Thursday 10th August 2016

CBN Grants Forbearance to Banks to Write-off 2016 NPLs

Limits access to discount window, pegs dollar sales to BDCs at $30,000 weekly Extends deadline for BVN registration for diaspora customers Obinna Chima In view of the current macroeconomic challenges in the

country, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted a one-off forbearance to banks this year to write-off their fully

provided for non-performing loans (NPLs) without waiting for the mandatory one year.

The CBN stated this in a

two-paragraph circular by its Director, Banking Supervision, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, a copy of which was posted on its

website yesterday.

Martins stated that the central bank acknowledged the request by banks to amend

the requirements of S.3.21 (a) of the Prudential Guidelines, Continued on page 8

Team Nigeria Rower, Ukogu, Through to Olympics S’Final… Page 54 Wednesday 10 August, 2016 Vol 21. No 7775. Price: N250

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Presidential Adviser: Budget ‘Padding’ Not in Legislative Lexicon Distances presidency from budget feud Udoma: FG will review budget only when necessary N331.5bn CAPEX released, 2017 Appropriation Bill to be submitted by October Iyobosa Uwugiaren, Nudbuisi Francis and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja After weeks of accusations and

counter-accusations over the alleged alterations made in the 2016 budget, the presidency for first time yesterday spoke on the war of attrition in the

House of Representatives and exonerated itself from the budget scandal rocking the lower legislative chamber.

The presidency also more

or less took sides with the Speaker of the House, Hon. Dogara and others who were accused of altering the budget, when it towed the path of the

speaker by stating that there was no word like “padding” in the legislative lexicon.

It said the 2016 budget currently in use was the

one originally passed by the lawmakers and there was nothing like “padding” in it.

Continued on page 10

PDP Chairmanship: Govs, Others Torn Between Agbaje and George S’West disowns consensus deal as Lagos group backs ex-dep. chair Sheriff opens up on reasons for rift in party Olawale Olaleye, Segun James in Lagos, Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and Ademola Babalola in Ibadan With a few days to the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the leadership of the party still appears to be divided over its choice candidate for the chairmanship post, in spite of the agreement reached to zone the office to the South-west zone.

Locked in the supremacy battle, THISDAY gathered,

are two groups comprising the governors of the party, on one side, and the elders of the party, in another camp.

While the governors, according to sources, prefer a younger Jimi Agbaje, the party’s governorship candidate in Lagos in the 2015 elections, because of his integrity and cosmopolitan disposition, the elders, made up of mostly PDP founding fathers are said to prefer an older person – Chief Olabode George, a former Deputy National Chairman Continued on page 8

EMMANUEL MEETS BUHARI ON N’DELTA MILITANCY

President Muhammadu Buhari (right), welcomes Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, when the governor met with the president at the Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday to discuss the militancy in the Niger Delta godwin omoigui

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PAGE EIGHT PDP CHAIRMANSHIP: GOVS, OTHERS TORN BETWEEN AGBAJE AND GEORGE of the PDP – due to his experience, which he can bring to bear in running the affairs of the party.

This is however coming at a time the South-west leadership of the party, at a meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State, yesterday disowned the consensus deal brokered by Governors Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State and his Ekiti State counterpart, Ayodele Fayose, in Akure, the Ondo State capital on Monday, which settled for George as the zonal consensus candidate.

The South-west executive committee declared that the office was still open to all from the zone without prejudice.

However, the Lagos PDP Stakeholders group threw its weight behind George, describing him as the most experienced and dynamic of the candidates. This, they claimed, followed the decision of the Southwest PDP to present a consensus candidate for the office of chairman.

THISDAY gathered from party sources that the reason the governors prefer Agbaje is because he is seen as someone they can relate with, the absence of any baggage, and someone who will do a good job of cleaning up the party’s image deficit.

Although party sources who spoke to THISDAY also claimed that the governors’ support for Agbaje may not be unconnected to the search for a candidate that might be more malleable, they added that the governors have resolved to back someone who they can work with.

The governors’ preference for Agbaje also stems from their concern over the public perception of George, who was incarcerated by a Federal High Court on allegations of “contract splitting” during his tenure as Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). A Supreme Court was later to upturn the decision of the lower court after George had served his prison sentence.

But other stakeholders of the party, comprising mostly its elders, are gunning for George, not only because they see him as a steady hand and one of them, but also because he is seen as one who has the resolve to confront the excesses of other contending forces within the PDP. For them, their opposition to Agbaje also stems from the fact that he is considered too much of a gentleman, alluding to how he freely dropped his battle for the Lagos governorship without putting up much of a fight.

As a result, they are said to doubt

his capacity to lead the party to victory, saying “if he could not win Lagos for himself, then, he cannot win the national election for them”, adding that his disposition over the years has shown that he is not a team player.

Aspirants for Other Offices Emerge But as the battle among the contending forces gathers momentum over the national chairmanship of the party, THISDAY also learnt that other equally crucial positions might have been resolved in other parts of the country where they have been zoned.

For instance, the office of the national secretary, sources said, had already been settled and the man up for the seat is Senator Ibrahim Ida, a seasoned technocrat from the North-west.

Although, there are other candidates angling for the office, sources said the leadership in that region has settled for Ida and the situation may not change.

For the post of deputy national chairman of the party, which has been zoned to South-south, the party has also settled for Chief Uche Secondus, the immediate past acting national chairman of the PDP, who handed the leadership to the embattled chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff.

In the same vein, the office of the national organising secretary, which was zoned to the South-east, sources hinted, has been conceded to Col. Augustine Akobundu, nearly unopposed. According to sources, Akobundu’s position is about the only office that is not being contested by someone else.

S’West PDP Rejects Consensus Arrangement Unfortunately for George, the outcome of the Ibadan meeting held yesterday by the Makanjuola Ogundipe-led executive of the party in South-west might have thrown a spanner in the works for him.

Following an emergency zonal meeting at the party’s office in Bodija, Ibadan, the South-west PDP said the position adopted by those who gathered at the Akure meeting on Monday was null and void because it ran foul of the PDP constitution on who has the power to convene any zonal meeting.

Ogundipe, flanked by Chief Pegba

Otemolu and Prince Adekola Rasaq, the zonal secretary and auditor, respectively, maintained that the office of the national chairman was open to all contestants from the six states in the zone.

Reading out from the position paper at the extraordinary meeting of the constitutionally elected and legally confirmed South-west zonal executive committee (2014-2018), the party leaders said they acknowledged the hard work of the National Caretaker Committee of the party under Senator Ahmed Makarfi for his unwavering stand on party discipline, internal democracy, and more importantly eradication of impunity in the polity.

They also congratulated the zone for the opportunity to present a candidate for the office of the national chairman already zoned to it, stressing: “You will all agree with our zonal executive committee that this position (National Chairman) belongs to our zone that is made up of six states.

“Therefore, each state should be given the opportunity to either present a viable aspirant or have a say in the form of an internal arrangement.”

The zone, in a statement jointly signed by Ogundipe and Otemolu, however, lauded Fayose and Mimiko, as well as Senator Buruji Kashamu, for their efforts at ensuring the unity, stability, peace and oneness of the PDP, even as it prayed for a successful national convention.

However, rising from a meeting in Lagos yesterday, the Stakeholders Forum, in a statement read by its chairman, Chief Philips Aivoji, a former commissioner in the state, stated that the emergence of the “undisputed consensus candidate (George) of our party was based largely on his stability of purpose, his undying presence, his courage, his expertise, his loyalty, his consistency, his strong national network, his maturity and his rich experience in party management and administration”.

It added: “At the end of the deliberations, the resolve was apparent, clear and unambiguous.

From Chief Yekini Adeojo to Erelu Obada, Senator Iyiola Omisore, Senator Teslim Folarin, Chief Oyedokun, Ebenezer Babatope and Senator Kofo Bucknor, everyone agreed that our candidate is the best and the most experienced candidate among the field of aspirants.”

While disclosing that a five-man reconciliation committee had been set up to bring back aggrieved members in the zone, the group

pleaded for the understanding of the other contestants who lost to the consensus candidate.

Aivoji announced the committee members to include Alhaji Yekini Adeojo, Dr. Olu Alabi, Senator Bucknor Akerele, Chief Eddy Olafeso and Chief Salimot Badru.

He said an olive branch had been extended to all by the candidate, whom he said would be unveiled today.

“We appeal to Prof. Tunde Adeniran, Prof. Toaheed Adedoja, Mr. Jimitota Agbaje and Mr. Gbenga Daniel to please respect the wishes of our leaders in the South-west and quickly rally round our candidate.”

Speaking on the zoning within the party, he said: “We must understand what is playing out. The party is very clear, what the party zoned is the national chairmanship to the South.

It is the south on its own now that is running to see if it can get some measure of consensus.

“It is already very difficult to get consensus under circumstances where everybody feels that he is qualified.

The beauty of democracy is that you must be able, and shouldn’t be afraid to contest,” he said.

Sheriff Speaks on Rift

The consensus arrangement, notwithstanding, Agbaje has not given up on his desire to lead the party and pledged yesterday to lead it back to power in 2019 if he emerges national chairman of the PDP. Agbaje, who picked his form to contest for the chairmanship position of the party at the temporary PDP headquarters, also promised to unite the party if given the opportunity and canvassed for a level playing field for all aspirants.

When asked how he would contest against George, one of his political benefactors, he replied that that would be addressed in house.

“We accept that mistakes were made in the past in the PDP, especially with our internal democracy. So we have to go back to the position of the founding fathers of our party on internal democracy.

“And that means is that we have to go back to our constitution. That is very important. We have to be all-inclusive as we have been thus far. It is about bringing people nearer rather than sending them far away from the party. Everybody must feel like they are part of this party.

“So what I bring to the table is that I am not a member of any faction or any tendencies. I am in a position to talk to everybody, to ensure as you love the PDP, then it is time to come back to the zone.

“And I appeal to those who feel very strongly to join us, because Nigeria cannot make the progress it deserves without a viable opposition and PDP is going to provide that opposition as an alternative government and in a responsible manner,” he said.

Meanwhile, the peace committee set up by the Board of Trustees of the PDP, led by Prof. Jerry Gana, met with the embittered former national chairman of the party, Senator Sheriff, at his office in Maitama, Abuja yesterday.

The meeting which started at about 9 p.m., saw both sides, Sheriff’s group and the BoT peace committee, opening up on the crisis that has bedeviled the party in the past few months.

The meeting first had an open session before the leaders went into a closed-door session that stretched deep into the night.

The leader of the peace committee and one of the founding fathers of the party, Prof. Gana, said that they had come to explore avenues for lasting peace in the party.

He said the party has mandated them to reach out to Sheriff and to discuss peaceful ways of resolving the conflict that has threatened to dismember the once vibrant party.

“We are here because we mean well. We want to seek ways of resolving the problems facing the party in an atmosphere of brotherly love and understanding,” he said.

It was all smiles and exchange of banter among those present who acted like nothing was amiss.

However, it was Sheriff who opened up on his ill-feelings, which he said had to do with the attempt to re-enact the inglorious days of impunity in the party’s affairs.

Sheriff told the peace delegation that he was never desperate to become the national chairman of the PDP, but that some of the leaders of the party were the ones who pleaded with him to come and help reposition the party.

“I want to put it on the record that I never asked or wanted to be the chairman of the PDP, some people simply asked me to come and put the party back together,” he said.

It warned that any breach of the condition would attract sanctions.

“The selling rate by the authorised dealers to BDCs shall be the buying rate from the IMTO plus a margin not exceeding 1.5 per cent. Foreign exchange cash purchased by BDCs from authorised dealers shall be sold to foreign exchange end-users at a rate not exceeding two per cent margin above the buying rate.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the two per cent margin stated above shall be applicable to all funds to be retailed by the BDCs regardless of sources of funds.

“Authorised dealers shall continue to render weekly returns on sales to BDCs and the BDCs shall also continue to render weekly returns on purchases,” it added.

Furthermore, the central bank stressed that funds purchased by BDCs shall be disbursed only for Business Travel Allowance/Personal Travel Allowance, overseas school fees and overseas medical fees, and should not exceed a maximum disbursement per transaction of $5,000.

Also, in its bid to ensure that all Nigerian customers in the diaspora

get their Bank Verification Numbers (BVN), the central bank in another circular, said it has re-opened the scheme.

The enrolment for diaspora customers would now run from August 1st to December 31st, 2016.

Director, Banking and Payment System, CBN, Mr. Dipo Fatokun, in a circular yesterday, advised all bank customers abroad to ensure that they have attached their BVN to their accounts from January 1st, 2017.

The central bank stated that the extension was done to ensure that it fully realises the objective of the BVN scheme.

“A survey at the end of January 2016, revealed a very low percentage of registration and the exercise was further extended to 30th June 2016.

The Bank observed the need to expand the geographical spread of registration centres, therefore, a new consultant, Avante International Technology Incorporated, was engaged to join OIS and VFS in the registration of Nigerian bank customers in diaspora.

“The combined efforts of the consultants and some Nigerian banks abroad have greatly

Agbaje Still in Contention

Sheriff also said that there is a lot of misinformation being peddled around about him with regards to his role in the PDP crisis.

He promised to talk to the peace team during the closed-door session on some of the contending issues and what he felt went wrong, and how it could be remedied.

“Most of the problems we are facing today, if our leaders had taken up their responsibilities, we will never have had this problem.

Some us here are part of the problem.

“People want to use one impunity to correct another impunity and that is the problem we are having,” he said.

The meeting was still in progress at press time.

Among those at the meeting were Senator Stella Omu, Fiedelia Njezie, Senator Olujimi, Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo, Senator Idah and Bode Olajumoke.

But even as there was some glimmer of hope that Sheriff may shift grounds after meeting with the BoT peace committee, the former Borno State governor still spoke defiantly against the continued existence of the National Caretaker Committee led by Makarfi.

Earlier in the day, he told the Edo State women’s delegation that came on a courtesy call that as far as he was concerned the PDP governorship candidate for Edo State remains Matthew Idurioyekemwen.

He described the Edo governorship candidate of the Makarfi-led caretaker committee, Mr. Osagie Ize-Iyamu, as an illegality that will never stand.

Sheriff jokingly said that since IzeIyamu is a member of the PDP, he is free to campaign for Idurioyekemwen.

“If Pastor Ize-Iyamu likes, let him campaign from now to a thousand years to come, the governorship candidate for Edo State is Matthew Iduoriyekemwen; nothing can stand on nothing.

“There is no basis for his candidacy.

He cannot come from a non-existent caretaker committee and rush to say I’ve come to become a governorship candidate of the PDP. “I always laugh when I see Pastor Ize- Iyamu saying he is the candidate of PDP in Edo. I say if this man knows, he should keep his savings and stop wasting his time because he is working for Matthew Iduoriyekemwen,” he said.

He said he would wait for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to release the list of Edo governorship candidates to lead the campaign for his candidate.

CBN GRANTS FORBEARANCE TO BANKS TO WRITE-OFF 2016 NPLS which mandates banks to retain in their records, fully provided NPLs for a period of one year before they are written off.

“The CBN has no intention of repealing the provision of the above mentioned section of the guidelines. In view of the current macro-economic challenges, however, the CBN hereby grant a one-off forbearance this year 2016 to banks, to write-off fully provided for NPLs without waiting for the mandatory one year,” she wrote in the circular addressed to all banks.

Banking sector NPLs have been predicted to jump to 12.5 per cent of the total loans of the banks this year, up from the central bank’s target level of five per cent at the end of last year, according to Agusto & Co, Nigeria’s main rating agency.

In a related development, in view of what it described as the observed abuse of access to its Standing Lending Facility (SLF) by banks and other authorised dealers, the CBN yesterday announced measures to correct the anomaly.

To this end, the central bank in another circular by its Director,

Financial Markets Department, Dr. Alvan E. Ikoku, directed all authorised dealers to refrain from accessing the discount window on the settlement date for government securities’ auctions.

The securities referred to are CBN bills, Nigerian Treasury Bills and Federal Government of Nigeria bonds.

It stressed that any violation of the directive would result in the denial of access to the SLF. The central bank, in the fourparagraph statement, explained: “In view of the observed abuse of access to the CBN Standing Lending Facility by authorised dealers, it has become imperative that some measures be taken to redress the trend and to re-define the mode of operation by authorised dealers at the window.

“Thus, all authorised dealers are henceforth directed to refrain from accessing the discount window of the CBN on the settlement date for government securities’ auctions. All authorised dealers are hereby required to note and comply accordingly, as any violation will result in the denial of access to the CBN Standing Lending Facilty.

“You are reminded that authorised dealers who come to any CBN window are prohibited from the interbank foreign exchange market on the same day.”

On the interbank market, the naira appreciated by N3.16 against the dollar yesterday to close at N312.50, stronger than the N316.66 to the dollar at which it closed the previous day.

But on the parallel market, the naira was unchanged as it closed at N395 to the dollar yesterday.

Meanwhile, in a separate circular yesterday, which was in furtherance to its recent directive that banks that act as agents to approved international money transfer operators (IMTO) to sell foreign currency accruing from inward money remittances to licenced Bureau De Change (BDC) operators, the central bank yesterday fixed a maximum limit of $30,000 per week as what banks can sell to the BDCs. The circular from the Director, Trade and Exchange Department, CBN, W.D. Gotring, also stated that a BDC operator shall nominate its preferred authorised bank and can only procure the said amount from only that bank of its choice in a week.

accelerated the enrolment of this category of bank customers.

“Consequently, to ensure that all Nigerian bank customers in diaspora are enrolled, the BVN enrolment for bank customers in diaspora is hereby reopened for the next five months,” it said.

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T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016

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News Blogger, Sidiq Usman, Regains Freedom, Nigerians Outraged over His Arrest Davidson Iriekpen The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday released prominent news blogger, Mr. Abubakar Sidiq Usman, after detaining him for more than 24 hours.

But this did not stop Nigerians from reacting angrily to his arrest for what the commission alleged were “offences bordering on cyberstalking”.

The EFCC said Monday it had arrested and granted administrative bail to Usman for what it termed “cyber-stalking”.

Usman, who is the publisher of Abusidiqu.com, was picked up at his Kubwa, Abuja residence by EFCC officials and was quizzed over the alleged offence, which it said contravened the Cyber Crime Act. Usman, it added, was offered administrative bail and was to be released to his elected sureties.

Usman was the third blogger to be arrested since the Cyber Crime Act came into force in 2015.

However, Nigerians reacted angrily to his arrest by the EFCC with the youth wing of the All Progressives Congress (APC), stating that the anti-graft agency had abused its powers with the arrest, reported the BBC yesterday. His followers launched a #FreeAbusidiq campaign on Twitter.

Last week, Usman published allegations that EFCC acting chairman Ibrahim Magu was bullying his staff.

Usman is an extremely popular blogger and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also said it was deeply concerned about his arrest, reported the BBC. He is a strong backer of President Muhammadu Buhari, and a founding member of the youth wing of the APC. In a statement posted on its

Facebook account, the APC youth wing said he was being held on “spurious charges”.

The EFCC was formed to investigate financial crimes and had overstepped its jurisdiction by detaining him, it said.

Also, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a civil society organisation, and the Guild of Professional Bloggers of Nigeria (GPBN), the umbrella group of bloggers in Nigeria, condemned the arrest of the Abuja based blogger.

The two groups demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the blogger, stating that Usman was arrested for exercising his constitutional and internationallyrecognised right to freedom of expression.

SERAP’s Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, said: “This action by the EFCC is unequivocally contrary to both Section 39 of the

Usman 1999 Constitution and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a state party. The EFCC must now immediately and unconditionally release Usman and drop all charges

against him.”

The statement read in part: “Nigeria’s constitution guarantees freedom of expression. Under international law, everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.

“SERAP believes that no one should be arrested simply for criticising public institution or public figures.

“The EFCC and indeed all public institutions should proactively encourage freedom of expression to enhance their ability to fight corruption and maintain the sanctity of the constitution and Nigeria’s international obligations and commitments.

“There are many whistle-blowers

out there that can be of immense support to anti-corruption agencies and contribute to the effective discharge of their statutory mandates to prevent and combat corruption.”

On its part, GPBN in a statement signed by its acting President, Chris Kehinde Nwandu, queried the action of the anti-graft agency which it said had usurped the functions of the police.

According to the body, the appropriate action to be taken by the agency, if aggrieved, was to report the matter to the police which will then carry out an investigation.

It stated that while it won’t condone the excesses of any member, the manner in which the agency arrested Usman was condemnable and did not follow global practice.

It asked EFCC to focus its attention on its core mandate, which is financial and other economic-related offences.

Julius Berger: Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Gridlock Will Not End Till Nov Sheriff Balogun in Abeokuta Julius Berger, the construction company handling the rehabilitation of the LagosIbadan expressway, has stated that the traffic gridlock on the expressway will not ease up till November.

The construction firm’s manager,

West Division, Mr. Wolfgang Loesser, spoke to the press when he led his team on a courtesy visit to the Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

Leosser said the rehabilitation of the highway, particularly the 5km long bridge where major work was being

executed, would not be completed at least until November ending.

He also said work on the bridge was complex due to the several stages of construction and the required diligence.

According to him, “But I also want to point out that there are

many bottlenecks on the road; for example, the Ogun River base. So we are likely to experience the same problem there, where we will have several stages of traffic management.

“We can only do it if everybody is disciplined and takes care to drive safely within the construction area.”

However, the state Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Lekan Adegbite said that the state government would open up a parallel earth road to serve as an alternative route to ease traffic at the long bridge section of the expressway.

He explained that government has

resolved to increase law and traffic enforcement personnel, including the police, officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and TRACE officers to the area, while the contractor is also expected to speed up work to meet the targeted completion period.

on successive governments which paid more attention to recurrent expenditure to the detriment of capital spending.

This, coupled with other untoward economic policies, paved the way for the current poor outing, she added.

She, however, said that government has decided to reverse the trend with increased capital expenditure and diversification of the economy from the current mono-product economy.

Adeosun said diversification is an agenda which government must achieve, because it is a veritable means to unlock the economy and create more jobs for the people.

Adeosun added that the country, at this point in time, has no choice than to borrow — to invest in the Nigerian economy.

She said the federal government was very conscious and conservative about its borrowing, so as not to leave a heavy debt burden for future generations.

“We have a very conservative borrowing programme, and we must borrow, because to do rail there has to be a really significant upgrade, because the rail that we have now was done in the colonial era,” she said.

“We have to urgently do rail to make agriculture and solid minerals competitive, so I really don’t see that there is any option than to borrow.

“We will borrow sustainably, we would borrow conservatively to make sure that we don’t burden future generation.”

Adeosun however added that the government would be different in its approach to borrowing this time, and would not borrow to fund recurrent expenditure, but to fund infrastructure.

“The difference is, we’ve been borrowing in the past to pay salaries; now we borrow to invest,” she said.

“When you borrow to invest, there is an expectation that there will be additional revenue that will service those borrowings.

“I think that is the clear difference.

I don’t think people should be unduly concerned about borrowing; we have to borrow, we have no choice but we

will borrow as strictly as possible.

“This is why we have approached the World Bank and export credit organisations that provide concessional loans. We are taking concessional loans before going for commercial loans.”

She said the size of the public sector was evidence of the failure to develop the private sector, adding that the latter should be the major employer in the country.

Adeosun said investments must be made in infrastructure to create an environment for the growth of the private sector.

Other ministers at the meeting included Mr. Babtunde Raji Fashola (Power, Works and Housing), Dr. Kayode Fayemi (Solid Minerals Development), Chief Audu Ogbeh (Agriculture and Rural Development), Dr. Issac Adewole (Health), Mr. Godfrey Onyema (Foreign Affairs), and Amina Mohammed (Environment).

The vice-president was represented by the Special Adviser to the President, Economic Matters, Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, was the chairman at the event and was accompanied by the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar.

Also, in order to forestall the late submission of the budget, its approval and implementation by the Executive and the National Assembly, the federal government has begun early preparations of the 2017 Appropriation Bill to eliminate delays.

A statement by the Director (Information) in the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Adedeji Ajibade, said Udoma, at the town hall meeting, disclosed that the necessary consultations and framework for the 2017 budget were ongoing.

He pointed out that the early preparation and submission of the budget to the National Assembly would ensure the inclusion of every detail, and avoid undue pressure as well as eliminate delays in the presentation and implementation of the budget.

PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: BUDGET ‘PADDING’ NOT IN LEGISLATIVE LEXICON The former House Chairman, Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Abdulmumini Jubrin, had accused Dogara, his deputy, two other principal officers, and several committee chairmen of being the brains behind the “padding” of the 2016 budget.

However, while fielding questions on the budget saga yesterday at the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC), after a closed door meeting with the party leadership, the president’s Senior Special Assistant on the Senate Matters, Sen. Ita Enag, insisted that the presidency does not know anything about the “padding” allegation.

He said: “We are here on the invitation of the party leadership of the APC with my colleague to bring answers on issues raised by the party on the 2016 Appropriation Bill and we have been with the party for a little over three hours and we have provided explanations on every issue that there was nothing, to our knowledge, no the padding of the budget.

“The budget, as assented to by Mr. President, is the budget as passed by the National Assembly and that is the budget being executed.

“But as of now, the party is handling it as a domestic issue, and all of us are enjoined not to make public comments on the details of this because the matter is still under consideration.

“So that is what we will want to say for now, we will not want to go into the details of it so that we will not breach the ethics of the party, the directives of the party or pre-empt anything or any outcome by the party,” he said.

Enang, who came to the APC secretariat in company of his colleague, Senior Special Assistant to the President on the House, Hon. Ismail Kawu, however, was reticent about clearing Dogara of the allegations, when asked.

“I will want to say that we came here as persons who works as liaison officers on the budget and the party had questions for us to make clarifications, and we have

made those clarifications to the party.

“We would not want to draw any conclusion. Please let us not go too far by mentioning any office. Let it be that two of us have appeared before the party,” he said.

Enang, however, towed the same path of Dogara when he said: “In all our years of legislative engagements, we are yet to find in the legislative lexicon the word ‘padding’.

“When the budget is presented before the legislature, the legislature is to consider the budget and passes it as it deems fit. So what the legislature passes becomes the Appropriation Act upon assent. Therefore, any word which is yet to crystalise in the legislative lexicon, you cannot hear us mention it.”

But as the crisis over the budget raged, the Transparency Group which boasts of 206 members in the House, claimed that though the principal officers of the House may be guilty of inserting “outrageous sums” into the budget, they also accused the executive arm of government of not being free of the blame either.

Budget Review When Necessary On the viability of the 2016 budget, the federal government, however, stated that despite the fall in revenue resulting from sliding crude oil prices and disruptions to oil production by Niger Delta militants, it would only consider a review of the 2016 budget when there is a clear indication of a persistent fall in revenue expectations.

Making this known yesterday, the Minister of Budget and National Planning Minister, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma equally disclosed that so far government has released N331.5 billion as a fraction of capital allocation from the 2016 budget, adding that the 2017 budget will be submitted to the National Assembly by October this year.

Udoma made the pronouncements at a Town Hall Meeting and Policy Dialogue for Good Governance organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture, in

collaboration with the Alumni Association of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (AANIPSS), which focused on the “Effective implementation of the 2016 Budget”.

He insisted that “although the disparity between projected revenue and actual receipts in the last two quarters was obvious, government was optimistic that the current situation will not prevail for long”.

Udoma said government was keeping a close tab on the situation, particularly on the economic indicators, admitting that government is worried about the current trend which does not align with expectations as contained in the budget fundamentals.

The minister said however that if the downward trajectory persists, government might make reasonable adjustments to fall in line with prevailing realities.

He explained that at the inception of the current administration, the economy was facing several challenges, including declining oil prices and production, which led to declining external reserves and GDP growth rate, adding that there was also rising inflation, rising unemployment rate, insecurity, high cost of governance, corruption, an infrastructure deficit, and the worsening of key socio-economic indicators.

The 2016 budget, he explained, was therefore designed to deal with these problems, and in doing so, government had to take a deliberate decision to deviate from the past by assigning a reasonable portion of the budget to infrastructure development.

The minister said this was not only to provide backbone infrastructure to the agriculture and solid mineral development, which are to redirect the country from sole dependence on oil for revenue, but to energise other sectors that are not fundamentally affected by government overheads that take the bulk of national budgets.

Udoma said in spite of the dwindling resources, government remains determined to use the budget as an instrument to reflate

the economy, which is why the budget was backed up with a Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) to fundamentally address the challenges.

The SIP, he added, was to direct the trajectory of the national economy towards the path of sustainable development and inclusive growth, explaining that the plan consists of 34 priority actions to be implemented along six major strategic areas, namely, policy, security and governance; diversifying the economy; power, rail and roads; oil and gas reforms; ease of doing business; and social investment.

“Government also set measurable targets for implementation,” he said.

The minister also disclosed that the federal government has so far released more than N330 billion for capital projects, inclusive of the funds in statutory transfers, adding that the money would be deployed to key ministries including Power, Works and Housing; Defence and Security; Water Resources; Transportation; Agriculture, and Niger Delta, and also to cover other sectors that will turn around the economy.

The government, he said, was targeting the Social Intervention Programme to provide support to the poor and less privileged Nigerians, especially women and vulnerable Nigerians, adding that government was also partnering the private sector to fix infrastructure.

Information Minister and moderator of the town hall meeting, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said government was ever ready to engage with Nigerians and explain its policies and actions as well as seek inputs from the people for better governance of the country.

He expressed delight that instead of joining the band of fault-finders and traditional critics of government, the alumni of Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) decided to constructively engage with government towards finding solutions and contributing to the growth of the economy.

Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, blamed the current state of economy

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016 • T H I S D AY

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NEWS

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

MEND Replies Jonathan, Insists Former President is Fuelling N’Delta Militancy Davidson Iriekpen

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has insisted that former President Goodluck Jonathan is the grand patron of the militant group, Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).

It added that the former president was fuelling militancy in the Niger Delta region.

The Reformed Niger Delta Avengers (RNDA) had alleged that Jonathan was one of the major sponsors of the NDA, an allegation the former president has vehemently denied.

But MEND yesterday accused the former president of deception, saying his denial was provocative and embarrassingly misconceived.

In a statement signed by its spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, MEND said the former president employed diversionary tactics to cover up the accussation against him.

“With all due respect, the entire statement was deeply provocative and embarrassingly misconceived as it woefully failed to address the core issue of whether or not the former president was indeed, the grand patron of the NDA. “Any follower of events in Nigeria and the Niger Delta who was privileged to read the statement released by Jonathan, would immediately observe that the former president had a score to settle with the Okah brothers as well as MEND who have since May 30, 2014 stopped attacks on Nigeria’s oil and gas assets; and are currently engaged in dialogue with the federal government to find sustainable ways and means of ending the festering Niger Delta crises which was exacerbated by the former President’s ineptitude, incompetence and corruption during the six years he governed the country,” it said.

The group said the problem in the Niger Delta today has nothing to do with the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari but the failure of Jonathan to address the root issues confronting the region when he was at the helm of affairs.

It said even though he was from the impoverished region, and had by his own admission in numerous electioneering, experienced the utter poverty and abject neglect of the region foisted by successive Nigerian governments and the International Oil Companies (IOC) since the discovery of oil in 1958 at Oloibiri in Bayelsa State, Jonathan disappointingly frittered away the opportunity to rescue his people when the country’s presidency landed on his laps.

According to MEND, “For six whole years, Jonathan was busy drinking, making merry and generally chasing shadows at the State House.

Such a fellow deserves to be ostracised from the assembly of reasonable men; because the Nigerian Presidency might never come back to the region as cheap as it came to Jonathan; perhaps in the next 100 years.

“Lest we forget, MEND was at the forefront of the armed struggle back in 2006-2007 which forced President Olusegun Obasanjo to consider the option of drafting an Ijaw man into the mainstream of Nigerian politics. That was how Jonathan became Vice President and later, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“When he assumed therein as president, he did the unthinkable; he tracked down perceived MEND leaders and promptly got them imprisoned on a trumped-up charge of attempt to assassinate him.

Up until today, Jonathan is still suffering from an Assassination Paranoia Complex (APC).

“Secondly, a substantial

NNPC GMD: No Plan to Increase Fuel Price Tobi Soniyi in Abuja The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has said there is no plan to increase the price of petrol.

Baru, who reluctantly answered only one question from the State House correspondents after he met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja, said: “I have not been directed to increase the pump price, even the other price was based on recommendation from the regulatory body.

“I’m not aware that they are planning to do any increase,

you know there are several factors that necessitated that especially the issue of exchange rate that has moved and we don’t expect any serious changes.

“So far, the request for forex for importation of petrol has been met, and our own supply situation is robust, we are meeting demands. We have over 1.4 billion litres on ground. So I don’t see any basis for increase.

“However, the review could be done by the right body, you should contact Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), that is the regulatory body as far as petrol pricing is concerned.”

portion of Jonathan’s statement unfortunately dwelt on judicial matters which are pending in various courts in Nigeria and South Africa. For instance, Henry Okah’s Appeal in South Africa’s Constitutional Court is due for hearing this August; while his brother, Charles’ ongoing trial in Nigeria is pending before Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

“The former president’s statement was therefore, contemptuous and prejudicial

to the success of the ongoing trials of Henry and Charles Okah in South African and Nigerian courts, respectively.

Consequently, both brothers shall, on account of the former president’s prejudicial statement, institute legal action against him in South Africa and Nigeria within 60 days, commencing from today, August 8, 2016.

“Accordingly, they have briefed their respective solicitors to formally engage the former president in litigation.

“Back to the core issue.

MEND cannot hold brief for the RNDA who pointedly accused the former president of complicity in fueling the ongoing Niger Delta crisis; and patronisng the NDA, apparently for political reasons. We are however, quick to point out the fact that the RNDA has merely vindicated MEND’s belief and conviction that, the former president and his cronies who lost the 2015 presidential election were using the NDA platform to

destabilise President Buhari’s government.

“Finally, MEND is committed to working with the current administration to bring peace, stability and development to the Niger Delta region. The process has since commenced with the constitution of the federal government-MEND Aaron Team 2, Dialogue, Peace and Development Initiative. Between August 22, 2016 and October 7, 2016 the Aaron Team shall embark on a tour of the Niger Delta region.”

ROYAL HANDSHAKE

L-R: Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN); Chairman of the occasion and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Mohammad Sa’ad Abubakar III; and Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, during the Town Hall meeting /policy dialogue for good governance with the theme: ‘Towards Effective Implementation of the 2016 Budget,’ organised by the Alumni Association of the National Institue for Policy and Strategic Studies (AANI) in Abuja...yesterday

Court Reserves Judgment on Appeals Seeking to Overturn Ruling on Ikpeazu’s Removal Shuts out Sherrif’s faction Tobi Soniyi in Abuja The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reserved final judgment in multiple appeals filed by the Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other interested parties seeking to overturn the judgment of Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja which sacked Ikpeazu as governor.

A five-man panel of justices of the court led by Justice Morenike Ogunwumiju adjourned the matter for judgment after it heard six separate appeals.

The hearing of the appeal which lasted till 5p.m., witnessed several drama including the attempt by the Ali Modu Sherrif’s faction of the PDP to come in but was rebuffed by the court.

Justice Ogunwumiju had drawn the attention of the court to a letter from the Sheriff-led faction of the PDP that sought to withdraw the appeal.

The said letter was signed

by the Deputy National Legal Adviser of the party, Bashir Maidugu.

After hearing from the parties, including Mr. Olagoke Fakunle (SAN) who said he appeared for the PDP, the court decided that the Sheriff’s group had no business in the appeal.

“Fakunle what exactly have you said? There are six appeals before this court which we must hear today. And we are going ahead with the appeals already filed. Do not disrupt this court again. You can go on appeal if you so wish,” the judge told the lawyer who was from Sheriff’s camp of the PDP. Instead the court recognised Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) as the counsel to PDP and told others who claimed to be representing the PDP not to interrupt the hearing. Ikpeazu represented the party while the case was at the Federal High Court.

Also during the hearing, INEC withdrew its appeal against the high court judgment.

Withdrawing the commission’s brief of argument already filed, INEC lawyer, Mr. Tanimu

Inua, told the court that the commission was not urging the court for any order.

When the court asked what relief the commission was seeking, Inua said that INEC would abide by the decision of the court.

The presiding Justice Ogunwumiju had asked the INEC’s lawyer: “To what end is your brief that does not urge anything? What do you urge?

You must urge something or you withdraw your brief. You can’t come here to file a brief without asking for something.

You must urge for something or you withdraw your brief and keep quit.”

Justice Abang had on June 27, ordered Governor Ikpeazu to immediately vacate the governorship seat, even as he directed INEC to issue Certificate of Return to Mr. Sampson Ogah who came second in the PDP primaries conducted in Abia State on December 8, 2014.

Justice Abang said he was satisfied that Governor Ikpeazu perjured by giving false information in the Form CF001

and documents accompanying it, which he submitted to both PDP and the INEC. Both Governor Ikpeazu and PDP through their respective team of lawyers, urged the appellate court to set-aside the high court judgment which they said had occasioned a huge miscarriage of justice.

Arguing his appeal, Governor Ikpeazu, through his lawyers led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), insisted that Justice Abang acted beyond his powers and misdirected himself in law.

He said: “The trial judge erred in law when he ordered as a consequential order that the appellant vacates his office as the governor of Abia State immediately when there was no jurisdiction in the Federal High Court to remove, vacate the occupier of the office of the governor of a state or order the removal of such officer after the unsuccessful challenge of the result of the election at the tribunal and swearing-in of the appellant as the governor.”

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WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016 • T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

World Bank Seeks Time to Give Details on Spending of Abacha Loot Davidson Iriekpen The World Bank has again requested for time to release the details on the spending of the loot recovered from the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha.

This followed the bank’s decision to refer the appeal by a civil society organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) to the bank’s Archives Unit for processing for public access.

The development was disclosed yesterday in a statement by SERAP’s Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni.

In a letter dated August 8, 2016 and sent to SERAP, the World Bank said it was working on the request by the group and needed additional time to provide a more comprehensive response.

It also apologised for the delay, saying it regretted any inconvenience it might have caused.

The bank’s apology and request for more time followed the appeal SERAP lodged with the bank on February 5, 2016 on the grounds that the bank’s decision on its initial request did not reveal “important portions of the information requested on how Abacha loot was spent.

This is the second time the World Bank is asking for additional time to provide SERAP with details of spending of Abacha loot.

In a letter dated October 15, 2015 and signed by Ann May of the Access to Information Team, the bank had first said: “In response to your request under AI3982, we would like to inform you that we are still considering your request and need additional time to provide you with a more comprehensive response.”

According to Mumuni, the bank’s Access to Information Committee (AIC) in its decision on the appeal issued in case number AI3982-A dated April 29, 2016 held that although the appeal by the organisation was not filed within 60 days of the bank’s decision as required by its Access to Information Policy, adding that SERAP’s appeal nonetheless “contains a request for additional information, not previously submitted by the requester, and which the bank has neither considered nor denied. Accordingly, the AIC refers back to the Archives Unit this portion of the appeal for processing for public access.”

SERAP said: “The portion of the appeal which the bank has now referred to

its Archives Unit for public access include information on: evidence and list of the 23 projects allegedly completed with recovered Abacha loot, and whether the 23 projects where actually completed; and what became of the two abandoned projects; evidence and location of the 8 health centres built with recovered Abacha loot reviewed by the World Bank; and evidence and location of the 18 power projects confirmed by the World Bank.

“Other aspects of the spending of Abacha loot the bank referred to its Archives Unit for processing for public

access are: information on: how the $50million Abacha loot received before 2005 kept in the special account was spent; evidence and location of schools which benefited from the Universal Basic Education (UBE) program in the amount of N24.25billion; and evidence and location of the 13 road projects completed with the recovered Abacha loot, including the names of the three of the largest road and bridge projects in each geo-political zone.”

The World Bank AIC appeal decision read in part: “Summary of Decision: The Access to

Information Committee (AIC) found that the appeal is not properly before the AIC for consideration. The appeal in this case was filed 75 calendar days after the bank’s initial decision. Under the bank’s policy on AIC, appeals must be filed within 60 calendar days of the bank’s decision.

“Notwithstanding the above, the AIC found that the appeal contains a request for additional information, not previously submitted by the requester, and which the bank has neither considered nor denied. Accordingly, the AIC refers back to the Archives

Unit this portion of the appeal for processing for public access.

“The Decision Facts: On September 21, 2015, the requester submitted a request for “documents relating to spending of recovered assets stolen by Abacha and the bank’s role in the implementation of any projects funded by the recovered assets and any other ongoing repatriation initiatives on Nigeria with which the bank is engaged.”

On November 25, 2015, the World Bank responded to the request by providing the requester with 11 documents.'

NNPC Spent $3.4bn Oil Earnings on JV Cash Calls in One Year Chineme Okafor in Abuja The monthly financial and production report of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for June 2016 has disclosed that the corporation transferred a total of $3.41 billion it earned as proceeds from the export of oil and gas for one year to fund its joint venture operations.

According to the report, the corporation had from July 2015 mandatorily transferred its monthly dollar earnings from export of federation oil and gas into the joint venture account, the one year transfers so far amounted to $3.42 billion. It was however unclear if this was part of the corporation’s outstanding joint venture debts.

“The total export of crude oil and gas receipt for the period of July 2015 – June 2016 stood at $3.42 billion. Out of which the sum of $3.41 billion was transferred to JV Cash Call in line with 2016 approved budget, and the balance of $0.487 billion was paid to Federation Account,” said a portion of the report which was lately released in Abuja.

A breakdown of the report showed that in July 2015, the corporation transferred $419.4 million to the cash call pool; in August 2015, it paid $225.7 million; $272 million was paid in September 2015; $445.8 million in October; $402.5 million in November; and $197.2 million in December 2015.

It resumed the mandatory transfer in 2016 when it paid $407.9 million in January; $236.7 million in February; $141.9

million in March; $300.6 million in April; $149.9 in May; and then $219.3 million in June.

Given that its cash call debts to its joint venture operation had reportedly risen to about $6 billion as at July 21 when the Senate President, Bukola Saraki raised eyebrows about it at a public hearing on effective implementation of the joint venture cash call obligations

by NNPC, THISDAY called the corporation to determine the current status of the cash call debt but was not obliged the information.

THISDAY had called and sent text to the Group General Manager Public Affairs of the NNPC, Mallam Garuba Deen Muhammed to demand clarity on the transfers made within the 12 months as stated in the report, vis-à-vis, the balance, but Muhammed did not get back to the paper as at the time of filing this report.

The NNPC also indicated that its poor transfer performance for the period was attributable to upsurge in attack and sabotage of oil facilities in the Niger Delta.

It noted that the Forcados Terminal alone had been shut since February 2016 following a force majeure declared by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), and about 380,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil shut in.

It also said a number of crude oil liftings were deferred until the repair is completed, adding that other major terminal affected by the renewed spate of vandalism includes Bonny, Usan and Que Ibo terminals

PREACHING DEMOCRATIC VALUES

Former Nigerian president and Head of African Union Election Observer Mission (AUEOM), Dr. Goodluck Jonathan (left), discussing with Zambian President, Mr. Edgar Lungu, during a courtesy call at the State House in Lusaka....yesterday.

AGF Directs EFCC, Others to Submit List of All Cases to Him Tobi Soniyi in Abuja

Sylvester Imhanobe, who is also the Secretary of the committee, The Attorney General of used the occasion to inform the Federation and Minister the agencies of the objectives of Justice, Mr. Abubakar for setting up the prosecution Malami (SAN), has directed committee.

The statement said the the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) AGF handed down a directive and other agencies with to the agencies to compile prosecutorial powers to list of pending cases they compile list of pending cases were handling at the various they are handling at the various courts with a view to determine courts with a view to determine which of them fell into the which of them falls within the category of high profile cases to category of high profile cases to be taken over by the committee.

The following agencies be taken over by the National Prosecution Coordination were said to be present at the meeting - Nigeria Police Committee (NPCC).

A statement by the Special Force (NPF), Department of Adviser to the AGF on Media, State Services (DSS), EFCC, Mr. Salihu Isah, said a meeting Independent Corrupt Practices of officials of the ministry and Other Related Offences with the agencies took place Commission (ICPC) and the at the minister’s in office last Federal Inland Revenue Service Monday with a view to inform (FIRS).

The AGF explained further the agencies on the exigency and existence of the committee that for a case to be tagged high and to fashion out a working profile, it must have overriding synergy between the committee public interest elements, but that ultimately, he determines what and the agencies.

Isah said Malami’s case is tagged a high profile case.

He added that sometimes, message was read by the Special Assistant to the the quantum of value of a case President on Research and and its sensitivity would also Special Project attached to the be considered to determine if a Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. case is a high profile case or not.

According to him, members of the committee are mainly his aides as well as eight external members selected on the basis of experience and expertise, stressing that heads of agencies are not part of the NPCC due to their busy schedules.

Malami also hinted that the intention was not to distract the heads of these agencies, but to engender smooth synergy between the committee and the agencies.

The Special Assistant to the President on Coordination and International Affairs under the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Pius Oteh, who chaired the meeting, reiterated that it was for the purpose of sensitising the relevant agencies on the objectives of the committee.

He emphasised that the AGF in his wisdom saw the need for coordination and cooperation between the NPCC and these agencies with prosecutorial and investigative powers and added that it was necessary for cooperation and synergy between the committee and the agencies consistent with the mandate of President Muhammadu Buhari in the

anti-graft war.

Oteh disclosed that beyond the synergy and partnership between all concerned, a robust interface between the agencies was necessary, pointing out that the agencies should take their mandate seriously for a more vigorous and efficient prosecution.

According to him, when it comes to delay in the justice system, every stakeholder has a responsibility.

He said it was a cross cutting issue in which all key players shared a responsibility vis-a-vis the judiciary, prosecutors, investigators and even defence counsel.

He said: “When everyone does his or her bit, a more efficient and humane criminal justice system will be attained.”

Besides Imhanobe and Oteh, others who represented the ministry and the committee at the meeting are Special Assistants to the President, Mrs. Juliet Chikaodili Ibekaku (Justice Reforms); Mr. Okoi Obono Obla (Prosecution), Mr. Kehinde Oginni (Financial Crimes) and a staff of the ministry, Ms Aisha Bajeh.

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016

COMMENT

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

FAITH WITHOUT REASON IS DEADLY Sonnie Ekwowusi argues that faith elevates reason, but does not destroy it

I

t is important to keep emphasising that political enterprise is not an end in itself. Politics is an expression of culture through those truth-claims, dreams, communally-binding ideals made available by the culture. And at the heart of culture lies authentic religion. Therefore every man, be he a professor of religion or not; be he a pagan, an agnostic, a pantheist, an Internet free-thinker or not, is a religious being. This is because one does not need to belong to any religion to be a religious being. One of the frequently-quoted statements of German philosopher and economist Karl Marx is that religion is the opium of the people. Karl Marx, of course, wrongly perceived religion as mere instrument of oppression and failed to appreciate the great necessity of authentic religion to man’s real needs and final goals. Interestingly Marx has received sufficient bashing for uttering such a misstatement.

But the unreasonable way in which religion is practised is worrisome. This irrationality stems from the separation of faith and reason. The separation of faith and reason has foisted two stances. The first stance is the reliance on theological faith alone as the ultimate criterion for arriving at the truth (fideism). The second stance is the reliance on reason alone as the ultimate criterion of religious truth or the attribution to natural reason alone a knowledge which only the light of faith confers (rationalism). Both fideism and rationalism are two extremes spewing out errors which should be avoided.

The story I am about to tell is a true story that demonstrates the tragedy in separating faith from reason. A couple of months ago, a secondary school classmate was involved in a ghastly motor accident in Benin City in which he fractured his left arm. At the clinic he received preliminary medical treatment including a blood transfusion since he lost great quantity of blood. The doctor also strongly recommended an urgent surgery for the patient to fix his arm. But the patient pleaded poverty. In hearkening to his assistance, his professional colleagues and former classmates living in Benin and Lagos (including yours sincerely) came together and embarked on intensive fundraising to foot the patient’s surgery bills. The fundraising was successful. Substantial amount of money was raised and paid into the sick man’s bank account. But a few weeks ago the sick man’s wife informed us that the pastor of the sick man (name withheld) who happens to be the owner of the church (name also withheld) attended by the sick man had decided to place the sick man on a six-month “faith-prayer-ministration”.

During this six-month “faith-prayer-ministration” the sick was expected to stay away from all medications and rely only on faith-saturated prayer to God to perform a miracle and cure him. All our efforts so far to convince the sick man and his wife that faith and reason (medicine) are not

WHY IS IT THOUGHT CREDIBLE THAT FAITH ALONE SHOULD BE THE ULTIMATE CRITERION FOR ARRIVING AT THE TRUTH? BECAUSE WE LIVE IN A POVERTY-STRICKEN SOCIETY PLAGUED BY RELIGIOUS IGNORANCE AND SUPERSTITION

incompatible with faith healing have not been successful.

Instead of allowing her husband to go for surgery, the man’s wife has been trying to convince us that faith mixed with medicine is no faith at all. “Faith can move mountains. If by grace through faith you are healed and redeemed, why look for man-made medicine”? she keeps telling us. As for the sick man, he claims he has experienced a miraculous healing since his pastor placed him on the six-month “faith-prayerministration” even though his arm is still fractured.

This is a familiar terrain. Isn’t it? Why is it thought credible that faith alone should be the ultimate criterion for arriving at the truth? Because we live in a poverty-stricken society plagued by religious ignorance and superstition. Nowadays you can barely walk for two minutes along most streets in Nigeria without seeing roadside churches that claim to possess the miraculous power to cure illnesses such as cancer, kidney failure, stroke, and so forth. Many of these muchrooming churches today are simply thriving businesses. The print and electronic media, social media and roadside billboard are all inundated and encumbered with miracle adverts. A couple of years ago, a prophetess was arraigned before the Ikeja High Court, Lagos for cutting off the fingers of two little girls whom she alleged were witches. About the same time, some babies in Akwa Ibom (including two-month old babies) had to be rescued from being tortured or killed on the spurious allegation that they were witches. Yet at the same time, the brain of a 17-year old girl, who was denounced as a witch, was damaged after a three-inch nail was driven into her skull. Of course, we are conversant with the case of Chukwuemeka Ezeugo, aka Reverend King whose death sentence the Supreme Court upheld early this year for murder after the pastor was found guilty of setting a few members of his church on fire. There is also the pathetic story of a nine-year old boy called Korede Taiwo who was recently chained and tortured by his pastor father for allegedly stealing a piece of meat. Meanwhile terrorists and suicide bombers are continuously bombing different parts of the world and murdering uncountable persons. Even in Nigeria a Bible preacher now stands the risk of being killed for alleged blasphemy against faith.

All these testify to the wrong application of religious faith and their disastrous consequences. But the truth of the matter is that even though faith heals and elevates reason, faith does not destroy reason in the same way grace does not destroy nature. Faith in revelation or belief in the Bible does not destroy the rationality of human knowledge rather it elevates it or fully develops it. Although faith is superior to reason or in fact purifies reason both the faith and reason are like two inseparable streams on which flows the truth.

St. Paul writes that faith without works is a dead faith. In the same analogy, faith without reason is deadly. God has created us and endowed us with Will and Intelligence.

A NEW DAWN IN KOGI

Now that the appellate court has resolved the legal controversies surrounding his election, Governor Bello should be left to pursue his vision for Kogi State, writes Mubarak Isiaka

I

t was Frantz Fanon, a renowned scholar and critical thinker, who said that “every generation out of its relative obscurity discovers its mission, fulfils or betrays it”. In simple terms, Fanon is arguing that at any given epoch in human history, leaders are normally thrown up for specific purposes.

But it is not often in all circumstances that leaders discover the missions of their generation, talkless of fulfilling the missions even when they have been discovered. The situation, however, appears different in the case of Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the dynamic and energetic governor of Kogi State who ascended the saddle of political leadership in December last year through the act of providence.

Given the way and manner he emerged as the helmsman of the Confluence State and how he has strongly weathered all the challenges that have come his way ever since, it is beyond disputation that Alhaji Yahaya Bello is a child of destiny and a potent instrument in the hands of the Almighty Allah to turn things around in Kogi State.

Only last week, the Court of Appeal at two different sittings in Abuja upheld the verdict of the Kogi Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal which had earlier dismissed the petitions filed against him by Hon. James Faleke, a member of the House

of Representatives and the deputy governorship candidate to the late Prince Abubakar Audu and Capt. Idris Wada, a former governor of the state who were making separate claims to the governorship seat.

In a unanimous verdict delivered by Justice Jummai Hannatu-Sankey, the court held that Bello was properly nominated by his party, in compliance with Section 33 of the Electoral Act 2010, following the untimely demise of Prince Abubakar Audu who was the initial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In another judgment, the court in a majority decision of four justices to one, held that former Governor Idris Wada lacked the locus standi to complain against the nomination of Bello as the candidate of the APC in the supplementary election of December 2015 on the ground that he was not a member of the APC and did not participate in the APC primaries.

In the case of Faleke, the appellate court ruled that the issues raised were the internal affairs of the party, which were exercised by the party in the substitution. Justice Sankey said the petition was fallacious and ought not to have been entertained in court in the first instance because of the failure of Faleke to join APC as a defendant in the matter, having been the party that carried out the substitution complained against.

With this second string of electoral victories at the appellate court, Alhaji Bello has decisively crossed the political Rubicon as it were in Kogi State. The landmark judicial ruling represents a ringing endorsement of the mandate given to the APC and Alhaji Bello in the election.

All said, it must be noted that the Nigerian judiciary has again proved critics wrong with the court of appeal reaffirmation of Yahaya Bello as the duly elected governor of Kogi State.

There had been speculation and fears in some quarters about the ability of the courts to do justice in this particular matter in which certain powerful leaders of APC are said to exert influence. These fears have been allayed with the landmark appeal court ruling that confirmed Yahaya Bello as not only duly nominated by his party, APC, but also duly elected executive governor of Kogi State.

Barring any further judicial distractions, the coast is now clear for Governor Yahaya Bello to pursue with fervent fervour and steel resolve his determination to rebuild Kogi State and reposition it for greater development.

And this resolve is in consonance with his declaration to retrieve the state from the grips of greedy and selfish political godfathers who have before the new political

dawn in Kogi cornered to themselves and their cronies the available scarce resources of the state.

On his inaugural broadcast to the good people of Kogi State, Governor Bello had stated as follows: “My administration shall exist for the sole purpose of serving the superseding interests of the people of Kogi State to the very best of its capabilities. We also undertake to never lend our capacities to servicing the avarice of anyone or group– whether from Kogi State or elsewhere”.

Accordingly, Governor Bello pledged to fight corruption and do things differently in the state. For him, a zero tolerance for corruption would ultimately free resources for infrastructural and human capital development. His words: “There is no greater evil than corruption and nothing champions that evil more than Impunity…

Corruption and impunity made sure our people repeatedly arrived at a promised future and found it bereft of substance, or the promised better life. Let it be recorded today that future generations will not be given reason to count the incoming administration among those who reveled in corruption or impunity. We will be different by the Grace of God. We must and will be that generation of leaders who made the entirety of Kogi’s resources work for the entirety of Kogi people”.

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016

EDITORIAL DOLLAR SUBSIDY FOR PILGRIMS

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The government’s decision is perplexing, as it carries a big economic cost

veryone understands that the country’s economy is being squeezed by falling revenue as a result of the sharp decline in oil prices. Everyone also understands that with the destruction of pipelines and other oil installations in the Niger Delta, oil and electricity output have slumped considerably in recent months. What is difficult to understand is the response of President Muhammadu Buhari to these challenges that threaten the livelihoods of many of our citizens.

At a time most Nigerians expected that the government would begin to take decisions to strengthen the economy, what obtains today are whimsical and politically motivated decisions that can worsen an already bad situation. Pegging the dollar at N197 for intending pilgrims at a time the currency is selling for about N400 on the black market is one of such decisions. That all the defence is coming from the presidency rather than the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is in itself very telling about the management of our economy today. A public commentator, Mr Kayode Samuel, WHILE IT IS perhaps captured it IMPORTANT THAT THIS rather aptly on his ADMINISTRATION Facebook page: “Why SHOULD STOP SENDING does a government CONFLICTING SIGNALS that daily claims to TO NIGERIANS AND THE be fighting corruption INVESTING PUBLIC, WE always seem to leave CALL ON CBN TO STAND UP a window open for TO ITS RESPONSIBILITY BY the burglar?”

SPEAKING THE TRUTH TO Like most POWER Nigerians have already done, we want to register our displeasure and disapproval of this political decision.

The clarification by the presidency that Muslims and Christians enjoy the largesse in equal measure begs the issue. This is not about one religion over another but rather about economic sabotage. It is all the more unfortunate that this subsidy-for-pilgrims is coming

Letters to the Editor

T H I S DAY

EDITOR IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU DEPUTY EDITORS BOlAJI ADEBIYI, JOSEph UShIGIAlE MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOlA BEllO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOlAfE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OlUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN

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

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOlA BEllO, KAYODE KOMOlAfE, ISRAEl IWEGBU, EMMANUEl EfENI, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR OlUfEMI ABOROWA DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS pETER IWEGBU, fIDElIS ElEMA, MBAYIlAN ANDOAKA, ANThONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEh ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS hENRY NWAChOKOR, SAhEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOlA TAIWO, UChENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI GENERAL MANAGER pATRICK EIMIUhI GROUP HEAD fEMI TOlUfAShE ART DIRECTOR OChI OGBUAKU II DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION ChUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

just when investors were getting to believe sanity had returned following the introduction of the flexible foreign exchange policy which literally removed all such rent-seeking arrangements that were depleting the foreign reserves.

The idea that pilgrims (whether Christians or Muslims) could purchase between $750 and $1000 per person at N197 per dollar at another window opened for that purpose when the administration would not do that for the education or the health care of its citizens is beyond belief. First, how did the government come about the rate which does not exist anywhere? It could only have been arbitrary. Why would a government in dire straits be giving away over N200 to the dollar to those who do not need it or deserve it since pilgrimage is a private affair? Definitely, anyone who can afford the trip to the holyland does not need the subsidy. Why is the government deliberately encouraging round tripping considering that, given our experience, the same dollars will find their way back to the black market at N400 and above?

There are just too many questions begging for answers. But while it is important that this administration should stop sending conflicting signals to Nigerians and the investing public, we call on CBN to stand up to its responsibility by speaking the truth to power. Being dictated to by the presidency on issues within its remit erodes the credibility of the central bank. And that also erodes the confidence of prospective investors in our economy.

It is in the same light that we must condemn states, some of which cannot pay workers’ salaries, but expend humongous sums of money annually on pilgrimages. What this means is a diversion of public funds to serve what is essentially a private affair. It is indeed very sad that for too long, our leaders at federal and state levels have violated the secular essence of the constitution to meet political exigencies and sometimes to cobble their dodgy legitimacy. Until we return religion to the private domain of individual life by separating the Church/Mosque from the state, we are not likely to develop as a nation.

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

FG/INNOSON KIARA ACADEMY PACT ON YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

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y the federal government partnership with Innoson Kiara Academy, the government has renewed its interest in a deliberate policy of empowering Nigeria youths through skills acquisition which will benefit the entire economy tremendously. The partnership will create the opportunity for the reinvigoration of the latent abilities of our youths to be creative, productive and make meaningful contributions to the nation’s industrial growth and development.

As it stands, the Innoson Kiara Academy has started collaborating with relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), as well as state governments in training of youths in the acquisition of various skills.

For example, the academy is partnering with the federal government amnesty office to train about 200 ex-militants in the areas of automobile and plastic manufacturing.

While the training in automobile manufacturing will be undertaken at the Innoson multi-billion naira INNOSON Vehicles Manufacturing Plant located in the industrial town of Nnewi, Anambra State, the skills acquisition programme in plastic manufacturing will be carried out at the INNOSON Industrial Complex at Emene, Enugu.

It is instructive to note that there are numerous benefits accruable from the knowledge inherent in the skills acquisition programmes.

While the knowledge being acquired in the automobile sector will enable the beneficiaries maintain and possibly manufacture new vehicles, depending on the deft application of the knowledge acquired, those who gain skills in plastic manufacturing have the potential to make chairs, tables, kitchen and toilet wares.

Definitely, with strict discipline and proper application of the skills acquired from the Innoson-Kiara Academy, Nigeria will have a bright future as her youths will turn out as industrialists, investors, manufacturers and employers of labour in the very near future.

It is important to point out that the notable economies of the world such as United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and others, usually place high premium on the innate abilities of individuals and their productivity rather than university degrees which do not in any way increase output or enhance productivity in such industrial socities.

In these days of economic recession, paucity of foreign currencies like dollar and pounds sterling, it makes common sense to conserve scarce resources by training our youths locally,

especially as the Innoson- Kiara Academy has met local and international standards.

Apart from the amnesty office which has already commenced partnership with the academy, the Ministry of Labour and Productivity has in realisation of the value-added advantage derivable from promoting productivity in the country started discussions with the academy on areas of mutual cooperation.

Based on this, it is expected that among other things, the ministry will collaborate with Innoson-Kiara Academy in certification of its graduates, training of Nigerian youths in automobile manufacturing, maintenance and reactivation of skills acquisition centres nationwide.

In the same vein, the Minister of Youths and Sports, Mr. Solomon Dalung has on his visit to the Innoson- Kiara Academy training centres at Nnewi and Enugu commended the Chairman of Innoson Group, Chief Innocent Chukwuma for his foresight, vision and patriotism which led to the establishment of the Innoson-Kiara Academy.

Meanwhile, the ministry will partner with the academy to train Nigeria youths to equip them with relevant skills which will enable them to be gainfully employed and contribute

meaningfully to the development of their various communities and the country at large. That the INNOSON Group was able to provide such an enabling environment for the realisation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration vision on youth empowerment is commendable and a mark of patriotism.

It is vital to stress that the plastics processing factory in Enugu and the vehicle manufacturing company at Nnewi serve as workshops and production units for practical experience of the trainees.

This partnership will doubtlessly lead to the empowerment of Nigerian youths as they will have the opportunity of utilising their acquired skills and knowledge to improve their lives and impact on the society.

It is also necessary to extol the patriotic disposition of the Minister of Labour, Dr. Chris Ngige, his youth affairs counterpart, Mr. Dalung and the Buhari administration generally for their support to local companies like Innoson with a view to improving the lives of Nigerians. This trend portends signs of worthy legacies the Buhari administration intends to bequeath to the youths of Nigeria and necessary support should be given by all stakeholders.

Chukwudi Enekwechi, Abuja

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T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

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

THE NEWSMAKER

A Party’s Search for a New Beginning

The choice of who becomes the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party is crucial and demands circumspection, writes Segun James

George

T

Adeniran

he days of the big gambles are back and this time, it is in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the race for the leadership of the party peaks. Principally at stake is the national chairmanship of the party, which has been zoned to the South-west zone of the country. After all, whoever becomes the chairman will automatically become the de facto leader of the party, and by extension, the leader of the opposition.

The one who occupies this position is positioned to wield enormous influence over who become the presidential and gubernatorial candidates of the party as well as those that will clinch the tickets for other positions within the party in the run up to the 2019 election. It is no wonder that people have taken up advert spaces in major national dailies and secured primetime slots on the radio and television to push their case for the position.

Unfortunately, the party right now is without a known leader as the former leader of the party, President Goodluck Jonathan is assumed to have abandoned ship since he lost the last presidential election, leaving it rudderless. Also weighing down the party is the lack of cohesion within the leadership rank as the two factions led by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and Senator Ahmed Makarfi jostle for the soul of the once largest political party in Africa.

The decision to zone the national chairmanship of the party to the South-west followed the agreement by the party’s leadership that the presidential slot should be zoned to the north in the 2019 general election. This gentlemanly agreement has also zoned the vice-presidential candidate to the South-east, a situation which has also precluded the South-east zone from eyeing the national chairmanship position.

This has left only the South-south and the South-west zones to jostle for the position. But the South-south has only recently held the position of the president and leader of the party, and is being discouraged from contesting the ticket with the Southwest, on the basis of logic, being the only zone in the equation that has never had the opportunity to lead the party. Yet, this is being hotly contested by media mogul, Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, who has been campaigning vigorously to become the chairman.

In the South-west, however, the party is a house divided against itself. There are many factions struggling to control the zone. While Chief Bode George leads a faction supported by the elders, Governors Ayodele Fayose and Segun Mimiko lead another. The faction led by Senator Buruji Kasamu has also been formidable in the scheme of things in the zone.

Indications that the South-west is going into the race as a divided house emerged almost immediately the position was zoned to it, when

Adedoja

Chief George declared his intention to contest the position. But his move was quickly denounced by a faction of the party in the zone, which denied George as its candidate.

Dr. Tokunboh Pearse, a factional Lagos PDP Publicity Secretary, said the party’s leadership in the South-west would determine who the party will pick.

“We are waiting for the leaders in the zone to tell us who our candidate will be. You will recall that we had a meeting in Lagos last week to bring all the factions together. We didn’t discuss the chairmanship at all. We only brought all the factions in the three states (Oyo, Osun and Lagos) that had problems together. So, Chief Bode George is not our candidate until all the leaders come together to decide who that will be.”

He disclosed that after the meeting of the South-west leaders, the Lagos delegates to the Port Harcourt convention have been divided between George’s group who was allotted 12 ad hoc delegates and five statutory delegates and Chief Kola Balogun’s faction who has eight ad hoc delegates and 20 statutory delegates. But none was allotted to the former governorship candidate of the party in the state, Mr. Jimi Agbaje.

He added that at the meeting attended by Kasamu, Professor Wale Oladipo, Senator Teslim Folarin, Elder Wole Oyelese, Senator Felix Ogunwale along with Governors Fayose and Mimiko and all the factions in the Southwest, analysed the problems within the three states and sorted them out.

Pearse said it was based on this that the leadership in the zone led by Governors Fayose and Mimiko along with other leaders would come together to decide the zone’s sole candidate. He also debunked the news that the party’s governorship candidate in the last general election, Jimi Agbaje is the choice for the national chairmanship.

According to him, since the election which Agbaje lost, he had not associated with the party, and in fact, he is not even a delegate to the convention. He insisted that George like any other person has a right to aspire, “but the leadership would decide who our official and collective candidate would be. Right now, Chief Bode George is on his own.”

As the race for the position gathers steam, the question in the zone is: which of the factions carries the day and which candidate will emerge?

So far, five aspirants have indicated interest in the position. They are Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, former Governor Gbenga Daniel and Chief Olabode George.

What, therefore, are their chances and is there any dark horse that might later spring an upset?

These and other questions must be answered as the PDP leadership moves to reposition the

Daniel

party ahead of the 2019 election.

The Contenders

Taoheed Adedoja Professor Taoheed Adedoja is a two-time gubernatorial aspirant in Oyo State; a former Commissioner for Education in the state; Chairman State Universal Basic Education Board and former Minister of Sports. He is an administrator fondly called PTA, being the acronym of his name.

A graduate of the University of Ife and Oklahoma State University, United States of America, he became a professor at 42 at Bayero University, Kano and worked for four years with Prof Jubril Aminu at the University of Maduguri.

Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Borno and Delta states are his second home, where he has childhood friends, academic colleagues, and political associates. He speaks fluent Hausa. Adedoja is the Mogaji of one of the prominent Ibadan traditional families of Igbonna compound of popoyemoja.

Tunde Adeniran A Political Scientist and product of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and the Columbia University in New York, U.S.A, Professor Adeniran was a staff of the United Nations Organisation in the mid-seventies and taught in some American Universities before he took up appointment at the University of Ibadan, where he worked for twenty years before he retired to go into politics in 1998.

A recipient of many honours and winner of many distinctions, Ambassador Adeniran was a beneficiary of scholarships and fellowships as a student (including being the first Nigerian to win the Youth foundation fellowship and the first African to win the Dana Backus Award).

While serving as Minister of Education, he was said to have initiated bold reforms and championed changes designed to restructure and reposition the Nigerian education sector for rapid development.

A distinguished church leader, Adeniran is deeply involved in community service and charity organisations set up to cater for the needs of the poor and the disadvantaged. He is patron of eight different youth and student organisations.

Jimi Agbaje Born on March 2, 1957 in Lagos to the late Chief Julius Kosebinu (a banker) and Mrs. Margaret Olabisi (a teacher) Agbaje, Jimi is the second born and first male child of five children. In 1982, he founded his own company, JAYKAY Pharmaceutical and Chemical Company Limited and was Managing Director until 2005, when he ventured into politics. He was a member of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (1999 – 2006); National Secretary of the Nigerian Association of General Practice Pharmacists (NAGPP) from 1987 – 1990; National Chairman NAGPP (1990 – 1993)

Agbaje

and Chairman Pharmaceutical society of Nigeria, Lagos State (1994 – 1997). He was a member, Lagos State Task force on Fake and Adulterated Drugs (1989 – 1993), National Drug Formulary and Essential Drugs List (1986 – 1993) and Lagos Hospitals Management Board (1994 – 1997).

On how he ventured into politics, Agbaje once said: “It had to do with the Moshood Abiola/ Bashir Tofa presidential election,” adding, “I saw the annulment as a personal insult and an assault on the Nigerian people. This led to my first entry into what I would call activism, working with other concerned professionals” such as Prof. Pat Utomi, Dr Ayo Ighodaro, Asue Ighodalo, Billy Lawson, Oby Ezekwesili, Tola Mobolurin and Hassan Odukale.

Jimi was in one form of resistance group or the other which ultimately led his joining the socio-political organisation, Afenifere, where he served as the national treasurer.

Based on his affiliation with Afenifere, he joined the Action Congress (AC), his first political party.

In 2007, Agbaje who had initially aspired to contest for the Governor of Lagos State on the platform of the Action Congress (AC) left the party to join the Democratic People’s Alliance (DPA). He was among the 11 aspirants that turned their back on the Action Congress (AC) when it was alleged that former Governor Bola Tinubu had already anointed someone else to succeed him even before the party primaries.

He left DPA in 2011 and went on to join the Peoples Democratic Party following deregistration of DPA by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). On October 29, 2014, he officially indicated his interest in giving the Lagos State gubernatorial elections another shot by picking up the PDP nomination form. On 8th of December 2014, he emerged as the candidate of the PDP for the 2015 gubernatorial election in Lagos State, which he lost for the second time.

Gbenga Daniel Born on the 6th of April 1956, Chief Gbenga Daniel is a politician and former governor of Ogun State from 2003 to 2011. He is a member of the PDP under which platform he won his governorship ticket for the two terms.

As governor, he attracted heavy criticism and commendations as well. His programme on Public Private Partnership attracted several businesses into the state. Yet, his administration was accused of several misdeeds, some of which he is still standing trial for. However, he is well commended by a majority of the people of Ogun State, who believe his government was people-friendly.

NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisday.com

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016

PERSPECTIVE

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

Obasanjo, the Self-styled Messiah Former President Olusegun Obasanjo should know when to either move forward or retreat and not overreach himself in the political space, writes Olubunmi Johnson-Adubi

S

ave for his manifest nontribalism – which nearly everyone acknowledges – a debate about the character and integrity of former President Olusegun Obasanjo is one that comes with ease, especially for those, who know him quite well. His recent posturing as the father of modern Nigeria and or the epitome of her democracy is but a comic fluke – a rather unfortunate self-serving facade, which can at best pass as the fulcrum of the nation’s now shaky foundation since her return to civil rule some 17 years ago.

Today, the nation’s tottering democracy, many will concur, is as a result of one man’s clandestine attempt to extend the control of state powers to his personal estate through surrogate successors but at collective and development expense. Rather than admit to his follies and give the political space some healthy breather, Obasanjo has continued to choke even the already stifling political space, suffocating the rest of the actors to their early demise or leave them bedridden.

His recent loitering around the seat of power in Abuja, the nation’s capital, is palpably discomforting – doing what? His overrated stature is already a burden, both to himself and the state, the very reason he is unable to spot his own shortcomings.

Instead, all he sees is his self-styled messianic larger than life image – a deceitful illusion that is no less a national curse and pain.

The last decade has witnessed an intense debate on Obasanjo, with focus on his place in history, especially his role in whatever has become of the nation today. Through misplaced priority, he has taken with the left hand, some of the good he did with the right hand. As the celebrated first military ruler to hand over power to an elected democratic president, he will also go down in history as the first civilian president that attempted to stay beyond his constitutional two terms with his failed third term agenda.

Since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office last year May, Obasanjo had visited him about seven times on different grounds – from the needful to the needless – putting up the face of a patriot, who desires a better Nigeria, when indeed, he cannot be extricated from whatever problems the nation is facing today, either directly or not.

And this much, the discerning knows and can relate to.

Unfortunately, despite the evident failings of the Buhari government, Obasanjo is the last person anyone wants to see around him.

He wrestled former President Goodluck Jonathan to the ground, not on the premise of principle or patriotism but because he was denied “his right of interference in a government he helped to install” as well as the party, whose flag he brandished for eight years as president.

And when he thought he had been played out in his own game, he left, albeit with a lot of drama, thus openly campaigning against his estranged son for a comrade general. Such volte-face, unfortunately, hasn’t changed in any significant way the fact that Obasanjo was and remains an integral part of the nation’s intractable problems.

Upon assuming office in 1999, he promised, like others after him to combat graft and was seen to have embraced certain initiatives in that regard. But like what Jide Ayobolu wrote in an article titled: “What Obasanjo Will Not Want You to Know about Him”, corruption had an even firmer root under Obasanjo. “…In the fight against corruption, the president that has presided over the affairs of NNPC since 1999, but has not explained the missing N311 billion that should have been paid into the revenue account and

Obasanjo

Nigerians are eagerly waiting to know what exactly happened to the said amount.

Secondly, it was reported that N84billion was missing in NPA…” Corroborating this, Chief Dan Etete once said this about the former president: “Obasanjo must not hold the view that Nigerians have very short memory or that they do not care. How does he explain his attempts to dispossess his erstwhile friend, Chief Egunjobi, of the Beachland Estate? In his first coming as Head of State, he claims he built the estate and on leaving office, he took his former friend, Chief Egunjobi to court and proclaimed that he used the latter as front. He did not tell the court, as Nigerians wanted to know, how he came by the money to build the estate.”

Leader of the Ijaw nation, Chief Edwin Clark also alluded to the Beachland Estate scandal in his letter to Obasanjo, when the

Gowon’s silence and those of other patriots, of course, had given Obasanjo the room to abuse the space by dancing around the corridor of power as if he was the only former ruler, who has the magic wand of addressing the nation’s problems. His overrated self-impression is one ego crisis the former president has continued to flash as his strength unaware that it is his major undoing

former president first fired a salvo to Dr. Jonathan in his infamous letter. He said: “My dear OBJ, I was your colleague in the General Yakubu Gowon government in 1975.

You were then the Minister of Works. The Head of State directed you to develop the Tincan Island Port.

“It was widely rumoured then that you carved out a portion of land from the area earmarked for the project for yourself, the area now known as Beachland Estate in Apapa, Lagos. Your clandestine usurpation of that piece of land led to series of litigations with your front man, in which I believe you are still probably embroiled.”

In his article titled, Obasanjo: An Exit Strategy, published in The Guardian edition of May 12, 2006, Reuben Abati, a former presidential media adviser, wrote: “In eight years, if President Obasanjo and his strategists had managed to establish a reputation of benevolence, perhaps, the support base for third term would have been broader.

That would not make it right, it may still not succeed, but the associated public debate would have produced a more rigorous and kinder assessment of Obasanjo’s tenure than the platitudes of being mouthed at the National Assembly.

“The president has also further isolated himself by uniting the opposition against himself. Even within the PDP, he stands alone otherwise it should have been easy for a PDP-dominated National Assembly to endorse the third term proposal without any rancor. The present situation exposes the president’s weakness. The debate in the National Assembly is a reflection of his standing in his own political party.”

In the same breath, Simon Kolawole too wrote in an article titled, Obasanjo: Working Hard against Democracy and published in THISDAY of December 31, 2005. An excerpt reads: “But I keep wondering why Nigeria is

not making much progress under him. Some of my friends tell me that it is because of the people surrounding the president. They say the man himself is very upright but the people around him are corrupt. What do you think?

“Inwardly, I chuckled. Committed leader?

Upright president? Anti-corruption purist?

Democrat? Peacemaker? Statesman? Which Obasanjo is that? I don’t, in anyway, begrudge him for having a false, messianic image abroad. It is his luck, our ill-luck.

What I cannot stand is his desperation to hold on to power at all costs, his desperation to distort and destroy our democracy, even if it means setting Nigerian on fire – playing the South against the North and grinding all his perceived opponents to submission by using and abusing state power.”

Adding his voice to the Obasanjo debate, especially on the failed third term agenda, another ex-presidential spokesman, Olusegun Adeniyi, in his article titled: Obasanjo and the 3rd Term Flu, published in THISDAY of February 16, 2006, had relished in self-denial because he reckoned Obasanjo would not travel that ignominious road.

“There are two basic reasons why I am almost certain Obasanjo would not pursue the third term route. One, given the current state of the nation, to secure the constitutional amendment that would give him an extension of tenure under any guise – he would have to bribe members of the National Assembly very heavily (which he eventually did). Is he prepared to do that and risk the local and international backlash? The second is that to pull the sight-tight agenda through would require draconian measures.

“Already, politicians, businessmen and women, academics, clerics, civil rights advocates and the media are highly mobilised against the idea. All these could culminate into a strong national resistance that may engender instability and violence.

The implication is that for Obasanjo to force his way on the issue, he would have to resort to arresting and killing people because there will be many ‘dissidents’ to deal with.”

Seyi Oduyela, on May 21, 2006, added an interesting angle to Obasanjo’s impossible leadership, in his piece titled: Obasanjo’s Dishonest Honesty. Here: “What is disturbing is that under the democratic government of President Obasanjo, the police have not been able to solve any murder case.

“The Kudirat Abiola murder case was at the instance of Sergeant Jabilla aka Rogers, who came out to confess. We have more murder cases in this government within a period of four years than in any government either military or civilian. In fact, study shows that between May 1999 and July 2001, 252 cases of extra-judicial killing by the police and other security agencies were recorded, far higher than in the last two military regimes.”

Agreeing with Oduyela, Naiwu Osahon, a philosopher of science and leader of the world pan-African Movement wrote in October 2010, that “Obasanjo often equated his personal feelings with that of the state and hounded perceived enemies to death or was nonchalant over issues affecting those who had offended him.

“The circumstances surrounding the unresolved deaths of Bola Ige, A.K Dikibo, Harry Marshall and Chuba Okadigbo, promoted the poisoned atmosphere for further political assassinations, including that of Funsho Williams in Lagos, and Ayo Daramola in Ekiti State, between mid-July and early August, 2006.”

NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisday.com

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016, • T H I S D AY

FEATURES

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

Adamawa's Displaced Farmers Get Help To encourage farming and cushion the growing threats of starvation and hunger already ravaging the North-east, the American University of Nigeria, in collaboration with Adamawa Peace Initiative and USAID, recently donated food and seedlings to farmers, following the return of normalcy in the seven local government areas in Adamawa State ravaged by the insurgency. Daji Sani writes

Members of AUN-API distributing bags of grains to displaced farmers in GombI

M

ost of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in the seven affected local government areas in Adamawa State are farmers. Agriculture has been the most important source of their income and also the source that provides the basic of necessities of life to these displaced farmers.

Some of these farmers are into dry season farming and others into animal farming.

Others also combined both crop and animal farming. However, the most predominant type of farming in those affected areas is crop farming which agricultural experts say that the areas usually produce bumper harvest at the end of every farming season for the nation.

They also lamented that both the continuous onslaught of the insurgency on the affected areas had brought pains and prevented farming activities for about three years which had brought hunger and starvation and also paralysed business activities in the areas.

But all hope is not lost as there seem to be light at the end of the tunnel.

The aid group Doctors Without Borders had been raising the alarm that the Boko Haram victims are dying of starvation adding that thousands of IDPs are dying on a daily basis from diarrhea and malnutrition in North-east especially women and children.

To mitigate this tragedy, the Federal Government had flagged-off the distribution of 70 trucks of grains through the Presidential Initiative for North East (PINE) across the 21 local government areas of the state. During the distribution in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Analysis

and Development, Ibrahim Bapetel who represented the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, said the distribution was meant to cushion the effects of hunger and encourage farming activities in the state particularly the areas affected by the Insurgency.

Bapetel said the reason that informed the federal government's decision to commence distribution was because for about three years now farmers in the North-east were hindered from farming activities because of the incessant onslaught on them by the Boko Haram insurgents.

He said the government believed that the distribution would encourage farming activities and cushion the growing threats of starvation and hunger already ravaging the North-east The importance attached to farming is the reason that motivated the American University of Nigeria (AUN) in Yola, being a development university in collaboration

I am a farmer and all of us in Guyaku are too. It has not been easy for us since we returned. So what these organisations are doing will help us. We will be able to plant our seeds and grow something.

We are pleading for more assistance

with Adamawa Peace Initiative (API) and USAID, in the month of June this year to donate food and seeds to farmers to aid their farming activities this season following the return of normalcy in the affected areas.

The coordinator of AUN-API humanitarian relief, Bello Abdullahi, at the flag-off distribution in Gombi, said 4,150 farmers, spreading across four local governments in Adamawa state, each received bags of seeds and food to aid their recovery from the destruction Boko Haram brought on their communities and livelihoods.

Abdullahi said the seeds and food distribution in the identified local governments of Gombi, Fufore, Michika and Madagali benefited following the number of identified IDPs who had farmland and are prepared to farm.

He further explained that in Gombi Local Government Areas one of areas mostly affected by insurgency 725 IDP farmers benefitted while in Michika – 1,398 IDP farmers benefitted, in Madagali – 1,522 IDP farmers and in Fufore – 505 also benefited totaling 4,150 beneficiaries.

According to him, the beneficiary received the following seed crops: 10kg of maize for planting, 10kg of cowpea for planting and 5kg of Sorghum for planting adding that these seed crops were supplied by USAID and are high-yielding and require minimal need for fertiliser.

"50,000 households benefited from the distribution and USAID was satisfied with the distribution, the turnout of IDP farmers and their orderly conduct during the distribution," he said.

He said USAID preferred AUN-API to handle the distribution on her behalf because the organisation enjoys grassroots support

and trust of local farmers and has the most effective, transparent and accountable statewide distribution network.

According to President Margee Ensign, who is the chairperson of AUN-API, "AUN has a founding mandate to light a candle rather than curse the darkness. This mandate was drawn from the vision of our Founder who thought a university is not necessarily an ivory tower. So the so-called town-andgown relationship was there from our very foundation. AUN works in and with the community to find solutions to challenges faced by its people."

Ensign said the distributions were done to aid farming activities in those affected areas liberated from the grip of the insurgency and to provide food security in these areas. She added that agriculture is key to the nation's development and should not be taken with levity and called on stakeholders to venture into mechanised systems of farming in order to secure the nation especially the North-east from total starvation and hunger in the land.

The AUN President further explained that because of the hunger and suffering still present in these affected areas, there was a possibility that these beneficiaries would simply eat these seeds instead of planting them adding that the AUN/API also distributed food stuff to support these seeds distribution initiative in all four local governments.

She explained further that each of the benefiting IDP farmers also received the following: 20kg bags of maize ,10kg bags of beans and N200 (two hundred naira) transportation to aid them get back to their various wards or homes.

Ambassador Samantha Power, US

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016, • T H I S D AY

FEATURES

Permanent Representative to the United Nations, in her speech during a visit to the North-east and AUN around April this year, commended the university for taking a lead role in the rehabilitation of IDPs and especially in post-insurgency strategic vision – food security, peace mediation and security awareness training.

"I think what you all (AUN) have done here is really a model for how universities, not only in Nigeria but all around the world, can wade into some of the most complex and seemingly intractable challenges facing their communities. It's also a model for how you shape a rising generation of leaders,” Power said.

According to the Vice President, AUN-API , Alhaji Gambo Jika, “We are expecting a good harvest. Once that happens, the supply of food items in these local governments will increase tremendously and their prices will go down. We are expecting all this to happen, Insha Allah, by the end of the raining season.”

Mrs. Charity Garba, a member of the AUN/ API seeds and food distribution told THISDAY that the distribution involves different local organisations so as to reach every farmer in the four identified local government areas.

"We have the CAN (Christian Association of Nigeria), the Muslim Council, the Youth Council, the women leaders, the traditional leaders and the vigilantes. They are the people that formed the committee and they are representing their people. We are expecting to do more. Our organisation was formed to put smiles on people’s faces. So as God helps us, we will continue to do more," she said.

Aisha Malafa, a beneficiary from Guyaku District, Gombi Local Government Area, said "We were at home when they told us that Boko Haram was coming. So we left the village and ran to the mountains. They killed so many of my relatives but some of us were able to escape. Boko Haram burnt down everything, our homes, our foodstuffs and our farms. So when we returned, there was nothing to do.

"I am a farmer and all of us in Guyaku are too. It has not been easy for us since we returned. So what these organisations are doing will help us. We will be able to plant our seeds and grow something. We are pleading for more assistance.”

"I was happy before Boko Haram struck.

But now that Boko Haram has come and gone, I find life very difficult. My house was burnt down and I am currently unable to rebuild it because I am financially broke. By the grace of God, these seeds will help us to get back on track. I will get products and by the end of the day, I will have something to live on. This is a sign of hope. I pray that God will increase them as they are increasing us," said Pastor Mark Nuhu a beneficiary from Gombi Local Government.

Garba Abdullahi, a beneficiary from Fufore, narrated the ordeal he passed through. "I ran from Madagali to Fufore because of Boko Haram. I left everything. But these seeds will help me to start my life again. I am

We will give people farmland and give them instructions on how to use the seeds.

We will also go out to monitor them. We will not let anybody to take the seeds to the market to sell. Given that they (farmers) have been given food, we will ensure that the seeds are planted. We want to make up for the disruption occasioned by the insurgency attacks on the areas

Beneficiaries in Fufore

Bags of seeds to be distributed to the displaced farmers

Trucks loaded with grains leaving the AUN-API warehouse

calling on other beneficiaries not to eat their seeds but plant them because at the end of the day, they will be the ones to benefit.”

Malam Aminu Jauro, a community leader and representative of the District Head of Ribadu, a district under Fufore, said on

ensuring that the seeds are planted they would give interested people farmland and encourage farming activities in the areas.

"We will give people farmland and give them instructions on how to use the seeds.

We will also go out to monitor them. We

will not let anybody to take the seeds to the market to sell. Given that they (farmers) have been given food, we will ensure that the seeds are planted. We want to make up for the disruption occasioned by the insurgency attacks on the areas," Jauro noted.

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IMAGES

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016

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

L-R: Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed (left), Commissioner of Police, Kwara State Command, Olushola Amore (right) decorating Zakari Yusuf as Ag. Superintendent of Police (ASP) at Government House, Ilorin... recently

L-R: Michael Eboh, Author of the Book, Deacon Benjamin Egwunyenga; Former Commissioner. Ministry Of Youth And Sports. Anambra State, Dr Edozie Okay Aroh; and Taiwo Kola-Ojo, at the launching of a Book entitled ‘’towards Success in Marriage and family’’ held in Lagos... recently

L-R: Media Relations Manager, Nigeria Breweries Plc, Mr. Chukwuemeka Aniukwu; Account Director, TPT International, Mr. Joseph Okonmah; and Media Executive, TPT International, Mr. Theophilus Imah, during the visit of TPT team to THISDAY Corporate Head Office in Lagos...recently yomi akinyele

L-R; Category Manager, Grand Oak Ltd, Mr. Yinka Amuwo; His Royal Highness, Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun Oyetunji; his wife, Olori Kafayat Oluwatosin and Regional Business Manager, West Region, Grand Oak Ltd, Mr. Femi Olayemi during the presentation of Seaman’s Schnapps to the Monarch as part of this year’s Osun Osogbo festival sponsorship in Osogbo...recently

Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Oluranti Adebule (right) and Professor Kolawole Raheem of the University of Education, Ghana, during a visit to the deputy governor in Alausa, ikeja...recently

L-R: Acting, Head, Test Administration Division, Mrs. Frances Iweha-Onukwu; Head of National Office, WAEC, Mr. Olutise Adenipekun; Director of Finance, Mrs. Bola Ojeleye; and Acting, Director of computer Service Division \ Director of Administration, Mr. Magnus Omoregie, at the briefing to announce the release of the 2016 WASCE result for school candidate in Lagos...recently kolawole alli.

L-R : Head, Business Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Anya Duroha; MD, Vital Need Engineering Services Ltd, Engr Bayo Olawale; Director Startup Hub, Chibuike Aguene; CEO, Spict Catering Services, Mercy Ijie and Head, SME Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Obinna Ukachukwu at the Stanbic IBTC 2016 SME Capacity Building Series in Lagos… yesterday ABIODUN AJALA

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016, • T H I S D AY

Group Business Editor Chika Amanze-Nwachuku Email chika.amanzenwachukwu@thisdaylive.com 08057161321, 08033294157

BUSINESSWORLD NIBOR OVERNIGHT 1-MONTH

R A T E S

A S

NIBOR

20.50% 17.6724%

3-MONTH 6-MONTH

19.1728% 21.6787%

A T

NITTY 1-MONTH 2-MONTH 3-MONTH

A U G U S T 113.24% 15.3016% 16.4276%

6-MONTH 9-MONTH 12-MONTH

5 ,

2 0 1 6

19.5136% 20.8107% 24.6703%

EXCHANGE RATE N318.91//1US DOLLAR* *AS AT LAST FRIDAY

Quick Takes NIPC, OBG Sign MoU

WELL DESERVED HONOUR

L-R: Executive Director, Corporate Banking, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Dr. Remi Oni; GMD/CEO, Interswitch Limited, Mr. Mitchell Elegbe; MD/CEO, First Bank of Nigeria Limited and Subsidiaries, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan; and Divisional CEO, Consumer Segments, Interswitch Limited, Mr. Charles Ifedi, at the official recognition of FirstBank’s 100million monthly transactions milestone at FirstBank Headquarters in Lagos…recently

10 Broking Firms Facilitate N414bn Investment in Equities Goddy Egene Ten top stockbrokers facilitated the trading of 78.189billion equities worth N414.11billion on the Nigerian bourse between January and July 2016, THISDAY investigation has revealed. The performance represents 58.3 per cent of the total transactions for the period in value terms and 58.4 per cent in volume terms. A breakdown of the performance table in value terms showsthat Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited led with N90.92billion, which is 12.7 per cent. Rencap Securities (Nigeria) Limited followed with N75.737billion,representing 10.6 per cent, while CSL Stockbrokers Limited facilitated N61.974billion worth of shares, which is 8.7 per cent of the total transactions

CAPITAL MARKET in value terms.

EFCP Limited accounted for N54.645 billion or 8.1 per cent, just as FBN Securities Limited recorded N34.366billion or 4.8 per cent. Greenwich Trust Limited traded N27.591billion or 3.8 per cent, while CardinalstoneSecurities Limited and African Alliance Stockbrokers Limited recorded N17.755billion and N17.672billion, which are 2.5 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively.

Chapel Hill Denham Securities Limited accounted for N16.428 billion or 2.3 per cent, just as Investment One Stockbrokers International Limited recorded N14.853billion or 2.1 per cent.

In volume terms, Greenwich Trust Limited led with 27.174

billion shares, representing 20.3 per cent, followed by Capital Assets Limited with N8.412billion shares that translated to 6.3 per cent. Global Asset Nigeria Management Limited occupied the seventh position with 7.967billion shares or 5.9 per cent.

A further analysis of the table indicates that Vetiva Capital Management Limited traded 7.110 billion shares or 5.3 per cent, while CSL Stockbrokers Limited recorded 6.832 billion shares or 5.1 per cent.

Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited traded 6.295 billion shares or 4.7 per cent, just as Rencap Securities Limited accounted for 4.760billion shares or 3.6 per cent.

EFCP Limited sold 3.301 billion shares or 2.4 per cent,

while Morgan Capital Securities Limited and Apel Asset Limited recorded 3.246 billion shares and 3.091billion shares representing 2.4 per cent and 2.3 per cent in that order.

The stockbrokers’ performance chart was introduced by the NSE five years back to as part efforts to bring transparency to the market and enhance investors’ decision making process.

The NSE followed this with Broker Oversight & Supervision System (X-BOSS) to strengthen its regulatory and oversight function.

Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oscar Onyema had said thesystem would automate the regulatory and oversight Continued on page 24

Pension Sub-sector Records N770bn Profit in 10 Years Ebere Nwoji The pension industry has recorded N770billion profit in the past ten years, the Director General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu has said.

Anohu-Amazu, who disclosed this at the 17th annual lecture of the Catholic Brothers United (CBU ) of St. Agnes Catholic Church Maryland, Lagos, said the pension industry, raked in the huge profit between January 2006 and June 2016.

She said total contributions to Retirement Savings Account (RSA) for both public and private sectors within the period was N3.06trillion made up of N1.78trillion from public sector,

PENSION which represents 57.52 percent of the total contributions and N1.30trillion from the private sector, representing 42.48 percent of the total contributions.

“Given that total assets of the RSA fund was N3.83trillionas at the period under review, it showed that a profit of over 770billion was made between January 2006 and June 2016.

The public sector contributions include all contributions from federal and state governments as well as the self -funding agencies”, the PenCom bossexplained.

She observed that the Nigerian pension fund assets had seen a dramatic growth

over the decade from about N2trillion deficit in June, 2004 to N5.74 trillion as at the second quarter 2014.

According to her, this pool of funds is being invested on behalf of the contributors based on the provision of the PRA 2014 on stipulated allowable instruments for investment of pension funds and assets.

She said the commission, had in line with its regulatory responsibilities, issued regulation on investment of pension asset to guide the operators on how pension contributions should be invested.

The PenCom DG stated that the investment policy of the industry is based on the principle of safety, fair returns

and liquidity to ensure that retirees receive their benefits as and when due, while achieving measurable impact on the economy.

According to Anohu-Amazu, Nigeria, like other emerging economies,had invested over 69 percent of the pension funds in government securities while investment in equities and money market securities were moderate at 11.54 percent and 8.66 percent respectively as at the second quarter of 2016.

Speaking on infrastructural investment, Anohu-Amazu, said there was only 0.03 per cent investment in infrastructure, a situation, which she said has Continued on page 24

TheNigeriaInvestmentPromotionCommission(NIPC),agovernment agency mandated with attracting and facilitating foreign investment into Nigeria has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Oxford Business Group (OBG) for the publishing firm’s 2016 report on the country. Under the MoU, the Commission will work with OBG to compile and produce The Report: Nigeria 2016.

Initiatives to boost state coffers in the wake of low oil prices will be given wide-ranging analysis in the report by the global publishing firm OBG.TheReport:Nigeria2016willlookattheimpactofrecentmoves by the central bank to increase access of hard currency to players in the economy relying on imported goods for their business.There will also be detailed coverage of the importance of collaboration among public and private sectors to carry out large-scale projects.

In addition, OBG’s report will also look at the outcome of the current administration’sbudgettostimulatetheeconomythroughincreased spending, setting the stage for inclusive growth.

The acting executive secretary of NIPC, Hajiya Ladi Katagum, said eventhoughthecountrywasexperiencingadownturninrevenuefrom the oil sector, heightened activity outside the oil sector indicated opportunities for growth.

“We expect our partnership with Oxford Business Group in the coming months to concentrate on ensuring that investors eyeing the country as a destination are given the latest updates on on-going reforms as well as sectors that are ripe for development, such as agriculture and mining,” she said.

OBG’s country director in Nigeria, Izabela Kruk the Group was delighted to have NIPC on board for its 2016 report, which came as Africa’s biggest market moved to increase its competitiveness on the global stage.

Staco Insurance to Hold AGM Today

Staco Insurance Plc, will hold its 20th annual general meetingToday (Wednesday, August 10) at the Orental Hotel, Victora Island Lagos.

At the meeting, the company’s board will announce its financial results to shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2016.

In a statement made available toTHISDA, Chairman of the company Dere Otubu said the N5.730 billion premium; underwriting result of N1.944billion as well as Profit Before Tax of N62.34 billion for the period under review, will be announced to the shareholders. He said these results were achieved amidst challenges that prevailed against business operators.

Otubudisclosedotherbusinessthatwillbecarriedoutatthemeeting saying apart from receiving and considering the audited financial reports of the company, the company will at the meeting re- elect directors, ratify the appointment of new directors as well as elect members of the audit committee.

Technology Connects Global Markets

The growth of mobile phones and services across the African continent has instantly brought many Africans into the digital age and connected them to worldwide knowledge and services.

Home to one of the world’s fastest growing middle classes, Africa has seen multiple opportunities emerge for both local and global retailers from this digital growth.

“Currently, more than 60% of individuals in sub-Saharan Africa have accesstoamobilephone[1].Astheadoptionofmobiletechnologyand increasing internet penetration in these countries continue to grow, so does the opportunity for retailers to reach new customers in the region,” CEO, DHL Express Sub Saharan Africa, Hennie Heymans said.

TheWorldBank’s2016WorldDevelopmentReport,DigitalDividends noted that the increased access to digital technologies brings more choiceandgreaterconvenience,andthatthroughinclusion,efficiency and innovation, access to mobile provides opportunities that were previously out of reach. With an established network of over 5 500 retail outlets across SSA, DHL Express provides individuals and SMEsgreateraccesstoglobalopportunities.Heymansalsoaddsthat the market opportunities in Africa are ripe. With the rise of mobile commerce and increased competition, this drives the demand for advances in technology and logistics, to ensure real-time supply chain visibility and improved quality, speed and precision of delivery services within African markets.

“The federal government is giving us all the support they could to ensure that we achieve our objective”

CEO, AMCON,

Ahmed Kuru

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016, • T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD 10 BROKING FIRMS FACILITATE N414BN INVESTMENT IN EQUITIES function of the Exchange over its dealing members.

Onyema said that the X-BOSS was aimed at redefining the compliance and regulation experience between the exchange and its dealing members.

He said that the X-Boss would enhance electronic dissemination of dealing members’ information in a structured and sustainable manner, to reduce the burden and inconvenience of a manual system.

“It is a major step towards attaining the exchange vision of becoming the leading Stock Exchange in Africa driven by regulation, efficiency, liquidity and innovation,” he said.

Onyema said that the initiative demonstrated NSE’s commitment to implementing global best practices to increase efficiency, improve transparency and drive operational excellence.

He said that the initiative was the first of its kind in West African capital market.

Also speaking on the X-Boss, NSE General Counsel and Head of Regulation, Ms. Tinuade Awe, said it would enhance regulation aimed at thriving activities at the capital market.

PENSION SUB-SECTOR RECORDS N770BN PROFIT IN 10 YEARS left a huge untapped financing prospect.

“In addition, there is no investment in infrastructure bonds despite the allowance of 15 percent of the total pension fund asset in this instrument.

This was largely due to non availability of this instrument in the market.” she stated.

She said the corporate and the pension industry strategies would help to increase investment in infrastructure and other alternatives assets from four percent in 2014 to 40 percent by the end of 2019.

Furthermore, she said plans have been made to drive efficiency by improving service delivery and the use of technology as well as establishment of share services across the pension industry.

Group Business Editor

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

NEWS

Concerns Grow over Nigeria’s Rising Misery Index Obinna Chima Nigeria’s misery index, which has risen to an alltime high of 47.7 per cent, has sparked Nigerians panic about the state of the economy.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, of Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC), Mr. Bismarck Rewane, in his monthly economic news and views presented at the Lagos Business School’s (LBS) executive breakfast meeting titled: “Policies Daunting, Markets Uncertain, Citizens Groaning”, said the development is threatening political stability and social cohesion.

Misery index is a measure of economic well-being for a specified economy, computed by taking the sum of the unemployment rate and the inflation rate for a given period.

An increasing index means a worsening economic climate for the economy, and vice versa.

A survey had placed Venezuela top spot on the 2015 misery index. The report had also shown that Venezuela was closely followed by Argentina, South Africa, Greece, Ukraine, in that order.

Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate declined to -0.36 per cent in the first quarter of this year, compared to 2.11 per cent in fourth quarter of 2015, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had stated.

The economy had contracted to 3.86 per cent and 2.35 per cent respectively in first quarter of 2015 and second quarter of 2015 before rebounding to 2.84 in third quarter 2015 and

further shrunk to 2.11 per cent Q4 of 2015. The current decline represents the first contraction since June, 2004, a 12-year-low.

Unemployment rate in the Nigerian economy climbed to 12.1 per cent in the first quarter of this year, compared to 10.4 per cent in Q4 of 2015 and 9.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2015.

The monetary policy committee (MPC) resumed the tightening cycle at the July meeting when the monetary policy rate (MPR) raised by 200 basis points to 14 per cent. The move was primarily to contain

price inflation and reduce regulatory arbitrage.

Treasury bills rates have risen to record levels of 18.5 per cent per annum.

“Banks were borrowing from CBN at 14 per cent and lending to federal government at 17 per cent. Driven by continued supply shocks, corporate performance declined across all sectors,” he added.

He estimated that the amount to be share by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) for August would be N700 billion, highest level in 30 months.

Average opening position of Nigerian banks was put at N257.2 billion. Nigeria’s credit ratings remained unchanged after the downgrade by Fitch last month. Average oil price between Jan – July is now $41.86pb with production levels yet to recover to pre-militant attack levels According to Rewane, lower agric commodities prices being eroded by naira depreciation as average decline in agric commodities was 6.83 per cent in July, compared to naira depreciation of 8.55 per cent.

“Ships awaiting berth

increased to 45 in July. There have been higher international trade activity, forex availability and settlement of backlogs.

Ships awaiting berth expected to increase to 50 boosted by budget implementation, flexible exchange rate. The knock-on effect of forex policy is seen in prices of imported items,” he added. But the economist pointed out that substitution to cheaper/local brands was expected, adding that lower real income was likely to reduce traffic in retail stores as shelves are expected to thin out more due to higher import cost.

ACCOUNTING TO SHAREHOLDERS

L-R: Non Executive Director, Dr. P. Bissohong; Non Executive Director, Dr. S.M Kewa; Company Secretary, Mrs. O.M Jafojo; Presiding Chairman, Mr. P. Albert; Managing Director, Mr. A.O Gbodume and Non Executive Director, Mrs. A Maina at MRS Oil Nig. Plc’s, 47th annual general meeting, held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos … recently

Transporters Raise the Alarm over Multiple Taxes Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu Transporters in the country under the aegis of Association of Mass Transit Operators of Nigeria (ALBON) and Association of Mass Transit Operators of Nigeria (AMTO) have asked for federal government’s intervention in the incessant imposition of multiple taxes and levies on their members by the various states and local governments across the country.

The transporters who operate in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory expressed dismay that the

development was beginning to take a negative toll on their business, insisting that urgent steps must be taken to address the issue before it degenerates to an unmanageable level.

Rising from a joint meeting of the two groups in Enugu, the road transport owners in their communique signed

by President of ALBON, Sir Dan Okemuo, Secretary, FrankNneji, National President of AMTO, Chief G. N. Inyiaba and Secretary, Comrade Duhu Francis Ede said in spite of all the difficulties they are facing in their operations, they had not increased the transport fares “to

commensurate the prevailing inflation in the country.”

They also made a “passionate appeal” for reduction on import duties on all commercial vehicles, their spare parts and tyres in order to further improve on their service delivery.

“We are the ones facilitating transportation in the country and we need all the encouragement from our governments at all levels. Its definitely not in the interest of the business for our members to be facing incessant taxes and levies in the hands of the same government that ought to create enabling environment for us to operate.

“Instead of encouraging us, they are determined to drive us out of business forgeting that its not just about us but thousands of Nigerians who use the roads on daily basis. The situation is really disturbing, that’s why we are appealing to the federal government to quickly intervene “, they noted.

They also expressed concern about the state of insecurity in the nation’s highways and called on the Inspector General of Police to provide 24-hour patrol on the major flash points on the highway across the country. They maintained that the situation was beginning

to instill fear on road users not just the commercial operators but also the private road users.

In the communiqué also signed by nine other luxury and mass transit owners including the Managing Director of Peace Mass Transit, Maduka Onyeishi, the transporters also appealed to the federal government to carry out urgent repair works and maintenance on all arterial roads across the country.

They noted that the poor state of roads had remained a major contributory factor to the increasing spate of road traffic accidents along nation’s highway.

Crusoe Osagie

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

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

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (Capital Market)

Biotechnology Agency to Train N’Delta Ex-militants on Agric Ventures Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) is to train thousands of Niger Delta ex-agitators under the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) in high-yield agricultural ventures.

NABDA Coordinating Director, Mr. Josiah Bitrus Habu, disclosed this at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja while receiving the Special Adviser

to the President on Niger Delta and PAP Coordinator, BrigadierGeneral Paul Boroh(rtd).

Habu said NABDA has the capacity to simultaneously train 500 Amnesty beneficiaries at its Odi, Bayelsa State centre in such areas as high-yielding plantain and banana farming or plantation and high variety grass-cutter and snail reproduction.The training, he said, would be tailored towards ensuring job creation and empowerment,

food security and carried out in a serene environment.

He added that the ex-agitators would benefit from the use of technology and the principles of science to produce high yields in food and ensuring good health for the people.

Habu observed that the country with its estimated 180 million people is a ready market for all agricultural products as well as the ECOWAS sub-region.

In his remarks, Boroh who led

the Presidential Amnesty team said the primary objective of the Office was to reintegrate fully the 30,000 beneficiaries, adding that agriculture was the fastest and most sustainable means of doing so. His findings, Boroh revealed, was that NABDA which uses technology and the principles of science to produce high yields in farming would be worthy partners of the Amnesty Programme. According to a statement issued by the Media

and Communication Consultant, Presidential Amnesty Office, Owei Lakemfa, Boroh added that the Amnesty Office was ready to send thousands of beneficiaries for immediate training by the agency.

The federal government, he said, was diversifying and refocusing the attention of the country from oil especially when the prices are not as attractive, to other areas, particularly, agriculture.

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BUSINESSWORLD

EQUITIES WATCH

As Nestle Encounters New Challenges

After an impressive first quarter, Nestle Nigeria posted a 94 per cent fall in profit after tax for half-year 2016 on foreign exchange losses and rising costs of inputs due to the devaluation of the naira. Goddy Egene reports The hopes of shareholders of Nestle Nigeria Plc receiving a higher dividend at the end of 2016 are seriously becoming dimmer following the weak performance of the company for the half year ended June 30, 2016. Nestle Nigeria Plc had surprised many stakeholders with better-than-expected results in first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2016, growing its profit before tax (PBT) by 150 per cent to N8.725billion, while PAT rose by 126 per cent to N6.681billion.

Given the cost saving strategy that influenced the Q1 performance, stakeholders had expected the positive trend to continue into the H1.

However, going by the results made available last week, factors beyond the control of Nestle Nigeria made the company to record 94 per cent fall in PAT. Corporate background Nestle made the first sale of its products in Nigeria date back to the beginning of the 20th century. This was done through local importers who placed their orders directly with British trading companies active in the country. The importation of Nestle products became regular from the 1920s when Nestlé decided to formally organise the importation and distribution of products.

But in 1961, one year after Nigerian independence, Nestlé Products (Nigeria) Limited was officially created. This signaled the start of the Nestlé operations in Nigeria as a locally based subsidiary of Nestlé.

Nestle S.A, Switzerland owns 63.5 per cent of the company’s shares, while the remaining 36.5 per cent shares are held by Nigerian shareholders.

The company has two major two business units including food products and beverages.

This strategic business units offer different products and are managed separately because they require different technology and marketing strategies. The food products segment contributed 59.75 per cent to the company’s revenue in FY 2015, compared with the contribution of 40.25 per cent by the beverages range.

Half year results The Nestle reported a revenue of N80.4billion for the H1 end June 30, 2016, showing an increase of 22 per cent above the N65.9 billion posted in the corresponding period of 2015.

Unlike Q1 when the company witnessed a decline in cost of sales and finance, H1 witnessed increases in those expenses. Cost of sale rose by 28 per cent from N37.3 billion to N47.7 billion, while gross profit grew by 14 per cent to N32.7 billion, from 28.6 billion in 2015.

Marketing and distribution expenses rose by 18 per cent from N10.8 billion to N12.8 billion. However, finance cost soared by 376 per cent from N2.958 billion in 2015 to N14.1 billion in 2016.

Hence, PBT fell by 92 per cent from N10.6 billion in 2015 to N896 million in 2016. Despite a reduction in tax expenses by 79 per cent, PAT fell by 94 per cent to N535 million in2016 from N8.887 billion in 2015.

Commenting on the results, the company said: “We are pleased that our revenue increased by 22 per cent in the first half of 2016 despite the tough economic environment.

In both the first and second quarters of 2016, our revenue grew by double digits, thereby confirming the great value that our brands provide consumers. The increase in the cost of sales was mainly due to higher material costs resulting from currency devaluation.

Operating Profit for the period has increased by 10 per cent despite pressure on input costs.

Net profit has been negatively impacted by the revaluation of the foreign loans due to Naira devaluation.”

The company assured stakeholders that it would continue to implement necessary measures and cost saving initiatives to address the macroeconomic challenges and remain fully committed to the long term potential of the business in Nigeria.

Analysts’ comments Looking at the performance, analysts at FBN Quest, said the two factors that affected the results are systemic in nature and would further impact performance going forward.

“The key drivers were elevated cost pressure and foreign exchange losses. These two factors are systemic in nature and will further impact performance, albeit to a lesser extent, in the remaining half of 2016 full year. Consequently, we look for 2016FY earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and PAT declining by 14 per cent and 72 per cent respectively,” they said.

According to them, firstly on cost, subsequent depreciations in the Naira exchange rate against the Dollar portend downside risk for margins.

“Reference here is to the potential impact on: input cost of raw sugar and milk which are still wholly imported and import duties

which has a direct link with the official local currency (LCY) exchange rate. Secondly, we would expect the pass through impact of the hike in petrol price on transportation cost -- which management also attributed to the cost inflation experienced in Q2-16 -- to linger for the rest of the year. Broadly, Nestle is at about the limit of domestic raw materials input substitution, and short of further, sizeable price increases across principal products, the cost cutting measures being considered by the management will be of less impact on margins,” they added.

FBN Quest noted that the scope for further forex losses has widened following the full floating of the LCY. With the Nigerian Naira having already lost over 14 per cent from end June level, amid further declines, saying it is not unlikely that Nestle’s net forex losses will reach (or breach) their target N18 billion for 2016FY. “On revenue, the selective price increases

NESTLE HALF YEAR FINANCIAL SUMMARY 85 80

JUNE 2016 N80.4bn

75 70 65

JUNE 2015 N65.9bn

60 55

JUNE 2016 N47.7bn

50 45

JUNE 2015 N37.3bn

40 35 30 25 20

JUNE 2016 JUNE 2015 N12.8bn N10.8bn

15 10

JUNE 2016 N14bn JUNE 2015 N2.9bn JUNE 2016 N0.535bn

05 0

REVENUE

COST OF SALES

MKT/DIST. EXPENSES

NET FINANCE COST

JUNE 2015 N8.8bn

PROFIT AFTER TAX

effected year-to-date (YTD) (Milo 15 per cent average, Golden Morn seven per cent average and Maggi 15 per cent average) have been the major driver of growth. Whilst noting the tendency of management adjusting prices to fairly reflect costs in H2-16, the decision should be tough, considering the risk of losing grounds to competitors (as in the experience of Maggi in Ghana). Price increases in 2017 are more realistic, and we expect some recovery in margins accordingly,” they said.

Earlier projections Making future projections for Nestle after assessing the Q1 performance, analysts FSDH had cited some factors that would influence company’s performance. The positive factors include: focus strategy on food segment of the Nigerian economy; cost management initiatives; growing demand for food and beverages in Nigeria; focus on investment in key brands; investment and innovation in plants, which should improve efficiency; technical partnership with the parent and related companies; large market size in Nigeria and stable growing population; strong demand for product at all levels; existing taste and preference for products by consumers. On the other hand, the negative factors are: the prevailing stiff competition in the industry, the current weak consumer spending power, security challenges in some parts of Nigeria, and expected further depreciation in the naira.

“Looking at the medium to long-term outlook of the company and the impact of the aforementioned factors, we are of the opinion that the impact of the positive factors would be higher on both the revenue and the profitability of the company than the negative factors. We therefore estimate a turnover of N176.64 billion, N208.90 billion, N253.33 billion, N305.18 billion, and N358.49 billion for the periods ending December 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Our PBT forecasts for the periods are: N45.58 billion, N57.63 billion, N71.20bn, N86.43bn and N102.47bn.

Adjusting for tax, our PAT forecasts are N31.90bn, N40.34bn, N49.84 billion, N60.50 billion, and N71.73 billion, PAT Margin for the period are 18.06 per cent, 19.31 per cent, 19.67 per cent, 19.82 per cent and 20.01 per cent. Our forecast final dividend for the FY 2016 is N36.36 per share,” FSDH had said.

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016, • T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Ajibola: Nigeria Must Guard against Economic Depression The President/Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Prof. Segun Ajibola has advised the federal government to implement policies that would resuscitate the economy. He counselled businesses to redefine their strategies in view of the challenges in the foreign exchange market. He spoke with Obinna Chima. Excerpts: How do you think banks can navigate through the present challenge business environment?

Well, the beauty about banking is that whether an economy is booming or an economy is in recession, you need the banking industry. You need the banking industry to manage the boom, just as you need the banking industry to bring an economy out of the doom. Recession is a temporary setback.

It is a temporary economic dislocation. It is when you have disequilibrium caused by sudden loss of income. As we know, the global oil industry is in some sort of problems today and we rely on oil as the major source of our revenue. That would definitely dovetail into recession. When you have loss of income, your fiscal responsibility suffers. Whatever you intend doing in the short-run, you will not be able to meet up because of that state of disequilibrium. But it is an opportunity for you to look inward immediately. And that is what we have been canvassing at the institute through our various learning sessions. As a country, we need to more than ever, start taking seriously our export promotion strategies and diversify our earnings base. The reliance on oil as major source of revenue is too heavy.

We need to reduce the significance of oil on our economy. So, if we can start diversifying into agriculture, solid minerals, manufacturing, and expand our export potential, we would be able to earn more foreign exchange from other sources other than oil. Then we also need to look inward more than ever before.

The challenge, the message is coming to us that we don’t need to rely too much on other countries to feed our population. The various varieties we have in the agriculture sector can feed this population today, if properly organised and well harnessed. We can rely on ourselves for the provision of basic necessities of life- food, clothing and shelter.

And we can de-emphasis a lot of things we import because of our mentality to consume imported items. So, the high propensity to import, fuelled by cultural disorientation can be corrected through import substitution strategies. So if we can embrace these two, we would be able to reverse the recessionary economy that we are facing at the moment. It is when an economy fails to learn from this temporary setback, that recession moves to depression. And depression is a permanent problem that may remain with an economy for decades. Nobody prays for that and the federal government must ensure we don’t get to that. We know what is happening in some other economies of the world today that rely too heavily on oil. So, it is an opportunity for us to learn and tame our appetite for imported items and to look at our economy in totality to find out how to diversify immediately

Depression is a permanent problem that may remain with an economy for decades.

Nobody prays for that and the federal government must ensure we don’t get to that. We know what is happening in some other economies of the world today that rely too heavily on oil

Ajibola

to reduce over-reliance on oil as source of revenue. If we can do just these two things, then we would have been able to change our orientation. There would have been some paradigm shift. The structure of our economy would have undergone significant change.

And by the end of the day, we would be out of recession. First, the role of bank when an economy is facing the kind of situation the Nigeria economy is facing now. Banks can continue to provide the basic financial services to the economy as a whole. If you look at the structure of the Nigerian economy, if we leave oil and gas out and look at other sectors of the economy, you would discover that the contribution of the small scale sector of the economy, the micro sector of the economy is insignificant. In situation like this for example, microfinance banks can help by empowering the masses in various sectors of the economy. It can support those that have micro businesses to pursue. If the empowerment could come from the bottom, then it would gravitate towards the small scale enterprises. But because we have been monolithic as an economy for so long, we have ignored these sectors. Banks can play this role by coming out to more

than before, faithfully support these various businesses at the lowest end of the ladder.

If these people are empowered, they can be more economically active.

You spoke recently about banks taking advantage of opportunities in other African countries by expanding their businesses, considering the weak macroeconomic environment, not just in Nigeria, but also in most other African countries, won’t it be wrong for banks to embark on such project?

By talking about Africanising the Nigerian banking system, what we are saying is that although the United Bank for Africa (UBA) has done it and is still doing it, there are other banks in Nigeria that are also operating in other countries in the continent. They are also doing their bit. So, through this, trade between and among African countries would be promoted and complementary roles can now be played by a body like the African Union (AU), to promote the economy of Africa. The AU can now take more interest in African trade and if the support is coming from banks operating in Africa as a whole,

not just within an enclave, then it would be easier so intra and inter African trade to grow and to help contribute to the economy of individual members of the AU and the African economy as a whole.

But the discussion about growing trade among countries in the continent cannot be complete if we don’t address the single currency issue. Do you think having a single currency can help grow trade among countries in the continent?

We cannot achieve everything at the same time. We can look at economic cooperation, even within the West African sub-region and then move gradually. If we can first of all integrate the economy, common currency would help to strengthen that integration. But if we have not integrated our economy as Africa, we can’t be talking about common currency. You know the challenges we have been facing, even within the West African sub-region in having a common currency. So, it is the same thing in Africa, just like in other parts of the world.

But, if we can achieve economic integration up to a level where the man in Ghana can freely go to Kenya and sell his trade, and

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016, • T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

AJIBOLA: NIGERIA MUST GUARD AGAINST ECONOMIC DEPRESSION there are no obstacles and trade barriers are demolished, then we would be able to move to the next level of financial integration. That would bring about the issue of common currency. The stage we are now, we have not gotten to that level. The challenge we have now is to integrate the African economy and by the time we do that, we start thinking about ways to further deepen that level of integration.

If you are to proffer solution to Nigeria’s perennial foreign exchange crisis, what would be your recommendation?

Like I have said, we should recognise that foreign exchange is a commodity, just like any other commodity. The forces of demand and supply would continue to play a role. So, if we allow the forces of demand and supply to play its role in the foreign exchange market today, you and I can imagine what the exchange rate would be. But the reality, however painful it may sound, is that when we continue to tamper with the market system, we would have two authorities managing the market- the official segment and the unofficial segment.

So, whenever you try to suppress the forces of demand and supply, black marketing would emerge. And that is the beauty of what the Central Bank of Nigeria has done by deregulating the market and introducing a flexible exchange regime. The central bank is also conscious of the immediate implication of having a freely floating exchange rate on the masses that live on less than two dollars a day. But the summary of the problem is that we have supply rigidity. Supply is limited while demand is more or less unlimited. So, the solution to it is what I have said earlier and as difficult as what I have said: reduce your exposure to foreign exchange demand by eliminating unnecessary items. Another challenge is when you say some items are not eligible for foreign exchange for official allocation, but that they can go to the unofficial market, you put unnecessary pressure on the unofficial market. That is why we are seeing the gap between the official and unofficial rates widening on a daily basis. It may look so radical, but I don’t see anything extraordinary in banning the importation of rice into Nigeria today and let’s see how sufficient Abakaliki rice in Ebonyi state would be, Igbemo rice in Ekiti state would be to feed Nigerians. The same thing goes for other sources of staple food that we have in abundance but nobody cares about them and our children would be looking for imported biscuits, we would be looking for imported toothpicks, and everything imported. Let’s take the bull by the horn. Other economies in the world did it and their people didn’t die.

We have potential for self-sufficiency in certain things in this country. But because of our untamed appetite for imported raw materials and goods and because of that culture and disorientation, we always prefer foreign goods and services.

So, we have to start gradually by ensuring that we are selfsufficient in certain areas. We must ensure that we are faithful and adherent to such policy dimensions. Like is said, it might sound too radical and shocking for us Nigerians that have been so over pampered with imported goods, let some of these imported items be priced out of the reach of some us.

Then, we would know the importance of our locally produced goods. So, some of these policies may be so radical, but we need them to sanitise the environment and let some form of orderliness reign in our foreign exchange market.

What is your take on ethics in the banking profession?

More than before, ethics and professionalism is one of the core mandates of the CIBN. You will agree with me that compared with what used to be the case about 10 years ago, we are far better as an industry today. That is because today we have corporate governance rules, we have code of conducts and we have bodies that are policing these specific aspects of our lives as financial services industry. So, it has improved.

But you see, in an assemblage of human beings, you still come across people of different orientation, vested interests and diverse background. You will continue to see those who challenge the morals of their profession and cannot uphold the ethical standards of their profession and banking cannot be left out of that. The important thing is that we have the rules and regulations and when there are infractions, there are procedures for dealing with such so that whoever wants to go into infraction knows ahead, the likely consequences.

Armed robbers know the likely consequence of their action, but some still take the risk. So, it is the same thing in every profession. We have it in legal profession, medical, and every other profession. There would be some few black sheep that would want to take the risk of misconduct. But as long as the rules are clear and when you do it, you cannot go unpunished, then the system would gradually sanitise itself.

As the leader of the CIBN, what is your value proposition for the institute?

CIBN has grown with time from a very small membership of 200 individual members to over 100,000 now. We have all banks in Nigeria- regulators, commercial banks, microfinance banks, mortgage and other financial institutions. It is a body that has made impact in policy dimension, development of members, instilling ethics in members and certification of professional bankers at various levels. So, it is an institution that has become entrenched in the system, but also one that needs to move to the next level. Under my leadership, we will lift the institution from where I met it. My agenda, codenamed “The Cs” will address every facet of our professional life. The first ‘C’ is capacity building. We need to build more capacity in the industry to address some skills gap, as well as upgrade our members’ knowledge to ensure continuous

Ajibola

professional development. We also need to build capacity in specialised areas in banking and certifying deserving ones fit and proper to practice banking. We already have agreement with some universities through what we call linkage agreement to develop students studying banking and finance and those in the Polytechnics. We also have agreement with local and international institutions to develop manpower in specific areas with the like of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation.

These institutions we are talking about cover trainings on specific areas of need like risk management certification. While we also train and qualify individuals as chartered bankers, which is the second ‘C.’ The third ‘C’ is communication. We know that we need to communicate the ideals of the institute to the larger society, even among our members and stakeholders. So, we will upscale our communications as a strategy, with a view to bridging gaps among banks’ clients and users, to know what banking and its practices are. This will also help to reduce the dearth of knowledge outside there. The fourth is ‘Codification.’ There are some aspects of banking that must be codified- our code of conduct is an example. As a member of the organisation, our law compels banks’ workers to register with us. One of the reasons for that is for us to be able to have oversight and be able to call practitioners to order and enforce ethical standards on our members, as well as ensure sanity in the way and manner banking is practiced in this part of the world. Already, we have a code of conduct signed into by members. We also have to extend this to other banking practitioners, not just commercial banks.

We have our Act, which also strengthens our legal capacity and where the need arises, we will also bring to bear some amendments to carry-out our core mandates. We also talk about constructive engagements for stakeholders. We talk about innovative ideas that can be added in Nigeria’s banking.

In this regard, yearly, we have the Judges’ seminar where

More than before, ethics and professionalism is one of the core mandates of the CIBN.You will agree with me that compared with what used to be the case about 10 years ago, we are far better as an industry today.

That is because today we have corporate governance rules, we have code of conducts and we have bodies that are policing these specific aspects of our lives as financial services industry

we bring all the levels of judicial officers with top banking officers to discuss the industry. This is to educate them on the technicalities of banking practice, so that when they face issues on banking matters, they will be knowledgeable and sufficiently empowered to handle such matters. We have a very virile structure through the Bankers Committee sub-committee on Ethics and Professionalism to ensure that banking is practiced with ethical standards in mind. When there are issues among banks and customers, they are reported to the sub-committee for amicable resolution.

Creativity as a goal is another ‘C’ agenda of my leadership.

There could be a goal, but there could be many ways of reaching it. What is the best in terms of creativity and efficiency in reaching it? Also, consolidation talks about getting the best of the institute and membership as a 53-year old body. Having done a lot already, we still need to do more. We need to consolidate on some of the things we have done in the past like getting our members closer to the body to fulfill their obligations, add value to their lives, whether corporate or individual.

How do we improve on our physical infrastructures like our library facilities- e-learning platform, bookshops and making our subsidiaries like the printing press, more virile?

How do we get more from our newly established thought leadership centre in terms of research and intellectual issues on banking and economy? These are some of the things my tenure will pursue. Already, the institute will host the 22nd edition of the world conference of banking institutes next year and this will project Nigeria further in terms of investment opportunities inherent here. By bringing those who have stake in the movement of funds and harnessing of investments across the globe to Nigeria, we believe it is another opportunity for us an institute to sell the country.

As an institute, as at today, we are expanding our foray into other African countries. We are already in The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Kenya, and we have just left the position of the chairman of African Institute of Bankers. Through that forum, we were able to synergise with other sister institutes in Africa, to see what we can do to encourage banking and banking practices in Africa; to promote ethical standards, to uphold the code of conduct known for banking the world over. By the time we are able to do all these, banking and finance would be very relevant to emerging economies coming out of Africa at the moment, and we would be able to deepen financial inclusion. It would also enable us to provide even the basic financial services to the generality of the African people and promote trade among Africa. As an institute, we also try to encourage our sister institutes to play their key roles to ensure they pursue their mandates and to cooperate with both the regulatory and political authorities in their countries as we try to do in Nigeria. That is to make sure that policies and programmes that would promote economic empowerment of the people are pursued from time to time.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016, • T H I S D AY

28

BUSINESSWORLD

INSURANCE

Continental Reinsurance Announces N2.92bn Profit

Ebere Nwoji

Continental Reinsurance Plc has announced Profit Before Tax of N2.92billion in 2015.

This represents 83.61 percent increase from N1.59billion profit reported by the company the previous year.

During the period under review, Gross premium income of the company stood at N19.7billion, up from N16.4billion in 2014.

The company’s Shareholders’ dividend payout also grew at an annual growth rate of 12% over the last five years.

Announcing this at the 29th annual general meeting of the company held in Lagos, Continental Re chairman, Nadia Fettah-Alaoui, stated: “We are pleased with our performance over the past year. I am confident that we have the right team that will continue to provide credible services to our clients.”

According to her, Continental Reinsurance currently operates from six strategic locations across Africa through a combination of regional and subsidiary offices.

She explained that although the contribution from the Lagos office grew by 10 percent

year on year, its contribution to the Group constituted 54 percent of the total Non-Life business, in 2015 down from 60 percent in 2014. This she said, reflects ongoing success in the company’sstrategy to pursue growth in new territories thereby reducing concentration in the Nigerian market.

Speaking in the same vein, the Group Managing Director of the company, Dr. Femi Oyetunji, said management of the reinsurance firm had maintained a firm commitment to grow the company sustainably through volume growth, improved

operational efficiencies, and development of critical skills.

According to him, “This bolsters our confidence in our optimism that we will continue to deliver top and bottom line growth on a sustained basis for our shareholders and other stakeholders.”

Oyetunji, thanked shareholders and Board members for their support adding that the company was in another challenging year, because of the poor economic performance seen in most African countries mostly due to low commodity prices and volatility from dollars

interest rate.

He said in the insurance and reinsurance space, competition is steeper and that the excess capacity of Europe, the US and Asia is now targeting markets across Africa, adding that currency risk and regulatory risk have become top of mind issues.Furthermore, he said that the Board and Management of Continental Re are finalising a strategic plan to strengthen the company, to ensure it increases its market share and continue to provide credible reinsurance security and services to

clients and sustainable value to shareholders.

Continental Reinsurance also announced the second edition of the Pan-African Re/Insurance Journalism Awards. The competition, open to both English and French-speaking journalists, recognises the outstanding work of Africans who cover the insurance and reinsurance sector across the continent.

It was launched in 2015. The winners of the first edition were announced during an award ceremony held in the Seychelles in April this year.

AIICO Insurance Launches AIIContact Centre AIICO Insurance Plc, has announced the launch of its new integrated customer- focused contact centre tagged,‘AIIContact’.

This is an interactive customer- focused contact centre targeted at achieving consistent customer experience.

Declaring the centre open at the company’s corporate head office, in Lagos, Managing Director of AIICO Insurance, Mr.Edwin Igbiti, said with multi- channel interaction becoming the new normal, the need for cross-channel integration has been intensified.

He said AIICO Insurance, leveraging its contact centre platform will deliver an experience that spans multiple channels without break in the customer dialogue.

According to him, the contact centre is a strategic attempt to improve AIICO’s brand equity and the associated customer experience that delivers on the promise.

“We have restructured our

business, invested in our people and in our verbally operational efficiency in line with leading practice standards”, Igbiti stated.

Also, the AIICO Insurance Head of Customer Engagement Team, Lydia Asini, said AIIContact is designed to specifically ensure that the customer’s experience is not only excellent but also consistent.

She said in line with its commitment to provide best in class services to its customers, AIICO has embraced technological innovations to enable it establish direct and unified contact with its customers.

According to her, the centre provides the company with real time tracking aid to be able to identify any customer call.

Furthermore, she said in establishing the centre, AIICO was driven by the fact that customers today have known their rights more than before adding that timing issue in claims settlement has remained major issue between insurers and their customers.

Pension Managers to Brainstorm on Retirees Benefits Issues bothering on how to create a robust pension benefits for workers and retirees would form the main focus of the Insurance and Pension discourse and awards organised

by Inspenonline media.

Inspenonline is a frontline insurance and Pension medium dedicated to reportage of major events in insurance and pension sub sectors.

A statement by the Chief Executive Officer of the medium,Chuks Udo Okonta, said experts drawn from insurance and pension sectors would be on hand to seek solution to the plights of retirees and make contributions on how to improve retirement benefits operations.

He noted that the Theme paper: ‘Robust Pension Key to Better Life After Work’ will be delivered by the Director-General Ondo State Pension Commission Mr. Jaiyeola Olowosuko.

The forum scheduled for Friday August 12, 2016 at the

Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry Conference and Exhibition Centre, Alausa Ikeja would witness award presentation to deserved pension and insurance institutions.

The event, according to the statement, will be Chaired by former Board Member National Pension Commission (PenCom) and Director, Centre for Pension Right Advocacy Mr. Ivor Takor while Former Director General Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Mr. Adegboyegba Adepegba, will be the Special Guest of Honour.

Okonta, said discussants at the forum were drawn from the National Insurance Commission; Nigerian Insurers Association; Lagos State Pension Commission; Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers; Nigeria Union of Pensioners; Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria and Association of Registered Insurance Agents of Nigeria (ARIAN).

AIICONTACT CENTRE LAUNCH

L-R: Head, Customer Engagement, Lydia Asini; Contact Center Functional Expert, Chike Uzoma, and Head, Strategic Marketing & Communications, Atinuke Jose all of AIICO Insurance Plc, during the launch of the Company’s Contact Centre at its corporate head office in Lagos…recently

FBN Insurance Organises Health Screening, Vaccination for Women FBN Insurance Limited, in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Omole Golden, recently carried out a Breast and Cervical Screening/Vaccination exercise for girls and women in Lagos.

The exercise, which held at the premises of Ifako Ijaye Health Centre, Ogba, Lagos, witnessed a large turnout of women from all walks of life including senior secondary school girls from neighbouring High Schools.

Speaking at the event, Sales Manager, FBNInsurance Ltd., Ngozi Umechurumba, acknowledged the woman’s place in every home while advocating the need for every woman to get screened for breast and cervical cancer.

“As home makers, it is important that women look after their health so they can have the presence of mind and body to contribute their bit to their family’s quest for a better tomorrow. According to her, “Only a healthy home can aspire to grow wealth.

So, beyond selling insurance, this is one of the many ways of showing our clientele and prospects that we are all for a better society.”

In her presentation, the

Deputy Medical Director of the Health Centre, Dr. Erivea Kuti, addressed the cultural and traditional myths that have unfortunately contributed to the spread of cancer.

She declared: “It is not every time you notice an unusual growth on your breasts that you begin to think spiritual attack. The scourge of cancer can be successfully arrested if we all learnt to do the right thing on time. Timing is of the essence here. The earlier the detection, the better the chances of a successful treatment.”

She taught the audience how to conduct self-breast examination via a live demonstration.

Speaking, incoming President of the Rotary Club of OmoleGolden, Rotarian Titi Sunmonu, thanked the FBNInsurance for its contribution to the success of the event and solicited for continued partnership with the insurance firm during her tenure.

FBNInsurance Limited, an FBNHoldings company associated with the Sanlam Group (SA), was incorporated in 2010 to transact Life Insurance businesses in Nigeria.

Stakeholders Braze Up for Ports, NPA Reforms Eromosele Abiodun As the new Managing Director of Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman settles down to work, there is apprehension among stakeholders and staff of NPA about the imminent reforms of the port, THISDAY checks has revealed.

Bala Usman will begin her first official engagement outside Lagos on Wednesday, few weeks after she assumed duty as the Chief Executive Officer of the ports authority.

Industry players and stakeholders told THISDAY that there is hope that a genuine transformation of the corruption ridden port industry is about to begin. Top industry stakeholders, who spoke to THISDAY, said they are confident in her ability to turn the NPA and the industry around. President of Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (CMDLCA), Mr. Lucky Amiwero, said that there is hope that the port industry is set to be repositioned to effectively play its role as a key revenue earner for the country, especially at this period when the price of Nigeria’s main revenue earner, oil is at its lowest in over ten years.

Amiwero said he is confident

that Usman understands the port industry very well as it was during her time as the Enterprise Officer of Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) that the privatisation agency successfully concession the Nigerian seaports.

Speaking on the planned reform, a port industry commentator, Mr. Ismail Aniemu, said her concerns reflects a larger perspective shared by industry player, citizens, thinkers and activists.

The NPA boss had while speaking on her new appointment as the NPA helmsman said: “Our ports are a critical artery of the economy, and it is our duty to ensure that the operators deliver port services at the standards that our businesses deserve in the 21st century in supporting President Buhari’s administration agenda of economic diversity.

“We will strive for enhanced operating efficiency to facilitate improved revenue generation and inflows into the national treasury. We will listen to our customers, importers, exporters and other agencies working in the ports to improve on our service delivery to the nation, anything less than world-class services is simply not acceptable, as attaining such heights is a mission to which I am certain we can all subscribe.”

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016, • T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

UNIDO Welcomes UN’s Third Industrial Devt Decade for Africa Crusoe Osagie

The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) is welcoming the UN General Assembly decision proclaiming the period 20162025 as the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa.

UNIDO’s Director General, LI Yong, said: “This is great news.

Last September, at a meeting at the UN Headquarters in New

York, UNIDO, together with the African Union Commission, the Office of the Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General on Africa, and the UN Economic Commission for Africa, called for this decade as a way to place the African continent irrevocably on the path towards inclusive and sustainable industrial development.”

Noting that Africa remains “the poorest and the most vulnerable region in the world”, the UN

General Assembly highlights the need for the continent to take “urgent action to advance sustainable industrialisation as a key element of furthering economic diversification and value addition, creating jobs and thus reducing poverty and contributing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”

UNIDO’s LI Yong said that he is pleased to note that the

adopted resolution specifically calls on UNIDO “to develop, operationalise and lead the implementation of the programme for the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa, in accordance with its mandate and through voluntary contributions”. The resolution also invites UNIDO “to scale up its technical assistance to African countries in order to promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development”.

Li said, “We at UNIDO believe that the path to sustainable development is through inclusive and sustainable industrialisation.

As the Director General of UNIDO, but also as a citizen of the developing world with a deep personal commitment to Africa and a strong faith in its future, I want to reiterate the validity of the dream of a flourishing continent, in which all its extraordinary resources,

both natural and human, can finally be harnessed effectively to generate lasting prosperity for all.”

The UN General Assembly encourages UNIDO’s Director General to mobilise adequate resources for the implementation of the Decade, and reiterates that African countries have primary responsibility for their own economic and social development.

Global Steel Begins Work at National NITDA Seeks Nigerians Support in Iron Ore Mining Company UAE for Gitex 2016 Mining and geological experts from Global Steel Holdings Limited have moved into the National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) Itakpe in Kogi State to commence the due diligence, which is the first plank of the modified concession agreement recently signed by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the world renowned steel making and mining conglomerate.

The foreign expatriates were joined at the site by Nigerian geologists and other engineering staff of NIOMCO as well as

officials of the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development who are supervising the process.

At a meeting over the weekend, which took place at NIOMCO, the Managing Director of Global Steel Holdings Limited, Dr. Samuel Nwabuokei recalled that since the agreement was signed, a team from the Company had paid courtesy visits to the Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello and the Ohinoyi of Ebira land, His Royal Majesty, Alhaji Ado Ibrahim, expressing happiness at the reception accorded the

officials by the two leaders.

He lauded President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister for Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the Kogi State Governor and the Ohinoyi for the positive development.

While equally thanking the management and workers of NIOMCO for the excitement with which they have welcomed Global Steel and the willingness they have exhibited to work for the reactivation and eventual operation of the Company, Nwabuokei urged them to corporate fully with his team.

Emma Okonji The acting Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, has asked for the support of Nigerians in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) towards the country’s successful participation in this year’s Gitex Technology Week holding October 16- 20 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

At a recent interactive session organised by the Nigeria foreign mission in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through

its Consulate in Dubai, Olatunji said NITDA would be promoting opportunities in non-oil sectors and that government was committed to supporting foreign and local entrepreneurships, particularly in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.

The Gitex Technology Week, which is being organised by the Dubai World Trade Centre, (DWTC), is touted as the 3rd largest in the world. It attracted over 165, 000 trade visitors last year from over 115 countries.

NITDA is facilitating Nigeria’s

participation at three levels including the Nigerian Pavilion, Nigerian Startups cobs inside the Innovation Hub, and the Gitex Africa Investment Forum being co-managed by the NITDA and the DWTC. “All these levels of participation are designed to ensure maximum exposure to ICT and other non-oil sectors which is a cardinal economic goal of the current government under President MuhammaduBuhari. Dubai has become an international hub for business engagements.

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EDUCATION Sustaining Students’ Improved Performance in WASSCE For some years now, Nigerian candidates have maintained a seemingly consistent poor performance in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination. But in what looks like breaking the jinx, the 2016 result showed a significant improvement in candidates’ performance. Educators believe this will pave the way for better output in future. Peace Obi reports The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) last week released the results of the 2016 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) showing a significant improvement from what it has been for a decade.

Announcing the cheering news at the council’s national office in Lagos, the Head of National Office, Mr. Olu Adenipekun, said 878,040 candidates, representing 52.97 per cent of 1,544,234 candidates who sat for the examination obtained credits in five subjects, including Mathematics and English Language.

This year’s performance has been applauded by stakeholders. For a period of five years (2010 to 2015), the country moved within the orbit of 24 and 38 per cent failure record. And as students, teachers, principals and educators in the country heave a sigh of relief from what was beginning to be a stamp of ‘never do well’ label on the Nigerian secondary education system and its students, there seems to be so many questions on their lips as well.

For some stakeholders, the question is ‘do the results truly reflect improvement in learning outcomes, especially the mastery of what have been taught to the students; do the results truly reflect WAEC’s ancient standard or was there a lowering of standard somewhere along the line to achieve this feat; did something new go into the exam body’s marking scheme; should it be entirely and wholesomely received believing that the results is not shaped by exam-malpractices?

And many more questions.

Given the reactions of some educators, it is evident that the current rise from the smoggy atmosphere of failure will inspire, motivate students and teachers to aim for the best. It can also mean that efforts channelled in various directions by subject teachers, school administrators and students to wrestle the hydra-headed monster of failure in WAEC’s examinations can be trusted, repeated, improved upon for more excellent results in subsequent years.

The Senior School Principal, Loral International Boarding Secondary School, Igbesa, Ogun State, Mrs. Martha Osime, said the feat attained by Nigerian students in this year’s SSCE is a good development, adding that it will not only inspire teachers and school administrators to do more, but will also spur students to strive for better results.

Asked what could have been responsible for the sudden rise in the percentage pass recorded this year when compared to what was obtainable in previous years, Osime said nothing extraordinary was done except that the consistent failure being recorded yearly had increased stakeholders’ concern and has kept schools on their toes searching for solutions.

“We didn’t relent in our efforts, searching for how we can make improvement. We kept looking for newer and newer ways such as teaching methods, teachers and staff development, developing different strategies of ensuring that our students read.

“In my school for instance, we introduced six hours sit and read for the exam classes. We ensured that for six hours students sit down to read and a child is only allowed to break it maybe if he/she wants to go and ease himself.

This is just to ensure that the children read what they were taught. And many other things we did to improve in our operations and for our students to do well. And if these efforts have helped, it will be cheering to learn about them.”

She said the recorded improvement in students’ performance would boost the morale of subject teachers, students and educators, adding that it has a redeeming effect on the country’s education system, especially as teachers and other stakeholders have over the years put up

WAEC candidates

different strategies to upturn the table of failure.

“To be honest with you, it was becoming embarrassing for principals and teachers and educationist in general that at the end of every year’s exam, students will not make a pass in their subjects. And I know that we were frantically looking for what to do to halt the unwholesome trend of failure. May be those things we did particularly last year should be repeated and built upon.”

Speaking on the likely effect of the results on students and the teaching profession, the former Principal, Queen’s College, Lagos, hinted: “When there is a mark of success, it helps to spur one to do exactly what one did and even do more. The fact that we have been able to break this jinx of failure every year, we are hopeful and we are happy to keep doing what we can to improve.”

On how the feat could be sustained and improved on, Osime said “the exam body needs to help us by analysing the result and give us the feedback so that we can be able to know the strengths and the weaknesses. What did the students do right that they were not doing before; did their response in the exam show that they covered the syllabus intensively or did they show that they improved in their essays or was it the computer-based test? They need to give us the feedback so that we can build on it and improve on where we didn’t do well,” Osime suggested.

Also commending the WASSCE result, the Principal, St. Michael’s Anglican Church, College, Coker, Mr. Bonny Godwin, told THISDAY that it is a good step in the right direction that requires the commitment of all stakeholders to maintain an improved students’ performance in external examinations.

Sharing with this reporter some of the steps the school management took in preparing its students for the exam, he said, extensive syllabus coverage, change in teaching method, provision of adequate facilities, manpower development, among others were involved.

“What we did was to make sure that the syllabus for the exam was well covered and the teaching was done using past questions; then

on the part of the students, there was conscious effort to encourage them to be studious, to read and to practice past questions as they read. These two factors helped in getting the results in place.”

Reflecting on the dynamism of life, Godwin noted that no magic wand was applied in realising the good result, saying that students come in sets. “You may also have to realise that every set is different from the other. You can use this strategy for this set and get a good result but you can use the same strategy for another set and get a better result because of the commitment of that set. Sometimes, it depends on the set of students involved.

“What we have done so far is not different from what we have been doing because to prepare students for any external examination, the first thing is that the syllabus must be well covered. When that is done, the children must be encouraged to be studious, not just reading, but reading using past questions. This will help them in the practical ways of answering questions and that goes a long way to boost their performance in the exam, he said.

For Godwin, it is not yet “Uhuru”, as all stakeholders must collaborate to maintain continuous impressive results by Nigerian students in their O’ Level examinations. “On the part of the students, they should keep working hard; they should read using past questions. Parents must monitor, ensure that relevant textbooks are bought and that their children actually study at home because that is where most of the readings take place.”

Suggesting ways schools and government could sustain the good result, the principal said with adequate facilities in place, school administrators should endeavour to train and retrain their teaching staff. “Schools should try and develop their human capital because when the teachers are well trained, their service delivery will definitely improve. Success also depends on the quality of teachers in the school. If you have quality teachers and you train them from time to time, their service delivery will improve and it will reflect on the students’ performance.

“Government should be consistent in the area

of its policy, especially in its incessant change of curriculum. We need to be consistent and if we say this is what we are doing, allow it to run for some time so that the people will get used to it and get the desired result from it instead of the policy summersault we have been experiencing.”

For the Head, Career and Admission, Corona Secondary School, Agbara, Mr. Ike Ngwoke, it has been years of relentless effort to rise above the waters of failure in WASSCE. Describing the recently released results as a reflection of hard work, he said: “Our teaching method was reviewed and we engaged more personnel.

At the end of the day, it is hard work that will determine whether one will be successful or not. We put our students through a more rigorous preparation.”

He stressed that continuous teacher development would help in Nigeria’s quest not only to sustain good result but in ensuring that the country returns to the table of WAEC’s International Excellence Awards which it won last in 2007, the awards which for some time seem to be an exclusive right of the other four-member nations, especially Ghanaian candidates.

Ngwoke added that active and sincere support from parents will go a long way. “Parents need to understand that there is need for them to discourage their children from cheating because there are parents who think that the only way for their children to be successful is to aid them in cheating. That has to be discouraged. Parents have to teach their children to imbibe the attitude of hard work. That is the only way out.

“Without that kind of cooperation from parents, no matter the amount of effort the teacher puts, it will not yield the expected results. This is because the students would have made up their minds that ‘well at the end of the day, I will pass whether I read or not’.

“Government has a lot of work to do both at the state and federal levels. Government needs to work to improve teachers’ commitment and dedication to duty and part of this has to do with staff emoluments and motivation,” Ngwoke said.

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EDUCATION

‘Love for Justice Led to Launch of Edwin Clark Varsity’s Law Faculty’ With the take-off of the Faculty of Law at Edwin Clark University, Kiagbodo, Delta State, its management said the faculty was established due to its love for justice and the believe that its graduates will help defend the defenseless in the society. Funmi Ogundare reports Having satisfied the requirements of the National Universities Commission (NUC) two years ago for the take-off of Edwin Clark University (ECU), Kiagbodo, Delta State with Faculties of Science, Humanities and Social Sciences, the management saw the need to introduce the law faculty because of the proprietor’s love for justice. It is believed that this would enable its graduates to defend the defenseless in the society.

Named after the late legal luminary, Fredrick Rotimi Williams, the faculty already has structures like lecture halls, moot court, offices, library and e-library, as well as an auditorium for law students.

Being a lawyer and ensuring that people do not suffer oppression and injustice, the Proprietor, Chief Edwin Clark told THISDAY that “having being a lawyer for over 50 years, I felt it will be a good thing for the law faculty to be established in the university.

“That has been my dream and I know very well that the faculty will be established because of my love for law. People have asked me why I studied law, my parents have always believed in the rule of law, my great grandfather was one of the first class chiefs at that time and he hated oppression and injustice.”

Clark said he was encouraged by a colleague of his, the Proprietor of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Chief Afe Babalola, who donated N2 million towards the development of the institution and also told him that he had his faculty of law the year his university was set up. “That gave me the courage and that is why I continued to pressurise the Council of Legal Education and the NUC.” He said his desire to name the faculty after Williams was to encourage the best of students who want to study and are interested in fighting evil in the society.

“That should be an encouragement for all students who will pass through the institution; eminent lawyers have also donated books with their names inscribed on them to the university and the students will see that these are good lawyers. I am looking forward to the development of the faculty of law and that will be one of the best in the country that will train lawyers, practicing lawyers and academic lawyers.”

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Timothy Olagbemiro, while highlighting the quality of law students the institution intends to produce said, “we could see this faculty growing to more than 250 students during the next 10 years, we hope we would start having masters and PhD degrees in law.

“We see them impacting the community; they will be allowed to have an idea of law and to know their rights as citizens of Nigeria.

They will be involved in the community, assist them and hear their cases. There are a lot of lawyers in the state who are reputable, they will be their mentors.”

He said the faculty’s auditorium and moot court were furnished along with all other completed university faculty buildings such as hostels, auditorium, library, cafeteria, medical centre, community centre laboratory buildings,

Front view of the Faculty of Law among others and were made ready for inspection and subsequent use by December 2014.

“By February 2015, the NUC came for the final inspection of our facilities in our Faculty of Science and Humanities, Social and Management Sciences, which were their mandate. We requested them to take a look at our law school out of curiosity; they were amazed at our level of preparedness. They were very impressed with the beautiful structures, facilities, books, the moot court and furnishings, at that point, they could not report anything on it, as they could only approve two faculties as foundation faculties for new universities.

“In May 2015, we received our license from the federal government to operate as a university, as well as NUC approval to start our two faculties- Science and Humanities, Social and Management Sciences. We admitted students in September 2015 and began our academic session which ended in June 2016.”

Asked if the institution will be benchmarked with other institutions in its category both locally and internationally, Olagbemiro said, “the NUC has a benchmark for LLB degree programmes and so also is the Nigerian Law school. There is a minimum standard which institutions must attain to get accreditation. The areas include course work content, work load of students, course distribution, facilities, staffing, lecture space, library holdings, classroom sitting capacity, staff distribution by cadre, among others.

“The university can provide more than those which were given as minimum. When the NUC came to examine our facilities, they confessed that we have more than the minimum to even start in terms of the quality and quantity of the resources they saw on the ground. The proprietor and chancellor demonstrated his love for his

profession judging by the facilities and whom he named the faculty after.”

On what will make the faculty stand out, the VC said: “It is required that we have a lot of books along with a robust ICT system which must be internet connected. In our Law Faculty, we have a lot of resources which can be accessed outside Nigeria, complemented with a faculty car and students’ bus. The proprietor has put in a lot of funds in recognition of the special place the faculty occupies in his mind.

As vice-chancellor, l have special interest in aesthetic particularly when it comes to academic buildings.

“Our quality of teaching staff is another attractive factor; we have a very good staff mix in cadre, quality and gender. Majority of our staff here are trained both in Nigeria, US and UK. They have mixed degrees which had exposed them to Kawasaki culture and practices in Nigeria and overseas. This is the beauty and richness of our law faculty, and they will bring in their international experience to enhance their students’ training.”

Asked how the university intends to drive the law programme with e-learning, he said, “these days most libraries are accessed through electronic media with internet connection. Here, we will ensure that our students also access their lectures through IT as it is done worldwide. We have made it robust and gotten wide band-width that will allow our students access it anytime.

It is very important that a university must run its law school with a robust IT system. We live in a global village, and we must be compliant.”

The VC said the facilities and the quality of legal research will make the difference adding, “we are not re-inventing the wheel in our Faculty of Law. To say so will be superfluous. It also

depends on the quality of legal research that we have been able to muster that will determine our level of competence and therefore the quality of delivery either as a practicing lawyer or as a judge delivering judgment, or as a professor, vis-a-vis the calibre of students coming out from the institution.

“We intend to be producing young lawyers to the labour market, and indeed certified in true character and learning, we intend to make the faculty tower in all areas of academic and moral endeavours, above all faculties of law in the country. In the next five years, we will be graduating students that will be going to law school and perform well. In terms of facilities, we hope to expand what we have now.”

On the institution’s efforts to ensure that law graduates gets employment after graduation, Olagbemiro said, “I believe that university education is for life not only for school. We have a basic liberal arts education embedded in our curriculum which is basic and broad. We intend also to infuse entrepreneurial experience and skills acquisition in strategic planning in order to get our graduates not to seek to be employed, but to seek to employ and create their own wealth. Therefore as much as possible, we will emphasise entrepreneurship skills acquisition.

“We are having these courses embedded in our entrepreneurship studies. For students of engineering who have entrepreneurship skills, by the time they leave here and with a liberal arts training they will be their own bosses. It is anticipated that we shall utilise our linkage with institutions in UK and US to enhance the quality of our degrees, our staff, as well as our curriculum. Visits to other territories as well as joint research will be good avenues for these benefits.”

Buhari Tasks Heads of Education Agencies on Service Delivery Laleye Dipo in Minna President Muhammadu Buhari has tasked heads of the 17 education agencies recently appointed on better service delivery in order to improve the standard of education in the country.

The president’s charge was contained in the brief to the

appointees before their nominations were announced by the Minister of Education Alhaji Adamu Adamu.

Speaking in Minna, Niger State after taking over the management of the National Examinations Council (NECO) from Professor Abdulrasheed Garba, the newly appointed Registrar, Professor Charles Uwakwe said: “The

president has challenged all of us to put in our best to transform the education sector in this country as part of the change agenda of the administration.”

“I will work with the mandate given me and will ensure that I improve on the standard already laid by previous chief executive officers of this organisation. I am proud of the calibre of staff in

this organisation, I believe with the support and cooperation of all we will take NECO to the promise land.”

Uwakwe commended Garba saying, “within the short period he was in charge NECO’s image in the society improved tremendously.” He promised to continue following the template of activities left behind by the

former registrar.

He assured the management and staff that the new leadership would carry them along and solicited their support and cooperation while warning that “indolence and indiscipline will not be tolerated.”

Handing over the leadership of the examination body to Uwakwe the former registrar

highlighted the giant strides of NECO over the years which he said included prompt release of examination results and reduction in examination malpractices and good relationship with the host community.

Garba thanked their staff and asked that better cooperation should be extended to the new registrar.

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EDUCATION

ASUU Sends SOS to Ondo Govt on OSUTECH James Sowole in Akure The Ondo State University of Technology (OSUTECH) branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had raised the alarm over the current situation at the state-owned institution, saying that it is beyond what the governing council can address.

The position of the union was expressed in a communiqué issued at the end of its congress held on the school campus and signed by the Chairman, Dr. Dipo Komolafe.

In the three-point communiqué, which centred on the strike, state of the university and appointment of substantive vice-chancellor, the union explained that the attitude of the government towards addressing the situation was capable of permanently stopping academic activities at the university It stated that the government has totally abandoned the institution and the reality is a far cry from the impression created by the officials of the state government on air. “It is visible even to the blind that the university is in a state of total neglect and abandonment.

“There has not been any improvement/maintenance on the structures on ground or erection of new ones since the take-off of the university due to the non-release of capital grant/ non-funding over the years; low staff morale is evident and inadequate research facilities is conspicuous “Furthermore, government has consistently been inconsistent with the release of subvention to the university and this has consequently led to irregular or non-payment of salaries, high turn-over of qualified and experienced academic staff and declivity in staff welfare.

“The problems ravaging the university are beyond the power of the university council and management. Only serious intervention of the state government can put an end to the sufferings of the staff, students and university.”

Komolafe said in view of the situation in the university, the union resolved that government should take urgent step to release capital grant allocated to the university in this year’s budget in order to address facility decay and completion of some of the abandoned projects.

He said the government should support the university council/ management with necessary funds to ensure the successful take off of additional faculties and release quickly all outstanding subventions due to the institution so as to also resolve the ongoing industrial action embarked on by all the unions in the university.

In addition, the ASUU chairman urged the government to set up a visitation panel to examine the financial activities of the university since inception to date and to put inplace measures to improve the security situation of the host communities.

“As a measure to lift the institution, the management should intensify efforts to ensure that donor agencies are motivated to complete ongoing projects in the university.”

Komolafe said in order to ensure stability in the management of the university, the governor, who is the visitor to the university, should appoint and announce a suitable candidate as the substantive vice-chancellor out of the names submitted to him.

It Needn’t Cost Much to Live Well It doesn’t necessarily cost much to eat well. As an individual, do you even know the benefits in the food you sit down to eat? As a child, during the Operation Feed the Nation programme of the Obasanjo government then, I remember vividly how everyone on the street where I lived then - James Robertson Street, Surulere Lagos, successfully planted subsistent food crops everywhere.

All we had to do was go outside and pick okra, corn, tomatoes and green leafy vegetable, to mention but a few.

Where is the fervor for eating well gone? Let’s examine Vitamin B2, contained in many of the foods we should be eating. Knowledge of this nutrient would perhaps inform the choices you make next time you go food-shopping.

Vitamin B2 is also known as riboflavin. If you are consciously eating well-balanced meals, you may already be getting enough Vitamin B2 in your body. Riboflavin is found in certain foods which include: Green vegetables - spinach, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, wheat germ, whole grains, mushroom, organ meats, eggs, milk, soy beans, yoghurt, brewers yeast, almonds, fortified flour, fortified breakfast cereals.

Ordinarily, Vitamin B2 works like other B vitamins to help your body turn carbohydrates into glucose.

This glucose is the fuel your body uses to generate energy. Furthermore, vitamin B2 also helps your body to metabolise fats and proteins.

But the peculiar benefit of riboflavin is that it works as an antioxidant. Riboflavin pursues and combats destructive particles inside your body known as free radicals.

Free-radicals damage cells and their core structure - DNA. They back-up the aging process. Free radicals fortify the development of many health problems like heart disease and cancers. Antioxidants like riboflavin tackle free radicals. They also alleviate or prevent some of the damages they cause.

Furthermore, vitamin B2 is important for growth and red blood cell production. As an antioxidant, riboflavin slows aging, boosts the maintenance of healthy hair, skin, nails, mucous membranes, promotes the healing of burns, promotes good eye health, among other benefits.

You should keep an eye out for elderly and vulnerable people like alcoholics and patients, to ensure that they are getting enough riboflavin in their meals.

Signs and symptoms of a deficiency in or low levels of riboflavin include: Tiredness and fatigue; soreness and cracks at the corners of the mouth; problems with digestion; magenta coloured tongue; sore throat; swelling at your throat; eye sensitivity; acne; muscle cramps; migraine; headaches.

You may want to take another look at the food-list above and incorporate the ones you’re not already eating in your daily or weekly food plans Omoru writes from the UK

CELEBRATING AN ACHIEVER

L-R: The HeadTeacher, Kingdom Heritage Model School, Canaanland, Ota, Ogun State, Mrs. Jolayemi Dolapo; a parent, Mrs. Atunwa; her daughter who emerged the Primary Six Pupil of The Year, Atunwa Elizabeth; the guest speaker, Dr. Tayo George of Covenant University; and the LSB Chairman, Pastor Egho Emmanuel, at the speech and prize-giving/graduation ceremony of the school… recently

Aim High, Alele Williams Tells Graduands

Sterling Bank Launches Back-to-school Campaign

Eighty-year-old Professor Grace Alele Williams has advised the 73 graduating students of Grace High School, Gbagada, Lagos to aim high in their lives’ pursuits. Williams, the first female vice-chancellor in Nigeria, urged them to settle for the best and only the best.

She explained that high achievement is for only those who make extra effort so that they can stand out among the crowd, adding that “education helps the individual to improve the ability to reason which in turn determines how far the individual can go. So I urge you to always think deeply about what you want to do.

“Examine your actions in detail, see those things you are doing well as opportunities to do better and try to improve on those things you are not doing so well.”

The octogenarian, who stood firmly while addressing the graduands, recalled that in the early days of her career at

Sterling Bank Plc recently launched its back-to-school campaign aimed at providing succour for all stakeholders in the education sector as schools resume in September.

The primary targets for the campaign are primary and secondary schools (administrators, owners and teachers), while the secondary audience are all primary and secondary school students and their parents.

Areas covered under the campaign include school financing, asset finance, textbook and educational materials finance for schools; school fees finance for parents; coding and robotics summer boot camp for children; household equipment finance; and training for teachers, among others.

The Bank’s Group Head, Strategy and Finance, Mr.

Shina Atilola, said the school fees financing solution was introduced to provide parents with instant financing for tuition and allow them put their children in school.

He explained that under the bank’s asset finance scheme, existing and new account holders will qualify for short-term financing against receivables while, “Sterling Bank can finance acquisition of buses, ICT infrastructure, interactive boards and other items the school may wish to purchase in the back-to-school season under the asset finance scheme.”

Atilola said schools in the books of the bank can access finance for a 90-day tenure at competitive rates compared to the industry benchmark.

“This would be an incentive to school owners as surveys have shown that a large number

of schools have challenges with payment of salaries and for renovation projects when school fees are not fully received.”

The bank’s strategist added that existing and prospective schools can also enjoy free deployment of its eduportal and payment gateway at no cost.

He said the solution provides a platform to integrate the payment of school fees, levies and any other school-related payments. The platform also aids record-keeping and make for seamless day-to-day management of operations in schools.

While the bank offers schools a quick financing solution to purchase textbooks and learning materials from major publishing houses and bookshops such as Learn Africa Plc, Doroena Books and other designated outlets

for the school year, he said schools that open salary accounts for their teachers this season will have their teachers qualify automatically for its personal financial management and other teacher training programmes (for both local and foreign courses) “Under the household equipment finance, teachers with salary accounts will qualify for discounted acquisition of household items with flexible payment plans.

“New and existing ‘I Can Save’ customers who have opened and maintained a balance of N50,000 in their accounts for a minimum 30-day period qualify for freebies and are eligible to coding school summer boot camp and robotics training schools being organised by the bank during the holidays.”

the University of Lagos, Grace School had only primary section.

“I am glad to know that Grace High School has been added to the primary school because it was only the primary school that was in existence when in the early stages of my career, I was a lecturer at the university of Lagos.

She advised the students to embrace information technology as it will help them fit into the modern day economic activities.

The graduation ceremony afforded the school an opportunity to present award to eminent Nigerians who have served the nation meritoriously.

The awardees were the Director, Educational Quality Assurance Agency, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mrs. Ronke Soyombo; the Proprietor, Oxbride Tutorial College, Ikeja Lagos, Dr. Mrs. Olufemi Ogunsanya; Alele Williams; Professor Lawrence Ogini of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; and the Osun State Commissioner of Police.

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EDUCATION

Oloyede on a JAMB Rescue Mission Kunle Akogun The appointment of the immediate past Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Prof. Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede as the new Registrar of the beleaguered Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is heartwarming as it is reassuring. Heartwarming because it is like a Daniel coming to justice; and reassuring because it is an indication that at last the right physician has been found for this critically ailing parastatal.

An erudite Professor of Arabic and the first ever UNILORIN graduate to make a first class degree, Oloyede became a household name during his tenure as the vice-chancellor of the University of Ilorin, having largely succeeded in turning the second generation university into a world class institution. This, he achieved by dint of hard work, resilience, consistency, tenacity of purpose and unparalleled team spirit.

With the inconsistency and policy somersault that the central tertiary institutions admission agency has begun to manifest in recent times, keen watchers and analytical commentators have begun to warn of dire consequences for the nation’s education sector if urgent action was not taken to stem the JAMB slide.

At first, it was the massive dwindling confidence in the entrance examination - the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) - conducted by the body. Such was the waning popularity of JAMB that a consensus of opinions is gradually forming on the need to scrap the body and revert the power to admit candidates back to the respective universities. But then this would have meant a big step backwards and a sad reversal of one of the lofty dreams of the founding fathers of this central admission agency- the dream of forging national unity and cohesion through pluralistic admission exercise.

Oioyede Indeed, no government worth its name would allow such a sad slide. What then is the way out? Look for a credible personage to reverse the glide, of course. And that exactly was what President Muhammadu Buhari did on Monday, August 1 with the appointment of Oloyede, a tested and trusted hand to head JAMB. A stickler for discipline and due process, Oloyede will be bringing his well-known Spartan commitment to set goals to bear on an organisation that critically needs to be salvaged for the benefit of the nation’s educational development. Indeed, this is one of the best appointments Buhari has made so far. Oloyede is a round peg in a round hole. There is no doubt that in no time he will turn around the fortunes of JAMB and reinvent the organisation’s fast dwindling glory!

Since the announcement of the appointment, many commentators have commended the choice of Oloyede, an erudite academic and astute administrator,

NBC Launches Coca-Cola Glass Bottle Contest,Tasks Youths on Creativity The Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC), a member of the Coca-Cola Hellenic Group, recently launched ‘the Coca-Cola Glass Bottle Competition’ at the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH).

The competition, aimed at driving creativity and engagement among youths, was kicked off with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between NBC and YABATECH. The competition entails creating three-dimensional artworks using empty CocaCola 35cl and or 50cl glass bottles; it is conceived to create glass art to celebrate the Coca-Cola Contour Bottle, the most environmentally friendly pack, and a world renowned creative art piece with Nigerian and African related themes.

The competition, which is open to students in the Faculty of Arts, Design and Printing of YABATECH, is a unique way of supporting environmental sustainability, recycling and youth empowerment, while connecting with communities on shared values.

Speaking at the launch, NBC’s Legal, Public Affairs and Communications Director, Mrs. Sade Morgan said: “The Coca-Cola Glass

Bottle Competition will drive youth engagement within the academic environment and create an opportunity for the youths to demonstrate deep creative thinking to produce an art master piece.” She said winners would have the opportunity to exhibit their creative works on global stage.

In her remarks, the Rector of YABATECH, Dr. Margaret Ladipo, said the competition came at an auspicious time when there is need to bridge the gap between industry and the academic environment to produce world-class, self-reliant graduates. She added that the institution was delighted to lead the initiative in Nigeria to drive entrepreneurship among youths.

The Dean, School of Art, Design and Printing, Mr. Festus Ajimoh, commended NBC for starting the competition in YABATECH, adding that the students were privileged to benefit from the unique opportunity.

Ajimoh described the initiative as a remarkable opportunity for the institution to collaborate with NBC and at the same time, motivate students to bring to bear their various talents and creativity.

whose administrative wizardry, during his tenure as vice-chancellor of UNILORIN was largely responsible for the meteoric transformation of the second generation Nigerian university into a world class citadel of learning.

Oloyede’s appointment is a plus for the University of Ilorin with which he has been affiliated since the past 34 years: as a student, lecturer, deputy vice-chancellor and ultimately, vice-chancellor. He is a Unilorite through and through, acknowledged globally as “better by far”, the university has a unique spirit- the spirit of consistency; the spirit of excellence; the spirit of discipline; and indeed the spirit of collective responsibility- that has largely accounted for its success in all aspects of the tripartite mandate of an archetypal institution of higher learning. And Oloyede is one of the harbingers of this positive spirit and a major stakeholder in its blossoming to national and international acclaim.

His tenure at the university (2007-2012) catapulted it to an institutional model for the Nigerian university system. During the period, UNILORIN was ranked among the best in Africa. Also, during his tenure as Chairman of the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCU), public universities in the country regained their voice and institutional autonomy got a remarkable boost. Furthermore, Oloyede championed and expanded the cause of inter-varsity synergy across the African continent when he became the President of the Association of African Universities (AAU).

So, Prof. Peter Okebukola, a former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) was right when he described the new JAMB helmsman as a colossus in the academia and the nation’s education sector. In his media reaction to Oloyede’s appointment, Okebukola noted that he “parades excellent

JCI Donates Classrooms, Learning Materials to Nomadic School Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja To complement the effort of the federal government in attaining twhe fourth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which harps on quality education, the Junior Chamber International (JCI), Abuja Unity has donated a block of two classrooms, learning materials and furniture to L.E.A Nomadic Primary School, Dutse Sokale, Abuja.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, the 2016 President, Mr. Sylvester Oshode, said the rationale behind the intervention, which was done in collaboration with Books and GEMS Initiative, and SAM Empowerment Foundation, was to improve the standard of education at the primary school level.

He said the intervention would improve the standard of early child care education in the school, adding that the pupils of the school would graduate into the primary as better built.

“The reason behind the programme is for us to key into the SDGs goal number four which talks about quality education. We notice there are gaps of facility and learning materials in this school, we came in to do our own quota to better the lot of these children and to improve their learning

condition.”

He explained that JCI identifies the community that is most disadvantaged as the main criteria used in identifying the school where the project would be carried out.

“JCI usually looks for disadvantaged communities to make her impact, we believe that these are people whose plight should be brought to the fore and we are just standing as the middlemen to bring the challenges of this school to the fore.”

Oshode revealed that other school intervention projects the organisation has embarked on this year include, planting of over 100 trees at Government Secondary School, Gwoza, Abuja. Responding, the Headmistress of the school, Mrs. Chinyere Nwayawu, commended the JCI for coming to the rescue of the school at such a critical time.

“They have given us a surprise no one has given us ever since I came as headmistress in this school. It is a timely intervention because the building is abouta to collapse and to the glory of God they came at the nick of time, they renovated and beautified it.

“I am asking for more structures, if they can just give us a block of two classroom it will be more wonderful because some of the children are combined in one class.”

credentials to lead a whole sector like education in Nigeria, hence asking him to head a parastatal in education is like asking a five-star, battle-tested general to quell a fight between two area boys in Ajegunle.”

That is just putting it as bluntly as it could be. For Oloyede’s trajectory is a study in service excellence, administrative acumen, religious commitment to the achievement of set goals, and unapologetic insistence on fairness for all.

Such is the stuff that this Advisory Board member of the International Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA) is made of. His appointment is an opportunity to sanitise the nation’s education system, especially the often controversy-laden admission system of the tertiary sector. It is hoped that from now on, JAMB will not be the same again!

Another UNILORIN don, an erudite Professor of Library Science, Lenrie Olatokunbo Aina, was also named, on the same day, the new Head of the National Library of Nigeria. Aina, who is the immediate past Dean of the University’s Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences, is another rare breed of an academic. He is another full-blooded Unilorite in deed and in truth.

Everybody who has worked with him can testify to Aina’s erudition and expertise, especially when matters bibliographical are in discourse.

A quite unassuming personality, Aina is bringing to the National Library of Nigeria over four decades of experience in librarianship. He is another round peg in a round hole. There is no doubt that he will make a positive mark in his new appointment.

We congratulate the duo on their welldeserved appointments and wish them all the best in their new positions.

Akogun is the Head, Corporate Affairs, University of Ilorin

Invest Positively in Education, Nigerians Told Leaders in authority, especially members of the political class have been urged to adequately invest in the education sector and to create a level playing ground for sound education, regular functional counselling to fast-tract the goals and meaningful realisation of such objectives and expectations on the youths.

Parents and guardians have also been urged not to abandon their responsibilities to teachers and the society, but to strive at all times to complement their efforts through regular and impromptu visits to their institutions to stimulate their efforts, as well as to join notable NGOs and other viable public spirited organisations to mould their children’s future.

The Principal, International School, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Mrs. Adora Emily Ojo, made this known while receiving a former principal of the school, Mrs. Olusola Peters, who on behalf of her daughter, Mrs. Idowu Olufunke Offokansi, a 1988 graduate of the school and a London-based SAP consultant, a counsellor and publisher of an audio-visual book titled ‘Can Do’, donated the books to the school to give back to her alma mater The publisher and author of the book, which is a collection of inspirational guotes for teens and young adults, has a passion for helping youths, hence her donation of the book to the

school.

In her lecture, the donor’s mother charged the students to pursue their career with zeal, regardless of whatever challenges in their respective career as “no gain is achieved without pain.”

Peters assured the society and nation of a bright future, provided such children’s pursuits are tailored in the path of God with regular counselling, financial and moral discipline and empowerment of the parents and the children.

She appealed to the leaders in authority to revamp the present obsolete socio-economic infrastructure to propel the children’s dogged strides for a better, secured tomorrow, “where no man is oppressed.”

Responding, Ojo expressed the school’s gratitude to God and the donor’s immediate and extended family members.

She reiterated the need for students, parents and guidance to be disciplined, adhere to the dictates of God and to make the society better than they met it.

She also advised the students against irresponsible peers in the society and urged them to adhere strictly to the wise counsel of their parents, excel in their educational and moral pursuits that they would not only be proud of, as well as to give back to the school. She also urged them to strive to be worthy role models like the donor and her family.

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CITYSTRINGS

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

Fighting Crime in Ebonyi

BenjaminNworiewritesthattheoutstandingdispositionofthesecondfemaleCommissioner of Police in Ebonyi State, Peace Ibekwe Abdallah, has contributed immensely to the relative peace witnessed in the state

A

little peep into the history of Ebonyi State would showcase the vestiges of stigma etched on the psyche of the people plagued by age-long deprivation and marginalisation from the old East Central state. These undue hardship and abject poverty culminated to the aggressive history of Ebonyi man or woman. A state under selfimposed curfew. As early as 6pm, residents are already rushing home, after the day’s job.

Ebonyi, comprising 13 local government areas with about 260 communities has pockets of crises, majorly hinged on land and boundary disputes, kidnapping and cultism.

However, the contributions of the Ebonyi State Police Command in ensuring adequate security of lives and property cannot be over emphasised. With the appointment of Ibrahim Kpotum Idris, as the Acting Inspector-General, there’s high expectation that if his policy thrust is actualised, it would have addressed perennial issues and challenges in the state.

Yet, the strength of officers in the above cadres of rank is a serious constraint to the command with about 3, 815 police officers providing security for close to three million people.

Many commissioners of Police have taken the mantle of leadership in the command with their various impacts and legacies but the emergence of CP Peace Ibekwe Abdallah has raised more hopes and expectations in conformity with the dream of Ebonyi founding fathers.

Due to her outstanding disposition and hard work, the state governor, David Umahi extended his street lights project in and around the command, awarded the construction of internal roads in the command, fencing of police divisions, and supply of water in the command.

Apart from her core security mandate, Abdallah has penchant for great things. On assumption, she quickly transformed the Police Officers’ Mess and made it so befitting for relaxation and refreshment.

As she heads to one year in office, observers contended that she came to Ebonyi, saw all these glaring challenges and was on the fast lane to conquer and the people are very happy to have her and appreciative of her giant strides at this time. First, she instilled discipline,integrity and dignity of officers in the command and restored confidence in the people.

She promised to uphold the IG’s policy thrust and ensure that his mission and vision

Since coming on board as the Commissioner of Police in Ebonyi in September, 2015, the state has witnessed uncommon peace and drastic reduction in the crime wave. This feat wouldn't have been so if not for the new initiatives and crime control strategies deployed by the Police Commissioner to confront crimes and criminality in the state

CP Peace Ibekwe Abdallah…fighting crime to a standstill in Ebonyi State

in his new seat are actualised. She noted that the IG’s templates are issues of serious concerns to the Force that if actualised with team spirit, no doubt, would reposition the Nigeria Police Force.

“I assure you that we will follow the IG’s policy thrust and vision to fruition because it’s

apt and cogent in the total restructuring and repositioning of the Nigeria Police Force. The IG has exhibited wisdom and preparedness to take the nation’s security apparatus so highly and I am confident that he will make Nigerians proud at this critical period in our nationhood.”

Since coming on board as the Commissioner of Police in Ebonyi in September, 2015, the state has witnessed uncommon peace and drastic reduction in the crime wave. This feat wouldn't have been so if not for the new initiatives and crime control strategies deployed by the

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CITYSTRINGS Police Commissioner to confront crimes and criminality in the state.

Her emergence has been quite revealing and moments to appraise the efficiency of the amazon in her security job. Not only that the Police has kept surveillance, it is the first time that residents have the latitude of confidence to freely move and stay late night without being victims of men of the underworld. Not only that crimes and criminality have reduced, her social integration is marvelous and communities have imbued confidence in the police for robust partnership and community policing.

Few weeks after she assumed office, the CP embarked on tour of sister security agencies in the state to seek partnership and harmonious working relationship. These visits, observers noted must have curbed the incessant security clash in the state. After that, she visited all the Police divisions, community leaders, women groups, organisations to ensure team spirit, as security job is a collective responsibility of everybody, not for an individual or group.

Abdallah also expressed confidence that stronger relationship established between the state Police Command and other security agencies as well as stakeholders has contributed immensely to success recorded in all frontiers of crime fighting. All residents can now sleep with their two eyes closed.

As a second female commissioner of the command, and may be the only female serving CP in the federation, Ibekwe Abdallah has imbued professionalism and paid strict adherence to rule of law and other guiding principles in the discharge of her official responsibilities.

On the saddle, she has conquered most of her policy thrust.

Testimonies abound that Abdallah is the first of its kind in the history of the Ebonyi State Police Command. The state governor, Umahi described her as a special gift from God to Ebonyi people. While the Command’s spokesman, DSP George Okafor described her as a “woman of substance”. The Okada union described her as most-friendly CP, with a title “Nne Oma” (Good mother).

The Assistant Commissioner of Police incharge of Administration, ACP Adewale, said Abdallah has sowed a seed that would leave an imprint in the sands of time both in the security job and human relations in the state.

These glowing encomiums indicate robust harmonious working relationship among the files and ranks in the command, especially the principal officers.

Interestingly the two initiatives- Show of Force and Walk Down Crime strategies adjudged to be the first of its kind since the history of the Ebonyi State Police Command were brains behind relative peace and near free-crime in the state. The routine patrol and surveillance in all the nooks and crannies of the state, especially the metropolis has also contributed to the low crime rate. This, she noted would be intensified to accommodate early morning to ensure round the clock surveillance and monitoring.

No doubt, the outcome of her lofty initiatives may have been responsible for the drop of crimes and criminality in the state, although she has consistently warned criminals to relocate from the state. The import of the Show of Force and Walk Down Crime was to ensure that her men are strong, ready and prepared to combat crimes, which was also subject to be reviewed quarterly. “Even a dare-devil criminal will not stand during the

The routine patrol and surveillance in all the nooks and crannies of the state, especially the metropolis has also contributed to the low crime rate. This, she noted would be intensified to accommodate early morning to ensure round the clock surveillance and monitoring

L-R: PPRO, George Okafor, forner AC DOPs, Falaye; CP Peace Ibekwe Abdallah (middle) and former Area Commander Abakaliki, Mathew Akinyosola

CP Peace Ibekwe Abdallah (middle) and other security officers during an operation

Show of Force. We will intensify it to include early morning from 5:30 am to 7:30 am in case of any eventuality,” the CP said.

In this “mber months” and last quarter, she noted that the command would review the activities of the last quarters and appraise its performance and tinker the way forward. In the next quarter, some local governments have been identified as flash points. They include: Ezza North, Ezza south, Ohaukwu, Ishielu.

According to the CP, it would no longer be ceremonial like her initial tours, where community leaders and groups were assembled in a “village square” for sensitisation and awareness campaigns. For the above identified council areas and some other communities where there are pockets of crimes and crises, it would be house-to-house approach, to talk to the people and those concerned, not all-comers affairs. The people will be free to air their

views and problems. The idea is to identify the victims and talk to them directly and reorient them on the need for peaceful coexistence and community policing.

Another source of worry and concern is the quarry. In Ebonyi, the only industry and lucrative business is the quarry industry. The use of explosives is a major threat, the CP has identified to deal with, at least to enforce strict adherence to the enabling laws on its usage.

The fear is eventual misuse of the explosives for other negative missions by further transforming it for other purpose at the influence of technological advancements.

She underscores the urgent need to poke nose into the operation of quarries in the state and ensure strict adherence to the law on storage and use of explosives. “We need to know how the explosives are stored and used. Whether the enabling laws on the use

of explosives are complied with. It may not pose any problem today but with the security situation in the country, nothing will be treated with triviality. Of course, they have union. We will meet with them and ensure everything works in accordance with the law,” she stressed.

Abdallah noted that the downward trend in crime experienced in the state can be attributed to policing strategies employed by the command, which extended beyond traditional reactive models of responding to distress calls to intensive crime prevention activities.

She therefore solicited for the cooperation of all individuals in volunteering useful information that would help the command in crushing and flushing out undesirable elements in the society, as the identity of such person would be treated with utmost confidentiality.

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WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016 • T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

Five Malian Soldiers Missing After Militant Attack Five soldiers are missing after clashes with militants in central Mali at the weekend, military officials said yesterday, in the latest in a string of attacks on army and U.N. forces claimed by the Islamist group Ansar Dine.

Fighting broke out near the village of Tenenkou in the Mopti region on Sunday afternoon and continued into Monday, army spokesman Souleymane Maiga said. Defense ministry spokesman Diarran Kone said five soldiers had disappeared,

one other was injured, and vehicles were lost in the clashes.

In a statement posted online, Ansar Dine said it had ambushed the Malian army, killing and wounding soldiers and looting weapons and vehicles, according to SITE Intelligence Group. Ansar Dine claimed an attack in July on an army base that left 17 soldiers dead and six missing. It later released a video of five Malian soldiers it said it had taken prisoner in the raid, according to SITE. The group also claimed

responsibility for several attacks on vehicles that killed a U.N. peacekeeper and injured five others on Friday and Sunday.

Islamist militant groups took advantage of an ethnic Tuareg uprising in 2012 to seize northern Mali before a French-led intervention drove them back a year later.

The United Nations has deployed an 11,000-strong peacekeeping force, but the militants have reorganized and launched frequent attacks across Mali and its neighbours.

Under Fire, US Soldiers in Afghanistan Abandoned Equipment American soldiers helping Afghan troops fight Islamic State militants in Afghanistan were forced to abandon sensitive equipment and weapons when their position came under fire, a U.S. military official said yesterday.

Islamic State fighters recently circulated photos of a rocket launcher, grenades, ammunition, identification cards, and an encrypted radio among other equipment that they said they had seized. U.S. military spokesman General Charles Cleveland denied that any American positions or personnel were overrun.

“We have been able to determine that the I.D. card and most of the pictured equipment was lost during recent operations in southern

Nangarhar,” he said in a statement, referring to an eastern province. The soldiers at the time had established a location to handle casualties, which is a routine step in any operation, Cleveland said.

At one point, the location came under “effective enemy fire” and the soldiers were forced to move to a safer position, he said. “In the course of moving the (casualty collection point) to a safe location, some equipment was left behind,” Cleveland said.

“For understandable reasons, the lives of soldiers were not put at risk to recover the equipment.”

U.S. troops and aircraft have been taking a more active role in a recent operation against Islamic State militants after U.S. President Barack Obama

authorized more military support for the Afghan government.

In July, U.S. commanders said at least five special forces were wounded in fighting Islamic State in Nangarhar.

The website that published the photos speculated that the equipment and weapons were left behind during that engagement, but Cleveland said he would not comment on any specific injuries to “protect the privacy of those involved”.

Despite the sensitive nature of some of the equipment, Cleveland said he did not expect there would be“any measurable operational impact” from the loss. “The loss of any equipment is regrettable, but no equipment is worth undue risk to those involved,” he said.

Protests in Kosovo Ahead of Parliament’s Vote on Border Deal A lawmaker opened a tear gas canister in Kosovo’s parliament and protesters hurled stones in the capital yesterday ahead of a vote on a deal to demarcate its border with Montenegro as the last hurdle to obtaining visa-free access to the European Union.

There have been violent protests in Kosovo for the last 10 months against reforms including this proposal, which the opposition says is illegal and would lose Kosovo 8,000 hectares of territory.

Local media cited officials as saying parliament may vote on the border deal on Thursday. The opposition has threatened to stop the vote by all means. Driton Caushi, a member of the largest opposition party, opened the tear

gas canister during a meeting of a parliamentary committee. There have been similar acts by other opposition MPs inside parliament in recent months.

“As long as there will be a criminal government in Kosovo that betrays the national interests, no one should hope that opposition resistance will be over,” Caushi said as he was handcuffed and led away by police.

Washington and the European Union, who were the biggest supporters of Kosovo’s independence, deny Kosovo would lose land as the opposition claims and say the deal with Montenegro is in line with international and local law.

Kosovo is well behind regional neighbours Serbia, Albania,

Montenegro, Macedonia and Bosnia, who obtained visa-free access to the EU’s border-free Schengen zone in 2010.

But opposition to the border deal has been fierce in Kosovo, a small state of 1.8 million, and tensions have been exacerbated by an EU-brokered accord with Serbia giving more autonomy to Serb-dominated municipalities.

Kosovo declared independence in 2008, nearly a decade after NATO air strikes drove out Serbian security forces accused of killing and expelling ethnic Albanian civilians during a counter-insurgency war. Kosovo’s independence is now recognized by more than 110 countries, though not by Serbia.

Putin Tells Erdogan He Hopes Ankara Can Restore Order Russian President, Vladimir Putin, told his visiting Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan he hoped Ankara could fully restore order after a failed military coup last month, saying on Tuesday that Moscow always opposed unconstitutional actions.

Erdogan’s trip to Russia comes as Turkey’s relations with Europe and the United States are strained by what Ankara sees as Western concern about how it handled the

abortive coup, in which more than 240 people were killed.

Putin, one of the first to call the Turkish leader to offer his support in the putsch’s aftermath, has positioned himself as a reliable ally even though ties between Moscow and Ankara were thrown into crisis by Turkey shooting down a Russian military jet near the Syrian border late last year.

Welcoming Erdogan in aTsarist-era palace just outside his home town,

Putin signalled on Tuesday he was ready to improve relations withTurkey, which he said had gone from a historical high point to a very low level.

“Your visit today, which you made despite the really complex domestic political situation in Turkey, shows we all want to restart our dialogue and restore our relations,” said Putin, in preliminary remarks before the two men held talks.

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BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Report Highlights Trends, Future of Financial Services in Nigeria Obinna Chima The disruptive effects of technology on the financial services landscape, the transformation in financial reporting brought about by the International Financial Reporting Standards 9 (IFRS9), will impact the financial services industry in Nigeria, a report has stated.

The latest edition of PwC Nigeria’s Financial Focus, a journal of Financial Services in Nigeria, also highlighted factors shaping the future of the pensions industry in Nigeria and the tax issues as factors that would define the future and trend of banking going forward. The third edition of the annual journal released recently in Lagos, featured insights by subject matter specialists across the various fields covered and is a product of the firm’s in depth understanding and knowledge of the industry, gathered from many years of operating in this market and supporting some of the biggest financial institutions in the country.

The journal explored in detail, how FinTech startups and alternative finance solutions are encroaching upon established markets. This, the journal noted

is the most creative force – and also the most destructive – in the financial services ecosystem today with huge implications for industry players.

Also of critical importance to banks was the IFRS9 reporting standard , which is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 2018. The expected challenges of the standard and best practice for its implementation were also discussed in detail.

The current difficult macroeconomic conditions being experienced in the country following the protracted uncertainties around global oil prices was another issue explored in the journal. The various possible scenarios for the economy and what companies can do to survive was discussed while the use of restructuring to preserve value which is especially essential in these times, was also discussed. In addition, ways financial institutions can improve the operational effectiveness of tax functions in order to ensure their survival as well as other tax issues that can cost the industry a lot of money were also explored in the journal.

The Partner and Financial

Services Leader for PwC Nigeria, Patrick Obianwa explained: “This third edition of our Nigeria Financial Services journal gives a good understanding of current trends in the financial services sector in Nigeria while presenting a glimpse of what is to come. Technology is having a disproportionate effect on the financial industry.

“By 2020, consumers will need banking services, but they may not turn to a bank to get them.

Or, at least, maybe not in the form we know it today. This is where things are headed and players in Nigeria must begin to prepare and shape their business models accordingly. We have also explored survival strategies in this economy, the future of the pensions industry in Nigeria and how banks can go about implementing the changes IFRS9 brings. “The future is already taking shape and companies who will succeed are those who make the right changes to realign their business and ride the storm. We hope that the high quality articles in this publication will equip readers with the information they need to stay ahead of the pack especially in these very challenging and uncertain times.

Access Bank Upgrades its Digital Solution, PayWithCapture Determined to make its digital banking application fast, convenient and hassle-free, Access Bank Plc has refreshed the revolutionary lifestyle solution, PayWithCapture to a more illimitable version.

The latest version, PayWithCapture 5.0, according to a statement from the bank yesterday, comes with additional features that enable customers to transfer funds from any bank account (one or more) to any bank account or phone number and email addresses.

PayWithCapture 5.0 has also expanded to the web for users to experience the many benefits on larger screens. It also offers a USSD service *901# that allows users to carry out most of the

listed functions without the need to access the internet, the bank added. “PayWithCapture 5.0 users can, still enjoy the success of QR code scanning for payments but with the added ability to make transfers to bank accounts, phone numbers and email addresses. Users can also set up a savings club through PayWithCapture. Savings Clubs, commonly known as Ajo or Esusu enable them save jointly with friends towards a common goal as the funds can be pooled and rotated among all members of the group or pooled and given to one person,” it added.

The Head of Digital Banking at Access Bank, Adeleke Adekoya explained: “We heard about the issues and complaints

our customers had on the old app. With this new version, we’ve tried to resolve them all” According to him, the latest version has extended beyond simply scanning QR-Codes to pay for transactions to allowing customers experience banking in a way that feels as personal as they want it to be.”

Another key feature of the upgrade, according to Adekoya was the introduction of the PayWithCapture Titanium Card.

“Simply request for the card on PayWithCapture, then transfer funds from payment methods linked to your account and you can use your PayWithCapture debit card anywhere around the world you see the MasterCard sign,” he added.

Banking hall

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

The pound fell below $1.30 for the first time in almost a month as investors prepared for data that will give further clues on the state of the U.K. economy in the wake of the decision to quit the European Union Britain’s currency dropped for a fifth day and ceded ground to all of its 16 major peers amid speculation the reports, due next week, will show an economy reeling from the Brexit vote on June 23. Sterling is suffering its longest losing streak since May after the Bank of England cut interest rates for the first time since 2009 in its Aug. 4 policy announcement, while exceeding economists’ expectations on quantitative easing.

According to Bloomberg, the pound was depressed further after BOE policy maker Ian McCafferty warned in The Times newspaper on Tuesday that further rate reductions and

QE may be required. That’s all the more surprising because as recently as January, he was voting to raise rates.

“Investors are gradually coming to realize that the Bank of England is going to cut this year -- that’s going to be negative for the currency,” said Charles St-Arnaud, a senior economist at Nomura International Plc in London. “That should have been already priced in. So the question becomes, how much more negative can we get for the pound without any more bad news?” The pound fell 0.3 percent to $1.2999 as of 2:28 p.m. in New York, slipping below $1.30 for the first time since July 12. Sterling is in its longest stretch of declines since May 9 and has dropped 1.8 percent this month, the worst performance among major currencies.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was down 0.3 percent

after four days of gains driven by the Federal Reserve being the only major central bank considering tighter monetary policy. The chance of a U.S. rate increase this year has climbed to almost 50 percent, futures prices compiled by Bloomberg suggest.

The prospect was buoyed by Friday’s stronger-than-predicted U.S. payrolls report.

U.K. inflation and employment figures for July, key indicators for how Britain’s economy is faring post-Brexit, will follow data that have already shown contractions in services and construction as well as consumer confidence.

McCafferty opted to increase borrowing costs in the six BOE meetings from August 2015.

While he was in favor of the rate cut at the Monetary Policy Committee gathering last week, he was one of three officials to vote against more QE.

• Source - CBN

MANAGED FUNDS Initial Price (N) Stanbic Balanced Fund

Pound Tumbles as Traders await More Brexit Bad News

(MILLION NAIRA)

MARCH 2016

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 8, AUG 2016 The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $41.10 a barrel on Monday, compared with $40.08 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), Rabi Light (Gabon), 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

47

T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016

Nigeria’s top 50 stocks based on market fundamentals

8-Aug-16

5-Aug-16

% Change

Capitalisation

EPS

P/E

P/S

Div. Yld

Price/ Book Value

Table 1 Market Statistics Mkt Indicators

Open 5-Aug-16

NSE All Share Index NSE Market Cap (N'Trillion)

27,425.86 9.42

27,394.98 9.41

-0.11 -0.11

113.55 8.84

113.01 8.80

-0.48 -0.48

01 Dangote Cement Plc

180.00

180.00

0.00%

3,067,291,332,900.00

9.56

19.14

5.76

4.44%

4.51

02 Nigerian Breweries Plc

130.00

133.03

-2.28%

1,030,783,115,440.00

4.50

30.03

3.57

2.71%

6.48

03 Guaranty Trust Bank Plc

23.95

23.11

3.63%

704,876,742,414.80

3.38

7.07

2.36

7.66%

1.57

820.00

820.00

0.00%

649,978,126,640.00

19.41

42.25

3.92

3.54%

18.48

05 Zenith Bank Plc

16.01

16.03

-0.12%

502,657,865,513.86

3.33

4.91

1.23

11.23%

0.81

06 Lafarge Africa Plc

51.50

51.15

0.68%

234,577,443,215.00

-6.71

-7.69

1.06

5.87%

1.66

166.82

166.82

0.00%

217,279,897,602.46

4.22

39.53

1.47

2.07%

5.07

11.54

11.82

-2.37%

211,753,821,021.10

0.23

53.54

0.42

5.25%

0.36

4.55

4.51

0.89%

165,071,844,765.10

1.65

2.80

0.53

13.30%

0.47

10 Presco Plc

38.85

38.85

0.00%

154,253,033,198.25

0.86

44.96

2.18

3.35%

3.59

11 Guinness Nig Plc

95.00

95.00

0.00%

143,059,377,860.00

3.70

25.69

1.27

0.00%

3.22

250.00

242.60

3.05%

138,327,578,250.00 -14.43

-17.70

1.51

6.56%

0.36

Table 4 Top 5 Losers

13 Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc

13.30

13.90

-4.32%

133,000,000,000.00

2.04

6.78

1.17

0.72%

1.24

Stock

14 Unilever Nigeria Plc

35.00

35.00

0.00%

132,415,368,750.00

0.46

75.69

2.17

0.14%

14.87

15 Access Bank Plc

5.60

5.48

2.19%

128,144,345,884.80

2.48

2.26

0.48

10.04%

0.41

16 FBN Holdings Plc

3.29

3.30

-0.30%

118,095,513,285.68

0.30

10.92

0.24

4.55%

0.19

17 Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc

6.98

6.65

4.96%

83,760,000,000.00

1.05

6.33

0.66

7.52%

1.34

18 Total Nigeria Plc

229.95

242.02

-4.99%

78,073,046,418.15

31.13

7.15

0.31

5.78%

3.89

19 7-Up Bottling Comp. Plc

119.50

120.20

-0.58%

76,550,548,378.50

11.12

11.36

1.04

1.83%

3.21

5.70

5.88

-3.06%

68,597,327,695.80

-3.46

-1.60

0.36

12.76%

0.51

178.60

178.60

0.00%

64,402,313,793.20

17.69

9.62

0.74

4.03%

3.75

22 Julius Berger Nig. Plc

48.39

48.39

0.00%

63,874,800,000.00

0.24

199.88

0.62

3.10%

2.85

23 International Breweries Plc

19.00

19.00

0.00%

62,590,736,320.00

0.17

105.36

2.43

1.32%

5.07

24 Flour Mills Nig. Plc

20.00

21.98

-9.01%

52,484,743,740.00

6.81

2.94

0.14

9.10%

0.58

1.24

1.24

0.00%

48,014,036,807.00

-0.37

-3.22

1.03

0.00%

0.63

20.00

20.00

0.00%

38,417,287,740.00

2.44

8.20

0.53

5.00%

0.52

1.28

1.28

0.00%

36,851,735,201.28

0.31

4.15

0.35

7.03%

0.44

28 Okomu Oil Palm Plc

35.00

35.00

0.00%

33,386,850,000.00

4.60

7.62

2.72

0.29%

2.15

29 Diamond Bank Plc

1.37

1.37

0.00%

31,729,732,886.16

0.11

13.68

0.17

0.00%

0.14

30 Fidelity Bank Plc

1.05

1.05

0.00%

30,423,536,874.15

0.39

2.77

0.22

15.24%

0.17

31 Wema Bank Plc

0.70

0.70

0.00%

27,641,861,249.10

0.06

11.93

0.61

0.00%

0.57

32 FCMB Group Plc

1.34

1.27

5.51%

26,535,632,410.36

0.61

2.09

0.16

7.87%

0.14

33 Cadbury Nigeria Plc

13.90

13.90

0.00%

26,107,008,356.00

3.21

4.33

0.78

9.35%

2.52

34 Cap Plc

37.00

37.00

0.00%

25,900,000,000.00

2.49

14.89

3.67

3.11%

17.04

35 Custodian And Allied Insurance Plc

3.80

3.99

-4.76%

22,351,083,941.00

0.76

5.25

0.70

3.51%

0.84

36 Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig. Plc

18.50

18.50

0.00%

22,123,715,028.00

-2.54

-7.28

0.76

1.62%

2.42

37 Mansard Insurance Plc

2.10

2.09

0.48%

22,050,000,000.00

0.27

7.55

1.12

2.39%

1.04

38 National Salt Co. Nig. Plc

8.06

8.06

0.00%

21,354,473,326.68

0.89

9.03

1.17

6.82%

3.09

39 PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc

19.55

19.55

0.00%

19,550,000,000.00

4.14

4.72

1.47

0.51%

0.59

40 Honeywell Flour Mill Plc

1.52

1.59

-4.40%

12,053,900,440.16

-0.40

-3.76

0.25

10.06%

0.77

41 Unity Bank Plc

0.99

0.99

0.00%

11,572,444,562.58

0.54

1.82

0.18

0.00%

0.13

42 Continental Reinsurance Plc

1.02

1.00

2.00%

10,580,199,198.24

0.33

2.95

0.49

12.00%

0.54

43 Skye Bank Plc

0.68

0.70

-2.86%

9,438,604,958.80

-2.93

-0.24

0.06

42.86%

0.09

44 Cement Co. Of North.Nig. Plc

6.60

6.65

-0.75%

8,294,073,255.60

0.96

6.61

0.61

1.50%

0.82

45 Wapic Insurance Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

6,691,369,124.00

0.11

5.16

0.94

6.00%

0.43

46 Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc

4.00

4.00

0.00%

6,496,875,000.00

0.15

25.94

0.81

5.00%

1.05

47 UACN Property Development Co. Limited

3.72

3.72

0.00%

6,393,749,981.40

-0.05

-68.09

1.81

18.82%

0.18

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

0.71

0.68

4.41%

4,920,445,180.80

0.28

2.42

0.14

7.35%

0.49

50 Fidson Healthcare Plc

1.95

1.95

0.00%

2,925,000,000.00

0.31

6.36

0.43

2.56%

0.46

04 Nestle Nigeria Plc

07 Forte Oil Plc. 08 Ecobank Transnational Incorporated 09 United Bank for Africa Plc

12 Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd

20 Oando Plc 21 Mobil Oil Nig Plc

25 Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc 26 U A C N Plc 27 Sterling Bank Plc

TOTAL

8,799,367,404,810.01

TOTAL MARKET CAP

9,408,790,941,936.79

% OF MARKET CAP Annotation - MA* = Simple Moving Average

93.52%

Thisday BGL 50 Index Thisday BGL 50 Market Cap (N'Trillion)

Close 8-Aug-16

Change %

Table 3 Top 5 Gainers Stock

Open 5-Aug-16

FCMB Group Plc Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc AIICO Insurance Plc Guaranty Trust Bank Plc Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd

1.27 6.65 0.68 23.11 242.60

Open 5-Aug-16

Flour Mills Nig. Plc Total Nigeria Plc Custodian And Allied Insurance Plc Honeywell Flour Mill Plc Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc

Close Change 8-Aug-16 % 1.34 6.98 0.71 23.95 250.00

5.51 4.96 4.41 3.63 3.05

Close Change 8-Aug-16 %

21.98 242.02 3.99

20.00 229.95 3.80

-9.01 -4.99 -4.76

1.59 13.90

1.52 13.30

-4.40 -4.32

Market begins week on a bearish note as Index drops 0.11% Market pulse on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today – Monday, August 8, 2016 closed on a negative note due to intense sell presuure. This was further highlighted by negative performances from the NSE sub-sectors: Oil & Gas and Consumer Goods (Save Banking and Insurance).

Trading activities decreased in volume as 118.37 million shares worth N1.27 billion in 2,899 deals exchanged hands today. This is a decrease from the 120.84 million shares worth N1.27 billion in 3,307 deals exchanged on Friday. Topping in volume terms was Access Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc and FBNH Plc while 7UP Bottling Company Plc and Zenith Bank Plc ended trading as the most active stocks in value terms.

The All Share Index (NSEASI) closed negative with a 0.11% (-30.88) decrease to close at 27,394.98 from 27,425.86 the previous trading day. Market Capitalization depreciated in tandem to N9.41 trillion from N9.42 trillion of prior trading day.

Similarly, the Thisday BGL 50 Index also followed suit with a decrease of 0.48% to close at 113.01 from 113.55 recorded at the end of the previous trading day, while its market capitalization stood at N8.80 trillion from N8.84 trillion of the previous trading day.

A total number of 15 stocks gained on the bourse today while 18 stocks declined, 59 leaving stocks unchanged. FCMB Group Plc emerged the day’s toast of investors as it topped the Thisday BGL 50 Index gainers’ list with a gain of 5.51% to close at N1.34 per share. It was followed by Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc with a gain of 4.96% to close at N6.98 per share. Others on the gainers list include: AIICO Insurance Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd while on the decliners’ list; Flour Mills Nig. Plc led with a loss of 9.01% to close at N20.00 per share. It was followed by Total Nigeria Plc with a loss of 4.99% to close at N229.95 per share. Others on the losers list include: Custodian And Allied Insurance Plc, Honeywell Flour Mill Plc and Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc. REQUIRED DISCLOSURE This report has been prepared by BGL Plc. BGL Plc does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should use this report as one of many other factors in making their investment decisions.

For more details go to www.thisdaylive.com

48

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10 , 2016

MARKET NEWS

A.G Leventis Eyes Fresh Capital to Boost Operations Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie A.G Leventis (Nigeria) Plc is to inject fresh funds into its operations as part of its revival strategies. The Executive Vice Chairman of A.G Leventis, Mr. Michael Economakis stated this yesterday, while speaking at the ‘Facts behind the figures’ presentation ceremony at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

According to him, with the funds, the company would be turned around and deliver better returns to shareholders, disclosing that the company was already discussing with foreign investors.

“We are discussing with foreign investors, hopefully there will be capital inflow very soon. This capital inflow will assist us in having better cash flow, there will be reduction in our cost of fund and we will

T H E MAIN BOARD

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

be able to expand our products portfolio,” he said.

He said the new capital will assist the company to expand its product portfolio in some rich products with a potential long term technical service partnership with Pick n Pay, one of the two retailers in South Africa.

Commenting on strategic priorities of the company, Economakis said fast moving consumer goods, automobile,

N I G E R I A N QUANTITY TRADED

agriculture and real estate are major area the company will develop going forward.

He disclosed that on automobile, the company commenced production of vehicles from mid-2015 and would expand it plant to assemble for other distributors in the region.

Economakis added that AG Leventis is looking at the large scale farming in Nigeria that would lead the company to backward integration in

STO C K

VALUE TRADED ( N )

agriculture.

Speaking on the half year financial results of the company, Head of Finance, AG Leventis, Olugbenga Kasomo said cost of materials, foreign exchange crises as major problems that affected the performance of the company.

The company ended the half year with a revenue of N6.442 billion in 2016, up from N5.936 billion in the corresponding of 2015.

Cost of sales rose by 24 per cent from N4.266 billion to N5.274 billion, while total operational expenses increased by 12 per cent from N1.269 billion to N1.425 billion in 2016.

Consequently, the company ended the period with a loss of N494 million.

Meanwhile, the bearish trend persisted yesterday with the NSE All-Share Index, shedding 0.45 per cent to close at 27,272.14.

E XC H A N G E

MAIN BOARD

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

DAILY STOCK MARKET REPORT

Daily Summary as of 22/02/2016 Printed 22/02/2016 14:36:10.010

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

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

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 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

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016

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WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016 • T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

A’Ibom Governor Meets Buhari over Insecurity in Niger Delta New militia group emerges in N’Delta, vows to make a ‘loud statement’ soon

Tobi Soniyi in Abuja and Omon-Julius OnabuinAsaba Akwa Ibom State Governor, Emmanuel Udom, yesterday met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja.

The visit coincided with the emergence of new militia group in the region with the name, ‘Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate.’

Although, the governor refused to admit that he discussed the issue of security in the Niger Delta with the president, there were indications that the governor’s visit was in connection with the restiveness in the zone.

Udom told State House correspondents after the meeting that they discussed generally about the welfare of Nigerians.

Asked why he visited the president, Udom said: “I am still serving a state and the state is within the country and the president is the father of the country. I think it is part of my responsibility to let the president know, from time to time, how things are being done and how we are faring. We discussed some

issues bordering on security and unfortunately, everything discussed under security is covered.”

On whether he made any specific request from Buhari, the governor said: “Not really a request but feedback. At times feedback could be even very effective than request. Because feedback is necessary for further actions and the rest of things you want to do.

“But I also want to use this platform as well to say that we are all running one project which is project Nigeria. If we are running project Nigeria, all hands must be on deck to move the country to the level we all expect and dream of. I think that that is the essence of the whole thing. And keep letting everybody know that at this point, everybody must join hands together to work for the country and see what we can do both from the state to the federal government level to at least support the vision of making Nigeria reach where we want it to be.”

On restiveness in the Niger Delta, he said: “Well, I don’t know whether you want me to redefine that word ‘restiveness’ but permitive to also say, you

UN: Failure to Help Farmers in North-east Could Open Door to Radicalisation Zacheaus Somorin with agency reports

Farmers in Nigeria’s crisis-hit North-east region urgently need help to start growing crops again, the United Nations food agency said yesterday, warning that a failure to get people back on their feet could open the door to radicalisation.

Insurgency by Boko Haram militants in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States has disrupted fishing, farming, cattle breeding and trade routes after violence worsened in 2012.

Government forces retook territory from the insurgents last year, although attacks continued.

The improved situation has allowed aid agencies to reach more of the seven million people who need aid, including three million experiencing severe food shortages. But failure to rebuild the rural economy and boost job opportunities could result in youths frustration and continued violence in the region, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said, according to Reuters.

“If you miss the opportunity, you perpetuate the need for food assistance. You create dependency,” Dominique Burgeon, Director of FAO’s emergency and rehabilitation division, told Reuters. “If you create frustration, you leave the door open to all sorts of discontent including radicalisation and enrolment into armed groups.”

The United Nations and medical charity Medecins

Sans Frontieres warned last month that nearly 250,000 children in Borno State alone were suffering life-threatening malnourishment, and many were dying.

Aid agencies now have “a critical opportunity to tackle the alarming levels of food insecurity in North-east Nigeria,” Tim Vaessen, FAO’s emergency and response manager in Nigeria, said in a statement.

FAO has already distributed seeds to some 120,000 farmers to grow crops during the rainy season. Their harvest is expected in September and experts hope it will provide families with enough food for up to 10 months. The UN agency now wants to reach 385,000 farmers who can grow crops on land that can be irrigated during the current dry weather.

About nine million people are in need of aid across the Lake Chad region, comprising Nigeria, Chad, Cameroun and Niger. Late last month, UN humanitarian aid chief Stephen O’Brien, told the Security Council: “What we have uncovered and assessed is deeply, distressingly alarming, even for those of us who have witnessed such depths of humanitarian need before.”

He warned that the lean season - the period between harvests - which puts millions in the Lake Chad region at risk of hunger and malnutrition each year, had already begun, making the need for aid even more urgent.

are still pushing me to discuss security which we don’t discuss on camera.

“Spare me that today but rather than calling it restiveness, I will say everything we discussed is about the wellbeing of Nigerians. How can we make their situation better?

I think that that is the way I look at it.

“Whether you look at it from security, infrastructure, any angle, that is the ultimate.

At times, I move from what do I set to achieve and how do I want to do it? I think that is the way I look at it.

What have I set to achieve, at the end of the day, it is the interest of everybody that we are working for.”

Meanwhile, hopes of an early resolution of the crisis rocking the Niger Delta region could suffer a major setback with the emergence of new militia group, the ‘Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate.’

The new group threatened to make “a loud statement” that would announce clearly to world of its existence before making public what it termed “our demands.”

It described the federal government and the governments of the respective states particularly the six states comprising the South-south geopolitical zone

in the Niger Delta region as the oppressors and real enemies of the people of the region for taking oil and money from the region for decades and leaving the people in abject poverty and misery.

The hitherto unknown group announced yesterday that it was joining the fray amid a cacophony of reported peace overtures involving the federal government and several stakeholders, by issuing stern warnings to the federal government and oil companies especially those operating outside the coastal areas of the Niger Delta region.

In an online statement yesterday evening, in which it described itself as “a coalition of forces across the Niger Delta region, fighting for the interest of the region,” the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate issued a 48-hour ultimatum for oil companies to halt operations in the region.

Specifically, the group said the oil multi-nationals and others should “commence the evacuation of their personnel from the region within 48 hours.”

The statement, signed by the new group’s spokesman, “General” Aldo Agbalaja, copied to THISDAY in Asaba, also warned that the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries in Delta State and Rivers State, respectively, as well as the huge Utorogun Gas

Plant in Ughelli area of Delta State “will all come down in few days from now.”

The group further hinted on its displeasure over the seeming impression being given in government and other quarters that peace and reconciliation in the Niger Delta begins and ends with reaching out to people of Ijaw ethic extraction.

The statement said: “Federal government and the oil multinational companies have been making a very grave mistake by equating the interest of the Ijaw people as that of all the tribes of the region, indeed this is a mistake that is about to take a more devastating toll than has ever been seen or experienced in the history of Nigeria.

“Just as in the 2009 experience, the federal government and oil companies have started yet another round of negotiation with the Ijaw front, in the name of all the people of the Niger Delta.

This will not work!”

The coalition said this was not another pretentious group of criminal elements in the oil-rich region seeking to enrich themselves under the guise of fighting for the social and economic liberation of the oppressed people of the Niger Delta.

“Niger Delta Greenland Justice

Mandate is not in the mold of the various criminal gangs that have so far paraded themselves as fighting for the interest of the people of the Niger Delta, but who indeed have been engaged in fight for personal enrichment”, it stated. “We are not one of them. We are out to tell the world that there is a Niger Delta that is made up of many tribes and tongues, the people of whom have so far suffered both local and national oppression.”

It further said: “We are asking all the oil multi-nationals still in the upland of our region (to leave); Agip, Total, Shell, Mobil, Shorelines, Neconde, E.D Western, Seplat and others are advised to commence the evacuation of their personnel from the region, especially in the Ogba/Egi axis of Rivers State, Urhobo/Isoko/Ndokwa axis of Delta State and other upland oil producing areas, within the next 48 hours.

“We also want to bring it to the attention of the federal government and the NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) that the refineries in Warri (Urhobo land) and Port Harcourt (Eleme) and the gas plant in Otorogun will all come down in few days from now.”

AGRICULTURE AS AN ALTERNATIVE

.L-R: Chairman, Panel Discussion, International Conference on Agriculture (ICA), Mr. Emmanuel Ijewere; Managing/CEO Bank of Agriculture, Prof. Danbala Danju; Managing Director/CEO, Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation, Mr. Bashir Binji and Founder/CEO Centre for Value in Leadership (CVL),Prof. Pat Utomi, during the CVL’s international conference on agriculture in Lagos...yesterday

Court Refuses DSS Application for Non-compliance with Court Orders The Federal High Court in Abuja has said it will not grant any application brought by the Department of State Services (DSS) until all orders of the court are obeyed.

A vacation judge, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, made this known in Abuja when DSS counsel, GOA Agbadua, brought an application for a remand warrant.

Dimgba said it would be wrong for the court to grant

an application of the DSS when it had no regard for orders of the court.

He said he had ordered that Air Commodore Umar Mohammed (rtd), who was arraigned before him, to be remanded in Kuje Prison pending the hearing of his bail application.

“But the DSS decided to keep him in its custody against the order of the court.’’

Dimgba, according to the

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), also cited another instance when he ordered the service to produce some accused persons in court but noted that the DSS had yet to comply.

“The court will not grant any application of the DSS until there is sufficient proof that all orders of the court have been obeyed.

“It will be counterproductive for the court to take this application and

grant the reliefs sought by the DSS. “This court hereby adjourns this application sine die until the applicant’s counsel files an affidavit deposing to the fact that all outstanding orders of this court on the DSS have been complied with,” he said.

Dimgba had berated the DSS for flaunting orders of the court, one of which was to remand an accused person in Kuje prison.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016 • T H I S D AY

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NEWSXTRA

FG, Emefiele Defend FX Waiver for Hajj Pilgrims Sultan: change comes with pain Ogbeh: Boko Haram using fertilizer to make bomb

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The federal government has rationalised its decision to grant prospective Muslims that will perform the 2016 Hajj ritual in Saudi Arabia a foreign exchange concession.

A nationwide outcry had trailed the foreign exchange waiver of N197 to a dollar granted to the pilgrims as against the existing flexible rate of N400 to a dollar in the open market.

Abdulahi Muktah from the presidency said yesterday at sixth edition of the Town Hall meeting in Abuja that preparation for hajj is a process that takes four to five months, adding that pilgrims had been mandated since March to make payment for the exercise as at the time the new policy of dual exchange rate was not in existence.

Muktah said there was a discussion with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on March 18 where the case on the need to alleviate and remove the subsidy by government was made.

He said it was consequently resolved that government be allowed to apply the then

prevailing exchange rate without putting any financial burden on it.

“I think it is very important to clarify this matter. The issue is that the hajj usually takes four to five months to prepare, not something you rush through overnight. We wrote a memo to government and I want to read the contents:‘In view of the global economic realities and the need to take off the financial burden of providing the concessionary rate on government, the commission has sensitised the state boards at two different meetings held on January 11 and March 12 over the challenges of enjoying concessionary exchange rates for hajj transaction which was first agreed that it was unrealistic at this material time, therefore, the commission is considerably sensitive to limit its request to government for the use of the prevailing exchange rate of N197 to a dollar for hajj 2016 related component.’’

He insisted that the transaction was concluded by the end of March by when pilgrims had already complied with the directives to pay to the hajj fares into CBN account at N197 to

a dollar.

Muktah also said referring pilgrims to the open market to buy Basic Travellers Allowances (BTA) could result in a security challenge because of the risk that they can buy fake dollars, which could cause Nigeria a major embarrassment in Saudi Arabia.

He said under the immediate past administration, pilgrims enjoyed foreign currency waiver as they paid N160 for a dollar though the existing official exchange rate then was N197 to a dollar “The issue of concession as far as this government is concerned is not clear- in the past there used to be concessionary rate for pilgrimage service but not under this government. In fact over the years pilgrims enjoyed N20-N25 exchange rate waiver and there was no much noise about the concession. No body requested from government anything, we requested for is to allow pilgrims to use the existing rate at that time. Allowing pilgrims to go and buy their BTA at the open market may create a security challenge because of the risk and chances of buying fake dollars that may cause embarrassment

to government over there, That is why we requested that the issue of exchange should be through the approved bank and it should at the official exchange rate without any concession by government,” he told the town hall audience.

The town hall meeting, a policy dialogue for good governance, which was organised by the Alumni Association of the National Institute (AANI), was chaired by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar III. In his address, the Sultan noted that though Nigerians have the legitimate right to demand for ‘change’ he emphasised that changes as desirable are often difficult to realise as they come with difficulties and challenges.

“At times changes come with difficulties and challenges. We urge that both the governed and government must come with clean hands as Allah has enjoined all of us that after hardship, there will always be ease for those who persevere,” the Sultan said as he added an anecdote

by Caliph Muhammed Bello, who once defined leadership about accountability to the subjects.

The Minister of Agriculture

and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who was one of the panel of discussants made up of nine minsters, attributed the shortage of fertilizer at the beginning of the current planting season to a security report from the military that blamed Boko Haram, which was accused of converting urea fertilizer in bomb.

He said the development resulted in the deliberate policy not to distribute fertilizer to the northern part of the country for two and half months, causing the cost of fertilizers to escalate.

He said Nigeria’s ship began to aimlessly list in 1986 following the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) by the military regime headed

by General Ibrahim Babangida, describing SAP as the worst assault on Africans since the slave trade.

Ogbeh said the policy forced the naira to be devalued and the led to the opening up of the country’s borders to all form of foreign importations.

He said the trend was groundswell for the current exchange rate devaluation of the naira which stands at N400 to a

dollar at open market.

He similarly put the current demand for dollars in Nigeria is N2.5 billion per week to import goods and $20 billion on food, lamenting that the situation is not sustainable He said while the interest rate has made it difficult for farmers to assess loans, there is notable increase in agricultural yields this year in Jigawa, Enugu, Kebbi and Anambra, adding that government was thinking of restructuring the Bank of Agriculture, where every farmer will be a shareholder, while interest rate will be reduced to five per cent.

Finance Minister Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, noted that Nigeria had been heading in the wrong way consistently in the past seven years arising from increase in debt level, a GDP based oil receipt, capital deficit and unproductive economy.

She said when the current administration came on board, it inherited a wage bill of N165 billion per month which has been reduced to N159 billion, adding every month she was signing memo to remove people who had either died or no longer in employ from the pay roll.

Lagos Commuters Stranded as BRT Operators Embark on Strike

Gboyega Akinsanmi

Drivers and ticketers of Primero Transport Services Limited, the operator of the Ikorodu-CMS Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and ticketers yesterday embarked on an indefinite strike over non-payment of their salaries and arrears by the transport company.

Consequently, all BRT routes in the state, especially on Ikorodu Road, were practically deserted while commuters were stranded in different bus stations due to the industrial action.

THISDAY checks revealed that the striking drivers earned about N50,000 monthly, though the BRT operator had not paid them for two months, which it was gathered, culminated in the strike.

A member of staff, Mr. Sulaiman Hammed, explained what caused the industrial action, noting that the striking drivers and ticketers were yet “to collect their July salary and that their monthly bonus has been reduced due to stringent conditions attached to the collection of the bonus.”

He said Primero “is maltreating us. We are being sanctioned unnecessarily by the company.

Sometimes, they do give us two weeks suspension on any slight mistake and they will deduct the money of the days we did not work as a result of the suspension, from our bonus.”

In an interview with journalists, Hammed explained that their salaries “have been reduced from N50,000 to N40,000. They have reduced our salaries from N60,000

to N40,000 under the pretense that we are lazy and our bonus was increased from N20,000 to N40,000.”

In a statement he issued yesterday, the Managing Director of the transport company, Mr. Fola Tinubu, explained the position of the company, noting that the drivers “are paid N50,000 monthly and N20,000 bonus.”

He explained that some of the drivers would take the bus out and parked it somewhere without meeting up with the needed target and still collect the monthly salaries and bonuses.

He added that what the management decided was “to reduce the monthly salaries to N40,000 and increase the bonus to N40,000 so that those who did not work would only collect the N40,000 while those who meet up with the target would collect both.”

He said the company would not tolerate a situation where some people who did not work would collect full salaries and bonuses, adding that those who did not work would not be paid.

Primero Transport Service Limited was recently given the sole franchise to manage the BRT scheme after the Lagos State Government terminated the contract with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) due to what was ascribed to inefficiency and poor service.

When it started operation in November 2015, Primero deployed 435 high-occupancy vehicles. But the company later bought 50 additional vehicles, bringing its fleet to 485.

THE WAY FORWARD FOR ENGINEERS

R-L: Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko; President, Council of Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Mr. Kashim Ali; and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Lawal Babachir, at the opening ceremony of the 25th engineering assembly of COREN, in Akure....yesterday

Abdulmumin Challenges Dogara, Others to Furnish Anti-graft Agencies with Proof of Allegations against Him Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Jibrin Abdulmumin, has challenged the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Speaker Yussuff Sulaimon Lasun and others, to furnish anti-graft agencies with details and proof of allegations that have raised against him.

Dogara, through the House spokesman, Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas, had said discrepancies had been found of Abdulmumin’s tenure as Chairman of the Committee on

Finance, in the seventh assembly.

He was also accused of mishandling sensitive information, and blackmail.

Abdulmumin in a statement yesterday, again insisted that Dogara removed him due to his independent mindedness, and unwillingness to play ball.

“I have said it repeatedly and wish to restate that I did nothing wrong and I committed no offense. I did not abuse my office nor corruptly enrich myself in the five years I have been in the House,” he said.

The lawmaker also debunked fears that his ‘whistle blowing’

would affect the House, saying it would rather free the institution from the grip of corrupt vested interests and restore its integrity.

“While Dogara and the other 12 corrupt members are running from pillar to post trying to re define padding, avoid the anticorruption agencies, looking for cover or soft landing, I have held several meetings with the agencies, provided useful documents and vital information.

They obviously have so much to hide, so much to fear,” he added.

The statement reads in part: “I have repeatedly urged Speaker

Dogara and his gang of 12 corrupt members to feel free and forward any allegations they have against me to the anti-corruption agencies. That is if they finally find something beyond the lame allegations of “immaturity” and “betrayal”, which I have dealt with in my memoir series that will commence in a few days. I am not in anyway immune to investigation and prosecution if found wanting. I have pledged to stand as witness against them on this matter; they can as well stand witness against me.”

52

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016 • T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

NOUN Suspends Admission to Law Programme over Exclusion from Law School Pail Obi in Abuja The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) yesterday suspended admission into the institutions’ law degree programme following the exclusion of its law graduates by the Council for Legal Education (CLE) from attending the mandatory Law School.

The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Abdallah Uba Adamu, stated this while on a congratulatory visit to the Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC), (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Abdulrasheed.

Adamu, who was accompanied by members of the university’s governing council said the suspension of admission into the programme was sequel upon the advice by the NUC that students should be stopped from undertaking the course pending the resolution of the inability of its graduates

to go to Law School like their counterparts from other conventional universities.

The Council for Legal Education (CLE) had earlier exempted law graduates of Open University from attending Law School on the grounds that the mode of study at the Open University was by correspondence or part time, and as such did not meet the requisite criteria for mode of study to be admitted into law school.

Adamu rather contended that such interpretation of the Act establishing NOUN by CLE was at variance with the prevalent global understanding of the mode of instruction associated with open universities.

NOUN VC explained that the institution is “an Open Distance Learning Institution which provides accessible, affordable and equitable education to millions of individuals who would work and learn at

the same time due to their circumstances.

“We are praying to the Executive Secretary circumstances to draw the attention of the CLE to the fact that NOUN as an ODL institution, does not equate to part time or correspondence institution. In order to make things easier for everyone, we have accepted the NUC recommendation to halt admission into the programme until we streamline our activities with the CLE. “For NUC to convince the CLE that we are an ODL institution, a proper and legitimate mechanism for education all over the world and in all domains, and therefore accept our graduates for admission into the Law School,” Adamu stressed.

Speaking, Prof. Abdulrasheed said NUC would seek audience with the Council for Legal Education with the

view tomaking the council understands that NOUN is not a part-time or a correspondence programme.

“It is a policy of Legal Education Council to deny certain category of students from going to Law School. NOUN is an ODL institution; this is the future of tertiary education in the world.

“NOUN has come with genuine defence. We will have to adjust to this reality of this open and distance which is threatening the character and nature of our tertiary institutions in the country. Digital revolution is one of the two revolutions of the recent decade that are changing the world.

“We are going to make a strong case, draw the attention of CLE to the fact that NOUN is an ODL and not a correspondence programme.

This is a new method of learning globally,” the NUC boss maintained.

In Brief Mass Wedding: Kano Govt Begins Registration of Prospective Couples The Kano State Hisbah Board has begun the registration of prospective couples for the next batch of mass wedding in the state, an official has said. The Director-General of the board, Abba Sufi, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano yesterday.

He said the registration followed a directive by the state government to the board. “The state Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, directed us to register interested couples for the programme,” he said. Sufi said following the directive, the board instructed its offices in the 44 local government areas to start the registration from August 8. “Unlike before, only married men with one wife will be allowed to benefit from the programme now. “We are registering two categories of couples, those who already have suitors and those with no suitors but hoping to get them at the board,” Sufi said.

He said the change in the policy was necessary in order to check abuse of the programme by few individuals. Sufi said the government’s decision to continue with the programme was borne out of the desire to check immorality, especially among young girls, widows and divorcees. He said the measure would help check prostitution and other social vices, especially among young women. He called on interested couples to register at Hisbah offices in their respective local government areas of the state. The former administration of Rabi’u Kwankwaso introduced the programme in 2012 as part of efforts to check prostitution among indigent but unmarried young people. No fewer than 5, 000 indigent widows, divorcees and young girls have so far benefited from the programme.

Ake, Former PDP South-south Zonal Chairman is Dead

PROUD WINNER

L-R: Head, Consumer Banking, Diamond Bank Plc, Aishah Ahmad; winner of N1million in DiamondXtra, Janet Chikaodili Obi; and Area Manager, Diamond Bank Enugu 1, Daniel Nzeka, at the DiamondXtra South-east regional prize and cheque presentation ceremony in Enugu....recently

Illegal Diversion of Explosives: FG Exonerates, Recalls Mine Officers Tobi Soniyi in Abuja The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, yesterday said none of the Federal Mines Officers recalled last week had been found culpable over the reported illegal diversion of explosives which led to the arrest of some individuals.

Fayemi disclosed this during a meeting with the 37 newly deployed Federal Mines Officers in his office yesterday even as he assured them that they would be adequately equipped for the assignment.

According to a statement made available to the media, “The search light of the ministry, the law enforcement agencies and other accountability institutions will be beamed

on you and you can rest assured that any officer found to have sabotaged the country in any form shall be summarily dealt with.”

The Minister said henceforth, recommendations on application for explosives from the North-east, Northcentral, South-south and South-east zones should be addressed to his office.

“Henceforth, all companies- mining and quarrying- operating in your various jurisdictions should always forward a copy of the monthly explosives and quarry returns to the corporate headquarters first week following the month for which return is made.

He stated: “An often neglected aspect of your job is the need to ensure

that all monthly explosives return and quarries return submitted by the operators are checked and confirmed that such returns provide answers to the question contained there-in.”

He stressed that on the plan being made by the ministry to ensure effective service delivery, the ministry has partnered other crucial government agencies including the Ministries of Environment, Health, Interior, and all security agencies, host state governments, traditional institutions and community leaders, to ensure security and environmental safety.

The minister urged the newly deployed Federal Mines Officers to pay maximum attention to matters relating to

the procurement, transportation, storage and use of explosives in their respective states, stressing that they would be held responsible for any diversion of explosives to unauthorised persons.

He also revealed that government would soon inaugurate and deploy about 20,000 Mining Surveillance Officers to strengthen regulatory operations across the country and tasked them on the need to ensure that all payments to the federal government on services provided by the ministry are made to the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

He, however, said there was need for the new officers to be extra vigilant because of the sensitive nature of their job.

Former South-south Zonal Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Godspower Umejuru Ake (popularly called G. U. Ake) is dead. THISDAY gathered that Ake, who was also chairman of the PDP in Rivers State, died of an undisclosed illness at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) on Monday evening. Ake, who hails from Omoku in Ogba-Ogbema-Ndoni Local government area of Rivers State, was said to have suffered from a terminal ailment until his death. Although the family was yet to issue a statement on his death as the time of this report, Senior Special Adviser on Media to Rivers State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, confirmed Ake’s death via text massage. He said: “Yes I just spoke with Senator (Wilson) Ake who confirmed that he died yesterday’s (Monday) evening.” An on-line publication also quoted a political leader in Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local government area, Prince Peter Odike, to have confirmed the death. “I can tell you that we have lost a mountain. It is so sad that we are losing him at this critical time of our state. This is when Rivers state needs him the most but unfortunately we can’t question God,” Odike was quoted to have said.

Ake was a Special Adviser on Lands and Survey to former Governor Peter Odili and later became the South-south Zonal Chairman of the PDP after the assassination of Chief A.K Dikibo in 2004. He rose to become one of the most influential politicians in Rivers state after Marshal Harry who was also assassinated by snipers in Abuja. He later became the chairman of the PDP in Rivers State before he was removed by a High Court in Abuja and replaced

by Chief Felix Obuah.

Buhari Mourns Demise of Pioneer DG of NIPSS

President Muhammadu Buhari has paid tribute to the pioneer Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Maj. Gen. Timothy Babatunde Ogundeko, describing him as a pacesetter in strategic leadership training. In a statement issued in Abuja by the Special Adviser to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina, Buhari said: “As Ogundeko’s remains are laid to rest this weekend, Buhari believes that he will be long remembered for his towering role as an educationist and public administrator, who immensely contributed to the procedure and processes of training potential leaders in the security and socio-political environment of Nigeria.”

The president stated that with his tireless efforts and foresight, Ogundeko transformed the Nigerian Army Education Corps for the benefit of the service and the nation. The president said his legendary role in the establishment of Command Secondary Schools was well appreciated. The president said he believed that the vision of the deceased for a united and prosperous Nigeria would be honoured by all who mourned him, particularly at this critical point when the nation was in need of selfless citizens to change Nigeria for the better. The president extended heartfelt condolences to Ogundeko’s family, as well as the government and people of Ogun State. He prayed that God would grant the soul of the departed eternal rest and comfort his family, friends and admirers.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016 • T H I S D AY

53

CRIME&PUNISHMENT

Military Continues Manhunt for Killers of Soldiers in Bayelsa Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa

The operation, it was gathered, also led to the The Nigerian military yesterday blockade of major entry and ramped up its organised exit routes in the creeks of search for some suspected Nembe and its surroundings militants who killed at least even as residents continued three soldiers, injured some to flee the coastal town which civilians and carted off several also witnessed the murder of ammunition and gunboats five soldiers at about the same in the waterways of Nembe, time last year.

Bayelsa State on Monday.

Other units of the JTF in In keeping with its vow to the Niger Delta, including smoke out the culprits, the Joint land and air were also said Task Force, Operation Delta to be involved in the military Safe, headed by Rear Admiral operation to rout the hoodlums Joseph Okojie, it was learnt, who, decked in white robes, deployed several detachments disguised as mourners on of troops comprising mainly Monday and opened fire on the maritime component of the unsuspecting troops at the the security outfit in the area. checkpoint along the waterside.

“Operation Delta Safe will One source told THISDAY go on the offensive to fish out that at least two military fighter all criminals,” Okojie pledged. jets had been hovering around On a visit to the scene the ‘Area of Interest’ since the yesterday, the commander military massively moved into assured the people of Nembe the place after the incident. that the perpetrators of the But residents who started dastardly act would be made fleeing Monday morning to account for their mindless have refused to return even actions, adding that his men as of yesterday evening despite were already on their trail. assurances from the state He however, urged members government and the leadership of the community to volunteer of the JTF that their safety was useful information to the guaranteed. military authorities, stressing Deputy Governor of the state, that innocent citizens would Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John not be molested.

Jonah (rtd), who visited the

community yesterday to assess the situation, commiserated with the Nigerian military over the brutal killing of the soldiers by the armed bandits.

Addressing the people of Nembe at the King Koko Square, Nembe, yesterday, Jonah, who represented Governor Seriake Dickson, asserted that the killing of the innocent soldiers was senseless, barbaric and not in the best interest of the government and people of the state.

He described the incident as most painful and unfortunate, pointing out that a similar one occurred in July, last year, where soldiers were attacked at the same security checkpoint in Nembe, resulting in some deaths at the time.

Aside the deputy governor, others in the government delegation to the area were Rear Admiral Okojie, Ben Ololo of the state House of Assembly, representing Nembe Constituency I, Jonathan Obuebite , Commissioner for Information and Orientation and Chief Kuroghofa Ben-Wari , Chairman, Nembe Local Government Council.

The state government delegation asserted that the visit to the

scene of the incident became necessary so as to console and engage the military authorities, with a view to dousing the palpable tension in the community.

While urging members of the community, who had fled to return home, the government called on youths and other stakeholders to collaborate with the military authorities in order to bring the perpetrators of the crime to book.

Other leaders of the community who spoke on the occasion, noted that since the coming of JTF to Nembe, the community had enjoyed relative peace.

They said members of the community would continue to cooperate with the military to ensure that perpetrators were apprehended and made to face the law.

However, a notable chief from the community, Wilfred Ogbotobo, said it had become expedient for the federal government to confront the militants with maximum force instead of pampering and indulging them.

He said treating criminals with kid gloves was the reason why they had become emboldened to carry out attacks.

In Brief

Two Gun Runners Remanded in Prisons Two notorious gunrunners terrorising the people of Kogi Central

in Kogi State have been remanded in prison in Koton-Karfe on the orders of a Lokoja Chief Magistrate Court for illegal possession of firearms. Alhassan Husaini of the Lokoja Chief Magistrate Court II gave the order yesterday in his ruling on the arraignment of the two accused men, Ovosi Mohammed and Abubakar Salihu. Husaini said proliferation of firearms in the state and particularly within the court’s jurisdiction had assumed endemic proportion. According to the prosecution led

by Mohammed Abaji, Senior Legal Officer with Kogi Ministry of Justice; Salihu from Anyoke in Adavi Local Government Area was arrested by men of the Command Army Records, Lokoja. Abaji said the army personnel deployed to Okene on clearing operation at Bob Royal Hotel at Innozimi Village handed over the accused to the Directorate of State Services (DSS) for investigation.

Police Command: Niger State Not Under Siege

The Police in Minna yesterday declared that Niger State is neither under any siege or invasion as being insinuated by the people. The clarification by the police followed the killing of five policemen within two days and an invasion of five Gwari villages by soldiers which have led to the death of 24 people and loss of property worth millions of naira. Two of the five policemen were killed by armed men at Talba farm road in the state capital while the remaining three were killed by suspected bandits at Dikko junction in the Suleja Local Government Area of the state. The arms carried by the policemen were taken away by their killers. Addressing journalists, the state Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, declared that “Niger State is not under siege or invasion by the army, as we are tackling the security situation in the state. The past few days have been very challenging. We started with the army invasion of some villages, later we have five of our policemen killed on duty.” Muazu however said the police were not involved in the invasion of the Kpaidna village by the army, saying from the beginning, the police were not involved in the operation; we only joined the operation after we received distress calls from the villagers that they were being attacked by some men in army uniform.

Police Foil Cultists’ Attack

THE KING ON THE THRONE

Brigadier- General Bright Ateke Fiboinumama (rtd), and his wife, Siki Mariam, during his coronation as the Obeomomuodo (Amadabo) of Abuloma Kingdom, Rivers State..... recently

Lagos Demolishes 350 Buildings under High Tension Installations Gboyega Akinsanmi and Chiemelie Ezeobi

The Lagos State Government yesterday demolished no fewer than 350 buildings under hightension installations after a notice of contravention it issued on the occupants expired.

The removal began with the demolition of illegal shops situated directly under high tension lines at Isheri in Egbe-Idimu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) at around 10.00am yesterday.

The demolition was supervised by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban

Development, Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) and Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement Unit).

During the demolition, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Anifowoshe Abiola expressed government’s determination “to rid the state of illegal developments.

“This is just another effort to maintain a sustainable, organised, livable and friendly environment.

The state government has established zero tolerance for all structures and properties built

under high tension cables across the State.

“Having residential buildings or conducting business under high tension power lines constitutes a danger to lives and properties that could have fatal consequences. The state government, through its relevant ministries and agencies will henceforth, enforce applicable law strictly by removing all development and activities encroaching on the right of way of utilities and services.”

The commissioner, however, called on those who had structures within the right of way of public utilities or installations to start

removing them now or face the full consequences of the law.

He described the exercise as ongoing, saying illegal developments within the right of way of high tension lines in other parts of the state would be removed.

The Acting General Manager of LASBCA, Mr. Oladotun Lasoju, said the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law 2010, not only prohibited building under the centre-line of over-head electricity wires, but also in very clear terms specified the distance to be observed between a property and a public utility such as high tension cables.

The Owode Onirin Police Division of the Lagos State Police Command yesterday foiled an attempt by a group of cultists to unleash terror at the Owode area of the state, and arrested three of the suspects. Although the other suspected cult members fled on sighting the police team who were on patrol, the trio of 24-year-old Sunday Oteje, 22-year-old Monday Olatokun and Godfrey Sunday, were however arrested. Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmos, said the arrests were based on intelligence report. She said: “Based on the earlier intelligence gathered that some group of cultists will be unleashing terror on Owode Onirin down to Ikorodu area of Lagos, the command embarked on intensive patrol. he DPO Owode Onirin led a team of policemen to Zion Street where the suspected cultists we’re gathering for the day’s operation. On sighting the policemen, they took to their heels. However, one Sunday Oteje, aged 24-years-old; one Monday Olatokun, aged 22 year of Unity Road, Ajegunle, were arrested with a cutlass each. The suspects have confessed to being cultists planning to carry out their criminal activity.

They have been transferred to the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) for further investigation.”

...Discover Ammunition in Construction Site

The Anambra State Police Command yesterday discovered a large cache of ammunition buried at a construction site at Umuowelle, Agulu in Anaocha council area of the state. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Nkiruka Nwode, said the ammunition were unearthed by labourers who were digging the foundation of a building at the site. Nwode said the workers who were alarmed at the quantity of live bullets being dug up, reported the incident to the Neni Police Division which immediately went to the place and cordoned it off. She said the discovery which was in different sizes and calibres was worth millions of naira. According to her, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Sam Okaula, led a team of personnel to Umuowelle to personally supervise the evacuation of the discovery. “The police this morning discovered a large quantity of ammunition at a parcel of land where building work was going on at Umuowelle, Agulu in Anaocha. Some labourers at the site struck the ammunition and reported to the nearest olice division and this morning, the commissioner was there to personally see things for himself. The ammunition are large, and is worth millions of naira, investigation is still on and soon we shall get to the roots of this,” she said.

54

WEDNESDAY, august 10, 2016 • T H I S D AY

WEDNESDAYSPORTS Team Nigeria Rower, Ukogu, through to S’final Final

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

Team Nigeria’s quest for the first medal at the ongoing Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil brightened yesterday with the qualification of Chierika Ukogu for the semi-finals of the Women’s Single Sculls Rowing event.

The USA-based Ukogu, 24, is the first athlete to represent Team Nigeria in the rowing event and she is very keen to go all the way to the gold medal.

Nigeria’s other entrant in the water sport (canoe slalom), Jonathan Akinyemi, failed to make it beyond the group stage.

Ukogu who is also a graduate of Stanford University, was grouped alongside two other Africans in her quarter final race. One of them, Rouba Amina from Algeria, is in the semi finals with the wave making Nigerian rower.

Chierika Ukogu raises Team Nigeria’s hope for a medal in rowing

NFF, Gernot Rohr Seal Two-year Contract

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Mr. Gernot Rohr have signed a two-year contract that will see the former Gabon, Niger and Burkina Faso coach work as Technical Adviser of the Super Eagles.

The simple ceremony at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja saw NFF President Amaju Pinnick and General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi signing on behalf of the Nigeria federation, in-between Mr. Rohr’s own signature.

Pinnick said that the agreement was for two years, with the former German defender, who also coached

top French club Girondins Bordeaux and elite Tunisian side Etoile du Sahel, handed a target of qualifying the Super Eagles for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia.

“We are happy that this has been sealed and we can now focus on other arrangements for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers starting in October,” said Pinnick.

Rohr, clad in a simple shirt and jean trouser and wearing a smile, said: “I am enthusiastic to get to work. This is a big challenge because Nigeria has big players everywhere and has the ability to do well internationally.”

NPFL-LALIGA TOUR

Dikko: NPFL All-Stars Can Spring Surprises Fred Edoreh Chairman of the League Management Company (LMC), Shehu Dikko, has sounded a warning to the Spanish teams lined up to engage the selected side of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) not to think it is going to be a stroll in the park against the All Stars from Nigeria.

Dikko gave the warning while speaking to the Spanish press on Monday night immediately on

arrival in the city of Valencia where the NPFL All Stars will take on Valencia CF in their opening game of the friendly tour today.

“The first assumption for football followers would be that it will be an easy run for the LaLiga clubs over the NPFL All Stars, given the high standard and pedigree of the Spanish league in comparison to growing Nigeria Professional Football League but they would be mistaken. This is football and I believe there can be surprises,” Dikko said.

Siasia to Rest Dream Team Stars against Colombia Duro Ikhazuagbe With Nigeria already qualified for the quarter finals of the Men’s Football Tournament of the ongoing Olympic Games in Brazil, Coach Samson Siasia has promised to rest some of his starters in the last Group B game with Colombia in Sao Paolo today.

“I had to take this decision (to rest some of the big players) because we have qualified for the quarter finals as group leaders, and secondly I need to rest some of the starters because in the next phase there is a possibility of going into extra time.

“For now the boys have done well and I need to make the other players justify why I selected them for this tournament. This is not a tea GROUP A (22:00) Denmark v Brazil South Africa v Iraq

party so everyone must stand up to be counted, and the only way they can be counted is if they play well against Colombia.

Resting some starters does not mean we are under-rating the opposition,” stressed Siasia who is aiming to improve on the silver he won in Beijing, China in 2008.

He disclosed that the technical crew was working hard on the defence line, as the knock-out stages will see stingy defencelines complemented by vicious attacking lines.

The Dream Team VI qualified for the tournament’s quarterfinals after edging Asian champions Japan 5-4 and pipping Europe’s best Sweden 1-0 in the dry atmosphere of Manaus.

Colombia, who drew 2-2 with Sweden and also with Japan, TODAY’S MATCHES

GROUP B (23:00pm) Colombia v Nigeria Japan v Sweden

knows they have no choice but to win against Nigeria to reach the last eight.

However, Siasia has refused to be distracted beyond the match in Sao Paulo, saying he would finish with the Colombians before thinking of which team his side would have to face in the quarter –finals.

Hosts Brazil, without a goal or a win after two matches, looks the likely candidate but they must overcome Group A leaders Denmark when both teams clash inside Salvador’s Arena Fonte Nova this evening.

Dangling forward, Sadiq Umar, scored once and midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo four times as Nigeria prised all three points from Japan, and Umar was the match winner as European champions Sweden were shut out in Manaus on Sunday.

GROUP C (20:00) Germany v Fiji Korea Rep v Mexico

GROUP D (17:00) Algeria v Portugal Argentina v Honduras

Transfer: Man Utd Completes Pogba Deal Manchester United has completed the signing of Paul Pogba from Juventus for an initial £89.5m.

Pogba left United to join Juve in 2012 but Jose Mourinho has

now re-acquired the France international midfielder for a world-record transfer fee.

The 23-year-old, who has long been linked with a return to Old

Trafford, has now become the most expensive player in football history, overtaking the deal that took Gareth Bale from Tottenham to Real Madrid in 2013.

MEDAL TABLE COUNTRIES China

G S 7 6

B 3

USA

6

8

8

Australia

4

0

4

Russia

3

6

3

Italy S’Korea Hungary

3 3 3

4 2 1

2 1 0

Japan

3

0

9

France

2

3

1

Thailand 2 1 Germany 1 2 G’ Britain 1 1 Brazil 1 1 Sweden 1 1 C’Taipei 1 0 Belgium 1 0 Greece 1 0 Netherlands 1 0 Argentina 1 0 Colombia 1 0 Croatia 1 0 Kosovo 1 0 Slovenia 1 0 Vietnam 1 0 Indonesia 0 2 N’Zealand 0 2 N’ Korea 0 2 S’ Africa 0 2 (As at midnight August 9)

1 0 2 0 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016

55

Wednesday August 10, 2016

TR

UT H

& RE A S O

Price: N250

N

MISSILE

Frank to Abdulmumuni

“It is high time Hon. Jubrin Abdulmumuni keeps quiet and stops this public show of shame before his excesses are made known to Nigerians and the whole world.”

Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank threatening to expose embattled former House Committee chairman on Appropriation, Hon. Jibrin Abdumumuni if he continues flouting the party’s order to stop making public comments on the lingering budget feud in the House of Representatives.

KAYODEKOMOLAFE THE HORIZON

G

kayode.komolafe@thisdaylive.com

0805 500 1974

The Neo-Imo Formula

overnor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State announced the other day that workers in the state public service would henceforth work three days a week so as to have two days of “farming.” Just like that! Some enthusiasts of the policy have even described it as an “ingenious” cost-saving device since it would amount to a reduction in the wage bill of the state government.

Although the state has reportedly followed up with a seeming revision of the policy that workers would not be forced to comply with the policy and wages would “ not be affected,” the issues thrown up by this anti-labour policy remain worrisome.

There is nothing ingenious about this declaration in Owerri; it is simply a trivialisation of governance. That is why it is stupefying that the policy is being given three cheers in some otherwise informed quarters. What we have on display are the ideological ravages of neo-liberalism on the thinking of policymakers and their intellectual defenders. Incidentally, it was the inimitable grandmaster of satirical column writing, Professor Olatunji Dare, who reminded us sometime last year that the original Imo Formula was administered for some economic ailment in the old Imo state more than three decades ago. Dare was commenting on the 40% pay cut by the government of former Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State. As Dare recalled, in 1984/85, respected economist Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu, as the Imo State commissioner for finance, came up with the policy of paying wages on pro rata basis depending on the amount of revenues were available for the month. Just like now, the nation was facing severe economic difficulties at the time. Major-General Muhammadu Buhari was military Head of State and the ever-urbane Colonel Ike Nwachukwu was Imo State Governor. The policy, of course, drew sharp criticisms from labour and its progressive intellectual allies. And trust the erudite Kalu, he calmly marshalled the economic logic of his novel experiment in wage administration. In a sense, the Okorocha formula is, therefore, a modification of the Imo Formula of the old. And just as neo-liberalism is philosophically a reckless modification of liberalism so is the neo-Imo Formula a policy extremism to watch. It is even more scandalous that this anti-labour policy is being implemented by a governor elected on the platform of a party that proclaims progressivism.

To be sure, the experiment with wages in Imo State today is actually generic of policy manoeuvrings going on in most of the states of the federation.

There are some points to ponder by those hailing the Okorochas of this world. First, to toy with wages as some governors are doing is utterly lawless. For a governor to even contemplate reducing wages at will is clearly contemptuous of the Labour Act of 1974. Those who rationalise this lawless action on the ground of a “national economic emergency” should first seek to expunge the laws or amend them as expected in a constitutional order.

That is what democrats do. Even a military government would do something about the laws before enforcing its state of emergency. It is dangerous for public intellectuals, who mouth promotion of democracy, to celebrate egregious violations of workers’ socio-economic rights with reckless abandon. Socio-economic justice should be at the heart of democracy. The governors and their intellectual rationalisers are taking advantage of the weak regulatory mechanism in place and the lack of capacity of labour to call those embarking on pernicious policies to order. Labour Minister, Dr. Chris Ngige, recently performed his statutory duty of cautioning banks against treating workers indecently among other anti-labour activities plaguing the financial sector.

Okorocha In a clime where socio-economic justice reigns supreme, the minister would be commended for defending public interest and the law of the land. Not here. What Ngige got in return was a barrage of insults from a public sphere saturated with neo-liberal ideas. Pray, what else is the business of a labour minister if not a defence of jobs in the economy? Yet labour laws have to be enforced against oppressive employers in the public and private sectors.

Secondly, these wild experiments with wages in the states should provoke a robust defence of the public service against the onslaught of neo-liberals. If some of our neo-liberals have their way they would not mind privatising the sovereign status of Nigeria itself and earn their commissions! Warts and all, the public service is what still keeps this system going. It is so in any modern system globally. For instance, the Italian state survived the shenanigans of Silvio Berlusconi while in power because of the ruggedness of the Italian bureaucracy. A political officer holder may mess up while in power temporarily; the insurance the system has against such a damage is an efficient and stable bureaucracy.

Besides, the bulk of the resources are still located in the public sector. If you doubt that, ask the smart bankers what the TSA has done to banking, as we know it. With the strategic importance of the public sector to the health of the political economy it is amazing how some political office holders and their collaborators in the private sector are permitted to trivialise the machinery of the public service. You cannot run any modern government, left or right, without a competent and well- mobilised bureaucracy. Some pundits talk as if the civil servants (no matter their faults) are dispensable in governance.

If some policy wonks have their way, all a president or a governor needs to govern are his retinue of aides and consultants armed with their power-point presentations, and, of course, the service of contractors. Presidents and governors would quit with their political appointees at the end of their tenures; but the institutional memory of the ministries, departments and agencies reside with the much-maligned civil servants. They are indispensable! You will always need a competent and well-equipped public service to regulate the system in the public interest and put the exploitative excesses of capitalists in check. From the United States to Japan, every modern system needs a good public service. That is why some of the best of their graduates take to public service career.

Doubtless, the public sector is in dire need of reforms to perform its institutional role creditably. But to achieve that you don’t decimate the institution. What you should do is to enhance its capacity and purge it of corruption for competent delivery. The public service should be deliberately oriented to achieve national objectives. After

all, there is a socio-political and economic context to the much talked about poor productivity of the public sector.

The way to reform the public sector is not to send an engineer in the ministry of works or medical officer in the ministry of health to farm for some days of the week.

The skills of the engineer should rather be deployed to direct labour in the execution of public works while the medical officer’s acumen in public health advocacy should be optimally harnessed. That way you reasonably save costs instead of awarding bogus contracts for the jobs which well-mobilised and supervised professionals in the civil service could perform as a matter of routine.

Similarly, it would be more appropriate to ask otherwise idle education officers in the ministry to complement the efforts of teachers in the classrooms. The professionals in the ministry are trained for different purposes. They cannot all be farmers just for the clever purpose of reducing wage bills. In any case, what modern agricultural policy would require that all civil servants be turned to farmers in some days of the week? It would be interesting for the advocates of this everybody-must - be - a – farmer policy to articulate it for public debates.

Thirdly, a distorted conception of governance is prevalent in the land. So governors sought power just to be presiding over the monthly disbursement of royalties accruing from the Niger Delta oil! No. Governance should mean more than spending monthly allocation from the Federation Account. Doing away with civil servants or mismanaging human resources in the public sector is not “thinking out of the box.” To be imaginative is to develop the capacity of the public service so that it could provide the governor the needed technical support to generate revenues from diverse sources within the state. Is it not more productive to build the capacity of workers in the Inland Revenue Department to do their job full time than to send them to farms without the

necessary equipment? It is also unfair to ask labour to provide “alternatives” for paying wages. The best labour or any other group in the public realm could do is to offer suggestions. The ultimate responsibility for policy decision is that of the governor. So let those who seek power to be governors take policy steps to generate revenues to pay those working to keep the system going among other things. In other words, governors should come into office with what the highly accomplished former Lagos State governor, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, calls “a plan of action”. Such a plan would include what programmes to execute and how to fund them. That is what politicians should think about before seeking power. It is unjust for governors to get into power and subject workers to tribulations while they lament “economic emergency.”

Decimating the civil service cannot be a legitimate policy step towards economic recovery. One day, Nigeria will come to terms with the economic management mythology of 90% recurrent expenditure as against 10% capital expenditure in the budget. On that day there would be a proper counting of the actual numbers of persons working in the public service at the federal, state and local government levels. For now, Nigeria has a chronic counting problem. Is it not intriguing that while governments at levels insist that the bulks of their budgets go into recurrent expenditures we are are also told stories of “ghost workers” on the payroll. Until the payroll is well rid of “ghost workers” you cannot talk of accurate recurrent expenditure. Furthermore the budget arithmetic is not so straightforward: recurrent expenditure is not exactly equal to the total wage bill of workers. So even if you sack all the civil servants you may not have solved the budget problem.

All told, the new Imo Formula is in every respect progressivism turned upside down.

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