (David Umahi); Enugu (Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi), National and state assembly members, PDP states chairmen, captains of industries and all the stakeholders in all the five states in the zone.

He promised to abide by the constitution of the party in his official conducts and to have a wider horizon to go into Anambra and Imo to recapture the two states, noting that what destroyed the party was intra party politics.

For Anambra, he noted that the ruling party

in the state, APGA has remained their worthy partner but it would not stop PDP from winning the state so that they would become a superior partner with the All Progressives Grand Alliance.

But in the case of Imo, he expressed confidence that PDP has the opportunity to recapture the state because with what’s happening in the state, the Imolites have seen that there was no alternative to the PDP. “We were not really united inside the party and that was why other parties took advantage of it. Let us tell ourselves the truth, one thing that destroyed the two states is the clash of the titans. As the new VC of South-east, I will go into wide and serious consultation.

“I am ready to learn and listen. Some people, in truth, have been aggrieved and wronged. We must say this bitter truth by calling a spade, a spade. We will try to talk to them and see how they will come back to the party and see how to rebuild the party and make it what it was and what it ought to be.”

He noted that there were big and enormous challenges and there were going to be obstacles but the obstacles would be his climbing ladder.

“APC is campaigning for PDP. It’s just for PDP to put their house in order and possess their possession. This is because people are already disenchanted, disillusioned; they want PDP’s real change not hardship.”

It’s expected that as Umahi takes charge of the PDP in the South-east, he would imbue in himself, the developmental initiatives and wisdom known to his family, by surpassing the good works of his brother in Ebonyi so that stability, peace and unity will continue to exist in the party.

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY,JUNE 8, 2016

ONTHEWATCH

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

Of June 12 and Ondo’s Democratic Credentials In Ondo State, Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s celebration of June 12 is instructive, writes Kayode Akinmade

Governor Mimiko on one of the buses with students.

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ashorun MKO Abiola, Nigeria’s democracy martyr joined his illustrious ancestors 18 years ago, but his name rings a bell still. Offering nothing but a programme to actualise the dream of Nigeria’s underprivileged to live a decent life, Abiola, or MKO as he was (and still is) fondly called, encouraged by the unprecedented pull of universal goodwill he enjoyed, plunged himself fully into the 1993 presidential project. From North to South, East and West, Nigerians trooped out and chorused in unison: “MKO is our man o.”

At his first outing on the political scene in the Second Republic, he had not been of the progressive fold, but time and tide soon forged different – and oh yes, noble – circumstances and the greatest Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba modern history joined up with the very people he should have started with, clothed in humility

In Ondo, a state run by a true disciple of the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, June 12 has always been celebrated in style, not by a public holiday but through lectures and symposia and celebration of life-changing projects dedicated to the memory of MKO. For on June 12, 2012 it was that the Dr. Olusegun Mimiko administration rolled out the free shuttle buses that have made schooling such a pleasure in the Sunshine State

Abiola...the hero of democracy.

and brimming with the zeal to make a change.

His was real change anchored on a distinguished, widely travelled and exposed solid intellectualism.

It was change anchored on the depth of proven achievements spanning decades of excellence; a change that even the downtrodden men and women of the uniformed services embraced with fervour, knowing that it was bound to bring a smile.

However, the election already clearly won by Abiola was annulled. Many lost their lives in the melee that ensued but Sani Abacha, who would be named in 2004 as the fourth most corrupt leader in all of history, was to later assume office and execute the most brutal dictatorship ever in the national history.

And so the nation, today, remembers June 12 in different ways. Lectures are given and

rhetoric published in the media, even by those who aborted June 12.

In Ondo, a state run by a true disciple of the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, June 12 has always been celebrated in style, not by a public holiday but through lectures and symposia and celebration of life-changing projects dedicated to the memory of MKO. For on June 12, 2012 it was that the Dr. Olusegun Mimiko administration rolled out the free shuttle buses that have made schooling such a pleasure in the Sunshine State.

The shuttle buses convey primary and secondary school students to and from school, easing their transportation burden. The scheme started with 39 buses in 2012 and by 2013, the fleet increased to 90. It is a tribute to efficient management that, till date, all the buses are on the road in good condition.

The Mimiko administration had taken bold steps to institutionalise the programme through a bill to the Ondo State House of Assembly, which will ensure that the programme outlives it. That is a hallmark of progressivism. It has also honoured its pledge to extend the services of the buses, and shuttle boats, to the remaining local government areas in the state that were previously not enjoying it.

The Ondo youngsters get to school in time and without hassles, ready to learn, and stories of students lost to okada (motorbike) accidents have become alien to Ondo State. Most youths in Nigeria today simply do not know Chief MKO Abiola, the progenitor of the current democratic climate. But on June 12, Mimiko reminds youths in Ondo State that the free shuttle buses they enjoy is part of the life-changing projects, which MKO would have executed had he been allowed to utilise the mandate freely given to him by Nigerians. The people-oriented scheme has indeed empowered parents and guardians as it has substantially alleviated the financial and physical burden of transporting their children to and from school daily.

It is on record that its services since inception exactly three years ago have been running uninterrupted. The scheme has been civil servant-driven since inception and this is a demonstration of the efficiency of the Ondo State civil service.

Speaking during the June 12 celebrations held at the State Cultural Centre, Adegbemile, Akure last year, Dr. Mimiko promised that “we shall continue to honour these patriots, not just in rhetoric but by seeking to actualise the noble values of good governance and democracy which many of them lived and died for.

“We shall continue to consolidate on our numerous programmes targeted at improving the livelihoods of the people and residents of our state, and focus on the governance content of June 12. As we remember June 12, we, as critical stakeholders in the project Nigeria, must continually play the game with the sole aim of deepening the country’s democratic culture and peaceful co-existence among the various political, religious, ethnic and socio-economic entities.”

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2016 • T H I S D AY

FEATURES

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

Who Will Save Telecom Subscribers?

Subscribers of mobile network providers in the country are brazenly ripped off on a daily basis with no protection from the relevant regulatory bodies Adedayo Adejobi writes

A mobile phone dealer at Ejigbo Market, Lagos

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unty Matilda is getting on in years but remains fiercely independent; she lives on a fixed income but in the same home she’s had for half-a-century. Sadly, many members of her family have passed away and those who are alive are dispersed around the country. Making matters worse, she is having a harder time making sense of her never-ending stream of bills, especially her mobile phone bills.

This reporter regularly visits Aunty Matilda to keep her company and to help her pay her bills. When I arrived one morning recently, she was in a state. She had attempted to place a long-distance call through her mobile network provider but found that her service had been summarily stopped. If this had been the first time that this had occurred, I would have assumed it was a technical screw-up and accepted it as an inconvenience. Unfortunately, this was the umpteenth time the service had been arbitrarily stopped and a distraught Aunty Matilda said, “Enough, already,” and ended service with the mobile network

provider.

If you live in Nigeria, there is a good chance you’ve been overwhelmed by your drop calls, hidden charges, undelivered text messages that are billed countless times and internet -wireless plan. Simply using a device essential to your daily life, you are daily ripped off! Nigerians have lost count of the many ways they daily

Sometimes when I load my phone, my call credit goes away without subscribing to the purported tariff plan that sweeps away my call units. All their tariff packages are so fraudulent. I am daily ripped off

get ripped off.

One common expectation of any consumer is to get his or her money worth for services paid for. However, when it comes to Nigeria, no matter how much demand consumers make, they are still likely to be given less value for their hard-earned money.

Fredrick Kunle Adegboye, another subscriber, laments thus: “You do not have to be a subscriber to know how poor they are with their services. I never subscribed to Facebook on my phone as I only use my phone to call and send text messages, but my mobile network provider has been charging me 25 naira every week since last year, 2015, for service I did not apply for or use! If the phone of every person you try to reach is not switched off, then all the people you are calling are busy on their phones.

“If there is no network congestion, then the call you are paying for will cut off anytime the conversation is getting interesting. If the internet dungle, wi-fi or modem you purchased will not take forever to open a page, then it will discon-

nect the moment you see something that you really want to read or look at. If the little rains will not disrupt your internet service, it will surely make it excessively slow. If the credit (units) on your phone is not being stolen when you have not used them, then you are a lucky Nigerian.”

Amaka Eze a subscriber to one of the mobile network providers in an anger-laden voice said, “it gets really frustrating when I am trying to make very important phone calls and I am told I have no credit to make a call when my balance says otherwise. If I do not have to wait till my battery dies before I get to speak to a customer service agent, he or she will intentionally cut the phone call when I begin to tell them my problem and figure they cannot help.”

According to Bimbo Amusan, an aggrieved subscriber, “sometimes when I load my phone, my call credit goes away without subscribing to the purported tariff plan that sweeps away my call units. All their tariff packages are so fraudulent. I am daily ripped off. How cruel can they be?”

Local and foreign telecommunications companies operating in the country take

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2016 • T H I S D AY

FEATURES

comfort in having millions of customers locked into unfriendly plans. The government at federal level as a regulator has taken a break from doing much of anything to mull over this.

Nigeria’s current economy and, by extension, political crisis is a tale of the return of corporate trusts. It involves not only the financial institutions deemed too-big-to-fail, but the health-insurance combine, the energy conglomerates and the duopoly of telecommunications and cable-entertainment companies that dominate the Nigerian economy. Each is engaged in the systematic plunder of the Nigerian consumer, providing less service at increasingly inflated prices. All done under the blind eyes of federal regulators that are not doing their job.

Nothing offers a better insight into the ongoing telecom rip-off and the complicity of the regulatory bodies that have ostensible oversight over the telecom industry than a careful consideration of a hypothetical telephone bill, Aunty Matilda’s bill. For there is no better way to conceal a theft than to make it so transparently visible that no one sees it.

Conventional telecom bills from all the network providers can be a “stand alone” local bill, long distance, Internet, broadband or a combination of these as a package of services. Each is a minefield of hidden fees, questionable surcharges and dubious taxes all designed to enrich the telecom’s bottom line without requiring any meaningful improvement in customer service.

The old arguments in defence of high data charges in Nigeria cannot be justified.

Telecommunication companies in Nigeria have mature 3G networks and have rolled out 4G (LTE) networks targeting areas of high population density initially. All over the world, technology costs have continued to fall. Backhaul, core and international bandwidth costs have continued to fall, but on the flipside the costs keep skyrocketing in Nigeria In the days of NITEL, local service used to be a “bundled” service before emergence of mobile telecom companies in 2007 which came with unlimited local phone calling, unlimited directory assistance, package of free calls, call waiting, caller ID and call forwarding, data bundle and international roaming charges amongst a retinue of other anomalies, thus allowing the consumer pay a whopping skyrocketing 51 per cent in specific hidden charges.

Adding insult to injury, these charges are taxed over 33 per cent covering both federal and state taxes.

For the Aunty Matilda and countless millions of Nigerians who still use such service, they are being systematically ripped off.

Making matters more confusing, there are more than 30 different active plans with fees ranging from N500 toN20,000.00

In theory, the NCC is supposed to make sure that the Telcos, who are leaseholders on the public spectrum, actually serve the public interest. In reality, the agency has been letting the telephone industry rip off Nigerians for almost a decade under the laughable theory that there’s actually real competition in the market

Mobile phone users at Ejigbo Market, Lagos.

Minister of Communication, Barr. Adebayo Shittu

per month.

Nigerian telecommunications companies are increasingly promoting “packages” that

benefit heavy users, but “low volume” customers like Aunty Matilda pay a lot more.

A major problem is the basic confusion in the offering between the advertised price and the billed fee sent to customers that can be 15-40 per cent higher.

Telecom regulation suffers the same fate as did the banks under the watch-less eye of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). No regulator has jurisdiction over fraudulent phone bills. No regulator has actually examined all the charges on the phone bills. Hiding behind the claim that industry deregulation has taken place recently, regulators readily allow market competition fix everything to the detriment of the suffering average Nigerians.

For Nigerians, one of the most frustrating aspects of mobile devices is paying for data that’s not used one month and then paying an exorbitant amount for going over the plan allowance the next month.

Pundits say this situation is likely to only get worse as further industry consolidation takes place with networks introducing Broadband plan, thus raising customer telecommunications rates in five different ways namely, the service tax on all long distance and local call rates, Broadband tax.

The telecom fibre optics upgrade which the providers undergo and pass the cost to consumers, the rip off is one of the great scams perpetrated against the Nigerian people.

The billions so far charged Nigerian telecom customers for these upgrades were based on promises to enhance Internet connectivity at offices, schools, libraries and hospitals. Sadly, little of this promise has taken place. All that telecom customers can count on is seeing their bills steadily rise.

In theory, the NCC is supposed to make sure that the Telcos, who are leaseholders on the public spectrum, actually serve the public interest. In reality, the agency has been letting the telephone industry rip off Nigerians for almost a decade under the laughable theory that there’s actually real competition in the market.

The telephone wireless industry is particularly uncompetitive and consumer unfriendly, allowed by regulators to do horrible things to customers to switch carriers. The NCC clearly needs to rouse itself and crack down on a whole host of abusive practices, strengthen policies that safeguard competition.

Aunty Matilda at the age of 60, she is a victim of consumer rip off and wants justice. It is a call we should all embrace as we contest the tyranny of the telecommunication companies in Nigeria.

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IMAGES

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Mohammed Bello (middle), and his Water Resources counterpart, Mr. Suleiman Adamu (right) being welcomed on arrival for the regular meeting of the National Council on Water Reform by the master of ceremony, Mr. Yusuf Addy from NTA, in Abuja...recently enock reuben

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, JUNE15, 2016

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

Members of the Electricity Consumer Protection Forum (ECPF), Ogun State chapter, in a peaceful protest to register their displeasure over the non-availability of free prepaid meters for users, blackout and crazy bills for consumers, in Sango Otta, Ogun State...recently kola olasupo

L-R: Executive Board Member, Sebeccly Cancer Care, Engr. (Mrs.) Adetoro Omojole; Patron, Prof. Josbert Duncan; Executive Director, Sebeccly Cancer Care, Dr. Omolola Salako; and Brand and Communication, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Tochukwu Ononiwu, during the press conference on the 10th years anniversary celebration of Sebeccly Cancer Care in Lagos...recently . kolawole alli

L-R: Managing Director/CEO, Proshare Nigeria Limited/book previewer, Mr Femi Awoyemi; Commissioner for Special Duties, Lagos State, Hon. Seye Oladejo; former Chairman, Omole Phase 2 Community Development Association/celebrant, Oluwatobi Nathaniel Oduyale; and chairman of the occasion, Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Empowerment, Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Durosinmi Etti, during the public presentation and launching of a book entitled “Tobi Oduyale: A legacy of service to community and God”, in Lagos...recently

L-R: Managing Director, Commstrat Limited, Hakeem Adenekan; Chief Brand Strategist, Big & Bold Communications Limited, Jide Adeyemi; Director, Telecoms and Technology Research, TNS Nigeria, Fikayo Aremu; and the Executive Director, Big & Bold Communications, Ranti Agunloye, during the unveiling of the New work station and anniversary of Big and Bold Communications, in Lagos...recently

Founder and CEO, Hunger Relief NGO, FoodClique Support Initiative, Mr Bolajoko Fadipe (right), presenting a plaque to Senator Theodore Orji after the public hearing of the freedom from hunger bill sponsored by Orji, at the National Assembly, Abuja...recently

L-R: Chairman, Shirley’s Confectioneries, Amarachi Chyna Iwuanyanwu; Brand Ambassador, Olajumoke Orisagunna; and CEO, Shirley Adaora Iwuanyanwu, during a visit to the internally displaced persons’ camp, at the new Kuchigoro village, in Abuja Municipal Area Council...recently

L-R: Director, MTN Foundation, Mrs. Aisha Sadauki; representative of the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on National Planning, Mr. Sanusi Musa; Senior Manager, Government Relations, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Austin Iyashere; and the nominator, Mr. Buhari Nazinu, during the appreciation party for nominators of MTN Foundation, in the Phase 1 of the ‘What Can We Do Together Initiative’, in Kaduna...recently

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2016

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

J U N E 6.9949% 7.2368% 8.0819%

1 0 ,

1-MONTH 9-MONTH 12-MONTH

2 0 1 6

9.2061% 9.5872% 10.5042%

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

Quick Takes Lagos Business School Receives Donation

YOUR INVESTMENT IS SAFE

L-R: Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Berger Paints Nigeria Plc, Mr. Peter Folikwe; Chairman, Dr. Oladimeji Alo and Company Secretary, Mrs. Oluseun Oluwole; at the company’s annual general meeting in Lagos...recently

Nigeria’s Current Account Deficits to Hit $14.6bn in 2017 EromoseleAbiodun As the decline in crude oil prices continues to take a toll on Nigeria’s balance of trade, experts have predicted that the country’s current account deficits will rise to $20.0 billion by the end of this year and recover to $14.6 billion in 2017, equivalent to 4.2 per cent and 3.1 per cent of gross domestic products (GDP) respectively.

Current account deficit is a measurement of a country’s trade in which the value of goods and services it imports exceeds the value of goods and services it exports. The current account also includes

ECONOMY net income, such as interest and dividends, as well as transfers, such as foreign aid, though these components tend to make up a smaller percentage of the current account than exports and imports. The current account is a calculation of a country’s foreign transactions, and along with the capital account is a component of a country’s balance of payment.

In a report made available to THISDAY, analysts at FBN Quest stressed that a turnaround in the current account hinges upon a marked recovery in the oil price, “which we do not see

before 2018, and/or significant import compression as a result of substitution policies.”

Recent numbers released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that Nigeria’s current account deficit eased to -$2.01 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015 or 1.5 per cent of quarterly GDP.Net investment flows on the financial account were negative, at $1.13 billion, but net errors and omissions of $3.14 billion covered the gap.

The experts stated that the once compelling argument for portfolio investment has been undermined by the emergence of sizeable delays in repatriations and by the CBN’s exchange-rate

policies.

They added: “We are waiting to see what it has in mind in terms of greater “flexibility.”

Other inflows consist largely of loans and deposits. On the flows, Nigeria remains a contender for steady if unspectacular Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the grounds of demographics and consumption potential.

“Net errors and omissions were the largest financing items for the final three quarters of 2015. The grey areas in the balance of payments (BoP) include investment by Nigerian Continued on page 24

Investor Protection: Private Funds to Have Separate Custodians Goddy Egene Strong indications have emerged that managers of private funds will be mandated to have separate custodians and trustees as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) moves to strengthen regulations guiding managed funds and protect investors.

THISDAY had last week reported that SEC would be amending the rules guiding managed funds and make them more stringent as part of efforts to protect investors in nation’s capital market.

The amendment and introduction of new rules follows from the outcome of BGL Plc saga that led to the banning of its group

CAPITAL MARKET managing director, Mr. Albert Okumagba from capital market activities for 20 years.

A market source had last week said: “New rules mandating registration of privately managed funds apart from the conventional collective investment schemes would be introduced to the market. From every indication, the commission is already talking with the Funds Managers Association of Nigeria (FMAN) in that regard.”

THISDAY checks revealed that one of the new rules will includes mandating managers of private funds to ensure that they have separate custody of the funds.

“Years back SEC stipulated that collective investment schemes (CIS), which are funds subscribed to by investors have separate custodians and trustees other than the fund managers. This has assisted in reducing fraudulent practices and help to safeguard investments in CIS. Given the recent experience in the market where investors lost millions of naira in private funds, the commission is to focus its attention on how to ensure safety of their investments,” a source said.

Okumagba and some other officials of BGL Plc, including his deputy, ChibunduEdozie were banned by SEC following the decisions of the commission’s Administration Proceeding Committee (APC) that investigated

complaints of investors against Okumagba and his company over failure, refusal and or/ neglect to liquidate their investments in both the Guaranteed Consolidated dated Notes and Guaranteed Premium Notes , two investment products run by the company.

According to SEC, the investors had alleged several violations of the Investments and Securities Act 2007, SEC Rules and Regulations as well as the Code of Conduct for Capital Market Operators including, amongst others: Performance of a capital market function without due registration, promoting and marketing Continued on page 24

The Lagos Business School (LBS) has received a N500 million commitment from Messrs. EseGamalielOnosode and Spencer‎ Onosode, on behalf of the Onosode family, to support the School’s research activities. This donation will go towards the building of the International Management Research Centre (IMRC), which will house the School’s research centres. In honor of the family’s generosity, the IMRC building will be named ‘The GamalielOnosode Management Research Centre.’ The Dean of Lagos Business School, Dr.EnaseOkonedo, expressed her appreciation to the family for the generous donation.

Speaking after receiving the first instalment of N100million, she said: “Lagos Business School is committed to promoting research contributions that will have significant impact on the knowledge and practice of management in Africa.

“This donation will foster the School’s objective of conducting relevant research that impacts corporations and the society.

Late GamalielOnosode was an exemplar in the practice of management; he embodied the values we promote here at the School and we are indeed grateful to his family for making this contribution in honour of their father.”

Speaking on behalf of the family, a member of the Onosode family, Gamaliel ‘EseOnosode said: “The N500 million donation for the GamalielOnosode Management Research Centre is to emphasise the love GamalielOnosode’s had for quality education especially as impacts the very heart of management. Our late father demonstrated his zeal for education by setting up Gamaliel& Susan Onosode Foundation with the principal aim of promoting quality education through flexible and innovative learning opportunities.”

KPMG Steps Down as FIFA Auditor

Auditing firm KPMG has ended its decade-long association with scandal-hit football governing body FIFA, the world body announced on Monday.

“FIFA acknowledges the decision of KPMG to step down as FIFA’s auditor after more than a decade of service,” FIFA said in a statement.

FIFA has been battling to redeem its name ever since a raid on a Zurich hotel last year to arrest seven FIFA officials at the centre of a US investigation.

About 40 individuals and two companies now face charges in the United States over more than $200 million in bribes paid for television and marketing contracts.

“FIFA welcomes this change as it gives the organisation the opportunity to work with a new audit firm, which will be appointed soon – initially by the FIFA Council as a temporary arrangement before a formal appointment will be made at the next Congress in May 2017, in accordance with the FIFA Statutes,” the statement added.

‘Agricultural Resources Can Replace Oil’

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi has said that earnings from agricultural resources could replace revenue from crude oil within a decade, if vigorously pursued by Nigerians.

Bello stated this in Lokoja while receiving the 5th World Bank/ FGN Joint Mission to Kogi on FADAMA III AF implementation team on a three-day projects visit to the state.

He said that agriculture stood as a confirmed “Quick Win“ to bridge the funding gap created by the dwindling fortunes of crude oil and its accompanying economic challenges.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Mr. Simon Achuba, said his administration believes the almost limitless value chains in the sector (agriculture) can replace crude oil earnings 100 per cent within a decade.

My vision and yearnings since assumption of office has been to transform Kogi State into an industrial/economic destination with the agricultural sector playing a pivotal role, particularly through massive support for cassava and rice value chains, “he said.

“Firstly, we understand that transparency builds trust which is a critical ingredient to a well-functioning market and economy.”

Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)

Oscar Onyema

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD NIGERIA’S CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICITS TO HIT $14.6BN IN 2017 residents in real estate abroad, private-sector external debt and the reinvestment earnings of direct investors in Nigeria.

The flows in our chart are the gross liabilities. Adjusted for movements in assets, the net figures become $0.17 billion, $0.93 billion and -$3.79 billion for direct, portfolio and other investment respectively in Q4 2015.”As reported by THISDAY, the CBN had been heavily hamstrung by dwindling oil revenue receipts, brought about by the violent activities of militants in the Niger Delta, which have reduced the country’s monthly oil sales income from the all-time high of $3.2 billion just 15 months ago to about $500,000 in April.

Experiencing great difficulties in funding the nation’s imports as a result of scarce foreign exchange, a situation that had put a heavy pressure on the naira, sending it on a free-fall, the CBN had to think up a workable solution that would open up the forex market while maintaining a robust forex reserve.

The dilemma for the apex bank, however, is how to hold on to the current reserves level of about $28 billion and maintain price stability in the foreign exchange market in the face of dwindling oil receipts.

INVESTOR PROTECTION: PRIVATE FUNDS TO HAVE SEPARATE CUSTODIANS products not registered by the Commission, failure/refusal to resolve clients’ complaints, failure to file statutory returns and furnishing the Commission with false and misleading information.

The Commission explained that in a bid to obtain justice for the complainants and grant all parties fair hearing, the matter was presented before the APC which sat on February 6, 2016. During the proceedings testimonies and documentary evidence were tendered by various parties.

SEC said upon conclusion of the proceedings, its APC arrived at a decision, which has been approved by the relevant authority.

Group Business Editor

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku Maritime Editor

John Iwori

AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Crusoe Osagie

Comms/e-Business Editor

NEWS

PETAN Chair: Tranche of $800m NCD Fund Should be Utilised for Capacity Building NumeEkeghe Chairman,Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) and Managing Director of CB Geophysical Solutions Ltd, Bank-Anthony Okoroafor has said about $200million, being part of the over $800million Nigerian Content Development Fund(NCDF) should be utilised forcapacity building in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

The PETAN chair, who gave the advice in an exclusive interview with THISDAY, weekend, specifically said the amount should be channelled towards the procurement of equipment for local companies in order to enhancetheir capacities.

The Fund was established by the Nigerian Content Act and is pooled from 1 per cent of all contracts awarded in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry for use in developing the supply chain and building local capacity in the industry.

Bank-Anthony, who is also the MD/CEO of Vhelbherg International Ltd said: “I expect the Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to yearly bring out $200million to build the capacity of some selected companies. They should not give companies money, the equipment the companies need should be paid for and capacities built. They should

•Says Nigeria’s 20,000 km pipeline insufficient also invest in our Polytechnics and Universities.

He said many Nigerian youths are intelligent, but what affects them is the standard of equipment they are being trained with. “Students in Nigeria can compete with students from any part of the

world. Therefore, we should spend more on stepping up the game in terms of equipment and capacity building”, he asserted.

Furthermore he said: “A company that had only two sets of equipment, if it has up to four or five sets of equipment; it will be easier for it to

work in many platforms at the same time. Then you have built the company’s capacity by financing the remaining sets of equipment not by giving them money, also, you have created a champion in that area. “This creates a lot of employment opportunities

because they will hire more sets of crews, but when you keep that money and it is not being used for anything, something is wrong.”

The PETAN helmsmanadmitted that the country’s infrastructure gap is huge, insisting that Nigeria’s 20,000 kilometers of pipeline is insufficient for a population of over 160million.

WOOING INVESTORS

L-R: President, Advertisers Association of Nigeria, Mr. David Okenie; Special Adviser to the Ogun State Governor on Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Funmi Ajayi; Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru and Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs. Modupe Bosede at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry 3rd Annual Management Retreat held in Abeokuta…recently

Lawmakers Fault NAFDAC on Sub-standard Products Importation NumeEkeghe The activities of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) have been questioned by the joint committees on Healthcare Services, Drugs and Narcotics following the agency’s admission that substandard tomato pastes are in circulation.

These finding were revealed at a public hearing at the National Assembly recently.

The Joint Committees on Healthcare Services, Drugs and Narcotics chaired byChike John Okafor, a member representing (APC, Imo) and EuchariaAzodo (PDP, Anambra) during the hearing on the allegations of the importation of substandard, fake and cancer-causing tomato paste, gathered from various stakeholders that there exist substandard imported tomato pastes in Nigeria, which should be banned completely.

In his presentation, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Erisco Foods Limited, Eric

Umeofia, said based on a survey conducted by NAFDAC last year, 91 per cent of imported tomato pastes from China were sub-standard and dangerous to the health of Nigerians.

He said despite the recommendation by the Food Safety Analysis and Nutrition Directorate of NAFDAC to mop up all the fake tomato pastes and immediately ban their importation, NAFDAC under its former director general Paul Orrhi and the current acting DG has “refused to save Nigerians from the scourge of fake tomato pastes.”

He said: “Rather Dr. Paul Orhii chose to threaten to close our factory down for exposing them and the current acting NAFDAC Director General followed his predecessor’s position by supporting more substandard tomato paste importers to continue dump in Nigeria till we are closed down.

He said: “We are confident that as true representatives of the Nigerian people, you will

compel NAFDAC and other agencies to do their job properly.

Meanwhile all our attempt to duly inform Nigerians of the existence of this dangerous brands of tomato pastes were frustrated by NAFDAC as they refused to approve our advertisements even after we had adhered to all their suggested amendments.”

He also alleged that the country lost billions of naira as a result of the waivers granted some of the importers of substandard tomato pastes, which he said should be recovered by the government.

“In our own view, asking the same importers that know the good and standard quality of tomato paste but insisted on importing substandard tomato paste into Nigeria to bring their product samples for analysis is like putting and armed robber on notice before police operation as they will run away and change strategy to rub in more supplicated way after police must have gone back to their base.

“So we call on this Honourable House, that Nigerians have confidence in, to mandate NAFDAC to complete their work by stopping the registration and importation of substandard tomato paste into Nigeria without further delay in line with their constitutional duty, for the interest of Nigerian people and economy,” he said.

He added that “the continuous importation of fake tomato paste is killing our local tomato producing factories that are being forced to fold up.

“This invariably has resulted to massive loss of jobs and increasing the rate of unemployment problems in Nigeria.

Many indigenous tomato paste factories have been forced to shut down their factories... If we are not vigilant all factories will soon be shut down to clear the way for the deadly imported tomato pastes. We can only imagine the negative impact in our forex,” he said.

He therefore prayed that the House should initiate a law or motion for the immedi-

ate suspension of all tomato importation into Nigeria based on substandard, saying it is the only solution that will ensure backward integration into tomato plantations and processing.

In his presentation, the Managing Director of Dangote Tomato Processing Factory, AbdulkarimKaita, said they visited some tomato paste making industries in China and that they were shocked to see that bulk tomato concentrate that expired were mixed with good ones to be taken to Nigeria.

He wondered why NAFDAC failed to act on its own report since last year even as it did not ban anybody, adding that the China factories have certain low standard for Nigeria, which they bombard the country with.

He said if government did not step in to curb the menace of substandard tomato pastes in the Nigerian markets, there would be serious health and economic problems in the near future.

cash reserves to repay these bonds is reflective of our strong financial position and prudent approach to liquidity.”

By the end of June 2016, Emirates will have repaid six bonds/sukuks (Islamic bonds) in full over the course of the last five years, totalling $2.84 billion (AED 10.4 billion).

Ahmed continued: “We will

continue to work with the international financial community to deliver diverse, innovative sources of funding within an evenly spread financing portfolio for our business needs. Our strong business model and long-term financing strategy will position Emirates to unlock further growth with the delivery of 36 aircraft this financial year. ”

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)

Emirates Repays $1.1 Billion Bonds Emirates Airline has announced its repayment of a bullet bond in full for the value of $1 billion (AED 3.673 billion) on its maturity date of 8 June 2016.

The $1 billion bullet bond was raised in 2011 to address Emirates’ working capital requirements. The airline explained that it would also be repaying a bond totalling SGD 150 million

later this month, which was originally raised in 2006. The airline is repaying both bonds from its own cash resources, reflecting its robust financial position.

Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, was quoted in a statement to have explained:

“The repayment of these bonds illustrates Emirates’ continued ability to access international funding and garner support from financial markets and institutions.

“Emirates has a solid track record of meeting its financial commitments, underpinned by the airline’s overall financial strength. Tapping into our own

25

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

EQUITIES WATCH

As GSK Hives off Its Lucozade and Ribena Drinks

As shareholders of Glaxosmithkline Consumer Nigeria Plc prepare to cede its drinks business to Suntory Beverages Nigeria Limited, Goddy Egene examines the impact on the company’s operations and its ability to still deliver returns to its shareholders

Lucozade and Ribena are very popular brands on the stable of Glaxosmithkline Consumer Nigeria Plc. In fact, due to the popularity of these two products, many stakeholders easily forget that GSK Nigeria is one of the leading companies in pharmaceuticals industry. The company, in its healthcare segment, has brands such as Macleansrange, Sensodyne range and Parodontax Regular. Panadol range, Andrews Liver Salt, Actifed and Scotts Emulsion Cod Liver Oil. Despite these products, some stakeholders have been apprehensive about the news of the company divesting its drinks bottling business that manufactures Lucozade and Ribena to Suntory Beverages Nigeria Limited. The planned divestment followed the purchase of the business by Suntory Beverages Japan from GSK United Kingdom, the parent firm of GSK Nigeria in 2013.

Although GSK UK had since handed over its other drinks bottling business to Suntory, there was an agreement for GSK Nigeria to continue to manufacture the products in Nigeria.

However, Suntory Beverages Nigeria Limited wants to be manufacturing the products hence the move to take over the company. Already the Board of GSK Nigeria has accepted the offer and recommended that shareholders of the company approve the divestment subject to regulatory approval.

GSK Nigeria further indicated that the principal terms of the offer will be set out in a circular to shareholders. If the shareholders approve the sale, what remains of GSK Nigeria, would be its Wellness, Oral healthcare, Nutrition and Pharmaceutical/Vaccines businesses and would remain listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

GSK Nigeria has indicated that subject to the completion of the disposal and receipt of the purchase price the company will pay a special dividend of N716 million(60 kobo per share) will be recommended for shareholders’ approval.

Company’s position Explaining the divestment, an official of the company recently said: “The drinks bottling used to be part of our business but we belong to a group, GSK, which has divested from that line of business and we need to maximise

our potential. We are facing the direction our parent company is facing. Other subsidiaries have divested the drinks business but Nigeria was allowed to continue. But the divestment will enable us release the assets to Suntory Beverages so that we can concentrate on those things we are good at,” an official of the company said.

The official said the divestment will give the company a lot of potential to grow its business, saying as a forward looking company it has hedged against the impact of the divestment.

In a notification to the NSE, the Company Secretary of GSK Nigeria, Mr. Uche Uwechai had said the principal terms of the offer would set out in a circular to the shareholder.

“If the shareholders and regulators were to approve the sale, the retained business of GSK Nigeria would include its wellness, oral healthcare, nutrition and pharmaceutical/ vaccines businesses and the company would remain listed on the NSE,” he said.

Financial performance GSK recorded an increase in turnover for the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2016 but profit declined. Turnover (T/O) increased marginally by 2.52 per cent to N7.64 billion in 2016, up from N7.46 billion in 2015. According to analysts at FSDH Merchant Bank research, the increase in turnover was mostly as a result of the increased revenue recorded from the pharmaceutical segment. Revenue from the pharmaceutical segment grew by 28.84 per cent to N2.82 billion in Q1 2016.

The consumer healthcare segment remains the major contributor to T/O accounting for 63.09 per cent in Q1 2016. This segment has, however, been negatively impacted by stiff competition and weak consumers’ purchasing power leading to a reduction in revenue from this segment.

Going by the forgoing, the divestment will have negative effect on its performance on the short and medium term. This is so because there is no strong indication that consumer purchasing power will improve and competition will reduce soon.

The cost of sales increased by 15.06 per cent toN5.22billion from N4.53billion in Q1 2015.

This can be linked to the increase in the prices of raw materials. The cost of sales as a percentage of T/O increased to 68.23 per cent from 60.79 per cent as at Q1 2015. Selling and distribution

expenses fell by 7.80 per cent to N1.47 billion in Q1 2016 while administrative expenses rose by 44.5 per cent to N834.03 million,” they said.

GSK Nigeria recorded a finance income of N5.70 million in Q1 2016 a 272.50 per cent increase from N1.53 million in Q1 2015 while the finance cost fell by 59.90 per cent to N0.31mn in Q1 2016.

However, Profit Before Tax (PBT) fell to N272.91 million, a decrease of 35.54 per cent from N423.40 million in 2015, while Profit After Tax (PAT) was N188.31 million in Q1 2016, from N296.63 million in 2015, representing a decrease of 36.52 per cent. There was a decline in the company’s profit margins in Q1 2016, compared with Q1 2015.

“The increase in the cost of sales and the administrative costs as mentioned above were mainly responsible for the drop in the profit margin,” FSDH said.

Balance sheet position The company’s balance sheet position as at Q1 2016 compared with the position as at fully year (FY) 2015 indicates a marginal decrease in the company’s fixed assets. The total fixed assets decreased by 0.19 per cent to N13.85 billion from N13.87 billion in FY 2015. The working capital stood at N1.55 billion from N1.32 billion recorded in FY 2015, while net assets for the period increased by 1.43 per cent to stand at N13.37 billion from N13.19 billion as at FY 2015.

The total assets of the company, which stood at N34.02 billion as at Q1 2016 were financed by a mix of equities and liabilities in the ratio of 39.31 per cent and 60.69 per cent respectively.

“Our analysis of the liabilities shows that the short-term liabilities stood at N18.63 billion, accounting for 90.21 per cent of the total liabilities, while the long-term liabilities stood at N2.02billion accounting for 9.79 per cent of the total liabilities. The long-term liabilities constituted mainly of deferred tax liabilities, which stood at N1.84bn. The short-term liabilities constituted mainly of trade creditors and other payables,” analysts said.

Cash flow An analysis of the company’s cash flow in Q1 shows that it generated a net increase in cash and cash equivalents of N3.45 billion. Net cash from operating activities was a major contribu-

tor to cash rising to N3.75 billion in Q1 2016, mostly as a result of adjustments for increase in trade and other payables. The ratio of the cash generated from core operating activities to the revenue decreased to 9.96 per cent from 14.80 per cent in 2015.

“This means that less of its revenue translated into cash in 2016 than in 2015. The cash and bank balances recorded an increase of 94.61 per cent to N7.08 billion in Q1 2016 from N3.64 billion in FY 2015,” the analysts said.

Impact of divestment Analysts at FSDH said going by their estimate, the contribution of the drinks business to the total revenue of the company is not less than 35 per cent. They added, however, that there are no clear strategies from the company on how to replace the lost revenue. Besides, they see the divestment as one of the negative factors that would affect the company’s performance going forward. Other factors they identified are: The weak consumer spending power, rising operational and logistical costs, infrastructure challenges in the operating environment and foreign exchange challenges.

“We have not identified a clear strategy that GSK Nigeria will adopt to reinvent its business in the medium term,” they said.

On the positive side, the analysts cited the company’s new route to market, long standing reputation and brand activation to improve market share.

According to their forecast, GSK will grow its revenue at a rate lower than the inflation rate in the medium term.

They estimate a turnover of N24.89 billion, N27.38 billion, N30.12 billion, N31.25 billion and N32.41 billion for the periods ending December 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

“We estimate earnings before interest and tax(EBIT) of N0.56 billion, N2.16 billion, N2.58 billion, N2.83 billion, and N3.28 billion, and earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of N1.92 billion, N3.72 billion, N4.40 billion, N4.97 billion, and N5.80 billion, for the same periods, they said.

The analysts projected PBT and PAT of N0.60 billion, N2.20 billion, N2.62 billion,N2.88 billion, N3.32 billion and N0.50 billion, N1.52 billion, N1.81 billion, N1.99 billion, and N2.29 billion in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 respectively.

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

INtERvIEW

Stock Market as Nightmare for Retail Investors Eromosele Abiodun writes that the recent delisting of eight companies by the Nigerian Stock Exchange is another major loss to retail investors in the capital market

Shareholders

One of the primary ways to protect the retail investor is through vigorous and comprehensive enforcement programme. In order for retail investors to feel comfortable participating in the markets, they need to know that there is a strong and focused regulator. That is why regulators all over the world do everything possible to ensure zero tolerance to infractions in the capital market. However, that seems not to be the case in Nigeria.

Nigerian investors had over the years raised concerns about government’s non-chalant attitude to their huge losses following regulatory induced policy and inconsistent fiscal economic blueprints. To put their mind at rest, the federal government recently assured retail investors of their safety stressing that the government empathises with Nigerian shareholders over the situation of their portfolio investments.

The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo, gave the assurance at a workshop organised by the Capital Market Correspondent Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN) last year.

He said that government through the capital market regulator was serious in addressing the issues raised by retail investors.

According to him, “We want to address concerns of retail investors before we start wooing them into the market.”

Gwarzo said the commission had inaugurated the board of Investors Protection Fund (IPF) and from this year, proceeds of shares sale will be paid directly into the account of investors as part of efforts to address investors’ concerns.

Speaking in the same vein, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema, who spoke on the workshop theme, “Effective Reporting of Changes in the Nigerian capital market,” said retail investors need to be educated on why they should take portfolio approach to investment.

“It is important to do the analysis, understand

where those opportunities are but certainly there are opportunities, not only in the equity side but across the various asset classes. We always advise investors to diversify their portfolios across different assets classes to mitigate risks,”he said.

Onyema said that good corporate governance will ensure the existence of solid companies in Nigeria. He also argued that forcing companies to list on the nation’s bourse may lead to infractions in the market, adding that a lot of energy has been committed in building the foundational aspect of the market in terms of transparency, orderliness, fairness, disclosure, and enforcement of rules and regulations.

“In the short term, you will see the huge volatility but that should not distract from those fundamental elements about good companies, making good money, running under a well governed Exchange structure and a well regulated market structure. These factors will combine to shore up investors’ confidence in these challenging times. As we continue to work towards achieving and sustaining this market, the importance of your role cannot be over emphasised, “he stated.

Same Old Story Just as investors were hoping for greater protection following the assurances given to them by the regulators in the capital market, things took a different turn recently when the NSE announced the delisting of eight companies from its daily official list.

The NSE said it took the action because of the persistent failures of the companies to meet best corporate governance practices, as enshrined in the listing rules.

The eight companies are IPWA Plc, G. Cappa Plc, West African Glass Industries Plc (WAGI), Investment & Allied Insurance Plc, ALUMACO Plc, Jos International Breweries Plc, Adswitch Plc and Rokanna Plc. The NSE management noted that the delisting

was in pursuant to Clause 15 of the General Undertaking, Appendix III of the Rule Book of the Exchange, 2015, Part II, Issuers’ Rules, which referenced the obligations of quoted companies in terms of regular periodic submission of performance and financial reports, corporate governance and accountability. It said the delisting of the eight companies from the daily official list of the Exchange became effective from 18th May 2016.

“The Quotations Committee of the National Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (QCN) approved the delisting of the afore-listed companies on Friday, 18 March 2016, “the NSE management said.

Minority Shareholders’ Burden Recent data from the Exchange obtained

by THISDAY revealed that no fewer than 63 companies have been delisted from the NSE. A company is delisted from an exchange involuntarily, when the company for which the stock is issued is not in compliance with the listing requirements of the exchange.

A review of the list showed that out of the 63 companies, seven chose to delist voluntarily; 47 delisted due to regulatory instruction; while 9 of these companies delisted due to reforms/ expansion within the sectors they operated.

Most of the companies that delisted voluntarily from the bourse had sited harsh economic climate and parent company buy-out as reasons.

Whichever way, all of these companies at one time held annual general meetings, had public offerings where monies where and never put to use.

While retail investors, some who put in their retirement benefits into these companies cry, sponsors of these companies are walking the streets as free men whereas some even come back with different companies to raise monies. Notable names in this category are: CFOA Nigeria Plc, Nigerian Textile Mills Plc, Nigerian Bottling Company Plc NAMPAK

Plc, United Nigeria Textile Plc, Incar Plc, and Impresit Bakolori Plc. The following is a brief summary of the companies, the year and mode of their delisting from the daily official list of the Exchange.

Impresit Bakolori Plc (2002/voluntary); Dumez Nigeria Plc (2002/regulatory: NSE); CFOA Nigeria Plc (2007/voluntary); Acen Insurance Plc (2008/ regulatory: NAICOM); Atlas Nigeria Plc (2008/regulatory: NSE); Ceramics Manufacturing Company Plc (2008/regulatory: NSE) and Amicable Insurance Plc (2008/regulatory: NAICOM).

Exit in a Boom Time Baico Insurance Plc had been delisted in 2008 due to regulatory instruction from NAICOM; while Beverages (WA) Nigeria Plc was delisted from the daily official list in 2008 following the regulatory instruction by the NSE. Also in 2008, Enpee Plc due to regulatory instruction by the Nigerian Stock Exchange was delisted from the daily official list; while Tate Industries Plc in 2008 delisted following regulatory instruction by the NSE. In addition, Maureen Laboratories Plc delisted in 2008 due to regulatory instruction by NSE; while the same regulator delisted Rietzcot Nigeria Plc in 2008 from its daily official list.

In addition, Intra Motors Nigeria Plc was delisted by the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2008; while Aviation Development Company Plc was delisted in 2008 for failing to meet regulatory requirements.

Grommac Industries Plc was also delisted in 2008 from the Exchange for failing to meet regulatory requirements. Others are: Onwuka Hi-Tek Plc (2008/ regulatory: NSE); Nigerian Lamps Plc (2008/regulatory: NSE); Nigerian Yeast & Alcahol Manufacturing Plc (2008/regulatory: NSE); Security Assurance Plc (2008/regulatory: NAICOM); Sun Insurance Plc (2008/regulatory: Continued on page 27

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INtERvIEW

STOCK MARKET AS NIGHTMARE FOR RETAIL INVESTORS NAICOM); Nigerian Textile Mills Plc (2008/ voluntary); and Footwear Manufacturing Plc (2009/regulatory: NSE).

Also on the list of companies delisted from the Nigerian bourse are: Ferdinand Oil Mills Plc (2009/ regulatory: NSE); Christlieb Plc (2009/ regulatory: NSE); BCN Plc (2009/regulatory: NSE); Liz-Olofin & Company plc (2009/regulatory: NSE); Oluwa Glass Company Plc (2009/ regulatory: NSE); Asaba Textile Mills Plc (2009/ regulatory: NSE); Aboseldehyde Laboratories Plc (2009/regulatory: NSE); Epic Dynamic Plc (2009/regulatory: NSE); Fadmad plc (2009/ regulatory: NSE); Aba Textile Mills Plc (2009/ regulatory: NSE); Afprint Plc (2010/regulatory: NSE); Incar Plc (2010/ voluntary); Nigercem Plc (2011/ regulatory: NSE); Daily Times Plc (2011/regulatory: NSE); and Albarka Airline Plc (2011/regulatory: NSE).

Other notable companies that delisted from the daily official list of the Exchange are: Abplast Plc (2012/ regulatory: NSE); Udeofosin Garment Plc (2012/regulatory: NSE); Hallmark Paper Product Plc (2012/regulatory: NSE); BACGO Bag Plc (April 11, 2013/ merged with Flour Mills Plc); Crusader Nigeria Plc (May 13, 2013/ merged with Custodian & Allied Insurance Plc; West African Aluminium Plc (June 3, 2013/ regulatory: NSE); and Nigerian Wire Industry Plc (June 3, 2013/regulatory: NSE).

Foremost Dairies Plc (2011/regulatory: NSE); Wiggins Teape Nigeria Plc (2011/regulatory: NSE); Okitipupa Oil Palm Plc (2011/regulatory: NSE); First Capital Investment & Trust Plc (2011/regulatory: NSE); Flexible Packaging Plc (2011/regulatory: NSE); Newpak Plc (2011/ regulatory: NSE); Krabo Nigeria Plc (2011/ regulatory: NSE); and Tropical Petroleum Plc (2011/regulatory: NSE).

Also, in 2011, Nigerian Bottling Company Plc delisted voluntary; while in the same year, Nampak Plc delisted voluntarily. United Nigeria Textile Plc (2011/voluntary); Bank PHB Plc (2011/nationalised: CBN); Afribank Plc (2011/ nationalised: CBN); Spring Bank Plc (2011/ nationalised: CBN); Intercontinental Bank Plc (2011/merged with Access Bank Plc); Oceanic Bank plc (2011/merged with ETI Plc); Finbank plc (2011/ merged with FCMB Plc) and Ecobank lc (2011/absorbed by ETI: now Ecobank Nigeria Limited).

Shareholders Berates NSE, FG In their response to the delisting, some leaders of shareholders associations said the NSE and the SEC has not done enough to protect retail investors.

National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sunny Nwosu, said the apathy among domestic investors stemmed from repeated nonchalant attitude of government to the suffering of more than six million active Nigerian retail investors.

Nwosu accused government of treating shareholders with disdain in spite of their contributions towards sustained local wealth creation and economic development.

According to him,“We were promised mouthwatering returns at court ordered meetings in preparation of public or initial public offerings.

Return never came. We trusted regulators to protect us so we put out monies from our retirement benefit in private placements with the promise that the shares will be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

“That never happened. Even the ones that were listed have either been taken over by regulators or struggling to survive. Imagine buying 10,000 units of a bank share at N33.00 in a public offer in 2007 and today the same stock trades at N6. That is N27.00 multiplied by 10,000 units. Our offence is that we invested.”

He added: “The only luck we retail investors have now is that some of the banks still exist.

But what about a situation where you buy a bank share in a public offer at N13 per share and for no just course you are told your 100,000 units (N1.3 million) has been watered down by shares reconstruction that was done without your permission or that your shares has been reduced to 1,000 because they are now worthless because your bank was rescued by a Central Bank and sold to a bidder who merges your bank and his together and decides what unit of shares you deserve.

“These are just a few of the many anomalies suffered by poor Nigerians in the capital market.

It is an understatement to say that over 1000 has died since the 2008 market crash. Some

LEADING COMPANIES BY MARKET CAPITALIZATION

11%

Nigerian Breweries Plc

7% 43%

Nestle Nigeria Plc 7%

6%

GBT Plc

6%

Zenith Bank Plc 6% Dangote Cement Plc

32%

Others

Three share indices in SSA, 2016 (% chg ytd)

have become an anatomy in hospital as a result of incapacitation arising from blood pressure.

You may have read in the media that the stock market has returned so and so per cent in the last one year, good statistics. Please ask those brandishing the numbers how many retail investors benefited from the return. Take out Dangote Cement Plc and Nestle Nigeria Plc and a few others in the fast moving consumer goods sector, the so called return will turn out a farce.”

SEC Takes Matter to Police To ensure that its promise of zero tolerance to infractions is taken serious, SEC recently urged the law enforcement agencies to collaborate with the Commission in its quest to ensure zero tolerance on infractions in Nigeria capital market and also ensure that perpetrators of fraudulent acts are brought to book appropriately.

The SEC boss stated this when he led members of the management of the commission on a visit to the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase in Abuja.

Gwarzo solicited the support of the IGP to enhance the ongoing co-operation between the Force and the Commission towards ensuring

that laid down rules and procedures are adhered to in the capital market.

He appreciated the police on the work they have been doing since the collaboration started and sought for more in areas of specialised discipline such as forensic investigation to enhance the operations of the capital market.

In his response, Arase assured the Commission that the Nigerian Police, under his leadership, will do all that it can to assist the Commission in ensuring that incidents of infractions within the Capital Market are brought to the barest minimum.

He commended the DG SEC on his desire to make the capital market free of malpractices, saying that no nation can develop with the increase in crime and corruption adding that life and property which include tangible and intangible assets must be protected He said the inter agency collaboration is in the right direction as both Nigeria Police, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and SEC are committed to deliver mandate of protecting life and property of the people adding that the administration will deal with anybody found defrauding the people in the capital market.

The Investment and Securities Act of 2007, section 304 requires the Commission to refer matters of criminal nature to the appropriate criminal prosecuting authorities including the Nigerian Police.

Some of these infractions include fraudulent disposal of investor assets, illegal fund management, wonder banks, insider dealing, corporate accounting fraud and share manipulation etc.

Despite the great successes with tracking fraudulent practices in the market, the Commission is not resting on its laurels as there are still illegal fund managers, wonder banks and possible cases of market abuse.

It is hoped that this synergy with the police will help to significantly reduce, if not totally eradicate, these activities to the benefit of investing public.

In its determination to eradicate crime and malpractices in the Nigerian capital market, the then IGP, Mohammed Abubakar, announced the deployment of 18 policemen to the SEC. They were deployed to prosecute criminal cases involving capital market activities and ensure that every culprit found wanting is dealt with in accordance with the Investment and Securities Act and laid down regulation.

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ANALYSIS

Pushing Nigeria’s Economic Diversification Forward

The prevailing economic situation is prompting the federal government to work harder to further diversify the economy as well as the country’s revenue base, writes Obinna Chima A recent study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) showed that the significant and prolonged drop in oil prices since mid-2014 has changed the fortunes of Nigeria and many other energy-exporting nations around the world.

This, finding from the report that budgets in oil exporting nations have generally turned from surpluses to large deficits, growth has slowed, and financial stability risks have increased.

The report stressed that in such a challenging environment, a policy of “business as usual” will not suffice—policymakers will need to adopt significant measures to put public budgets on a sounder footing, address risks to liquidity and the quality of assets in the financial sector, and improve growth prospects.

“This will be a difficult long-term process, but the good news is that many countries have made a strong start, especially in terms of budget policies,” it stated.

However, the report pointed out that in the coming years, oil revenues will no longer be sufficient for governments to act as the main employer of their fast-growing young populations.

Therefore, it urged policymakers to find new ways to promote private sector development and help their economies diversify away from oil.

Therefore, for Nigeria, which is heavily dependent on oil revenue, there is need for the government to pursue genuine economic diversification policies to as to take the economy out of the doldrums.

But the Director General, Debt Management Office (DMO), Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, believes that with the steps taken so far by the government towards refocusing the country’s source of revenue, the economy would no longer be susceptible to events in the international crude oil market in few years’ time.

Following the drop in crude prices from a peak of $114 per barrel in July 2014 to as low as $33/barrel in January 2016, the country’s reserves have suffered great pressure from speculative attacks, round tripping and front loading activities by actors in the forex market.

This fall in oil prices also implied that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) monthly forex earnings has fallen from as high as $3.2 billion to current levels of as low as $1billion.

Yet, the demand for foreign exchange by mostly domestic importers has remained unabated. The net effect of these combined forces unfortunately is the depletion of the country’s forex reserves and pressure on the naira.

Despite the challenges faced by the economy presently, Nwankwo has described the situation as temporary setback that will be overcome when the government’s policy on diversification of the economy begins to crystalise.

Speaking at a recent forum in Lagos, the DMO boss said efforts at stimulating the non-oil sectors such as agriculture, solid minerals and manufacturing, among others, will impact on the economy in the next three to five years.

According to Nwankwo, when the economy is diversified, Nigeria’s growth will no longer be determined by the prices of crude oil.

The DMO boss said much revenue would be derived from taxation, adding that the country’s low comparative tax revenue to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio, currently at about seven per cent against the 18 per cent average in most developing countries, will improve following efficient production.

He said through taxes, government can secure the fund to finance major developmental projects that will impact on the people’s lives.

Nwankwo added: “The target of getting the country to rank among the 20 leading economies in the world by 2020 is still being pursued. The crash in crude oil prices should not in any way derail that target. When you are running a race and something trips you and you fall, you have to wake up, and continue the journey. Also, even if oil is the base for economic growth and development, it was an inappropriate base for growth. But luckily for the country, there are alternatives in agriculture.”

The DMO chief said the country has been

Nwankwo

unable to exploit up to 25 per cent of opportunities in agriculture.

“We need to achieve internal food security and have the opportunity to export agro-based products in processed form. Imagine the variety of food stuff from savannah to the deserts, all the various legumes, roots and others that can be grown from these environments. If we effectively exploit agriculture, if and as we are making progress in agriculture, firstly, the major consumer of our forex like agro-based raw materials, rice, fish, poultry, wheat, will be taken care of and government will save billions of dollars from these imports.

“We have the capacity to produce these products and even export to other countries. Based on the pronouncements of the agriculture minister based on the vision of President Buhari, in three to four years, we will be self-sufficient in poultry, rice production. We are on the right path to be self-sufficient in food, and enormous forex will be saved from agriculture production alone. Reserves will rise, and the local currency will be stronger.

That is the essence of the growing economy.

“You can see that in the manufacturing sector, some factories are operating below capacity. But with the on-going implementation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s policy on diversification of the economy and revitalising the power infrastructure, the sector will pick up and create more jobs for the people,” he said.

Revamping the Economy On her part, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, recently revealed that the government plans to reset Nigeria’s economy with structured borrowing, targeted investment and diversified growth. Adeosun also said part of the cash set aside to finance some energy projects would be used to help fund the budget.

Pointing to the impact of falling oil prices on the economy, the minister said: “In the past, we had the means but not the will. Now we have the will but we no longer have the money to invest.

The safety blanket of oil has been ripped away,

Adeosun

laying the poverty of Nigeria’s institutions bare.”

She added: “We have spent too many years tinkering at the edges of our institutions, our infrastructure and our economy and the mistakes and misjudgement of the last 40 years have set our clocks back by decades.

“We must collectively adopt a blueprint that equips the future generations to be creative and dynamic, that allows us to articulate a vision of a Nigeria, with a strong educational foundation; rich in depth of knowledge with a breadth of skills, an expansive infrastructure capable of servicing the needs of a nation of 150 million Nigerians.”

On the N1.8 trillion borrowings to invest in railway transportation, roads, housing, power and health, the minister said: “We are committed to a counter cyclical budget expenditure model. This has been a success in other nations, offsetting the risk of recession and creating an economy which is not based on either fragile consumer spending or over-reliance on oil.”

Adeosun also set out what she described as the four pillars of the economic plan: stimulate economic growth to achieve a real GDP growth of 4.2 per cent in 2017; reduce the cost of governance and strengthen institutions to combat corruption and extract efficiency in public service; increase government expenditure on infrastructure; and fund the budget deficit and negative trade balance cost effectively.

She said the targeted outcomes would include a substantial increase in gross capital formation; acceleration of GDP growth; infrastructure development to unlock economic growth; diversification of the economy and growth of the non-oil sector; an improvement in the overall business environment; and improvement in key socio-economic indicators, jobs and wealth creation.

Last week, the minister led a team of government officials to meet bond investors in London.

Infrastructure Spending Continuing, Nwankwo disclosed that funds to be borrowed to support the 2016 budget would

be committed mainly to capital projects funding.

He said this is the only time that such huge amount is allocated and specified for capital projects. “This is the first time that the budget specified that all borrowed funds will be for capital expenditure.

The sharing of internal and international borrowing is almost 50/50. We have been borrowing locally, but we have to take advantage of the relatively low cost of funds externally.

We do not want to borrow too much from the domestic economy, so that we do not crowd-out the domestic environment,” he said.

He said achieving self-sufficiency in power will enable government generate more income; companies will be able to pay more taxes, thereby helping government diversify its revenue bases.

“It is possible that in the next five to seven years, the whole picture of Nigeria will be a complete turnaround because of government’s economy diversification plan. The difference between Nigerian and other countries facing similar economic challenges is that those countries do not have the same opportunities we have in Nigeria. Nigeria is near 100 per cent idle capacity, meaning the flexibility to grow the economy is high,” he said.

He urged Nigerians not to be depressed as a result of the drop in crude oil prices, saying: “We have no reason to be depressed just because crude oil price is down. We have to see the varieties of opportunities available for the country to grow the economy based on a well-diversified and sustainable manner. We as responsible stakeholders in the economy, should emphasis these opportunities.”

“Indeed in other countries, the major source of revenue is taxation. Taxation should also be explored. Government should be able to sustain itself with taxation revenues. Now with the better tax compliance, and effective sanctions for defaulters, we have a room to boost public revenue from taxation.”

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BUSINESSWORLD

ANA.LYSIS

Is FRC Determined to Ruin Buhari’s FDI, Employment Drive?

Kunle Aderinokun examines the undercurrents in the long standoff between the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and Stanbic IBTC, and questions the objectives of the agency

Managing Director, Stanbic IBTC, Sola David - Borha

Regulation has a vital role to play in every industry. Indeed, many investors would affirm that the regulatory environment is the most critical factor that impinges on their decisions to invest, perhaps even more important than the supposed economic buoyancy of any country. The reason is simple: With a mature and balanced regulatory framework in place, a platform is created to enable growth without unnecessary encumbrances in every industry by ensuring that all players deliver optimal value to the economy.

Such a framework recognises the importance of ensuring that policies are formulated and implemented in such a way as to safeguard the economy by delicately balancing the needs and aspirations of investors, customers and the government.

In recent time, it would seem as if this fact may have been lost on one of the many regulators in Nigeria’s financial space, the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria. For one, without a board in place to provide the requisite checks and oversight, the FRC, has long operated as a one-man-regulatory commission with its Executive Secretary serving as policy maker, policy implementer and policy enforcer all at once.

Incidentally, in the last 12 months, the president has undertaken trips to different countries across the world, meeting with investors and selling a story of a new Nigeria with an ethical and transparent government; a government willing to provide a conducive business environment underscored by good ethical conduct and the rule of law.

In the face of these lofty dreams, however, has been an economy much weakened by the drastic fall in oil prices and an inability to save for the rainy day, in the days of prosperity. The chain reaction has been near catastrophic across many industries: Mass retrenchments have been the order of the day. In one particularly harrowing experience, Ecobank sacked 1,040 employees in one fell swoop. Diamond Bank, Skye Bank, Zenith Bank and others have also at different times, laid off employees as institutions grapple with the hard times. In the food and beverage sector, the airline sector and others, the story has practically been the same. In boxing terminology,

Buhari

one could say the economy is “leaning on the ropes”, a situation that requires maturity and managerial dexterity of all and sundry if it is to bounce back to good health.

It is against the back drop of these developments that one is perplexed by the actions of the FRC regarding its issue with Stanbic IBTC. To put matters in perspective, sometime last year, the FRC, acting admittedly in response to a petition by some shareholders of Stanbic IBTC imposed a number of sanctions on the financial institution. One of its bones of contention was that Stanbic IBTC was not justified in making royalty payments to its parent company, Standard Bank for the use of the trademark, “Standard Bank.” It also frowned on the fact that the bank had opted to lease a software, which it

It is hardly surprising that in the light of the curious developments, KPMG, the globally renowned multinational auditing firm has clearly stated that it will not append its signature to the company’s financials, because it is afraid of the FRC. This is a damning indictment of Nigeria’s regulatory processes and calls to question our seriousness about investment and attracting foreign capita

developed in-house, from its parent company.

The FRC’s summary sanctions included a “fine” of N1billion while it also withdrew the rights of the bank’s principal officers from appending their signatures to its financial statements.

Stanbic IBTC on the other hand, had a different view of these developments. It argued that payment of royalties is a global practice that is not exclusive to Nigeria. Use of a global trade name must always be accompanied by payment for such if expensive and time-consuming litigations are to be avoided. Regarding the software, the bank explained that the bank’s management took a decision within its purview. It also explained that no unapproved transfer of funds had been made to its offshore parent company.

The FRC refused to back down on its “sanctions” and the bank went to court. The court issued an injunction, restraining the FRC from “interfering with or hindering the operations” of the bank, pending final determination of the suit. Obviously, the idea was to ensure that the health of the bank is not endangered and that the bank continues to operate pending the resolution of whatever differences exist between the FRC and the bank.

Interestingly, not long thereafter, FRC very quickly unveiled a new set of rules.

On March 15, 2016, it published on its website, a new undated rule which precludes CEOs and CFOs (the two key officers permitted by law to sign off financial statements) without FRC certification/FRC registration number from attesting to financial statements.

But in order to ensure that companies whose CEOs and CFOs do not yet have FRC certification or whose certifications could be in contention as the current Stanbic IBTC executives are, the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the FRC had jointly agreed some concessions by which other directors could sign of the said financial statements.

Curiously, the FRC is now insisting that such concession would only apply to “entities which are not currently in court with the FRC and/ or having any of its directors currently holding FRC numbers that have been suspended by the FRC”.

Of course, one does not need to be particularly

intelligent to realise that this rule specifically targets Stanbic IBTC and is clearly aimed at frustrating its business.

This is most unfortunate in a country reeling from Nigeria’s current economic predicament: why has regulation nose-dived to the point at which it specifically targets one institution? Since when was going to court to seek an interpretation and reversal of a ruling which you believe has been made against you wrongly and unfairly, become a crime? Should regulation be about egos or about protecting the common good, in this case, the wider economy?

According to media reports, in refusing to heed the court order, which directed that all parties must maintain the status quo pending determination of the suit, the FRC has said it will not comply with any court order until there is a non-appealable decision of a court of competent jurisdiction. In other words, the FRC will continue to disobey all court judgements until the decision gets to the Supreme Court, because it is only the Supreme Court, whose judgements are non-appealable.

It is hardly surprising that in the light of the curious developments, KPMG, the globally renowned multinational auditing firm has clearly stated that it will not append its signature to the company’s financials, because it is afraid of the FRC. This is a damning indictment of Nigeria’s regulatory processes and calls to question our seriousness about investment and attracting foreign capital.

Pray, why has regulation in the financial services sector been reduced to a situation in which an individual makes and implements policy at his whim? Where are the functionaries who should be providing oversight to the FRC? Where is the FRC Governing Board? Given that it is yet to be constituted, where is the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment? Does he not realise the potential damage to regulatory credibility and by extension the overall economy which the actions of the FRC pose? Where is the Minister of Finance? Where are the capital market regulators? Is it not time to call the FRC to order and allow this issue follow due process of arbitration by the courts?

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INTERVIEW

Unegbu: Banks Must Return to Rural Banking for Survival Mr. Okechukwu Unegbu is the Managing Director/CEO of Maxifund Investments and Securities Plc. In this interview with Obinna Chima, he spoke on a wide range of issues on the economy including strategies that banks can adopt to survive in an earnings-constraining environment. Excerpts:

Unegbu

What is your assessment of the performance of the Nigerian economy under President Muhammadu Buhari?

So far, my assessment is that the economy has been in the doldrums. In other words, it is static. Instead of the economy growing, we are noticing negative factors such as increasing rate of inflation, unstable exchange rate, interest rate is on the upswing, a lot of people are losing their jobs, small scale businesses are not functioning and a lot of them have closed down and a lot of their workers now jobless. Finally, there is no economic direction at the moment, even though I am aware that they are working to bring a blueprint for the movement of the economy. As at now, the economy is comme ci, comme ca, that is, it is rather not growing, but static.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning disclosed that in the next few days, about N350 billion would be pumped

into the economy, which they intend to continue for some months. Don’t you think such cash injection would help revive economic activities and address some of these issues you have identified?

Yes, but one of the things I have noticed from all the ministers is that they appear not to know where to go. The statements they make are more like mere wishes. They make these wishes and at the end of the day we are disappointed. Unless this is going to be a different one, what he has said may never happen soon. Remember when the budget was passed, and even before the budget was passed, the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun said they were going to release the N350 billion capital expenditure. You and I know that nothing has happened in that direction. So, I will not want to believe what the Minister of Budget has said until it happens. But if it does happen, one of the things we need to think about is where

would it be deployed to? We are still in the quagmire of not knowing how to deploy the resources we have. In fact, I was very happy when I heard the Senate President telling Mr. President not to depend on the All Progressive Congress alone for solution.

But that he should try and see how he can get support from people outside the party also in the direction of the economy. That is what we need to imbibe here. Remember that Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton contested election, opposing each other, but at the end of the day they came together for the benefit of the nation. But over here, we talk about the benefit of the party, which is different from the benefit of the nation. That is a disastrous way of running and economy. Obama came to power as a democrat, but he had to bring in some hard core republicans into his party.

Our nation is not yet a country in the sense that instead of picking people from all divides, all parties and tribes, you now use a quota

system that gives you an opportunity to bring in those that could be described as political laggards and bootlicking fellows. They would just be making wishful thinking. If I am to assess the ministers under this government, I would say so far, so bad.

But the list of ambassadorial nominees that was sent to the National Assembly for clearance by the presidency showed a complete shift towards engaging more of technocrats than politicians?

In fact, when someone called me about that, I said, if they can do that, this country would change. I don’t know what informed the president to do that, maybe he is now listening. When I looked at that list that was same thing I said. There are some of them

Continued on page 31

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UNEGBU: BANKS MUST RETURN TO RURAL BANKING FOR SURVIVAL that I know that are very good. I am still surprised in the case of Minister of Budget and Planning. Udoma has not been what he was before he took up that position. He is supposed to be a very good technocrat, but so far, unless there are some lethargy that holds them back when they get into government, he has not shown that drive that he is known for. I am however proud and happy that Ben Akabueze has been appointed the Director General of Budget and Planning, which is showing that the president is listening by putting people in the area they can perform.

But all the same, the advice of the Senate President should be taken seriously so that the economy can be revived.

As a former bank Chief Executive Officer, do you think commercial banks in the country are carrying out their responsibilities effectively and what do you think is the future of banking in Nigeria?

Honestly, most of the bankers don’t like my comments so far, but having been a CEO of a bank before, I think I should be taken seriously. I see the banks as not doing what they ought to do. We have all been living on free monies all these years. Monies that you get through rent collection without actually planning and carrying out appropriate research.

I don’t know how many of the banks have proper research department that looks into the economy to come up with products that they can use. As a bank CEO, I took over two banks that almost died and they came back to life. For instance, when we took over Citizen Bank, it was almost dead. When I took it over, I had to spend some weeks and even months trying to know how to change its situation. I got my bank to approve most of the policies and eventually we went to the capital market. Even though we were the last bank to go to the market then, we were able to get sufficient funds because we knew our target market. I keep telling people that they don’t need to come in and start making noise or bribe governments in order to get deposits.

I refused to do all that. Deposits are in the market place and with the market women in Isale Eko, Oke arin, and other markets in Lagos. These are where the monies are!

But the banks don’t want to start small, they are all chasing high net worth individuals.

But the funds coming from high net worth individuals are not stable funds. If you get 20 small scale savers from Isale Eko or Oke Arin, these people don’t always come for their money, they leave it with you. These are funds we call hard core deposits. But nobody wants to target those ones. But the other soft funds that come in, over night, they would harass you that if you don’t pay them so much interest, they would take the fund away. You go to government to collect deposits and you bribe the Permanent Secretary or whoever with a house or a car and in another three months, that money goes away. That is not how to do banking. Banks should go back to proper banking. Banks should devise products that are attractive to the banking public. They are not doing that. I was also worried when the Minister of Labour and Productivity was telling the banks not to sack. Even though labour would support what he said, the government should be realistic enough to know that these are private businesses. You can’t continue to ask banks to keep people when they (banks) know that they are not making enough money to pay them.

That is because of the problems I noted about the banks. They don’t go for the right kind of deposits that can make them continue to keep their staff. Also, when I was in Citizen Bank, I was told to sack workers in order to survive, but I refused. I decided to re-energise them and those that couldn’t perform left on their own. I was talking to some bankers and they said how can the federal government be giving them directive when same federal government took away the funds in the system by introducing the Treasury Single Accounts (TSA) and I told them they were blackmailing the government by allowing them to be using free money to run their business all these years. I told them that the TSA is a beautiful arrangement that will help us checkmate corruption in the system, just like the Bank Verification

Unegbu

Number. So the banking industry has a very beautiful future in this country. One of the areas lacking in this country is the issue of micro finance banks. There is a very good policy on micro finance banking from the Central Bank of Nigeria. But these policies are not implemented. Micro finance banks are the people that are with the rural population.

Being the Chairman of one of the micro finance banks that has been in operation for 25 years, what I have noticed is that rural borrowers are never defaulters, they want to pay back what they have borrowed. But they have been infiltrated by those who don’t understand that it is better to borrow and repay. Those artisans in the village borrow, use the money to do their work and pay back, same as the market women and traders. Government should look at small scale businesses. They were shouting that banks were sacking people, but they forgot that capital market operators sacked so many people, much more than the banks sacked and nobody said anything. Why are they now complaining? The stockbroking are bleeding.

They have sacked so many people, but are still not out of the woods and nobody is doing anything. And they are shouting because one bank sacked 200 people. The number of people sacked by almost 500 stockbroking firms is much more than the banks have sacked and nobody raised an eyebrow. So we need to look at the financial system in totality. There is a future for us in the financial system, but we are not doing what we ought to be doing.

But do you think the monetary poli-

cies we have in place currently supports banking to thrive because just like the TSA, banks believe there are lots of other earnings-constraining policies in the system?

Remember the central bank has its major goals and objectives. But remember I said earlier that there is no research going on in the banks. I am saying what the banks need to do is to look at the economy in which they are operating. Environmental assessment is very important for any business. And the banks are fond of the herd mentality. You know once one sheep crosses the road, the rest would want to cross at same time, even when they know they would be knocked down by a vehicle. Banks also have same mentality.

If one bank is heading to the oil industry, everybody goes there. Nobody is thinking about lending to the cobbler on the street and make some money. When they hear others are lending to telecommunication companies, everybody goes there too, neglecting certain vital aspects of the economy. That is why they have very high non- performing loans with the oil industry and they can’t recover them till today. But the small scale businesses and agriculture are not being developed.

For instance, from some of the studies we did on agriculture, I discovered that there are in banks, almost 15-20 per cent of savings that have gone dormant. Some of these money have lasted for over 20 years and in some old generation banks almost, almost 50 years. These are funds that can be deployed to the agriculture sector or even to mortgage lending. When I was contesting for the governorship of Imo state, I did a paper

showing that mortgage is easy to run. If you look at bricks, most people don’t know it is easy to build houses. So, I said you can do a mortgage using bricks and build a bungalow of three bedrooms with N3 million.

And as long as someone is working, the bank can sell the house to that person who would be paying gradually. But nobody is thinking about that. The banks are lazy, the governors are also lazy because we are all used to free money from oil revenue. Thank God for the decline of crude oil price.

What is your take on the proposed flexible exchange rate system everyone is awaiting?

You know we have tried so many types of exchange rate system in this country. From the Wholesale Dutch Auction, Retail Dutch Auction, and several others. From my understanding, the flexible exchange rate system means that our foreign exchange policy would be in tandem with developments in the economy. If the economy is strong, the central bank would want the exchange rate to be in tandem with the state of the economy at that time and if the economy is weak, they would want to adjust it. But the central bank is very right by not following the International Monetary Fund and World Bank advice to devalue our currency. There are reasons for devaluation and one of it is that you want to have more volume in your export, but here we don’t have anything to export. IMF and World Bank policies do not suit our environment.

So, let us watch what they want to come up with and by then we can know whether it is good for us or not.

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INTERVIEW

Suleiman: Employment Generation is Good for Pension Indus Usman Suleiman is the Managing Director/CEO of FUG Pensions. In this interview with Ebere Nwoji, he explained why employment generation is the surest way to boost the pension sector. Excerp Could you give an assessment of your company’s performance vis-a-vis the pension industry in 2015. How have you been able to keep the business going given the present economic challenges?

Future Unity Glanvills Pensions Limited (FUG Pensions) actually held a management and board retreat at the beginning of 2014 where we came up with a medium term strategic plan for the company that was to run through 2014 to 2016.This is with the intension of holding the session in the fourth quarter of 2016 to review how we have fared within the context of the medium term strategy. 2015, as a year, was at the middle of that period, but was generally a difficult year for the economy as a whole for obvious reasons. The year was an election year and there was a lot of apprehension as to the future of the country particularly when the election dates were shifted over period of weeks.

However, as it turned out, the elections were concluded successfully. The country overcame crisis and the new administration took off. That no doubt brought some tension, but a lot of investors regained confidence in the future.

They began to look at the focus of the new administration.

However, it took a little bit of time for the administration to fully settle, get the cabinet running and came up with clear political direction. That really dragged on to the end of the year and for that reason, the economy was very slow. For us in the pension industry, that will naturally affect our performance in terms of growth in registration. We are in the contributory pension, effectively meaning that unlike the defined benefits, it is totally and completely dependent on employment generation and employees opening their RSA’s.

As a consequence, the slow pace of economic activities, there was a loss in employment generation over the period, not only in the private sector, which is supposed to be a major employer of labour but also in the public both federal, states and for that reason there was no significant growth in employment generation into the system.

As a company, how did you cope with business?

However, in spite of the circumstance, for us in FUG Pensions, we have been able to weather the storm and move into 2016 with the confidence of being able to move towards meeting our projections in the medium term strategy.

Now at the beginning of first quarter of 2016, the direction was being identified particularly in relation to policies that have to do with exchange rate and petroleum prices, and by the beginning of the second quarter, even though without clear cut policy statement, it is clear that the exchange rate regime is now in place, petroleum pricing has also come into effect, therefore investors now have a direction.

They would now be able to anticipate and focus unlike the later part of 2015. With that we expect that the second half of 2016, that is, third quarter, fourth quarter of 2016 are going to see a rejuvenation of activities in the economy. We anticipate that investors having now seen the direction, will bring in their funds for investment, they now have a window where the liberalised exchange regime will enable them repatriate their capital and profit, even then, we anticipate that fund companies that have been looking for investment regenerating activities will now be able to attract partners. We also anticipate that portfolio investors will also look at staging a comeback into the capital market in the third and fourth quarter of the year. We also anticipate that petroleum marketers will now be ready to really commence the importation of fuel particularly aviation fuel because they now can sell at N145 per litre. With the pricing regime, they have an avenue of taking care of both

These are the two fronts by which our business is affected. It is a reality on ground, but we anticipate that as these companies commence investing again, the laid off workers will be called back to work.

For us, generation of employment in all sectors is good for our business because everybody working will be expected to have a savings for their retirement

because a number of states that have keyed into the system also in recent times are facing difficulties paying salaries and have defaulted in remitting pension. I know a state that has not paid salaries for several months, but surprisingly they pay pension deductions up to date, while some of the states are finding it difficult to remit.

The significant exception is of course Lagos State.

The state has not defaulted in any way. At the federal level, government has made efforts to get funding for remittance, but as you probably are aware, there are arrears of several months, the last remittance is probably September 2015.

We are aware PenCom is making efforts to get the arrears paid and we expect the reduction of the arrears very soon.

Su;leiman

the import and transportation costs and their margin, we anticipate less pressure to that effect.

For us in FUG, we continue to maintain our optimism to sustain the expectation that we will be able to achieve our medium term goals. In the second quarter of this year, we have seen that we have actually been able to cover part of what we did not achieve in 2015.

How is the tough business environment, loss of jobs in different sectors affecting your growth?

A lot of shops have closed down and that has seriously affected our business in two ways. One is the drop in the rate of employment, which automatically affected our business in terms of the new accounts and enrolment. Secondly, in terms of having to service employees who are now out of job and will have to sustain themselves.

The law has provided that in the event of the loss of job and inability to get another job for a period of four months and above, he can apply to access 25 per cent of the balance in his account. Now this is an amount that would have been in the account to be invested for growth but because of his being laid off, the owner of the account can come to withdraw 25 per cent for consumption, meaning that only 75

per cent will remain to be invested. Besides, no new employee is coming into the system, and until that retrenched employee gets another job and start contribution again, if the employee fails to get another job up till 50 years, he will now come back as a retiree to fully access that account at lump sum as pension which normally he would not have done depending on the balance in the RSA. These are the two fronts by which our business is affected. It is a reality on ground, but we anticipate that as these companies commence investing again, the laid off workers will be called back to work. For us, generation of employment in all sectors is good for our business because everybody working will be expected to have a savings for their retirement.

Again, given the current economic situation, many employers are not remitting pension deductions. What is your position on this?

We cannot say remittances are not coming in.

Remittances are coming as long as companies continue to exist even those companies that have downgraded their operations and laid-off their workers. For workers who continue on employment, they continue to remit. However, it is the public sector you have this practice

Your company recently won the ISO certification quality award, what does it mean for your business.

Our board has always emphasised the need to achieve the objectives of safety of the funds we are managing, ensuring significant returns on those funds, ensuring effective service delivery to our clients. Every RSA holder actually will be concerned with returns on their investment and the service delivery particularly at the point of retirement. Having accepted that challenge we have to achieve, we positioned ourselves to be able to realise the most competitive returns in the industry. On the service delivery, we now decided that how do you achieve it. How will you be ranked as the most significant player in the industry? We then came to the conclusion that, the way to go is to achieve international best practice, and to be measured with any other organisation anywhere in the world. To be an ISO quality standard, we made ourselves available to be measured by the organisation that regulates standards worldwide. It is a certification that is given centrally and recognised globally to certify that an institution has achieved a certain minimum standard that is accepted globally. We voluntarily on our own decided to be measured, without prompting by anybody or the regulator.

We commenced the process of being certified when we met their standard that is considered as minimum.

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Finding Alternatives to Oil Bayo Adefemi On Tuesday 7th of June, Nigerians received the reaction of the federal government of Nigeria on the recent trend of retrenchment of workers in the financial services sector. The position of the federal government delivered by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige revealed a feeling of disapproval and shock that employers of labour in the financial sector especially banks were breaching its directives to stop further retrenchment of workers, with the government threatening to withdraw the operating license of any bank or telecommunication company that deliberately continues the onslaught on Nigerian workers. According to the minister, a rain of heavy sanction is soon to pour on erring companies because Government had a duty to protect jobs in this harsh economy.

Examining present realities Behind the terrible blow of mass sackings on Nigerian families, perhaps another pressing concern is that even critical services like electricity is failing with pitch darkness setting in on Major cities and placing businesses on a standstill in a country rated as the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa.

Food prices have also climbed at an alarming rate making the purchase of essential commodities extremely unaffordable for the common man with many traders attributing the climb to oil scarcity which resulted in high cost of transportation of goods, extra charges and even shortage in food supplies.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s employment crisis worsened in the first quarter of 2016, with unemployment rate rising to 12.1 per cent, the bureau said in its latest Unemployment Watch report. Between December 2015 and March 2016, the population of unemployed Nigerians increased by 518,000 to over 1.45 million. The report explained that the failure of government to meet its target of creating a minimum of 1.5 million jobs required for the period to keep the unemployment rate constant at 10.4 per cent before the end of December 2015 created the present unemployment situation.

Identifying a way out A growing number of seasoned analysts have expressed concerns about the prevailing economic realities well before it got this bad. A notable instance that of the Chief Executive Officer Economic Associates, Dr. Ayo Teriba, who encouraged the federal government to ensure a sustainably conducive environment for foreign businesses as off-shore investments contributes significantly to improving the economy and accelerate the process of national development.

Teriba explained that the best way to stimulate growth in the economy is to ensure that significant investments keep flowing into such sectors, adding that the growth progressively leads to improved revenue for the government. He admitted that Nigeria’s best example of success in attracting and retaining foreign investment has happened in the telecoms sector and the experience in the past 15 years ought to encourage Nigeria to solicit more in sectors even outside telecoms.

“The fastest growing economies in the world today accord a place of importance to foreign direct investments. India is an example. They started liberalising the investment since about 1991 and today, practically all their infrastructure sectors are open to foreign investments. Surprisingly they allow 100 per cent equity holdings for foreign companies because they have seen the benefits of funding strategy for growth, employment and for steady supply of services”.

CBN’s call for non-oil alternatives Delivering a lecture titled “Managing the Quandary of Commodity Price Declines in an Oil Dependent Economy” at the 40th anniversary and 22nd convocation ceremonies of the University of Maiduguri, Borno

Oil rig

State recently, Governor of the Central Bank Of Nigeria Godwin Emefiele represented by his deputy, Alhaji Suleiman Barau revealed that the nation’s import-related demand for foreign exchange rose to N102 billion monthly, despite the sliding fortunes of foreign exchange inflows from oil, which fell short of $1.36 billion monthly.

“It is important to note that the increased demand, which shows the country’s dependence on imported items, even the ones that can be made in the country, was in contrast to monthly average import bill of N12.4 billion in 2005; N65.6 billion in 2013; and N73.2 billion in 2014. It is against this backdrop that the CBN challenged the nation’s tertiary institutions to improve teaching and learning experiences to secure the desirable links among knowledge generation, economic growth and structural remodelling. Educational institutions must now impart to students high-level skills required to obtain and retain employment and most importantly create jobs, as well as align academic curricula with the development agenda of the times” the CBN chief said.

Saving the economy through non-oil alternatives Many Nigerians are embracing opportunities outside the oil sector to bail out the economy, entertainment, agriculture, arts and culture, tourism and even telecommunications are all emerging as sectors that hold the potential to balance out our revenue generation deficit.

For instance, prior to the oil boom of the 1970s, agriculture was the main stay of the Nigerian economy. The boom brought about a gradual shift from agriculture to crude oil making Nigeria to depend heavily on petroleum as a main source of foreign exchange earnings. Hence, the Agricultural sector which had been the back bone of the economy was out-rightly neglected. The time has come to reprioritize and consider previously unpopular options that hold a promise of economic growth and revenue generation that will ease and support the nation out of

the looming recession.

The telecoms sector is perhaps the most obvious alternative available and should be encouraged as such, regarded as the fastest growing sector of the Nigerian economy. The sector is indeed turning out to be the fastest growing contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria. The telecoms industry has seen an enviable growth with over $32 billion investment, more than 152 million subscribers and close to 100 million Internet subscriptions according to available statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the industry regulator.

Data released by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) also revealed that the telecommunications sector contributed 8.88 percent to the GDP in the final quarter of 2015.

Noteworthy is the fact that at the end of 2014, Nigeria alone had about 136 million registered lines from the four major operators (Etisalat, MTN, Glo and Airtel) and Nigeria telecom operators accounted for 35 per cent of the total Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, into Nigeria in 2014 alone.

This development has enhanced uptakes in financial transactions technology and payments systems, E-commerce facilitation, improvement and proliferation of transport services and virtually all services offerings that can be improved by digitalization.

As posited by many experts the globalization driven by ICT makes it imperative for Nigeria as an emerging market to seriously consider the application and promotion of ICT to facilitate its rapid growth and development.

MTN Nigeria probably the biggest foreign investor in Nigeria over the last decade has led the telecoms industry to achieve its huge contribution to the Nigerian economy. The company has invested an excess of 15 billion dollars in Nigeria, provided thousands of employment opportunities and has solely accounted for 4.5 per cent contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Aside the fact that the company had invested more than N3.2 trillion over the

past 15 years; it is also proudly impacting hundreds of communities positively across the country for the better.

Following this development many experts have called for an optimum utilization of available alternatives to the Oil sector in an attempt to positively revive the economy.

Moving forward with a positive outlook As Nigerians look forward to an improved condition and dividends of positive change from the present administration, it is imperative for government at all levels, private sector and relevant stakeholders to demonstrate a deliberate commitment to improving the economy.

There is indeed no better time than the present, to look -out of the box- of revenue generation from the oil sector. It is noteworthy that the National Assembly has shown its eagerness to play a leading role in the “Made in Nigeria” initiative through the application of legislative measures for Nigerians to do away with import dependency. This move should be supported by concrete actions to diversify the economy, increase productivity and provide job for the teeming number of unemployed youths.

Concerted effort should also be expended in creating an enabling environment for foreign investors and businesses which is why experts have rightly criticised the delay of Nigerian Lawmakers and long silence in finding an amicable solution to one of Nigeria’s biggest foreign investors MTN Nigeria/NCC regulatory debacle.

With timely, appropriate and sustained action taken in providing the proper growth strategy for turning around the economic woes, Nigerians look forward to measures that will encourage foreign business interests, a conscious attempt to empower non-oil alternatives and the encouragement of local production and consumption. With these and many more in place, it will certainly not be difficult to achieve the desired positive Change as the agenda the present administr Adefemi, an economic commentator, writes from Lagos

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NEWS

Berger Paint Shareholders Approve N217.4m Dividend EromoseleAbiodun Shareholders of Berger Paints Nigeria Plc have endorsed the directors’ proposal for the payment of a dividend of N 217. 4 million, translating into 75 kobo per share for the company’s 2015 financial year.

Besides, the elated shareholders have expressed support for the company’s automated plant, the first of its kind in Sahara Africa, which is expected to significantly increase the company’s operational efficiencies.

Addressing the shareholders last week at the annual general meeting (AGM), the Chairman of the company,

Dr.OladimejiAlo explained that the company had continued to make significant progress despite the challenging operating environment characterised by decline in the world crude oil prices, controversial exchange rate of the Naira to foreign currencies, delay in the budgetary approval insurgency and other disturbing issues, Berger Paints was able to scale the hurdle.

“In spite of the challenging operating environment, our Company continued to sustain its performance, with emphasis on profitability and value creation for shareholders.

Our Profit before Tax (PBT) grew from N 249.3 million in 2014 to N 565.2 million in

2015, representing a 126.7 per cent increase.

“As a demonstration of the confidence it has in the future of the Company, and to reward shareholders for their investment, the Board is recommending for your approval, the sum of N 217, 367, 585 to be paid out as dividend. This works out at 75 kobo per share, “Alo said.

He noted that as part of the strategy to sustain the company’s competitive edge, the special attention would be placed on the following: increase in the earnings and profitability, optimisation of existing assets and business operations, commissioning of

the new factory, investment in the leading brands, entering new categories with emphasis on nano castings, and driving efficient financial management among others.

Responding to shareholders’ comments, Alo assured them that the new factory under construction would bring about tremendous improvement in the company’s operations. According to him, talks are going on with the appropriate authorities to secure tax break as pioneer status. He explained that the request for bonus shares would be considered at the appropriate time while the company would deploy the use of its products as part of the new measures to

improve its community social relations (CSR).

Also speaking at the meeting, the Managing Director, Mr Peter Folikwe, explained that one of the strategic plans to boost earnings was to reduce cost through operational efficiency.

Folikwe stated that consumer education would be accorded high priority to strengthen the relationship between the company and its customers.

Commenting on the outsourced depots, the MD explained that it was a product of collaboration between the company and the entrepreneurs who are handling the depot business.Shareholders generally commended the board and

management for the company’s ability to sustain its operations despite the inclement operating environment. They assured the board and management of continued collaborative efforts.

Berger Paints Nigeria Plc, which commenced operations in Nigeria on the 9th January, 1959 is an acclaimed leader in the coating and allied industry in Nigeria. The company’s track records include its being the first paints manufacturer to be established on Nigeria, the first paints company to be quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the first paints researcher to introduce textured coating named Texcote to the Nigeria market.

FETS, PharmAccess Support Disadvantaged Communities Emma Okonji Funds and Electronic Transfer Solutions Limited (FETS) a leading Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) licensed mobile money operator in Nigeria and Communic8Health, a health market consumer research organisation in collaboration with PharmAccess Mobile Health Research Lab in Nigeria have successfully completed a study on digital payment for healthcare using the fets mobile money wallet platform, fetswallet.

The main objective was to study how mobile phones and mobile payment technologies can be used to improve access to affordable and quality healthcare services to individuals and communities otherwise constrained.

The study was designed to introduce low income households to mobile payment as an alternative to cash payments for health services; assess its usability and acceptability; observe any change in healthcare utilisation in the participating health facilities and the target participants’ health-seeking behavior and eventually migrate the households to a saving test to cater for their health expenses.

The observation study was carried out on 4 health facilities and 50 low income households in Makoko in Lagos, primarily targeting women with underfive children, classified as principals for the test, who owned a mobile phone.

Managing Director of FETS, Mrs.OmotadeOdunowo, said: “We are delighted to partner PharmAccess in this innovative initiative. We’re determined to spread the ‘gospel’ of electronic money transfer via Fetswallet to every nook and cranny in the country. The results from research will form viable data to inspire more of our service and product offerings to reach more Nigerians, especially disadvantaged individuals and communities who will benefit from our services.”

Principal Consultant at Communc8Health, Dr. Ademola Serrano, comments on the initiative, “Communic8Health believes the innovative application of simple and effective technologies will

solve common, real-world health problems in developing countries. This is what drives our approach to all projects we undertake.”

The Mobile Health Research Labs, Lagos, in partnership with the PharmAccess Foundation and FETS Limited, is providing the space where innovation in mobile health meets research, and we are glad to collaborate with them in creating sustainable mhealth solutions.

Prior to the commencement of the test, a programme orientation workshop was conducted for the principals on how to use their activated mobile money wallet to pay for health purchases and the protocol for access to care. As an added incentive N2,000 was subsidised to each household’s fetswallet to encourage participation in the programme and the observation study while the health facilities were not incentivised beyond the attraction of dedicated clients during the test period In terms of educational background and awareness, over 75 per cent of the women recruited had completed secondary school education and only a few of the participating households had heard of “mobile money”, and field agents recruited from the community had to explain its difference to the mobile call credit repeatedly.

From the health facilities perspective, after “ease of payment”, the convenience of using the fets mobile payment platform was actually the most touted advantage, and it was the main reason for recommendation to others. From the households’ perspective, over 82 per cent stopped carrying cash to the hospital due to the fact that they trusted their fetswallet to work. At the end of the six-months, almost all 98 per cent of the households indicated fetswallet had positively influenced the way they manage healthcare expenses. Likewise, over 54 per cent of the participating households indicated that they would like to save their own personal funds using the fets mobile money platform when asked.

BEHOLD OUR BRAND AMBASSADOR

L-R: CEO, Upfront &Personal, Global Manager Consultancy, Mr. Paul Okoye; Corporate Affairs Adviser, Nigeria Breweries Plc, Mr. Kufre Ekanem; Life Lager Ambassador, Chinedu Okoli (Flavour); Portfolio Manager, Mainstream and Stout, Mr. Emmanuel Agu and Senior Brand Manager, Regional Mainstream Brands, Mr. Funso Ayeni during a press conference to unveil Flavour as Life Continental Lager Beer Ambassador at the Nigeria Breweries Headquarters, lganmu, Lagos …recently Abiodun Ajala

Nigeria Breweries Unveils Winner Emerges in Three ‘Flavour’ for Life Campaign Crowns Competition Raheem Akingbolu Nigeria Breweries Plc has announced a Nigerian artist and Music star, Flavour, as brand ambassador for its Life Lager Beer.

At the unveiling, which took place at the company’s head office in Lagos recently, the artiste was presented to the media as the face of the Life Beer with the theme ‘Flavour for Life’.

The deal is expected to run for two years. Speaking at the event, Corporate Affairs Adviser Nigeria Breweries Plc, KufreEkanem, said the unveiling of Flavour as Life Beer ambassador is one of the huge stuffs for the company’s 70th year anniversary celebration.

He explained that Life Lager Beer originated from the Eastern part of the country, precisely in Anambra State, in 1981, and has always enjoyed huge patronage in the region.

According to him, the choice of Flavour as the face of Life Beer is connected to the fact that the artiste hails from Igbo land and his rhythm and style of music exudes the heritage of progress entrenched in the Igbo culture. This he said, made Nigerians and Africans love his music, even when they don’t understand the language.

“The Igbos belief that life is better when shared. They believe in sharing their heritage of progress, industry, resourcefulness, and enterprise values.

“Flavour embodies these values just as Life Continental Lager Beer defines the Igbo in every consumer. Life has chosen an ambassador that suites its focus,”he said.

Kufre however cautioned that Life Beer is not presented as an Igbo brand, but to everyone that identifies with and share the unique values of the Igbo culture; just as Flavour’s songs transcends religious, ethnic, and language barriers.

His words: “we have the biggest portfolio of brands. We have brands with regional and national focus, essence, target and focus. But here, we are just being through about the essence of life. Some Nigerians are not Igbo, but they like certain things about the Igbo culture.

The music of life goes beyond boundaries. Flavour’s songs are mostly in Igbo, but it attracts other tribes on the continent.”

Speaking on his partnership with the brand, Flavour said “I’m so happy and proud to be part of Life. I’ve been singing about how people should enjoy and express their life. Now I have the opportunity to key into it through this brand.

A mother of one, Mrs. NkechiBrayila has emerged the 2016 Three Crowns Milk mum of the year. Nkechi was declared winner ahead of four other finalists at the grand finale of the competition held recently in Lagos.

The panel of judges made up of Nollywood stars, Mercy Aigbe-Gentry, Annie Idibia, and popular Chef, UzorOrimalade declared NkechiBrayila the winner having scored overall highest mark in the three stages of the competition; Fitness, Smartness and Fun Tests.

By emerging the 2016 Three Crowns Milk Mum of the Year, Brayila would be rewarded with an all-expense paid trip for a family of 5 to an exotic location with one-year supply of Three Crowns Milk.

The second place winner Mrs. OlabisiOmolabi was rewarded with a double door Refrigerator, the third place winner won a Washing Machine while the fourth and the fifth placed contestants were given consolatory prizes of N50, 000.00 worth of shopping voucher each. The finalists also went home with cartons of Three Crowns milk products.

Speaking at the grand finale, the Marketing Director, FrieslandCampinaWAMCO, Mr. Tarang Gupta stated that the

Three Crowns Milk Mother’s Day campaign is deeply rooted in the brand’s purpose of recognizing and rewarding the key roles which the mother play as an enabler in the daily upkeep of the family.

Gupta noted that Three Crowns Milk as a low cholesterol milk brand that cares for the health and well-being of its consumers, is joining the rest of the world to put a smile on the faces of mothers for their love and care for the family.

“One of the key things that we have identified is that the foundation of any family is the mother and with them being the foundation, they need to stay fit and healthy which is what Three Crowns truly believes in. We strongly believe that if the pillar of the house being the mother is taken care of, the whole family is strong” he said.

Also speaking on the Mum of the Year initiative, the brand’s senior manager, Maureen Ifada, stated that the campaign is hinged on the brand’s repositioning ideology with the tagline Healthy Mums, Happy Family’ and also the belief that mothers are the pillars of the house therefore there is a need for the brand to continuously engage and enlighten them of the need to maintain a healthy family always.

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY,JUNE 15, 2016

EDUCATION Protecting Nigerian Children against Conflict, Crisis As Nigeria joins the rest of the world tomorrow to mark this year’s International Day of the African Child with the theme ‘Conflict and Crisis in Africa: Protecting all Children’s Rights’, Uchechukwu Nnaike examines the agony of Nigerian children and the efforts of governments and other agencies to protect their rights

Nigerian children need protection against crisis

The International Day of the African Child which is marked on June 16 has been celebrated every year since 1991, when it was first initiated by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to honour those who participated in the Soweto Uprising in 1976 on that day. It also raises awareness of the continuing need for improvement of the education provided to African children.

In Soweto, South Africa, on June 16, 1976, about 10,000 black school children marched in a column more than half a mile long, protesting the poor quality of their education and demanding their right to be taught in their own language. Hundreds of young students were shot, the most famous of which being Hector Peterson. More than a hundred people were killed in the protests of the following two weeks, and more than a thousand were injured.

The theme of this year’s Day of the African Child (DAC), ‘Conflict and Crisis in Africa: Protecting all Children’s Rights’, was decided by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) during its 25th ordinary session in April 2015.

In line with the ACERWC Continental Study on the impact of armed conflict on children is Africa, it is part of the efforts to elevate child protection agenda in conflict situation in Africa as well as a guarantee the protection and preservation of life and well-being of the African children The ACERWC stated that in the celebration of this year’s DAC, it must be understood that in the devastation that accompanies conflicts and crisis, children, being one of the most vulnerable segments of the civilian population, are negatively affected in various ways thus the protection of all children‘s rights must be prioritised.

The theme of this year’s celebration could not be more apt given the plight of children especially in Nigeria that are exposed to various forms of abuse and whose rights are being violated daily. These abuses include child labour, child marriage, rape, child trafficking, school drop- out, kidnap, among others.

According to the Nigeria Violence Against Children Survey, carried out by the National Population Commission, in collaboration with UNICEF and the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, one in two children experience physical violence; one in four girls and one in 10 boys experience sexual violence; and one in six girls and one in five boys experience emotional violence.

In the past few years, violation of the rights of Nigerian children has been on the increase as a result of the spate of violence especially in the north-eastern part of the country and the activities of terrorists.

In recent time, the media is always awash with reports of violent attacks and violence in most parts of the north with the casualties being women and children. Many communities have been destroyed by the terrorists, while those who survive the attacks flee to neighbouring towns and villages.

The activities of insurgents have led to the violation of the children’s right to shelter, as the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) continues to grow. This was confirmed by a recent report by UNICEF, which stated that more than 1.2 million Nigerian children have been displaced, while more than half of them are below the age of five.

Another devastating effect of the activities of insurgents is the various cases of abductions of women and children who are sexually abused and sometimes used as suicide bombers. A notable case of abduction is the kidnap of

about 200 students of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Bornu State more than two years ago. While a large number of the girls are still missing the ones that have been found were either pregnant or with children.

The Nigerian Constitution clearly articulates the rights of children in chapter four. They are: the right to life; the right to dignity of the human person; the right to personal liberty; the right to fair-hearing; the right to privacy and family life; the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; the right to freedom of expression and the press; the right of freedom of movement; the right to freedom from discrimination; the right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria; and the right against compulsory acquisition of one’s property without compensation Apart from the constitutional provision, the government has enacted several laws and signed other treaties to protect the rights of the child, some of them are: the Child Rights Act in 2013; Violation against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015; the national task force for the protection of children against violence; the Criminal Code, which have a range of offences meant for the protection of the child and the preservation of his dignity; the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989); and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1991).

There are also the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on November 201989 and the African Union Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (CRCW) adopted by the OAU Assembly of Heads of States and Governments in July 1990. Nigeria has signed both international instruments and

had ratified them in 1991 and 2000 respectively.

Both protocols reflect children as human beings and as subjects of their own rights. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) outlines the human rights to be respected and protected for every child under18 years and requires that these rights be implemented.

Though not much was done by previous governments in the country to protect the rights of the child in compliance with the acts and treaties, but many non-governmental organisations have been established to protect these rights and act as checks to the government.

There is also the Nigeria Network of NGOs (NNNGO), which supports Nigerian NGOs in their commitment to poverty reduction, promotion of human rights and in bringing development to the door-steps of the common man.

Among other objectives, the NNNGO engages with government and other stakeholders.

By representing the sector to the Nigerian government and other key stakeholders, it ensures that the voices of its members are put forward in discussions and engagements with government.

As the country continues to grapple with the violation of the rights of children, worsened by activities of insurgents, President Muhammadu Buhari has recently pledged to mobilise Nigerians to resist violence against children. The president, who stated this at the launch of the Year of Action to End Violence against Children in Abuja, also expressed his administration’s commitment to protect the children against sexual, emotional and physical violence.

He promised to strengthen policies and programme that protect children from violence, as well as give psycho-social support to vulnerable children.

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY,JUNE 15, 2016

EDUCATION

‘Girl-child Education is as Important as Life’ The Group Chief Executive Officer, United Capital Plc, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Sanni is an accomplished lawyer, who in the course of her career has traversed the judicial and financial sectors and believes that education gave her the push. In this interview with Peace Obi, she makes a case for girl-child education Girl-child education has been a global concern for years and for many countries, there has been a continuous effort by governments and other stakeholders to address the problem of poor enrolment or drop out among girls.

Several national and international initiatives have also been adopted in the process, among which are the elapsed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and recently the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with their respective targets.

With the MDGs and the SDGs having both global and local outlook, countries have on their own tailored these goals and targets to suit their specific development needs.

To this effect, several initiatives such as the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) ‘Let the Girls Learn’ to ‘Nigeria’s Girl’s Education Initiative’ (NGEI), among others are serving as flagships to give the girlchild better chances to access education.

While these and more are all laudable efforts, the Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), United Capital Plc, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Sanni, said there is need for more conscious efforts that would deliver accessible quality education to the Nigerian girl.

For her, in this dispensation, Nigerian girls need and deserve such educational standard that would put them on the path of self-discovery, acquire knowledge and skills, build competences that will enable them pursue their desired profession and be whoever they want to be.

According to her, since education is at the base of manpower discovery, nurture, training and development, it should be seen as the best experience that every girl-child should have to be rightly discovered and positioned.

The lawyer turned boardroom guru believes that her ability to have explored the different opportunities so far in her career was possible because of the quality of education her parents exposed her to; and to her, education is a gift that no child should be denied access to, irrespective of colour, gender or socio-economic class or even disability.

“I have a father that prioritised education and he felt that education is one singular legacy he owed his children and gave us an excellent education.”

She stressed that quality education is not necessarily a matter of enrolling the child in the best school in town, paying school fees, providing materials needs and the likes, but beyond that, parents should get actively involved in their children’s education.

Sanni said attention should be paid to minor things like a child’s study habit, subjects of interest, difficulties and challenges and more importantly, making sure that the opportunity presented through education is not wasted.

“So my father encouraged very healthy and consistent study habit among his children.

And I have a mother who supported him.

She was also a disciplinarian and I think it is still very important that every girl-child deserves the best education that we can give her.”

With Nigeria’s failure to achieve the MDGs, which also translates to failure in

Sanni

the global education agenda, she said the SDGs present another opportunity. Although through the various initiatives such as the Universal Basic Education and NGEI), some improvements were made at the federal and state government levels.

She added that sustaining such gains from the various initiatives such as improved school enrollment, reduced number of dropouts, among others, should not be a responsibility for the government alone, but it requires the active participation and contribution of other stakeholders.

“I think this is not just a job for government, it is a job for the community, for all leaders and I think this is a job also for the organised sector to support as much as possible. Every African child, every Nigerian child deserves the best education.”

Describing education as being more than literacy to include the act of cultivating values and dreams in the lives of learners, the CEO hinted that girl-child education is as important as life itself and that the Nigerian government needs to pay adequate

attention to its education system through policy framework and funding.

“Nigeria should prioritise girl-child education. It should have a consistent and well-articulated plan, and it should have more than adequate budget for girls’ education.”

While stressing that factors like insecurity, cultural barriers, social exclusion, conflicts, among others, that deter the girl-child from attending school should be properly addressed, she said the safety and security of the girl-child is important. “Our children need to be safe in the schools, safe school initiatives and everything that ensures that a child can learn in a secure environment without fear of being kidnapped, abused or molested or discriminated against is very important.”

Joining her voice with other agitators calling for an inclusive, accessible and affordable education for Nigerian children, Sanni restated that every child deserves quality education, if not free, at least an affordable quality education. “Education should be accessible and should be affordable for every child. Both

children from the rural areas and children from well to do background should be entitled to quality education. Government should prioritise this and also NGOs, civil society organisations, churches, mosques, everybody should work to make sure that free or at least affordable quality education is available to Nigerian children.”

She argued that the demand that the girl-child and all Nigerian children Should be educationally equipped and empowered is an attainable goal, which requires some practical steps like specialised funds; public and private sector initiatives; creating sufficient awareness about the plight of the girls that are lacking education, among others.

Highlighting the roles of the girl-child in meeting the world’s expectation of having 21st century girls and women who are confident, whose education and training will pave way for them to contribute in their communities and countries, she urged girls to be resilient.

She also advised the Nigerian girl-child to make the most of every opportunity that comes her way, adding that the starting point of success for every girl is the setting of goals, remaining committed and focused on their future. While acknowledging that the girl-child could face some challenges on the way to live out her dream, Sanni said hard work, tenacity and resilience are the antidotes to the hurdles.

Providing more insights on how the girlchild can overcome some of her challenges, she said reading and learning about female leaders that have succeeded would help, as well as role modelling and mentorship.

Sharing her experience, Sanni who said her parents were her mentor at the early stage of her life, said her mother taught her industry and discipline, while she learnt hard work, contentment and dedication from her father.

“The only car my father had in his old age was the one his children contributed money to buy for him. Though he retired as a deputy accountant general, he was never a rich man. Those were the kind of civil servants we had in those days. He was just a hard working person who was devoted to the service of his community and his family.”

She added that having had her primary and secondary education in mission schools and being taught along the line by nuns who were selfless, humble and disciplined also shaped her.

“I went to a Roman Catholic school; the nuns taught us and if there is one thing I know about the nuns, we learnt humility from them. They were self-disciplined, they didn’t promote themselves; they were all about service, they were humble and were all about order. There were a lot of instructions and order.”To the CEO, if there is any developmental goal the world should vigorously pursue, it should be giving the girl-child access to quality education. “The world and Nigeria in particular stands to fulfill her economic potential for greatness which we cannot do until women who most of the time represent 50 per cent of the population are also able to actualise their potential. That is what the world stands to gain.”

Benue Stops Conditional Charges in State Varsity George Okoh in Makurdi The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has directed the state university to withdraw the conditional charges it introduced and that it should revert to the old regime of charges. He directed the

management to sort out those who already paid the new charges amicably.

Ortom said he took the decision following concerted appeals from major stakeholders in the university, including prominent citizens, parents, students as well as

the public.

He said as a democratically elected governor, he has a responsibility to be sensitive to the views of the people and their plight, hence the decision.

The governor promised that the state government would

explore other avenues to raise internally generated revenue to address the concerns that led the university to introduce the charges.

“We are also verifying the sources of income of the university and if we see that there is need for

a review of the conditional charges, we shall seek inputs from all major stakeholders including members of the State House of Assembly.”

He regretted the discomfort and pains which the development might have caused and commended

the management of the institution and the students for not allowing the issue to degenerate further.

Ortom also thanked those who were concerned and took the time to raise the matter with him personally or at other appropriate fora.

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY,JUNE 15, 2016

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EDUCATION

Don’t Let Global Celebrities Die in Vain

Some students performing at the International Festival of Language and Culture in Abuja… recently

Students Celebrate Cultural Heritage at IFLC Uchechukwu Nnaike

Students from various countries recently converged on Washington DC’s largest concert hall, DAR Constitution Hall to mark the 14th International Festival of Language and Culture (IFLC).

The IFLC, an international annual celebration aimed at sharing universal value of love, peace and friendship, first started in 2003 in Turkey as Turkish Olympiads with only 17 countries in attendance. The event has come to be one of the major festivals of Latin America and now the world with over 2,000 participants from 145 countries.

The festival brings students from around the world each year to showcase their cultures and languages to the world and encourage unity in diversity.

In 2014, the festival changed its name from International Turkish Language Olympiad to the International Language and Culture Festival. The first 11 editions held in Turkey, but due to government hostility and the ongoing persecution of the Gülen or Hizmet movement- which is involved in organising the festival- the organisers in 2014 decided to hold the event in various countries to avoid potential problems.

This year in the US, the event was hosted by actor Andy Garcia and was attended by Congressman Mike Honda, who represents California’s 17th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives; Congressman Randy Weber for the 14th District of Texas; and US President Barack Obama, who could not attend, but sent his delegate, as well as a message which read: “The rich cultures and unique histories of our global society are brought to life through mesmerising dance and captivating performance.

“In demonstrating the traditions that make your heritages special, festivals like

this one allow us to bear witness to the ways hope and beauty stem from songs of inclusion. Your efforts to unite young people from across the globe reflect the power our common humanity has to transcend what sets us apart. As you come together to celebrate the cultural mosaic that is our world and forge bonds of friendship, I wish you all the best.”

In his remarks, Honda thanked the students for coming all the way to perform in Washington and emphasised that Turkey is the only country where the IFLC is not able to bring their message of peace and love.

“It is a shame; for the third straight year Turkish authorities have banned the IFLC and they continue their oppression on the Hizmet Movement and its founder Mr. Fethullah Gülen. As we celebrate diversity and multiculturalism through our children tonight, let us reaffirm our promise as a nation to stand up against oppression and intolerance. We are here to celebrate and respect the diversity in all our nations.”

The IFLC participants also visited the United Nations Headquarters in New York, where they also received a message from the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, who said “I am delighted to greet the IFLC; I commend the Peace Islands Institute for making this meeting possible and bringing young people from 27 countries together to discuss and celebrate our cultural and linguistic diversity,” In Nigeria, this year’s International Conference of Language and Culture held in Abuja and was attended by government functionaries and well-meaning Nigerians.

A large number of students were on hand to present their messages of peace, tolerance and service to humanity in the form of drama and music.

Speaking at the event with the theme ‘The Colours of the World’, the Minister

of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, assured the organisers of the ministry’s readiness to synergise with them to provide an enabling environment for the protection and preservation of languages and culture.”

Students of various schools conveyed their messages through dances and dramas in representation of our diverse ethnic groups.

Among the entertainers was a Turkish teacher Mr. Aksu from the Nigerian Turkish International College (NTIC), Abuja, who thrilled the audience when he sang a popular Nigerian song in local dialect and danced in indigenous steps. Students representing the Igbo culture performed a welcome eulogy in fluent Igbo language and complete Igbo traditional attire while their drama was a reflection of peace.

Among the other dances portrayed by the students were English, cultural dances in Hausa and Yoruba and some international dances in Indian, Dernière (French) and Turkish.

The event, which was witnessed by over 1,000 audience which included a mixture of Turkish citizens, Indians, Chinese, among others came to a close with a short, but hilarious karate demonstration by the students to show how much strength humility can produce.

Apart from Nigeria and the US, the other countries that joined in the celebration were Mozambique, Brazil, Romania, Ethiopia, Thailand, Morocco, the Philippines, among others.

This year’s IFLC brought together hundreds of students from around the world and in the words of Dr. Aisha Abdullahi, the African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs: “On behalf of African Union Commission I am really pleased to be in festival of colors. It is amazing; the songs, the dances, the colours and beautiful combination of people. Let’s maintain peace and tolerance in the world.”

Sang Beu Academy Reaches Out to Less Privileged Children Peter Uzoho Sang Beu Academy, an elementary school in Victoria Island, Lagos recently visited Ilasan Community to celebrate with the less-privileged children in the area as part of activities marking this year’s Children’s Day. At the event, children of the community were taught the importance of education through various presentations by the pupils of the school.

The children of the community, who also participated in the kiddies’ games, were presented

with books, food and drinks, as well as clothes and shoes as a show of love and care.

According to the Head of School, Sang Beu Academy, Ms. Tobi Ita, the event was intended to educate the children of the community on the importance of education, and to let the her pupils know that there is more to life than the comfort they enjoy, while also helping them to be aware of their responsibility to the society.

“I am very excited that we were able to bring all the children of this community

to come out to celebrate with us. Most importantly, I think that they would learn something from today’s event; we have educated them on the importance of reading, we have tried to capture them.

Though, we might not capture everyone, but I think there is one child here who has been impacted in one way or the other, and that was our motive.

“Also, we wanted the Sang Beu Children to learn that there is more to life than the comfortable shelter they have, and that there are other people that don’t have as

much as they have. And I wanted them to learn that they have a responsibility to the society they are in, which is to give back. I am very sure they have learnt that.”

On his part, the Bale of Iroko, Ilasan community, Chief Akeem Seriki thanked the school for organising the event and called for more of such programme.

“We thank God for today’s event; we keep praying that such thing will keep coming to this community so that the children will always be happy.

Teachers must harness international news as the opportunity to pass on vital information to their students. There was great media hype on the throes of Parkinson’s disease last week. I joined in the awareness with my article, in this column last week. I pray Mohammed Ali rests in peace.

Earlier this year, liver problems claimed a number of notable figures like David Bowie and Natalie Cole. Lately on the home front, Nigeria’s sports men Stephen Keshi and Amadu Shuaib have died from internal organ related issues. The workings of our liver, being of interest to me, have made me dig a bit more into preventable liver problems. I hope you’d find the following facts on hepatitis useful to explain to your students.

Our internal organs can also experience soreness, swelling, puffiness, rawness, ‘heat’, ‘burning’, redness, infection, festering infection, septicity and tenderness. Hepatitis is a condition in which the liver is inflamed. In other words, hepatitis refers to liver-inflammation. Liver inflammation could occur as a result of certain medical conditions like autoimmune disease, alcohol use, chemicals and drugs.

But, approximately half of all hepatitis are caused by viruses.

Therefore we say that the individual has viral hepatitis and classify its different forms as Hepatitis A, B, C, D, E, and possibly G. However, Hepatitis A, B and C are the most common forms of viral hepatitis. In clinical settings, these forms are abbreviated as HAV, HBV, HCV for hepatitis A, B and C respectively.

For many years, hepatitis B and C viruses may continue to replicate and gain ground as a ‘resident infection’ in the liver. The non-suspecting individual experiences mild and non-specific symptoms or no discomfort at all. In this chronic phase, the virus gradually damages liver functions, scars it (cirrhosis) until it eventually causes liver failure or liver cancer.

As in the acute phase, the symptoms experienced in the chronic phase of hepatitis A, B and C include: fatigue, nausea, poor appetite, stomach pains, fever, dark urine, light colored stools and yellow skin and eyes- jaundice.

Viral hepatitis is infectious and therefore preventable. As with most infectious diseases, avoiding an exposure to the viruses is the best preventative measure..

Omoru writes from the UK

Nigeria is Looking up to You, Ikpeazu Tells Babcock Graduands The Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, has charged the 2016 graduands of Babcock University, Ogun State to prepare for leadership roles in Nigeria, stressing that the country is looking up to them for solution to its problems.

Ikpeazu, who was the special guest of honour at the 14th undergraduate and fifth postgraduate convocation ceremony of the university, commended the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nigeria for the vision of establishing the university.

“Thirty two years ago, I had this opportunity at the University of Maiduguri to participate in a convocation ceremony as a graduand. Today it is your turn.

As graduands of this prestigious institution, I want to remind you that Nigeria is looking up to you to provide leadership.

The future of Nigeria is in your hands. Take the opportunity that is before you today to make a difference.”

Ikpeazu, who spoke on the challenges facing the country said: “Nigeria today is looking for the solution to our economic problems. We want solution to the killings by Fulani herdsmen; we want to quell the issue of insurgency orchestrated by Boko Haram; we want a solution to

the avengers that are avenging in the Niger Delta, and the leadership of the country today appears to be confused on what to do, and they are looking up to you, therefore this is an opportunity for you as leaders of today, and not leaders of tomorrow. Do not shy away from the calling for you to serve Nigeria. You must decide the way forward because the responsibility has fallen on you.

“I want to commend the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nigeria for the vision to establish this institution that has produced people that are making Nigeria proud in their various areas of endeavor.”

The governor, who vowed to be an ambassador of the university and the church, said: “As a member of the Seventhday Adventist Church and a stakeholder in this institution, I promise to be your ambassador, even as a governor.

“I will carry and proclaim the three angels’ message as recorded in the Bible book of Revelation, which is one of the cardinal messages of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

I promise never to disappoint you as your ambassador serving as a governor in Nigeria.”

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY,JUNE 15, 2016

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EDUCATION

‘University Curriculum must be Industry Based’ Funmi Ogundare Stakeholders in the education sector have called for the revamp of universities’ curriculum to make it industry-based, while stressing the need for information technology-related courses to be included in it to give students the necessary skills to be ready for the world of work after graduation.

Making her recommendations during a press parley on the first stakeholders’ summit of the Lagos State Wealth Creation and Employment, the Principal Consultant, Lonadek Nigeria Limited, Dr. Ibilola Amao, said employability must be tied to

the curriculum, adding that there has to be a train-the-trainers programme to boost the skills of graduates in the construction industry for instance.

“There should be close collaboration between the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB) and the government such that upon completion of their courses, there will be no need for the graduates to go and look for jobs.”

She also recommended a sector skill council certification for Technical and Vocational Education (TVE), as well as rules and regulations in the state that will categorise the

product in the construction industry. “Communication is the key. Through various media, Lagos State has to do a lot to generate youth inclusiveness in the progress of the state.”

The Director, Human Resources, Nigerian Breweries PLC, Mr. Victor Famuyibo, called for a collaborative effort between the government and the private sector, adding that students must acquire the necessary skills before they enter the world of work. “Most students only have good brains but no skills, with private sector collaboration with government, they will be forced to create jobs rather than look for jobs.”

He also stressed the need for tax concession for start-ups so that more people can be encouraged to start their businesses rather than being stifled with taxes.

The Intervention Manager, UK DFID Gems 4, Mr. Sherif Mohammed, expressed delight to be associated with the ministry of wealth creation and employment, adding that considering the myriads of challenges of unemployment in the country, the agency would support the ministry in building capacity.

“The ministry needs to partner other ministries to reduce food wastage, for instance, we believe in them and we will continue

to work with them.”

The Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mr. Babatunde Durosimi-Etti, said his ministry would continue to work together and have a constructive engagement with the private sector so as to fulfil its obligation.

“The idea is to look at areas of intervention and challenges facing the sector, as well as obligations of the government regarding employment generation.

It would enable the government to see how they could service the sector more and on the part of the private sector, how they can also work with the government

and government will rekindle the trust of the private sector.”

He expressed hope that if things work out well and the GDP and productivity goes up, it will have a multiplier effect on employment and wealth creation, adding that this can only be done by the enabling environment.

Durosinmi-Etti said his ministry would embark on a review and publication of the recommendations of the summit, adding that it would collaborate with other relevant counterpart ministries and government agencies to continue the engagement with the private sector to get the job done.

Firm Launches Education TV Channel for Indigenous Family Entertainment A Lagos-based firm, R-Wells Media has launched a new children’s channel, Jyb TV on StarTimes (channel 361) to address increasing parents’ concerns over children’s viewing habits and growing demand for wholesome indigenous family entertainment.

The new channel has been developed to inspire learning, ignite passion and aid total development of young minds between six and 24 age old, and assist parents who crave for moral and ethical entertainment for their growing children. The channel was launched as part of programmes to commemorate this year’s Children’s Day and Day of the African Child, which comes up on June 16.

StarTimes’s programmes are available in seven genres: children, documentary, news and current affairs, music, movies and general entertainment, sport and religion. For children, StarTimes offers JimJam, Nickelodeon, Da Vinci Learning, NTA Knowledge, PoP and Child’s Smile.

The educative, enriching and entertaining Jyb TV is the latest children channel to be launched on StarTimes and will offer the best in fun and educational programming for the family. From fact highlights, vox pops, health talks, school programmes, talk shows, drama and debates, Jyb TV will inspire conversation and spark curiosity in young minds.

According to the Marketing Director, StarTimes, Dare Kafar, “Jyb TV enables future leaders to learn, find their passion and pursue their dreams on a very local but enriching, exciting and wholesome platform that support parents in raising decent champions.

“The time is right to offer another local but world class channel to parents and children.

We are aware of the issue around screen time, so we needed to create a solution which allows children to watch shows which are fun, educational and that encourage imagination as there is still merit in what they can learn and absorb from the right programming.”

The Managing Director, RWells Media, Mrs. Jibe Ologeh said, “Jyb TV is a 24/7 television station offering indigenous content for children, teenagers and young adults. It is the go to

station for quality children and youth oriented programming and promises to deliver wholesome content that will enrich the lives of its viewers.”

She highlighted some of the key shows on the channel to include ‘Young Scholars’, its flagship leading entertaining and educative television programme for children. The programme embraces scholars within the ages of seven-21; focuses on developing young talents and provides a platform for young minds to express themselves.

According to her, ‘Our Future’ gives the child (per episode) the opportunity to live out a day of his/he dream career. Children get the opportunity to sit with a career counsellor and obtain a feel of what is in store for them in the chosen occupation.

‘Scholars Chat’ she said is a TV talk show where selected young scholars sit to chat and discuss issues affecting children and teenagers either directly or indirectly. The topics may be scholastic, personal, social, religious, political or any issue of interest.

Another programme Ologeh said is the ‘Cultural Hub’, an African cultural show that explores and showcases to scholars the importance and values of the African culture.

Other programmes are ‘School on TV’, which provides viewers with well detailed lessons on major academic subjects; ‘In Charge’, which provides a platform for creative youths who own their businesses or are making a living for themselves engaging in the creative industries. “It aims to expose and encourage youths with some level of skill or technical ability already navigating their way in these industries: fashion, art, design, music (production preferably), film, writing, creative blogging, performing art, curating, theatre and photography.

Also, ‘Diamond in the Rough’ provides a platform for emerging exceptionally skilled young adults to showcase their abilities.

“Our vision is to provide educative and entertaining content that will impact positively on the lives of our audience; to be the number one indigenous channel for children and young adults, promoting Nigerian culture locally and internationally,” Ologeh said.

CREATING EMPLOYMENT

L-R:The Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Durosinmi Etti; Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oluranti Adebule; and Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu, during the first stakeholders’ summit organised by the ministry in Lagos... recently

‘Vision Problems Can Affect Academic Performance’ Medifield Healthcare Limited, one of the leading providers of school health services, has identified vision problems as having an adverse effect on a child’s academic achievement in school.

A recent survey carried out by the organisation during a health screening exercise for over 2,000 primary school pupils for two academic sessions, had pupils’ academic performance monitored before and after vision screening exercises.

According to the Executive Director in charge of operations

at Medifield, Dr. Femi Jegede, “with 95 per cent of learning through sight, ability to see well has become a critical consideration in knowing how well your pupil can cope at school. There is a lot of evidence to show that the rate of vision problems among pupils require interventions such as recommendation of reading glasses.

“From our study, we noted a considerable number of pupils with myopic vision issues such that they have trouble reading blackboard notes or other classroom presentation

materials, while another group of pupils had hyperopic conditions meaning they have trouble reading or doing any kind of close work. We also identified several other types of eye disorders that can lead to permanent visual impairment if not identified and treated early.”

While reiterating the need for vision screening in schools, Jegede, who led the Medifield team that conducted the study, stressed that early detection of vision problems has a demonstrated impact on the quality of life and academic

performance of pupils.

“Implementing vision screening exercise in schools will help to ensure that pupils’ visual issues are identified and promptly resolved thereby helping them to succeed academically, athletically and socially.”

Medifield Comprehensive School Health and Health Screening Programmes are designed by Medifield Healthcare Limited with quality in mind to provide integrated healthcare services to pupils of primary and secondary schools based on the principles of care.

Olashore School Harps on Emotionally Literate Teachers Olashore International School, Osun State has urged teachers to be emotionally literate especially in dealing with their students, by taking cognizance of the Social and Emotional Aspect of Learning (SEAL) of students to help improve their academic performance.

This was stated at the Olashore Teachers’ Training Programme with the theme, ‘21st Century Challenges and Remedies in Teaching and Learning’, organised for Olashore partner schools in Lagos recently.

The second edition of the training is a social responsibility initiative geared towards creating a forum where teachers from partner schools can share ideas on improving self and effectiveness.

One of the facilitators, a Bradford College-trained teacher, and an Olashore Master Teacher in Physics, Mr. Jatto John, highlighted the relevance of SEAL, saying that the positive social and economic well-being of a student enables him/her to become more effective and confident learning individually, while developing his/her skills in group learning, and fostering team spirit and collaborative learning.

“SEAL can affect a student’s academic performance positively and negatively. It will be good for a teacher to have a reasonable insight into the background of the child in order to manage interactions. If a child knows that you empathise with him/ her, he/she pays more attention

during classes, and positive responses will be seen in the child’s academics.

“To manage students’ behavior, certain skills should be employed such as self-awareness, emotional management, empathy, motivation, and social interaction. I believe that SEAL can assist in the overall behavior of a student.

To be emotionally literate is to be able to handle emotions in a way that improves your personal power and improves your quality of life and equally important, the quality of life for the people around you. My advice to Nigerian teachers and teachers all over the world is for them to exercise patience in teaching so that they can carry students along.”

Another facilitator, who was also trained at Bradford College, and an Olashore Master Teacher in Chemistry, explained that people learn better when they are interested, involved and appropriately challenged by the work.

In his paper, ‘Active Engagement Techniques’, he said, “active engagement techniques in teaching and learning will allow for on the surface learning, but deeper learning. In order to develop engagements, a good teacher-pupil relationship has to be developed; physical environment has to be attended to and clearly defining routines and ground rules.”

He highlighted the strategies of thinking skills to include classification, odd man-out, mysteries, and mapping.

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EDUCATION

CAN Faults Revised Basic Education Curriculum James Sowole in Akure The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has faulted the recently revised Basic Education Curriculum, which merged the formally independent subjects into one called ‘Religion and National Values’.

The subjects according to CAN, Ondo State are Christian Religious Studies, Islamic Studies, Civic Education, Social Studies and Security Education, which have been merged into one compulsory subject.

Addressing journalists in Akure, the CAN Chairman, Reverend John Oladapo, who was accompanied by other officers of the association in Ondo State and south-west, said though a review of curriculum by government is desirable in order to provide functional education, such exercise ought to be done with caution.

He said the review ought to eliminate subject matter overlaps, redundancies and enrich curriculum quality through the infusion of emerging issues.

Oladapo said the review as done by the federal government through the Nigerian Education Research and Development Council (NERDC) was faulty because holistic view of rights as enshrined both in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Child Rights Act were not taken into consideration.

He said the constitution and the act pointed to the fact that the parents or legal guardians should be taken into consideration in any matter that affects the interest of the child.

“Unfortunately, the current

educational curriculum did not take all these into consideration.

In fact parents as stakeholders were not consulted before the formulation and implementation.

“The right of the child not to be exposed to a contrary religion outside that of his parents or guardian was not taken into consideration by this curriculum.

“This has been made possible because the NERDC-approved textbooks for this subject contain materials on both Christian Religious Studies and Islamic Studies.”

Quoting Section 38(2) of the 1999 Constitution, the CAN chairman said: “No person attending any place of education shall be required to receive religious instruction or take part in any religious observance that is contrary to his religion or religion of his or her parents or guardian.

“Also, subsection (1) of the same Section 38 makes it explicit that freedom of worship is sacrosanct.”

Quoting some of the alleged offensive and controversial part of the curriculum, Oladapo said the disadvantages of the omnibus integration outweigh whatever could be the advantages.

“When five subjects are merged into one, it is obvious that detailed work cannot be achieved both in writing of the textbook and the teaching. The child will be made to struggle to learn and comprehend five in one subject, which is not going to be easy.

“The result would be ‘penny wise pound foolish’ as excellence would be sacrificed at the altar of social integration.”

Senator Scores Niger Education Sector Low Laleye Dipo in Minna Senator David Umaru has expressed disappointment with the Niger State education sector, saying that “it is in a deplorable condition needing urgent intervention.”

Umaru, who represents Niger East Senatorial District in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, said the situation “is so bad that pupils and students receive instructions in dilapidated buildings,” just as he submitted that virtually all the schools in the state especially those in the rural areas lack instructional materials.

Umaru, who spoke to journalists in Minna on Monday, said because of the poor state of schools, especially in rural areas, pupils no longer go to schools making the available infrastructure to be habited by animals and over grown with weeds.

“From what I have discovered so far the education sector is in a very deplorable condition I feel very sad, I wonder what our future will be like if government does not put a lot of efforts in this regard.

“There are schools in a lot of areas that I have visited that there are no teachers, they have not been going to schools in the last 10 years, the buildings are there but there are no teachers.”

He added that the affected areas are in the “hinterland”,

adding that as a legislator he had designed a programme that would solve part of the problems in the education sector.

Umaru said part of the programme was the training of 325 students on how to sit for Computer Based Tests CBT a scheme he said had consumed over N14m including the establishment of an ICT centre in Minna for indigent students..

In addition the federal lawmaker disclosed that the David Umaru Foundation would give automatic scholarship to all the students from his constituency who gained admission into tertiary institutions anywhere in the country just as he added that he would also pay the NECO or WAEC fees for indigent students in his constituency.

He also disclosed that he had secured approval for the establishment of WAEC examination centre for private candidates at Sabon Wuse and Ijah Gwari in Tafa local government area as part of his educational incentives for private students with enthusiasm to enhance their educational career.

Vowing that education would continue to be the major focus of his intervention as a legislator Senator David Umaru admonished the well to do in the society not to leave the funding of the sector to the government alone because the resources of the government are limited with a lot of demands.

CMS Grammar School Advocates Proper Data Collection in Education Rebecca Ejifoma CMS Grammar School, the oldest secondary school in Nigeria, has called on governments at all levels to take data collection seriously in the education sector to enhance planning.

The school during a colloquium titled, ‘157th Year of Secondary Education in Nigeria’ to mark its 157th founder’s day, urged the government to create a regulatory body for secondary education in the country and ensure consistency of curriculum and policies.

The Head, Department of Education Administration, University of Lagos, Prof. Stephen Oyebade in his keynote address, identified lack of accurate data on students and teachers, poor training and remuneration of teachers and political intervention as some of the challenges facing

the development of education in the country.

Other challenges he mentioned are: poor funding, inconsistent and corruption in schools inspection, poor infrastructure, frequent strikes, and poor reading culture.

Oyebade affirmed that access to education has improved over the years with the advancement of technology, particularly the internet which provides access to millions of reading materials online on daily basis. “Technology has changed the structure of education in recent time. Students now have access to information and gargets that their teachers don’t have. Some are more informed than their teachers, but there are challenges.

“We don’t have the accurate number of students and teachers in our schools; there is no available data for those who will be admitted next. The

government needs data to plan for the development of new infrastructure to enhance learning.”

In his remarks, the President of the Old Grammarians’ Society, Mr. Adedapo Fashanu, described the school as the symbol of quality secondary education in Nigeria, adding that the school is not only celebrating its 157th founder’s day but also marking 157th years of secondary education in the country.

“The colloquium is aimed at ensuring that CMS Grammar School contributes to policies that will positively affect the development of education in Nigeria. I therefore urge governments at all levels to return schools to their original owners for them to attain the level development that CMS Grammar School has experienced in recent time.”

Fashunu said the school has

witnessed tremendous progress over the years since the Lagos State government returned it to the owner. “A lot has been achieved with the support of the old boys of the school.”

Other recommendations at the colloquium included: prompt payment of allowance and salaries of teachers; increase in funding for schools by governments corporate organisations and the missionaries; training of teachers.

Participants also suggested that the government should encourage mother tongue in secondary schools; promote cultural values by governments, parents and teachers; implement laws on examination malpractice; establish more technical schools; and the inspection of schools by uncorrupt judges.

EDUCATION ON THEIR MINDS

R-L: Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Jimi Agbaje; the Managing Director, Edumark Consult, Mrs. Yinka Ogunde; a representative of the Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Titilayo Solarin; and former Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, during 2016 Total School Support/ Exhibition organised by Edumark in Lagos… recently

Peak Holds World Milk Day, Emphasises Health Benefits Funmi Ogundare More than 20,000 students from various public and private schools in Lagos recently converged on the Blue Roof, LTV, Ikeja for the World Milk Day organised by Peak Milk.

The programme, designed to propagate the values and essence of milk particularly among the young population, witnessed a cooking competition among 10 schools to let people know that there is more than they can do with milk than they currently know.

In her remarks, the Marketing Manager, Peak Milk, Mrs. Dolapo Otegbayi, said there is a lot more that could be done

with milk, apart from the fact that it is beneficial to people.

“It is one of the natural sources of vitamin; it enhances growth, as well as physical performance, and it is also one of the cheapest sources of protein that we have around. It also helps in the general development of children.”

She called for a roundtable discuss on the importance of diary and milk, saying, “it is high time stakeholders began to talk about it, we all know that Peak has been in Nigeria for the past 60 years. We all do our best to propagate the values and essence of milk particularly among the young population.

Over 40 per cent of Nigerians

are under the age of 18 so you can imagine if we don’t start talking about milk now, then there could be a time when there is no more milk.”

On the selection of the 10 schools for the competition, Otegbayi said, “we activated over 500 schools in Lagos, this is the first time we are having this activity beyond, it is about raising the awareness and getting Nigerians to know that there is more that we can do with milk than we currently know.

“We have reached over 500,000 children as well, we saw the kind of recipes the children came up with without the support of their teachers and so you can imagine rather than use water

alone to make your wheat, they replace water with milk to make wheat and they enjoyed it. It is also all about healthy living.”

A brand ambassador, Mrs. Sola Sobowale, described the programme as fantastic, while expressing concern that Nigerians are not eating balanced meal.

“Our food is never balanced and we just eat to fill our stomach, coming here today is an eye opener for us to eat what is good for our body. The only thing what we know how to do best is to drink our milk, pap and custard, but we can do a lot of things with milk wisely because excess of everything is bad. We must balance what we eat.”

JAC Lauds Appointment of New DVC for Federal Varsity, Lokoja Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja The Joint Action Committee (JAC) has commended the management of the Federal University of Lokoja for appointing Professor Makanjuola Osagbemi as the new deputy Vice-Chancellor of the university after following

the due process. The committee, an umbrella body of all unions in the university, said this in a statement issued in Lokoja and signed by the Chairman, Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), Mr. Ajao Abdulhakeem. Other member unions are the Academic Staff

Union of Universities (ASUU), Non Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists of Universities (NAAT). The group expressed displeasure over the position of a non-governmental organisation, Concerned

Citizens for Education Development (CCED) that the appointment was done without recourse to due process, insisting that the appointment was in order. “The appointment of the new deputy vice-chancellor actually followed the required procedure.

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CITYSTRINGS

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

Shower of Love Sang Bleu Academy recently visited the less privileged children in Ilasan community, Lekki, to mark Children’s Day. Peter Uzoho who covered the event, reports that the children were showered with love and care by their august visitors

A cross section of the less privileged childenen with teachers from Sang Bleu Academy

S

aturday, May 28, remains a redletter day to the people of Ilasan, being a day Sang Bleu Academy, Lekki, came to celebrate with the less privileged children in the community, to mark this year’s Children’s Day. While the children of the rich and affluent were relaxing and relishing themselves, at different high class recreation centres, same day, the less privileged children in the community also had a platform to enjoy themselves, removing any dull moment around them.

The arrival of a white shuttle school bus at the community ground, with staff and pupils of Sang Bleu Academy on board, marked the commencement of the event.

Alighting from the bus, the pupils of Sang Beu, decked in bright yellow T-shirts over blue Jean trousers, fed their eyes as they gazed round the new environment. They’re seeing new people, new building structures, new ambience, and by now, something must be going on in their world of imagination.

On their part, the Ilasan children, who have been anxiously waiting from cockcrow to see their visitors were thrown into excitement having seen them arrive finally. To them, the long awaited day has come.

Shortly, the celebration commenced with the singing of the Nigeria’s national anthem as Sang Bleu pupils were asked to lead to act as models for the host children which was part of the reasons for bringing them together. This they did perfectly as they displayed good conduct as well as good knowledge of English phonetics, while their host learnt. While saying the national pledge, all hands were glued right to the chest to show the solemnness in their pledge to fatherland. Meanwhile, as the event was going on, some Sang Bleu pupils who could not come with the school bus were brought in by their parents to take part.

Following was a cursory welcome speech

by Head, Sang Bleu Academy, Ms Tobi Ita, in which she expressed her appreciation to the people of the community “for coming out to respond to their invitation which was meant to celebrate the children of the

community.” She used the medium to explain briefly the ‘#BlackChildrenRead’, an initiative of the school, urging the children “to take their education seriously”, while assuring them that “books, food and drinks would be given to” them at the event.

Away from the speech, the DJ of the day let out a light music tune which the audience savoured, nodding their heads. However, that was aborted when thug of war, the first kiddies’ game of the day, was introduced to be played by both Sang Bleu Children and Ilasan children. Chief Referee of the game, Ms Juliet Ikhueme, Sang Bleu Academy, briefed the participating children on the rules of the game. Immediately, action kicked off as two selected groups from Sang Bleu children slugged it out, with both sides exerting all energy at their disposal as they pulled their opponent and eventually, a winner emerged.

In the same vein, their counterparts in the community came on board to have their own taste of the battle. This time, the intensity of the game heightened as the children fought aggressively just to grab the prize at stake. Although, winners also emerged here, the officials of the game decided to adopt the ‘no victor, no vanquished’ rule, in order to make both parties happy. They were all rewarded with one book each for

A child from Sang Bleu Academy gave the less privileged children some clothes and shoes to show love and care to them

A cross section of Sang Bleu Academy pupils and their teachers

participating. Apart from the entertainment aspect of the game, the officials used it to remind the children that African children are also strong, hence advising them to be strong.

Another game introduced for the children was ‘sack race’ in which they were to tuck themselves inside a sack while jumping along a track. Being a hard game, some stumbled in the process, filling the atmosphere with laughter, while others managed to scale through. Other games were played and the participants were equally rewarded with books.

Also featured was traditional exhibition.

Sang Bleu children, grouped into three, filed out in different Nigerian attires to showcase the different cultural endowments of the Nigerian people. The three major tribes in the country, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, were on the spotlight as each group came out and displayed the dress code, mode of greeting and the staple food of the tribes represented.

However, this according to the school was to enable the children know where they are coming from and the values. The children also made declaration of their future careers as they marshalled out, clad in the attire of their proposed professions. While some want to become Lawyers, Medical Doctors, others declared they want to becomes Engineers, Nurses, Teachers, Naval officers, Police officers, Road Safety Marshals, and Pilots.

Rounding off the occasion, books, food and drinks were shared to all the children of the community who were present at the event.

Also, a child from Sang Bleu Academy gave the less privileged children some clothes and shoes to show love and care to them.

At this juncture, the DJ released beautiful tunes he had while the children danced to their taste.

Speaking on the side-line of the event, Head, Sang Bleu Academy, Ms Tobi Ita, said the event was intended to educate the children of the community on the importance of education, and to, on the other hand, let the Sang Bleu children know that there was more to life than the comfort they enjoy, while also helping them to be aware of their responsibility to the society.

“Well, I’m very excited that we were able to bring all the children of this community to come out to celebrate with us. And most importantly, I think that they would learn something from today’s event; we’ve educated them on the importance of reading, we’ve tried to capture them. Though, we might not capture everyone, but I think there is one child here, who has been impacted in one way or the other, and that was our motive. Also, we wanted our own children, the Sang Bleu children, to learn that there is more to life than the comfortable shelter they have, and that there are other people that don’t have as much as they have. And we wanted them to learn that they have responsibility to the society they are in, which is to give back. And I’m very sure they’ve learnt that, “Ms Ita said.

“For the children in this community, we’ve brought some joy for them today and if that’s the only good thing that we achieved today, I’m very happy. But I’m really hoping that we’ve imparted one child here to study better and do better,” Ita added.

Giving more insight into the #BlackChildrenRead, an initiative of the school, she said “one of these days, I did mention to the children on assembly, a phrase that goes thus ‘if you don’t want a black man to find something you put it in a book,’ and the pupils were so upset, they didn’t think it was true. And we did a survey and it was proven to be true. We found out that in our environment most people don’t like listening to news. They don’t like getting information.

So we wanted to educate our children on the importance of reading and making their own opinion, and not always holding fast to someone else’s opinion because it’s very easy to be deceived if you don’t know the real thing.

“So for us, the ‘BlackChildrenRead’ initiative is not just for our school, rather the whole thing is for everyone in our society to pick it up and try to imbibe in our children the relevance of reading, especially, in this age where we have social media. At least, they should be allowed to have access to social media, get information, and be able to validate the information received. They should be

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CITYSTRINGS

The less privileged children engaged in thug of war

Children from Sang Bleu Academy engaged in thug of war

The kids running the sack race

The less privileged children

able to check for themselves to see if this thing is true or not and not just to move with the crowd. If we’re able to do that for our country, Nigeria, we will be able to have better children and better citizens. So that’s the reason for the BlackChildrenRead initiative,” Ita explained.

Speaking further, she said, “We decided that a child has to be a total child, not just in academics; they need to have morals and values and understand society and their obligation to society. So this will be the first time that we are reaching out to a community like this,” she said.

However, Sang Bleu children one after the

For the children in this community, we’ve brought some joy for them today and if that’s the only good thing that we achieved today I’m very happy

Pupils from Sang Bleu Academy arriving the event venue

other, shared their happiness and prayed God to bless the less privileged children.

Valeri Uwajeh, an eight-year-old primary four pupil, said, “I feel happy today. I want

God to bless them with better things and give them money to pay their school fees.”

Also Chimezie Albert, also eight-year-old primary four, said, “I’m so happy. My prayer

is that God should give them wisdom and understanding and he should teach them the right part”.

Similarly, the children of the community in turn thanked Sang Bleu Academy for their benevolence and equally prayed for them.

One of them a Chinese national, Rooney Kleu, a seven-year-old primary three pupil said, “I thank Sang Bleu people and I hope to join their school very soon,” Kleu said.

“I want God to make their school bigger so that more people will come to their school. I want God to bless them. They should never run dry of any good thing and may they be protected in Jesus name Amen,” Grace Eme, a thirteen-year-old JSS3 student said.

“I feel happy and it’s really amazing. I have to say a very big thank you to Sang Bleu Academy. May God bless and increase them, and may their children be blessed with knowledge in Jesus name,” 10-year-old primary six pupil, Victoria Samuel said.

On his part, the Bale of Iroko, Ilasan community, Chief Akeem Seriki, who was pulled out of his palace by the noise from the scene of the event, thanked God for the event and prayed for more of such to be coming to the community.

“We thanked God for today’s event; we keep praying that such thing will keep coming to this community so that the children will always be happy,” Seriki said.

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INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

US: Orlando Nightclub Gunman Seen as Self-Radicalised The man who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Florida appears to have acted alone, without direction from the Islamist militant groups he voiced sympathy for, authorities said as they investigated the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Federal law enforcement officials said the 29-year-old gunman, Omar Mateen, who worked as a private security guard at a gated retirement community, seemed to have been largely inspired by radical ideology he was exposed to over the internet. President Barack Obama on Monday called Mateen, a U.S. citizen born in New York to Afghan immigrant parents, an apparent example of “homegrown extremism.”

The streets leading up to Pulse nightclub in Orlando remained a barricaded crime scene on Tuesday morning.

Road closures began right outside the nearby trauma hospital, Orlando Health, where surgeons were due to brief reporters on the condition of the people wounded in Sunday’s shooting.

Mourners have laid flower

bouquets and set up wreaths near the hospital entrance.

A flower bed behind the impromptu memorial was lined with Puerto Rican flags, recognising the heritage of many of the victims, along with a single American flag.

People who knew Mateen and public records painted a picture of him as a troubled loner who harboured a fierce temper and violent streak, as well as aspirations for a career in law enforcement.

Mateen was shot dead by police who stormed the nightclub before dawn on Sunday, ending a bloody three-hour siege that began when the killer burst into the venue and opened fire with an assault-style rifle and handgun.

The carnage unfolded during a Latin music night at the club, which was crowded with more than 300 patrons. Many of the 49 people killed were Hispanic, more than half of them of Puerto Rican origin. Fifty-three people were wounded.

In the midst of his rampage, Mateen placed a series of calls to emergency 911 dispatchers in which he pledged loyalty to the leader of Islamic State, Abu

Bakr al-Baghdadi, whose organisation controls large swaths of Iraq and Syria. He also claimed solidarity in those calls with the ethnic Chechen brothers who carried out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and with

a Palestinian-American who became a suicide bomber in Syria for the al Qaeda offshoot known as the Nusra Front, authorities said.

Mateen was interviewed in 2013 and 2014 by the Federal

Bureau of Investigation, the first time after after co-workers reported that he had made claims of family connections to al Qaeda and membership in the Shi’ite militant group Hezbollah, according to the FBI.

Federal investigators found no evidence connecting him to militant groups, FBI Director James Comey told reporters on Monday, noting contradictions in some of Mateen’s claims of allegiance.

Global Petroleum Show Held in Canada SAD MOMENT Friends and family members embrace outside the Orlando Police Headquarters during the investigation of a shooting at the Pulse night Attendees explore the future of the energy industry

Zacheaus Somorin Global Petroleum Show (GPS), one of the world’s largest energy events, has been held in Calgary Canada with attendees coming from across the globe to the three-day trade show and conference.

As a leading global energy congregation, GPS provided a platform for local and international delegates, exhibitors and industry professionals to connect and discuss the future of the energy industry.Through an expansive indoor and outdoor exhibition space and a plethora of brand-new features, the world’s top decision makers were treated to more than 170 unique presentations and discussions with industry thoughtleaders, and 17 exclusive networking events.

The new Ultimate Fracking Experience highlighted field equipment and presentations from industry leaders Propell Oilfield Equipment, Weir Oil & Gas,CalfracWell Services,Halliburton Group Canada andTricanWell Services.

Clean technology was a focus for many exhibitors and emerged as a key interest area for discussions across the show floor.

The Low Carbon Innovation Forum captured the attention of attendees with each of the two available seminars at capacity.

The GPS16 Free Educational Series delivered 170 presentations in 8 theatres ranging in topics from Renewable Energy, Digital Oilfield, Heavy Oil, Hydraulic Fracturing and Career Development.

These free educational opportunities were delivered by industry experts including Nsolv, Lockheed Martin, Redline Communications and government representatives like the Saskatchewan Research Council.

The Educational Series added an addition element of networking

and presentations as businesses found ways to improve operational efficiencies and review new industry innovations.

The most exciting eight seconds in sports lived up to its reputation at the Professional Bull Riders Invitational, where more than $25,000 for local charities was raised, with $12,000 supporting the Ronald McDonald House and $13,000 supporting the United Way of Fort McMurray.

The Energy Leader’s Breakfast, held in conjunction with International Energy Capital Forum, hosted industry and government leaders as they shared their vision for the future of the energy sector. The morning also welcomed supportive remarks from Alberta Minister of Energy, The Honourable Margaret McCuaig-Boyd and opening remarks at the International Energy Capital Forum with Alberta Minister of Finance, The Honourable Joe Ceci. The successful launch of the Indigenous Conference on Energy and Mining welcomed speakers and delegates from around the world. The conference welcomed Chancellor David Choquehuanca, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, as well as representatives from some of the largest energy companies in the world. Respected Elder Reg Crowshoe, former Chief of the Piikani Nation, welcomed delegates to Treaty 7 territory.

Taking place on opening day, the GPS Awards served to recognize and celebrate the leaders who drive impactful change and evolution in the energy industry through technology, corporate social responsibility and industry innovation.

club,in Orlando, Florida…weekend

Two French Police Killed in Attack Claimed by IS Militants A suspected Islamist attacker stabbed a French police commander to death outside his home and later killed his companion, a policewoman, in an attack claimed by Islamic State and denounced by the government as “an abject act of terrorism”.

The assailant, a 25-yearold Frenchman of Moroccan origin, was jailed in 2013 for helping Islamist militants go to Pakistan and had been under security service surveillance, including wiretaps, at the time of the attack, police sources said.

The attacker filmed part of the assault live on the social network Facebook, according to David Thomson, a journalist specialized in radical Islamists. In his Facebook message, he linked the attack to the Euro 2016 soccer tournament now under way in France, saying: “The Euros will be a graveyard.”

The attacker, named by police and justice sources as Larossi Abballa, knifed the 42-year-old commander repeatedly in the stomach on Monday evening. He then barricaded himself inside the house in Magnanville, a suburb some 60 km (40 miles)

west of Paris, taking the man’s 36-year-old partner and their three-year-old son hostage.

Police commandos shot Abballa dead when they stormed the house after negotiations failed but they found the woman, a secretary at a police station in a nearby suburb, killed with a knife, a source close to the investigation said.

The boy was unharmed but in a state of shock.

“An abject act of terrorism was carried out yesterday in Magnanville,” Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said after an emergency government meeting, before visiting Les Mureaux, where the police commander worked.

President Francois Hollande said the killings were “undeniably a terrorist act” and that the terrorist threat in France was very high.

Police searched Abballa’s home and other locations on Tuesday and detained two people close to him for questioning, a police source said. The killings came as France, which has been under a state of emergency since Islamic State gunmen and bombers killed 130 people in Paris last November, was on high security alert for

the Euro 2016, which began last Friday. Police are under “extreme pressure” and “close to burn-out,” the head of FO labor union Jean-Claude Mailly told France 2 television.

Islamic State claimed the attack. “God has enabled one of the caliphate’s soldiers in city of Les Mureaux near Paris to stab to death the deputy police chief and his wife,” an official broadcast on its Albayan Radio said.

If it is confirmed that the group was behind the killing, it would be the first militant strike on French soil since the multiple attacks on bars, restaurants, a concert hall and the national soccer stadium in Paris in November.

Details started to emerge on the profile of the attacker. Abballa was born in the nearby town of Meulan and lived in Mantes-laJolie, where he had set up a fast food outlet in April, documents from the Versailles court showed.

He was given a three-year prison sentence in 2013 for helping Islamist militants go to Pakistan. His name appeared in a separate ongoing investigation into a man who went to Syria, but he was not considered

a threat, a source close to the probe said.

“He wanted to do jihad (holy war), that was clear,” Marc Trevidic, a former anti-terrorism judge who was in charge of the 2013 investigation told Le Figaro newspaper. But he was seen as having a minor role in that case, he said.

Abballa had also been convicted three times on charges of aggravated theft and driving without a license, a source close to the investigation said.

“Many things are being analyzed,” a justice source said, including messages posted on social networks.

Thomson, an RFI radio journalist specialized in Islamic radicalism, wrote on his Twitter page that Abballa had filmed himself on Facebook live during the attack.

With the couple’s boy behind him he said: “I don’t know ye t w h a t I ’ m g o i n g t o d o w i t h h i m ,” T h o m s o n w ro t e . I s l a m i c S t a t e ’s c l a i m o f re s p o n sibility came after the Islamist militant group said it was responsible for the shooting that killed 49 people in a massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

47

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2016 • T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

Power Cuts, Violence Fuel Yemeni Separatists’ Dreams Deprived of sleep by temperatures of over 40 degrees (104 F), Azal Mohammed was among dozens of young men burning tires last month to protest against persistent power cuts in Aden, a port city that was the capital of South Yemen.

Over the past 14 months, Aden’s one million inhabitants have endured war and gang violence. The collapse of even basic public services has fueled demands for the restoration of the southern state that merged with northern Yemen in 1990.

“We want the world, our neighbors, to help us win back our old state,” said Azal, a 20-year-old student.

“The south joined this union voluntarily and we don’t want to be part of it any more.”

South Yemen, a former British colony and the only Communist Arab state, united with the pro-Western north after a

brief 1986 war. The collapse of South Yemen’s financial patron, the Soviet Union, around the same time encouraged the unification process.

It was never a happy marriage: President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s north Yemen dominated from the start and when the south tried to break away four years after unification, Saleh’s army quickly crushed the separatists, cementing Sanaa’s rule and Aden’s decline, feeding southern resentment.

The current southern separatist movement grew out of a 2007 campaign demanding financial benefits for army officers and civil servants. Emboldened by 2011 anti-government Arab Spring protests that had forced Saleh to step down, southern separatists now want full independence. Their demands gained momentum after Iran-allied Houthi forces invaded the capital Sanaa in 2014 and forced

President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee to Aden in February last year.

That precipitated a civil war that has sucked a Saudi-led Arab alliance into the crisis, in which thousands of air strikes had been launched against the Houthis.

The fighting - which has killed more than 6,400 people and displaced 2.5 million - has also allowed al Qaeda to consolidate its presence in the country. The conflict has hit access to basic supplies like food, fuel and medicine amid the coalition’s near-blockade on ports.

Having played a key role in facing the Houthi offensive on southern Yemen, separatists now control most levers of power in Aden, where Hadi’s government is currently based. “The current situation shows the failure of the state

to make any movement towards providing even basic services,” said Khaled Murshed, a 40 year old employee at a state company. “This reinforces the demands of regaining the southern state.”

Many Yemenis accuse Hadi and his government, which until this month had operated from Saudi Arabia, of paying only lip service to improving living conditions. “Aden lives its worst days,” said Azal, while the government of enjoys “air-conditioned accommodation in Saudi Arabia.”

Stung by growing criticism, Hadi’s government rebased to Aden earlier this month promising to get down to business on improving living conditions in the city.

But residents poked fun at the government, after reports that Prime Minister Ahmed bin Daghr

protested at a meeting with city officials that the flag of the former South Yemen was flying over state buildings instead of the national colors.

The Yemeni government, which controls only parts of the country outside areas of northern Yemen held by the Houthis and its Saleh ally, acknowledges it has few sources of revenue to bring about major change.

Officials promised some relief following a deal with the United Arab Emirates - a main member of the Saudi-led coalition that has shouldered much reconstruction in Aden - to supply spare parts for the power plants and fuel supplies, according to the state-run Saba news agency.

But residents say Aden still receives about six hours of power every day, with the main power

stations in the Khor Maksar and al-Mansoura districts out of service while the third one in al-Hiswah produces a quarter of its original capacity. The power shortages have hit water supplies, hospitals and factories. Car owners often queue for three or four days to fill up, while bottled gas is so scarce many people use firewood.

Local hospitals say that at least nine elderly patients died in recent weeks due to the power cuts, and hospital managers say more are at risk due to a shortage of oxygen supplies. The only oxygen-producing plant is at a standstill due to lack of fuel. “People are dying from the lack of electricity,” said Umm Alaa Aleiwah, a mother of 10 children. “You should resign (Hadi) and leave it to others. May the lord of the world grace us with those who can fix the country.”

NATO to Agree on Eastern Force to Deter Russia NATO was set to agree deployment of a new force in the Baltics and Poland yesterday, the last of a series of steps to deter a resurgent Russia but which some allies say must go further to be credible.

Three weeks before a critical NATO summit in Warsaw, the alliance’s defense ministers will approve deployment of some 4,000 troops which, backed up by rapid reaction forces, could help deter a repeat of Moscow’s show of force in Crimea elsewhere.”We don’t seek confrontation with Russia, we don’t want a new Cold War,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said before the meeting in Brussels. He added: “NATO will continue to protect and defend all allies from any threat.”

But while eastern allies welcome the deployments of four battalions of British, U.S., German and possibly Canadian troops in NATO’s biggest military build-up since the end of the Cold War, they want more support to defend against Russia’s powerful arsenal.

With a warning last week from a senior U.S. commander that the alliance would have only 72 hours notice of a missile or ground attack, Baltic nations and Poland want a sophisticated anti-missile shield to deter Russia from gaining the upper hand. That could involve NATO fighter planes and surface-to-air missile interceptors on a much larger scale in the Baltics.

Southern flank allies Bulgaria and Romania, meanwhile, are pushing for NATO to expand its maritime

presence in the Black Sea, where Russia has a naval fleet, as well as more alliance troops to the region. NATO aims to counter Russia’s military build-up in Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The Black Sea is strategically important for both East and West given its energy reserves and closeness to the Middle East.

Stoltenberg said NATO was considering a Romanian offer to provide a brigade, typically around 5,000 troops, which could coordinate alliance training and possibly play a deterrent role. Defense ministers will discuss this on Tuesday, diplomats said.

Moscow sees NATO’s deterrence plans as hostile.

Moscow’s envoy to the alliance has warned they threaten peace in central Europe. The Kremlin also says a U.S. ballistic missile shield, which Washington says is directed at protecting the alliance from Iran, is also escalating tensions. The United States denies that.

“You don’t invade with a few battalions, okay?”

United States’ envoy to NATO, Douglas Lute, told reporters. “But you can deter, and you can affect a potential aggressor’s calculus in terms of cost, benefit and risks.”

The four battalions to be agreed on Tuesday are part of a wider NATO deterrent force to be approved in Warsaw in July. It will involve forces on rotation, warehoused equipment ready for an attack and a highly mobile “spearhead” force backed by NATO’s 40,000-strong rapid reaction force.

THE LAST HONOUR

A man throws a rose over the hearse carrying the remains of Muhammad Ali during the funeral procession for the threetime heavyweight boxing champion in Louisville, Kentucky…weekend

‘Armed Groups Making Libya’s Power Supply Problems Worse’ Armed groups are making Libya’s power supply problems worse by pressuring distributors to favour the neighbourhoods they control, the head of the U.N.-backed unity government said yesterday. Power cuts in parts of Libya have become longer and more frequent in recent weeks, continuing into the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began in early June.

The U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) is under pressure to improve living conditions, which have deteriorated sharply during years of conflict and political chaos since the fall of strongman Muammar Gaddafi

in 2011.

Designed to replace two other rival governments set up in Tripoli and the east in 2014, the GNA is also still struggling to establish its authority. Its Prime Minister, Fayez Seraj, said the power cuts were partly due to technical and financial problems, and that some plants had been damaged during clashes.

“Most of the power plants do not work fully,” he said, in a televised address broadcast early on Tuesday. “We need foreign companies to return and resume the process of maintenance.”Another problem facing the GNA is the influence wielded by the country’s

numerous armed groups, which Seraj said was also affecting electricity supplies.

“Unfortunately, in terms of the security issue there are some control rooms do not equally distribute power cuts as they are under pressure from armed groups that force them not to cut power in their areas.”

The unity government is also trying to tackle a liquidity crisis that economists blame on people losing trust in banks and keeping their money at home.

This has contributed to long delays in salary payments and strict limits on cash withdrawals.

Seraj said the GNA and the central bank had issued letters of credit, increased foreign cur-

rency allowances and printed more banknotes.

Separate batches of banknotes printed in Britain and Russia by rival offices of the central bank arrived in Tripoli and the east recently, and Seraj said the offices were coordinating to ensure the notes were distributed equally across the country. “The solution requires time,” Seraj said.

“But we expect that there will positive results soon.”

The GNA is also working to revive oil production, which has fallen to less than one quarter of the 1.6 million barrels per day produced in 2011, he said.

48

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15 , 2016

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

CBN Grants Providus Bank Commercial Banking Licence Naira falls to N370/$1 Obinna Chima Providus Bank Plc has been granted a commercial banking licence with regional authorisation by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The central bank disclosed this in a circular posted on its website yesterday.

Although the circular did not give further details about the promoters of the new bank, it disclosed that the financial institution has its head office in Lagos. Also listed was Suntrust Bank Limited, which obtained its licence as a regional bank last year.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Muhammad Jibrin Barde, had explained that the financial institution achieved the feat hav-

ing met the stringent conditions set by the CBN. He stated that SunTrust Bank will be formally presented to the public in the first quarter of 2016.

“I am excited to announce that the CBN granted its final approval to SunTrust Bank Nigeria Limited to operate as a commercial bank with regional authorisation on September 17, 2015, one year two months after application.

This is indeed a remarkable feat as ours is the only fresh licence to be issued by the CBN since 2001.

“Our journey as a bank since 2009 details the courageous decisions and heroic self-sacrifice of all the people that made SunTrust assent possible. In the years to come, the developments at SunTrust should have

far-reaching influence in the banking sector specifically and our nation generally,” Barde added.

The list of banks and financial holding companies also showed that the country has 10 commercial banks with international licence. They are Access Bank, Diamond Bank, Fidelity Bank, First City Monument Bank, FirstBank of Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Skye Bank, Union Bank, United Bank for Africa Plc and Zenith Bank Plc. On the other hand, the banks with national banking licence are Citibank Nigeria, Ecobank Nigeria, Heritage Bank, Keystone Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered Bank, Sterling Bank, Unity Bank and Wema Bank.

Experts Harp on Strategies to Capture Unbanked Population Banks and electronic payment firms in the country have been advised to develop products that would help capture the over 60 million unbanked population in the country.

Speaking at the ongoing 2016 Card Expo in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), Mr. Ade Shonubi, said there are lots of opportunities for e-payment firms in view of the huge number of people in the informal sector who do not own bank accounts.

“The reality is that we are looking at two different group of people we are trying to address. The Bank Verification Number says we have 25 million bank customers with about 60 million bank account. We are told we have about 180 million Nigerians, and we can say only half of that number are involved in

economic activities. That means we have about 60 million people are not captured,” he said.

Shonubi further noted that unlike in the past where payment process was driven by banks, the rebasing of the economy shows that there huge opportunities for other operators in the space.

“As bankers we need to be scared because we need realignment on the relationship with our customers. The other thing with Nigerian banks is that the current economic situation has painted them as black sheep and as such, they would unfortunately bear the larger brunt of whatever happens and it is going to impact their bottom-line.

“It also means that a lot of us who have been buying technology outside Nigeria would find that increasingly difficulty. This is because the expectation for

meeting payments the terms of the foreign firms would change.

In all these things there would be massive opportunities for us all,” he added.

Speaking earlier, the Head of Shared Services at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Chidi Umeano, said there was need for stakeholder in the electronic payment space to continue to work together so as to build an e-commerce domain whose service delivery would portray efficiency and quality.

“A consumer needs to be assured that an order placed online would be delivered on time with same quality as that that was purchased online.

Gone are the days when an order is placed and the order is not delivered, with the customer left in the dark.

Efficient service delivery is the major driver of e-commerce in any country.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS Broad Money (M2)

20,470,436.00

-- Narrow Money (M1)

9,040,817.68

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,441,365.03

---- Demand Deposits

7,599,452.65

-- Quasi Money

11,429,618.32

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

5,551,714.27

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

14,918,721.73

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

22,664,815.74

---- Credit to Government (Net)

3,782,578.01

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

4,991,246.39

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

-1,208,668.38

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

18,882,237.73

--Other Assets Net

-7,746,094.02

Reserve Money (Base Money)

5,758,634.07

--Currency in Circulation

1,811,090.48

--Banks Reserves

3,947,543.59

Abia Receives N1bn CBN Agric Loan Abia state yesterday revealed that it has received the N1billion Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS) loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

According a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Abia State Governor, Enyinnaya Appolos, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. Uzo Azubuike, and his finance counterpart, Mr. Obinna Oriaku, confirmed receipt of the loan by the state.

The loan is an intervention to ensure farmers in the state engage in all season farming.

Appolos, in the statement stressed that the facility is a single-digit loan of seven per cent interest with moratorium period of six months.

He also added that the State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has setup a committee saddled with the responsibility of mapping out modalities for the disbursement of the fund to

deserving beneficiaries, stressing that the fund will not be used for political patronage.

“Abia State Government has received the N1billion Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme loan from the CBN. The loan is an intervention in local agriculture to ensure farmers in the state engage in all season farming. The committee will be chaired by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. Azubuike,” the statement explained.

FBNCapitalWinsAwards FBN Capital Limited, the investment banking and asset management subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc said it has been recognised for consistent and outstanding performance by three reputable financial awards institutions. The firm emerged as the winner of the “Best Refinancing in Africa’ at the EMEAFinance Achievement Awards; the prestigious “Deal of the Year, Africa” at The Banker Awards; and the “Most Innovative Bank in Africa’ by Global Finance Awards for Accugas IV, Seven Energy’s

senior secured term loan and revolving working capital facility. Speaking on the winning transaction, Director and Head of Debt Solutions for FBN Capital, Patrick Mgbenwelu, was quoted in a statement to have said the awards reaffirmed the firm’s ability to remain at the forefront of structuring and closing innovative financing solutions within the African Investment Banking industry.

He added: “We are pleased to have upheld the trust our clients placed in FBN Capital to assist in heading, structuring

and arranging the Accugas IV financing, and our team remains committed to launching similar robustly structured financings in the local market.”FBN Capital revealed it was also awarded “Best Investment Bank in Nigeria’ by Global Finance Magazine for the fifth consecutive year.

Also, the Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications for FBN Capital, Lolade Sasore said the firm was honoured to receive the recognition as an acknowledgement of the high standards it delivers to its clients.

(MILLION NAIRA)

MARCH 2016

• 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 13, JUNE 2016 The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $46.25 a barrel on Monday, compared with $47.05 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

49

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY juNE 15, 2016

Nigeria’s top 50 stocks based on market fundamentals

14-June- 13-June-16 16

% Change

Capitalisation

EPS

P/E

P/S

Div. Yld

Price/ Book Value

01 Dangote Cement Plc

164.00

163.80

0.12%

2,794,643,214,420.00

10.64

15.51

5.72

4.85%

4.36

02 Nigerian Breweries Plc

128.00

131.03

-2.31%

1,014,924,913,664.00

5.37

24.40

3.76

2.75%

6.09

03 Nestle Nigeria Plc

757.03

757.00

0.00%

600,064,562,451.56

29.95

26.05

4.09

3.72%

16.27

04 Guaranty Trust Bank Plc

18.51

19.01

-2.63%

544,771,127,436.24

3.38

5.59

2.42

9.38%

1.34

05 Zenith Bank Plc

14.95

15.00

-0.33%

469,377,582,100.70

3.37

4.46

1.09

12.00%

0.79

06 Lafarge Africa Plc.

78.88

76.50

3.11%

359,290,654,772.80

5.93

13.50

1.36

3.75%

2.07

07 Ecobank Transnational Incorporated

17.20

17.55

-1.99%

315,612,280,898.00

1.39

12.57

0.62

3.54%

0.86

08 Forte Oil Plc.

198.00

197.99

0.01%

257,891,258,394.00

4.45

44.28

2.06

1.75%

5.54

09 Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd

350.00

350.00

0.00%

193,658,609,550.00

23.48

14.90

1.71

4.55%

0.69

10 Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc

15.89

15.19

4.61%

158,900,000,000.00

2.04

7.46

1.29

0.66%

1.35

11 United Bank for Africa Plc

4.32

4.26

1.41%

156,727,553,711.04

1.64

2.61

0.49

13.99%

0.47

12 Guinness Nig Plc

98.00

98.00

0.00%

147,577,042,424.00

0.78

125.47

2.95

0.00%

3.29

13 FBN Holdings Plc

3.80

3.77

0.80%

136,402,112,609.60

0.42

8.98

0.27

3.96%

0.24

14 Access Bank Plc

5.79

5.75

0.70%

132,492,100,477.32

2.28

2.42

0.47

9.96%

0.43

33.02

33.02

0.00%

124,924,442,175.00

0.32

101.53

2.04

0.16%

15.13

16 7-Up Bottling Comp. Plc

138.00

138.00

0.00%

88,401,470,094.00

11.12

12.41

1.13

1.59%

3.68

17 P Z Cussons Nigeria Plc

21.61

21.61

0.00%

85,802,008,942.45

1.10

19.69

1.19

6.02%

2.04

18 Oando Plc

6.60

6.65

-0.75%

79,428,484,700.40

0.50

14.00

0.15

10.71%

0.53

19 Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc

6.33

6.33

0.00%

75,960,000,000.00

0.96

6.75

0.77

7.70%

1.34

20 International Breweries Plc.

19.90

19.50

2.05%

65,555,560,672.00

0.64

31.26

3.56

1.25%

5.46

21 Total Nigeria Plc

179.00

173.63

3.09%

60,774,408,823.00

11.92

14.57

0.28

8.06%

3.63

22 Mobil Oil Nig Plc.

161.51

161.51

0.00%

58,239,740,765.62

13.51

11.95

0.91

4.46%

3.79

23 Flour Mills Nig. Plc.

21.85

21.85

0.00%

57,339,582,535.95

1.84

11.87

0.17

9.15%

0.56

24 Julius Berger Nig. Plc.

42.10

42.10

0.00%

55,572,000,000.00

1.85

22.77

0.42

3.56%

2.29

25 Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc

1.36

1.35

0.74%

52,660,556,498.00

0.05

25.73

1.28

0.00%

0.60

26 Diamond Bank Plc

2.20

2.24

-1.79%

50,952,855,729.60

0.24

8.68

0.23

0.00%

0.23

27 Sterling Bank Plc

1.50

1.50

0.00%

43,185,627,189.00

0.36

4.20

0.39

6.00%

0.45

28 Fidelity Bank Plc

1.30

1.30

0.00%

37,667,236,129.90

0.48

2.60

0.25

12.80%

0.20

29 U A C N Plc.

19.50

19.79

-1.47%

37,456,855,546.50

2.70

7.33

0.52

5.05%

0.51

30 Presco Plc

35.70

35.70

0.00%

35,700,000,000.00

3.28

10.89

3.14

0.28%

1.59

31 Cadbury Nigeria Plc

17.35

18.00

-3.61%

32,586,805,394.00

3.21

5.77

1.03

7.02%

3.36

32 FCMB Group Plc

1.56

1.65

-5.45%

30,892,228,776.24

0.24

6.66

0.21

6.25%

0.20

33 Wema Bank Plc.

0.77

0.77

0.00%

30,406,047,374.01

0.06

12.76

0.65

0.00%

0.64

34 Okomu Oil Palm Plc

30.00

30.00

0.00%

28,617,300,000.00

2.76

10.88

2.94

0.33%

2.37

35 Cap Plc

36.12

36.12

0.00%

25,284,000,000.00

2.49

14.53

3.58

3.18%

16.63

36 National Salt Co. Nig. Plc

8.00

8.00

0.00%

21,195,507,024.00

0.79

9.94

1.29

6.96%

2.95

37 Mansard Insurance Plc

2.00

2.00

0.00%

21,000,000,000.00

0.16

12.95

1.30

2.44%

1.24

38 Custodian And Allied Insurance Plc

3.50

3.50

0.00%

20,586,524,682.50

0.71

4.90

0.69

4.00%

0.79

39 Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig. Plc.

16.44

18.21

-9.72%

19,660,209,462.72

0.81

22.57

0.71

1.65%

1.65

40 Skye Bank Plc

1.12

1.11

0.90%

15,545,937,579.20

0.85

1.31

0.11

26.79%

0.11

41 Honeywell Flour Mill Plc

1.65

1.65

0.00%

13,084,826,135.70

0.14

12.25

0.28

9.25%

0.64

42 Unity Bank Plc

1.03

1.13

-8.85%

12,040,018,080.26

0.54

2.21

0.22

0.00%

0.16

43 Continental Reinsurance Plc

1.10

1.05

4.76%

11,410,018,743.20

0.21

5.28

0.57

11.01%

0.73

44 Cement Co. Of North.Nig. Plc

7.35

7.35

0.00%

9,236,581,580.10

0.96

7.69

0.71

1.36%

0.91

45 Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc

4.68

4.68

0.00%

7,601,343,750.00

0.33

14.13

0.89

4.27%

1.25

46 UACN Property Development Co. Limited

4.09

4.02

1.74%

7,029,687,479.55

1.81

2.22

0.62

17.41%

0.21

47 Wapic Insurance Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

6,691,369,124.00

0.10

5.16

0.94

6.00%

0.45

48 Resort Savings & Loans Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

5,664,866,202.00

4.68

0.11

0.02

0.00%

1.89

49 AIICO Insurance Plc

0.77

0.77

0.00%

5,336,257,449.60

0.28

2.82

0.16

6.41%

0.56

50 Fidson Healthcare Plc

1.89

1.89

0.00%

2,835,000,000.00

0.50

3.85

0.35

2.62%

0.45

15 Unilever Nigeria Plc.

TOTAL

8,618,658,371,547.76

TOTAL MARKET CAP

9,284,830,007,817.86

% OF MARKET CAP Annotation - MA* = Simple Moving Average

92.83%

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 Close 13-June-16 14-June-16

Change %

27,103.38 9.31

27,034.05 9.28

-0.26% -0.26%

111.45 8.68

110.69 8.62

-0.68% -0.68%

Table 3 Top 5 Gainers Stock

Open Close Change 13-June-16 14-June-16 %

Continental Reinsurance Plc Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc Lafarge Africa Plc. Total Nigeria Plc International Breweries Plc.

1.05 15.19 76.50 173.63 19.50

1.10 15.89 78.88 179.00 19.90

4.76% 4.61% 3.11% 3.09% 2.05%

Table 4 Top 5 Losers Stock Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig. Plc. Unity Bank Plc FCMB Group Plc Cadbury Nigeria Plc Guaranty Trust Bank Plc

Open Close Change 13-June-16 14-June% 16 18.21 16.44 -9.72% 1.13 1.65 18.00 19.01

1.03 1.56 17.35 18.51

-8.85% -5.45% -3.61% -2.63%

Downward trend continues as ASI depreciates 0.26% Market pulse on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today –Tuesday, June 14, 2016 ended on a ended on a bearish note as the market closed red due to sustained intense sell pressure. This was further highlighted by negative performances from NSE Sub sectors; Banking, and Consumer Goods Oil & Gas (Save Insurance and Oil & Gas).

However, trading activities increased in volume as 170.69 million shares worth N2.42 billion in 3,153 deals exchanged hands today. This is an increase from the 152.33 million shares worth N2.29 billion in 3,406 deals carried out on Friday. Topping in volume terms was FBN Holdings Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and FCMB Plc while Zenith Bank Plc and Nestle Nigeria Plc ended trading as the most active stocks in value terms.

The All Share Index (NSEASI) closed negative with a 0.26% (-69.33) decrease to close at 27,034.05 from 27,103.38 the previous trading day. Market Capitalization depreciated in tandem to N9.28 trillion from N9.31 trillion of prior trading day. Similarly, the Thisday BGL 50 Index followed suit with a decrease of 0.68% to close at 110.69 from 111.45 recorded the previous trading day, while its market capitalization stood at N8.62 trillion from N8.68 trillion of the previous trading day.

A total number of 24 stocks gained on the bourse today while 17 stocks declined, 62 leaving stocks unchanged.

Continental Reinsurance Plc emerged the toast of investors as it topped the Thisday BGL 50 Index gainers’ list with a gain of 4.76% to close at N1.10 per share. It was followed

by Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc with a gain of 4.61% to close at N5.75 per share. Others on the gainers list include; Lafarge Africa Plc, Total Nigeria Plc and International Breweries Plc, while on the decliners’ list; Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig. Plc led with a loss of 9.72% to close at N16.44 per share. It was followed by Unity Bank Plc with a loss of 8.85% to close at N1.03 per share. Others on the losers list include; FCMB Group Plc, Cadbury Nigeria Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank 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

50

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15 , 2016

MARKET NEWS

Index Falls 0.26 % as NSE Records Third Consecutive Decline Goddy Egene and Eromosele Abiodun The Nigerian equities market recorded its third straight decline as investor sentiment remained dampened just as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released very disappointing economic data.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) fell 0.26 per cent to close at 27,034.05

while market capitalisation shed N23.8 billion to be at N9.3 trillion. The market has remained bearish in the past three days as investors await details of the flexible foreign exchange policy from the Central Bank of Nigeria. However, the NBS released economic statistics showing a jump in inflation to 15.6 per cent in the month of May, up from 13.7 per cent in April.

T H E MAIN BOARD

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

According to the NBS, the upsurge in the headline index in May was due to increase in general price levels across all divisions that contribute to the headline index. Market analysts said the rise in inflation will affect demand for equities.

Yesterday’s decline in the ASI brought the year-to-date loss to 5.61 per cent. The market was dominated by losses by highly capitalised stocks, while

N I G E R I A N QUANTITY TRADED

the gainers were mostly low capitalised stocks. Profit-taking activities on banking and consumer good stocks, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Nigerian Breweries Plc responsible for the decline in the ASI. Glaxosmithkline Consumer Nigeria Plc led the price losers with 9.7 per cent trailed by Unity Bank Plc with 8.8 per cent. FCMB Group shed 5.4 per cent, while Eterna Plc and Transnational

STO C K

VALUE TRADED ( N )

Daily Summary as of 22/02/2016 Printed 22/02/2016 14:36:10.010

Express Plc went down by 5.0 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively. On the other hand, NEM Insurance Plc led the price gainers with 5.0 per cent, trailed by Continental Insurance Plc with 4.7 per cent, just as Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, A.G Leventis Nigeria Plc added 4.6 per cent and 4.4 per cent in that order.A.G Leventis two days ago declared a dividend of 10 kobo per share despite a loss for

the year ended December 31, 2015. Meanwhile, two sectoral indices, the NSE Banking Index and NSE Consumer Goods Index declined 1.03 per cent and 0.99 per cent respectively.

On the other hand, the NSE Industrial Goods appreciated by 1.20 per cent, while the NSE Insurance Index rose by 0.80 per cent. Similarly, the NSE Oil & Gas Index appreciated by 0.19 per cent.

E XC H A N G E

MAIN BOARD GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC Pharmaceuticals Totals HEALTHCARE Totals ICT IT Services TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. IT Services Totals ICT Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials ASHAKA CEM PLC BERGER PAINTS PLC CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. Building Materials Totals Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. Electronic and Electrical Products Totals Packaging/Containers BETA GLASS CO PLC. Packaging/Containers Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Energy Equipment and Services Totals Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CONOIL PLC ETERNA PLC. FORTE OIL PLC. MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals Exploration and Production SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD Exploration and Production Totals OIL AND GAS Totals SERVICES Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals Printing/Publishing LEARN AFRICA PLC Printing/Publishing Totals Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Transport-Related Services Totals Support and Logistics CAVERTON OFFSHORE SUPPORT GRP PLC Support and Logistics Totals SERVICES Totals EQTY Board Totals Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board ASeM CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC Food Products Totals CONSUMER GOODS Totals ASeM Board Totals Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board PREMIUM FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC Banking Totals Other Financial Institutions FBN HOLDINGS PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials DANGOTE CEMENT PLC Building Materials Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals PREMIUM Board Totals Equity Activity Totals

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

32 4 6 69 69

25.33 0.94 0.69

551,998 16,020 597,000 1,779,083 1,779,083

13,903,164.18 15,299.40 412,110.00 15,902,796.63 15,902,796.63

1 1 1

1.69

500 500 500

805.00 805.00 805.00

16 9 4 6 10 31 76

24.00 9.30 35.78 8.62 3.36 80.50

110,727 40,229 26,700 142,300 299,900 14,373,223 14,993,079

2,707,053.97 362,501.29 992,680.00 1,227,076.00 966,480.00 1,157,057,077.16 1,163,312,868.42

6 6

1.51

134,500 134,500

204,240.00 204,240.00

5 5 87

50.00

24,529 24,529 15,152,108

1,165,135.50 1,165,135.50 1,164,682,243.92

2 2

0.50

24,262 24,262

12,131.00 12,131.00

90 90

3.47

3,827,573 3,827,573

13,288,632.05 13,288,632.05

21 7 8 21 7 64

18.34 1.84 342.00 150.00 145.00

81,125 100,300 20,300 16,295 13,699 231,719

1,505,034.50 182,832.00 6,595,470.00 2,396,080.60 1,959,692.96 12,639,110.06

33 33 189

318.00

389,934 389,934 4,473,488

124,037,602.56 124,037,602.56 149,977,475.67

1 1

0.50

941 941

470.50 470.50

5 5

3.80

32,870 32,870

127,756.40 127,756.40

13 13

0.89

624,500 624,500

538,430.00 538,430.00

1 22 23

2.29 4.00

4,588 251,094 255,682

10,001.84 1,001,583.80 1,011,585.64

1 1 43 1,811

1.68

10,000 10,000 923,993 3,428,226,216

16,000.00 16,000.00 1,694,242.54 5,785,390,675.15

2 2 2 2

1.21

270,464 270,464 270,464 270,464

327,261.44 327,261.44 327,261.44 327,261.44

306 306

11.45

13,929,679 13,929,679

159,605,439.23 159,605,439.23

278 278 584

3.74

10,438,552 10,438,552 24,368,231

39,515,087.18 39,515,087.18 199,120,526.41

35 35 35 619 2,432

139.83

38,770 38,770 38,770 24,407,001 3,452,903,681

5,304,666.00 5,304,666.00 5,304,666.00 204,425,192.41 5,990,143,129.00

2 2 2 2 2 10 10 10

2,330.00 2.33 6.02 11.09 18.07

3,000 20 20 20 15 3,075 3,075 3,075

6,986,000.00 46.70 120.20 221.80 270.65 6,986,659.35 6,986,659.35 6,986,659.35

DAILY STOCK MARKET REPORTS

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 Infrastructure/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction Totals Real Estate Development UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED Real Estate Development 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 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. TIGER BRANDED CONSUMER GOODS PLC Food Products Totals Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. Food Products--Diversified Totals Household Durables VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 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 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals Micro-Finance Banks NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC Micro-Finance Banks Totals Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UNITED CAPITAL PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC

6 6 12

30.00 34.00

12,629 11,640 24,269

374,530.15 421,345.20 795,875.35

19 19 31

1.25

1,078,511 1,078,511 1,102,780

1,358,964.30 1,358,964.30 2,154,839.65

5 68 13 86 86

0.77 1.13 20.47

33,500 6,740,423 65,995 6,839,918 6,839,918

25,070.00 7,635,453.96 1,344,425.15 9,004,949.11 9,004,949.11

13 13

41.50

31,970 31,970

1,409,214.78 1,409,214.78

5 5 18

5.20

28,901 28,901 60,871

154,716.48 154,716.48 1,563,931.26

6 24 7 98 135

2.85 118.85 20.00 99.00

190,900 53,000 15,200 429,541 688,641

528,079.00 6,201,924.95 293,757.00 42,728,789.84 49,752,550.79

9 9

168.50

166,476 166,476

28,285,937.95 28,285,937.95

54 38 6 12 1 29 140

5.61 19.00 1.37 6.86 6.65 1.27

2,120,306 314,421 40,000 119,863 433 3,285,739,119 3,288,334,142

11,610,520.13 5,953,792.96 55,716.00 842,442.48 2,736.56 4,074,348,894.07 4,092,814,102.20

11 54 65

17.86 700.00

18,825 98,360 117,185

329,518.50 68,567,962.00 68,897,480.50

11 11

4.46

99,050 99,050

420,455.00 420,455.00

13 21 34 394

21.90 28.00

36,887 133,117 170,004 3,289,575,498

820,034.75 3,737,067.92 4,557,102.67 4,244,727,629.11

82 51 21 25 200 41 16 147 11 15 67 676

4.10 1.49 15.60 1.21 16.70 1.07 1.76 2.95 5.30 0.63 0.98

3,962,506 2,163,396 278,470 790,900 4,847,312 1,969,858 1,204,932 8,586,418 39,752 501,617 5,920,564 30,265,725

16,210,255.82 3,314,106.88 4,136,459.40 958,864.34 80,963,793.44 2,115,552.11 2,087,767.85 25,302,954.71 205,645.40 316,018.71 5,813,502.17 141,424,920.83

14 8 2 3 7 10 1 1 46

0.80 0.90 0.50 0.50 2.06 0.76 0.50 0.50

200,107 276,500 5,004,000 1,000,000 351,540 327,285 37,708,135 10 44,867,577

160,838.67 251,350.00 2,502,000.00 500,000.00 720,728.80 245,325.31 18,854,067.50 5.00 23,234,315.28

1 1

1.08

4,760 4,760

4,950.40 4,950.40

31 7 105 7 20 170 893

2.46 4.00 0.85 14.15 1.31

1,149,464 27,041 31,257,120 38,035 708,255 33,179,915 108,317,977

2,830,722.84 104,002.06 26,613,309.20 537,985.34 931,556.31 31,017,575.75 195,681,762.26

27

2.69

614,065

1,572,223.05

VALUE TRADED ( N)

Daily Summary (ETP) Exchange Traded Fund Name NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND (ETF) VETIVA BANKING ETF VETIVA CONSUMER GOODS ETF VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF VETIVA INDUSTRIAL ETF Exchange Traded Fund Totals ETF Board Totals ETP Activity Totals

51

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2016 • T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

Inflation Rises to Six-year High of 15.6% Analysts push for policies to tame galloping prices

Obinna Chima and James Emejo in Abuja The Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures inflation, rose sharply to 15.6 per cent in May compared to 13.7 per cent in the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated yesterday.

At 15.6 per cent, inflation touched a six-year high, its highest since February 2010.

The NBS attributed the 1.9 per cent increase in inflation to the overall increase in the general price level across the economy, as all divisions which contribute to the CPI rose at a faster pace in May. NBS noted that electricity rates as well as other energy prices continued to manifest as key drivers of the core component of the CPI, adding that imported food as well as a drawdown of inventories across the country continued to push food prices higher as the food sub index increased by 14.9 per cent in May, up by 1.7 per cent in April.

According to the CPI figures for May, the highest increases in rates were seen in the passenger transport by road, liquid fuel (kerosene), fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment petrol and the vehicle spare parts groups.

The NBS stated: “All major food groups which contribute to the food sub-index increased at a faster pace driven by higher food prices of fish, bread and cereals, and vegetables groups for the second consecutive month.”

Urban inflation increased by 0.8 per cent to 3.0 per cent in May from 2.2 per cent in April, while the rural index increased by about 1.1 per cent to 2.4 per cent from 1.4 per cent in April.

According to the NBS, “Increased prices of both domestic and imported food products continue to drive food prices higher. The index increased by 14.9 per cent (yearon-year) during the month of May, 1.7 per cent points higher from rates recorded in April.

“All groups which contribute

to the index increased with the highest increase recorded in the bread and cereals group which increased from 14.5 per cent in April to 16.6 per cent in May. On a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased by 1.3 per cent points from 1.3 per cent in April to 2.6 per cent in May. “On a month-on-month basis, the highest price increases were recorded in the bread and cereals; vegetables, sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery groups. The average annual rate of change of the food sub-index for the twelve-month period ending in May 2016 over the previous twelve month average was 11.2 per cent, 0.4 per cent points from the average annual rate of change recorded in April.”

However, the average monthly price paid by Nigerian households for a litre of petrol across the country dropped to N150.28/litre in May compared to N162.82/litre in April, the NBS revealed.

The official pump price of petrol stood at N145/litre, but figures provided showed that on the average, Nigerians bought petrol above the official rate in the period under review.

Meanwhile, following the sharp hike in inflation for the fourth consecutive month, financial analysts yesterday stressed that the challenge before the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and fiscal authorities was how to go about normalising the foreign exchange regime, and more broadly activity – in their bid to resolve fuel and other supply bottlenecks that have constrained growth while driving inflation higher.

Managing Director/Chief Economist, Africa, Standard Chartered Bank, Razia Khan, in a note to THISDAY, pointed out that the spike in inflation happened even against a backdrop of subdued economic activity, given the outright contraction in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2016, and indications that oil output in

FG: Why We Abolished Post-UTME Paul Obi in Abuja Amid criticisms that have continue to trail the federal government’s cancellation of the Post-Tertiary Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (Post-UTME) , the government yesterday in Abuja explained the rationale behind the recent abolition of Post-UTME, stating that it supports the Information Communication Technology (ICT) at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who made the clarification, contended that government abolished Post-UTME to enable JAMB concentrate on quality admission examination for entry in the institutions of higher learning.

The minister, who spoke through the Director of Tertiary Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Hajia Hindatu Abdullahi, during

opening of partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET) benchmarking capacity building workshop, stated that government was prompted to take the decision in an attempt to ensure that institutions of higher learning do not admit beyond their carrying capacity in order not compromise quality of education.

Adamu said: “The government continues to support the use of ICT and other forms of technology assisted learning in the delivery of quality education in Nigeria.

“We have a case where the government supports the ICT revolution at the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

The Ministry of Education continues to strategise to improve on the quality of higher education in Nigeria.

“Most recently, the government abolished the Post - UTME to

second quarter was likely to be even weaker.

The findings, according to her, were broadly consistent with the Standard Chartered-Premise Consumer Price tracker which rose by a record 2.75 per cent month-on-month in May. “In our view, rising price pressures were likely instrumental in the authorities’ changed stance on the forex policy. Nigeria’s fixed exchange rate regime had merely pushed activity to the parallel market, which is prone to overshooting, less susceptible to formal policy tightening, and likely played a significant role in exacerbating current price pressures.

“The challenge for the authorities is how to go about normalising the forex regime, and more broadly, activity – in their bid to resolve fuel and other supply bottlenecks that have constrained growth while driving inflation higher.

“Given where inflation already is, there will be a need for gradualism. However, in our view, any moves towards meaningful forex flexibility will need to be supported by tightening, in order to restore

some degree of credibility to policy. This may well have implications for the timing of any announcement on currency flexibility,” Khan added.

In its comment, Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC) stated that the structural bottlenecks in the energy, power and logistics sectors still continue to impede productivity.

“These factors, combined with uncertainty in the country’s macroeconomic direction, are eroding investor and public confidence,” the company said in a report yesterday.

According to the report, the impact of consistent increase in prices was indicative of an erosion of value and confidence in economic agents.

“With the economy grappling with negative growth, policy makers are unlikely to favour an increase in benchmark interest rates. Bond rates have settled in the region of 13 per cent to 14 per cent in recent weeks, and we do not expect any significant change in bond rates unless there is a sizable variation in liquidity or the exchange rate policy.

“Nigeria is likely to experience a high inflation environment

for most of the year, albeit at a slower pace in coming months. The release of the forex policy guidelines will trigger an increase in consumer prices in June and July before correction takes place in Q4.

“In addition, the contraction in money supply, reduction in disposable income, rising consumer resistance and early harvest would dampen inflationary pressures,” the report added.

Also, CSL Stockbrokers Limited pointed out that the two major overall drivers of inflation presently are currency weakness and electricity shortages. On the former, the firm pointed out that there is a great deal of uncertainty as the market awaits details on a new currency policy from the CBN. “Although the publication of the policy might see an appreciation of the naira on the parallel market, the new policy is likely to entail a reduction/removal of forex at the current official rate of N199/$1.

“Overall, therefore, the average rate at which firms

are able to gain access to forex is unlikely to be significantly altered and there is not likely to be disinflationary impetus from the currency, in our view.

“As for power supply disruptions, among other causes, these are largely the result of a decline in the amount of gas being supplied to generation facilities on the back of militant attacks on oil and gas pipelines.

“Militant group the Niger Delta Avengers has indicated a willingness to talk to the government, which on the surface appears to be progress.

“However, one of the Avengers’ conditions of talks is that international oil companies cease all production from the region. Against this backdrop, it seems to us that oil and gas supplies are more likely to get worse before they get better.

It is with this in mind that we believe that risks to our year-end forecast are to the upside. One potential ray of light is the improvement in supply of refined products and resultant declines in petrol pump prices,” CSL said in its report.

UNDERSTUDYING AMCON

R-L: Executive Director, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mr. Aminu Ismail; Chief Executive Officer, Zimbabwe Asset Management Corporation (ZAMCO), Dr. Cosmas Kanhai; and Executive Director, AMCON, Mr. Kola Ayeye, when a team from the Zimbabwean corporation paid a business visit to AMCON in Lagos ...yesterday

EU to Invest in Maritime Security in Niger Delta Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt The European Union (EU) has said it was building a platform that would enable experts to address the challenges of maritime crime in the Gulf of Guinea and specifically in the Niger Delta region.

It said it would invest in a multi-million naira programme that would focus on maritime security because the Niger Delta region was critical and strategic for not only Nigeria but the West African sub-region.

The head of EU delegation, Mr. Philippe Peyredieu, said this yesterday when he led a three-man team on a courtesy visit to the acting

Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, at the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt.

He stated that: “Peace and security in the Nigerian environment affects the other countries in very significant ways. The NDDC is in a vantage position to drive development in the region because it lives with the people and knows them.

“Most of the tax and oilrelated activities are done in and around the Niger Delta region. This makes it necessary for us to look at the security challenges that may hinder such activities.”

Peyredieu said the programme would cost several millions and that it would be difficult for the EU to shoulder all the responsibilities without getting the assistance of relevant stakeholders. He underscored the importance of collaboration and acknowledged the relevance of NDDC, which according to him, “knows more about what is happening in the Niger Delta.”

The head of the EU delegation said a more definitive conclusion would be arrived at after a stakeholders meeting scheduled to hold in Abuja next Thursday.

“We want all Nigerian stakeholders to be involved and to be concerned,” he added.

Peyredieu remarked that some legal issues would be addressed at the meeting to facilitate necessary reforms.

“The objective will be to have more prosecutions and ensure that people who are arrested and actually prosecuted. The idea is to make it easier to prosecute and enhance the process of evidence and intelligence gathering,” he said.

The NDDC chief executive officer, in her response, stated that the Niger Delta occupied an important place in the Gulf of Guinea, adding that the region is home to one of the largest wetlands in the world and Africa’s largest delta.

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NEWSXTRA

INEC: We’ll Conduct Rivers Re-run Elections If Parties Denounce Violence ErnestChinwoinRiversState The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it was ready to conclude the rerun elections in Rivers State if the political parties would guarantee peace.

Speaking at a consultative meeting with critical stakeholders at the Police Officers’ Mess, Port Harcourt, yesterday, Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Aniedi Ikoiwak, said although the date for the conclusion of the legislative rerun election had not been fixed, INEC was prepared and ready to conduct the exercise, provided all the stakeholders in the state were willing to cooperate with and support the electoral body.

The INEC recently issued a statement that all outstanding elections across the country would be concluded before the end of July.

The commission had suspended elections in eight local government areas of Rivers State citing violence as reason.

Giving a breakdown of the registered voters for the election, Ikoiwak said Rivers West senatorial district had 215,281 registered voters in 73 wards and 656 polling units, while Rivers East senatorial district has 240,103 registered voters in 63 wards and 433 polling units. Rivers

South-east senatorial district, he said, has 491,690 registered voters in 75 wards and 889 polling units.

He said INEC had 820,971 and 563,942 registered voters for the House of Representatives and state House of Assembly rerun elections, respectively.

He said the commission would conduct the suspended rerun election only on if the leaders and supporters of the 28 registered political parties contesting the election were ready to eschew violence.

He said the essence of the stakeholders’ meeting was to rub minds on how the noticeable pitfalls and violence that marred the suspended exercise could be avoided and ensure a free and fair exercise.

His words: “Today, we are gathered to see how we can conclude the legislative rerun election in Rivers State. We want to find out among ourselves whether or not there is a need to conduct the election.

“If we are not prepared, it will be a mere waste of human resources, money, time and energy to continue to hold elections that would be inconclusive. We must agree that we must conclude the rerun election.

“The only way to avoid inconclusive elections in Nigeria and in Rivers State is for the politicians to allow INEC to conduct elections, being the only body recognised by the constitution to do so.

“Let us (INEC) be allowed to conduct elections so that when the blame comes, INEC will be willing to accept it.”

Ikoiwak, who appealed to the leaders of the political parties present at the meeting to take stock of the violence that marred the March 19 exercise, however said no date had been fixed yet for the conclusion of the rerun election.

“We at INEC are ready for the election but it will be determined by the stakeholders if you really want it. Between now and the end of July, we will have the election concluded as directed by the INEC Headquarters.

“If we have the election now, don’t let us have a repeat of what happened on March 19, 2016 when people moved out of Rivers State due to fear of violence. It was only

those who I will call die-hards that stayed to participate in the election then,” he said.

In their responses, the three major political parties in the state; the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP), blamed each other for the violence that marred the elections.

RiversAPC chairman, Dr. Davies Ikanya, absolved his members of any complicity in the electoral violence but, in a veiled reference to PDP, added that beneficiaries of the violent acts must be punished.

He raged: “We cannot continue to allow people who benefitted from violent elections to continue to occupy offices and we think there will be a stop to electoral violence.

“People who perpetrated violence must be punished. APC is ready for the election but there has to be adequate security and punishment for those who perpetrate electoral violence.

“INEC upheld election results that were declared at gunpoint. People

are still killing because INEC allowed them to occupy offices. When you don’t allow those who kill to occupy positions, killing will no longer be lucrative and it will stop.”

However, chairman of the Labour Party in the state, Mr. Prince Favour, accused his APC counterpart of being miserly with the truth as he said members of both PDP and APC were involved in the electoral violence in the state.

“No party should exonerate itself from the political violence in Rivers State. Both the two big political parties, PDP and APC, are culpable. APC should stop throwing blames and absolving itself of any complicity.

“In my own area, we know APC members who are causing violence. APC of today is the PDP of yesterday. The same tactics they used before are what they are using today,” he said.

Also speaking, the PDP candidate for the rerun election in Rivers West Senatorial District, Senator George Sekibo, sympathised with the Rivers

REC on the burdens associated with conducting fresh elections.

He absolved PDP of any complicity in the violence and killings witnessed during the last inconclusive exercise, declaring that nobody can point to any PDP member as the perpetrator.

He said the issue of violence would not be resolved until the truth was told about its causes, urging INEC to appoint non-partisan people as its ad-hoc staff for the conclusion of the yet-to-be scheduled rerun election.

Sekibo urged INEC to apply “Solomonic wisdom” and ignore the call by the APC chairman that all the declared results of the March 19 rerun election should be cancelled.

“REC, please use all your wisdom to manage the election.

If INEC is ready for the election, we will come out. The onus rests on INEC to fix the date. Whatever we are told to do, we will do within the dictates of the law,” he said.

INEC Seeks Review of Amendments to Electoral Act Fixes Edo, Ondo CVR for June 22

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in abuja The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has expressed the need for amendments to the Electoral Act because of its implications for electoral operations and logistics.

He said the Act needed to be thoroughly examined ahead of the 2019 general election and other pending elections.

Yakubu, who spoke at a forum in Lagos, charged operations and logistics officers across the country to think out of the box so that the commission would be better informed and equipped with knowledge of effective electoral, operational and logistical strategies towards the 2019 general election.

Yakubu urged the officers to deliberate on the major challenges of electoral operations and logistics and to generate ideas and come up with strategic and implementable recommendations.

The INEC Chairman who was represented by Dr. Muhammad Mustapha Lecky, a National Commissioner and a member of the Electoral Operations and Logistics Committee (EOLC), identified a number of thorny issues which he insisted could not be glossed over.

He said the amendments had implications for electoral operations and logistics and they needed to be thoroughly

examined ahead of the 2019 general election and others pending.

They include responding to communities’ desire to maximise voters turnout by ensuring fair and adequate provision of Polling Units (PUs) which if not addressed would lead to disenfranchising a sizeable proportion of voters; the integrity of election materials, especially with regard to their availability and correct identification and distribution to specific locations; late arrival of materials, especially ballot papers and result sheets and the adequacy of transportation arrangements, especially for difficult terrains.

Meanwhile, INEC has scheduled the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise for Edo and Ondo States to hold from June 22 to 26, 2016.

The five-day exercise would provide an opportunity for some eligible category of the citizens of Edo and Ondo States.

The categories of persons being targeted for the exercise include those who were eligible but did not register before the 2015 general election, those who are eligible but whose names are not in the Register of Voters; and those who have attained the age of 18 years since the last voter registration exercise.

The CVR exercise would take place at the Registration Area centres/wards level. It will also commence daily (during the scheduled five days) from 9a.m. to 4p.m.

LIFETIME ACHIEVERS

L-R: Former Vice-President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, presenting the Lifetime Achievement award to the first military Governor of Lagos State, Brig.-Gen. Mobolaji Johnson (rtd); and former Chief of Administration, Defence Headquarters, Rear-Admiral Festus Porbeni (rtd), at the Hussey College, Warri 69th Founders’ Day anniversary dinner/awards ceremony at the Metropolitan Club, Victoria Island, Lagos ...recently Kola ali

Dialogue with Niger Delta Avengers, Others, Abdulsalami Tells FG Laleye Dipo in Minna

Former Head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, has joined the league of Nigerians that have called on the federal government to enter into dialogue with all aggrieved groups in the country particularly the Niger Delta Avengers and the pro Biafra groups.

General Abdulsalami Abubakar also said that the talks between the federal government and representatives of the radical Muslim group Boko- haram should be reopened.

General Abdulsalami made the call in Minna Saturday when he received in the speaker of the Niger state house of assembly and other legislators that called to congratulate him on his 74th birthday.

The former Nigerian military ruler turned 74 on Monday June 13.

According to him ‘lasting peace can return to the country with round table discussions and dialogue by government with various insurgency groups including the Niger Delta Avengers militants.’

He regretted that Nigerians were suffering unduly because of the actions of various insurgents including the Boko Haram, Niger Delta Avengers and Biafra agitators’.

“All we need to do is to sit down on a round table and discuss this problem. Even if you fight a war and win you must come and sit down with the people you conquered’ ‘‘ All the insecurity we are going through now is uncalled

for. What is Boko Haram?

Nobody knows what they want, the Niger Delta Avengers are now out, what are they avenging? “, he asked.

General Abdulsalami told the Niger Delta militants to understand that they were destroying their land while also contributing to serious drop, the lowest in decades, in oil production.

The former Head of state warned that that constant blow up of oil pipe lines by the Niger Delta avengers would ultimately affect the 13 per cent derivation to the region due to the sharp decline in oil revenue.

He added that the activities of the militants ‘will also possibly lead to drop in the funding of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) while

much harm will be done to land and aquatic lives of the region’.

“I hope that they will come back to their senses and let us try to give this country peace.

We do not deserve what we are going through. We need peace and I am begging everybody in the spirit of Ramadan, whatever religion everybody is following, please let us give peace a chance”.

In his remarks the Speaker of the Niger state House of Assembly Alhaji Ahmed Marafa expressed gratitude to God for using the former head of state to restore democracy to the country.

Marafa described General Abubakar ‘as an illustrious son of the state whose counsel has guided the Assembly in legislating for good governance

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After Much Tussle, Ayokunle Emerges New CAN President Elections held behind schedule to avoid intrusion, arrest of CAN members

Paul Obi in Abuja After much muscle flexing and tussling among the ranks of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC), Rev. Supo Ayokunle, yesterday emerged the new president of the umbrella Christian body in the country.

The elections held surreptitiously, one day behind the scheduled date, which was slated for today.

The elections took place in attempt to avoid alleged federal government intrusion, THISDAY learnt.

It also gathered that there were frantic efforts by some security agencies to arrest senior members of CAN, including the out going President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor.

Ayokunle defeated Prof.

Joseph Otubu of the Motailatu Church Cherubim and Seraphim Movement (MCCSW) with 54 votes to 28.

Oritsejafor who announced the result to a rousing applause at the Ecumenical Centre, Abuja called for unity and a common front among Christians in the country.

The emergence of Ayokunle came amid wrangling among CAN members on the top post.

To that end, only two blocs out of five were able to nominate representatives for the primaries conducted by the Electoral College.

Thus, while Ayokunle, Head of Baptist Churches in Nigeria, emerged candidate of the Christian Council of Nigeria in the primaries, Prof. Otubu of Organisation of African Instituted Churches won the primaries to contest the election under the platform This was part of the report submitted by the Electoral

College signed by its chairman and former Chaplain of Aso Villa, Rev. Dr. Williams Okoye and Secretary, S.T.V. Adegbite.

Under the arrangement, while Ayokunle, flew the ticket of CCN in the election of CAN Presidency, Otubu sort election using the platform of OAIC. The report had stated then that “the Electoral College met on Thursday, May 26, 2016 and each member of the college was given the opportunity to speak on the way foreword.

After careful deliberations, nine members agreed that the Electoral College should conclude, vote and send her report to the national secretariat while six members differed.

“After the election, Ayokunle from CCN scored eight votes while Otubu scored two votes.

Members of the Electoral College agreed to have autonomy and this should be taken care of in the new constitution.”

Contrary, the Evangelical Church of West Africa rejected the process and outcome, raising concern over the elections.

The ECWA Representative in CAN, Pastor Wakili Kadima and members of the National Executive Council of CAN representing the Youth Wing of Tarayya Ekklesiyoyin Kristi A Nigeria/ECWA Fellowship of Nigeria, Pastor Divine Eches, alleged then that the process leading to the elections was marred by ‘illegalities’ and ‘impunities’ The group particularly alleged that the nominee of TEKAN/ ECWA, Jeremiah Gado was excluded as the consensus candidate of the TEKAN/ ECWA bloc in CAN. They told journalists then that “we have decided to let the world know that the process is flawed with irregularities, the exclusion of a candidate who

Police Wade into Murder of Ex-Envoy Dele Ogbodo in Abujau The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command yesterday said it had commenced investigation into the gruesome murder of the former Nigerian envoy to South Africa, Mr. S.S Yusuf, in the early hours of Monday in Wuse Zone 6 District of Abuja.

Speaking with THISDAY on the phone, the command’s Public Relations Officer, Anjuguri Manzah, said the command’s homicide department has begun investigation into the cause of the death of the former Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa.

Asked on the remote circumstance surrounding the death of the envoy, Manzah explained: “While the investigation is still ongoing, it is improper to pre-empt the cause of his death. He promised to carry the media along as soon as investigation is concluded.

The incident, according to an eyewitness who resides in

the area, said the former envoy was pushed out through the veranda of his apartment by the assailants who forced their way into his apartment in the early hours of that morning.

In a related development, the Police Force Headquarter, Public Relations Officer, Bisi Kolawole, in a statement made available to the media, said the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, has called for calm following the unfortunate death of a police officer, Mathew Akpos, in Bayelsa State.

Akpos, the statement, added was allegedly killed by operatives of the Bayelsa State Command Special AntiRobbery Squad, SARS, earlier in the month.

The alleged killing, THISDAY learnt, almost degenerated to protest by aggrieved citizens in the state, prompting the quick intervention of the Inspector General of Police (IG) who waded into the matter to ensure that justice is served.

was duly nominated has been due to so much impunity and so much violation of very clear constitutional provisions.

“And we not only reject what has happened but will certainly use every legal constitutional means within CAN, and if possibly outside CAN, to challenge the illegality.

We urge that the right thing be done to save CAN from embarrassment and the perpetuation of impunity and illegality that is threatening to tear CAN into pieces.

“We in ECWA have decided to kick against the exclusion because the process came out with a minority report of members of the electoral college that didn’t agree with what went

on and have even suggested that the present national officials of CAN should hand over to a caretaker team for a body that is impartial to conduct election for the new leadership of CAN to emerge.”

Further, President of the Patriotic Christian Youths of Nigeria, Simon Timothy Nasso debunked the claims describing them as tissue of lies.

He said: “The CAN constitution is very explicit about the nature of the candidature for the office of the President.

Article 14(d) (ii) say; “Four or five candidates as the case may be shall be presented to the Electoral College, one from each constituent group of CAN. Two of the candidates who

obtained the highest number of votes from the voting of the Electoral College shall be deemed nominated.

“It is so strange to note the level of political manipulations and attempt to forcefully impose a candidate before and during the selection process at the TEKAN/ECWA bloc level.

We have observed strangely too the trend of events that accompanied the desperation in search for Gado’s nomination.

“There were pressures both from the public and the Electoral College on CAN leadership to give TEKAN/ECWA time to resolve her differences. Twice such opportunities were given and twice the bloc could not resolve her differences after

several meetings which were punctuated by attacks from thugs.

“Then, the bloc leader helplessly wrote to tell CAN that consensus could not be reached and there is no sign that such consensus can be reached before the expiration of the tenure of the present leaders. CAN acts on same by directing the Electoral College to do the needful. Yet some selfish and compromisers want the election to be suspended until their preferred candidate is nominated.”

As at the time of filing this report, there were no comments from the different blocs that make up CAN.

THE YOUNG SHALL GROW

L-R: Managing Director/CEO, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Matthew Willsher; Representative of the wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Kemi Durosinmi-Etti; Deputy Governor, Dr. Oluranti Adebule; and the winner of 2016 Spelling Bee Competition, Master, Olufemi Olaseinde of Shasha Community Senior High School, during the grand finale of 2016 Spelling Bee Competition for Lagos State Primary and Secondary Schools in conjunction with Etisalat, at the Auditorium Alausa, Ikeja...yesterday KOLA OLASUPO

Funding, Location Stall Passage of North-east Commission Bill Senator protests non-inclusion of Bayelsa indigene on ambassadorial list Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The source of funding as well as the location of the proposed North-east Development Commission yesterday stalled the passage of the North-east Development Commission Bill meant to provide the framework for the rehabilitation of the North-east region which has been devastated by Boko Haram activities.

While considering the third reading of the bill yesterday, there was a sharp disagreement among Northeast senators over the place to site the headquarters of the commission.

The controversy began when Senator Ali Wakili (Bauchi South) suggested the need to site the commission in Bauchi as he opposed the committee’s recommendation

that it should be sited in Abuja, noting thatAbuja is several kilometres away from the region.

His submission prompted another suggestion that the commission should rather be sited in Maiduguri, while others insisted that it should be located in Gombe.

But Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South in the North-east frowned at the disagreement among his kinsmen over the location of the commission’s headquarters, saying it was untidy to bring such a matter to the floor when they ought to have resolved it at the caucus level.

However, Usman Nafada (Gombe North), vehemently argued that the location of the commission should be in Gombe.

According to him, Gombe is the centre of the North-east region and hence, the most suitable place to locate the commission.

He also argued that Gombe has the same status with Maiduguri, being also a state capital, and hence, there is no reason to consider Maiduguri as a more suitable place to site the commission.

In the same vein, the senators could not agree on the commission’s source of funding as an initial proposal that 15 per cent of federal allocation to every state of the region should be deducted at source for its funding was dropped.

Also, another proposal that 50 per cent of ecological fund meant for each of the six Northeast states should be deducted at source for the funding of the commission was also rejected

by the committee.

In view of the inability of the senators to find common grounds for both the funding and location of the commission, the clause by clause consideration of the bill could not be concluded as a result of the disagreement on the clauses on funding and location.

Therefore, the Senate stood down the planned passage of the bill and consequently referred it back to the committee to resolve the controversy and come up with acceptable proposals on the two issues.

In his remark, Senate President Bukola Saraki, said the Senate had reached a consensus on 24 of the 26 clauses of the bill, observing that its passage was only stalled by the inability to reach a consensus on the two clauses.

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Troops Rescue 53 More Hostages, Kill Two Terrorists, Arrest One Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

The Nigerian troops deployed in Operation Lafiya Dole have rescued 53 more people from Boko Haram captivity, killed two terrorists and arrested another one.

The Director of Army

Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman, in a statement yesterday, said the troops of 114 Task Force Battalion of 28 Task Force Brigade, embarked on aggressive patrol to dominate and secure the road linking Izge and Bitta. During the operation, the patrol came across 43 persons

FG: El-Zakzaky Not in Detention, He’s Under Protective Custody Alex Enumah in Abuja The federal government yesterday denied the claim of unlawful detention of the leader of the Shi’ite Islamic sect, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, claiming that El-Zakzaky is a vulnerable person and as such was being held under protective custody.

Counsel to the federal government, Tijani Gazali, stated this to journalists yesterday shortly after the matter was adjourned by the trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole of a Federal High Court, Abuja.

The Shi’ite leader had filed a N2billion suit against the federal government over his unlawful detention and breach of his fundamental human right.

Justice Gabriel Kolawole okayed the matter for hearing after he ordered service of the relevant court processes on the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).

Aside the AGF, other respondents in the suit are the Department of State Services, DSS, and the Nigerian Police Force.

At the resumed hearing, counsel, to the applicant, Festus Okoye, of the Femi Falana Chambers, told the court that all the respondents had been duly served with the processes in relation to the matter, including hearing notice of the day’s sitting.

He said while the first and third respondents in the suit had replied the second respondent was yet to reply.

Counsel to the first and third respondents however told the court that a motion seeking an extension of time dated June 8 was filed on June 9, along with their counter affidavit and written addresses.

Responding, Okoye while stating that they are not in objection to the request of time, however told the court that there are issues contained in the counter affidavit that needed clarification. He subsequently sought for an adjournment.

In a brief ruling, Justice Kolawole granted the motion as prayed by the applicant and adjourned the matter till 13 July for hearing of the applicant suit.

However briefing journalists outside the courtroom, counsel to El-Zakzaky disclosed that one of the issue they needed time to resolve is the claim by the Department of State Services (DSS) that their client was being held in custody willingly.

“We have filed our application asking for the release of our client who is being held by the DSS. As at the last adjournment,

none of the respondents filed any process, but yesterday the DSS and AGF responded and in their counter affidavit, they claimed to be holding our client in protective custody for his own benefit.

These are some of the things we want to find out because at our last meeting, he never said he was being held in protective custody for his own benefit,” Okoye said.

Responding to question on whether El-Zakzaky consented to his being held in protective custody having asked the court for his release, Gazali maintained that one does not need to ask for such protection, adding that it is the duty of the state to protect.

“Once you are vulnerable the state would protect you.

El-Zakzaky is not in detention.

He is under protective custody and is well taken care of where he is,” Gazali said.

Specifically, the Shi’ite leader who has been in detention since December 14, 2015, applied for the enforcement of his fundamental rights to life, personal liberty, dignity of human person, right to private and family life and private property.

The suit marked FHC/ CS/128/2016, was predicated on sections 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41 and 46 (1) & (2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as on Articles 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12(1) of the African Charter on Human & Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, LFN, 2010.

The court is among other things, prayed to declare that “the detention of the applicant at Abuja by the respondents since December 14, 2015, is illegal and unconstitutional as it violates his fundamental rights to personal liberty as enshrined in section 35 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, and Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (CAP A10), Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004”.

Falana is contending that the continued detention of his client without being charged before a competent court is in violation of his right to fair hearing as enshrined in section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

He said his client had since lost one of his eye owing to the treatment meted out to him by security agents acting on behalf of the federal government, adding that the detained Sh’iite leader was denied access to his medical doctors, family members and relatives.

that escaped from one of the Boko Haram terrorists hideout in Madube.

Usman said the escapees comprised of 10 men, 14 women and 19 children.

According to him, the freed hostages are currently being screened and profiled at the Battalion Headquarters (DHQ).

Similarly, he said, troops from 115 Task Force Battalion of the same Brigade, in conjunction with some vigilante groups, also carried out patrols to Pegana, Joma, Wambiyar, Dille, Pumpum, Zah, Miya and Pugula communities and cleared them of Boko Haram terrorists.

The Army spokesman also said that some elements of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), on Monday, arrested and handed over a suspected Boko Haram terrorist, named Garba Thlama Mussa to the unit.

He said the suspect is currently being interrogated

and would be handed over to Joint Intelligence Committee.

Usman further stated that the troops of 117 Battalion also carried out patrol within Mubi North and Mubi South to ensure general security of the areas.

The same unit, he noted, also provided security to Adamawa State boundaries adjustment committee during their visit to Kwaja village in Mubi Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

In the same vein, the DAPR said the troops of 143 Battalion also carried out patrol in Bebel, Fattude, Teddei, Hyambula and Sukur.

“We are pleased to state that the troops in that axis are in high spirit determined to continue doing the nation proud.

“The story is the same in 22 Brigade area of operations as troops from 3 Battalion also conducted foot and mobile patrols towards Diema, Tatakura and Kala villages in which they

had contact with Boko Haram terrorists and killed two of them and recovered some dangerous weapons,” he stated.

Similarly, he said, troops from 22 Brigade Garrison in conjunction with a detachment of Nigeria Custom Services personnel conducted patrol along Dikwa-Mafa-Maiduguri road to keep it safe.

Usman also assured that the security situation kept improving in the North-east especially in the liberated and cleared areas, other security and para-military agencies have started redeploying back to their locations.

He stated: “It was to this end that the Nigerian Immigration Service has also deployed its personnel in Dikwa. The 21 personnel were received and briefed at the Headquarters 22 Brigade Garrison.

“The team is undergoing training on mines and Improvised Explosive Devices

(IEDs) awareness and ground signs before they commence work.

In a related development, the troops of 22 Brigade Garrison, intercepted 14 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) which include three men, three women, six male children and two female children coming to Dikwa from Chingowa village. The IDPs were screened by the troops and the Civilian JTF at the area and then handed over to Dikwa IDP Coordinator for further screening, registration and rehabilitation.”

Sadly, Usman said, an administrative patrol was ambushed from 12 kilometres to Gwoza. Unfortunately three soldiers and 13 other civilians were wounded.

“All of the wounded have been evacuated to 21 Brigade Medical Reception Station.

They are all in stable condition and responding to treatment,” he assured.

COURTESY VISIT

L-R: Deputy President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Babatunde Ruwase; President, LCCI, Mrs. Nike Akande; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode; and his deputy Dr. Idiat Adebule, during the courtesy visit by the LCCI team to the governor in Lagos... recently

Malnutrition Kills Hundreds in Borno Camp Shettima orders 61 malnourished children hospitalised Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri Malnutrition has hit hard at internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp in Borno State, it was gathered yesterday.

THISDAY learnt that between May 23 and 31, 2016, 137 persons died as a result of acute malnutrition in Bama camp alone.

Bama camp has a population of over 25,000 persons who live under harsh conditions.

When our correspondent paid a visit to the office of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the staff were mobilising to go to Bama to combat the rise in malnutrition.

Some of the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed that due to the outbreak of acute malnutrition in the camp, they were moving in to checkmate the situation.

They explained that many IDPs in towns of Bama, Mafa, Dikwa and Marte were being relocated to Maiduguri to stop the death.

One of the staff of the organisation said two persons who were moved from Mafa, Dikwa and Marte due to malnutrition outbreak in those towns died at the point of screening in Maiduguri.

He said “two persons from Mafa, Dikwa and Marte died at Muna Garage where they were being screened.”

He lamented that many of the IDPs who can barely stand are further stressed could under were harsh weather during the screening exercise.

He disclosed that also on Monday, two persons died during their transportation from Bama to Maiduguri.

On the death of 137 IDPs at the Bama camp over a week ago, the source said, “when we paid a visit to Bama on

May 31 for rapid assessment of IDPs and child protection, we found out that 137 persons died between 23rd and 31st of acute malnutrition.”

He further disclosed that in the team to Bama was the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and “we had to immediately move in with nutritional foods, recreational kits for children and flow mats for children.”

Meanwhile, Governor Kashim Shettima has ordered the hospitalisation of 61 critically malnurished infants in Maiduguri.

The children, according to a press statement by the governor’s spokesman, Mallam Isa Gusau were recently liberated from some areas which were under the insurgents’ captivity.

The statement read that “61 critically malnourished children have been hospitalised on the orders of Shettima after

he relocated 478 children and 219 adults, all of them malnourished due to two years captivity in the hands of Boko Haram insurgents before they were rescued by the Nigerian military.”

The statement further said: “The victims were moved from Bama to a special care unit in Maiduguri on Monday. Dozens of buses conveyed them to a newly opened special care unit in Maiduguri.

It added that: “The 61 infants now hospitalized at Umaru Shehu Specialist Hospital, owned by the State Government in Maiduguri, are undergoing medical care arising from extreme deprivation of food.

They were part of the 478 children moved from Bama alongside 219 adults also malnourished. The adults consist of 196 women, some of whom gave birth to part of the 478 children. The rest of the adults are 23 men, looking emaciated.”

Shet maln child

Ho WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2016 • T H I S D AY

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Sapele Power Plant Promises to Increase Generation by 1,000MW Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City To expand its capacity to generate more electricity in Nigeria, the management of Sapele power plant has said it has put all machinery in place to recover the plant’s installed capacity of 1,020MW and inject new generation capacity of 1,000MW within the next five years.

The Sapele power plant which was built between 1978 and 1982 has installed capacity of 1,020MW but presently generates 150MW before it was privatised in February 2014 and sold to a private company, Eurafric Group.

The Managing Director (Down Stream) of the plant, Mr. Onoriode Odjeba, who made the disclosure during a stakeholders’ workshop with host communities in Sapele, said the expansion would come in two formats: recovery of installed capacity and introduction of new generation capacity.

He said the management of the power plant, being the

second largest power plant built before it was privatised, has a plan to inject an additional 1000MW in the next five years in addition to refurbishing of selected turbines of 300MW as well as purchase of new gas’s turbine to bring an addition 900MW of its lost capacity.

Odjeba further disclosed that one of the means they intend to achieve this capacity expansion would be the installation of gas turbine on badges.

While thanking God that the new owners (Eurafric Group) are prepared to improve the generation output of the plant, he pointed out that “our gathering here today is for the communities/stakeholders to be briefed on the expansion plans of the company.”

Given an account of the various expansion projects the power station plans to carry out such as Social and Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA), Odjeba said expansion cannot materialise if the host communities are not

carried along on their role in the EIA and what the company intend doing.

For instance, he noted that the objectives behind reassessment was to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate the anticipated impacts of the proposed activities on the environment, health and

social wellbeing of the host communities, to look at recommended ameliorating and mitigating measures in order to eliminate or minimise the identified adverse impacts if any, and evolve a robust and fit for a purpose environmental management and monitoring plans to ensure compliance

with statutory laws as well as sustainability of the plant.

Speaking at the event, the representative of Delta State Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Emeka Onyetenu, said the purpose of the workshop should be well spelt out to enable him have a concise report to submit

to the Commissioner.

On his part, the Secretary, Sapele/Okpe Community, Dr. Ebuerie Maxwell, who represented the Chairman Sapele/Okpe community, expressed his delight at the proposed expansion programme by Sapele Power Plc.

EFCCStormsObanikoro’sLagosHome,Carts AwayValuables Cont’d from Pg 11 The couple were charged with a seven-count offence bordering on alleged $40million contract scam, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba had on June 8 granted the defendants who are facing trial alongside their firm, Oneplus Holding Limited, bail in the sum of N1billion.

They were directed to deposit N500million each, as well as produce two sureties in the like sum.

The court maintained that the sureties must be owners of landed properties in either Maitama or Asokoro Districts of Abuja and must produce evidence that they paid income tax for the past three years.

However, the defendants who secured bail through their lawyer Chief Chris Uche (SAN), had been unable to fulfill the stringent bail conditions.

Sources said the accused persons are considering

approaching the court for a variation of the bail conditions.

The source also blamed the EFCC for orchestrating the “harsh bail conditions” to be met by Robert, his Wife and company, Oneplus.

He said the defendants have concluded plans to re-approach the court for variation of the bail terms, saying it has been difficult to get people to stand surety for the accused persons.

EFCC had accused the defendants of receiving a $40million contract from the detained former National Security Adviser, NSA, Sambo Dasuki, retd.

Azibaola was arraigned before the high court after he had spent 80 days in custody of the EFCC. Justice Dimgba has ordered accelerated hearing of the charge against the defendants.

The matter was adjourned till June 28, July 4 and 5.

HopeRisesforPowerSectorasNNPC AnnouncesCompletion,InaugurationofFour GasProjects Cont’d from Pg 11 get service they are prepared to pay for.”

The sixth monthly meeting, which is in furtherance of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing’s hands on approach at identifying, discussing and finding practical solutions to issues facing the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, also had in attendance the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Power, Mr. Louis Edozien.

Others present included top level representatives of power operators in the country, including Managing Directors and CEOs of GenCos, DisCos, and TCN, as well as various government agencies such as the Nigerian

National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), the Nigerian Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) responsible for the regulation and development of the electricity industry.

The sixth edition of the meeting with Power Sector Operators was hosted by the Kano Electricity Distribution Company at the Kombotso Transmission Station, Kano State.

Earlier editions of the meeting had held in Abuja, Lagos, Enugu, Shiroro and Calabar.

COMPLIANCE OFFICERS

L-R: Chief Compliance Officer, Keystone Bank, Mrs. Joyce Obi; Chief Compliance Officer, Access Bank and Chairman Committee of Chef Compliance Officers of Banks in Nigeria (CCCOBIN), Mr. Pattison Boleigha; MD/CEO, DataPro Limited, Mr. Abimbola Adeseyoju; Chief Compliance Officer, Diamond Bank, Mrs. Isioma Gogo-Anazodo and Chief Compliance Officer, Ecobank, Mr. Okibe Attah; at the committee of chief compliance officers of banks in Nigeria (CCCOBIN) pre-assessment workshop in Lagos ...yesterday.

MUBO PETERS

Nigerians Must Unite to Fight Cancer, Says Ambode Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, yesterday marked his birthday with a special luncheon too raise funds for the provision of three Mobile Cancer Centres across the three senatorial districts in the state, with a call on Nigerians to join hands together to wage war against the scourge.

The governor who spoke at an event tagged: ‘#GivingTuesdayLagos’ put together by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP-Nigeria), which coincided with his 53rd birthday, said the centres would go a long way to save millions of Nigerians from preventable suffering and death.

Lamenting the rate at which the terminal disease has claimed thousands of lives in recent times, the governor said it was unacceptable and therefore calls for concerted efforts from all and sundry.

He said the war against cancer was one that the government cannot tackle alone, hence the need for Nigerians to extend their philanthropy towards the scourge.

“Lives are lost every day to cancer and this is unacceptable.

This is why the Lagos State Government carries out public health programmes focused on cancer.

“I believe that the government alone cannot solve every problem; everyone has a role

to play. In my one year in office, I have come to realise that even with the best will in the world, government cannot do everything. The real challenge before me as governor of Lagos is how I unite public, private and philanthropic sectors in building our state.

“I am therefore, glad that through this private sector led initiative I can play a role in helping to advance the Big War Against Cancer for the well-being of not just the good people of Lagos State but Nigerians in general.

“We can only achieve this goal with the generous support of all people of goodwill.

Without these donations, the goal would not be reached and the opportunity to save lives would be lost,” he said.

Ambode, who commended the CECP and philanthropists who donated towards the purchase of the first set of Mobile Cancer Centres, said that though the initial target was for one Centre in Lagos, having three centres in each of the senatorial districts in the state was a priority for him.

“The purpose of this luncheon is to raise funds for One Mobile Cancer Centre for Lagos but I would like to challenge us all to not only give towards the provision of one Mobile Cancer Centre but towards the provision of three Mobile Cancer Centres servicing each of the senatorial

Island Club Holds Quarterly Lecture Today The Island Club, Lagos will hold its third public interest lecture today, June 15 at 1p.m in the club’s premises.

The topic for this quarter is: ‘The Second Buhari Administration: One Year After, the Economy and the Polity.’

The Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian Group of Newspapers, Mr. Debo Adesina, is the guest speaker.

The public interest lecture series is a major plank in the current efforts by the new leadership under Mr. Oladipo Okpeseyi (SAN) to reinvent the Island Club in line with the vision of its founding fathers as a respected force for

nurturing the conduct of public affairs by providing a platform to influence the direction of public life and public policies.

The first of these lectures was held in September 2015. The theme was ‘Nigeria’s war on terror’ and the guest speaker was Major General Adewunmi Ajibade (rtd). Professor Itse Sagay, law scholar and Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council Against Corruption delivered the second lecture with the theme ‘Confronting the corruption scourge’ in March 2016.

Also at the event, Mr. Bismack Rewane, a finance expert, will examine the state of the economy.

NAF Denies Plan to Retire AVMs, Other Senior Officers Senator Iroegbu in Abuja The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has debunked the reports that it plans to retire some of its senior officers including those with the rank of Air Vice Marshal (AVM).

The reports had alleged that NAF might likely retire its senior officers affected in the arms procurement saga involving the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd).

However, the Director of Public Relations and Information (DOPRI), Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa,

in a statement yesterday, said the allegations contained in the said story by one of the national dailies titled: ‘Arm Scandal: Air Force to retire AVMs, Commodores’, was unfounded.

“The publication alleged that the NAF is at the verge of retiring a number of senior officers connected with the ongoing investigation of arms purchase under the immediate past administration,” Famuyiwa stated.

He insisted “that this story is unfounded and did not emanate from the NAF.”

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NEWSXTA

NiFund to Raise $2bn for Infrastructure Devt Crusoe Osagie

An investment management company, Nigerian Infrastructure Fund (NiFund), targeting investment opportunities in high growth sectors in Nigeria, yesterday, launched the Nigerian Infrastructure Fund with a target of raising $2 billion.

In addition, NiFund will look to launch new funds targeting Nigeria’s high growth sectors.

Making the announcement on the occasion of the Nigerian British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) Mission to the United Kingdom, NiFund said it would have a seven-year investment horizon with up to two additional years for asset divestment.

“NiFund will solicit commitments from both qualified private investors and development finance institutions.

NiFund will employ a core satellite approach in order to ensure that capital is optimised over the investment period,” NiFund said in a statement.

Commenting on the launch of NiFund at the NBCC Mission to the United Kingdom, the Managing Director of Pecora Capital, Aaron Smith, said: “Investment in the infrastructure sector is vital for the socioeconomic development of Nigeria and we will aim to attract foreign investors to fund critical national infrastructure projects with an overarching aim to deliver a strong return on investments. Through infrastructure development in Nigeria, NiFund will act as a catalyst for future growth and prosperity in the country.”

Nigeria’s rapid growth and urbanisation has resulted in enormous demand for sound and sustainable infrastructure development throughout the country. To actively participate in this growth and meet the increasing demand for suitable infrastructure, NiFund will invest in equity stakes in private infrastructure projects across various sectors including power, transport and communications.

In addition, the fund would also aim to tap into projects that strengthen institutions, human capacity, critical processes, tools and foundational services such as logistics systems for delivering agricultural products to markets. It will provide investors unparalleled potential returns while substantially reducing risk through robust deal flow and proprietary project selection methodology, portfolio diversification and solid corporate governance.

NiFund is designed to provide investors with an opportunity to make substantial returns in one of Africa’s fastest growing economies.

Long term private equity investors have the opportunity to capture super-normal risk adjusted returns.

NiFund maintains strict risk management guidelines, including asset diversification and best practices for corporate governance to provide international investors with a conservative vehicle to unlock the potential of Nigerian growth.

Pecora Capital Limited., which also serves as the Fund’s Investment Manager, will provide the global alternative investment expertise and has collaborated with Heart African

Investments (HAIL) to source transactions and provide portfolio management services on its behalf in Nigeria.

Furthermore, the fund’s asset valuation policy dictates that net asset values will be calculated quarterly by an independent,

regulated fund administrator.

For this purpose, NiFund has appointed Trident Fund Services with more than $30 billion in assets under management and $5 billion specifically in African Infrastructure Funds. The Fund has appointed KPMG as the

cohorts have continued to shop around to buy any court order at any price, but that so far they have not succeeded, “thanks to the vigilance and integrity of the judiciary.”

Speaking further, Adeyeye said Sheriff was appointed and not elected by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party to complete the tenure of Alhaji Adamu Mauzu.

According to Adeyeye, the appointment of Sheriff was not ratified by any national convention, adding that constitutionally, he has no other mandate which can extend beyond May 21, 2016.

“The tenure of Mu’azu legally would have ended on the February 14, 2016. Sheriff was given an extension of months by the NEC of our party to organize a National Convention,” he said.

Regarding the claim by Sheriff that he and some NWC members met and postponed the Port Harcourt convention, Adeyeye maintained that only the national convention itself can order a cancellation or postponement of the event once it has been fixed and not any individual.

“The national convention is the supreme organ of the party under Article 3302) of the PDP constitution. In the exercise of its power under Article all officers of 33(5) (b) & (e) of the constitution, the national convention removal of the party and set up a

hence all efforts are being made to attract FDI into this sector. Nigeria offers a great proposition to foreign investors with its vast natural resources, arable land, and a young, entrepreneurial population,” concluded Smith.

CONGRATULATIONS

L-R: Mrs. Oluwayemisi Aluko Olokun; her daugther, Oluwatosin; and son, Wole, during the graduation of Tosin from Saba University School of Medicine, Netherlands, Antilles in the Caribbean Island...recently.

PDP: Sheriff Acted Lawlessly, May Be Acting APC Script thugs who openly brandished various dangerous weapons in and around the premises of the secretariat in full glare of the police.

Adeyeye accused the former National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Sheriff, former National Secretary, Prof Olawale Oladipo and former National Auditor, Alhaji Fatai Adeyanju of mobilising three lorry loads of thugs and bandits to invade the national secretariat.

“When rumors of the planned invasion filtered out on Sunday, we took steps to alert the police to secure the building and to protect the lives and properties of members. Up to a point, the police discharged their responsibilities satisfactory however, later on without any justification whatsoever, Ali Modu Sheriff and the other renegades were allowed to gain entry into the secretariat, where they later proceeded to address a press conference.

Adeyeye assured the party faithful that the party had taken steps to ensure that Sheriff and his cohorts do not loot the property of the party, adding that staff of the party have been instructed on what to do in this regard.

He said contrary to Sheriff ‘s claim that he has a court order to back his come-back bid, there was no such order.

Adeyeye said Sheriff and his

external auditor and Stanbic IBTC, a subsidiary of Standard Bank, will act as the Fund’s custodian.

“We are witnessing a strong commitment from the Nigerian government to develop the public infrastructure and

caretaker committee to plan and organise a national convention within 90 days the national convention of PDP can only be called by NEC and once that is done, its convention can cancel and postpone its proceedings.

No individual or other organ of the party can postpone or cancel the national convention.

“The national convention therefore took place legally and constitutionally. The former deputy national chairman, Chief Uche Secondus acted for the former national chairman who was absent in accordance with the provisions of Article 35(3) (b) of the PDP constitution. The Federal High Court in suit NO FHC/ PH/CS/524/2016 has endorsed the decisions of the national convention held in Port Harcourt on 21/05/16.

“The order of the Federal High Court presided over by Justice A.M Liman is still subsisting and has not elapsed contrary to the insinuation of Sheriff. The order ill subsist until the determination of the motion of notice. The motion on notice will come up for hearing on Thursday. Only three of the members of the defunct national officers are still parading themselves but constitutionally they cannot form a quorum for any legitimate business of the party. Under Article 29(4) of the PDP constitution as amended the quorum of the NWC is two- third of the membership drawn from

at least two- thirds of the zones in the country.

“It is therefore very clear that three people cannot make up the NWC. We also wonder who Sheriff would be chairman over when he is already rejected by 99.99 per cent of the party The entire stakeholders of the party, including governors, National Assembly members, Board of Trustees (BoT) members and others were at the party secretariat last week to usher in members of the National Caretaker Committee (NCC).

Immediate past members of the National Working Committee (NWC), except the trio of Sheriff, Oladipo and Adeyanju were also on hand to hand over to the NCC. “The NCC is not distracted by the activities of the fifth columnists in the party. We remain very focused on the assignment and the mandate given to us at the national convention held in Port Harcourt,” he said.

Following yesterday forceful take over of the secretariat of the PDP, the governors elected on the platform of the party, Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Assembly caucus have convened a meeting today (Wednesday) to address the latest development in the party.

Other people expected at the meeting taking place at the Ondo Governor Lodge, Abuja, are

Cont’d from Pg 11 former governors of the party and former principals of National Assembly.

The planned meeting of the PDP national caucus came just as the spokesman of the NCC, Adeyeye said yesterday that as far as the party was concerned, Sheriff is in the past in the leadership of the party.

In a statement issued yesterday by the Director General of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Osaro Onaiwu, explained that though Sheriff was not invited to the caucus meeting, the purpose of the meeting is to find a lasting solution to the crisis bedevelling the party.

On his part, Makarfi dismissed the report of support for the leadership of Sheriff, describing it as false and fraudulent.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja who sought his position on such report, Makarfi said he never granted any press interview nor made any statement to that effect.

“That’s very fraudulent. I saw him at the convention of course, but I haven’t sat privately with Sheriff in the last three months, or anybody representing him not to talk of me making such a statement.

“I haven’t granted any press statement. If that is the case, how can it be that the only statement I would make is to apologise to him and express support for him? There is no

basis for that, absolutely no basis for that. This is what we are trying to get rid from PDP and all the so-called court orders, judgment being bandied about aren’t really true.

Responding to the allegations that it was working in cahoot with Sheriff to cause crisis in the opposition party, APC described it as baseless and laughable.

The party said the PDP is suffering from its sins of the past.

The APC National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni, the party said instead of joining issues with the baseless and laughable allegations, the it would rather face issues that will bring about all-inclusive development in the country.

“However, it should be put on record that the PDP forced on them whatever crisis it is troubled with today due to its politics of imposition and other undemocratic practices which the APC abhors. The PDP should put its house in order rather than playing to the gallery and blaming others but themselves for their sins which has come to hunt them.

“Also, it is evident that the PDP has chosen to employ diversionary tactics because of its inability to produce credible candidates for the forthcoming elections in Edo and Ondo States.”

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NEWSXTRA

IYC Berates Amaechi over Cost of Acquiring Land for Maritime University Sylvester Idowu in Warri The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) yesterday reacted angrily to the claim by the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, that N19 billion was used to acquire the site of Maritime University, Okerenkoko in Warri South West Local Government area of Delta State.

The group berated the minister for turning the truth upside down in the establishment of the institution which it said would bring development to the Niger Delta region.

The IYC, in a statement signed by its spokesman, Eric Omare, was reacting to a comment allegedly made by the Amaechi at a town hall meeting organised by the federal government at Uyo on Monday that N19 billion was used to acquire empty land for the establishment of the Maritime University, Okerenkoko and that he was not part of negotiation with militants in the Niger Delta region.

The group however commended the pro-Niger Delta position taken by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, at the said meeting to the effect that he was not

opposed to the establishment of the institution.

“We strongly condemn Rotimi Amaechi’s anti-Niger Delta position and commend the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, for standing with the people of the Niger Delta region and endorsing the development of the region. Mr. Kchikwu clearly demonstrated to the world that he is a worthy son,” it added.

The Ijaw youths insisted that N19 billion was not used to acquire an empty land for the establishment of he university, noting that the minister’s claim was completely wrong and deliberately made to justify his unpopular and anti-Niger Delta opposition to the establishment of the institution.

“For t records purposes, the group said the permanent site of the university and the land for the site were acquired from the Okerenkoko Community at an amount less than N2 billion.

“After work commenced at the permanent site, the Federal Ministry of Transportation approached Chief Government Ekpemupolo who owned a diving school at Kurutie, another community in Gbaramatu Kingdom to acquire his private

diving school to be used as temporary site for the Maritime University.

“It is important to note that this diving school at Kurutue was an existing school with state of the art facilities and structures completely built,” it added.

In response to the request of the Ministry of Transportation,

the group maintained, Chief Ekpemupolo did his own valuation and arrived at about N15 billion, while the Ministry of Transportation did its own valuation and arrived at N13 billion and the completed diving school was then sold to the Federal Ministry of Transportation at the valuation done by the ministry.

“Therefore, it is deliberate mischief for Amaechi who is now the Minister of Transportation and has access to all relevant documents to claim that land for the Maritime University, Okerenkoko was acquired for N19 billion to justify his unreasonable and unpopular opposition to the establishment of the Maritime

University, Okerenkoko.

“The land for the university was acquired for less than N2 billion contrary to Amaechi’s claim. It was the temporary site, which is a completely built up land with structures and world class facilities that was acquired for about N13 billion, which again is far less than Ameachi’s N19 billion claim,” it explained.

First Nigerian Online Condolence Register Debuts The Nigerian online space is gaining more attraction and acceptability as more and more value-adding services are being added on the platform and the latest being the coming on board of Nigeria’s first ever, online condolence register, condolences. ng, a platform dedicated to support bereaved Nigerians to create memorial pages for their lost, loved ones.

Users of the online condolences register can also make funeral announcements and arrangements besides access to other useful information all for free.

The online company, condolences.ng, will also deliver to users standard hard copies of condolence register to clients

including organizations and individuals alike within 24-48 hours depending on the location in Nigeria.

According to the founder and Chief Executive of the online company, Mr. Wole Temidire Aguda, the first ever condolence register will also assist in no small to foster data base for high motility rate in Nigeria which its record have been inadequate.

Aguda said users of the online condolence register will also benefit from a high quality premium hard copies which can be customised to fit their requirements, noting that other resources such as poems, quotes and literature will also be made available to users for free.

According to him, “I believe

that the ultimate value of knowledge must be domiciled along the needs of humanity.

Technology and every human intention should be unreservedly be used to improve human lives and that is why www. condolences.ng was born,” he said.

Commenting further on the usefulness of the initiative, the founder said: “We are also growing partnership with funeral homes and practitioners of hematological with a view to creating synergy to improve Nigerians capacity for coping in the event of the lost of loved ones. We are optimistic about the prospects of these ideas,” he enthused.

He said for the premium

packages there would also be a minimums of five phone calls to people within the bereaved family, provision of a hard copy of condolence register, management and administration of offline and online condolence register in the home of the deceased and if required, VIP transport of family members on important days such as wake-keep and funeral among other value added services that might come with cost.

The founder said the added services are also believed to break the barriers caused by traffic, road congestion and distance as every data enabled phone or device will be able to access the wide range of services.

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NEWSEXTRA

Presidency: States’ Counterpart Funds Not Needed for Home Grown School Feeding Programme Says N93bn provided in 2016 budget

Tobi Soniyi in Abuja In an apparent reaction to the Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose’s comment that states should not contribute to the National Home-grown School Feeding, the presidency yesterday said adequate budgetary provisions had been made for the programme.

A statement issued yin Abuja by the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, said the 2016 Budget provided for 5.5 million primary school pupils to be served one free meal a day.

Akande said while states were welcome to be active participants in the school feeding plan, their counterpart funding was not required to start the implementation of the programme.

He said: “Willing states are however being encouraged to complement the programme so it can reach more pupils, but state governments cannot and will not be compelled to do this.

“However, the support of the states is how vital whether they are able to fund in addition to what the federal government will do or not. We want the states to embrace this programme, it is good for the people, it’s a win-win for everyone.

“The school feeding programme is not a counter-part funding arrangement model, no. What we have is a plan where the FGN provides 100 per cent feeding costs for pupils in primary one to three in all public primary schools in the country.

“Let me be clear about this, the Buhari presidency has made adequate arrangements for the

HGSF to happen and by the grace of God, we are going forward to do exactly that.

“But what is interesting is the fact that some states have actually gone ahead to start the school feeding programme on their own, while some others

are also making such a plan.”

In that case he noted, “more primary school pupils would be fed in the final analysis.”

If a state is not able to fund the school feeding in Primary 4-6, Akande made it clear, that the federal government would

not abandon such a state but instead go ahead and feed pupils from Primary 1-3.

He said 5.5 million school children would be fed free of charge for 200 school days in first phase of homegrown school feeding

programme starting this year.

According to him, when the programme is completed, over the course of the elected four year term of the presidency, the number will rise to over

Bill to Include Young People in Governance Passes Second Reading in House A bill seeking to include youths of not less than 35 years in governance yesterday passed second reading in the House of Representatives.

The “Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to enhance political inclusion and participation of young people in governance in Nigeria’’ was sponsored by Raphael Igbokwe (PDP-Imo).

According to him, the bill seeks to amend Section 147 of the 1999 Constitution by adding a new

sub-section.

Igbokwe said plans were underway for a national youth summit, which would provide a platform for young people to make contributions to the Constitution amendment.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that youths constituted 65 per cent of voters in the country and would make meaningful contributions to the constitution amendment process, if given the opportunity.

Wamakko Commended as President Gen. of World Muslim Body Sunday Okobiy Civil society groups, Good Governance Project Initiative (GGPI) and Citizens Watch Nigeria (CWN), have congratulated the immediate past Governor of Sokoto State and senator, Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, on his recent appointment as the President General of World Muslim League Africa (WMLA).

In a joint statement signed

by GGPI President, Innocent Okadigbo and CWN Executive Secretary, Omoba Kenneth Aigbegbele, who commended Wamakko described him as a compassionate leader who had used his leadership positions to add positive values to the nation and humanity.

The groups described the appointment as meritorious and well-deserved because the Senator has been an apostle of peace and unity among Muslim faithful and between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Similarly, the groups has also commended Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State for the naming of the state 150-capacity computer based Test Centre after Wamakko for his invaluable contributions towards educational development of the state when he was the governor.

The Chairman of SEDTF Board and former President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, had recently announced the naming of the centre after Wamakko.

Prof Ajibola Loses Mother The President/Chairman of Council of The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria has lost his mother, Mrs. Abigail Oke Ajibola (aka Iyaniwura nee Awoyemi).

She died on February 19, 2016 in Ipoti-Ekiti Ekiti State at the age of 109. The burial ceremony which is scheduled for Friday, June 17, 2016 and Saturday,

June 18, 2016, at the Ebenezer Baptist Church Ipoti-Ekiti Ekiti State is expected to attract top dignitaries from the banking and finance services industry, the organised private sector and top governments officials across the country, royal fathers from different states and all CIBN staffs.

GREETINGS FROM FRANCE

French Ambassador to Nigeria, H E Denys Gauer at a courtesy visit to former Vice President and chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakaar in Abuja on Monday, 13-06-2016.

Badeh: Yashau Brought N650m to Pay for Land for Shopping Complex, Alleges Witness Alex EnumahinAbuja A fourth prosecution witness (PW), Mr. Mustapha Yerima, in the ongoing trial of the former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh, yesterday told a Federal High Court that he received the sum of N650million from Air Commodore Abdullahi Yashau which he used to pay for the plot of land for a shopping complex purportedly belonging to Badeh.

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had accused Badeh of illegal diversion of funds belonging to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

Badeh and his firm, Iyalikam Nigeria Limited, are being prosecuted by the EFCC, on a 10-count charge of money laundering and alleged fraudulent removal of about N3.97billion from NAF’s account.

The anti-graft agency accused Badeh of using the funds to buy and develop landed assets in Abuja for himself and two of his sons between January and December 2013.

He however pleaded not guilty to the charges.

At the resumed trial, Yerima stood by his statement to the EFCC that the former Director of Finance and Account of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Yushau, made the sum of N650 million cash

available for the payment for plot 1386, Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja, where the shopping mall was constructed for the former defence chief.

The defence, led by Akin Olujmi (SAN), had started by pointing out the contradiction in the witness evidence-in-chief as well as his statement at the EFCC. Prosecution counsel, Tayo Olukotun, however objected on the ground its that the documents were not tendered before the court as such, should not be entertained.

Olujimi urged the court to overrule the objection on the grounds that the witness did not deny that the statements were his, adding that occasion had not arisen for the statements to be tendered.

“We submit that contradiction of any statement made by any witness can only arise where that witness had denied making the statement. But where the witness has affirmed the statement there is no need for it to be tendered.

That is the purpose of reading section 231 along with 232 of the Evidence Act,” Olujimi argued.

But Olukotun argued that section 231 and 232 did not say until denial is made before a statement is tendered. He pointed out that the aim of the prosecution is to contradict the witness as such, the statement ought to be tendered.

Agi Faults Report Alleging His Involvement in $1.6bn Judgment Debt A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Joe Agi, has expressed displeasure with a report caption: ‘Group Urges EFCC to Investigate Okonjo-Iweala, Adoke, Others for Alleged Diversion of $1.6billion,’ calling on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the activities of a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke (SAN); former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and a lawyer, Mr. Joe Agi (SAN), in an alleged the diversion of $1.6billion judgment debt.

In a letter signed by his lawyer, Jeph C. Njikonye, Agi said the story was untrue.

He stated that having built his reputation over the years, the story had embarrassed him.

A civil society organisation, Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), had urged the EFCC to investigate what it described as a fraudulent judgment obtained by the 774 local government areas against the Federal Government of Nigeria to pay them a sum of $3.2 billion and the diversion of $1.6billion.

The coalition’s national chairman, Mr. Olanrewaju

Suraju, had said the petition was a follow-up to a report in June last year, titled “Controversy rages over $3.2 billion judgment against FG”, for the anti-graft agency to investigate the activities of a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke (SAN); former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and lawyer, Mr. Joe Agi (SAN) in the alleged fraud.

But Agi chided the reporter for failing to verify the story, saying that its content was false in its ramifications.

Adoke had last week equally faulted the report, denying any wrongdoing in the alleged judgment debt saga, saying his ministry was not involved as the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved the decentralisation of judgment debts.

He said his initial reaction to a publication was to dismiss it as the handiwork of mischiefmakers who were hell bent on pitting him against anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies, especially EFCC in order to instigate and/or precipitate spurious investigations against his person to settle personal scores.

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CRIME&PUNISHMENT Witness Reveals How Oronsaye Operated 66 Illegal Accounts Alex Enumah in Abuja Rouqayya Ibrahim, a prosecution witness in the trial of the former Head of Service, Mr. Stephen Oronsaye, yesterday revealed before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja how Oronsaye’s office operated 66 illegal accounts.

Ibrahim, an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), made the revelation at the resumed trial of Oronsaye over alleged corrupt offences.

The EFCC had dragged the former Head of Service and four others before Justice Gabriel Kolawole of a Federal High Court, Abuja over an amended 35-count charge bordering on alleged corruption.

Others charged by the commission are: Cluster Logistics Limited, Kangolo Dynamic Cleaning Limited, and Drew Investment and Construction Company Limited. Osarenkhoe Afe is the managing director of Fredrick Hamilton Global Services Limited.

The witness who disclosed that she was drafted to be part of the team that investigated the

pension fund said: “Sometime in 2010, EFCC and other anti-graft agencies were invited for the verification of pension in the civil service, during that time, my colleagues discovered a payment mandate for payment of pensioners bearing 32 names, which was suspicious to them and based on that, they requested for further information on the mandate and the statement of account from the office of the Head of Service.

“It was confirmed that some of the names on that list were fake pensioners. Based on that, EFCC instituted a pension fraud team to properly investigate activities of Head of Service in terms of Pension payment.

Speaking further, the witness said that the team wrote letters to all the existing banks at the time to furnish them with the statement of account of all the accounts operated by Head of Service for Pensioners and also, payment mandate.

“Based on their replies and letters written from the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, we discovered that the Head of Service was

operating 66 illegal accounts. We also discovered that there were modus operandi used by the pension office to siphon pensions fund into their account.

“We discovered that about N14 billion has been stolen from the pension funds of the Head of Service.”

According to Ibrahim, other discoveries made by her team included how payments into accounts of different companies for illegal and non-existing contracts as well as the payment of non-existing pensioners.

The witness revealed further that payments to both the National Union of Pensioners and Association of Federal Civil Service Retirees were illegal.

“For example, National Union of Pensioners received over N2 billion from the pension account.

The vast majority of the amount was withdrawn and handed over to one Shuaibu, who is presently standing trial in one of the courts.”

However, when the witness requested to use a chart in the court to explain the findings of the EFCC in the course of investigation of the alleged fraud

in pension payments in Nigeria, lead counsel to Oronsaye, Kanu Agabi (SAN), objected on the grounds that the chart, as displayed, having photographs of the accused persons will not allow for fair trial.

He argued that: “the chart, having photographs of the accused persons will be prejudicial and will not allow for fair trial. When I saw the chart, I thought it was a document earlier frontloaded to us, but we just noticed that we received it here in court. If it is a document they intend to use, they should serve it on us properly.”

Aligning themselves with the position of Agabi, counsel to the second and third defendants, Oluwole Aladoyele argued that the practise was strange to his team, adding that it does not conform to the provisions of the Evidence Act, relying on Section 239 of the Act. He urged the court to disallow what he described as a strange procedure, further describing the information on the chart as the personal opinion of the prosecution witness.

In Brief Police Arrest Couple over Kidnap of Reverend Sisters For allegedly participating in the kidnap of two Reverend sisters, Perpetual Apo and Bukola Funmilade and their driver, Mr. Zwugwa Zibai, the Ondo State Police Command has arrested a couple, Ayodeji Muyijimi and Adebimpe Muyijimi. The couple and others who have been paraded along with other suspected criminals, were alleged to have played different roles in the kidnapping of their victims at Kajola Village on the Benin-Sagamu Expressway in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State in May. Speaking on the arrest of the couple, the Commissioner of Police for the Ondo State Command, Mrs. Hilda Harrison, who said the suspects had participated in series of kidnapping that taken place in the state in the recent time, said the couple was arrested in Okitipupa town in Okitipupa Local Government Area of the state. She said they had confessed to the commission of the crime, adding that they would be arraigned in court as soon as the police concluded investigation on the matter. It was gathered that the physically-challenged husband, Ayodeji did not actively participate in the kidnappings due to his health condition but he allegedly gave out information about their victims to the other members of the gang while his wife, Adebimpe kept the arms and ammunition the members used to carry out the abduction. The gang was allegedly led by one Godwin Ufoma who had also been arrested by the police but currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.

Two Arraigned for Allegedly Stealing 16 Cows

The police in Ado-Ekiti yesterday dragged two men, Ibrahim Mohammad, 30 and Usman Haruna,26 before an Ado-Ekiti Chief Magistrate Court for allegedly stealing 16 cows. At yesterday’s proceeding, the police prosecutor, Sgt. Caleb Leranmo, told the court that the accused committed the offence on June 3 at about 2a.m. at Ilafon-Ekiti in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State. He alleged that the accused, on the said date, unlawfully stole 16 cows which valued at N1million belonging to one Yusuf Abdullahi.

According to him, the offence contravened Section 390 (9) of the Criminal Code, Cap C 16, Laws of Ekiti State.

2012. The accused pleaded not guilty to the offence while their counsel, Mr Timilehin Omotosho prayed the court to grant bail to the accused in liberal term, with a promise that they would not jump bail. Chief Magistrate, Aderopo Adegboye consequently granted bail to the accused in the sum of N200,000 and two sureties in like sum. He adjourned the case to July 6, 2016 for further hearing.

Court Jails Two Oil Thieves Six Years FACING JUSTICE

Four suspected killers of the late Col. Samaila Yinusa, during their arraignment in court in Kaduna....yesterday

IDRIS EGAJI.

10 MASSOB Members Arrested in Cross River Bassey Inyang in Calabar Ten members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) have been arrested by the police in Cross River State.

Information has that the MASSOB members were arrested on Monday in Ikom and Ogoja towns.

Mr. Okon Archibong, who claimed to be the spokesman of MASSOB in the state, disclosed to journalists in Calabar yesterday that those arrested included the state Coordinator of the movement, Samuel Okah.

Archibong said others arrested include Shedrack Chinelo, Chief Joseph Ekperebi, Michael Adah, James Ekeme and Adah Johnson.

He said they were arrested in Ikom and Ogoja on Monday night and detained at the Ikom police station.

Archibong said no reason was advanced for their arrest.

“We have not had any other activity outside the May 30 commemoration of Biafra anniversary, but last night the police from Ikom Division went to the home our state Coordinator, Samuel Okah and nine other persons and arrested them.

“I have gone to see them at the Ikom police station this morning and they are in the cell and I asked what offence they committed because during our anniversary march, we did not engage in any confrontation with anybody or group, not even with the police.”

Archibong said the MASSOB in the state has been very peaceful so there was no reason their members should be arrested.

He stated that the movement only staged a peaceful march

in Ikom on May 30 to mark the anniversary of Biafra as directed by the MASSOB leader, Mr. Ralph Uwazurike.

Contacted on the matter,

the Police Public Relations Officer for Cross River State Police Command, Mr. John Eluu, said he was yet to confirm the matter.

Two Fraudsters Bag Seven Years for Fraud Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Asaba on June 6, 2016 convicted and sentenced Stephen Othuke Perry alias Martins Leon and Ogaga Ovuapkorie to seven years imprisonment each.

The duo were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) February 21,2013 on a 12-count charge bordering on conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence to the tune of N24 ,812,905.

After a diligent prosecution by the EFCC, Justice Buba found the duo guilty on all the 12 counts and consequently sentenced them to seven years imprisonment on each of the counts without any option of fine. However, the sentences are to run concurrently.

The convicts were also ordered by the court to pay restitution in the total sum to all the victims of their fraudulent act.

Justice E.A Obile of the Federal High Court, Calabar, Cross River State yesterday convicted and sentenced Paul Etim and Okon Edet Okon to six years imprisonment each without an option of fine, on a two-count charge of illegal dealing in petroleum products preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The convicts were arrested on November 27, 2011 by officers of the Nigerian Navy while operating a dug-out wooden boat loaded with 120 drums of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) without an appropriate licence. On December 18, 2011, they were handed to the EFCC for further investigation Upon their arraignment on January 24, 2012, they pleaded not guilty to the charges. While trial was ongoing, two of the accused persons (Imeh Effiong and Uduak Okon) were reported ill and died of AIDS at the Oron Hospital, Akwa- Ibom State. Their death was confirmed by the prosecution. At the resumed hearing of the matter on Tuesday, prosecution counsel, U.R Ewoh told the court that on December 9, 2015, the defence counsel informed him that four of the accused persons (Uwen Ante, Happier Ita Etim, Edet Okon Usukunya and Happy Idaoko) had a boat mishap and drowned while traveling back after one of their trials. He said he was served with their death certificates obtained from the National Population Commission and affidavit of facts. He disclosed that the prosecution is carrying out investigation to ascertain the claim. However, Ewoh prayed the court that the names of the four accused persons claimed to be dead be expunged from the charge to enable prosecution continue with its case. The defence counsel, Chuks Alilonu did not oppose the application made by the prosecution, but informed the court of his clients’ decision to change their plea. The charge was read to them and they pleaded guilty. Based on their plea, Justice Obile found them guilty and sentenced them to six years imprisonment each without an option of fine.

The sentence takes effect from their day of arraignment: 24 January, 2012. The judge also ordered that the wooden boat recovered from the convicts be released to the Nigerian Navy for destruction.

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Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

AFTERMATH OF KESHI, AMODU’S DEATH

House Calls for Better Welfare for Coaches, Players Eight-day Fidau for Amodu holds Saturday in Lagos Damilola Oyedele in Abuja and Emmanuel Ugwu in Umuahia

medical checkup. Unfortunately, he died before he could do that,” Shuaibu recalled.

Similarly, former Abia State The House of Representatives has called on the Nigeria Football Governor, Senator Theodore Federation (NFF) to ensure the Orji, recalled that Nigerian timely payment of salaries of football witnessed tremendous coaches of the nation’s football growth because the late Keshi took bold steps to break new teams, and that of players.

The lawmakers said following frontiers.

In his tribute to Keshi, Orji reports that the two former coaches who died recently, Mr. noted that the former Eagles Stephen Keshi and Mr. Amodu captain’s foray into professional Shaibu were being owed salaries. football outside the shores of The House also held a minute the country impacted positively of silence in honour of both men to the growth of the beautiful game in Nigeria who died last week.

“He was daring in following Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha (Abia PDP) however lamented an uncharted course because that both men were not he believed in what he could honoured by the country when do,” Orji said, adding that after Keshi took the bold initiative they were alive.

“Why do we prefer to honour football talents from Nigeria are people when they are dead? It is now making decent living in on record that Shaibu, together football clubs across the globe with Keshi, were being owed thereby ranking Nigeria among salaries,” she noted with sadness. the top exporters of footballers.

According to the senator Hon. Phillip Shuaibu (Edo PDP) called on the NFF to retire representing Abia Central, the ‘No.4’ jersey worn by Keshi Keshi will forever remain when he played for the country the face of Nigerian football as a mark of respect to the late given his pioneering role in professional football and his coach.

The lawmaker harped on the achievements as national and need for rehabilitation of the international coach of good country’s medical facilities in repute.

“I am yet to come to terms line with international standards, with the news that the coach to avoid unnecessary deaths.

“Keshi had a ticket, he was is no more. He remains one of supposed to travel that day for the very few Nigerians in the

football world to have brought respect to this nation,” he said.

Senator Orji said that football administrators and even political leaders have a lot to learn from the late football icon because “as a

Former Abia State governor eulogises Keshi

coach he was not given to passing the buck (and) and readily accepted mistakes and made room for corrections”.

Meanwhile, the family of late Shaibu announced yesterday that the Eighth Day

Fidau prayer for the departed technical director of the NFF will hold on Saturday, June 18, 2016, at his Lagos residence on 41B, Adegoke Street, off Alhaji Masha, Surulere.

According to a member of

the Funeral Committee for the late coach, Dapo Sotuminu, the Fidau for the repose of Amodu’s soul has been scheduled for 10am with top Muslim clerics listed to lead the prayers.

Rampaging Russian fans who engaged their English counterparts in grueling fights at the weekend have earned their national team suspended ban from the ongoing Euro2016 in France. Another of such acts from the Russians means instant dismissal for their team from the tournament

300 Players to Battle IfeanyiUbah, Lobi in Federation Cup Cracker for CBN Tennis N14m Prize-money More than 300 players will vie for the N14.3million at stake at the 38thCentral Bank of Nigeria Open Tennis Championship scheduled to hold between June 16 and June 25 at the National Stadium, Lagos.

President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF), Sani Ndanusa, stated at a press conference heralding the tournament in Lagos yesterday that the tournament will see players battling in four categories namely men’s’ singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles and women doubles. It will also feature wheelchair tennis which has been running since 2013.

Ndanusa who was represented by NTF Vice President, Mr. Yemi Owoseni, expressed gratitude to the CBN for sustaining interest in the championship which he pointed is the biggest domestic programme in the calendar of the NTF. “At a time when some are struggling to hold on to their sponsorship, the CBN has stayed with the NTF and we

are very grateful for having us in their plans,” he said.

Earlier, CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Isaac Okorafor, pointed out that the tournament has continually produced gifted players that have won laurels for Nigeria at several local and international tournaments.

Okorafor, who was represented by Sindiki Thaanda, reaffirmed the Bank’s desire to support and promote tennis in Nigeria as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility.

The Men and Women Singles winners will get N750, 000 while the runners up will pocket N500, 000. The champions in the wheel chair event will also get N200, 000.

Thomas Otu and Melissa Ifidzhen won the men and women singles titles in 2015 beating Moses Michael and Christy Agugbom while Alex Adewale defeated Jelili Ishola just as Folake Basanya edged Foluke Shittu to clinch the top prizes in the wheelchair category.

FC Ifeanyi Ubah will be aiming to get back to winning ways when it takes on Lobi Stars today in a Federation Cup Round of 32 encounter at the U.J Esuene Stadium in Calabar.

Ahead of the clash, Chairman of FC Ifeanyi Ubah, Chukwuma Ubah disclosed yesterday that nothing short of a win will be acceptable.

The chairman said that a win will help make up for the back-to-back losses in the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL).

“We hope to make up for the losses in our recent matches by getting a win in tomorrow’s match.”

Ubah also disclosed that he has had a word with the

players who are aware of the importance of today’s match.

After losing its first two games of the return stanza of the 2015/16 NPFL season, the Anambra Warriors’ chairman asked for patience from the FC Ifeanyi Ubah fans.

Meanwhile, the NFF has agreed to shift Enyimba’s clash with El kanemi due to the continental engagement of the Aba team.

The People’s Elephant, winners of Africa’s most prestigious club competition in 2003 and 2004, host Zamalek of Egypt at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in one of the Day 1 matches of the group stage of this year’s CAF Champions League.

“Enyimba has appealed for postponement of the encounter, and the NFF has granted this plea. They are flying Nigeria’s flag and the NFF has promised to give them all the support in their quest for glory,” Emmanuel Adesanya, Head of Federation Cup announced yesterday.

However, the remaining 15 matches of the men’s competition and eight matches of the women’s competition will take place today and tomorrow, with Abuja, Makurdi, Enugu and Lokoja hosting three matches each.

The encounter between Plateau United and Dreams FC of Makurdi, earlier slated for Damaturu, has been moved to Abuja, while the Crown FC/

Niger Tornadoes clash will now take place in Benin City instead of Akure.

Eleven matches of the men’s competition and three matches of the women’s competition will take place today, with high-riding Rivers United up against Kaduna United in Makurdi, Enugu Rangers against ABS FC in Bauchi, Shooting Stars testing Almar FC in Agege (Lagos), Kano Pillars up against Prime FC in Lokoja.

The women’s competition is in the Round of 16, and Cup holders Sunshine Queens battle Osun Babes in Ibadan, Delta Queens take on Ibom Angels at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri and Katsina Queens tackle Gift of Life FC in Abuja

NNPC/Shell Cup: FOSLA, Excel Qualify for Final Two teams; FOSLA Academy, Abuja and Excel Education Centre Port Harcourt yesterday qualified for the final of 2016 NNPC/Shell Cup competitions organised for all the 36 Secondary Schools in the Country.

FOSLA defeated Asegun Comprehensive High school 3-0 in the first semifinal encounter in the match decided at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere. It

was a highly interesting match which brought out the best in the two sides to the delight of the representatives of Feyenoord Academy who were also present at the venue. Abdulahi Muhammed scored twice while Alayi Haruna scored the third goal for FOSLA Academy.

The Feyenoord representatives from Holland with Nigeria’s

former international, Mike Obiku, in the team, had a training session with the four semifinalists on Tuesday morning.

In the second semifinal, Excel walloped Science school 4-0 in another entertaining encounter which saw Ogidi Joseph recording a hattrick for the Port Harcourt team. Benjamin Jacob is the other scorer of the

team in the one sided match.

The stage is now set for the final which takes place at the same venue on Thursday.

“Both the finalists and the semifinal losers are still going to continue intensive training under the supervision of the of our team. These players are very strong and all they need now are little tips to better their career,” Obiku said.

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Shocks, Surprises in France!

Iceland holds Portugal, Hungary stuns Austria Rank outsiders Iceland fought back to salvage a memorable 1-1 draw with Portugal as they made their major tournament debut at Euro 2016 last night.

Earlier, Hungary had stunned favourites Austria 2-0.

Birkir Bjarnason took advantage of slack defending by the Group F favourites to sweep the ball home for Iceland from six metres in the 50th minute.

Nani had given Portugal the lead by turning in an Andre Gomes pass following an incisive move down the right in the 31st minute.

Portugal dominated the game as expected but Iceland, backed by a noisy army of blue-clad fans, battled to the end to make it an unhappy evening for Cristiano Ronaldo as he made a recordequalling 127th appearance for his country.

Earlier, Hungary produced a Euro 2016 shock with a win over 10-man Austria as both teams opened their campaigns in France.

Austria almost scored the quickest ever goal at the Euros but David Alaba’s shot after 28 seconds hit the post.

Hungary contained their rivals and took the lead when Adam Szalai slotted in Laszlo Kleinheiser’s pass.

A disappointing Austria had

Aleksandar Dragovic sent off for a second bookable offence before Zoltan Steiber sealed Hungary’s win with a composed dink.

Hungary were back at a major tournament for the first time since the 1986 World Cup and triumphed by virtue of superior work-rate, organisation and quality.

They might not have had as many household names as their rivals but they had more of a team ethic and were rewarded when Szalai - having been involved in the build-up twice - put them in front. In the closing moments Steiber coolly lifted the ball over the keeper to seal the win.

It was also a memorable day for Hungary keeper Gabor Kiraly, 40, who overtook Lothar Matthaus’ record to become the oldest player to appear at a European Championship finals.

He defied his years when he dived low to his left to save Junuzovic’s deflected shot but, overall, he had little to do.

Former West Brom and Fulham midfielder Zoltan Gera, 37, was an influential presence

Iceland players celebrating the famous draw with Portugal last night for Hungary in midfield as he made the most tackles of any player on the way to a famous win for his country.

Austria had high hopes at Euro 2016 after they won nine out of 10 matches in an unbeaten qualifying campaign.

However, Alaba’s early effort aside, they struggled to live up to the expectation as key forwards Zlatko Junuzovic,

Marko Arnautovic and Marc Janko were comfortably marshalled by the Hungary defence.

Spanish Media Celebrate Dairy Farm, Ikotun Girls Win GTBank-Lagos ‘Magical’ Iniesta Principals’ Cup Dairy Farm Senior Secondary School, Agege, and Ikotun Secondary School have emerged as champions of the Season 7 of the GTBank-Lagos Principals’ Cup. Dairy Farm, which lifted the trophy in 2012, whitewashed Ejigbo Senior Secondary School 5-1 to win the boys’ category

while defending champions Ikotun Secondary School defeated perennial finalists CMS Grammar School 2-1 to win the female category.

Sanya Senior Secondary School, Surulere, emerged third place winners in the female category, while Ikeme Balogun Senior

College, Ikorodu, emerged third in the male category.

Also Favour Chukwu from Ikotun High School was voted the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the female category, while Eniayewu Hammed won that of the male category.

The Principal Cup is aimed

at developing grassroots football and discovering young football talents among secondary school students.

Cash prizes of N1 million, N750,000, N500,000 and N250,000 were presented to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place winners in both the male and female categories.

Flowers Battle on in Sam Ocheho/Innjoo Handball Iniesta Spain midfielder Sergio Busquets hailed his Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta as “magical” after a crucial performance in the country’s Euro 2016 opening game against the Czech Republic.

An inspiration in Spain’s 2008 and 2012 European Championship successes and 2010 World Cup win, Iniesta, now 32, set up goal scorer Gerard Pique with a precise cross to win 1-0 on Monday.

“As the years go by, each time he gets better and just as important for us on the pitch as he is off it,” Busquets told Cadena Ser radio.

“It’s marvellous to have him with us, he is magical.”

Named Man of the Match against the Czechs, Iniesta received plenty of praise in the Spanish media.

“When he takes two steps, it’s two steps forward for the team and two steps back for the rivals,” El Pais said in an opinion column.

“With Iniesta everything is possible,” wrote online newspaper El Confidential.

A headline in El Mundo said: “Iniesta holds Spain’s map.”

Iniesta, who made his 110th appearance for Spain on Monday, said he was happy to still be fit enough to make a difference for his national team.

“I said many years ago that I wish I would still be asked the same question in years to come as to if I thought I was still at the top of my form,” Iniesta told Cadena Cope radio.

“I celebrate that I’m healthy, that I’m still able to finish the games well, and that is the important thing.”

Spain have had the ideal start but have plenty to do to win the tournament for a third straight time. They next meet Turkey in Nice on Friday.

“There is no point in having a good game and then following it with a terrible performance,” Iniesta said.

“We have to plan the game against Turkey with the same motivation and enthusiasm as we did against the Czechs.”

Turkey lost 1-0 to Croatia in their Group D opener on Monday. Spain end the group stages against Croatia on June 21 in Bordeaux.

The Flowers of Benin Republic yesterday at the Rowe Park Sports Complex, Yaba, defeated Civil Defence Babes 21-20 in the women’s category of the ongoing third edition of the Sam Ocheho/Innjoo Mobile Handball Championship.

The encounter, which was full of anxious moments, started on

a high note, with both teams trying to outscore each other.

The Beninoise team eventually triumphed by a point.

Also in the second game, Edo Dynamos girls worked hard to subdue the Queen Abidjan 24 to 18 in a very close contest.

Speaking after the game, coach of the Edo Dynamos, John

Oris, said his girls were able to achieve the victory having recoded two loses and a draw.

“My girls knew they needed that win badly having previously lost two matches and drawn one.

This is our first victory and we hope to improve on it. We are yet to reach our peak,” he said.

Oris, who commended Sam

Ocheho for the competition, said organising a tournament of that magnitude was not a small feat.

“I want to give kudos to Sam for this championship, it is not an easy thing for an individual to organise this type of competition for the love of the game. For sure, the competition is getting better,” he said.

ANB Set for First Stakeholders’ Summit The Association of Nigerian Bookmakers, the parent body of Sports Betting companies in Nigeria, will on Friday, June 17, stage their first sports betting stakeholders summit in Lagos.

The summit with the theme ‘Opportunities Meet Challenges’, is scheduled for Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, by 10 am, and will see the owners of some of the top sports betting companies in the country making presentations.

Speaking ahead of the summit, the Chairman of ANB and the owner of NairaBet.com, Akin Alabi, described the association as same as other associations like the Trade Union Association, Nigeria Computer Society, Nigeria Bar

Association and others like that.

“The body was set up to protect the interest of the industry and also to groom the industry,” he said.

“We want sports betting to thrive in Nigeria, both for the operators, the regulators, the security agencies, the people, the agents and everyone concerned.

“We decided to come together and have discussions on how to move the industry forward hence the need for the event.”

He further revealed that same as any association, they want to showcase their existence to the world, while also stating that the association still remains a voluntary organisation not yet backed by any legislation, but there are plans to

approach the National Assembly to institutionalise the body.

“These are some of the things we are going to discuss during the meeting. That is why we have invited the DG of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Mr. Adolphus Ekpe, for the meeting” Alabi said.

“We have no doubt that there are huge opportunities in sports betting for everybody, but it has come with a lot of challenges, regulatory problems, security problems, financial problems and so many others, we need to find a way around it.

“We expect all operators to come, the public who are part of the industry like the agents,

consultants and others who want to know more about the industry because sports betting has become a major sector of the country economy. Registration is currently open to the public on anb.ng with limited seats available”.

Apart from some CEO’s of sports betting outfits like Nairabet, Surebet, 1960bet, Merrybet, Bet9ja, Golden Race, etc, some other keynote speakers expected are: Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila, CEO, Lagos State Lottery Board; CSP Abayomi Shogunle, Officer-inCharge Complaint Response Unit, FAQ, Abuja; Mr. Ola Faro, Senior Associate of Chief Afe Babalola (SAN).

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New FIFA Scribe, Samoura, Passes ‘Eligibility Check’ World football governing body, FIFA, said yesterday that Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura has successfully passed the eligibility check conducted by the independent Review Committee.

The Senegalese will assume the role of FIFA Secretary General on June 20.

A statement on FIFA website said the Review Committee was established at the recent FIFA Congress in May, in particular to protect the organisation against any potential conflicts of interest in the approval of appointments.

It consists of former Advocate General of the European Court of Justice, Miguel Poiares Maduro, former Indian High Court judge Mukul Mudgal, and former chairman of Peruvian club Sporting Cristal, Felipe Cantuarias Salaverry.

The statement said the eligibility check was conducted in line with article 37 of the FIFA Statutes.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino made the announcement of the appointment of Senegalese Samoura on May 13 at the 66th FIFA Congress in Mexico City.

FIFA said Samoura is a 21year veteran of UN programmes, and was until her appointment the UN’s Resident and

Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria. ``Fatma is a woman with international experience and vision who has worked on some of the most challenging issues of our time. She has a proven ability to build and lead teams, and improve the way organisations perform,” Infantino said. ``Importantly for FIFA, she also understands that transparency and accountability are at the heart of any well-run and responsible organisation,’’ he noted.

The FIFA president also praised Samoura’s integrity, and said the Council was particularly impressed with her operational experience, as well as her expertise in governance and working in multi-cultural environments.

He said her expertise will complement the long-standing and deep knowledge of world football within the FIFA leadership team and administration. ``It is essential for FIFA to incorporate fresh perspectives from outside the traditional pool of football executives, as we continue to restore and rebuild

our organisation,’’ he said.

He also said: ``No one exemplifies what we need more than Fatma does, and we are thrilled that she has joined our team.’’

Since starting her UN career as a senior logistics officer with the World Food Programme in Rome in 1995, she had served as country representative or director in six countries -- Djibouti, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Madagascar and Nigeria.

She speaks French, English, Spanish and Italian.

Responding to her appointment in May, Samoura said: ``(Today) is a wonderful day for me, and I am honoured to take on the role of FIFA’s Secretary-General. ``And I believe this role is a perfect fit for my skills and experience – strategic, high impact team building in international settings which I will use to help grow the game of football all over the world.’’ ``I also look forward to bringing my experience in governance and compliance to bear on the important reform work that is already underway at FIFA.

Samoura ``FIFA is taking a fresh approach to its work and I am eager to play a role in making that approach as effective and lasting as possible,’’ she said.

2016 MINNA POLO

El-Amin Wins 16th IBB Cup Nigeria’s most successful high-goal polo team, EL-Amin, has sent out a Georgian Cup warning to its rivals after a ruthless display that saw it retain the high stake IBB Cup title at the expense of Kaduna Kakuri at the just concluded 2016 Minna Polo Tournament EL-Amin defeated Kakuri in a thrilling final at the foremost IBB Sports Complex venue of the prestigious annual polo festival, to claim their 16th IBB Cup crown and head into other tournaments in the national tour full of confidence.

Kakuri dribbler, Ibrahim Babangida had pushed his ambitious side on a revenge mission with a goal in the early minutes of the cracking final that had two state governors, Senator Muhammad Jibrilla Bindo of Adamawa and host Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger, first class emirs from the north and thousands of polo buffs all watching from the edge of their seats.

But just as the hard-playing Kakuri appeared to have taken control of the contest, the reigning champions who were not prepared to be taken prisoners and risk their treasured title came storming back with three quick fire goals from the Mohammed Babangida, Bello Buba, Ibrahim Mohammed and Aminu Alhaji that saw them reclaim the initiative and pull clear.

Team patron, Babangida was understandably delighted with EL-Amin’s first major win this year against their great rival, which sets them up nicely for a possible Georgian Cup curtain-raiser against Kakuri at the Kaduna International Polo Tournament holding at the

Ms. Samoura earned her masters degree in English and Spanish at the University of Lyon, France, and a post-masters degree

in international relations and international trade from the Institut d’Etudes Supérieures Spécialisées (IECS), Strasbourg-France.

Dunga Sacked as Brazil Coach

Dunga fired from Brazil job EL-Amin Polo Patron, Mohammed Babangida (left) receiving the IBB Cup from the Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello while his Adamawa State counterpart, Governor Muhammad Jibrilla Bindo and President of the Nigerian Polo Federation (NPF), Francis Ogboro, share in the glorious moment with the Kaduna team at the just concluded Minna Annual Polo Tournament… weekend legendary Murtala Mohammed in November.

“The IBB Cup and Minna annual tournament is a major part of our build up towards other high goal tournaments and to win the event’s biggest prize and General Abdulsalami Cup as well before our teeming supporters who traveled from across the country to cheer us, is a major plus,” Babangida said.

“We will now go back home and savour this victory, then after the Ramadan we will be back in camp to focus on our future tournaments.

We know that it is not going to be easy but we have the chemistry and what it takes to come out clear,” stressed Babangida.

The Kaduna based El-Amin was the brightest star of the

prestigious Minna event, retaining the event’s biggest prize, the glittering General Abdulsalami Cup and carting home personal awards in an action-packed week that was hailed by everyone from royalties to politicians, business gurus, diplomats and polo enthusiasts.

“I feel great to realise how much joy one’s effort has positively impacted the lives of the teeming polo enthusiasts across the country and Minna in particular. Their support and belief in EL-Amin has always been the driving force and I want to dedicate these victories to our teeming fans,” Babangida declared.

As in all high stake polo competitions in the country, the fight was always going to be a

four-way battle pitching Kaduna, Katsina, Port Harcourt and host Minna. Yola, Bauchi, Zaria and Jos were not really ready for the fierce Minna polo rumble.

As the festival climax with pomp, it was not too surprising that at the end of the competition that threw up plenty of anxious moments, the prizes were evenly shared by the big four, with Kaduna EL-Amin smiling home with the juiciest part of the pie.

Babangida added another special to his loaded caps as he stepped out to lead Minna Air Peace to their first Governor’s Cup, while Katsina Danmarina got their wish, defeating a determined field to clinch the General Hassan Cup.

Dunga has been relieved of his duties at the head of the Brazil national team, after a disastrous showing at the Copa America Centenario.

The coach was summoned to the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) headquarters yesterday, along with coordinator Gilmar Rinaldi.

Following a brief meeting, the CBF meeting announced that Dunga, Rinaldi and the rest of their coaching team had been removed from their posts, having taken over from Luiz Felipe Scolari at the end of the 2014 World Cup. “The Brazilian Football Confederation informs that it has decided this Tuesday to dissolve the coaching staff of the Brazilian national football team.

Coordinator Gilmar Rinaldi, coach Dunga and all their will leave their positions,” the body confirmed in a statement.

“The decision was made in mutual agreement in this afternoon’s meeting and the CBF will now start its selection process for a new Brazil coaching staff.

“The CBF thanks the dedication, professionalism and commitment of the team in its work.”

A first-round elimination in the Copa sealed Dunga’s fate, while a disappointing start to World Cup qualifying also hurt the 1994 World Cup winner’s position.

Brazil won just one game in the United States, against Haiti, with a goalless draw against Ecuador and defeat to Peru rounding off the tournament for the Selecao.

Corinthians boss, Tite, is tipped as the next man to take over the Selecao after the World Cup winner’s unhappy second spell was cut short by the CBF.

Wednesday June 15, 2016

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Price: N250

MISSILE

Sherif to PDP

“The National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo, is here with me. He knows that both the NWC members and all the PDP governors begged me to come to become chairman.

All the NWC, BoT and governor’s forum supported my being chairman and when it came to voting, I got 69 votes to emerge the winner over other contenders.”

A former governor of Borno State Ali Modu Sherriff taking a swipe at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for disallowing him from gaining access to the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

ADEOYEFADEYIBI GUEST COLUMNIST

A

Where is the Light?

frica’s power outage continues to cripple the growth of its economy.

Compared to other parts of the world, power generation capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa remains woefully inadequate. While countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and China enjoy 100% access to electricity; we know all too well that in Africa access to electricity varies from non-existent to the often limited. In the so-called global village, too much of Africa remains in the dark. In a world where all aspects of our lives are increasingly driven by the Internet of things, our exclusion from the very power source, is both an embarrassment and a business impediment. The impact on healthcare and education is obvious.

We can celebrate the dedication of our youth, struggling with homework under kerosene lamps or battery power; but it should not be like this.

According to a recent report by Afrobarometer, only six in 10 Africans are connected to the electric grid; with the lowest recorded connections in Burundi (11%), Malawi (12%), and Burkina Faso (14%). Being connected to the grid does not mean power is available or supplied: about 50% of Nigerians are connected to the electric grid, but only a fraction of those connections work.

We have liberated ourselves; but what is political power, without economic power? How can economic power be achieved without electric power? The reasons are all too familiar. Since gaining independence from colonial masters, African nations have struggled with issues of instability, corruption and policy inconsistency; leaving critical aspects of the economies such as electricity infrastructure to wither through lack of investment. The economic consequences are clear: the combination of no electric grid, no household connection and poor connection quality has resulted in underdeveloped African economies.

This situation cannot persist, and as Africans, we must take control of our economic destiny and ensure Africa moves beyond just talk and potential.

With stable electricity, Africa could be the next industrial powerhouse of the world. The industrialisation of China, caused the country to change from an impoverished agrarian economy to an industrial powerhouse; one that now produces nearly half of the world’s industrial goods – the African continent has the capacity and capability to repeat

Minister of Power, Babatunde Fashola

this “miracle”.

There are lessons to be learnt from China’s economic turnaround. The country’s success was the result of economic reforms, which began in 1978 when the government encouraged investments in the agricultural sector, opened up the country to foreign investment and granted more freedom to entrepreneurs to start businesses. A second stage of reform began in the late 1980s, and though the state still controlled the banking and petroleum sectors, the country successfully lifted price controls and implemented stable policies and regulations. Presently, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), China is the world’s largest economy worth £11 trillion, overtaking the U.S. at £10.8 trillion. These strides were achieved as a result of public and private sector

collaboration in the critical sectors of the economy.

Africa has begun a similar journey to success. Most prominent among these initiatives is the Power Africa initiative championed by the President of the United States, Barack Obama, which has attracted significant investments from the likes of General Electric (GE). GE pledged to invest $2 billion in Africa by 2018 and currently sponsors the Power Africa Off-Grid Energy Challenge, run annually in partnership with the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

We are beginning to see evidence of the impact. We are grateful for the generosity and leadership of the US in this area. The efforts of the African Development Bank (AFDB) in supporting private sector investment in powering Africa is another positive intervention in this regard.

Heirs Holdings has also pledged its commitment to the Power Africa initiative. Through Transcorp Plc operating the Ughelli Power Plant, Heirs Holdings has pledged to invest

up to $2.5 billion of a total combined public-private investment of $16 billion aimed at trebling access to power in six sub-Sahara African nations. As a testimony to private sector discipline and ingenuity, in less than 18 months, Transcorp Power increased power generation output from 160 megawatts (MW) to 634MW and aims to produce 860MW before the end of 2016 and a total of 2200MW by 2018 or at least 25 per cent of the national generation target set by the Nigerian government.

Significant results are being achieved with the efforts of the private sector in realising stable electricity in Africa.

There is much work to be done though.

Our public sector leaders must meet the private sector midway by addressing regulatory constraints, tariff issues, and incentives to encourage the requisite massive investments needed to fix power in Africa. With greater public – private sector collaboration, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and we all proudly say and claim that we see the light.

• Mr. Fadeyibi is CEO, Transcorp Power, an investee company of Heirs Holdings Limited.

This situation cannot persist, and as Africans, we must take control of our economic destiny and ensure Africa moves beyond just talk and potential. With stable electricity, Africa could be the next industrial powerhouse of the world

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