Friday 7th October 2016

Nigeria Needs Infrastructure, Not iPhones, Adeosun Tells Donors, Foreign Investors IMF dangles zero interest rate before low-income countries, FG may shun offer Senate invites president to brief N’Assembly on the economy At $52 oil hits four months high Chika Amanze-Nwachuku, Obinna Chima in Washington D.C, Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja and Ejiofor Alike in Lagos with agency report The Minister of Finance, Mrs.

Kemi Adeosun, has informed multilateral donor institutions and investors that Nigeria is hungry for infrastructure that

can trigger growth, not iPhones and pricey suits that will drive consumption.

Adeosun spoke Wednesday

night at a session during the International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank annual meetings in Washington D.C.,

saying investors must start to realise that western economies are matured and offer lower returns, while Africa with

Ghana Starts Fuel Exports to Nigeria, Others… Page 54

its infrastructure gap offers greater returns.

The minister made the remarks on the heels of the announcement by the IMF that Continued on page 8

Friday 7 October, 2016 Vol 21. No 7841. Price: N250

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Again, Dislodged Vandals Strike, Abduct Vice-Principal, Teacher, Students from Lagos School… Page 10

FG Withdraws Forgery Charges Against Saraki, Ekweremadu Tobi Soniyi in Abuja The federal government yesterday withdrew the charges of criminal conspiracy relating to the alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Orders, 2015, filed against Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, at the Abuja High Court.

In doing so, the Ministry

of Justice filed an application to amend the charges and attached the amended charges. In the new charges, only the former clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Salisu Maikasuwa, and a former deputy clerk, Mr. Ben Efeturi, were listed as the accused persons.

Continued on page 10

Again, Buhari Hails Jonathan’s Patriotic Zeal, INEC for Success of 2015 Polls

Tobi Soniyi and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has again credited former President Goodluck Jonathan with the success of the 2015 general election, saying that his patriotic zeal and the impartiality of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

ensured the success of the elections.

Speaking at the Leadership Annual Awards organised by the publishers of Leadership newspapers, Buhari also congratulated his joint award winners – Goodluck Jonathan and Professor Attahiru Jega, the former Chairman of INEC. Continued on page 8

INEC Issues Certificate of FROM FIGHTERS TO TECHNICAL GURUS… ex-Niger Delta agitators trained under the Presidential Amnesty Programme showcasing a newly Return to Obaseki… Page 12 Twenty-three refurbished transformer that they coupled as part of their graduation project in Port Harcourt, Rivers State… recently

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PAGE EIGHT AGAIN, BUHARI HAILS JONATHAN’S PATRIOTIC ZEAL, INEC FOR SUCCESS OF 2015 POLLS They were jointly conferred with the Leadership Person of the Year award by the newspaper.

According to him, events of 2015, which the Leadership Newspapers brought to the fore yesterday, marked a watershed in the political history of the country.

He said: “Those of us who were participating actors in the elections were led by the higher ideal of the future of our great country and the well being of our people rather than the mere desire of politicians to win elections.

“It is therefore our commitment to this ideal, the patriotic zeal of President Jonathan, the impartiality of the electoral umpire, INEC, and exemplary conduct of the political parties, foreign pressure, and other actors that we collectively disappointed the prophets of doom who had predicted the disintegration of the country after the 2015 general election.

“Our democracy has been strengthened by the outcome of the 2015 elections, as our people now

have more faith in the electoral system in the sense that their votes would count when choosing political leaders at various levels.

“We, the political class should build on the experience of the 2015 elections to nurture our democracy.”

Jonathan, who was the incumbent president, had conceded defeat to Buhari in the election conducted by the then INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, an action that was described as unprecedented in the history of the country and in Africa.

His action saw to the peaceful transition from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which had ruled the country for 16 years, to the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government.

Though Jonathan was not present at the occasion, he was represented by his former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki.

A former military Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), chaired the occasion.

Buhari charged the media to be true partners in the task of nation building, stating that the media must act in the spirit of patriotism at all times in the important role of informing the people of the country.

He said government was ready to entertain media inquiries, in line with the transparency and anti-corruption stance of his administration.

He said: “I expect the Nigerian media to join our government in the pursuit of these goals, not just to criticise to prove their independence.

“The media must continually see themselves as true partners in the task of nation building and thus act in the spirit of patriotism at all times in the important role of informing the people of the country.

“On our part, our doors are wide open to media inquiries in line with the transparency and anti-corruption stance of our administration.”

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, who gave the keynote address titled, “Democracy, Political Transition and Challenge of Leadership in Africa”, called for a paradigm shift and the birth of a new narrative in the country.

He charged the country’s leaders on integrity in the discharge of their duties, stressing that the country needed leaders that would deliver on good governance.

He said: “In a moment that stands out as the crowning glory of our democracy, then President Goodluck Jonathan, putting the interest of the nation above his personal or group interest, conceded defeat to the current President Buhari, then of the opposition and now ruling party - the APC even before the final figures were tallied.

“The world stood still as what was once thought to be an impossible development manifested its beautiful colours before us. May we please all rise up and give President Jonathan a

standing ovation for this rare feat.”

He said that the nation’s democracy had come to stay and called on Nigerians to be very proud, but added there was still a lot of work to be done.

He also canvassed support for the Buhari administration in its efforts to tackle the current economic challenges.

Emmanuel said that in the present situation, partisan politics should give way to the promotion of policies and programmes that unify Nigerians along the lines of common destiny and growth.

Abdulsalami, in his remarks, said that the country would have been engulfed in a devastating conflict if the political leaders, especially Jonathan and Buhari, had ignored the mediation of the National Peace Committee (NPC), which he co-chaired.

In his address, Abdulsalami said Nigerians have every cause to celebrate their nation in the light of the outcome of the elections, which had often resulted in an

orgy of violence in many other countries.

While commending the political leaders, he said that the efforts of the NPC would have been in vain without the collective cooperation of the country’s leaders.

“Our efforts would have been in vain if President Buhari and former President Jonathan were not willing to cooperate with us and think about Nigeria first, or if Prof. Jega had failed to perform his statutory role well.

“We must all embrace this standard set by them and ensure that the labours of our heroes past are not in vain. We must ensure peace because if there is no peace, there is no country,” he said.

On his part, the publisher of the Leadership Newspapers, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah, said Jonathan’s decision to concede defeat prevented 10,000 deaths.

Providing insights into what transpired behind the scenes Continued on page 10

NIGERIA NEEDS INFRASTRUCTURE, NOT IPHONES, ADEOSUN TELLS DONORS, FOREIGN INVESTORS it would offer zero interest rate on its concessional lending facility from 2016 to 2018 to Nigeria and other low-income economies that are in dire need of financial support to boost their economies and overcome challenges as a result of low commodity prices.

Adeosun said: “It seems very simple, in terms of what needs to be done. We are quite excited about negative interest rates. We like that you’re not earning any money.

“We are happy to take your money and give you very small positive interest rate. We think that the time has come, everyone is thinking out of the West, but there is nothing left in the West, everybody has to now come to Africa.

“But we don’t want investors to come to Africa to sell us iPhones and many expensive suits.

“We want to become productive, so we want this investment to come into infrastructure that will enable us to compete and really enable Africans to stay in Africa.”

She informed her audience that Nigeria has started a journey, which would take its economy from being dependent on oil as a primary commodity, to a more productive economy.

Adeosun said the economy had moved from spending 90 per cent of its budget on recurrent items and only 10 per cent on capital expenditure, to 70 per cent on recurrent expenditure and 30 per cent on capital expenditure.

“From the numbers that we have done, the infrastructure gap that we face, even if we devote our budget for the next three years, it is not enough, so we’ve got to look for creative ways to mobilise additional capital.

“We started of course with spending our own money (pension funds) because we think, of course, that the first thing we have to do is to re-establish some benchmarks, some ability to deliver on roads, on rails, on basic infrastructure,” she said.

According to her, Nigeria’s long-term plan is to mobilise private capital. “We think the narrative around who pays for infrastructure is a very important one in Africa. I say that because at the moment, if you don’t have infrastructure, you are going to pay anyway. If you spend six hours on a journey that should take you an hour, you’ve paid.

“So how do we convert that payment, which is currently informal and very painful, into a formal payment and therefore turn to a revenue stream that could attract investors, That is the challenge that we are working on now.

“As I have said, we are leading with our own money. We are looking at a regulatory framework that would enable investors to come in. We know it’s a new market and we are going to de-risk it.

“So what we are starting with are just infrastructure bonds that we guarantee, and then hopefully, when investors get an appetite for what the Nigerian infrastructure framework can provide them in terms of returns, we believe, we’d be able to remove some of the safeguards needed at the moment.

“We are hungry for infrastructure. We’ve got 170 million people who don’t have power in sufficient quantities, we don’t have a rail system, we don’t have a road structure, we believe that if we solve these infrastructure challenges, the entire productivity chain — agriculture, solid minerals, manufacturing, our unemployment problems — could all be solved.

“Our population is young; we have to provide a standard of living that keeps young vibrant Africans in Africa, because we think that is very important for eliminating poverty,” the minister stated.

IMF Offers Zero Interest Rate The finance minister’s remarks came after the IMF said it was offering zero interest rate on its lending facilities between 2016 and 2018 to Nigeria and other low-income countries that are in dire need of financial support to boost their economies.

Addressing the media at the ongoing World Bank/IMF annual meetings, the Managing Director of the IMF, Ms. Christine Lagarde, said the policy was expected to help countries that are members of the donor institution absorb future shocks and continue their efforts to achieve deeper and more sustainable economic growth in line with sustainable development goals.

Despite the concession being dangled by the fund, THISDAY reliably gathered from a top

official at the Ministry of Finance, that Nigeria might not be interested in borrowing from the IMF because of the conditionalities that are usually associated with loans from the fund.

Africa’s top oil exporter has been hit by low oil prices and depleted foreign reserves that have plunged the country into recession.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently revealed that the country’s GDP contracted by 2.06 per cent in the second quarter of 2016, compared to the negative growth of 0.36 per cent recorded in the first quarter.

The country recently got a lifeline from the African Development Bank (AfDB), with the bank stating that it would support the country with the sum of $1 billion to help it address the N2.2 trillion deficit in the 2016 budget.

It is also in talks with the World Bank to plug its budget deficit, just as it is getting set to issue a Eurobond.

Continuing, Lagarde said the IMF board took the decision on the zero interest rate, which is in alignment with most developed economies, in view of the challenges facing some low income countries, including Nigeria.

“If we must improve the inequality issue, we must have a strong international safety net.

In this context, I am pleased to reveal that our board recently approved the extension of zero interest rate on all concessional facilities from 2016 to 2018, and thereafter, if there is need for extension.

“That is really important for low-income countries to be able to actually absorb the shocks without necessarily going to the international markets or relying on bilateral lending capacity of close to a trillion dollars by extending access to bilateral borrowing agreements.

“The new agreements that are being signed this week will run at least through the end of 2019, and will continue to serve as a third line of defence.

“As you know, the first line of defence is the quota, second line are new arrangements to borrow, and the third line of defence will be those bilateral loans.

“We have so far received pledges of $344 billion from 26 members. We look forward to

others joining this effort. We will provide more details shortly, and there will be some signing sessions organised in the course of the next two days,” she explained.

According to Lagarde, the outlook for advanced economies remained subdued, while the outlook for developing economies provide some guarded optimism with great diversities within the various economies.

“We also believe that each country has something to offer.

My hope is that at the end of these meetings, each finance minister, each governor of central banks will go back home thinking of what to fuel growth.

“For example, when the monetary policy has been overstretched, fiscal policy can step up. This will also put in place the structural reforms that are much needed, which have been sorted out in some countries, but which are still lacking in other places,” she added.

Also speaking at a separate media briefing yesterday, the President of the World Bank Group, Jim Yong Kim, noted that a lot of developing countries continue to struggle amidst a sluggish global economy.

He stressed that a lot of countries had been hit by falling commodity prices and stagnating global trade.

He pointed out that “we now have the highest number of developing countries in recession since 2009”, adding that the World Bank had been working to meet rising demand for assistance to help countries manage the global challenges.

Furthermore, Kim said the World Bank was playing a strong counter-cyclical role in the global economy.

“But multiple risks threaten hard-fought gains in many countries and can hamper progress on our goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity.

“Our research shows that inequality is still far too high, both globally and within countries, constraining growth and breeding instability.

“We need to focus on growth and continue to reduce inequality – and we have to make growth more equitable, and more sustainable. Because of the multiple, overlapping global shocks – including climate change, forced displacement,

and pandemics – we have to scale up our efforts dramatically,” he said.

Senate Invites Buhari However, as finance ministers, central bank governors, economists and financial experts converged on Washington for the annual meetings of the Bretton Woods institutions, the Senate yesterday joined the House of Representatives to invite President Muhammadu Buhari to appear before a joint session of the National Assembly to brief it on the state of the economy.

A fortnight ago, the House had passed a resolution inviting the president to address the legislature on the economy, as the nation navigates through its worst recession in 29 years.

The decision to concur with the House’s resolution in the Senate yesterday followed a motion by the Deputy Senate Leader, Ibn Na’Allah, drawing the attention of the Senate to the resolution of the House on September 22.

Na’Allah asked the Senate to concur with the House’s resolution passed on September 22 to invite the president to address a joint session of the National Assembly to intimate it with plans to get the country out of the recession to enable the National Assembly take further legislative action.

After moving the motion, the Senate President Bukola Saraki put the motion to a voice vote, which was passed without any dissenting voice.

Oil Hits $52/bl Meanwhile, the prices of crude oil rose to a four-month high yesterday, following expectations that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would cut global output as agreed, coupled with a large drop in the U.S. inventory levels on Wednesday.

The price of the global benchmark, Brent crude had hit $115 per barrel in June 2014, before it slumped to over a decade low of $27 per barrel in January 2016.

The price later recovered to a 2016 high of $52 in June and slumped again to hover at $43 per barrel.

However, Brent crude futures yesterday settled at $52.41 a barrel, after hitting a session peak of $52.65, the highest in four months.

U.S. crude, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), also settled at $50.29 a barrel, having broken above $50 for the first time since June this year.

Citing OPEC sources, Reuters reported that a number of OPEC oil ministers, plus Russia's energy minister are set to attend an energy conference in Istanbul, and are expected to meet together informally although they are unlikely to make any new decisions.

OPEC agreed last week to implement modest oil output cuts in the first such deal since 2008, with the group’s leader Saudi Arabia softening its stance on arch-rival, Iran, amid mounting pressure from low oil prices.

Under the deal, OPEC would reduce output to a range of 32.5 million barrels per day (mbpd) and 33mbpd from the current estimates of 33.24mbpd.

But investors are concerned that the cartel’s members may not stand by an agreement on output cuts.

Concerns have also been raised over how much sway the cartel now has over a market still brimming with crude from around the world, even as the scope of the proposed reduction has been considered inadequate to arrest the supply growth and bring balance back to the supplydemand dynamics.

However, both contracts hit their highest in nearly four months, after U.S. data showed crude oil stockpiles fell 3 million barrels last week to 499.74 million barrels, confounding expectations for an increase.

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Again, Dislodged Vandals Strike, Abduct Vice-Principal, Teacher, Students from Lagos School House urges police to rescue victims, LASG says it’s on top of the situation Chiemelie Ezeobi in Lagos and Damilola Oyedele in Abuja Some persons suspected to be pipeline vandals, who were dislodged from the Lagos and Ogun State creeks by security forces, yesterday stormed and infiltrated the Igbonla Model College in the Epe area of Lagos State.

The heavily armed gang was said to have accessed the area using their speedboats and abducted four students, the vice-principal and a teacher of the school.

In an operation that created ripples in the school and its environs, the suspects infiltrated the school at about 8 a.m. when the students and teachers were at the assembly ground and abducted their victims.

However, two of the abducted students managed to escape from their captors and returned to school to recount their ordeal.

THISDAY gathered that to access the school, some members of the armed gang had broken some parts of the wall, stormed the school’s assembly ground and snatched the six persons.

Others entered the school premises by scaling a side of the fence, in a bid to close off any escape route.

It was also gathered that while some members of the gang entered the school, five others stayed behind in their speedboats in preparation for a fast getaway through the Ogebere River in Ogun State.

Upon gaining entrance to the school, they first pretended to be manual labourers in order to get close to the students and

teacher without alerting them of their intentions.

Once they were close to their targets, they were said to have popped out their guns, threatening to shoot anyone who moved.

As this was ongoing, two of the gunmen mounted surveillance at the entranc to the school, while eight others headed towards the crowd to pick their intended victims.

But it was said to have proven more difficult than they anticipated because on sighting the guns, the students ran in different directions despite threats to shoot them.

The gunmen were said to have then released a hails of bullets into the air, which fortunately did not hit anyone. Afterwards, they made towards the vice-principal’s office and picked him up and a teacher, alongside four students of the school.

In a bid to flee unhindered, they released another hail of bullets, as they made away with the victims.

Among those abducted was Lukman Oyerinde, said to be the elder brother of the late Olaitan Oyerinde, a former aide to Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

At press time, it wasn’t clear what the security men attached to the school were doing when the gang accessed the school and kidnapped the six persons.

Given that the suspects had escaped through the Ogbere River, it was gathered that the military and police promptly moved to block some of the exit points.

Confirming the incident, the state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said efforts were ongoing to rescue the victims unhurt.

He also said while four persons

were abducted by the gunmen, efforts were ongoing to track down the suspects and bring them to book.

“This morning, some gunmen stormed Lagos State Model College, Igbonla, Epe, and abducted two teachers and two students.

“We have contacted the Ogun State Police Command, the marine unit of the force and naval personnel who have encircled the river.

“Two of the students have since been rescued by our men. We will soon rescue the other victims and pick up the suspects,” he said.

Reacting to the incident, the House of Representatives yesterday urged the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Ibrahim Idris, to immediately deploy police officers and the necessary apparatus to ensure the release of the students and teachers.

Hon. Olawale Raji (Lagos APC), who represents Epe Federal Constituency in the House, raised the matter before the chamber in a motion of urgent public importance.

He said the attack on the school was a setback to the expansion of access to education and determination of parents to ensure their wards get a basic education.

Adopting the motion, the House condemned the abduction, describing it as callous and a grossly inhuman act against the tenets of those seeking qualitative education.

The House also urged the police and other security agencies to step up strict surveillance in Epe and all schools in the state to avoid a recurrence.

Similarly, the Lagos State

Lagos Model College, Igbonla-Epe Deputy Governor, Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule, visited the school, assuring Lagosians that government was working assiduously to ensure the prompt rescue of the victims.

Adebule, who was accompanied by top government functionaries and heads of security agencies, condemned the act and pleaded with parents and families of the victims to cooperate with government and security agencies to ensure the prompt rescue of the victims.

While addressing hundreds of parents who had come to the school to withdraw their children, the deputy governor said this would not help the situation, as the panic being displayed by the

parents would further compound the situation.

She said: “It is true that in the last 29 years when this school was established, we have never experienced a thing like this, but now that it has happened and it is confronting us, we must come together to find a lasting solution to it.

“We, as government, parents, the school and security agencies, must remain united to solve this problem. I know you are angry, I know you are worried and I know you are agitated, but we must look for a solution.

“But I plead for the understanding of parents on this matter. I know how traumatic it could be, I know how emotional

the issue we are discussing could be, but the best we can do is to handle it with care and with utmost wisdom that God can give us.”

She assured the parents, students and teachers frantic with worry that the state government would do everything humanly possible to ensure the rescue of the victims, adding that a team of security operatives would stay behind in the school to secure the students and teachers.

She also revealed that all the security agencies including the police, air force, navy, army and others had been fully mobilised to ensure the rescue of the victims, just as she expressed confidence in the success of the rescue operation.

The section states that “a court may permit an alteration or an amendment to a charge or framing of a new charge at any time before judgment is pronounced”.

He also quoted Section 216(3), which states that “where a defendant is arraigned for trial on an imperfect or erroneous charge, the court may permit or direct the framing of a new charge, or any amendment to, or the alteration of the original charge”.

When the federal government charged Saraki and Ekweremadu for the alleged forgery, both of them had maintained their innocence, saying that it was politically motivated arising from their emergence as Senate President and Deputy Senate

President, respectively.

Their election did not sit well with the presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which had backed Senators Ahmed Lawal and George Akume to lead the Senate.

The decision to withdraw the charges against them may also not be unconnected to weakness of the federal government’s case against them.

THISDAY had reported two weeks ago that the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) was faced with the dilemma of amending the charges against Saraki and Ekweremadu, because the charges that had been filed in court were baseless and could not hold water.

Jega, the Leadership publisher informed him that he had “set a standard for all his successors”.

However, reacting to NdaIsaiah’s revelation, the Bayelsa governor yesterday refused to take credit for his role in the 2015 presidential election, stating that only Jonathan should take credit for the success of the poll.

A statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said: “Dickson

believes that the action taken by Jonathan saved thousands of lives that would have been lost and kept the unity of Nigeria intact, particularly against the backdrop of predictions of the nation’s disintegration.”

Earlier in his statement on the joint award, Dickson had called on Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora to “always accord Jonathan the respect and honour of the true statesman that he is”.

FG WITHDRAWS FORGERY CHARGES AGAINST SARAKI, EKWEREMADU Saraki and Ekweremadu were charged alongside Maikasuwa and Efeturi for allegedly forging the Senate Standing Orders. All of them pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail. They were first arraigned before Justice Yusuf Halilu on June 10, 2016.

However, a litigation officer from the Ministry of Justice, Odudu Loveme, yesterday deposed to an affidavit, which was attached to the new charges.

Loveme averred that the prosecutor, Aliyu Umar (SAN), had on September 30, in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution told him that he had studied the case diary and “had decided to amend the charges in the manner stated on the face of the motion paper”.

He stated that he had consequently filed the amended charges. He said: “That I depose to this affidavit in good faith believing same to be correct to the best of my knowledge and information and in accordance with the Oaths Act Cap 01 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.”

On the face of the new charge, only Messrs Maikasuwa and Efeturi would now face prosecution.

Count one of the new charge reads: “Salisu Maikasuwa and Benedict Efeturi, on or about the 9th day of June 2015 at the National Assembly Complex, Three Arms Zone, Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, agreed to do an illegal act, to wit to make the Senate Standing Orders,

2015 (as amended), without the authority of the 7th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which act was committed by yourselves and that you thereby committed the offence of criminal conspiracy.”

They were also accused of fraudulently amending the 2015 Senate Standing Orders without the authority of the 7th Senate “with the intention that the senators-elect of the 8th Senate would believe that the said Senate Standing Orders, 2015 (as amended), was made by the authority of the 7th Senate of the Federal republic of Nigeria”.

They were accused of forging a document punishable under Section 366 of the Penal Code Act (Northern States) Federal

Provisions Act, 1960, Cap 345, Laws of the Federation, 1990 (as amended).

The federal government also accused them of giving false information with the intention to mislead the public.

The court had on September 28 adjourned the matter to today, October 7 for commencement of hearing.

Justifying the amendment, Umar said that the sole issue for determination was “whether the court can permit the amendment of the charge in terms of the amended charge”.

According to him, the court has the powers to permit the amendment based on the provisions of Section 216(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.

AGAIN, BUHARI HAILS JONATHAN’S PATRIOTIC ZEAL, INEC FOR SUCCESS OF 2015 POLLS during the 2015 presidential election, Nda-Isaiah disclosed that the Bayelsa State governor Seriake Dickson, Senator Ben Bruce, the then Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) Ita Ekpenyong, former Minister of Aviation Osita Chidoka, and a handful of others, played instrumental roles in encouraging the former president to concede defeat.

He said those that convinced

Jonathan to call Buhari, did so against the wishes of persons he described as “criminals who wanted Jonathan to rig the election no matter how many people would have died as a result”.

He added that the former president’s singular action made it easier for several state governors to concede defeat.

“Something else was happening on that day. President Goodluck

Jonathan told then Senator-elect Ben Bruce and other party faithful who saw him that Tuesday morning that he would be conceding.

“Some of the party faithful didn’t understand what he meant because that had never happened before. He went on to say that if he didn’t concede, 10,000 Nigerians would die by the end of that day.

“Ben Bruce encouraged him.

Others who played major roles in encouraging him included Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, Ita Ekpenyong, the then DSS DG, and Osita Chidoka, the then Minister of Aviation, and a handful of others.

“These people had to battle the criminals who wanted Jonathan to rig the election no matter how many people would have died as a result,” he disclosed.

While congratulating Prof.

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NEWS

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

Naira Appreciates on Parallel Market as Travelex Commences Dollar Sales to BDCs Obinna Chima and Nume Ekeghe

Relief appears to have come the way of the naira, which had

been under attack on the parallel market FX in the past few days as the currency strengthened to N473 to the dollar yesterday, from N475 to the dollar, it closed

Ijaw Youths Accuse Buhari of Freezing Jonathan’s Accounts Presidency dismisses allegations Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa Protesting Ijaw youths yesterday accused President Muhammadu Buhari of secretly giving the order for the bank accounts of former President Goodluck Jonathan to be frozen, alleging that the order was indicative of his “vindictiveness” towards the former first family.

The irate youths under the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), who blocked the Sanni Abacha expressway in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, said it was disturbing that of all the former leaders, only Jonathan and his wife, Patience, were being “hounded” by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Their allegation collaborates information reaching THISDAY recently that the action by the EFCC has made it difficult for the ex-president to meet some of his pressing obligations and is now dependent on friends and associates to help him pay some of his bills.

However the presidency dismissed the allegation by the youths that Buhari had issued the

directive to freeze the accounts of Jonathan, saying it was a fabricated accusation.

The youths alleged that Jonathan’s account had been frozen, his allowances withdrawn and his security personnel starved of payments by the federal government.

“This country has produced many presidents, but the only one from the Niger Delta is constantly harassed by the machinery of state, especially the EFCC. “We want to call on the president to please respect former President Jonathan, at least for the fact that he brought peace to this country, handed over peacefully to him. He didn’t go to court. He allowed him to run this country.

“President Buhari should please focus on leadership and stop vilifying the former first family,” Udengs Eradiri, the factional president of the IYC who led the protest said.

Many of the demonstrators displayed Ijaw flags and placards

responsibility of disbursing huge dollar inflows from the diaspora estimated at $21 billion annually to BDCs. He said the development, which was an improvement from the initially approved $10,000 weekly, would deepen dollar liquidity in the system and strengthen the naira against the dollar.

Gwadabe, said the experience and integrity of Travelex would be key in getting the dollars down to BDCs. He urged all ABCON members and BDC operators, as a matter of urgency, to visit the apex bank’s branches in their respective zones to update or validate their en-cashers and signatories mandate card for Travelex biometric data capturing.

Gwadabe said the Travelex biometric data capturing would enable the BDCs access the International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs)/Travelex dollars window.

He said remittances had direct

positive and significant impact on consumption, investment, and demand in the country as it could be used to address short-run output shocks, and even long run growth. He said remittances tended to be stable and could increase during periods of economic downturns and natural disasters.

He commended the CBN for reaffirming the country’s commitment to building an enabling environment and level-playing field for international money transfer services to Nigeria.

He said by increasing the number of IMTOs from three to 14, the CBN under its Governor, Godwin Emefiele, would set the economy on the path of development in the medium- to long-term and also, restore integrity in the international money transfer business.

Gwadabe also commended the CBN’s efforts to strengthen the BDCs to meet the forex demand at the retail end

of the market, so that they would continue to enhance employment generation in the country.

The ABCON boss was optimistic despite the challenges facing the economy, the CBN and BDCs would continue to work together and find sustainable solutions that could help the country wriggle out of the ongoing forex crisis and achieve full economic recovery.

He pledged that ABCON under his leadership would continue to ensure that purchased funds are sold to end users and on eligible transactions only, while weekly returns on purchases from the banks will be rendered to Trade and Exchange Department of the CBN. He further promised to ensure strict compliance to the provisions of the antimoney laundering laws and observance of appropriate KYC principles in the handling of forex transactions.

Cont’d on Pg 54

FG Summons Turkish Ambassador over Detention of Nigerian Students The federal government has summoned the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Hakan Cakil, over the detention of Nigerian students studying in the country.

Last week, the Turkish government allegedly ordered the arrest of 50 Nigerians. While some have been deported, others are being kept behind bars.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said the government had asked its Turkish counterpart to free the students.

“Amb. Cakil Summoned: Nigerian Students Release Demanded,” he wrote on Twitter.

One of the affected students had earlier told TheCable that he was captured like Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Boko Haram sect.

The electrical engineering undergraduate of the University of Fatih, said Turkish officials found nothing incriminating on him but deported him all the same.

“Well, right now, I’m inside the flight commencing my first leg of my return journey back to Abuja. After being marshalled in like Shekau that they just caught,” he had said.

“So, I came back, with an open mind considering since I was back in the country, I’ve

the previous day.

The appreciation of the naira followed the implementation of a new arrangement between the Centrak Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Travelex, a global foreign exchange (forex) dealer.

Also, on the interbank FX market, the spot rate of the naira climbed to N307 to the dollar yesterday, compared to the N311 to the dollar it closed the previous day.

Clearly, the appreciation of the nation’s currency was buoyed by the announcement yesterday that Travelex would today start disbursing $15,000 to each of the 3,000 registered Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators.

President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Aminu Gwadabe, who disclosed this yesterday, said with each of the 3,000 BDCs getting $15,000 each, a total of $45 million will flow into the system.

He lauded the CBN for authorising Travelex to take

been hearing reports about how returning students were being treated. But I felt, okay here I am, as innocent as ever, supposed to even have graduated with my set this year but for minor visa complications in that past that made me miss a semester.

“I handed my travel documents to the officer at the passport control desk. I gave him the documents, he looked them, then asked me for my father’s name. I gave him.

I didn’t think anything about it, then I saw him hysterically punching numbers in a cell phone and giving orders to people; that was when I starting getting worried.

“I still kept quiet all these while, though. Managing to smile, until suddenly two armed policemen came next to me and demanded I follow them. I complied, still smiling even though they all were giving me hostile looks and had no kind emotions either of their faces. Anyways, they ushered me to a waiting area just close to the passport control area. Here, they made me wait for about 10 minutes; I could see them photocopying my passport, talking to one another in hurried sentences and what not. It all seemed frantic.”

REWARD FOR STRONG LEADERSHIP

L-R: Estsu Nupe, HRH Alhaji Yahaya Abubarka; Chairman, Leadership Newspaper Group, Mr, Sam Nda-Isaiah; Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel; former Head of State, General Abdusalami Abubakar (rtd);, and President Muhammadu Buhari at the presentation of 2015 Leadership Newspaper Man of the Year Award to President Buhari at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja...yesterday GODWIN OMOIGUI

INEC Issues Certificate of Return to Obaseki Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has issue a Certificate of Return to the Edo State Governor-elect, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, who won the September 28 governorship election in the state.

In his address, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Edo State, Mr. Sam Olumekun, described the election as historic in the history of the commission and Edo people, noting that an inconclusive election would have violated the constitution, which was the reason why the election was postponed.

Olumekun said: “It is a historic day not only in the lives of our new leaders but also in the lives of the people of Edo State. It is the dawn of a new era.

“An inconclusive election would have pushed us to an electoral crisis with barely two weeks to the 30 days before handover, Edo people will appreciate why we had the

election on September 28. That is why the commission left no stone unturned in conducting the September 28 election which was conclusive.

He also thanked INEC officials, security agencies and other stakeholders who worked tirelessly to ensure a successful outcome, noting that “of course you are aware that we did not lose any lives.”

He added that the job of “conducting an election is the joint duty of all stakeholders who play their part in ensuring a peaceful and credible election takes place, urging Obaseki to “kindly remember that the people’s interest and welfare is paramount.”

While presenting the Certificate of Return, the Southsouth National Commissioner, Dr. Mustapha Muhammed, said:“It is with great sense of duty that I stand to perform this statutory duty of the INEC.” Mustapha who said the card reader has come to stay

to eliminate all forms of electoral fraud in the electoral process stressed that, “INEC will continue to ensure a free, fair and credible election across the country.”

Responding after the presentation of Certificate of Return to him, Obaseki, who was in company of his Deputy Governor-elect Mr. Philip Shaibu, thanked God and the people of Edo State for their support and noted that he was in the race to serve.

“Let me start by thanking God Almighty and also the REC and INEC Chairman for conducting what has been adjudged one of the most peaceful, free, fair and credible elections in the state.

“I feel so exited today because I decided to entre politics because I felt it was time to expand the polity. I see my role as one of a touch bearer so as to attract resources into our democratic space.

I was cognisant of the fact I had to run my campaign

as professionally as possible, dealing with the issues that concern our people and try to down play the non-issues. It has shown that today’s result can be proven, we can be professional, we can be honest, we can be open, we don’t have to tell lies, we don’t have to deceive our people to get electoral success.

“The events leading to the election and after have proven that you were as fair, transparent and open as you possibly could be and the people of Edo State generally accepted the outcome of the election. You were efficient but not perfect.

“I fully understand the responsibility I am here to carry, I have the people of Edo State who have come out to give me the responsibility of leading Edo. “I want to assure everybody here that I decided to become governor because I want to serve and I will put your interest over and above my personal interest.”

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016 • T H I S D AY

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NEWS

No Leadership Change in APGA, Says Oye As NWC meeting ends in turmoil

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Oye has dismissed claims by some members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) that he has been suspended from office. Oye said that contrary to such insinuations, the meeting of the NWC was peaceful and that it considered the report on the outcome of the just-concluded Edo State

governorship election.

He insisted that APGA remains one family and that it would continue to uphold its constitution and the ideology, which has produced a model in governance in Anambra state. On the party’s position on the Edo election, Oye said that APGA condemned the wanton manipulation of the electoral process during the gubernatorial contest. He alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

House C’ttee, AGF to Collaborate on Repatriation of $458m Looted Funds Frowns at indiscriminate ATM charges by banks Damilola OyedeleinAbuja The House of Representatives yesterday mandated its Committee on Justice to liaise with the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Abubakar Malami to collaborate to ensure the repatriation of $458 million looted funds forfeited to the United States.

The committee and the AGF would be expected to interface with the US Congress and Department of Justice.

The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Hon. .Ehiozuwa Agbonayinma (Edo PDP) who noted that the $458 million was forfeited to the US by a judgment of the District Court for the District of Colombia in 2013, out of the sum of $550 million.

The District Court had hinged the forfeiture on the basis that there was no credible claim for the assets, the lawmaker noted.

He added that the country is at risk of losing another N218 billion looted funds domiciled in 14 international accounts across banks, fund administrators and traceable assets to Property Corporations.

Agbonayinma recalled that in August 2014, several properties were discovered to have been purchased from the proceeds of corruption, following asset tracing by the US Justice department in alliance with its counterparts in France and the United Kingdom.

$168 million was confiscated through the asset tracing and returned to victim nations, Agbonayinma said.

In another development, the House frowned at the disregard of the policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria regarding the N65 charge on Automated Teller Machine withdrawal.

The apex bank’s policy stipulates that N65 should be deducted after the fourth monthly ATM withdrawal on a non issuing bank’s machine.

Banks have however been reported to commence the charge from the first withdrawal, the House said.

Hon. Tajudeen Yusuf (Kogi PDP) wondered why the CBN is yet to sanction the erring banks.

“Banks do not comply with the CBN directive which makes the first three withdrawals in other banks’ ATM free. Due to poor networking facility driving the Transmission backbone of the ATM data which leads to constant system glitches, many customers often times do withdrawals in machines belonging to other banks,” Yusuf said.

“As a result of the usage of other banks’ ATMs customers lose money due to N65 charges on every transaction. The CBN being the regulatory body of banks has not taken any reasonable and punitive measure to sanction banks engaged in this sharp practice of N65 deduction from customers,” the lawmaker said.

FG to Disburse N500bn for Social Intervention Programme President Muhammadu Buhari has stated that the Federal Government’s social intervention programme aimed at ameliorating the sufferings of vulnerable people in the country in the society would generate employment for 500,000 graduates and train over 300,000 Nigerians. Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the 45th/10th Biennial Conference of the Methodist Church of Nigeria with the theme “Chosen to Bear Fruits,” Buhari, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal, said that the government would soon begin the disbursement of N500 billion earmarked for

the programme. “The Social Intervention Programme will commence in no distant time with the disbursement of N500 billion earmarked in the 2016 budget for the purpose. There are other government policies set in motion with similar intentions. “We believe that these programmes will help reduce unemployment among our teeming youths and address other challenges which make our society vulnerable to crimes and social vices,” he said.

He said that the Central Bank’s Anchor Borrowers’ programme designed to assist farmers was yielding the desired result as bumper harvest was expected this year.

connived with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to divert the huge chunk of votes that APGA got in the Edo election.

He said: “From the returns that we had, we scored 30,000 votes. The 30,000 votes were allocated to All Progressive Congress (APC) to boost its votes in other to beat Ize Iyamu the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). So APGA as a political party condemns in no unmistakable terms what transpired at that election.”

Oye also pointed at what happened in Nassarawa State where the party participated in a bye-election held for the Toto Federal constituency, describing it as daylight robbery “What took place there in the name of election where the total number of voters was recorded as 500 is a daylight robbery, while accredited voters was 117 while number of votes return was 1700,” he said.

He wondered why such a thing would be tolerated in this country, saying it was a shame on all the stakeholders. Some members of the NWC led by the Deputy National Secretary, Jerry

Obasi had addressed a press conference in Abuja shortly after a marathon meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party which lasted till the wee hours of yesterday.

He noted that they have passed a vote of no confidence on the chairman for gross misconduct.

He said the meeting had suspended the chairman for violating several sections of the party’s constitution, ranging from gross misconduct to financial misappropriation.

The other officers affected are the deputy national chairman (north), Alhaji Abubakar Adamu and the deputy national chairman (south), Uchenna Okogbuo.

They were accused of gross misconduct, which included giving the party’s candidature tickets to non-APGA members without recourse to the constitutional provisions on applying for waiver through the NWC in violation of Article 24 (8) (a) (b); running the party without an approved budget against Article 12 (1) (9) and suspension of Edo State exco without approval or ratification by the NWC, in addition to seven other offences.

The National Vice Chairman (south east), Ozo Nwabueze Okafor, was appointed by the aggrieved NWC members as an interim chairman pending when a seven-man disciplinary committee must have concluded its assignment of looking into the alleged infractions levelled against the suspended officers.

Briefing journalists outside the party’s national Secretariat in Abuja at the end of the tension-soaked meeting, Obasi said the suspended chairman violated several sections of the party’s constitution ranging from gross misconduct to financial misappropriation, running the party like his personal empire and donating tickets to aspirants and candidates. He alleged that there was no transparency in the manner Oye piloted the affairs of the party, after which a statement signed by 13 members of the NWC titled ‘Constitutional Provisions Breached by Victor Ike Oye’ was distributed to journalists.

He said:, “We don’t know how much the party generates, that is the income of the party; we don’t know from where this income comes. He would only

tell you I gave this person this amount as if it is his personal business, whereas APGA is supposed to be a party that is governed by laws and certain regulations.

“But all these things were diminished, neglected and abandoned by Ike Oye and these things were done very violently and in total disregard to our constitution. “Oye, immediately we were sworn in as officers, was supposed to run the party in uniformity but decisions as it concerns APGA have been taken by him unilaterally and very incongruous with the value that the party had put in place. There is a template that has been set by the party but the emergence of Ike Oye as national chairman has wasted all these tenets and principles. In fact, the image of the party under Ike Oye is near zero; the only thing going for APGA is its good name as left by leaders of the party like late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu but Ike Oye has abandoned the party and running a personal course using APGA as a bait,” he said.

PERMANENT SITE FOR NIGERIAN EDITORS

L-R: Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule; President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mrs Funke Egemode; former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi; and former Delta State Governor, Mr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, at the commissioning of the Editor’s House, in Ikeja, Lagos… yesterday

Babalakin Seeks Review of Judiciary, Legal Education The Chairman of Bi-Courtney Group of Companies and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr. Wale Babalakin has called for a critical and urgent review of the nation’s judiciary.

The senior lawyer, who spoke on ‘Judiciary in an Emerging Economy, Challenges and Prospect’, recalled that the Chief Justice of the old Western Region earned more than the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the 1960s.

He maintained that the judiciary he grew up knowing was totally different from what exists now.

“Where we are now is a melancholic decadence of a great institution,” Babalakin noted yesterday, while speaking at the ongoing 2016 Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lagos Branch, with the

theme ‘Judicial Independence and the Democratic Process.”

He decried the lost values and the lack of innovative ways of tackling issues prevalent within the judiciary, disclosing that the issues he identified about Nigeria’s judiciary in his 1986 doctoral thesis submitted to the Cambridge University are yet to be resolved.

“There have been no improvements; we still have unthinking responses to severe problems. Have you related the solution to the problem,” he said.

On complaints about the appointment of judges, Babalakin held that Nigeria’s judiciary would remain the same until efforts are made to attract the best individuals to the bench.

“Our court system will work better when judges have superior intellect than even the best

lawyers” he said.

He added that a new method has to be found for the composition of the National Judicial Council.

He condemned the practice of promoting judges on the basis of seniority, noting that there are brilliant senior advocates of Nigeria who can be appointed to the bench as is done in the UK. The senior lawyer, who also decried the poor quality of training available to young Nigerian lawyers, said this also needed to be urgently addressed.

“The legal training available today is totally unfair to lawyers,” Babalakin reiterated, while calling for more intensive research into laws on the Nigerian economy.

He cited the example of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) Decree, which has not been critically

appraised to see if it achieved its objectives, while stressing the importance of the most competent people joining the law profession.

“Law must remain the exclusive preserve of strong intellectuals; we need to reform the law; we have to rescue our profession,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, Chairman, Lagos Branch of the NBA, Martin Ogunleye, urged lawyers to save judicial time, adding that “we have to be creative and understand our position in this economic milieu.”

Two other lawyers, Funke Aboyade (SAN) and Deremi Durojaiye, aligned with Ogunleye, stressing that time is money in law and that Nigeria won’t lose anything by adopting latest technology in the administration of justice.

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016

COMMENT

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

THE SENATE FORGERY TRIAL Nwobodo Chidiebere argues the cost of the trial on the nation is high

“I think that if we don’t get these politicians to come together; we face the most predictable economic crisis in history”. -Erskine Bowles he forgery trial by the federal government against the duo of Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu and two others was revisited on September 28, 2016, after a long adjournment due to the annual recess of the judiciary arm of government.

Many political observers, who followed the court proceedings that day at FCT High Court, were taken aback by the ill-preparedness of the government via its prosecuting counsel, even when both the defendants and defence counsel were ready for commencement of trial. The presiding judge later adjourned the case to October 7, 2016, for determination of pending motions and to enable prosecuting counsel get his act together.

What got this writer sobered after the trial was adjourned was the cost of this executive-Legislative feud cloaked as forgery trial, especially when the economy has taken a downward slope into recession, and is progressing on the inglorious path to economic depression. That the Nigerian Senate lost a whole legislative day due to abuse of power and gross incompetence of the prosecuting counsel at this moment of national urgency, should worry every discerning Nigerian. Why continue with this trial when it is crystal clear that Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, is not prepared for it? Why do government officials always engage in misplacement of priorities when crucial national matters like present recession are yearning for attention? Is it not yet time to end this circle of political vendetta and face real governance? The nation’s economy is about sliding into depression while the President Buhari-led government is still bent on continuing with the wild goose chase aimed at decimating the opposition using the fight against corruption as smokescreen.

President Barack Obama of United States was elected president at the heat of world economic crisis in 2009 that dealt heavy blow on American economy. Knowing fully well that Americans entrusted the destiny of United States to him because of his campaign promise of change, which would culminate into economic recovery for America, in less than 30 days after taking office, he worked closely with United States Congress to ensure passage of the 2009 Stimulus Bill- formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This act, speedily considered by the Congress provided for roughly $800 billion in government spending and tax cuts to jumpstart the economy.

United States Congress helped to get the Federal Reserve—American’s central bank to lower the lending rates that got banks paying zero interest rate, which pumped money into the then stressed economy by creating what is known as Quantitative Easing. American economy was able to recover quickly since President Obama did not resort to blaming past governments for the country’s financial crisis or fighting United States Congress, simply because he did not like the faces of its leadership.

President Obama understood that everything rises and falls on leadership and that in politics, the economic past is malleable. He knew that the only

T

NO NATION SURVIVES CHRONIC FINANCIAL CRISIS WHEN TWO STRATEGIC BODIES—THE EXECUTIVE AND THE LEGISLATURE ARE AT EACH OTHER’S JUGULAR

thing an average American expected from him then was to lift the largest world economy out of financial crisis.

Taking a mind race down to our shores, the Nigerian beleaguered economy—which is experiencing its worst crisis in the last three decades is on autopilot; gasping for breath. Naira to a dollar exchange rate is almost N500 on the parallel market. British pounds stood at N600 as at September 30, 2016. Nigeria’s foreign reserve lost over $700 million dollars in less than six weeks to stand at $24.61 billion—an 11-year low September ending. All these economic turbulences and storms are happening simultaneously in an import-dependent economy, while the federal government is stuck in supremacy battle with the legislature over the latter’s internal affairs—alleged forgery of Senate Standing Rules, of which the executive did not have the locus standi to interlope from the onset. As the federal government is scavenging for evidences to prosecute Senate President Saraki and deputy, Ekweremadu for forgery, the nation’s monetary policy drivers—CBN governor and Monetary Policy Committee on one side and fiscal policy managers—Finance Minister cum non-existent economic team, are locked in an egocentric war over reduction of lending rate. The Senate that supposed to mediate as an arbiter to strike much-needed balance between two extreme ends of monetary and fiscal ideological spectrum via its joint committees on Banking, Finance and Public Accounts, is embattled by the same executive that should synergise with the red chamber to rescue our drowning economy.

The crisis-ridden Nigerian economy can be likened to a troubled air-borne Boeing 747 with 180 million passengers on-board the aircraft that is 10,000 Ft above sea level, being piloted by highly polarised crew - at daggers drawn with each other over who will be the captain of the flight. Instead of the crew (executive) to deflate its ego and communicate with Air Traffic Control Tower (Senate) on how to safely land the aircraft, the crew is busy conspiring on how to witch-hurt ATC officers—antagonising them on alleged forgery of manual book governing internal affairs of ATC officers. The palpable danger facing all of us now as regards the economy is that it has lost one of its engines (crashed oil price). The aircraft is running out of aviation fuel (external reserves) and loosing thousands of feet at the speed of light (depreciation of naira). Nigerian economy, like the ill-fated aircraft is bound to crash into depression in couple of months, if something urgent is not done to stem it.

Unless the executive arm put an end to all form of vindictiveness, power tussle and shadow-chasing tendencies and create harmonious relationship with National Assembly, especially the Senate, as soon as possible, Nigerian economic crisis will take a turn for the worse.

President Buhari should bear in mind that hunger has no ethnic, religious and political affiliations. Very soon, frustrated masses will rise in unionism and revolt against the ruling political elite if government of the day does not rethink its crude ways. No nation survives chronic financial crisis when two strategic bodies—the executive and the legislature are at each other’s jugular.

Chidiebere wrote from Abuja

HATS OFF TO UMARU

T

Umaru Ibrahim, chief executive of NDIC, is honoured for ensuring the safety of depositors’ money, writes Richard Owolabi

he letter notifying the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) boss, Mallam Umaru Ibrahim, of his selection by the board of BusinessDay Media Limited for recognition at its annual Nigerian banking industry’s recognition award said it all: “The recognition awards are for exceptional public officials who are involved in the day-to-day regulation and management of the Nigeria’s financial industry. The Award Committee based its decision to consider you for the award due to the safety of customers’ deposits in the last few years as a result of your rigorous oversight functions.” Depositor’s protection is the watchword here. And by all account, those two words form the slogan of the NDIC. The NDIC, established by Act No. 16 of 2006, is a risk minimiser with the broad mandate of deposit guarantee, bank supervision, distress resolution and bank liquidation.

The award could not have come at a better time than now, when all hands are on deck to salvage the country from a major financial crisis. The harsh economic weather in the country has made Nigerians more conscious of the safety of their deposits.

That’s why the recent news of some sudden change of management at the Skye Bank Plc elicited some form of panic withdrawals among depositors. It took a lot of campaigns by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to calm the frayed nerves of depositors. Deposit insurance is a measure implemented in many countries, including Nigeria to protect bank depositors, in full or in part, from losses in the event of failure of a bank. Deposit insurance system is one component of the three components of the financial safety net to promote financial system stability. DIS as an integral part of the global stability framework, plays significant roles during depression and other forms of financial crisis.

A lack of investor confidence results in the reduction in the value of stocks while a lack of consumer

confidence results in a reduction in the flow of money within the economy which means businesses see reduced profits. Such scenarios resulted in the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the eventual Great Depression. As a consequence, the United States, the epicenter of the Great Depression, under the leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt, created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 1933.

The liberalisation of the Nigerian banking Industry in the 80’s necessitated the establishment of a body that will among other things engender confidence in the system. The NDIC was established in 1988 following the promulgation of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation Decree No 22 of 1988 which has since been amended and re-enacted as the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation Act No 16 of 2006. The NDIC was established to administer the Deposit Insurance Scheme [DIS] by providing financial guarantee to depositors in the event of failure of deposit taking financial institutions by reimbursing funds up to a certain maximum limit as provided by law.

Countries have a choice between adopting a flat-rate premium system or a premium system that is differentiated on the basis of individual-bank risk profiles. The primary advantage of a flat-rate premium system is the relative ease with which assessments can be calculated and administered.

However, in a flat-rate system, low-risk banks effectively pay for part of the deposit insurance benefit received by high-risk banks. However, because flat-rate premiums do not reflect the level of risk that a bank poses to the deposit insurance system, banks can increase the risk profile of their portfolios without incurring additional deposit insurance costs. As a result, flat-rate premiums may be perceived as encouraging excessive risk taking by some banks, unless there is a mechanism to impose financial sanctions or penalties.

Risk-adjusted differential premium systems can

mitigate such criticisms and may encourage more prudent risk-management practices at member banks. What does Deposit Insurance Institutions pay depositors when a bank bursts? This is country and economy dependent.

In the United Kingdom, all savers have the first £85,000 of cash protected in the event of their bank or building society going burst from January 1, 2011.

However, just before the Brexit, this was reviewed down by EU to £75,000 -- but not without vehement protests. The limit is applied ‘per individual, per bank’. That means joint account customers can get up to £170,000 refunded if their bank fails.

In Ukraine, an economy in transition, the amount is UAH 1200. The coverage amount could be increased by the decision of the Administrative Board of the Fund, depending on market trends according to the law on Deposit Guarantee Fund, which took effect on October 24, 2001. There was a review of the law in 2012, but the amount remains.

The NDIC-insured limit, until recently, was a maximum of N500,000 for each depositor in respect of deposits held in each insured deposit money bank (DMB) and N200,000 for each depositor in Microfinance Bank (MFB) and Primary Mortgage Bank (PMB) in same right and capacity. This remains the case except with regard to the PMBs for which there was an upward review last two months from N200,000 to N500,000 per depositor and the extension of differential premium assessment system (DPAS) to the PMBs. The approval for the upward review was granted by Minister of Finance on August 4, 2016. It is part of its statutory functions as a deposit insurer as specified in Section 20 (2) of the NDIC Act 2006, which empowers the NDIC’s Board to periodically review the maximum deposit insurance coverage (MDIC) for licensed banks and other deposit taking financial institutions in accordance with changes in deposit structure, income levels and in line with global best practices. The

MDIC review is carried out through studies and surveys and is aimed at ascertaining the adequacy or otherwise of the deposit insurance coverage level for insured institutions in Nigeria. The outcome of the most recent survey conducted in August, 2015 revealed the compelling need for the upward review of the current MDIC for the PMBs from N200,000 to N500,000 per depositor. The survey also revealed that the MDIC increase would cover 99% of depositors of the PMBs in Nigeria. The adoption of DPAS in assessing the annual premium payable by PMBs will promote better risk management in the banks in line with international best practices. Presently, over 120 countries across the globe have adopted DPAS as an objective method of insurance premium pricing.

This is but just one example that NDIC under the leadership of Mallam Umaru Ibrahim has been alive to its mandate. No wonder BusinessDay Media Limited, the publishers of BusinessDay, West Africa’s premier business newspaper, selected him among many existing regulatory institutions for recognition during its 2016 Nigerian banking industry’s recognition award.

Mallam Umaru Ibrahim was recently reappointed for another five –year term as MD/CEO of NDIC. He is a long-standing member of the NDIC family, having been with the institution from its beginning and rising through the ranks to the pinnacle of its management position. Ibrahim joined the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation in May, 1989 as a deputy director and a departmental head in charge of Financial and Technical Support, one of the key operational departments of the corporation then. In 1991, he became a director in charge of the Administration Department of the corporation.

Between 1992 and 2007, he headed several other departments amongst which were the Human Resource and Corporate Development Departments.

Richard, a financial analyst, wrote from Abuja

15

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016

EDITORIAL THE ABUSE OF SECURITY VOTES

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There is need for a review of how security spending should be channelled Nigeria. That is why we believe there is need for a thorough review of how security spending should be channeled, with a proper structure put in place at all levels so that there would be value for money and less abuse.

We acknowledge that not all security expenditure (properly understood as such) can stand public scrutiny without jeopardising its overarching purpose of maintenance of law and order. But nothing can justify the current situation where the executive at all levels allocate to themselves jumbo sums of money that is spent without any accountability on issues that have nothing to do with the security or welfare of the people. Invariably, security votes have become a clever way by which political office holders, in implicit collusion with, or exploitation by, security agencies, defraud the public.

n her visit to Nigeria in 2011, the German Chancellor, Mrs Angela Merkel, identified security and corruption as the two critical challenges facing our country. In the opinion of most Nigerians, then and even now, she was right.

Indeed, it was a measure of her esteem for Nigeria that she came to Abuja shortly after Boko Haram subjected the very symbol of security, the police headquarters, to bombing. Although the military authorities have since decimated the capacity of the Boko Haram insurgents, it is obvious security is still a big challenge in the country.

Yet above all other attributes, security (territorial integrity) is what defines a state. This significance is reflected in the Nigerian constitution in a very crucial manner. It is perhaps the only appropriation vote over which the executive is granted discretionary spending. This is the letter of the constitution. The spirit (the ennoblement) is the expectation that high office holders will exercise this discretion with SECURITY VOTES HAVE utmost fidelity to BECOME A CLEVER WAY the public interest.

BY WHICH POLITICAL In the increasingly OFFICE HOLDERS, IN festering culture IMPLICIT COLLUSION of corruption in WITH, OR EXPLOITATION Nigeria this spirit is BY, SECURITY AGENCIES, observed more in the breach. And it is DEFRAUD THE PUBLIC getting worse.

The scale of this abuse is best left to the imagination when we extrapolate from the brazen corruption to which non-discretionary spending is usually subjected in our country. For instance, revelations from how security funds were allegedly disbursed by the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), as slush funds to prominent members of the former ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are indication of the abuse to which such discretionary spending is subjected in

Letters to the Editor

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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

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n the particular case of the governors, they are hard put to justify the scale of their discretionary receivables when it is realised that all constitutionally recognised security operatives and infrastructure are funded by the federal government. Incidentally, the misuse of security votes became a subject of debate when in the course of the fight between him and then Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja about a decade ago, the late Lamidi Adedibu said he expected a certain percentage of the security votes being collected by the former to be given to him almost as of right. For sure, Adedibu must have had an idea of what Ladoja was doing with the security votes for him to have so crudely demanded his share.

What is particularly worrying is that this abuse is not only at all levels of government, it has been extended to virtually all public agencies, including academic institutions.

More than ever before, Nigeria is in dire need of accountable and public-spirited leadership. The governors, many of whom are now seeking public sympathy on their inability to pay the wages of their workers, should urgently remedy their profligate ways.

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.

VALUING AND IMPROVING TEACHERS’ STATUS

o a large extent, the destiny of every nation is shaped, reinforced and actualised in the classrooms. The quality of lawyers, doctors, accountants, engineers, politicians, administrators and other professionals that a country has is determined by the worth of what transpires in the classroom. According to Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher, Confucius: “To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; To put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; To put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; And to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right”. Since a well nurtured teaching force lies at the heart of every society, to get our hearts right, we need to first get our teachers right.

Without doubt, teachers hold the key to a better future for all. They inspire, challenge and empower innovative and responsible global citizens. They get children into school, keep them there and help them learn. Every day, they help to build the inclusive knowledge societies we need for tomorrow and the century ahead. In truth, nothing can replace a good teacher.

Since 1994, World Teachers Day is celebrated by UNESCO annually every October 5, to mobilise support for the teaching profession across the world. Indeed, teachers are worthy of celebration. It is, therefore, quite thoughtful of UNESCO to set aside a day to acknowledge the laudable contributions of teachers to the socio-economic evolvement of our contemporary world.

It will, therefore, be an understatement to affirm that teachers play multifaceted role in the society. In taking care of pupils and students put in their care for a considerable number of hours on a daily basis,

they act as proxy parents. By helping to shape the destinies of numerous children, they perform the task of social workers. A teacher could equally be likened to a miracle worker who is well schooled in the art of helping a student to discover his/her untapped potential. Whenever the innate but largely hidden potential of a student comes in contact with the therapeutic skill of a teacher, a miracle occurs.

Teachers don’t just teach, they are critical personalities who nurture the young folks to mature, to understand the world and to understand themselves. The education of a child involves a total development of personality and this means that the human element of improvement is essential. This is something that can only be done by the teacher.

In the words of famous rabbi and scholar of Judaism, Jonathan Sacks, “when teachers open our eyes to the world, they give us curiosity and confidence. They teach us to ask questions. They connect us to our past and future.

They are the guardians of our social heritage…Life without a teacher is simply not a life”. In a world that is daily confronted with swift social changes, sometimes inexplicable crisis and bizarre natural occurrences, teachers remain the most constant bastion of hope.

In line with the theme of this year’s World Teachers’ Day, “Valuing Teachers, Improving their Status”, every investment in teachers is one that is worthy of every penny spent. A society that refuses to value teachers will only be promoting ignorance. And ignorance, in its nastiest manifestation, breeds all manner of social ills. This is why every society must fully come to term with the need to further enhance the competence of teachers at all levels. It is only in doing this that the critical issue of nation-building, especially in Third World countries, could be effectively tackled.

Now that the razzmatazz and euphoria surrounding the 2016 World Teachers Day event are over, it is pertinent to properly address the plight of teachers as well as the falling standard of education in the country. It is no longer a secret that the teaching profession is fast losing its status as a dignified vocation in our dear nation. Paradoxically, for any nation to really attain lofty heights, it must pay a close attention to the teaching profession. Sadly, today, being a teacher is almost akin to being an outcast in our country.

Ideally, teachers ought to hold the ace when it comes to nation building. They get children into school, keep them there and help them learn. Every day, they help to build the inclusive knowledge the society needs for tomorrow. Evidence shows that teachers, their professional knowledge and skills are the most important factor for quality education. This requires stronger training upfront and continual professional development and support, to enhance performance and learning outcomes. In Nigeria, we are aware of this, but still neglect teachers’ welfare far too often, teachers remain under-qualified and poorly paid, with low status, and excluded from education policy matters and decisions that concern and affect them.

This is, therefore, the time to go beyond paying lip services to capacity building for teachers. Concerted efforts should be made by appropriate authorities to improve the working conditions of teachers.

A situation where teachers are hired by some private schools as cheap labour should be utterly discouraged. A nation that toils with the well-being of its teachers toils with her future.

Tayo Ogunbiyi, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Lagos

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FRIDAY OCTOBER 7, 2016 T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016

POLITICS

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

PERSONALITY FOCUS

Peter Obi’s Basket Ideology Former Governor Peter Obi’s delivery at ‘The Platform’ might have been the most reviewed of the contributions to national debate – his model on governance is largely defective, writes Olawale Olaleye

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he Platform, a forum initiated by popular Pastor Poju Oyemade of the Covenant Christian Centre, was arguably the best gift anyone or group had extended to the country during her Independence anniversary celebration in recent years. Titled “The Economic Value of Nigeria and How Nigeria Can Be Made to Work”, The Platform, an annual interventionist approach to the Nigerian project provides an avenue to address some issues of national importance as well as charting the way forward. This particular edition was no less the biggest intellectual show of the year.

Apart from parading the crème of the society and some of the best talents of this age, the level of intellectual discourse assumed another dimension and indeed, Pastor Oyemade might have been challenged for a better edition next year, whose preparation, without any iota of doubt, must commence immediately. That’s the way organised and progressive minds operate. They always accord time its place in the planning process.

However, of all the speakers, former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi’s contribution appeared to have tickled the spontaneous fancy of a majority of those, who were either present at the venue or watched the live streaming.

That singular intervention appeared to have altered completely, if not coloured, this year’s edition. It gave it some unintended approval.

Obi, who addressed the need to curtail what he described as mindless waste in government, gave what in his own words, were practical examples of the degree of waste that goes on in government and how as governor, he cut them to size. He earned unsolicited applause almost at every juncture in his delivery. There is no doubting the fact that he was right about the degree of waste in government and the compelling need to reduce same especially at a time like this, when the economy is in near comatose. Hence, for every issue he threw up, he had a personal example to chip in and justifiably so.

First off, it is true that the burden that some states bear in the name of presidential lodges and all of the needless emulation of more buoyant states are sincerely unnecessary. In reality, they often do not need them. Any day, anytime, a debate on bullet proof cars is neither here nor there. Besides, if the United States President is visiting any country of the world, he will certainly come with his own bullet proof car, no matter the type the host country is providing.

So, ideally, the Nigerian president could have come with at least one bullet proof from his fleet, when visiting any part of the country.

But the problem with Obi’s prognosis is that in trying to look good or appear to stand aloof from the maddening crowd, he told a few ‘lies’, thus exaggerating some of those things he called practical examples. Ironically, the ‘lies’ resonated with the audience and it seemed like the ‘truth’ the audience wanted to hear.

Talk about the cost of feeding in Government Houses or at the presidential villa, to which many people had allocated different costs, depending on how much they envisaged might have been budgeted for it, one thing that is missing here is that your state house is the symbolism of your sovereignty. For crying out loud, the president is not the one eating all the food and drinking the drinks budgeted for. In other words, you are assessed the way you present yourself and it is the same image you’d boast the day you have a

Obi...the burden of personal example

visiting president or renowned personality from other climes.

This is why even at the family level, no matter how bad or good a house looks, the tendency that you will be prevented from entering the kitchen is high. The living area is where people are quick to showcase. This

In all, it is convenient to dismiss Obi’s posting as hypocritical and fraught with illogic, because he thought it was sheer waste to cook in his own Government House, but considered it fun to go to others and eat from their waste. He thought it was wasteful to keep extra bullet proof cars for high profile dignitaries but could run to other ‘waste-inclined governors’ for a bail-out.

He thought it made no financial sense flying private jets but would haste to join his colleagues and fly with them

is because if you sight the state of the kitchen in some homes, you may never take a cup of water there anymore. But the case is not the same with the living area!

The point being made here is that there are some minimum things that a state house must have and you don’t budget for them in piece meals. For example, you cannot go out every time to buy bed sheets; you can’t also go out to buy pillows in bits and pieces. Likewise, you cannot go out to buy food stuff in that manner. It is done in lump sum, so, the store is stocked in the event of contingencies.

At the time of putting this idea together, the President of Niger Republic, Mahamadou Issoufou was in the country. If at the reception in his honour, he requested for a certain thing you either don’t have or out of stock, are you going to ask him to wait while you rush to Wuse Market, Abuja or a nearby store to purchase it (which is what Obi could do), because you are caught in a bad corner while cutting cost?

But if that’s the model the Nigerian people want, then, so be it. But be sure all of these are not being eaten or taken by the president of Nigeria but his guests and by implication, the guests of Nigeria as a sovereign nation.

Here is another worthy example. The Federal Executive Council meets at least once a week and cabinet members would have arrived for the meeting by 9am. Therefore, it is expected that they would be provided, first, a tea break and then later, lunch. Of course, every member of the cabinet can afford some tea and lunch except you want an EXCO, where members come with tea and food flask every Wednesday to the meeting.

The people must be sure of what they want since these are part of the support services in government. Otherwise, if you count it as waste, then you must be ready to give at least two hours break for people to go and

eat and come back. But how about the time wasted on account of the lunch break? The two hours would have amounted to sheer waste of executive time during critical deliberations on national concerns.

Everything is about opportunity cost, in other words, you make your choice and stick to it, having sufficiently explored other options. After all, they meet and eat once a week as a team and not an everyday thing, so, why is that a big deal or considered waste in the estimation of anyone? You choose the sort of Bohemian lifestyle you want, it’s your cup of tea, but be sure there would be cost implications too.

It is worthy of mention too that the lunch period usually provides an opportunity for those, who have been itching to meet the president over certain concerns. It is the budget of the state house and the fact that it is the budget does not mean everything will be spent. Yes, sometimes it could be in excess which amounts to waste since some of the items in stock will expire and would have to be disposed of. But that can be addressed by reducing the waste and not see the entire idea as insensible. It is part of support services in governance that enhance the smooth running of government.

It is also important to know that these support services are provided by people, and which help to stimulate the economy at some level, for instance, the persons selling (as small as it is) kola and bitter kola. A majority of cabinet members eat these to stay awake and be attentive. But if you stop it because they do not make sense to you or because you think it is waste, then you might have technically put some people out of job or trade.

Any right-thinking person would detest waste, naturally, so cutting the cost of governance is not debatable but not service delivery since the CONT’D ON NEXT PAGE

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016

POLITICS primary purpose of government is to serve.

The convoy matter is another interesting debate. It is true that the fleet of some governors can be an eyesore, if not sheer oppression. But check out the convoy of some sane governors and you would make sense of the combination. For example, a majority of them have ambulances in their convoy as well as back-up vehicles in the case of an eventuality. They don’t have to be used by the governors but they could come in handy. There have been instances, where some governors ran into accident scenes or armed robbery and had to administer first aid on some of the victims rescued as well as convey them to the hospital or move them to safer places.

Had that governor not included an ambulance or a back-up car in his convoy, his timely arrival at the scene would have been of no consequence.

There was the story of a governor, who ran into a stranded citizen on the express and at a bad time. He not only offered the citizen the back-up vehicle, he also asked that his security ensures his mechanic gets to the place before leaving. That’s providing leadership, however, insignificant it might seem and it is one of the most effective ways of identifying a responsible leader.

One thing you cannot shy away from in modern day governance is that the governor or president is the champion of the society because he represents the society. But if in the name of reducing waste he left out some of the most important things, then, he would pay for it dearly.

Olof Palme, a former Prime Minister of Sweden, was assassinated on February 28, 1986 in Stockholm because he took certain basic things for granted. Palme was fatally wounded by a single gunshot from some crazy guy, who just wanted to prove a stunt, while walking home from a cinema with his wife, Lisbet Palme on the central Stockholm Street, Sveavägen. He probably thought going there with the usual security combination was a waste and in cutting down the waste, he cut down for good, his own life.

Take for example, if a governor did not have a back-up car and his vehicle developed fault while on an assignment, coupled with a naively pruned security and he ran into the operation of some armed gangs, it is to your tent oh Israel! If the argument on convoy does not take into cognizance these realities, then, it is inconsequential and pretentious, perhaps.

You must always strike a balance and that is what Obi’s model failed to achieve in a majority of his accounts.

Let’s go to cutting cost and savings. He claimed not to have borrowed while in office and saved up a lot for his predecessor. That’s enviably some good news. But the question is, from those savings, why did he not pay doctors’ salaries for nearly two years or was he saving it on their behalf? What was the state of infrastructure when he was in office and was saving? In other words, he would rather save and leave the state in decrepit?

How did that benefit his people that their money was in the bank while they groaned under poor development infrastructure? Do not also forget that what he claimed to have left behind in savings became a subject of dispute immediately he left office, but alluding to this could taint the essence of this very intervention. Importantly, there is something curious about his culture of savings. It is not impossible someone was getting some interests on the savings. Just maybe!

Will it also be out of place to find out what bank he chose to save the money for the state and why the bank? Could the governor possibly have some business interest in the said bank to have settled for it? If that’s established, is that not in conflict with certain laws and status?

When you analyse between his model of governance and the one by his successor, Willy Obiano, there is no basis for comparison.

Obiano is one of the rising star-governors in the South-east region on account of his serious approach to governance. He is fixing roads and guaranteeing security, which Obi failed to provide in the name of savings.

Look at it this way, Obi claimed he was not borrowing but saving and yet, wasn’t developing infrastructure in his place, but inadvertently stifling investors and discouraging individual involvement in the general development of his state. On the other hand, Lagos, for example, was borrowing and at the same time, developing infrastructure, which was attracting investors and private individuals.

PERSONALITY FOCUS

A cross section of people at the event.

Oyemade...a different kind of platform

Between the two, his people chose to run to Lagos to erect structures and invest, while the state was collecting property tax from them including him and making more money for the state.

In addition, every construction site also created more jobs and that was some kind of stimulus to the Lagos economy about the same period. Strangely, while Anambra was suffering capital flight, Lagos was lounging big in excess of taxes. So, who is smarter or which model is better and effective?

Obi is generally believed to have left Anambra in a state of poor infrastructure, but the Lagos model encouraged the springing up of very good hotels in nearly every part of the state

A governor, who would rather cross over to the hotel adjacent the Government House for a N5,000 buffet than give his cook N30,000 naira to cook for the entire family, certainly, does not have a grasp of the weight and challenges of his office, hence he could bounce off such inane idea and be applauded as if he was addressing a kindergarten class gathering…The issue is one of materiality. But to think there won’t be waste in government, come off it. Even in family, there is always waste

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with all sorts of commensurate businesses and economic reactions, further elevating the Lagos standard and status. The same applies to Ogun, which many investors are beginning to see as the alternative to Lagos because of the huge infrastructure development going on simultaneously in the state as well as its proximity as the gateway state.

What then is the big deal about saving – to get your money and put it in a bank? Good, but any idiot can do that. How about water, did he provide one before leaving? What with security, how safe was Anambra in his days? How about roads, what was the state of the roads when he was there? What about healthcare delivery, were the hospitals anything to contend with? What about schools, what sort of school did he leave behind as legacy? How about family life, was an average Anambra family better when he left than he met them?

If this were put in a different perspective, the conclusion would be that Obi was, perhaps, a very lazy governor, if saving at the risk of other demanding challenges was his biggest achievement. Although the monster of the dispute that greeted the exact amount he allegedly left behind would not go away because there was no transparency ultimately, whatever was however left, Obiano put it to work immediately and today, Anambra is better for it, no doubt. Not because Obi saved up for the state but because a better manager of resources assumed office. If anything, making Obiano to succeed him should be ticked as Obi’s biggest achievement.

Obi is better off a treasurer and should not have left the banking hall in the first place since saving is his calling. Like it or not, there will always be waste in government, the same way it is at the family level. The degree of the waste must however be defensible and what an average person can gloss over. That should have formed the crux of his delivery and would have been able to make a lot more sense, interfacing.

A governor, who would rather cross over to the hotel adjacent the Government House for a N5,000 buffet than give his cook N30,000 naira to cook for the entire family, certainly, does not have a grasp of the weight and challenges of his office, hence he could bounce off such inane idea and be applauded as if he was addressing a kindergarten class gathering.

The issue is one of materiality. But to think there won’t be waste in government, come off it. Even in family, there is always waste. In discussing Nigeria, you must learn to discuss how you manage the homes too because Nigeria is no less a family, both in conception and composition.

Again, take a moment and ponder this: as a family, if there is financial crunch and there are assets to make do with, would you not dispose of some of them to defray your debts and move on? What is the essence of accumulating assets and shares in companies when they cannot bail you out in times of need?

Isn’t it a fall back option in terms of crisis?

Why is the assets sale debate a big deal when some can be sold off immediately to

raise money and get the country back in shape? It is called asset conversion and not anything out of place. Why keep assets as if they are monuments? It is primitive to do so and against basic economic literature and of course, not in collective interest. This is the kind of decision a family takes in unison when confronted with a situation. But getting emotional about it is rather counterproductive.

After all, you can still buy back some of these assets if the economy of the family picks up again. A fraction of the percentage is all that will be put up for sale, so, why the foul cry if this will improve the lot of the county, at least? There is no doubting the fact that assets are valueless if they don’t give or cannot guarantee comfort. Rudimentary economics dictates that you get rid of non-performing assets otherwise, they become a burden. Period!

Relating it in context, why hold-on to four refineries that are not working and keeping as employees, people who are not producing oil, to whom you would be obliged to pay pension and gratuity later in life? Is that how to run a company? Obviously not!

Think about this: when Obama was going to strike the Iran nuclear deal, the opposition against him was legion. But he refused to be distracted because he saw a bigger picture that a majority of those opposed to the idea could not see. Part of his arguments was that they had sanctioned the country for almost 21 years and for that long, no one could move near to either inspect or ascertain what it was up to. But the report he was getting proved that Iran was getting closer to its nuclear destination each day and that was not good for the global peace.

The deal was therefore meant to slow Iran down for at least another 20 years, pending the time the US and others come with another approach to the issue. But if they failed to strike the deal at the time, it would take less than four years to get to the nuclear war destination.

He had an opinion and debated it successfully.

Nigeria is evidently broke. The oil installations from which she makes money are being vandalised. The reserve is daily dwindling and yet, everyone is complaining that the economy is inclement. This notwithstanding, you still don’t want assets sold to raise money and get the economy back in shape. Certainly, the Nigerian people do not know yet what they really want.

The recent economic retreat by the federal government with five renowned global economists – all agreeing to assets sales as the way forward was the clincher; it’s a no-brainer. Outside of this, the only obnoxious option would be the IMF loan and if Nigeria goes that route, that would be the end. Remember Greece and Egypt and where they are today.

Standing before a distinguished audience and advancing some archaic economic or governance model in the 21century can only excite a few or at the minimum, those in that category for a fleeting moment. There is much more to taking Nigeria out of the wood as it is than sounding like a Donald Trump on a venerated platform. The model failed Obi himself and is unlikely to do anyone any good.

But at least, thanks to Pastor Oyemade’s The Platform for exposing and clearing off this extraneous miasma.

In all, it is convenient to dismiss Obi’s posting as hypocritical and fraught with illogic, because he thought it was sheer waste to cook in his own Government House, but considered it fun to go to others and eat from their waste. He thought it was wasteful to keep extra bullet proof cars for high profile dignitaries but could run to other ‘waste-inclined governors’ for a bail-out. He thought it made no financial sense flying private jets but would haste to join his colleagues and fly with them (because he understood what it meant to manage executive time) and yet, did not share this model with them and let them realise they have been relishing in waste.

If he thought he was smart, he was wrong.

He merely suffered sheer foolhardy, which could have earned him nothing but scorn and mockery amongst his peers. Perhaps, he would be delighted to know the impression his colleague-governors hold of him (although he cares less). A majority of them dismiss him as a pretender. They knew of his cheap ploys, they just allowed him to relish in his follies and he thought he was clever by half.

Indeed, a basket – absolutely hypocritical ideology!

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Group Business Editor Chika Amanze-Nwachuku

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Quick Takes Delta Offers Wi-Fi on African Routes

ACCOUNTING TO SHAREHOLDERS

L-R: Chairman, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, Akin Ogunbiyi; Company Secretary, Mrs. Olubunmi Oje, and Managing Director, Mr. Segun Omosehin, at the 20th Annual General of the company in Lagos...recently abiodun ajala

Aero Remains Shut as Mgt Fails to Meet AMCON’s Conditions

Chinedu Eze

The hope that Nigeria’s foremost airline, Aero Contractors may resume schedule commercial operations soon has been dashed as the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and the management of the airline are yet to reach a compromise on how the airline could resume flight services.

Aero Contractors stopped schedule operation on September 1, 2016 due to lack of funds and equipment as most of its aircraft were either grounded due to lack of maintenance or were at the maintenance facility for checks.

Although the Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika had assured the over 1, 300 workers of the airline that government would resolve the issues, but THISDAY has

AVIATION learnt that government may not have any plan to provide the needed funding for the airline to continue operation.

A management source told THISDAY on Wednesday that since AMCON fully took over the airline there was an understanding between the management and the corporation that the later would inject funds into the airline.

But AMCON has given a stringent condition that the management of the airline must lay off about 70 per cent of the workers because the workforce is over bloated now that the airline is operating fewer aircraft.

The initial plan which AMCON agreed to was that it would empower the airline to even acquire more aircraft,

targeting 16 aircraft in its fleet. However, currently the airline has about 10 aircraft and almost all of them are aircraft on ground (AOG).

THISDAY learnt that the hope of the management was dashed when AMCON refused to provide the promised funds.

“Without the funds, the management cannot do anything, but AMCON is insisting that it cannot provide funds when the personnel available was far much more than the operational aircraft and insisted the airline management must lay off workers,” a source said.

The official disclosed that AMCON had met with Minister of Labour and Productivity along with the Minister of State, Aviation, adding that what Aero needs is operational funds and considering the economic situation in the country, government

may not be able to provide the needed funds.

Although the official was very clear but there are indications that if the Aero management lays off substantial number of workers, AMCON would make money available so that the company would bring back three of its aircraft that were ferried overseas for maintenance.

“What AMCON cannot assent to is for Aero to operate with the full number of staff.

It must downsize so that the number of workers would be equal to the number of aircraft available and a management source seem to have agreed to this arrangement but will the workers allow it to happen?

AMCON invested hugely in Aero. We cannot say let us see what we can do, which is the Continued on page 20

FG Agencies Cash-strapped As Operators Renege on Dollar Obligations Eromosele Abiodun Federal government agencies in the maritime sector are struggling for funds to address their core functions as terminal operators and shipping companies fail to meet their dollar obligations to the agencies as a result of the foreign exchange crisis facing the country, THISDAY investigation has revealed.

The current economic recession officially confirmed recently has taken a big toll on

MARITIME the nation’s maritime industry with the sector suffering 51 per cent decline in revenue.

Apart from the foreign exchange crisis and the decline in oil revenue, the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy of the federal government also plays a major role in the dilemma facing the agencies.

The federal government agencies affected by this crisis include: the Nigerian

Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC).

In a chat with THISDAY, Chairman, Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Dr. Vicky Haastrup said that terminal operators are not able to remit their dollar obligations to the NPA because they do not generate enough dollars because of the government policies that have slowed down activity in the sector.

For instance, he said the decision by the government to exclude 42 items from access to foreign exchange has led to a 57 per cent decline in activity in her company adding that others like APMT are worse hit.

According to her, “Every segment of port operations is being affected by this exchange rate crisis. Ten years ago when the ports were consessioned, the naira was exchanging for N125 to a dollar. Today Continued on page 20

Delta Air Lines has completed the roll-out of Wi-Fi on its international fleet, enabling all customers flying on its nonstop services from Africa to Atlanta and New York-JFK to stay connected at 30,000 feet.

The final Boeing 777 – one of a number serving South Africa – has now been equipped and is back in service. It marks a new milestone for the airline with flights from Accra, Dakar, Lagos and Johannesburg– offering on-demand Wi-Fi throughout the aircraft.

“We know that Wi-Fi is an important part of the travel experience, especially for those flying for business,” said Delta’s Sales Director for Africa, the Middle East and India, Jimmy Eichelgruen. “With Wi-Fi available in every cabin, all our customers can stay in touch with events on the ground throughout their journey. We hope our customers will enjoy this enhanced experience the next time they fly Delta.”

Delta’s Wi-Fi is powered by high-speed, Ku-Band satellite technology and provided by Gogo. Laptop passes are available to buy from just $6.95 for one hour’s usage or a global day pass can be purchased in advance of a flight for US$28.

Customers also enjoy free access to the airline’s on-demand entertainment system Delta Studio, which includes in-flight streaming to view movies and TV shows on mobile devices.

Delta began installing Wi-Fi on United States domestic mainline aircraft in 2008. With international satellite-based Wi-Fi now installed on Delta’s wide-body fleet comprising Boeing 767s, 747s, 777s Airbus A330 and transoceanic Boeing 757s, the airline operates the world’s largest Wi-Fi equipped fleet, giving customers more options to stay connected in-flight.

Dana Partners NESG on Summit

Nigerian carrier, Dana Air has announced that it is partnering the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) on the forthcoming Nigerian Economic Summit scheduled to hold from October 10 to 12, 2016, in Abuja.

In line with this year’s theme, the Nigerian Economic Summit 22, will provide the platform to facilitate stakeholders’ discussions / agreements on practical issues, opportunities, policies and regulations needed to make ‘’Made in Nigeria’’ a success in the country. It will also seek to work out strategies to achieve self-sufficiency and value –addition capacities for several products and services in the shortest possible time.

According to the Accountable Manager of Dana Air, Mr. Obi Mbanuzuo, “We have been a consistent supporter of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group not because we are a wholly Nigerian brand, but because the theme ‘’Made in Nigeria resonates with us as a proudly Nigerian brand, contrary to the wrong perception people have. We believe our country can achieve its full potential, if only we put everything into supporting our own. At Dana Air, we are proud of our contents and we are always happy to contribute in our little way to the economic development of our dear country, Nigeria.’’

Medview Completes Hajj Operations

Medview Airline on Monday completed the airlift of Pilgrims for the 2016 Hajj back to Nigeria. Medview Airline is among the three carriers contracted by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) for the 2016 Hajj operations.

The airline last two flights for the NAHCON assignment arrived Port Harcourt International airport and Kaduna International airport respectively on Monday.

The flight to Port Harcourt had 452 pilgrims from Rivers, Edo, Delta, Abia, Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi and Cross River states while that of Kaduna had 320 pilgrims on board.

While giving praise to Allah for a successful Hajj operations, the Managing Director/CEO of the airline Alhaji Muneer Bankole commended NAHCON and the federal government for the necessary structures put in place to ensure a hitch-free Hajj exercise.

Every segment of port operations is being affected by this exchange rate crisis.

Ten years ago when the ports were consessioned, the naira was exchanging for N125 to a dollar. Today the exchange rate is N473 or N490 in the parallel market Chairman, Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN),

Dr Vicky Haastrup

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BUSINESSWORLD AERO REMAINS SHUT AS MGT FAILS TO MEET AMCON’S CONDITIONS Nigerian parlance to just go on without effectively planning but we have already exhausted our self. People like to patch up things but we do not want to do that. It is simple; Aero cannot fly because there are no funds. Aero has to reduce its staff. There was a time Aero had 17 aircraft but now the airline fleet has reduced, so it cannot fly with that kind of overhead. Our Managing Director will not budge until the right thing is done,” the AMCON official told THISDAY. Aero management source told THISDAY, “My understanding was that AMCON was going to provide money.

They are the owners of the company. There is nothing we have done without their consent. It was agreed that some of the workers would be laid off and as the airline bring in more aircraft they would be reabsorbed.”

THISDAY also learnt that Aero plans to lay off workers temporarily and engage them as later it acquires more aircraft. But indications show that the workers would have none of that, insisting that the airline must not sack its workforce, even in the face of the challenges.

THISDAY spoke with senior official of AMCON who noted that the Minister made a promise to the workers that they won’t lose their jobs even before he met with AMCON. FG AGENCIES CASHSTRAPPED AS OPERATORS RENEGE ON DOLLAR OBLIGATIONS the exchange rate is N473 or N490 in the parallel market.

We just have to use the parallel market because government does not have the capacity to fulfil demands for the dollar so the fall back position is the black market. For terminal operators, we don’t generate enough foreign exchange to sort ourselves out. Don’t forget we have the lease fees to pay, we pay royalties in dollars and at the end of the day we do not generate enough income to be able to pay those dollar obligations to the government.

Group Business Editor

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Crusoe Osagie

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

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

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (Maritime)

NEWS

$5bn Debt: NIMASA Appoints Consultant to Shore Up Revenue Eromosele Abiodun The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has appointed Snecou Financial Services Company Limited to assist in its revenue generation.

NIMASA, in a statement said the move is in a bid to shore up its revenue amidst the huge debt it is being owed.

The debt, according to sources in NIMASA, is in the region of $5 billion while many players in the maritime sector believe several operatotors owe the agency about $15 billion.

The agency said the contract, which also has the company serving as a recovery agent for debts owed the agency is for a period of two years in the first instance with an option for renewal.

It added that the approval for this contract was recently granted by the Tenders Board (PTB) of the agency at its 55thsession which held in the Agency’s head office in Lagos.

“Given the urgent need to recover the agency’s debts which is in billions of naira, the agency sought and obtained approval for a “Certificate of No Objection” from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) in line with the Public Procurement Act (PPA), “it stated.

“According to the contractual agreement already endorsed by both parties, the contract is based on a success rate of 13 per cent using a benchmark of $19,753,012.36 and N239,607,155.52 monthly revenue while a maximum

cap of 15 per cent success rate is payable on any new revenue head discovered by the consultants within the contract period.

“In other words, Snecou Financial Services Company Limited will be paid 13 per cent of only the revenue that is above the threshold of the approved benchmark in the course of the contracting period.

Similarly, Messrs. Snecou will also be entitled to a maximum of 15 per cent of new revenue streams discovered during the

period, “ the agency said.

This, NIMASA said, is in line with the vision of the Director General, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, “which is in accordance with the agency’s Medium Term Strategic Growth Plan, part of which is to enhance the Agency’s revenue.”

Commenting on the development, Peterside said: “We have awarded a debt recovery contract which is totally different from what Global West was doing for NIMASA. The contract was not awarded to

the Chairman of the APC in Rivers State. It was awarded to Snecou Nigeria Limited and we advertised the contract in several newspapers. So I don’t see what is wrong with awarding a contract to get our money from debtors.”

Peterside also noted that the agency’s debt is around $4 billion to $5 billion, which has necessitated an urgent need to recover them in order to develop requisite infrastructure for the maritime industry.

“Debts owed NIMASA

by various operators in the maritime industry had grown exponentially over the last five years even necessitating an investigation and convocation of a Public Hearing by the House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration in June this year. This contract is expected to recover these debts and channel the funds into developing critical infrastructure as well as knowledgeable manpower for the industry,” he added

CELEBRATING CUSTOMERS

A customer of Skye Bank Plc, Mr. Ismail Balogun; Branch Manager, Osapa London branch, Lekki, Mrs. Temilola Olaseinde; Executive Director, Mrs. Markie Idowu, and Business Service Manager of the branch, Mrs. Taiwo Azees during the 2016 Customer Service Week in Lagos…recently.

NACAN Decries Inadequate Manpower in Aviation Sector Chinedu Eze Members of the National Air Traffic Communicators Association of Nigeria (NACAN) have decried the inadequate number of its personnel to man the country’s 24 functional airports.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of NACAN 4th annual general meeting in Lagos, the President, Mr. Nkambo George said there were only 97 trained and licensed communication personnel nationwide, saying

it was grossly inadequate to cover operations across the airports in the country.

Nkambo stressed the need for the provision of aeronautical fixed telecommunications network, which is a ground-to-ground operation for safe, efficient, economic air navigation, adding that some stations like Kebbi, Bauchi and Dutse lacked the facilities.

According to the NACAN president, there was no employment into the department between 1989 and 2012 and

appealed to the management of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to approve the basic training at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Zaria for officers to be properly integrated into the mainstream to boost the acute manpower shortage in the department.

Nkambo noted that NAMA, as an air navigation service provider, has the responsibility of rendering its task with high sense of professionalism but said it was sad that certain

elements in the agency were hell bent to merge or integrate two operational departments saddled with distinct functions as outlined by Annexes of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

He disclosed that the department was constantly threatened to the extent that all mandatory local and foreign courses ought to have attended for currency and provision of safety service to the flying public have been put on hold for more than five years even when there was

budgetary allocation for such courses.

The NACAN president explained that Air Traffic Communication was important part of air traffic service in NAMA as spelt out in ICAO Annex 10 volume 11, which was necessary for exchange of air traffic service messages.

Nkambo, however, commended the management of the NAMA for converting some personnel from within that applied for conversion after meeting the requisite criteria for it.

Insurance Broker Recommends Punishment for Violators of Compulsory Insurance Law Ebere Nwoji The federal government has been urged to implement punitive measures for Nigerians who violet the compulsory insurance law to serve as deterrent to future offenders.

The government was also urged to make laws that will make use of insurance brokers compulsory.

The Chairman/CEO, Boff & Company Insurance Brokers Limited, Mr. Babajide OlatundeAgbeja, who made these calls at a recent press briefing in Lagos to review his company’s operations after 25 years of existence, noted that several years after

the kick-off of implementation of compulsory insurances in the country, people still violet it freely without any punishment.

He said unless punishment for the offence is spelt out and implemented, people will not respect the law while victims of road accidents and other risks which the compulsory insurances are meant to protect will continue to suffer without compensation. He said it is time the federal government should effect practical implementation of the compulsory insurances with punitive measures against the erring members of the public, noting that since these insurances came into place,

most Nigerians are taking them for granted as there was no defined sanctions attached to their violation.

He added that the fortunes of the insurance industry will improve if compulsory insurances could be enforced.

“This will be a win-win situation for everybody as claims will be paid to those involved in any incident leading to a claim, especially, third party,” he said.He also urged the law makers to enforce the use of insurance brokers to place all insurances contracts in Nigeria adding that this will be a huge advantage to the insuring public.

“I have heard of many

complaints from people during claims processing that they were dissatisfied with their settlement offer. Using an insurance broking firm guarantees you a good analysis of your portfolio, processing and renewals and claims handling and settlement,” he pointed out.

According to him, this will be similar to what obtains in the stock market where shares can only be purchased through a stockbrokers.

“Insurance company gives you what it has, but an insurance broker gives you what you need,’ he said.

He said Boff & Company had in the last 25 years built

a brand that is noted for efficiency, professionalism, and personalized service, which he said its clients can attest to.

Insisting that prompt settlement of genuine claims is more advantageous than spending huge money on adverts, the Boff & Company boss said his broking firm has simplified claims process.

“All our technical staff members are trained locally and internationally continuously, as insurance broking is not easily understood by the public. So, we educate all those we come in contact with about the need to insure through a good broker at all times,” he stated.

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BUSINESSWORLD

AvIATION

AIR WATCH

FAAN MD Urges Workers to Improve Agency Revenue Chinedu Eze The Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Saleh Dunoma has called on workers of the agency to make concerted efforts to boost its revenue.

Dunoma urged the workers to rededicate themselves with total commitment required to bring about the level of change needed to place FAAN at the highest pedestal as major service provider among organisations that have excelled against all odds. FAAN boss made the call at the 2016 annual performance review meeting of the directorate of commercial and business development held in Calabar, Cross Rivers State recently.

According to him, the

dwindling fortunes arising from the negative impact of the present economic realities is a wake-up call to respond to President Muhammed Buhari’s charge to “think outside the box”.

“There must be a major paradigm shift in our business model. This will provide us the opportunity to collectively carry out a forensic audit of our activities, processes and values in the pursuit of our vision to be amongst the best airport groups in the world,” Dunoma said.

He further charged participants to evolve new and efficient measures to improve on non-aeronautical revenue sources while attaining best practices in service contract

with its stakeholders.

The MD also said: “My expectation is that attention will be given to the critical areas of commercial operations targeted at the urgent optimization of revenue performance, enhanced work processes, and substantial decline in revenue losses.”

Speaking earlier, the Acting Director of Commercial and Business Directorate, FAAN, Mr. Tito Okpaise, said the retreat with its theme “Fortifying processes for sustained growth” is meant to renew commitment, determination and zeal of Staff to deliver beyond expectations.

FAAN said the annual retreat, which was last held in Ibadan attracted senior staff from the 22 airports across the country.

Lagos Airport domestic terminal, MMA2 Liberalising Aviation through Legislation

ABX Joins Global G.A.P Chinedu Eze Air Business Express Ltd (ABX World), an indigenous agroallied solutions provider, has joined Global Good Agricultural Practice (Global G.A.P), which sets worldwide standard for safe and sustainable agriculture.

ABX World is the first and presently, the only Nigerian company to attain the height, with a set definite set target to ensure provide avenue for ordinary farmers to earn huge revenue through the export of perishable farm produce.

According to the company, Global G.A.P. members create private sector incentives for agricultural producers worldwide to adopt safe and sustainable practices to make the world a better place to live in for the global community.

Its set mission is to globally connect farmers and brand owners, like notable supermarkets in Europe and North America, in the production and marketing of safe food to provide reassurance for consumers.

The group lays the foundation for the protection of scarce resources by the implementation of good agricultural practices with a promise for a sustainable future.

As a member, a letter endorsed by Global G.A.P Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Kristian Moeller, attested that ABX World has become part of producer and supplier members who “demonstrate their commitment to fully comply with the Global G.A.P. “The organisation acts as industry leaders in G.A.P. As members they are entitled to use the Global G.A.P. logo and represent their producer interests in the Global G.A.P. governance structure. In this position they may act as a driver for innovation in their market and profit from first mover advantages”.

Speaking on the achievement, MD/CEO of ABX World Limited, Captain John Okakpu, expressed delight over the Global G.A.P membership status, adding that the feat would help place Nigeria in the global agricultural export map.

Okakpu said that ABX World is the new face of agro-allied export in the country and fashioned to train farmers, and others within the logistics and supply chain.

“The global network that we operate at ABX World is very richly enhanced by our

strategic alliances with some of the biggest and best players in the industry as follows; Pilot Air Freight based in USA (www.pilotair.com); including local national certifications by Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and others”.

Speaking on sundry agricultural export development in the country, Okakpu urged the federal, state and local governments not to relent on efforts to get the country’s agricultural programmes on the right track.

Citing Anambra state government’s strides in this regard, Okakpu said: “Solutions to the nation’s economic challenges are no quick fixes, however, agriculture is that sector that can do it for us. Years ago when we started this journey, many people thought it was a child’s play or one of those cacophonic statements and blabbing. Today, with this membership, ABX World is positioned to change the face of agro-allied industry in Nigeria. We are going to train farmers in different certifications, while leveraging the network to bring in off-takers like we are doing in Anambra State. Chief Willie Obiano’s administration has shown a complete total

FAAN Expands Enugu Cargo Operations as NAHCO Gets Recertification The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has called on airline operators, service providers and the business community to take advantage of the new business opportunity provided by the commencement of international cargo operations at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

The Managing Director of FAAN, Saleh Dunoma made the call in a statement signed by the General Manager, Corporate Affairs of the agency, Yakubu Dati following the commencement of weekly cargo flights

by Ethiopian Airlines to the airport.

Dunoma explained that the export window provides opportunities for start-ups and cargo related businesses especially in perishable and

non -perishable produce.

“This will enable our people participate in the export market, earn foreign exchange and contribute to the GDP of the country,” Dunoma said.

He further pledged that FAAN has put in place, processes and procedures to sustain its commitment to safety, security and passenger comfort.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company PLC (nahco aviance) has been recertified by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which issued it with fresh IATA Safety audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) Certificate.

The company said the re-certification which runs till June 12, 2018 replaces the

one, which expires June this yea, noting that NAHCO had always had the certification, getting re-certified by IATA at the expiration of the previous one.

“IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations Program (SAGO) is a highly sought - for certification by ground handlers. The current certification clears NAHCO in major operational disciplines including Organisation and Management (ORM); Load Control (LOD); Passenger and Baggage Handling (PAB); Aircraft Handling and Loading (HDL); Aircraft Ground Movement (AGM) and Cargo and Mail Handling (CGM).

“The company got different certifications for its Lagos and Abuja operations.

Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika

G

overnment’s lean resources have forced it to fully adopt Public, Private Partnership (PPP) to develop and manage critical facilities in the aviation industry. Over the years that the strategy was introduced there has not been any legislation to back it, so the decision is always at the whim of the ministers appointed by government to over sea the sector.

The problem, however, is that there is high frequency of ministerial changes. The Chairman of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Captain Nogie Meggison noted that in his 24 years in the sector he had witnessed the appointment of 28 ministers. So without proper guide and legislation, the minister has inelastic decisions to make: whether to jettison what his or her predecessors did and whether to incorporate outrageous ideas to suit his or her whims.

Government has experimented with all kinds of concession and partnership but they never worked and the only one that seemed to succeed (the concession of the Lagos airport domestic terminal to Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited) was mired in controversy.

Industry observers said that it is possible to bring in private investors in all aspects of the industry, except, perhaps, security. So the pipeline that runs from Mosimi to the airport in Lagos could be given to the private sector to rehabilitate and manage it for effective supply of aviation fuel to the airport.

This would safe time, eliminate the cumbersome and risk-ridden movement of tankers from Apapa to the airport with the attendant traffic gridlock.

It will also save money expended on logistics by marketers.

The Deputy Managing Director of Arik Air, Captain Ado Sanusi said that one of the problems of aviation fuel distribution is the trucking of the product from Apapa to the airport. This makes it cumbersome and also adds to the price of the product and suggested better ways to move the product.

“Part of the problem of aviation fuel (Jet A1) has to do with distribution of the product or bringing the product to the airports. So it is not that enough Jet A1 is not imported but there is a problem of infrastructure. If you are coming into Lagos you will see about 400 trucks with Jet A1, coming into the airport to drop 33, 000 litres. One aircraft of ours can take four or five of those trucks for a trip. So if we were going to continue to be bringing this Jet A1 in trickles, of course we would definitely have shortfall.

“So as we are addressing the challenge of availability of the product, we should also address the problem of infrastructure, storage and transportation. We should address all those issues together and also the pricing. And if you

look at it, if you address the problem of distributing the product through the pipelines to the hydrants at the ramp, the price will come down because the more you truck this product the more you incur more costs,” Sanusi said.

The Head of Strategy, Zenith Travels, Olu Fidel Ohunayo said in a recent presentation that government should draft and present a national civil aviation policy that among other things should reflect the liberalization of the sector, which he believes would be pro-growth as government is now giving incentives to investors.

The new policy -National Civil Aviation Policy( NCAP)- should reflect liberalisation and be pro-growth.

Some countries have done it. India’s new NCAP is designed to empower carriers to negotiate commercial partnerships with little or no interference from the regulator, improve facilitations by using fast travel technology systems; and self-handling will be allowed to boost competition with ground handlers. Taxes on maintenance will also be reviewed downwards.

These and many more can be looked into to bolster our industry,” Ohunayo said.

He suggested that the “purported deregulation of aviation fuel should be revisited, not reversed. The supply mode is regulated by the oligopolistic suppliers while our passengers still pay fuel surcharge on each ticket till date, the price is increasing and sometimes not available, paradoxically the fall in oil prices in the international market and airlines increased profitability is completely absent in our airspace.

There is something wrong here.”

Industry experts believe that with proper legislation and legal framework imbedded in the civil aviation policy, investors would be encouraged to risk the funds and would not fear that tomorrow such agreement could be upturned.

But Ohunayo warned that in concession, care should be taken to ensure that a well-written agreement should be done to ensure that government is not shortchanged.

“On the concession of choice airports, the United Kingdom experience of privatising worked well in a matured political society after being a regulated environment for decades. In less developed countries like ours, governments should be tilting towards building and enhancing the transport system rather than just offloading the assets. This is to avoid a situation whereby we move from ugly state-owned airports to even uglier privately owned airports. It is noteworthy that most reputable private sector investors would not consider buying an airport with fewer than one million passengers. That is why airports have often been sold as a package – good and bad, small and large, domestic and international terminals. Thy should invite reputable international airport management companies, who will often achieve what governments can no longer take care of - improvements in capacity, efficiency and safety,” Ohunayo also said.

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BUSINESSWORLD

AVIATION

Nigeria Losing Grip of Aviation Sector As the largest African nation with high passenger traffic, Nigeria is expected to play a leading role in air transport on the continent. However, Chinedu Eze writes that 56 years after the country’s independence, smaller countries in Africa are leading in aviation development For now, aviators, airport users and air travellers do not have much to cheer about Nigeria’s aviation industry. They unanimously agree that the industry is underdeveloped, considering the country’s enormous potential and endless opportunities.

Industry observers aver that Nigeria as the most populous country in Africa has the largest population of indigenous travellers in the continent and they like to travel. So the country is a huge market in the region. But over the years the country has failed to grab the opportunities available to it due to what many in the sector referred to as bad and conflicting policies, lack of political will and self-serving interests of those who have held critical and senior positions in the sector.

Nothing to Cheer

The Chairman of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Captain Nogie Meggison said that bad policies and failure to effectively implement the good ones have been the hindrance to the growth of the industry.

“In my 23 or 24 years in the Nigerian aviation sector, it has had 28 ministers. In an organisation that has had 28 ministers within that period, we don’t need a rocket scientist to know that there will be a lot of confusion there,” Meggison said.

Some of the stakeholders said when a Nigerian versed in the aviation industry looks at the sector, as it is today he would be overwhelmed by regret and pain. Regret that the right things that ought to be done were not done and the opportunities, which apparently stared the country in the face yet were missed.

“He will feel the pain. He will feel the pain that in the comity of nations despite our huge potential and highly talented citizens, we lag behind because critical decisions that ought to be taken to spur the industry, was not taken.

“The aviation industry presently is in a sorry state. There is no airline operating in the country that records profit in its balance sheet. For them, it is a struggle from year to year, with just 10 years average life span staring them in the face. Government is not benefitting from the industry in terms of its contribution to the GDP because we are yet to harness the opportunities the industry should offer if well positioned to do so,” said a senior official of one of the indigenous airlines.

The Chairman of Aviation Round Table (ART), Gbenga Olowo told THISDAY that there are many things that are wrong in the aviation industry.

“The aviation industry in Nigeria, to say the least, is still at infancy. This is a shame because we do not really know what we want to do with the aviation industry. Our decisions are haphazard, so we need concise, coordinated decision. I look at aviation in the next 50 to 100 years in Nigeria. What we are doing now is haphazard. We have about three generations of airlines that have come and gone. Life span of Nigerian airlines is 10 years and the present once are at the level of extinction, so we need to get serious,” Olowo said.

Infrastructure

In terms airport facilities, Nigeria has made a mark in infrastructural development of the aviation sector. The total number of airports in the country is about 26 while 22 is owned by the federal government and managed by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

Nigeria also has over 30 airstrips, which means that the country has highly development air transport network. But the challenge there is that there is no consistent policy on airport development and maintenance.

The consequence is that the airports lack some of basic equipment and facilities which include landing aids, airfield lighting, perimeter fencing, adequate fire cover, screening machines, CCTV and even passenger facilitation equipment like flight information display system and seats for departing passengers.

President Buhari

THISDAY investigations have revealed that only eight out of 22 airports managed by FAAN have airfield lighting and out of that number only five airports have efficient and well-lit airfield lighting which include: Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Katsina. Without airfield lighting, airplanes cannot land in the night. So a plane under distress has very few airports to land in Nigeria at night.

Security

Many airports do not have security and perimeter fencing. Some that have security fencing have holes dug at various sections of the fence by the host community and possibly miscreants, thereby creating opportunity for security breach. A good example is the stowaway effort of a teenager who had access to the airside at the Benin airport and entered the wheel-well of Arik Air aircraft and the pilot, not knowing, brought him to Lagos from Benin.

Screening machines have been acquired and placed at strategic places at the airports but these are not enough. However, what is important is that presently the number of aviation security personnel is grossly inadequate. Many of the

screening machines are underutilised because there are no personnel to man them. At all the international airports, there is no good demarcation between arriving passengers and departing ones, except at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano due to the fact that terminal capacity at the airports presently is inadequate.

Airport premises are not well lighted in the night and this may cause security breach.

Some of the airports do not have effective secondary power supply so they remain in darkness when there is power outage from public power supply. Many of the airports do not have comprehensive close-circuit television (CCTV) as a result movement at various areas of the airport is not adequately monitored.

Also there are inadequate operational fire vehicles and other materials needed for effective fire cover of different grades of airports in Nigeria. The personnel is inadequate and they do not go for regular training because the country do not have training facility for them and the number of fire fighter personnel needs to be increased. Fire fighting vehicles are ill equipped and some of them are old, while the ones acquired recently are not updated with new equipment.

Terminal Facilities

THISDAY learnt that some major airports and the secondary airports do not have effective carousel. The terminals in these airports need to be expanded. Although new terminals are being built at the Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Enugu airports but observers say that the country would soon build new airport terminals in these two major cities, except Enugu because in about 10 years’ time the terminals under construction now will become inadequate.

There is inadequate cooling system at most of the airport terminals.

The aviation industry in Nigeria, to say the least, is still at infancy. This is a shame because we do not really know what we want to do with the aviation industry.

Our decisions are haphazard, so we need Manpower Aviation manpower development in Nigeria ended with the demise of Nigeria Airways concise, coordinated Limited (NAL), which was liquidated in 2004. decision Since its liquidation, airlines still operating in the

country relied heavily on the Nigeria Airways workforce. But many of them have become old and professionally obsolete so Nigerian airlines currently depend on expatriates for most of their pilots and engineers. They pay highly for this because the remunerations of these expatriates are more than double what they pay their Nigerian counterparts and they only get half of the service Nigerians offer to these airlines.

This is because if the expatriates spend six months working in Nigeria, they spend another six months holidaying in their countries or any country of their choice and the airlines pay them. It has also been established that most of the expatriates that come to work in Nigeria are those who may not get the same kind of job in their countries in Europe and Americas.

Many of them come to work in Nigeria to mark up their flight hours, as the United States had introduced stringent measures on pilot that operate airliners. So Nigeria airlines are not getting the best from the foreign pilots and engineers, rather, they are losing so much and Nigeria is also losing so much on capital flight as these foreign personnel are paid in foreign exchange, which they largely repatriate.

Training Currently Nigerian airlines are not training much. They do not have the funds to do that and even when they train, the pilots move to greener pastures in Middle East. Some of the airlines bond the pilots while training them but there is no rule that bars them from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) when they insist on moving. This is because the airline has limited right to stop the pilot from moving despite the bonding. An airline cannot allow a disgruntled and ill-motivated pilot to continue to operate its aircraft. Therefore, the airlines won’t have any choice than to let them go. There is a lot of poaching that goes on in the industry, which causes tension among the airlines.

Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria still trains pilots, engineers and other technical personnel for the aviation industry but the pilot trained who come out with Private Pilot Licence will need more exposure to flying to get type rated. Most often they don’t get that exposure from Nigerian airlines which goes for ready-made expatriates.

So in terms of manpower development, the industry is performing below expectations. The indigenous technical personnel in the aviation industry depletes everyday as the old Nigeria Airways workers get old, retire and die, leaving vacuums that are filled by expatriates. So it is Nigeria that is losing in this matter. The Nigerian aviation industry is currently in its lowest ebb. Unless urgent actions are taken to go back to training indigenes and expose them to flight experience otherwise in the next 10 years the country can only boast of handful of her citizens that can pilot a plane.

Concession

As a way to overcome the myriad of problems in the aviation industry, the federal government h recently concluded plans to concession some of the airports. The Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika said government would concession the airports because of its lean resources, which cannot be expended on airport development. The Minister said to free government from this responsibility, it is encouraging the private sector to invest in the industry. But government is yet to give details about the concession programme.

Many in the industry are of the view that government should show greater commitment in aviation development, implement policies that would encourage private sector participation and cede some of its responsibilities to the private sector.

But so far nothing much is being done to rekindle the hopes of Nigerian in air transport sector 56 years after the nation’s independence.

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Coker: Lagos is the Dubai of Sub-Saharan Africa The Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Folorunso Coker, who spoke at the launch of Flavours of Lagos, is confident that the state is being made a tourist attraction that will create wealth for the citizens. Chinedu Eze, who was at the event, presents the excerpts What is the objective of this event you are launching?

This is the Flavours of Lagos. It is a celebration of culinary diversity that we have in Lagos. A lot of people don’t know what is available in Lagos and if you don’t know what is available in Lagos it will be difficult for you to be motivated to go out and do something. So we look at what is very strong in Lagos. The food of Lagos is Igbo food, Yoruba food, Hausa food, Lebanese food, Indian food, Chinese food and then there are fusions of all of those culinary delights.

This made us to decide and say, okay, let’s get the people who make different types of food to come together with government and some of the corporate sponsors to have what we call the Flavours of Lagos, so we invited all the vendors at the celebration of Nigeria’s 56th independence, which is public holiday to come and display their wares to show people that these are the culinary delights of the people who live in Lagos.

On the surface that is what it is but below that everything you see here is business. So we are creating and encouraging small businesses in different communities in Lagos. I spoke to some of them and about 60 per cent of them told me that they have literally sold out their products and have even run out of what they brought to sell. This shows that people will come out and consume, given the opportunity they can come out and do so in a clean and safe environment. I think that is what we have achieved here.

What do you think is the impact on tourism in the state?

This is just one aspect of tourism. If you define tourism properly, Lagos is the Dubai of sub-Saharan Africa. Everybody from within Nigeria and outside Nigeria come to buy things in Lagos. Lagos is the Mecca of sub-Sahara Africa. Do you know how many people that come here to pray? We have many big churches in Lagos. Many people from outside the country come here to attend services in these churches. So we have religious and business tourism in Lagos.

This is one of the aspects that support tourism. People need to eat when they move from place to place. People need safety when they go to somewhere to enjoy themselves.

People need to move from one place to another through safe transportation. So, all these are attracting business. Network providers are making money from data consumed everyday here through the Internet; the food sellers are making brisk business and making profits and people are generally happy. The security services are wonderful; they have been supporting us very well.

With the right kind of support and encouragement how much do you think Lagos and even Nigeria could be generating from activities related to tourism?

Because of the population of Nigeria, tourism is like an oil well. We don’t even need to look at people coming from outside the country. If people come from Abuja to Lagos and people from Lagos go to Abuja and people from Uyo come to Lagos, our population gives us a large market to encourage community tourism. For example, people go from New York to Miami; people go from London to Brighton so that is internal tourism. There is no leakage of their economy because what they do is still within.

So I believe that Nigeria can benefit tremendously from tourism in terms of creating jobs, in terms of businesses and in terms of boosting our economy. If we continue to spend $10 or N1 million among all of us here there won’t be any leakage and we will start to grow because we are not taking our money outside. As I grow, because my throughput is coming from you, you must grow also.

plans to develop the Epe fish market to make it a tourism site. We are planning to dredge the Lagoon from Epe to Badagry so that you can get into the boat and go to Badagry and entertain yourself, eat some fish and from there go to Ejirin, to the slave market and the slave port. So you will be able to take off a day to the sea to Epe and to Badagry to see the tourist attraction that we have there. You must understand that some of these things you cannot do them over night. We have created three tourist brands in Lagos in less than a year, including the Flavours of Lagos. If we entertain 100,000 people and they spend an average N5,000 each over a two-day period, including transport, multiply that. What is the implication on GDP? So these are the areas we are thinking about in terms of community domestic tourism; driving consumption down to the grassroots level.

Coker

How does the Lagos state government intend to sustain this event?

This event was funded by the vendors and our corporate sponsors. It was not funded by the Lagos state government. But it is government’s initiative. We partnered the vendors and corporate sponsors to deliver this event.

The sponsors are corporate organisations and all of them benefit from activities like this.

People are consuming the products of the sponsors so it is a symbiotic relationship and that means that I, as an agency of government, am creating a platform that is encouraging the consumption of the products of the corporate sponsors by being sold through the vendors to the general population that we already have captive at home. People cannot afford to travel to London or Dubai. If you take one dollar, which is N480, it can only buy you one burger.

Minimum cost of a burger in MacDonald price

Because of the population of Nigeria, tourism is like an oil well. We don’t even need to look at people coming from outside the country. If people come from Abuja to Lagos and people from Lagos go to Abuja and people from Uyo come to Lagos, our population gives us a large market to encourage community tourism

index is about $2. Take N480 and enter mama put you will know that you have solid meal for one day. Burger is not a meal. So I am encouraging the consumption of more variety of foods from Nigeria from what we already have within our jurisdiction and our control we all will benefit from it. Imagine if you run this event monthly. What will it do to that coconut seller cash flow? What will it do to the cash flow of the person the coconut seller is buying the coconut from? If we do that in five locations once a month, what will do this mean to the local community economy?

We are driving the money directly into the pockets of the businessmen and women at the grassroots.

How regular will this be?

This is just a test of what is possible. From what I have seen, it is something I think can be continued and can work. Locating the event at the Bar Beach is easier because it is a historic location. So the history helped to drive this particular event but very easily, I think we can do a road show of this, just encouraging the consumption of what we have at the grassroots level and help the people generate revenues and make profits. There are so many small businesses here that are making money. So if you look at the number of small businesses that are benefitting from this programme, if you look at the multiplier effect of what they have done you will find out that more people are benefitting from this. So we will look at expanding or continuing the event through a road show. The Flavours of Lagos will never end. Every day we discover something new, a Calabar cook that cooks Indian curry in a special way is a unique flavour.

We don’t have people exhibiting, for example, the Epe fish and shrimps?

No. This is the Flavours of Lagos, which deals with cooked food. The Ministry of Agriculture will have an agreement to do a seafood festival because Lagos is an aquatic city. You have heard of seafood festival at Eko Atlantic? We are going to do something in conjunction with them. We are going to collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture to push this. I have been to Epe. I have been to the fish market. Some of the fish you get in Epe you cannot buy it anywhere else. Even the Tilapia that you will get at the Lagos Lagoon is different from the ones you buy in Epe. There are different species of fish. There are

Security is part of tourism. What are you doing to ensure that people are protected in Lagos?

If you move around in Lagos you find out that Lagos is safe. Lagos is safer than many cities in the West. The amount of money Lagos state government spends in providing security in the state is second to none in Nigeria. Any time the government spends money on security, it is not just for you and I alone, it is also for anybody that comes here. There is a lot of security in Lagos. In February last year we had a marathon of 26 kilometers in Lagos, there was no incident. But if you compare Lagos to any of the cities in advanced countries, I don’t want to name any of them, when last did you hear of somebody going into a supermarket and starts shooting? They will say Lagos is not safe, but I will say your city is not safe.

I am more at risk in some of those cities in some of those countries than I am here.

They may have a bigger voice but let us not delude ourselves, let us stop thinking negatively about Lagos. You need to talk positively about this city. For example, this is a Blackberry phone produced by Canadian company. It is a global product. Where it was made the people there consumed so much of it, they loved so much, so it grew from one country to the whole world. If we want to grow our own we must state positively about what we have. And let not the non-African thinking dictate our future. Whoever said you have to go through the Dubai or London model before you grow your own tourism? We are just 56 years old. We may not have a national carrier but this does not mean we cannot develop our own tourism. Let us believe that with our own hands we can shape our own destiny.

Where do you want tourism in the state to be in the next 10 years?

I want to see a Lagos that is loved even more by all Lagosians. I want to see a Lagos that its vibe is second to none. I want to see a Lagos where Lagosians are consuming so much of Lagos. That the people from Yoruba land come to consume more of Lagos; that the people from the rest of Nigeria come to consume more of Lagos and people from West Africa come to consume more of Lagos. It is in that consumption of what is indeed ours, of all the skills we have here; of all the assets that we have here that we generate employment and generate income. It is from there that I will be surprised to see non-African, Europeans coming to Lagos because they must have heard there are 24 million people living in this state of aquatic splendor, merry making tribe of sub-Saharan Africa and having fun, let us go there and see. Let us shape positive images of the aquatic splendor of Lagos.

It isn’t about negative things all the time.

Let us know that anytime you put something negative out there it is consumed by the world and that suppresses our potential advancement.

So anytime you write something think about the implication.

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Corruption, Bad Policies Stunt Maritime Sector Eromosele Abiodun posits that 56 years after independence and despite the gains of the ports concessions, the Nigerian maritime sector has been held back by corruption, policy inconsistencies and insecurity of investments

President Buhari

Few days ago, Nigeria celebrated its 56th independence anniversary, a yearly ritual to mark years of self-rule. Like many sectors of the economy, the maritime sector is as old as the country itself. Like many issues facing the country, the maritime sector is also bedeviled by challenges that look impossible to resolve.

Oil was discovered in commercial quantities in Nigeria in 1956, four years before independence from Britain. Before then, maritime activities in Nigeria had largely been stimulated and sustained by export of agricultural products and solid minerals for earning of foreign exchange. The leading agricultural exports then were groundnuts, cocoa, palm produce and rubber. With the discovery of oil in commercial quantity in 1956 at Oloibiri by Anglo-Dutch consortium, Shell D’Arcy, the oil and gas sector become the main driver of the economy and of maritime activities in Nigeria.

Establishment of NPA However, the state of the ports is a critical factor for efficient maritime operations.

Hence the establishment of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) by Ports Acts (Cap 155 LFN 1954) to create a structural framework for the management and regulation of port operations.

The authority executed its first wharf extension project between 1956 and 1961 in Lagos and Port Harcourt ports. Further expansion of Lagos Ports were done between 1970 and 1975 and, in 1977, the Tin-Can Island Port Complex was inaugurated to ease the pressure of heavy imports (mostly government cargoes) on Apapa Port. In 1979, the new Warri and new Calabar ports followed. Port construction and expansion continued between 1981 and 1985. The new Sapele port was constructed in 1982. In 1996, Federal Ocean Terminal Onne Phase 1 was constructed. Financing was done through agreement with the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank.

Statistics in the mid-1980s showed that the public ports operated at 47 per cent of their capacity at the best and cargo throughput dropped down to 28.7 per cent of previous years. To increase efficiency, enhance capacity and introduce healthy competition

Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.

in government enterprise, the government in 1988 promulgated the Privatisation and Commercialisation Decree. In 1993, the implementation of the commercialisation programme of the NPA was partially carried out and it became Nigerian Ports Plc. This was reversed in 1996 as a result of inherent weakness of the policy and government, through the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), upgraded the state of NPA from full commercialisation to partial privatisation called concession, to make room for private sector involvement in port operations.

Following the calamitous multi-year port congestion that gripped the nation’s ports and arrested Nigeria’s development for much of the oil boom years of the 70s, the federal government made efforts to reform the system. The efforts never yielded any reasonable fruits as corruption and inefficiency reigned, denying government the needed revenue from the sector.

As a result of the painful experiences of congestion in the 70’s, the federal government again made efforts to reform the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in the 1980s.

Consequently, the NPA Management was restructured into four zones: Western, Central, Eastern and Headquarters. The government also created Nigerian Ports Plc. However, the policy failed abysmally due to rearguard action from the die-hard culture of centralisation. Government interference was rife and patronage and self-enrichment by some government officials overseeing chunks of the maritime sector went to a new level.

Foreign exchange earnings from Nigerian Ports Plc disappeared into private pockets and port infrastructure were allowed to rot.

Concessioning plans In a bid to arrest the situation, the federal government in 2001 came up with the idea of concessioning the ports to qualified private operators.

Dutch firm, Royal Haskoning BV was commissioned to study Nigerian ports preparatory to the reform.

The resulting report, called Haskoning Study was submitted to the federal government and was accepted as a cogent x-ray of the Nigerian seaport system. The report criticised the

over-centralisation of administration that saw NPA function as both regulator and operator; the overlap of authority in the system and the duplication of efforts. It recommended a “Landlord” port administration model where government’s role would be restricted to policy formulation while private operators undertake the day to day running of terminal operations, stevedoring, warehousing; and investments in port equipment and infrastructure, among other activities. The report called for NPA to be unbundled into three zones and for concessions by open bidding.

After examining the report, the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), endorsed the “Landlord” model, and under a new transport policy NPA was given the role technical regulator to manage the ports for which there were no bids. The National Transport Commission (NTC) was to become commercial regulator while National Ports Commission would become overall coordinating agency for the ports sector. Five landlord port authorities were slated for Lagos; the Niger Delta; Port Harcut; Calabar; and the inland ports. A total of 25 concessions were identified in 11 ports and there were bids from 110 companies to manage eight ports: Bonny, Calabar, Koko, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Apapa, Tin Can & RORO. With bids submitted by March 2005, concession commenced in 2006 with 20 concessions concluded. In March 2006 the concessionaires commenced operations.

The flagship concession, Apapa Container Terminal was signed in March 2006 with APM Terminals, which had taken over P&O Nedlloyd earlier in the year. The Danish shipping firm, A.P. Moller (APM Terminals’ parent company beat 25 other bidders to the 25-year concession.

Doing Business in the Ports Prior to the concessioning of ports to private operators in 2006, doing business in the nation’s ports was a hellish experience laced with a myriad of problems.

Some of which was turnaround time for ships which took too long making businesses to brace themselves for weeks if not months of endless waiting before their cargo could be loaded or discharged.

“Most of the few cargo-handling facilities owned by the NPA were moribund, so shipping companies had to hire such facilities from private sector sources, leading to extra costs.

Dwell time for goods in port was so long that overtime cargo filled the most active seaports and led to massive port congestion.

Labour for ship work was controlled by a mafia that controlled dockworker unions and had no scruples supplying less than the manpower paid for. Many port premises that could have been put to good use were abandoned, giving maritime businesses less options.

“In the road sections of the ports, massive portholes were the norm, rather than the exception, and this did nothing to reduce waste of man hours brought about by snail-like movement of goods to and from the ports.

The resulting congestion led to consignments becoming untraceable as if they suddenly disappeared into thin air, and in such cases, NPA often seemed helpless in effecting the return of such absconded cargoes, to the chagrin of hardworking businesspeople. As a result of porous entry points, dangerous miscreants also known as wharf rats swarmed the ports to also eke out their daily bread, leading to predictable tales of woe on the part of responsible business people,” said a leading operator.

Effort to Develop New Ports Since the concession, efforts have been made to develop Greenfield deep sea ports without success. Despite the yearly allocation of several billions of naira for the construction of a proposed Greenfield deep seaport at Ibaka in Akwa Ibom State by both the State Government and the NPA since 2011, the project has remained elusive, with no evidence of a port being built at the proposed site.

This is also the same situation with the $1.65 billion Lekki Deep Seaport, which is slated to be completed in 2019. Work is currently on-going at the Ibaka deep seaport in Akwa Ibom and the Lekki deep seaport in Lagos.

Similarly, construction work is on at the Olokola deep seaport and Free Trade Zone between Ondo and Ogun, with a deep seaport being proposed for Badagry in Lagos. The Deep Seaports were conceived to improve the

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MARITIME The Deputy National President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Mr. Eugene Nweke, said that it was unfortunate that 56 years after independence, Nigeria was yet to be ranked among the big maritime nations.

Nweke faulted the concession exercise, adding that the NPA Act 1990 ought to have been amended before the concession and not after.

He said that it was a shame that the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA), the NPA Act and Nigerian Shippers’ Council Act were undergoing review now 56 years after the country gained independence.

The Secretary to the Senior Staff Association of Communication, Transport and Corporations (SSACTAC), NPA branch, Mr Akin Leoso, said that with port concession, there should be 24-hour cargo clearance at the nation’s ports.

Leoso believes that the target is difficult to achieve despite all the reforms carried out at the port.

He, however, did not support the move to revive the liquidated NNSL. He expressed doubt if the proposed company would be well managed and whether it would not go the way of the liquidated NNSL.

overall cargo handling capacity of Nigerian ports and thereby increase Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The handling capacity of ports in Nigeria is put at 60 million metric tonnes, while demand and usage is about 100 million metric tonnes, and they are expected to rise with the increasing population, urban expansion and attendant demand for more markets.

The cargo throughput handled in the ports in 2010 increased from 66,908,322 metric tonnes in 2009 to 74,910,282 metric tons in 2010, indicating a 12 per cent increase. According to global trends in port development, out of a total of 100 plus seaport developments being executed the world over, approximately 60 to 75 per cent of these are deep sea ports or terminals. The balance is mostly inland water way ports and Jetties.

This clearly indicates that Nigeria needs better designed port facilities in tune with increased cargo traffic, for the global competition. Also, emphasis is shifting to larger more economical vessels that require deeper harbour drafts. Global logistics trends have made the need for deep seaports more imperative.

The last two decades have witnessed a major shift in the exploration and production focus of international oil companies (IOCs), with deep offshore frontiers becoming more attractive and widespread. This has naturally affected the dynamics of crude oil carriage, just as more efficient means of petroleum products and LNG supply and distribution are sought from the downstream segment of the industry.

Crucially, logistics services for these new frontier developments define the core of operations, costs and efficiency, with bigger vessels infinitely more able to leverage on scales and further thereto, on costs. The foregoing defines today’s shipping and oil and gas reality in Nigeria, and paints the canvass for deep water ports in bold relief.

Greenfield Development and GDP The federal government has been inundated with calls to embark on policy measures that will encourage Greenfield port development in the country.

Doing so, experts said, will impact positively in the overall cargo handling capacity of the Nigerian ports and thus increase the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Experts believe Nigeria need new better designed port facilities in line with increased cargo traffic nationally and globally, new and bigger marine vessels that need deeper harbor drafts.

Global logistics trends and practices, they stressed, have made the need for deep sea port more imperative.

“Nigeria should also have at least one port that can berth a Super Panamax Vessel”, said,

Bello Ibrahim Gwandu, a former managing director, NPA, while giving reasons why Nigeria must develop Greenfield deep sea ports.

He added that as the largest importer and exporter of cargo in the West African sub-region, one of Nigeria’s deep sea ports should become a hub for west and central Africa because of increased maritime and general trade volumes of the country.

“The benefits of attaining a regional hub status include the potential to create directly and indirectly, approximately three to four million jobs over a five year period and a 70 per cent cut in vessel turnaround time as well as guaranteeing increased revenue from berthing charges to handling charges for the trans-shipment of cargoes. A deep sea port of draft not less than 35 Meters will almost guarantee Nigeria the regional hub status, which by volume of cargo alone sent or received from our ports, gives her the right to that status,” Gwandu stated.

He said Nigeria need a deep sea facility that load and offload finished, refine liquid, powder and containerized cargo adding that bigger ships move cargo more efficiently than smaller vessels, so the economies of scale make it imperative that shippers will buy new bigger vessels, which have to dock somewhere, a deep sea port.

In a paper entitled, “Greenfield Port Development: Which Approach,” Gwandu urged the federal government to also consider reducing the approval process for public, private partnership (PPP) proposals.

He said PPP is best suited for port development because of capital layout required to develop ports and equip same and the broad range of engineering, engineering management and operational management expertise needed.

The government, he said, should promote the use of bi-lateral agreements from the private sector as a vehicle for infrastructure development and Nigeria achieving the regional hub status and assist willing investors where necessary to access loans locally and internationally to finance this type of developments.

Dominance of foreign companies It is important to point out that after years of back and forth, the dominance of Nigerian maritime sector by foreigners does not look like abating soon.

Although some stakeholders are happy with the various reforms in the sector, they, however, want the implementing agencies to enforce the provisions of the law.

Recently, the Indigenous Ship owners Association of Nigeria (ISAN) decried the dominance of their foreign counterpart stating that while their foreign counterparts are in business, their members are going through difficult times.

The Chairman of ISAN, Chief Isaac Jolapamo, said that while indigenous ship owners could only move cargoes within the nation’s waters once in a month, the foreign ship owners could move cargoes up to three times in a week.

According to Jolapamo, indigenous vessels are idle and huge costs are being incurred as the engines keep running.

Besides, he said that foreign ships were entering the nation’s waters at will despite the Cabotage law, while the relevant agencies watch the ships helplessly.

However, in the last two months, ISAN had obtained court orders and arrested six foreign ships alleged to be trading in Nigerian waters in defiance of the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act, otherwise known as the Cabotage Act, which was enacted in 2003.

Jolapamo blamed the development on the inability of the implementing agency to enforce the provisions of the law.

According to the ship owner, six years after the Cabotage law came into effect, the law has not achieved its intended objectives.

“Because of this, we (Nigerians) have not done well and there is nothing to roll out the drums for in respect of the 49th independent anniversary,” he said.

Jolapamo urged the federal government to support the ISAN Shipping Company with cargoes and grant the company the status of a national carrier.

The ship owner said that with the liquidation of the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL), Nigeria had gone down from 20 ships in the 1990s to nil today.

He, however, advised that those calling for the return of the NNSL were yet to learn from the bitter lessons of the past.

NNSL was liquidated in 1995 and all the vessels in its fleet were sold.

The former President of the Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM), Capt. Adewale Ishola, said that the nation’s indigenous ship owners should be able to transport more of Nigeria’s crude oil than the foreign ship owners, but the reverse had been the case.

A member of ISAN, Capt. Olaniyi Labinjo, urged the federal government to reverse this trend because in some oil producing countries, the indigenous ship owners dominate the trade.

Labinjo said that this was the only way to build a good future for all Nigerians and generations yet unborn.

The Chairman, Shipping Association of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Val Usifo, said that he would not support the revival of the NNSL. Usifo said that if the shipping line must be revived, it should be private sector driven with government support in the areas of cargoes.

The ship operator suggested that the federal government should rather support ISAN in developing a national fleet of vessels.

Bad Government Policies Another major setback for the maritime sector, according to top players in the sector, has been policy inconsistencies of the federal government.

Chairman of Seaports Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Vicky Haastrup believes inconsistent government policies have held the maritime industry down. ‘‘Government need to ensure that consistency in policy is applied to the economy because there are lot of inconsistencies in policies that they keep changing from time to time and these does not augur well for business owners. The maritime industry has a huge potential if right policies are made.

“The port industry doesn’t need inconsistent policies. We don’t need policy summersault.

The manufacturers are bleeding right now because they cannot plan, it may be N400 to a dollar today and in another one week, it is N450. That makes it very difficult for business owners to plan. That is quite scary and that is why investors are moving out of the country, investors do not have confidence in injecting finances into business in Nigeria and the reason was due to inconsistent government policies,” she said.

Haastrup, who is also the Executive Vice Chairman of ENL Consortium, operator of terminal C&D, Apapa Port, Lagos, further stated that private investors need government confidence which can only be achieved through consistent policies. According to her, the maritime industry is second to oil with huge potentials only if the right policies are made.

She said: “Businesses owners need consistent government policies before they can open letter of credit or source for foreign exchange from the black market to bring goods into the country.

“For instance, Customs tariff keeps changing from time to time and before it changes for instance an importer of goods will have shipped his cargo from wherever it is and before the cargo lands, Customs has increased the tariff on such cargo then that business owner is already messed up and got into trouble financially so this are all the fortunes we need to sync.

“The port industry has a huge potential but like I said only if the right policies are applied. We know the port industry is second to oil it is such a huge industry because it comprised of big operators such as – Terminal operators, Truck Operators, Shipping Companies, Clearing Agents – that is a huge industry, it is an industry that can provide jobs for youths, provide jobs for families, it is an industry that has potentials to generate huge revenue for the government but only if we have consistency in policies.

“Just a couple of weeks ago, the Nigeria Customs Service said it generated over N50 billion but they can do more than that because of the capacity that is available in the port industry if the right policies are made and applied. The service can earn more than that if there is an enabling environment for business to thrive but even with what was declared, it showed that the capacity within the maritime sector is so huge.”

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Apapa Customs Surpasses Monthly Target with N33bn Collection For the second time in two months, the Apapa Command of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has surpassed its monthly target with the collection of N32,947,903,912.38 for the month of September 2016.

The command in a statement said it had for the second month sustained its revenue surpassing feat even in the face of harsh economic situation occasioned by high exchange rate, reduced volume of import and sustained

general recession.

This is coming after the command collected a total of N34.9 billion in August 2016, a feat that had not been made in any customs command nationwide in the last 10 years.

Commenting on the performance, the Customs Area Controller (CAC) of the command, Willy Egbudin urged all officers and men of the command to step up efforts is ensuring maximum collection

of government revenue through appropriate valuation, necessary issuance of debit notices (DN) and strict anti-smuggling efforts.

Egbudin also directed strict application of directives by the Controller General by all officers on outright seizure of any cargo or consignment falsely declared with the intent of duty evasion.

He reminded all officers serving in Apapa to see themselves as good examples for others to emulate as the command is

ranked number one for many good reasons. ‘’Consider yourselves privileged to be serving in a sensitive Area Command that adds value to national income and revenue. We must continue to sustain our maximum revenue collection tempo and not betray the trust reposed on us.mAt this period of national economic recession, we must apply intelligence, tact and legitimate enforcement in

detecting and plugging all possible areas of revenue leakages. ‘’I commend all my lieutenants and junior officers for this feat and urge them not to relent in ensuring revenue collection to the last dime while swiftly facilitating legitimate trade within the limits of our official capacities. We are making Apapa Command a no go area for any form of lawless activity and dare say that whoever dares our resolve

for on this will be caught by the long arms of the law, ‘’Egbudin said.

He added that the command will continue in its drive for higher revenue without compromising national security.

The CAC also directed all officers in charge of terminals and their subordinates to maintain increased vigilance against any form of concealments, under declaration and smuggling.

Customs Generates N1bn, Intercepts 3 Bulletproof Cars at Seme Border Eromosele Abiodun The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Seme Command has announced that it generated N1.129 billion as revenue for the month of September, 2016.

The command said it also made a total of 76 Seizures with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N67,729,225.18 for the period under review. In a statement signed by the Customs Public Relations Officer of the command, Taupyen Selchang , the agency said the increase in the revenue figure for the period under review was unprecedented in recent times.

Commenting on the revenue figure generated, the Custom Area Controller disclosed that the previous challenge of revenue in the command has been overcome.

“Though the previous months were characterized by a lot of challenges that militated against the smooth collection of revenue in the Command, it is heartwarming to note that efforts put in place to address the challenges yielded the expected result far above the preceding months. The amount generated surpassed the sum of N883, 791,678.88 that was collected within the same period under review in 2015 with over N245, 323, 534, 35, “he said.

He pointed out that there will be a boost in revenue if the Memorandum of Understanding signed with our counterpart (Republic of Benin) translates into handing over of all transit vehicles to Seme command.

He re-stated that with the compliance in the general unification of values across border commands, the implementation of the complete 17 digits declaration of VIN and the strict adherence to clearance procedure of general goods, he was hopeful that this feat will be recorded and sustained once the principle of compliance, transparency and integrity while discharging the core mandates of the Service is strictly adhered to.

The CAC pointed out that this impressive performance will go down memory lane to justify our commitment and determination to succeed at all course.

He said the Command remain undaunted and cannot be deterred in performing her statutory responsibility no matter the challenge.He said, “In the same vein, the anti-smuggling unit of the Command has also intercepted and arrested three bullet proof vehicles smuggled

into the country at different entry locations. The three arrested bullet proof vehicles with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N58,797,969.00 have the following particulars:- A black Jeep Escalade with Lagos Registration number GGE 225 BM, A black Toyota Land Cruiser (VKR) with Lagos Registration number LSR 906 AG, A black Mercedes Benz Bus with a foreign number.”

Inspecting the seized bullet proof vehicles, the CAC disclosed that the security of the nation remain a top priority to the border commands of the NCS The command’s helmsman reiterated that apart from generating revenue, suppression of smuggling and facilitation of legitimate trade, the Nigeria Customs Service has a complementary role of protecting the territorial integrity of this nation.

The controller added that the challenge of security is vital to the survival of the nation’s socio-economic and political system; hence the need to ensure that bullet proof vehicles undergo security procedure for approval from the office of the National Security Adviser before importation. He highlighted that the command’s seizures in recent times attest to the alertness and the security consciousness of the anti-smuggling unit. He further stated that the Command located at the corridor of the West Africa sub-region will not relent in her effort in combating smuggling and other cross border vices.

Conversely, he noted that when smuggling is drastically reduced through aggressive anti-smuggling operations as in the case of Seme Command, legitimate trade across the frontier is facilitated and higher revenue generated.The CAC stressed that the uncompromised stand of the Command to work relentlessly in line with the global best practices (border management) and the policy thrust of the Comptroller General of Customs cannot be over-emphasized.

He charged his officers not to rest on their oars in having a healthy and symbiotic relationship with the stakeholders in the implementation process of the Federal Government fiscal policies. The Seme Command’s helmsman observed that a healthy relationship devoid of infractions in clearing procedure will give the Command the desired result, increase revenue generation and suppression of smuggling.

CSR IN ACTION

Corporate Communications Manager of Air Peace, Chris Iwarah (left) presenting relief materials donated by the airline to internallydisplaced persons (IDPs) in Yobe State to the Executive Secretary, Yobe State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Musa Idi Jidawa…recently.

Abule-Egba Flyover: Lagos Agents Laud SIFAX Group Over RoRo Terminal Efficiency Denies Violating Federal Eromosele Abiodun SIFAX Group has been commended by clearing agents for its efficient vehicle releasing process at its new RoRo terminals located in Okota, Lagos.According to the agents, while speaking at a stakeholders meeting involving SIFAX Group, clearing agents and the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), the company’s excellent service delivery and swift resolution of complaints by its personnel have endeared them to the RoRo terminals since the resumption of its one-stop-shop vehicle importation services few weeks ago with the berth of MV Glovis Supreme.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Mr. Osho Saheed Olamilekan of SIKAD Golden Company said: “I must commend SIFAX Group for its excellent human relations skills.

The company has a superb listening ear; challenges encountered during the course of the vehicle releasing process are promptly addressed by the company. I must really say that the releasing process has improved greatly.”

Corroborating his view, CEO, Blueplanet Services, Mrs Ebere Ojeogwu, attested to the conducive environment the terminals offer, adding that the scourge of touting has been eliminated by the company.

She stated that that there is nobody that would visit the terminal and not fall in love with it.

She said: “Our vehicles are released to us in the possible best condition because the terminals are properly secured. SIFAX Okota RoRo terminal is serene, neat, secured and free from any harassment from touts as you would find in other. The releasing process is also commendable.

Agents do not need to stay hours here before getting our vehicles released. There is also no reason for lobbying as we are being attended to in a most professional manner.”

On his part, Mr. Adetayo Oluwafemi Olajide of Kodyke Ventures said: “I can categorically say on behalf of other agents that this terminal is the best we have witnessed so far as long as RoRo service is concerned.

Billing, manifest, releasing have been wonderful here. Customs and other agencies are very supportive too and we are just so glad coming to this terminal to clear our vehicles.”

General Manager, SIFAX RoRo Terminals, Mr. Saheed Lasisi, noted that the teething problems such as delay in manifest and billing and insufficient releasing officers, among others, have been addressed by the company.

“Superb customer service and excellent human relations are our watchword here in SIFAX Group. We have built all our brands on these core values and that is why we were able to quickly overcome the challenges we had in the first one week of vehicle releasing.

Highway Regulations Gboyega Akinsanmi The Lagos State Government has denied contravening any provision of Federal Highway Regulations while constructing a reinforced concrete dual carriage flyover at Abule-Egba along Lagos-Abeokuta expressway.

It provided proofs of compliance to the regulations in in a statement by the Head of Public Affairs, the state’s Ministry of Physical Planning & Urban Development, Mr. Shina Odunuga on Wednesday.

Different reports had alleged that the state government unilaterally extended portions for removal from the agreed 32 metres from the existing electricity poles to 91.44 metres contrary to the existing provision of federal highway regulations.

It was alleged that the state government demolished 1,000 buildings due to the on-going construction of a reinforced concrete dual carriage flyover bridge at Abule-Egba along Lagos-Abeokuta expressway.

But in its statement, the state government said the allegations were unfounded, noting that the flyover primarily designed to check gridlock on the expressway, was being executed in line with the existing provisions of federal highway regulations.

The statement, however, clarified the position of the state government on the right of way “to be established for

the construction of a reinforced concrete dual carriage flyover bridge at Abule-Egba junction.

“The 1000 houses quoted in the report “are only a figment of the reporters’ imaginations as most of the structures affected by the proposed removal are fences, building setbacks and illegal constructions and attachments to buildings.”

Aside, the statement added the state government “is only implementing existing provisions of Federal Highway Regulations as contained in the Public Land Acquisition Act and gazette by the federal government for Lagos - Abeokuta expressway right of way.”

It added that the said 91.44 metres as contained in the Removal Notice “is from the centre of the existing road (45.72 metres on the right side and 45.72 metres on the left side) and not 91.44metres from existing electricity poles as contained in the report.”

The statement expressed disappointment that formal institutions involved, like banks, and eateries could engage in illegal development without valid certificate of occupancy or planning permits.

It, therefore, urged residents of the areas, whose properties might be affected and having valid claim “to forward documents of such to the Ministry for record and other administrative purposes.”

WEEKEND WEEKLY PULLOUT

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

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EXCITEMENT AS NORDICA'S FIRST IN-VITRO BABY COMES OF AGE ACTING EDITOR CHARLES AJUNWA / charles.ajunwa@thisdaylive.com

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Excitement as Nordica's First In-Vitro Baby Comes of Age About 14 years ago, just before Nordica Fertility Centre, a medical facility that specialises in-vitro fertilisation, kicked off, many people thought it was impossible to do IVF in Nigeria due to the absence of a facility suitable for such services. Mary Ekah writes on the exciting encounter with the fertility centre's firstborn, Julian Onwudinjo, who turned out to be exceptionally bold and courageous, despite people’s views and perceptions about his mode of conception “My name is Julian Onwudinjo. I’m happy to be 12 years old today. I thank God for that. I have about 2000 siblings but there are only a few here today joining me to celebrate my birthday. I can actually introduce them to you if you want,” he said with such carefree disposition. And then you wonder how manage he is having over 2000 siblings at the age of 12, and then a lot of things come to your mind and you start wondering but he quickly comes to your rescue. “I am Nordica first baby, after me, also came over 2000 babies, so they are my medical siblings.”

Yes! That explains it! 12-year-old Julian Onwudinjo happens to be the very first InVitro Fertilisation (IVF) baby produced by the Nordica Fertility Centre, Lagos, about 12 years ago and after him, many other children had come through the same process. In fact, they came in torrent proving how successful the methods had turned out and so today, children produced at the centre through IVF are numbering over 2000. Julian being the “firstborn” of the centre presently has about 2000 sibling, like he mentioned, and it seems like more are still coming.

And then you wonder again, if this 12-yearold good looking chap actually understands what he claims to be, like when he says, “I’m Nordica first baby”. Again, he sweeps you off your feet with his explanation. “I am an IVF baby”, he said with an attitude that says, I don’t care what you think or feel about me”. Proving beyond every reasonable doubt that he actually knows who he is and understands quite well the process that brought him to being. But does he care? As long as he appears like every other normal child growing up without displaying any form of deformity, absurdity nor irrationality.

“I am happy knowing who I am and knowing the process that brought me to existence.

I am just normal. I am not different from every other child,” young Julian retorted as he goes further to talk more about himself with an air about him. “I attend St. Gregory’s College, Lagos. I am in JSS 2. A few of my classmates know I am a Nordica baby but they are okay with me and I am okay with them too. I am just like a normal baby growing up with caring parents. My parents do not over pamper me in any way. I am treated like every other normal child and I am also growing up to be a normal child. I have a younger sister, a biological sister who was born naturally and not through IVF.“ Julian whose role model is Ben Carson, an American retired neurosurgeon and politician, says he is reading hard at school to become a neurosurgeon in future, just like his role model.

Surprisingly, he has an advice for parents out there. “I am telling every parent out there that if they know any couple having challenges in making babies, they should come for IVF at the Nordica Fertility Centre where thousands of babies are being produced and they would be advised on what to do.”

About 14 years ago in Nigeria, just before Nordica Fertility Centre, a medical facility that specialises in In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF), kicked off, many people thought it was not possible to do IVF in Nigeria due to the fact that the facility suitable for such services was not available at all in the country. So it was quite a challenge trying to make babies through IVF in our kind of environment then. But Nordica Fertility Centre summoned courage

Julian with Mrs.Tola Ajayi

and kicked off its services in 2003 when it saw that probably, the greatest need for people with infertility was IVF. And as the Nordica pioneer baby clocked 12 recently, it is only obvious that there has been no looking back for Nordica since 13 years ago, not with four centres in three major cities in Nigeria and well over 2000 babies scattered all over the country and beyond.

Explaining how her journey to Nordica Fertility Centre began, Julian’s mother, Mrs. Franca Onwudinjo, said, “After we got married in 1999, as a normal couple, you would always look forward to having at least a baby in the first two years of your marriage. But for us the babies were not forthcoming till it

got to the sixth year of our marriage and I got so worried and then started seeking for medical help. I got to know about Nordica through the Internet.”

After her discovery on the Internet and six years into her marriage, Onwudinjo started her quest for what she desired most then – a child. Her quested landed her at the Nordica Fertility Centre where various tests were conducted on her and medical advice given to her and at the end she opted for IVF, which proved successful and the end product is his 12-year-old son, Julian.

Hers was a huge success and she succeeded on the very first trial and it probably simply worked because she was still very young

when she tried it.

“I was less than 25 when I did IVF. I sought for medical advice and I was told to do that.

I believed the medical team then knew the best and understood the challenges we had as a couple. And we didn’t hesitate in adhering to the advice and today I am happy I did.”

For the couple it was not easy considering their financial status then but they had to do it, since a child was something they desired so much at that moment. “We had to really cut down on our expenses. We had to set our priority right and do without certain things at that moment. We did not have a car then, we didn’t bother to even think about getting one. There were many other things we would have wanted to enjoy then but we stepped down on them all to ensure that we saved for that which was most important to us and to God be the glory it was a success,” Onwudinjo recalled.

She was quick to advice couples that are facing fertility challenge to seek medical advice on time. “I am not saying they should not seek spiritual advice but as they wait on God and pray to God constantly, they should see fertility experts and whatever the doctors advice, they should adhere to it because the doctors know better. Like I said, I did IVF at a very young age, if I had said let me wait, I would have kept waiting till it become too late for me to go for IVF. If I had said let me wait till I was 40, you and I know what would have happened by now. So when you seek medical advice and if it is something that you can afford, please do not waste time just do it, even if it means borrowing money to do it; it pays than spending so much money bit by bit on what you are not even sure will work for you. No matter the amount involved, it is worth doing when you see the joy that comes with having a baby of your own after waiting for so long for it to come.

I thank God for the doctor that gave me that advice 12 years ago and I heeded to it. So once you are given a medical advice take it and I am sure you would be happy for it.“ For Onwudinjo, age matters a lot in achieving success with IVF. She got through in just once circle and that she ascribes to timely intervention and at the right age.

“I will say it anywhere, age matters a lot in solving infertility problem, especially for the ladies. Once you find out that babies are not coming in the first, second and third year of your marriage, just rush and seek for medical advice and whatever you are advised to do, do it fast and you would achieve success.

It is God that gives the knowledge to these doctors and so you must heed to their advice when it comes to getting babies, I see the doctors as a bridge between man and God.” So for Onwudinjo, now a businesswoman who has also got a second child, a girl, through natural birth, she came at the right time and at the right age, even when she was not sure of where to get the means for it, she still persevered and success was achieved within a very short period, in fact, just in one circle.

And her husband was also a solid support to achieve the success. “When I informed my husband about going for IVF, he was supportive and we had gone through it together until we achieved success. All he wanted was for us to have our own child and to be happy and having a baby then was the ultimate thing for me,” she noted.

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Julian with other Nordica babies in celebration mood

She describes her son, Julian, as a normal child. “He came as a normal child when I had him. He started doing every normal thing that every other child does when growing - he crawled, walked and ran at the normal time. Even at his school presently, if you take statistics of the boys in his class, you will find that most of them are of the same age with him. So I am sure he is doing well for his age. And I pray God to continue to uplift, uphold, keep him and grant him his inner most heart desire. I know he has a dream even as early as 12 years old and so God should grant him his dreams.”

As the very first successful client with the Nordica Fertility Centre, the Onwudinjos have been in the limelight all through the past 12 years but ironically she said, “I have never had any negative reaction nor treatment from friends and family members. I have never had any negative remark said to my face, I don’t know if any one does that behind me but rather, I have received encouragement and supports. And all along I have said it to the whole world and whoever cares to listen that I achieved my success through IVF, got the joy and happiness that I desired for so long before Julian came. I want people around me who are going through the same challenge I had, to know that this thing is real and if they try it, God will definitely come to their rescue.”

The Clinical Manager for Nordica Fertility Centre, Lagos, Mrs. Tola Ajayi was extremely delighted over the occasion, saying she was always excited whenever it was Julian’s birthday. “I am always excited when it is his birthday because it is a thing of joy when you see your child grow. Julian is my child and he is doing very fine. We thank God for that.”

Speaking further she said, ”when you see them grow from one stage to the other, you realise that the fear that people have about IVF is not there because a lot of people still have this negative perception about IVF babies if actually they are normal babies. So each time we celebrate Julian, we let the world know that he is a normal child like every other child of his age. That is why we have been following up Julian right from birth and so every year, we try to mark his birthday so that people can see his developmental stage and to also see that everything is well with him.”

Ajayi who explained further that the centre is about 13 years old, noted that their first breakthrough, Julian came just

Julian

Julian flanked by his Nordica siblings with Mrs.Tola Ajayi, while cutting his 12th birthday cake

about when it started, adding, “Achieving pregnancy right after we started, is a great breakthrough for us and this is a luxury that a lot of clinics out there are not privileged to have. We have that luxury and we are proud of it and we love what we do. It is also to encourage other people to take that step of faith rather than for them to just wait until when it is too late and then see themselves as childless and not being able to do anything about it when actually there was something they could have done about it if they had sought advice at the right place and at the right time. If Julian’s mother had not taken that bold step at that that time, maybe she wouldn’t have been where she is today. But thank God that she took that bold step with us. It was like believing in Nordica and we were able to achieve that success together because it is not just Nordica success but it is her own success also for her to have her first child which Nordica is very proud of. And that is why we try to like bringing him out every time for people to see that we had a baby right after we started and he has been growing with us. As Nordica is growing, Julian is also growing and we would also like to tell the whole world that we are proud of him

as our first baby. We have recorded quite a number of successes after him. We have had over 2000 babies after him, including twins, triplets and quintuplets. We are still counting.”

She said that within the last 13 years of operation, a lot of people are getting to know more about IVF and all the other services offered at Nordica. “Knowledge is power and some years back a lot of people didn’t have this knowledge but right now the knowledge is growing, people are getting to know that they have options and they do come in and we are happy that we have a lot of babies and we monitor them,” she said.

She however had this candid advice for women who get pregnant through IVF but will conceal the truth about it. “I will use this opportunity to encourage people out there because we still have problems with some people who after having done IVF, go about telling people that they got pregnant spontaneously and that it wasn’t IVF. They are not helping. Even if you are not telling your whole story, encourage other people by telling them that you did IVF. There is nothing wrong in it. Let them come out to say, we did IVF, it’s successful and we have babies from IVF. There is nothing to be ashamed

of. But if you keep quiet and say that you achieved pregnancy spontaneously, you are not helping your neighbour who probably is in need of this service. So it is important that we let the whole world know so that they could achieve the same success that you have had.”

When asked if there was no stigma attached to people who got their babies through IVF and which makes it difficult for them to come all out to tell their stories, Ajayi went rhetorical: “Why would anybody stigmatise anybody that has baby through IVF? It is because they lack knowledge. Why would anyone want to do that? What is the stigma there? I had my baby through IVF. So what?

Would you prefer that people would say that you have bought babies? “It is not just right to stigmatise people who have had babies through IVF. And would they prefer them not to have babies at all rather than have babies through IVF? “There is nothing to be ashamed of. At Nordica, we are proud that we have helped to complete families. We have helped families to be happy and to see their dreams come true. And I think that is the major thing that people should work with,” Ajayi retorted with a note of seriousness.

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HOW to Mentor Youths in Leadership Mary Ekah The Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe (HOW) Foundation, founded by Dr. Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank, is set to empower Nigerian youths with a leadership and mentorship seminar aimed at providing youths with support to push them closer to achieving greatness.

The Foundation’s pilot programme, leadership and mentorship seminar for secondary school children and young adults, billed to hold on Saturday October 8, at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, will focus basically on how to get young people to understand their individual leadership potential and to develop their leadership skills from a very young age.

Speaking during a press briefing in Lagos on Monday, the Foundation’s National Coordinator, Ms. Antonia Ally, said the Foundation created in January this year, is a non-profit organisation focused on creating awareness for prevention of malaria, prostate cancer and providing mentorship for youth leadership. “We started in January 2016 and since then, we have been holding programmes now and then but from the end of this year we want to take it to another level and so we are starting with a youth leadership seminar billed for Saturday,

HOW Coordinator, Anthonia Ally

October 8,” she noted Expatiating on the focal areas of the Foundation, Ally said, “At HOW Foundation, we believe it is possible to eradicate malaria and one thing we have found out is that education is key to solving malaria.

For example in Nigeria, most people believe that during raining season, you must have malaria but we are trying to educate people that you don’t have to have malaria every season if you put certain things right to prevent malaria. And for prostate cancer, this is the number one disease that kills men in Nigeria and yet people are not talking about it as much as they talk about breast cancer and the likes. People seem very uncomfortable talking about prostate cancer. So we want to encourage people

to talk about prostate cancer because a lot of people are suffering and dying from it. We want people to know that prostate cancer is a disease that can be avoided. If one has already got, it can be managed.”

She noted, “At HOW, we believe that every Nigerian youth is potential leader. All they need is to tap into that inherent ability in them. And come Saturday, October 8 at the Intercontinental Hotel, Lagos by 11am, we are holding a seminar on leadership, where youths would be tutored on the different forms of leaders they can become and at the same time encourage them on how to work towards that.”

The theme for the seminar, Ally said, is, “Be Your Best”, noting, “We preach that whatever you want to be, make sure you are the best in it. Do something extra-ordinary to make you stand out in your chosen career and this is what the seminar will focus on basically.“ HOW’s Founder, Wigwe combines his passion for helping others especially children and the youth with the need to raise awareness around malaria eradication and prevention of prostate cancer. Its focus around malaria is to help educate on the possibilities of malaria eradication in Nigeria and assist in providing tools/ resources that help to fight against and prevent malaria.

GTB Launches Platform to Promote Indigenous Arts Mary Ekah In a bid to promote indigenous African arts around the world, leading African financial institutions, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, has established a Virtual Art Gallery ‘ART635’ that will create an enabling platform to help indigenous African artists across the continent turn their works into a more profitable and commercially viable venture. ART635 is a Virtual Art Gallery created to reignite interest in African art and drive the growth and development of the local art industry.

ART635 is a foremost online repository of African artworks and is set to serve as a leading platform for the promotion of indigenous artists across the continent.

At the moment, most budding indigenous artists in Nigeria and across Africa have little or nowhere to showcase their works and make substantial living from their works. The gallery will significantly expand the exposure of these artists, provide an enabling platform for the marketing of their works and serve as a much-needed motivation for the further development of their artistic skills and talents The launch of ART635 is the latest of the bank’s sustained efforts to promote African arts locally and internationally.

L-R: Chichi Ikonta, Communications and External Affairs Officer; Tolu Onipede, Corporate Social Responsibility Officer, Oyinade Adegite, Senior Manager, Communication and External Affairs and Uche Okpa-Iroha, Curator, GTB635 Art Gallery at the event

Arts is one of the four pillars of GTBank’s corporate social responsibility policy and the Bank’s support for art over the years ranges from collecting art work from Nigerian artist, to partner with Tate and other art institution to promote the value of African art in Africa and the international markets through project-lead initiatives With ART635 the bank aims to further its support for African arts by helping African artworks become not just seen and appreciated, but also to turn them into a much more profitable and commercially viable venture for indigenous artist who currently earn very little from their works.

This is in line with the bank’s initiative

to go beyond the tradition understanding of corporate social responsibility as corporate philanthropy by intervening in the economic sector to strengthen small business through capacity building initiatives to boast their expertise, exposure and business growth.

Commenting on the lunch of ART635, Mr. Segun Agbaje Managing director of Guaranty trust Bank Plc said, “At GTBank we see art as an avenue for unlocking people’s creative potential and by creating ART635 we aim to expand the opportunities for art education as well as broaden the reach and viewership of the works of indigenous artists.”

Two Million Nigerians to Benefit from Saro’s Agric Initiative About two million Nigerian farmers are now set to benefit from the roll out of a new initiative by foremost agricultural firm, Saro Agroscience Nigeria Limited.

Speaking during unveiling of the specialised and large farmers division of the company to stakeholders including financial institutions, farmers and others at their corporate headquarters in Lagos, the Managing Director of the company, Mr. Oluwole Adeyegbe, explained the importance of the new initiative, noting that it is capable of enhancing crop yield and income for Nigerian farmers.

“The division we are launching today is focused on specialised and large scale farmers. By this, specialised farmers are those who operate green houses and large farmers are those with large expense of farmland. Our package for small farmers makes available important crop procession products that farmers that are small can afford for the benefit of their farms and thereby improve their crop yield. We are going to reach two million farmers within the next three

YEDI's graduating participants at Oworonshoki camp

years and we are going to improve their livelihood with inputs that will improve their yield,” he said.

“Agric is a way out and can help us increase Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings through exportation. Agric is a readymade employer of labour that can help in reducing unemployment. There is a lot that we can achieve through agriculture as a country,” he added.

Speaking on a presentation titled ‘Saro

Creating Wealth And Empowerment Through Innovating Agricultural Technologies,’ Patrick Ohaji, Head of Business, SAS Large Farms Solution, said that the company has open field drip irrigation for maize, lettuce, cabbage and other crops. Established in 1991, Saro AgroSciences –a subsidiary of SaroAfrica International Group has grown to be leading marketer and distributor of crop protection products, farm machineries, irrigation and greenhouses in Nigeria.

African Fashion and Design Week 2016: The Continent’s Runway Showcase Returns Following the success story of last year’s fashion show in Port Harcourt, Bluepearl Services International brings the 5th edition of African Fashion and Design Week 2016 (AFDW 2016) to Lagos with the theme ‘Be Inspired’.

Hosted by Sika Osei and Uti Nwachukwu, AFDW 2016 will take Uti Nwachukwu, Host for African place from Friday, Fashion and Design Week October 7 to Sunday, October 9 at the prestigious Oriental Hotel featuring eclectic collections from top and emerging African designers such as ZiziCardow (Nigeria), Sunny Rose (Nigeria/Thailand), Modela (Nigeria), Chocolate (Ghana), Grace Wallace (Togo), WeizDhurm Franklyn (Nigeria), Afriken (Ghana), Raaah (Zimbabwe/UK), Phuzion (Gambia), Gavin Rajah (South Africa) and many more.

Every year, African Fashion and Design Week attracts fashion enthusiasts, buyers, stylists, editors and everyone in the fashion industry to experience the looks that will define the continent's next fashion trends.

As part of Bluepearl Services International’s vision to nurture creative independence amongst new talents in the industry, AFDW 2016 will also organise the Bluepearl Raising Stars competition. The aim of the competition is to recognise innovative and talented young designers on the continent by providing a platform to showcase their collections. Each selected participant will exhibit a much anticipated capsule collection and the winner will be awarded the ‘Bluepearl Raising Star for the year 2016’. In addition, top designers will be recognised at the prestigious annual African Icon of Hope Awards.

Air Force Officer, Four Others Selected as 2016 Eisenhower Fellows Chiemelie Ezeobi The Eisenhower Fellowships (EF) has announced the selection of a Nigerian Air Force officer, Wing Commander Musa Salmanu and four other young visionary Nigerian leaders working in government, business and civil society as 2016 Africa Programme Eisenhower Fellows. Salmanu is responsible to the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Abubakar Sadiq, on strategic communications, and informs the policy response to complex humanitarian emergencies in the fight against Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria. A 2009 Alumni of King’s College London, with Masters of Art (MA) degree in conflict security and development through the Africa Leadership Center Mentoring and Studentship Programme, the recipient is passionate about education as a means to achieve tolerance, peace and prosperity.

During his fellowship, the wing commander will pilot a programme to improve school enrollment rates for children five to 12 years old by compensating for the lack of a social safety net and providing nutrition and food for students; education on the importance of diversity and tolerance; and outreach to families to ensure girls are not left behind.

The other fellows from Nigeria are Ayodeji Adewunmi, the President and CEO of Jobberman Sub-Saharan Africa‘s largest employment website and Jude Ilo, Nigerian representative for the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA).

Others are Fatima Mohammed, the convener, Runs the LikeMinds Project, a non-profit, non-partisan communitybased organisation working to build a peaceful, equitable and just society and also Olusegun Olukoya who heads the Financial Services, e-business and payments division at Nextzon Business Services. The Nigerian Fellows who will join 20 other ascendant leaders from Africans on this inaugural programme will embark on a seven-week journey throughout the United States to engage in a transformative exchange of knowledge and ideas with the leading minds in their fields. They will apply what they learn from their peers and in their meetings with experts in their respective fields to maximise their potential and produce sustained impact through their fellowship experience and collaboration within the EF global network. According to the Chairman of EF, General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret), “These innovative Fellows are united by their passion to benefit their countries and region by collaborating across disciplines to achieve their vision. Also, President of EF, George de Lama said, "The 2016 Africa Program Fellows will play a key role in shaping, empowering and connecting the next generation of African leaders who will address the continent’s profound political, economic and social challenges.

33/LIVING

07.10.2016

Debut of A Conscious Life Mary Ekah A Conscious Life, a book written by Mrs. Funmi Oyetunji, was recently launched in Lagos.

The book, is basically an encouraging lifestyle and success guidebook that is designed to help individuals better focus daily on their purposes and plans in life, living a life more consciously tuned to what it takes to grow as a person either in business or in personal relationships.

Speaking during the presentation ceremony of the book, the author, Funmi Oyetunji, said she started writing the book five years ago, having wondered for some time why there was no syllabus in any curriculum to help throw some light on how to intentionally navigate a fulfilling or satisfying life.

“No subject in school is titled ‘Life Instructions’, we mostly swing it, taking our chances with little warning about signposts or pitfalls.

I also found that some of my own generation increasingly felt concern that the direction and guidance we received from our parents appear not to be getting passed on to later generations.

Mostly, my motivation to write therefore came

A Conscious Life

from a need to pass on the wisdom from my antecedents, the lessons I have learnt while navigating my own life and my observation of other lives.”

Apart from Oyetunji’s personal experience and observation, she also employed some

Myshayo.Com Launches First Nigeria's Online Liquor Store MyShayo.com, a website where exceptional customer service meets extensive selection, will officially launch its website and mobile app on Saturday, October 8, at Oriental Hotel, Lagos.

Thanks to the ecommerce revolution, MyShayo.com, Nigeria's leading online liquor store is offering a comprehensive range of alcoholic beverages: wines, champagne, whiskey, cognac, vodka, brandy, rum, gin, liqueur and more, offering more than 600 different spirits in every style and price range. MyShayo. Myshayo.Com com strives to enhance liquor-shopping experiences by offering a vast selection of authentic liquor online from around the world sourced directly from manufacturers/franchise dealers and offering consumers much more variety than they’ll find at any local store.

Drinks are retailed only in cartons and prices on the website are indicative of carton orders. Orders are generally delivered within 12-48hours. MyShayo.com also offers customised gift deliveries to any state in Nigeria.

“When purchasing from MyShayo.com, you

are guaranteed price points comparable to wholesale dealer prices which make our products/supplies more accessible to a broader market, not mention that we guarantee 100 per cent authenticity with every product we retail,” said the Chief Executive Officer, MyShayo.com, Mr. Kola Ajayi.

Myshayo.com is looking to cater to events, weddings, restaurants & bars, hotels, clubs and anyone who wants to order alcohol with assurance of its authenticity, convenience and price point.

ITECH GEORGE OGUNLEYE

research to ensure that worldwide empirical data actually support the ethnic wisdoms that were passed to her mostly through her grandmothers. The author explained that what the book therefore seeks to do is point out the signposts in the different seasons and critical aspects of life; to challenge one to consider and articulate ahead what finishing well means. She explained further that her book, “A Conscious Life”, is a clarion call and encouragement to start taking actions towards our goals as early as possible.

Reviewing the book during the launch, Chairman, THISDAY Editorial Board, Mr. Segun Adeniyi; said, ‘A Conscious Life’ offers simple guides to help readers who seek contentment in life, adding, “For those who have ever wondered how other people succeeded where they failed, this book captures the key principles on how we can get the best out of life. If you are tired of living the way you are currently living, this book will give you new ideas that you have been longing for.”

Guest speaker and former Chairman of Punch Newspapers Limited, Chief Ajibola

Ogunsola who wrote the forward to the book, commended the author for a thorough job, noting that the writer’s effort surpassed his expectation.

Chief Olu Akinkungbe on the other hand expressed joy that Oyetunji’s book would equally help young people to take informed decisions especially on wealth creation. He praised the author’s style of writing. “It is elegant. She captured me with the very first paragraph of her beautiful book and she managed to sustain my interest to the very end”, he noted.

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, who was the special guest, said the book was important for national development. According to him, the implication of Oyetunji’s stance is that leaders, both in politics and the corporate world, must always think through policies to achieve real growth. He described Oyetunji as someone who is always looking for a better way of doing things. “I have watched her at a close range. I watched her work as a banker and also her real estate business. She is a person always willing to stand with friends whether at a good or bad times”, the Emir said.

MyRainbowBooks Extends Deadline for Writing Competition The deadline for the submission of entries for the 2016 national creative writing competition has been extended to October 31, 2016. The competition, which is endorsed by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), is an annual, free-to-enter contest organised by MyRainbowBooks Limited to help develop children’s creative thinking and writing skills. It is open to children aged five to 16 years who are either resident in Nigeria or from Nigeria. The themes for this year’s competition are: One Sunny Day, The Goal That Was Not Scored, The Stolen Prize, Gratitude, The Stranger, New Kid on The Block, The Call, and Being Different.

The entries for the competition can be either a poem or a short story, but must explore one of the above themes. The word limit for a short story is 1000 words, and the word limit for a poem is 250 words.

The judges in the 2016 competition are H.E. Hadiza El-Rufai (Author and Founder/CEO of Yasmin El-Rufai Foundation), Chigozie Obioma (Award-winning author of The Fishermen), C. C. Adetula (Author, The Perfect Girl, The Prostitute and Other Stories) and Nard Choi (Children’s Literature Scholar, University of Cambridge). The 2016 competition is sponsored by the Education Gaps Linkage Initiative and Emerging Platform Groups, and supported by various organisations and companies including Marvelous Mike Press, Fenan Digital Prints ltd., Mattini Book Club, Hatlab Ice Cream Delite, All About Kids

Email: george.ogunleye@thisdaylive.com,

Copies of MyRainbowBooks Children's Collection

Limited, and Book River etc. Individuals and schools may participate in the competition by sending their entries to myrainbowbooks@ yahoo.com, or submitting their entries at any of the designated centres for submission.

Participation in the competition has many benefits including a chance at publication.

Various prizes and awards will be given to the schools and children that send in outstanding entries, and the best entries will be published in the widely read and recognized MyRainbowBooks Children’s Collection.

www.itechthisday.blogspot.com Tel 07032143733(sms only)

World’s Largest OLED Tunnel Welcomes Visitors to IFA 2016 IFA is the main meeting place for key retailers, buyers, and experts from the industry and the media. Giving opportunity to explore emerging trends and celebrate the premieres of new technologies and products. However, this years’ was made special with LG Electronics (LG) is welcoming visitors to its IFA 2016 exhibition booth with an awe-inspiring and immersive OLED Tunnel measuring a recordbreaking 5m tall, 7.4m wide and 15m in length.

A total of 216 separate 55-inch curved OLED signage displays were assembled to create the unique structure comprising 447,897,600 – nearly half a billion – pixels to display a collection of breathtaking scenes including Iceland’s Aurora Borealis, underwater ecosystems and deep space footage.

A video titled ‘From Black to Black’ produced

by LG to include footage that accentuates the lifelike colors and the ability to recreate the miniscule details of life which LG’s OLED technology intends to deliver. The footage includes the black ocean with effervescent jellyfish and the gentle movement of whales, as well as scenes from deep black space and the brilliant northern lights on a black sky.

LG captured footage of Iceland’s Northern Lights using 14 separate 8K cameras to record every detail and movement as accurately as possible.

Other video clips such as underwater scenes and shots taken from space created

a fully immersive environment for visitors, making them feel as if they were swimming in the ocean or floating in the Milky Way. At IFA, attendees had the chance to see how close the advanced technology of OLED can recreate great outdoors experience inside an exhibition hall.

The impressive scale of the display tunnel was made possible by OLED’s ultra-thin, highly flexible lightweight panels. OLED displays can be custom bent to concave or convex formations without any picture quality distortion, allowing for spectacular digital installations such as immersive tunnel-like environments. Each OLED pixel can switch itself on and off, eliminating the need for

backlighting. OLED TVs have the ability to render true black and infinite contrast ratio that delivers vibrant, eye-popping color and wide viewing angles.

LG has a history behind big show attractions, with LG earning a Red Dot Award in Spatial Communication for its dome-shaped OLED installations at CES 2016.

OLED Tunnel at IFA 2016 is designed to celebrate LG’s 50 years milestone of producing her first TV and also offering visitors at IFA the opportunity to experience OLED’s revolutionary image rendering capability complete with perfect black, infinite contrast ratio and realistic colors from any angle.

34 / INTERVIEW

07.10.2016

Sam Adeyemi: We Need Leaders with Character, Competence

Sam Adeyemi, Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre, is reputed worldwide for grooming younger generation of leaders on leadership and management skills. In this interview with select journalists, he speaks on the ninth edition of the Excellence Leadership Conference taking place in Lagos next month, one-day leadership conference in New York this October, the current economic recession in the country, among others.

Charles Ajunwa who attended the media parley, brings the excerpts In the Beginning We got inspiration from God before we started this church. Our purpose has always been the same: to raise role models in the society, to raise people who will be examples. And from scratch that indicated to us that the people who are called are influencers and leaders. So we started various platforms for doing this. But practically everything we do in our church is about growing people. It’s about helping people to find their purpose. There is something we say frequently in our church- ‘Your life is too small to be the purpose of your life’. We help people to break free from self centeredness, focus on other people, focus on people’s needs and then we help people to discover how they have been equipped by God with gifts, with talents to meet people’s needs. We encourage the acquisition of skills, we encourage our church members to get education, develop the use of their minds, specialise, develop expertise and learn to do things with excellence. All targeted towards service. That has made our church to engage the community in a practical way. Church for us is more than what we do during our services.

In fact, we tell ourselves that our services are merely leadership conferences. They are places where we come refuel, recharge and then go out to meet people’s practical needs out there in the world.

In 2002, we set up a leadership school because given that leadership is our bent and leadership is our calling. It didn’t take long for us to realise how huge a need there is for good leadership not only in our country or our continent but all over the world. Africa has a reputation for producing some of the worst quality of leaders in the world. Here we are in Nigeria, we know it. This is what we need. So somewhere along the line we asked ourselves amazing questions.

So if this is such a huge area of need how come this is not part of our school curriculum? Why do we expect people to give what they don’t have? We allow people to get into leadership positions they mess up then we all complain, we grumble, we mourn. But what structure is there for preparing people because leadership is a skill, leadership is learned and leadership has become school curriculum now. I have a post graduate degree in leadership. I am running a terminal degree programme right now on leadership. All over the world, they are doing PhD in leadership.

Where are the degree programmes on leadership in our universities? Leadership is more than an academic thing, it’s supposed to be part and parcel of your upbringing. So where is it in our primary school curriculum and secondary school curriculum? Two major things make a leader: character and competence. So where is that deliberate grooming of the character and deliberate cultivation of skills and expertise in leadership?

So since we set up Day Star Leadership Academy in 2002, we have had about 30,000 people come through our Day Star Leadership Academy since then. We teach the kind of courses they teach in business schools around the world: Financial Management, Project Management, Systems Development, Organisational Growth, Entrepreneurship and other practical things like Health Management, Family Success and so on.

We teach National Development, we take up all Nigeria issues and apply the principles that we learned on solving them. We teach Leadership and Leadership Development. The testimonials that we have gotten are amazing because now employers in town recognise the small certificate that we give people these days. The Dean of one of the private universities told me two years ago, they put out advertisement for two

Adeyemi vacancies. They processed about 3,000 people, two people were employed. When they tried to analyse what made the difference with the two they found out that the two had been to our leadership school. They realised that was what made the difference. The person told me that they are planning to make a proposal to us because the students that they disciplined may be suspended and when they come back to the university they get worse. So what they are planning is to build a partnership with us so that when they send them on suspension it will be compulsory for them to come to our leadership school so that they can come back better by the time they go back to school. It was after years of running the leadership school that we decided to start an annual leadership conference. The leadership conference is for branding, it’s for visibility and it’s for awareness. Most of those who come to attend the conference are graduates of our leadership school and we recognise them specially at the conference.

On ninth edition of Excellence in Leadership Conference This is the ninth edition of Excellence in Leadership Conference. So it’s a place where we bring people who are accomplished in different fields. We want them to inspire emerging leaders, we want them to share their stories, we want to present models before the younger generation and the conference has been growing in leaps and bounds over the years since we started. People come even from outside Nigeria to attend this conference. After the conference, thousands of people buy the audio formats and video formats of the messages listen to them. We also put out some of them on the media and each year we get amazing stories from participants on how they have been able to apply the things they learnt at the conference on the their careers.

This year, our theme is ‘Maximasing Your Influence’. I will tell you one of the things we have tried to do from scratch, we realised that the concept of leadership in Africa has problems.

Leadership in Africa one, is tied to occupying a position. So when you refer to our leaders in Nigeria, everybody’s mind goes to people in government. But the discussion worldwide has moved from leaders to leadership because leadership happens at all levels. Where do you put the massive influence that parents have over their children, the massive influence that teachers have over their students?

Worldwide leadership has been reduced to one word ‘influence’, the ability to influence one or more people to achieve to achieve a goal. Once you bring the definition down to influence then the scales will fall off our eyes and we realise leadership happens everywhere.

The child that persuades his friend to go buy sweet with him is leading that child; the ability to move someone from one place to another.

And secondly, our concept of leadership in our part of the world makes a leader superior to the people that he is leading which defeats the essence of leadership. The essence of leadership is not bossing people, the essence of leadership is service. It’s meeting needs. It’s solving people’s problems. That is the overall essence of leadership. When we read our own Bible that is what Jesus said about leadership. He told his disciples, because his disciples were normal human beings. They were competing for position, two of them hired their mums as consultants to persuade Jesus to guarantee seats for them when His government will come into full force. One will seat on the right, one on the left and when the others heard it they were very angry. So Jesus said ‘calm down’, what were you arguing when we were on the way? Mark 10:42-45, He said, “You know that among the gentiles their rulers lord it over them”. He said “Among you it shall not be so. Anyone who wants to be first amongst you must become your servants, anyone who wants to be the greatest must become your slave. He said even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to give his life as sacrifice for many.

The true mark of true leaders is sacrifice, it’s

service. But we have a structure of leadership in our part of the world where being a leader makes you superior to the people you are leading and most of the resources are used to sustain the leader. So our objective in the conference of this year, is to let each person realise we are not as helpless or as powerless as you think we are. We all have capacity to influence and I want to teach people how to do it because some of us have tried it. Like Jesus said to His followers “you are the light of the world”. That is influence. “You are the salt of the earth”. That is influence.

So we don’t want Nigerians to remain helpless, we need a need a generation of leaders. We need leaders that have conscience. That is what we have been doing and that is what we are doing in this conference this year.

Our line of speakers this year is very powerful and they are coming from different parts of the world apart from my wife (Nike) and myself.

We have Bill Hybels, he pastor of Willow Creek Church in Chicago in United States. Some 20-25 years ago, it was the largest church in United States of America. It’s a massive church in Chicago. But apart from that, Bill Hybels set up the Willow Creek Association, an association of churches all over the world and then started a conference called ‘Global Leadership Summit’ usually has about 10,000 people attending live in Chicago and then at over 400 centres in United States and Canada people watched live via satellite.

Then after the conference they now take the DVDs and then run video cast of the conference in over 120 countries. I had the opportunity to speak at the conference last year as one of the faculty. So this conference reaches over 100 leaders worldwide every year. It’s a big privilege for us to be able to have Bill Hybels speak in our church and at this conference this year.

We have Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija, Africa’s richest woman. She is going to share her story.

We have all the way from Kenya Pastor Julian Kyula. He is known more as a businessman than a pastor. His company is called MODE, the credit function that the mobile phone operators give us when your credit ends and you can still speak a few minutes. It’s his company that supplies that software. So he is coming to speak on technology, the opportunities available for business in technology and so on. We have Mo Abudu, who anchors Moment with Mo. We have from the UK Pastor Agu Irukwu. He is the chairman of the board of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in the whole of the UK. We have Mr. Bimbo Olashore, he is the CEO of Lead Capital Plc, MD of Lead Bank at a time, and a renowned economist. We have Chude Jideonwo, we will like to incorporate the younger generation and this young man in his early 30s is absolutely dynamic. He is the CEO of Red Media.

We are believing that this conference is going to be an opportunity first, for people to recognise the importance of good leadership. Thousands of people are buying into this message already, are committing to the leaders, committing to develop character, committing to develop their skills and committing to serve this nation, this continent, the globe, to serve their generation.

Thousands of people are committing already to lead sacrificial lives. Well, the good news is that we have opened up registration for this conference and as at two days ago, we learnt all the seats are taken. It’s the first time for us I must confess more than a month the conference will hold registration is already full.

We will be showing each session live on the internet free. I’m aware of people who registered from Canada, from the United States, from the

35/ INTERVIEW

07.10.2016

UK, coming from different countries to attend.

Our vision is global, we believe that Nigeria has the potential not only to succeed but to influence this continent and to influence the world. We started something at our Daystar Leadership Academy last year, we began to bring in church leaders from other African countries. We paid for their flight tickets, paid for their accommodation to come and attend our Daystar Leadership Academy. The amazing part for us is that they have been going back to their countries and they have been changing things. That is our vision.

Leadership Conference in New York On October 20, exactly two weeks before this conference my wife and myself will be hosting a leadership conference in New York.

It’s our first outside Nigeria. So our vision is global. As we are doing this here, so we are reaching out to Africa and so we are reaching out to the globe. Our global broadcast on TV is called ‘Excellent Leadership’. We are sincerely passionate about this message. We believe that in our life time we see people go into every sector of life and raise new standards for leadership, leadership that will have compassion for people and leadership that will not spend all of the resources on itself but rather invest in increasing the quality of life of people.

The conference in New York, we have named it ‘The Leadership Age Conference’. We are organising it for leaders and ministers; leaders of organisations both religious and non religious.

It’s holding on Thursday, October 20, 2016 at the JFK Hilton Hotel, just beside the JFK Airport in New York from 9am to 2pm. It’s a one day event.

For over four years now, we have been running a broadcast on Daystar TV which is a TV channel based in United States that covers over 200 countries. People think that our church owns it but we don’t. We didn’t know about it when we started our church. It’s at 35 years old now. It was founded by Marcus and Joni Lamb who are Americans. So it was huge for us to be able to get on the channel. We are the first ministry-based in Africa that will get on that channel. My wife and I were there last September, we were interviewed by Marcus and Joni and it was just to create awareness for the New York conference. My wife and myself have this event that we used to run here in Nigeria but we stopped when our duties enlarged significantly. So we are restructuring it now.

We have a lot of protégées. We have a lot of people both in the religious and non religious world that want to learn from our experience because we have a lot of story to tell. We don’t just teach the principles, we are practitioners. I tell people that I have tried many things that didn’t work than the ones that worked. It’s just that when you eventually get it to work, it compensates for all the things that didn’t work for you.

That is the format that we are adopting at the New York conference. I will speak, my wife will speak, we take a break and then when we resume for about 90 minutes it will be questions and answers. We believe that what we have to share is more applicable to the people attending if they asked their questions then we can address those issues one by one. We are excited and really looking forward to it.

It will be a time for mentoring. It’s amazing, people are registering for the conference from all over the world.

His Relationship with Leaders I agree with you that political leadership is very important. Our approach is strategic. We relate quite a bit with a lot of the actors in the political arena. We have a lot of friends in government and most of our discussions are in private. I will tell you what relating with people in government entails, the impression it has given me. It’s practically too late to teach someone what to do by the time he rises into a big position in government. Their character is set, their values are defined and they are adults already. Two, Nigeria is practically crisis in motion. They come under so much pressure, they get phone calls practically every minute telling them there is a crisis somewhere. They manage crisis all through. It’s difficult for them most times to read any book or to attend any conference or to learn anything. So the best time to influence a president is long before he becomes president. Is to intervene at that stage, that phase when somebody’s values are still being shaped. But when people hear me diagnose the problem of Nigeria, they say you seem to have an understanding of what the problems are, have you spoken to the president? My first

Adeyemi response is yes, then I quickly clarify. I say I know you are thinking about the president that is in the office now but I am discussing with the president that is going to be in office because I think that is the best time to talk to him or her. So our target is largely the younger generation. When we invite people to our leadership conference they usually get a surprise. When they stepped in, see the whole place parked out with thousands of people, they then realise they are young people. Because the concept of leadership like I said, is for people in office and the older generation. So at a personal level, yes, we relate with a lot of people in government and we share. And candidly there are many people in government who mean well but they are seriously restricted by the systems and the institutions that have evolved over time.

Assessment on Nigeria’s Economy/Sale of National Assets On the current situation about the country, the economy and sale of national assets. I will be speaking on 1st October on one of the national TV stations and the theme is ‘The Economic Value of Nigeria’. The summary of what I’m going to share there is that it has been established worldwide that the ruling class always uses political power to channel the economic resources of a country to benefit itself. It has been there for thousands of years. That is the way human beings behave worldwide. It’s predictable the ruling class will always use political power to channel the economic resources to benefit itself and those close to the ruling class and those they like. The countries that have developed have changed that dynamic. That is the only way they have been free to create wealth because no country can be more prosperous than the wealth created by its citizens. So the citizens got the freedom to create wealth when they broke the power of the ruling class and compelled the ruling class to channel economic resources to benefit everybody. It has been established worldwide that the ruling class never willingly let off power and they will never. So it’s predictable that your children and your grandchildren will still continue in this same condition that we are in except you and I rise to change this dynamic.

In Europe, before the industrial revolution could happen, France literally killed the monarchy.

They just took it out, cut it off and declared equality for all citizens. In England, the monarchy power was whittled down. So you can see what the monarch looked like today. To pave way for representative democracy, you will see the Prime Minister is accountable to all the people, has to go to the House of Commons or House of Lords and give a report every week and so on. Citizens can ask Prime Minister questions because he is answerable to them. The United States was created as a reaction to the control and the limitations created by the monarchy in England. So they started from scratch declaring that they believe that God created all men equal. That you are president does not make

you more important than I am because I’m citizen and that is why that is the country that has been able to create the greatest wealth on this planet. There is no hiding from it, yes there are few places you have monarchies like some evolving economies in the Middle East now. It’s not all the countries in the Middle East that are prospering. It’s just that those ones prospering the leadership have been compassionate and invest the resources on the citizens.

This recession Nigeria didn’t need to have experienced it. Yes, all the countries that have oil are experiencing it a little bit but not all the countries are taking the heat as hard as Nigeria, because the ruling class got cheap money from oil and refused to empower Nigerians. That is what Nigerians need to observe that till tomorrow the executive, the legislature, the judiciary they are not going to work to empower you to be able to create wealth. When you find a government that is ready to deal with the Land Use Decree and make it easy for you to own property then you will know that you have found a government that is ready to change the structure and help you to prosper, your children and your grandchildren.

We are not discussing the real issues. There is no short term solution to this recession. The foundation was long term so there is no short term fix to it. It’s law of demand and supply. We simply are not earning enough foreign exchange.

Period! And we are not producing enough to sell to the world. So, sale of national assets think about it as an individual. If you have been doing a lot of investments and then you run short of cash, you can dispose of a property to get some cash to spend and to invest for the moment.

That is not a big deal. The only problem with it now is that all of us know if they sell those assets nothing is coming down to Nigerians.

The ones they sold before what did we get?

They sold the power company, they sold the telecoms company. All the things they sold we cannot point to the hospitals that were built. We cannot point to the world class roads that were built. So the result is predictable. The elite class is running out of cash to spend. If they sell the assets watch out what will happen only trickles, only change will come down to Nigerians. We need to go for the jugular of the structure. And well, you may ask what should Nigerians do? There are certain things you have to watch out for, if we have not resolved owning landed property, when will we get the intellectual property which really is the place to make money now in this knowledge economy worldwide. We were taking selfies with Mark Zuckerberg, if Mark Zuckerberg grew up in Nigeria what will he be doing by now? Likely he might have finished university trekking all over the place looking for a job.

He grew up in an economy that allows you as a human being whether your father is rich or not to dream and to fulfill your dream. The Facebook that made him a 32-year-old fifth or sixth richest man in the world. Facebook that he started as a small thing on the university

campus because of the environment he grew in. All of us need to rise up now and create that environment and the ruling class will not create it except they are compelled to do so. So the least we can do is our voting card. There are certain things if I don’t hear you describe those things I will not vote for you. Or if you find yourself into power I will vote you out because I know every other thing is English.

Until you touch on those areas that will make it possible for me to create wealth.

The younger generation yes, gives cause for concern. When you interact with the younger generation, it’s a big shame that the country has not invested in the younger generation. I’m sorry to use the word it’s ‘wicked’. There is no part of the world that wants to progress that treats its younger generation the way Nigeria does hers. I attended a conference several years ago, I saw a banner and what was written on it impacted me and I have never forgotten it- ‘What goes into a mind comes in a life’.

That is why serious minded countries take their educational system seriously. Check any country that is developing education is free until at least you finish secondary school and high quality. It doesn’t matter whether you are a child of a rich person or a child of a poor person. The first time my wife and I visited Paris, so this tourist was driving us around town showing us things, we went by a university as at that time I don’t know whether it has changed now, education was free until you have finished your first degree. If that is the minimum for everybody in the country just imagine the quality of their thinking.

Daystar began to intervene in schools many years ago when I walked into Oregun High School there and tears wailed up my eyes when I saw the state of the classes because I went to a public school all through. I did not see a single chair, not a single desk, holes on the floor. I asked where do these kids sit? They said on the floor, if they want to sit on chair they carry the chairs from their homes and when they are going they will take them along with them because they will steal them before the next day. It was too much for me to believe.

Yet this is deliberate on the part of the ruling class because the money is going somewhere else. Not that we don’t have money but it’s just going somewhere and grooming this young people is not their priority. The results are there for us right now, one million write JAMB and universities can only take 150,000 or maximum a 100,000. The rest so what should they do? So you have those who passed WAEC, passed JAMB can’t still find higher institutions to go.

Some of them do that for three to four years before they can get into a university. All that will turn around to hurt the country.

As part of our Daystar Leadership Academy we have this programme we run only in July every year. We call it DLA for teenagers, so we take in teenagers from 13 to 19 years old. I take them two courses, one of them is National Development. I discussed Nigeria with young people, the very first one I can’t forget because I give them opportunity to ask questions and then one of them asked you believed that Nigeria can change but what do you do when you discuss with your friends and all of them don’t believe?

And they tell you that they have made up their minds that if they work in government when they become adults that they will steal money.

Now what do you do in a situation like that?

My heart broke. One of our church members whose children went to school in the UK said that he was discussing with his friends, children of other rich Nigerians and two of them were throwing banters. One said, I saw your dad’s name in the newspaper, what is going on, how much did they say your dad stole because it’s nothing near what they said my dad stole. When you hear those things they break your heart.

The question now is, the younger generation are they listening, are they changing, are they redeemable? I will say the more challenging we find it the lower we must go to intervene because the question is that there must be some interventions somewhere we can’t believe this.

You know they say the difference between a big man and a poor man is how they interpret a problem because what the poor man calls a problem, the rich man says it’s an opportunity.

If he sees under that there is opportunity to sell food, people are naked is opportunity to sell clothes. So for us who are leadership minded we just see an opportunity if the formal system wouldn’t do it we go through the informal way.

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

36/ETIQUETTE

07.10.2016

THE ETIQUETTE FORUM ADEKANMI OLUSANYA

email mretiquetteonline@yahoo.com

tel. 08112661635, 0809285 4855

Mistakes, Make Ups And Makeovers I concluded my national youth service in Borno State in 2007 shortly after the late President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua had just come into power. Paramount on my mind then was what to do with my life after youth service.

Should I get a job, possibly with a bank since I studied accounting or… However, I decided on a little bit of deliberate introspection. I had a fascination for etiquette. I knew Nigeria did not have too many etiquette schools if at all any. I also knew that etiquette training would be expensive and out of the reach of the common man. Deeply inspired I started an etiquette company that would be highly affordable in service, highly accessible and that would give optimum quality. And off I went learning etiquette at every slight instance and getting certified as an etiquette consultant.

Between 2008 and now I have made a couple of mistakes, I also have had to as every gentleman would, make up for my mistakesas well as undergo a makeover in my best interest.

I want to share a couple of those with you as I think it would help one or two readers of this column.

MY FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH MRS YEWANDE ZACCHEUS One poignant experience that first comes to mind is one I had with Mrs. Yewande Zaccheus the CEO of Eventful - a thriving event planning company. I first heard of Mrs. Yewande Zaccheus in 2010 thereabout from Ms Toyin Bashorun when I discussed my desire with her to publish an etiquette magazine called - The Etiquette Magazine. At that time, I had concluded work on the women’s edition of the magazine. Toyin Bashorun a woman I consider to be very intelligent and thorough, did a critical analysis of the magazine and suggested that I interview Mrs.Yewande Zaccheus. She had many beautiful things to say about her. Highly impressed with the things that I heard, I looked forward to meeting Mrs.YewandeZaccheus. Eventually that day came and it eventually did happen.

It was in March last year and the event was the Apostles in the market place (AiMP) - an NGO focused on enhancing the right values in the corporate arena - Fundraising dinner at the Civic Centre in Victoria Island. Her sister Omobola Johnson who was then the ICT Minister under President Goodluck Jonathan was the keynote speaker. I was not expecting to see Mrs.Yewande Zaccheus but once I saw her come in with her sister, I knew the day had finally come to meet her. Better still I was seated close to her table. Just before dinner when a little tete-a-tete would be appropriate, I walked up to her, introduced myself and immediately she thought I wanted to speak with her sister – the honorable minister to which I insisted she was the one I wanted to speak with. Then she asked “What is my name?”

To which I replied “Mrs.Yewande Zaccheus.”

Without wasting much time I told her about how I first heard of her and my desire to interview her for this column on possibly a women’s etiquette series. I mentioned to her that I had done a series on business etiquette with Professor Pat Utomi and she replied saying she would consider it. Now she was very warm and pleasant to speak with. So then where did it all go wrong you may ask? Okay, here it is. I like to take pictures and I am fascinated with people I consider role models.

Put the two together and what you get is a desire to take pictures with role models when I meet them. So then at the end of the event, I asked

Mrs. Yewande Zaccheus if she would oblige me taking a picture with her. Immediately, she had a funny expression on her face and shook her head. I got the message clearly.

It was a No. Now I was a little surprised by her reaction because people desiring to take pictures with role models, stars and the revered in society is common and absolutely not out of place. However, that does not mean

though that they must oblige everyone every time. Nevertheless like I said, it is alright with regard to proper etiquette to ask for a picture or autograph as long as it is politely done. I remember asking JK Randle as an ICAN student in 2002 to take a picture with him when he was the then ICAN President during an ATS graduation and he obliged me immediately. I remember asking to take a picture with Mrs.

Sola David-Borha the CEO of Stanbic IBTC Holding Company at a Children’s Church Teachers Conference last year for a picture and she obliged me immediately. I remember asking Pastor Ituah Ighodalo for an autograph while I was still a university student in 2005 at Haggai’s Merchant Bank Annual General Meeting to which he also willfully obliged me – writing on my book “Adekanmi May you be great.” - I’ll never forget that. In all these instances where I was obliged, I was meeting them for the first time also! I think that Mrs. Yewande Zaccheus probably felt that asking for a picture after the first meeting was a little too impulsive while I thought otherwise. Now in life, people are different.

Some people are liberal others a little more conservative. You can’t blame them especially as there is nothing wrong with being conservative generally speaking. Now the most painful part of this was that I think it did influence her decision to later turn down an interview with me for this column. Now need I say here that in spite of her decision to turn down a photo and an interview, I still have so much respect for her and all the personalities I have mentioned in this article. Like I said in life we cannot all be the same.

MAKE UPS AND MAKEOVERS So then how did I make up for my mistake and get a makeover? Whenever you make a mistake as a lady or gentleman, make sure that you try to make up for it and get a makeover so that you do not make the same mistake again. Now how did I make up this situation and get a makeover?

Simple, when she sent an email to me letting me know that she would not be granting me an interview, I sent an email to her explaining a little bit more my desire for an interview and letting her know much we admired her at our company and at that point I let it rest and went no further. Most importantly I had expressed my admiration and respect for her which I think was a good way to make up - if only at least a starting point.

THE LESSON TOBE LEARNT The lesson to be learnt in this instant is simple. First, do not assume that everyone would be like you or like most people. People have different experiences, come from different backgrounds and have different disposition.

So always examine every scenario properly before making a move and prepare for the unusual and if you are not sure you will get a positive response you may botch some of your planned requests or moves. One of the biggest lessons I have learnt in life and in etiquette is that it is better to be too slow than to be too fast. When a car is moving at a pace too slow on the express, the chances of an accident are lower than when it is moving at a pace too fast. Life is like that. We are like cars moving on the express lane of life. When you are not sure of what to do, it is better to be too slow than to be too fast. I like the way they say it in England – IF IN DOUBT LEAVE IT OUT. I wish you all the best in your quest to employ good manners all the way.

You could purchase a copy of my book on etiquette titled PROPER MANNERS AND ETIQUETTE IN ANYTHING AT ANYTIME AND ANYWHERE at the price of N3,500 at our corporate head office at 340 - 344 Ikorodu Road, by Idi-Iroko Bus Stop, Maryland, Lagos. Or call 0811 266 1635 or 0802 312 6010 to have a copy sent to you.

37/ENTREPRENEUR

07.10.2016

Rewarding Loyalty in the Hair and Beauty Industry

Publisher, Hair & Beauty Magazine, Mr. Anthony Smith

Managing Director, STB McCann, Lagos, Mrs. Mowunmi Owodunni

Mary Ekah A woman’s hair, they say, is her crowning glory. So to encourage women to be the best they can through their hair and beauty, Kaneka Corporation Japan, manufacturers of Kanekalon hair fiber will once again be crowning the African queen at the second edition of its Miss Kanekanlon pageant billed to hold in Lagos

by November.

The pageant will also encourage loyalty to as well as create awareness about Kanekalon as a brand, while also giving back to ladies and at the same time.

Speaking during a meeting organised by the organiser of the pageant, STB McCann and publishers of African Hair and Beauty Magazine with the Associations of Hairdressers, Barbers and Cosmetologists in Lagos, the Managing Director, STB McCann, Lagos, Mrs. Mowunmi Owodunni said, her company has decided to use the pageant as a medium to encourage ladies and show them how beautiful they can actually be, increase their confidence and elegance through braids and competition, which why the first edition of Miss Kanekalon Pageant came up last year.

This year, she said, the pageant is coming out bigger and better as the competition is expanding to Ghana so that competitors from Ghana can also participate, adding, “so we are coordinating from both Nigeria and Ghana at the same time.”

Describing the outcome of last year’s event, Owodunni said, “It was a very successful event, even though it was the very first edition. We were so excited by the turn out, the number of applications that we received, indicating that there was a lot of interest in the competition and it turned out to be very successful.”

She explained that STB McCann is fully involved in organising Miss Kanekalon Pageant because, “We at STB McCann are not the regular adverting agency, we are an idea generating agency and what that means is that we have moved into an era of marketing whereby it is not about advertising alone, because adverting alone does not achieve the kind of objective we are set out to achieve. We are now moving into a more dynamic marketing environment whereby you need different tools of communication to get your message across to your audience. So for us, the Miss Kanekalon Pageant is one means of communicating what Kaneka Corporation Japan, manufacturers of Kanekalon fiber are offering to enhance the beauty of African women.

“We have actually been working on the business since 2009 and when Kanekalon approached us then, they had this raw material called Kanekalon and the idea for them was how they could establish their product in the Nigerian markets and also elevate it to a brand status. We have had this relationship since 2009, we started out on the onset with advertising; ironically, we knew that advertising was not enough to achieve the objective of elevating the product to brand status and so what we had to do was to come up with some ideas around

Winner of Miss Kanekalon 2015, Esther Chukwujekwu (middle) flaked by first and second runnerups of the 2015 pageant

the hair, engaging all the stakeholders. Back in 2010, we had a hair parade by hairdressers/ stylists with the aim to create awareness on the Kanekalon brand and engage them in that process,” she noted.

The STB McCann boss revealed further that over the years, the company has also engaged brand ambassadors where Stephanie Okereke was made Kanekalon Brand Ambassador, all in a bid to ensure that Kanekalon became a very big brand in Nigeria.

“We have done ‘Nite of a Thousand Braids’, which has engaged consumers, we have done educational campaigns over the years as to what Kanekalon is and we have constantly educate the stylists and consumers about the new development within the Kanekalon terrain,” she said.

To further make the Kanekalon brand to

stand out as number one in the Nigerian market, Owodunni said the company decided therefore to engage young ladies in a hair beauty pageant, which will not only encourage loyalty to the brand and also create awareness about Kanekalon as a brand, but will also give back to ladies while encouraging them to be the best they can through hair and beauty.

Stressing on the significance of the meeting with the hairdressers/stylists associations, Owodunni said, “The associations are where you get the hairdressers/stylists who make these beautiful styles for ladies, so you cannot do a competition of this nature without carrying them along and besides, the finalists are all coming with their stylists, so there is need to educate the stylists properly in what the objectives of the competition are and how they need to make the hair of the contestants

A cross section of stakeholders in the hair and beauty indusrty during a meeting in Lagos, recently

to ensure that they turn out to be beautiful queens.”

The prizes for this year’s competition are bigger and better than the previous year as a brand new 2016 Altima Nissan car with N2 million cash are up for grasp for the ultimate winner of the 2016 Miss Kanekalon competition. The 2nd prize comes with #1.5 Million while the 3rd prize is #1 million with other consolation prizes.

A prominent stakeholder in the industry, Mr. Anthony Smith and Publisher, Hair and Beauty Magazine, described the Miss Kanekalon pageant as real, noting, “Everyone here witnessed the first edition of the Kanekalon pageant last year. You followed through and witnessed it through. You knew the pageant was real and the prizes were actually given out. The reigning Queen, Miss Esther Chiamaka Chukwujekwu, won a brand new Toyota Yaris 2015 and went home with the sum of N2 million.”

Speaking further Smith said, “I have witnessed pageants where after three years after one kobo has not been given out to the winner, the car that was promised was not given out but rather they ended up in Court but Miss Kanekalon is not such.”

He said therefore that his company, FirstChoice Communications Limited, is proud to be associated with STB McCann and Kanekalon in ushering in the second edition of the pageant, tagged, “Crowning the African Beauty 2016.”

He explained that after a successful run in 2015 which saw Miss Esther Chiamaka Chukwujekwu emerging as the first Queen, Miss Kanekalon pageant is back with full force as beautiful and talented African ladies and creative stylists will once again have a unique opportunity of exhibiting their talents as Kaneka Corporation Japan, the proud manufacturer of Kanekalon fiber offered through the ladies’ favourite hair products such as Darling, Nina and X-pression, concludes plans for it’s 2nd edition of Miss Kanekalon pageant billed for November this year.

38/COLLAGE

From left, Majeobaje Okunrin of Cathedral Church of Holy Trinity, omofe, Ilesha, Chief Afolabi Igbaroola, his wife Mrs Olubunmi Igbaroola being congratulated by the Bishop of (Anglican Communion) Diocese of Ilesha South-west, RT. REVD. S.O. Egbebunmi during the Installation Ceremony of Worthy Leaders to mark 120 Years Anniversary of Cathedral Church of Holy Trinity, omofe, Ilesha recently.

07.10.2016

L-R; Mrs. Bose Ukana, Mrs. Juliet Akerele, Mrs. Bose Asemah, Mrs. Maryam Abdulsalam, and Mrs. Modupe Sanni, during the Inaugural get -together Meeting Launch of lda Women Wing, in Lagos ...recently DAN UKANA.

L-R: Mr Daisi Olotu,Vice Chairman of Ikoyi Club, Mr Sola Adeosun, Service Director of Children Developmental Centre, Surulere, Dr. Mrs Yinka Akindayomi , Chairman of Ikoyi Club, Major General Mufutau Balogun (RTD), Mr. Tokunbo Ogundipe, Mrs. Oluremi Johnson, Mr. Adetayo Osuntogun, Mr. Segun Oyeniran, Public Relations Officer of Ikoyi Club, Miss Esther Oludipe and Mr. Tunji Subair during the club’s visit to the Children Developmental Centre, Surulere, Lagos recently

L-R: Honorary Treasurer, Nigerian Britain Association, Mr. Niyi Aromolaran, Acting British Deputy High Commissioner in Nigeria, Mr. Bashir Ahmed and President, Nigerian-Britain Association Mr. Funmi Onabolu at the Association’s 2016 Annual Presidential Cocktail held at the High Commissioners’ Resident Ikoyi, recently.

Deputy National Woman Leader of APC, Chief Mrs Tina Ekwueme Adike (Middle); receiving an award as Ada Igbo Gburugburu from some Igbo Traditional Rulers during the Igbo Day celebration held at the National Stadium Lagos... recently.

L-R: Alhaji Abiodun Salami; Mrs. Femi Kayode Okunola (behind); Alhaji Olalekan Bello; and Mrs Ronke Abiola during the reunion ceremony of St. Bernadine's Grammar School Old Student Association in Ibadan, Oyo State... recently

L-R: Bride's Sister, Enibokun Ogbeide Jas;the couple, Mr Prince David;and his wife Precious; and Groom's father, Uboho David, during the couple's wedding ceremony, in Lagos... recently

39/THISLIFE

07.10.2016

Sunny Ade: Nigeria’s Music Legend Clocks 70 President Muhammadu Buhari and other eminent Nigerians congratulated Nigeria’s music legend, Sunny Ade as he celebrated his 70th birthday anniversary, writes Peter Uzoho Among Nigerians, Africans and music lovers across the globe, Sunday Adeniyi, popularly called King Sunny Ade, is a name that rings a bell and evokes feelings. Sunny Ade means different things to many people. Some would prefer to address him as ‘King of Juju music’.

Others would call him ‘Minister of Enjoyment’.

Sunny Ade is a Nigerian musician who uniquely garnished music with culture and comical presentations. Whenever on stage to perform, his exceptional talent and skills are brought to fore. Sunny Ade is one musician who would never disappoint his fans as fans would always depart from his shows happy and satisfied. He combines singing with dancing.

Sunny Ade’s ingenuity in the handling of guitar and other musical instruments gives him an edge over his contemporaries in the music industry. Apart from singing and dancing, Ade also writes songs and this makes his lyrics stand out and stand the test of time.

To remember and honour this music icon, eminent Nigerians sent congratulation messages to Sunny Ade as he clocked 70 years on 22 September, 2016.

President Buhari in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, congratulated the King of Music, Sunny Ade for the impact he made in his music career.

The statement reads: “President Buhari joins friends, family and fans of the multi-talented instrumentalist, songwriter and dancer in celebrating his remarkable life.“The Septuagenarian had over the years brought pride to his country by mastering his art against all odds, taking the African musical genre to the global stage.

“Buhari also commended KSA for not only bringing joy to many hearts and homes through his music, but for serving as an inspiration and a mentor to upcoming artistes.

“The President saluted ‘King Sunny Ade’s love for humanity, especially the less-privileged, by setting up a foundation that caters for the needs of others and I pray that Almighty God would grant the versatile entertainer longer life, good health and more strength.”

On his part, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said “From 1960s to date Sunny Ade’s music will always be timeless. I wish the king many happy returns as he turns 70 yesterday”.

King Sunny Ade was born on 22 September, 1946, in Osogbo, Osun State, to a Nigerian royal family of Ondo State. His father was a church organist, while his mother was a trader.

Ade left grammar school in Ondo, under the pretense of going to the University of Lagos.

There, in Lagos, his mercurial musical career started.

Sunny Ade's musical sound has evolved from the early days. His career began with Moses Olaiya’s Federal Rhythm Dandies, a highlife band. He left to form a new band, The Green Spots, in 1967. Over the years, for various reasons ranging from changes in his music to business concerns, Sunny Ade's band changed its name several times, first to African Beats and then to Golden Mercury. In the 1970s and 1980s Sunny Ade embarked on a tour of America and Europe.His stage act was characterised by dexterous dancing steps and mastery of the guitar.

After more than a decade of resounding success in his native Nigeria, Suunny Ade was received to great acclaim in Europe and North America in 1982. The global release of Juju Music and its accompanying tour was unanimously embraced by his fans. Sunny Ade was described in The New York Times as "one of the world's great band leaders”, in Record as "a breath of fresh air, a positive vibration we will feel for some time to come” and in Trouser Press as "one of the most captivating and important musical artistes anywhere in the world".

His next album, Syncro System (1983), was equally successful and earned him his first Grammy Award nomination in the folk/ethnic music category.

Sunny Adé's music is characterised by, among other instruments, the talking drum – an

King Sunny Ade

instrument indigenous to his Yoruba roots, the guitar and his peculiar application to Juju music that would easily put him in the same class as guitar musicians like Santana. His music is in the age-old tradition of singing poetic lyrics ("ewi" in Yoruba) and praise of dignitaries as well components of Juju (traditional African belief) called the Ogede (casting a spell). Hence, Sunny Ade music constitutes a record of the oral tradition of his people for posterity.

Sunny Ade introduced the pedal steel guitar to Nigerian pop music. He introduced the use of synthesisers, clavinet, vibraphone, tenor guitar into the juju music repertoire such as dub and wah-wah guitar licks.

Sunny Ade said he used these instruments not as an attempt to innovate, but as a substitute for traditional juju instruments which were too difficult to find and/or impractical for touring. The pedal steel guitar, for instance, was added to his repertoire as a sound-alike for an African violin.

After the death of Bob Marley, Island Records began looking for another third world artiste

to put on its contract, while Fela Kuti had just been signed by Arista Records. Producer Martin Meissonier introduced King Sunny Ade to Chris Blackwell, leading to the release of Juju Music in 1982. Robert Palmer claims to have brought King Sunny Ade to Island's attention, his familiarity being from his life on Malta in the 60s listening to African Radio and Armed Forces Radio.

Adé gained a wide following with this album and was soon billed as "the African Bob Marley".

Sunny Ade has said that his refusal to allow Island to meddle with his compositions and over-Europeanise and Americanise his music were the reasons why Island then decided to look elsewhere. Sunny Ade has collaborated with major artistes such as Manu Dibango (Wakafrika) and Wonder Stevie Wonder (played harmonica in Aura), as well as younger Nigerian artists such as Wasiu Alabi Pasuma and Bob Abimbola. Sunny Ade's brief recordings with Island Records opened the floodgates for other world music artists like Senegalese Youssou

N’Dour, Mali’s Salif Keita and many others.

In 1987, Sunny Ade returned to the international spotlight when Rykodisc released a live concert he did in Seattle and was given an astonishing embrace by fans across the globe who was eager for another international album release. He soon employed an American manager, Andrew Frankel, who negotiated another three album record deal with the Mesa record label (a division of Paradise Group) in America. One of these albums was 1988's Odu, a collection of traditional Yoruba songs, for which he was nominated for the second Grammy Award and thus making him the first African to be nominated twice for a Grammy.

Apart from being an international musician Sunny Ade is also prominent in his native Nigeria, running multiple companies in several industries, creating a non-profit organisation called the King Sunny Ade Foundation, and working with the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria.

In recent times, hip hop music appears to be holding sway with the electronic media in Nigeria with massive airplays. Nonetheless, Sunny Ade's musical output has continued to inspire a vast generation of other Nigerian musicians, who believe in the big band musical set up which Sunny Ade and late Fela Kuti are noted for. The musician Lagbaja is one of the very many musicians whom Sunny Ade's music has inspired.

In 2008, his contributions to world music was recognized; as he was given an award for his outstanding contribution to world music at the International Reggae and World Music Award held at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, New York.

In the 1980s Sunny Ade embarked on a career in Hollywood. His music was featured in the 1983 film Breathless starring Richard Gere, and the 1986 comedy One More Saturday Night and he acted in Robert Altman’s 1987 comedy O.C. and Stiggs.

At the beginning of another round of tour of the United States and Canada, Sunny Ade, now known as The Chairman, was appointed a visiting professor of music at the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife In July the same year King Sunny Ade was inducted into the Afropop Hall of Fame, at the Brooklyn African Festival in the United States. He dedicated the award to late Michael Jackson.

40/OPINION

07.10.2016

ADEOLAAKINREMI HOME TRUTHS

Email: adeola.akinremi@thisdaylive.com

Tel 08116759785(sms only)

Are We Giving up on Cancer?

I

mourned. In September, I lost a friend to cancer of the breast. She was 38.

A little over one year, my former boss, who integrated me into the mainstream of the nonprofits sector, Oronto Douglas, died of cancer. He was 49.

In 2013, my wife had cancer scare. A strange mole had taken root in the most unusual part of her body. Fortunately, repeated pap smear and HPV tests showed no sign of cancer. Finished.

In October 2005, when I wrote my awardwinning story, Killer on the prowl, an investigation into cancer prevalence in Nigeria, published by National Standard Magazine, I had no idea people with direct relationship to me will have anything to do with cancer. Illusion.

This October, just like 12 years ago and yearafter-year, when breast cancer awareness is at the centre of public discourse, pink ribbon is a message of hope and reminder.

It is one of hope that women can survive breast cancer, if we all do what is necessary— become aware, break the silence, remove stigma, and reform healthcare.

It is one of reminder that we have a duty to care as individual and as a country.

It is this reminder that prompted me to raise the public profile of breast cancer in Nigeria—moving it away from a disease once spoken of only in whispers and in the shadow to a significant subject.

But Aso Rock has continued to turn a deaf ear to a serious issue. It is so easy for a sitting president and state governors to dole out money for cancer patients to go abroad for care and treatment than building or encouraging the creation of infrastructure to support cancer patients in Nigeria. That’s not compassion, that’s a denial of reality.

It is debatable, but our leaders often donate to cancer patients, when cancer has reached stage four—almost a point of no return for

Late Oronto Douglas

most patients.

For these politicians, empathy is not the concern; it is the opportunity to make a political statement. Paying attention to prevention and cure by encouraging research and building facilities for cancer care is not a duty.

In 2009, when the wife of the late President Umaru Yar'Adua, Hajiya Turai, organised a fundraiser for an international cancer centre to be located along the airport road in Abuja, governors, senators and politicians of colours were falling over one other to make donations.

At the end, the figure of donated fund was not clear, but I heard it was between 7 and 10 billion naira that was raised. Some donors according to those familiar with the project didn’t even fulfill their promise, after they were applauded at the event for announcing XY amount.

But here is the rub: where is the international cancer centre nearly seven years after the fundraiser, I mean what impact has it made?

Apparently we are a nation of no database.

That’s what baffles me most when we’re confronted with statistics from international organisations such as World Bank, WHO, UNICEF and the likes and we begin to do soul searching.

Ironically the statistics oftentimes comes from our local experts who are collaborating with international groups. We just don’t value any stats from our own researchers, except the researcher’s work comes to us from John Hopkins University, WHO, UNICEF and others.

Four years ago, the former Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, told us in plain language that cancer rate in Nigeria was growing. He proved it with a graph. He said data from 11 federal tertiary hospitals collected by the National System of Cancer Registries showed 7,000 new documented cases of cancer. His figure agreed with the average estimated 100,000 new cases of cancer reported in Nigeria annually. Like Thomas Didymus, we didn’t believe in our own statistics. We did nothing.

Now, prediction for cancer prevalence in Nigeria by 2020—just four years down the line should make government think in the right direction.

In 2020, the number of cancer patients in Nigeria according to experts will rise from 24 million to 42 million. It is also feared that by same 2020, death rates from cancer in Nigeria will equally balloon.

And if the number of senior government officials that the country has lost to cancer in recent years has not been of concern for serious health care reform, how can the government look at the stories of commoners to act?

As a reporter I have met and interviewed a number of survivors. They all told me their stories of despair and hope. One thing is at the centre of the stories: difficulties in accessing care and treatment.

All the same, a few stories recently published in the newspapers should remind our government of the need to act.

On October 1, the day we celebrated 56th independence, Leadership published a story titled: “Nigerian Mother Seeks Financial Help To Fight Cancer.” It is a story of Theresa Amadi-Obi,

mother of two kids who’s soliciting the financial help of good-spirited Nigerians to enable her win a battle against cancer. Her case is at stage III. She wants to beat cancer and it’s clear in her voice.

“I had a hard time conceiving and so it was with a deep gratitude to God that we welcomed Omega (5) and Ezinne (3) into our lives. The first few months after Ezinne’s birth were glorious.

But then I started feeling pain in my right breast.

At first, I thought it was due to breastfeeding.

But when it persisted we found out it was stage III cancer. This was a shock. Life had changed.”

In her account, the family has spent everything it gathered over the years. “Our family savings was greatly depleted during my initial breast cancer treatment.” She recounted. “With the options of chemotherapy available now for Metastatic Breast Cancer, my family is faced with mounting bills and even more to come. We have estimated about $250,000 to cover chemotherapy and other procedures that would be required to help me and my family beat this disease.”

Another story I read was picked by a number for newspapers from the News Agency of Nigeria.

Uzoamaka Onu, a food vendor from Okpoto in Ishielu Local Government of Ebonyi State was abandoned by her husband at a hospital following a surgery related to breast cancer. The family couldn’t pay the bills.

One more, on October 5, Daily Trust reported that in one community in Ogun State about 40 people got the shock of their life after a screening organised by the Ogun State Governor’s wife, Mrs. Olufunsho Amosun, revealed they had lumps in their breasts.

What am I saying? Morbidity data are important for the management of healthcare systems and for planning and evaluation of health service delivery. Nigeria has the statistics. The government needs to act.

Follow me on Twitter: @adeolaakinremi1

LEKANFATODU HEADS-UP

F

Email lekantodun@yahoo.com

Tel 07058069255

The Nigeria Police: A Case for ADR

or anyone who has experienced excellent policing outside of Nigeria, it's always a great desire to see the Nigerian police advance to a stage worthy of positive reference in relevant quarters globally.

And if the common saying in Nigeria that "Police is your friend" is a universal cliché to emphasise the police’s occupational obligation to truly serve as good friends of the citizens, there is no other place where those words hold truer than the UK. I know that much.

The British police can be deemed largely as friends in many ways. They are genuinely committed to the professional dictates of the force: the safety and well-being of all without prejudice to one’s creed and background amongst others. While this is not suggesting that all Her Majesty’s police officers are without blemish as there a few bigoted ones in the ranks, the exemplary undertakings of the majority of them have paled the odd ones to insignificance.

Instructively, community policing and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods are two of the workable strategies the British police has adopted to astonishing effect in maintaining peace and order in their society.

While Nigeria’s immediate past Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase made a staunch case for community policing when he launched the initiative in his time, an incident I witnessed recently makes a robust case for the adoption of ADR approaches by the Nigerian police.

A good friend and business associate, Dare Olaniyan, asked me to accompany him to the "best police station in Nigeria" referring to Ilupeju Police Station, Lagos to meet up briefly with

IGP Idris

a lawyer-friend who was visiting the police station on behalf of a client.

Dare knew I would be hooked on the "best police station in Nigeria" bait used in his invite.

Really who wouldn’t want to see the best of the Nigerian police with all the bad details that have largely characterised its existence?

I promptly obliged. On our way I started feeding Google with queries to know more about the police station, criteria used to rank it as the best, those behind the ranking, the year(s) the assessment was conducted etc.

Interestingly, the results of my queries showed that the station was indeed rated as said by my friend. Having been listed previously at the top by considerably reputable entities like CLEEN foundation and Altus Global Alliance, the 2013 audit conducted by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on the activities of the Nigeria police, which is the most recent of the findings, placed the station in second position after Karu Station in Abuja as the top in the country.

The assessment was based on the activities of the stations across the country in the areas of community orientation and engagement, security and equal treatment of the public, station environment, disposition of the officers, transparency and accountability, and detention conditions amongst others.

Truly, the Ilupeju Station looked cleaner and more organised than the other stations that I had seen in the country. But I wanted to get more from the place as I didn't want to judge the book just by its cover. So I got more interested in the case that brought my friend's lawyer-friend to the station.

The lawyer was representing one of two estranged friends (Aaron & Bill here for privacy sake) who had brought a criminal case against the other to the police.

Aaron (the lawyer's client) had reported Bill for stealing his valuable personal items when Bill was packing out of Aaron's apartment that he (Bill) had lived for eight years for free. Aaron had claimed that Bill had packed out when he (Aaron) was out of the country and had left with his (Aaron's) valuables without leaving his (Bill’s) new address.

So Bill was invited to the station, interrogated and was made to write a statement on the matter.

Following further investigation into the case, the investigators got a search warrant so Bill's new address could be combed to ascertain facts before further legal action. From the search, it emerged that Bill was illegally in possession of a few items belonging to Aaron which were sufficient evidence for persecution. Bill was promptly detained.

At this point a community leader who knew

the two friends before their animosity approached the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the station, Mr. Adedeji Adefolarin to seek a resolution of the case without getting to court.

Adefolarin, who had been thoroughly briefed on the case by his competent officers which include Inspectors Bisi and Oyewo, called the complainant and the accused to a conference space.

Apparently deploying his excellent knowledge in the force and conflict resolution, Adefolarin told Aaron that he believed he (Aaron) had a convincing case against Bill. But he reckoned that the issue of the items wasn't the main reason Aaron wanted to take a legal action against his former pal. And before the DPO could finish his profound homilies Bill was already on the ground prostrating and begging Aaron for forgiveness for all the wrongs he may have done him. While the police boss immediately told Bill to stand-up, Aaron accepted Bill's plea and all was over.

This interesting encounter to me is a valid example of how ADR can be effectively utilised, not just in industrial disputes, but also in other critical individual conflicts. Essentially, it justified ADR processes as faster and less adversarial and capable of achieving better outcomes for conflicting parties than that offered by litigation processes.

And as the new IGP, Ibrahim Idris works to inspire better performance of the force, the ADR method will be an invaluable addition to others in his kitty for the huge assignment.

Of course, brilliant and tested mediators like DPO Adefolarin, his officers and that community leader deserve enormous credit for pulling off that resolution in Ilupeju. Nigeria could definitely use more people like them.

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016

41

BUSINESSWORLD

ANALYSIS

Deepening Nigerian, Chinese Bilateral Relations Raheem Akingbolu takes a look at the efforts by the promoters of African Digital TV Network, StarTimes, to deepen the relationship between Africa and China, citing the recent collaboration between the company and Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press and Publication to promote Chinese cultural fiestas in Nigeria Few years ago, the relationship between the Africans and the Chinese could only be defined by their business relationship. African market, with its huge potential provided promising market for the Chinese to explore. Over the years, the two markets have also enjoyed chummy relationship in the area of accessing raw materials, technical and training exchange among other things.

However, the relationship was further boosted few years ago, when African Digital TV Network operator, StarTimes, entered the market to explore the entertainment industry.

In Nigeria, where the digital television company, collaborated with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the relationship had immediately become a symbiotic one that offered a lot of opportunities for both.

Today, Nigerians and Chinese are not only enjoying good working relationship, they are enjoying some cultural and social exchange.

In a bid to foster inter cultural promotion between Africans and Chinese, StarTimes, in conjunction with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press and Publication recently launched the annual broadcasting season and promotion of Chinese movies and cultural fiesta in Nigeria. The annual program also showcased the best of Chinese drama series for Nigerian lovers of Chinese entertainment and culture.

The event, which coincided with the launch of Chinese Cultural Festival in Abuja, tagged the 2016 Beijing TV Dramas and Movies Broadcasting Season exhibition, was meant to further strengthen the historical deep relationship between China and African countries, using cultural exchange as a vehicle of communication for the two sides.

Significance Speaking on why China has always factored in Nigeria in its cultural and bilateral considerations, the Global Vice President of StarTimes, Ms. GuoZiqi, said relationship with Nigeria started from the 1970s, when China had cultural Centres for programmes in both countries.

“Nigeria is home to the largest subscribers of StarTimes and I believe that this cooperation will further promote the friendship between Nigeria and China. This event will screen five mega hot series and five star studded big budget movies such as Chasing After The Love, Woman From The Family of Swordsman, Mazu, Go Away Mr. Tumour, Finding Mr. Right, Beijing Love Story and Back In Time,’ She stated that Beijing leads China in producing TV dramas and movies, with more than 3,400 institutions specialising in Movie and TV production and operation, producing over 3,000 TV episodes and nearly 300 movies per year.

“Nollywood as you know represents both the culture and the economy of the country as Nigeria is in a big economy in Africa and we share some common grounds in terms of Nollywood and Beijing has over 3858 TV production houses.

“As you know, if you want to make a good production, the first stage will be to develop a very good script and look for a capable producer that will take it through good production process, be it in Hollywood or Nollywood. In China, we have distinctive aspect of all these institutions. The studio and production share a common ground that is market oriented. In Beijing, we have our own production process and I’m sure that promoters of Nollywood also have their own production process and also we can provide some insight for Nollywood on our own production process,” she added.

Duration It was also stated that the event held in Nigeria, Rwanda and Tanzania in September initially for three months and last till September 2017 to further promote and consolidate

Lai Muhammed

inter cultural relations. It will also be used to promote movies and drama series.

Shedding more light on this, the Deputy Director of Beijing Municipal Bureau, Ms. Yang Peili said historically, China has maintained a deep and friendly relationship with African countries and that the cultural exchange is a

In Nigeria, where the digital television company, collaborated with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the relationship had immediately become a symbiotic one that offered a lot of opportunities for both. Today, Nigerians and Chinese are not only enjoying good working relationship, they are enjoying some cultural and social exchange

Ziqi

major way of supporting the communication between the two sides. She noted that the launch of the Beijing TV Dramas & Movies Broadcasting Season in African countries aims at bringing more Chinese stories into Africa and promote the cooperation in film and TV industry between the two sides.

Head of Public Relations, StarTimes Nigeria, Mr. Israel Bolaji, remarked that the annual ceremony showcases the highlights of the best and new Chinese movies and drama series for Nigeria fans. At StarTimes, we offer life enriching content on movies, music, sports, news and kiddies.

He stated that after two years of development, the cultural event has become an endearing and enduring brand in Africa, which has helped popularise Chinese culture while facilitating friendly exchanges between China and Africa.

According to him “Hit Chinese TV drama series and movies dubbed into English, French and five African languages by StarTimes, were aired over last two years. TV dramas like Let’s Get Married, Beijing Youth, The Heart without Thieves, Battle to Save Marriage, The Young Doctor, The Sweet Burden, Mi Family’s Marriage, Ordinary World and movies such as Love Is Not Blind, 20 Once Again, The Left Ear, A Wedding Invitation have been well-received by our African audience.”

Nigeria Expectation from China Speaking at the event, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Culture, Dr. Sade Yemi Esan, who was represented by a director in the ministry, Mr. Peter Dama said Nigeria and China has had some cultural relationship that dated back to several years in areas of information, trade, oil and gas, education and science and technology.

He said: “We are happy StarTimes and NTA have been working together on digitalisation processes. Already as you are all aware, the China radio has started broadcast in Hausa language, but we are appealing that this be extended to Igbo and Yoruba languages.”

He also disclosed that the Chinese Minister of Information recently visited the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Voice of Nigeria VON with the promise that China would be offering technical assistance.

While pressing for the actualisation of the assistance, Dama further stated that the ministry was aware of the fact that the Chinese are already coming in with some scholarship programmes to Africa and that about 1000 scholarships would be doled out, from which he urged China to give Nigeria at least 500 slots to further boost theatre and drama in the country’s media house.

The director, however, stated that Nigeria has her challenges with the Chinese, stating that movies from the country are not accorded the expected respect in China.

“It has been discovered that Nigerian movies are being screened in China and felt that while you are coming into the country through your platform, we would also appreciate that Nollywood should also be accommodated into your series, which is the greatest Africa drama series because we want to be clearly shown all over China. “As you penetrate Nigeria, we too want to penetrate China. However, we are also concerned about the activities of some unscrupulous Chinese businessmen who collaborate with some fraudulent Nigerian businessmen to pirate some of the hard works of some of our actors. They use Chinese infrastructure and system to pirate works done by hardworking Nigerians. We want the Chinese government to put a stop to this,” he stated.

42

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016

CITYSTRINGS

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

L-R: Deputy Governor, Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo, former Governor of Jigawa State, Dr. Sule Lamido, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, former Deputy National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus and Rivers State PDP Chairman, Bro Felix Obuah, during the inauguration of Ozuoba-Rumosi Road in Obio/ Akpor Local Government Area by Lamido…recently

Wike Defies Recession with New Projects

In an era where most governors are folding their arms and using dwindling revenue as the perfect excuse, River State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has continued to break new grounds churning out projects across the state. Davidson Iriekpen writes

O

ne state where majority of the residents do not regret voting for their governor is Rivers State. Since he assumed office in 2015, hardly a month passes without Governor Nyesom Wike inaugurating one new project or the other to admiration of the people of the state and outsiders.

The governor’s passion for development is unequalled. At a time most of his colleagues are folding their arms and citing dwindling revenue as an excuse for lack of performance, Wike on the other hand is either inaugurating new developments projects or completing others statewide abandoned by the immediate past administration. In the last seven months, the governor has embarked on and completed about 10 critical roads and sundry projects in the state, thereby reducing the suffering of his people. As a demonstration of his love for his people, Wike does not care if the road projects are federal or not. He also does not care if the area is ‘opposition’ area or not.

For example, last week, Wike was in the Ogoni area specifically in Bodo City, Gokana Local Government Area of the state to flag off the construction of the Kpopie-Bodo road abandoned by a former senator in the state after he allegedly collected over N4 billion from the immediate past administration.

Performing the ceremony in the presence of

thousands of people who came out to laud him for the project which has seriously caused them pain and discomfort, the governor said it was unfortunate that a politician like the senator would swindle his people. He said the state government would have dragged the senator before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), but pointed out that the anti-graft commission and the police would not act for political reasons.

He said: “Any politician who can embezzle funds meant for the execution of a road project in his area deserves our empathy. It is easier for him to insult me on radio, but my only reply is to complete the road he abandoned because I love Ogoni people. When we were completing several projects abandoned by the immediate past administration, instead of showing appreciation, they were insulting me on the radio. My commitment to Rivers people is unwavering. Insults cannot stop me from developing Rivers State and completing the projects that will improve the lives of the people. Nobody can force himself on his people.

I am sad that the senator used the funds meant for a road that will benefit his people to serve himself. I am happy that I have the opportunity to construct this road,” Wike said.

The governor stated that the Kpobie-Bodo road would be completed within three months with street lights and under-ground drainage.

He said he would never play politics with

development, because that is the covenant he entered with the people of the state.

In his address, the Caretaker Chairman of Gokana Local Government Area, Mr. Monday Dumiye, berated the senator for exposing the people to untold hardship by failing to construct the road awarded to him. He commended Wike for coming to the aid of the people by resolving to complete the road.

Technical Manager of Dantata and Sawoe, the contractor handling the Kpopie-Bodo road, assured the governor and people of the area that the road would be completed in record time. Ogoni leaders including Senator Olaka Nwogu, Chief Kenneth Kobani and Dr Fred Kpakol, traditional rulers, women groups and school children graced the occasion.

Already, the governor is dualising the Sakpwenwa-Bori road, the Birabi Memorial Grammar School, General Hospital, Bori and has rebuilt the INEC office burnt down by political thugs of the opposition in the state.

To show that the projects completed by Wike are no fluke, majority of them have been inaugurated by eminent personalities from across the country.

For instance, last week, the former Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, was in the state to inaugurate the reconstructed Ozuoba-Rumuosi Road in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.

While commending Wike for the numerous projects he has so far embarked upon, Lamido urged governors on the platform of other political

parties to emulate him and stop using economic recession as excuse for their failures.

Specifically, Lamido said the All Progressives Congress (APC) has embarrassed Nigerians both locally and internationally by failing to provide adequate leadership since taking over power at the federal level. He advised the leadership of the party at all levels to learn the art and science of leadership and projects delivery from Wike.

The former Jigawa governor said the leadership of the APC is learning on the job after their electoral victory, pointing out that they have embarrassed Nigeria internationally through their failure to work for Nigerians. He said APC cannot work for Nigerians because the party lacks the capacity for pro-people governance; adding that they only grabbed power for the sake of it and not for service.

He said: “Only PDP governors are working.

We in PDP, care and we are concerned. If we are given a responsibility, we discharge it creditably.

Governor Wike has done very well. I extend the gratitude of the entire PDP family to Governor Wike for his performance.”

In his remarks at the occasion, Wike explained that the Ozuoba-Rumosi Road is a direct reward to the people of Akpor Kingdom for their support.

He said the community was forgotten by the previous administration, hence his resolve to reconstruct the road linking them with their kith and kin in neighbouring communities.

43

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016

CITYSTRINGS

R-L: Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio and Deputy Governor Ipalibo Harry Banigo, during the inauguration of the Igwuruta-Chokocho Road by Senator Akpabio at Chokocho…recently

L-R: Governor Wike, Commissioner for Works, Mr. Harrison Iheanyichukwu and Technical Manager of Dantata and Sawoe, Stafau Eachehofar, at Bodo City during the flag off of construction of the abandoned Kpopie-Bodo Road

Igwuruta-Chokocho Federal Road reconstructed by Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike...recently

The governor’s passion for development is unequalled.

At a time most of his colleagues are folding their arms and citing dwindling revenue as an excuse for lack of performance, Wike on the other hand is either inaugurating new developments projects or completing others statewide abandoned by the immediate past administration. In the last seven months, the governor has embarked on and completed about 10 critical roads and sundry projects in the state, thereby reducing the suffering of his people He pledged that whether there is economic recession or not, he would always fulfill his campaign promises to the people of the state for the role they have played by voting him. He added that he has a responsibility to work for the people and that they don’t deserve excuses.

Penultimate week, former Governor of Akwa Ibom State and Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, was also in the state to inaugurate the Igwuruta-Chokocho federal road reconstructed

by Wike. He commended the governor for being a transformational leader who governs his people with compassion and judicious application of resources, adding that the governor deserves the applause he is getting for the infrastructural renaissance taking place in the state.

During the inauguration of the project, thousands of people including traditional rulers, elders, clerics, women and youths from Etche and Ikwerre Local Government Areas thronged the venue of the ceremony at Chokocho in Etche Local Government Area, singing and dancing over the construction of a road that reconnected communities hitherto cut off from each other for 20 years.

Akpabio during the inauguration, said there was no reason why the federal government should continue to budget for roads annually, when such federal roads were never constructed.

He insisted that financial allocations for federal roads should be released to state governments to handle the roads within their respective states.

“Where you have federal roads, the federal government may never come. As such, states will have to take their destinies in their own hands. Here is a governor who does not care if a road belongs to the federal or state government, he goes ahead to construct it to the benefit of his people. I recommend that the federal government should distribute money voted for federal roads to states. There is no need to continue to vote money for federal roads which are never constructed. These funds such be distributed to the states to construct the roads,” Akpabio said In his address at the ceremony, Wike said the successful reconstruction of the Igwuruta-

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, at Bodo City after he flagged off the construction of the abandoned Kpopie-Bodo Road

Chokocho federal road was in fulfillment of the pledge he made to the people of Etche during the campaign. He announced that his administration would also construct the Chokocho-Igbo-Etche-Rumukrusi Road to link more Etche communities. He added that his performance was a fallout of the charge that he received from Akpabio who pleaded with him never to make unfulfilled promises or disappoint his supporters.

“I will never play politics with the construction of roads in the state. I will never make promises that I will not fulfill. My pledge is my bond. Whether or not there is economic recession, we shall continue to work for the people of the state. Recall that the APC claimed that they were the ones constructing this road.

But the truth is known to the people. We shall continue to construct more roads so that APC members can ply on them to access venues for campaigns. We are committed to serving all the people of the state, irrespective of their political inclinations,” Wike said.

Before now, other eminent Nigerians including the former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Augustine Alegeh (SAN), former Senate President David Mark, National Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Makarfi and Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, had variously inaugurated projects.

During the recently held 12th All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) in the state, the governor had led the editors to tour 24 projects sites spread across seven local government areas of the state namely: Port Harcourt, Obio/Akpor, Ikwerre, Eleme, Khana, Gokana and Etche Local Government Areas for them see to things for themselves and convince them that all he was doing in the state was not propaganda. And to achieve maximum exposure of the selected

projects, the tour was divided into two teams; Wike led a team, while the Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Emma Okah led the second team.

The list of the projects visited include: Law Centre, Civic Centre, Federal High Court being constructed by the Rivers State Government, Garrison-Akpajo-East West Road, Second Nkpogu Bridge, Dr. Peter Odili Road, Abuluoma-Woji Road, Woji-Akpajo Road, Elelenwo-Akpajo Road, Sakpenwa-Bori Road, Rumukwurusi-Eneka Road, Igwuruta-Okehi Road, Rukpokwu-Eneka and Oroigwe Road.

Other projects visited are: Industry Road, Njamanze Road (Diobu), Eagle Island Bridge –Agip, Rumuepirikom-Rumuolumeni Road, Rumuolumeni-Elioparanwo-Ogbogoro-Ozuoba Road, Ozuoba-Rumoosi Road, Alakahia-Rumualogu Road, Nkpolu-Rumuigbo-Rumuaholu-Obiri Ikwere Road and Aluu-Rukpokwu Road.

At the pace Wike is progressing, it is clear that not even the recession can stop this indefatigable governor from achieving his set objectives of delivering democracy dividends to his people.

To many analysts, it is not a surprise that Wike is determined to transform the state. His wife, Justice Suzzette Eberechi, had once testified to his passion when she told the people of the state that she was confident that her husband, based on his antecedents and passion to satisfy others, would never stop his positive development strides.

She said: “I know the man I am married to.

He is a determined and focused man. He will continue to deliver in line with the promises he made to the people. I know he will live up to the expectations of the people.”

Many observers believe that with the rate Wike is progressing, if he continues with the pace he started, there is no doubt that he might end up as the best governor Rivers State has ever produced.

44

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Awolowo: NIMASA’s Delay in Remitting N300m Freight Duties Impinges on Export Grants Non-oil exports drops by 40% James Emejo and Nume Ekeghe in Abakaliki The Executive Director/Chief Executive, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr. Olusegun Awolowo yesterday lamented the inability of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to release the 10 percent levies on freights collection to NEPC as stipulated by law.

He said the delay constituted a major handicap to providing export incentives to proposed beneficiaries.

He also disclosed that the country’s oil export earnings had dropped by 40 percent, largely due to the country’s inability to improve on the quality and standard of it primary export products .

He said most of the country’s export products were currently in non-processed level, making it difficult to generate the much needed foreign exchange as the country looks to diversify its

revenue base from oil.

Speaking at the ongoing 22nd seminar of Finance Correspondents and Business Editors (FICAN) in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, further said the inability of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to release 10 percent levies on freights collections to NEPC as stipulated by law, was one of its major handicaps to providing export incentives to proposed beneficiaries.

According to him, a total of about N300 million is currently being owed the council by NIMASA. Nevertheless, he said the high level of non-processed export items constituted an impediment to improvement in earnings and volume of its non-oil exports.

Represented at the seminar by a Director in NEPC, Barr.

George Enyiekpon, the NEPC boss said the country’s non-oil export products have remained at non-processed levels and

this has had limitations on the standards, quality and accruals from the sector.

In his paper delivery titled:”Towards Efficient Institutional Arrangements for Non-oil Export Finance in Nigeria”, Awolowo said the non-oil sector holds enormous foreign exchange potentials for the country but had not been fully exploited despite being endowed with solid minerals and agriculture.

He blamed the decline in non-oil export earnings on limited local content value addition, products mostly exported in the primary forms and challenges associated with poor infrastructure, power, standards, finance, skills and capacity.

He said with the fall in crude oil price by about 50 percent, the NEPC believed now is the time for Nigeria to intensify efforts at diversifying the economy and maximize the potentials inherent in non-oil sector export.

BOI Tasks Internal Auditors on Global Best Practices Crusoe Osagie The Bank of Industry (BOI) has charged internal auditors to adhere to global best practices to remain relevant and attractive to business organisations, noting that internal auditors must support businesses to achieve set organisational goals especially at a time like this when the economy is in recession.

According to the acting Managing Director, BOI, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, internal auditors must not only identify obstacles hindering business organisations, but also seek ways to support businesses to remain profitable without violating regulatory requirements and incurring losses.

Olagunju who was represented by the Chief Risk Officer and acting Managing Director, National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND) Mr. Ezekiel Oseni , said: “Internal auditors should not only detect fraud,

but help the management to achieve their purpose, but as we have it today, we have the internal auditors concentrating more on accuracy test, detecting and investigating fraud.”

He however stated that since he assumed office as acting Managing Director, NERFUND, he had been able to recover Non Performing Loans (NPLs) from customers who initially did not want to pay back the loans they borrowed, saying that NPLs estimated to be about N17.2 billion are still in the hands of those who defaulted in paying back the loans borrowed.

“The good news is that many of the customers that did not want to pay before have all being coming around to ask for a loan work out where we would also give them concessions on interest, but I insist that they must pay the entire principal sum before talking about their standing interest while I have successfully been able to refer

others that are not willing to pay to Economic Crimes and Financial Commission (EFCC ),” he added.

The representative of the acting BOI boss during a quarterly meeting of the Association of Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria (ACAEBIN) said people involved in cyber crimes are very intelligent people and always look for loopholes, advising that it behoves of internal auditors to be on top of their game, study how the system works, identify loopholes are and ensure sufficient control mechanism to address cyber crimes in the country.

“The internal audit function today is not what it used to be many years ago due to several global and localised reasons such as the financial scandals which resulted in massive job losses and loss of shareholders’ fund, new regulations and the dynamics of the business environment,” he added.

Skye Bank CEO Rallies Support for Made-inNigeria Products The Group Managing Director of Skye Bank, Mr. Tokunbo Abiru, has urged Nigerians to patronise made - in Nigeria goods as one of the ways to reflate the economy and save the nation from the present recession with its attendant challenges.

Abiru made this statement while delivering a paper at the on-going Made-in-Nigeria Summit titled“Empowering the Made in Nigeria (MAIN) Economy: Fostering Innovation and Leveraging Entrepreneurship” in Lagos. Abiru, stressed the need for Nigerians to patronise made in Nigeria goods and services as a way out of the present recession.

According to the Skye Bank boss, “this will help to boost local production, create more employment thereby prevent

capital flight, which will eventually lead to the export of goods made in Nigeria to other countries and earn foreign exchange.”

He enumerated further: “When we patronise locally made goods, we are invariably contributing to enhanced operations of local manufacturers and entrepreneurs; create more jobs; improve quality of products and ultimately stimulate local consumption that impact the local economy.

“When the local SMEs are empowered through enhanced patronage of products and services, it enables such players to meet their obligations to the larger society – through payment of taxes, sourcing raw materials, contributing to the growth of linkages and providing job opportunities for

skilled and unskilled labour,” the Skye Bank boss said.

Over the past five years, MSMEs’ contribution to Nigeria’s GDP has grown steadily at a compound annual growth rate of 3.51 percent to 51 percent in 2014. The renowned rating agency, Agusto & Co estimates that MSMEs will account for around 56 percent of GDP by 2016, largely due to the growth in wholesale and retail trade MSMEs. Abiru used the occasion to share with the participants his bank’s contribution in the area of innovation and support to entrepreneurship.

He noted that in a bid to support its customers in exploring the opportunities of the e-commerce age, Skye Bank currently has an e-commerce portal called Yes Mall.

DG NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

MARCH 2016 Broad Money (M2)

21,684,965.22

-- Narrow Money (M1)

9,125,933.16

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,379,187.93

---- Demand Deposits

7,746,745.22

-- Quasi Money

12,559,032.07

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,105,663.47

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

14,579,301.76

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

24,318,143.03

---- Credit to Government (Net)

2,893,190.01

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

5,004,677.26

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

-2,111,487.25

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

21,424,953.01

--Other Assets Net

-9,738,841.27

Reserve Money (Base Money)

5,370,199.87

--Currency in Circulation

1,684,725.89

--Banks Reserves

3,685,473.98 • Source - CBN

MANAGED FUNDS Initial Price (N) Stanbic Balanced Fund

Buying Price(N)

Selling Price

1,660.29

1,685.29

Stanbic IBTC NEF

1,000.00

11,002.32

11,326.67.11

Stanbic SIBond

20

120.47

120.47

Stanbic IBTC Ethical

1

1.10

1.13

Stanbic IBTC GIF

142.90

143.38

UBA Balanced Fund

1.2563

1.2493

UBA Bond Fund

1.3443

1.3443

UBA Equity Fund

0.8205

0.8074

UBA Money Market Fund

1.1510

1.1510

ARM Aggressive Growth Fund

N13.0544

N13.4480

ARM Discovery Fund

N288.2515

N296.9425

ARM Ethical Fund

N22.5268

N23.2060

ARM Money Market Fund

13.1030 (Yield % ) • Monetary Policy Rate - 13%

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT, WEDNESDAY, 28 SEPT 2016 The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $42.21 a barrel on Wednesday, compared with $42.30 the previous day, 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

45

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016

Nigeria’s top 50 stocks based on market fundamentals

6-Oct-16

5-Oct-16

% Change

Capitalisation

EPS

P/E

P/S

Div. Yld

Price/ Book Value

Table 1 Market Statistics Mkt Indicators

Open 5-Oct-16

NSE All Share Index NSE Market Cap (N'Trillion)

28,009.40 9.62

28,031.90 9.63

0.08% 0.08%

116.35 9.06

116.45 9.07

0.08% 0.08%

Close 6-Oct-16

Change %

01 Dangote Cement Plc

183.00

181.01

1.10%

3,118,412,855,115.00

9.56

19.03

5.73

4.40%

4.56

02 Nigerian Breweries Plc

145.98

145.80

0.12%

1,157,490,147,630.24

4.50

32.70

3.89

2.45%

7.16

03 Guaranty Trust Bank Plc

23.86

24.10

-1.00%

702,227,936,284.64

4.20

5.93

2.04

7.11%

1.62

815.00

815.00

0.00%

646,014,845,380.00

19.41

42.00

3.90

3.56%

18.37

Thisday BGL 50 Index Thisday BGL 50 Market Cap (N'Trillion)

05 Zenith Bank Plc

14.95

15.21

-1.71%

469,377,582,100.70

3.10

5.09

1.18

11.41%

0.80

Table 3 Top 5 Gainers

06 Lafarge Africa Plc

49.60

54.80

-9.49%

225,923,129,776.00

-6.71

-8.18

1.12

5.47%

1.79

Stock

159.90

158.50

0.88%

208,266,728,369.70

4.22

37.91

1.41

2.16%

4.86

11.14

11.40

-2.28%

204,414,000,535.10

0.23

50.05

0.39

5.39%

0.35

350.00

346.50

1.01%

193,658,609,550.00 -14.43

-22.87

1.95

4.82%

0.48

10 Unilever Nigeria Plc

45.90

45.90

0.00%

173,653,297,875.00

0.46

98.44

2.83

0.11%

19.33

11 Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc

17.05

17.05

0.00%

170,500,000,000.00

2.04

8.48

1.46

0.58%

1.54

Table 4 Top 5 Losers

12 Presco Plc

40.00

40.00

0.00%

158,819,081,800.00

0.54

74.57

2.28

3.25%

3.88

Stock

13 Access Bank Plc

5.40

5.40

0.00%

156,211,046,807.40

2.56

2.13

0.46

10.07%

0.37

14 United Bank for Africa Plc

4.15

4.03

2.98%

150,560,034,236.30

1.66

2.53

0.48

14.29%

0.37

15 Guinness Nig Plc

97.99

97.99

0.00%

147,561,983,542.12

-1.34

-72.46

1.43

3.30%

3.51

16 FBN Holdings Plc

3.07

3.10

-0.97%

110,198,548,871.44

0.30

10.43

0.23

4.72%

0.19

17 7-Up Bottling Comp. Plc

158.00

145.80

8.37%

101,213,277,354.00

3.75

38.02

1.02

1.54%

3.54

18 Total Nigeria Plc

287.00

295.00

-2.71%

97,442,767,219.00

31.13

9.35

0.41

4.81%

4.68

6.41

6.50

-1.38%

76,920,000,000.00

1.05

6.19

0.65

7.69%

1.31

191.72

191.72

0.00%

69,133,323,630.64

17.69

10.66

0.82

3.82%

3.96

19.95

19.95

0.00%

65,720,273,136.00

0.17

114.65

2.64

1.25%

5.34

5.32

5.60

-5.00%

64,024,172,516.08

-3.46

-1.42

0.32

15.27%

0.43

23 Flour Mills Nig. Plc

21.05

20.05

4.99%

55,240,192,786.35

6.81

3.23

0.15

9.09%

0.58

24 Julius Berger Nig. Plc

40.00

40.00

0.00%

52,800,000,000.00

0.24

161.09

0.50

3.85%

2.29

25 U A C N Plc

21.00

20.80

0.96%

40,338,152,127.00

2.44

8.81

0.57

4.65%

0.56

1.01

1.04

-2.88%

39,108,207,399.25

-0.37

-2.90

0.92

0.00%

0.55

27 Okomu Oil Palm Plc

39.90

39.90

0.00%

38,061,009,000.00

4.60

8.27

2.95

0.26%

2.33

28 Cadbury Nigeria Plc

16.49

16.49

0.00%

30,971,551,639.60

0.83

19.97

1.12

7.88%

2.49

29 Sterling Bank Plc

1.06

1.05

0.95%

30,517,843,213.56

0.31

3.34

0.28

8.74%

0.35

30 Diamond Bank Plc

1.27

1.26

0.79%

29,413,693,989.36

0.11

11.06

0.13

0.00%

0.12

31 Fidelity Bank Plc

0.95

0.92

3.26%

27,514,456,407.40

0.39

2.31

0.18

17.78%

0.14

32 Wema Bank Plc

0.63

0.64

-1.56%

24,301,913,631.03

0.06

10.46

0.52

0.00%

0.54

33 Custodian And Allied Insurance Plc

4.00

4.00

0.00%

23,527,456,780.00

0.76

5.32

0.71

3.47%

0.85

33.25

33.25

0.00%

23,275,000,000.00

2.36

14.10

3.35

3.46%

15.94

1.16

1.18

-1.69%

22,971,144,505.96

0.61

1.75

0.13

9.35%

0.12

19.00

19.00

0.00%

22,721,653,272.00

-2.54

-8.07

0.84

1.46%

2.69

37 National Salt Co. Nig. Plc

8.10

8.01

1.12%

21,460,450,861.80

0.89

9.03

1.17

6.88%

3.07

38 Mansard Insurance Plc

2.00

2.00

0.00%

21,000,000,000.00

0.27

7.55

1.12

2.44%

1.02

39 PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc

18.64

18.69

-0.27%

18,640,000,000.00

4.14

5.00

1.56

0.48%

0.62

40 Honeywell Flour Mill Plc

1.31

1.37

-4.38%

10,388,558,931.98

-0.40

-3.29

0.22

12.03%

0.64

41 Continental Reinsurance Plc

1.00

1.05

-4.76%

10,372,744,312.00

0.33

3.04

0.50

12.00%

0.54

42 Skye Bank Plc

0.65

0.66

-1.52%

9,022,195,916.50

-2.93

-0.22

0.06

46.15%

0.09

43 Unity Bank Plc

0.74

0.74

0.00%

8,650,110,077.08

0.54

1.35

0.13

0.00%

0.10

44 Cement Co. Of North.Nig. Plc

6.00

6.00

0.00%

7,540,066,596.00

0.44

13.54

0.68

1.67%

0.70

45 UACN Property Development Co. Limited

3.95

3.95

0.00%

6,789,062,480.25

-0.05

-71.73

1.91

18.72%

0.18

46 Wapic Insurance Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

6,691,369,126.00

0.11

4.72

0.90

5.88%

0.44

47 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

48 Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc

3.25

3.29

-1.22%

5,278,710,937.50

0.15

22.05

0.69

5.88%

0.89

49 AIICO Insurance Plc

0.63

0.64

-1.56%

4,366,028,822.40

0.26

2.42

0.14

7.94%

0.46

50 Fidson Healthcare Plc

1.66

1.66

0.00%

2,490,000,000.00

0.31

5.45

0.37

2.99%

0.39

04 Nestle Nigeria Plc

07 Forte Oil Plc. 08 Ecobank Transnational Incorporated 09 Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd

19 Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc 20 Mobil Oil Nig Plc 21 International Breweries Plc 22 Oando Plc

26 Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc

34 Cap Plc 35 FCMB Group Plc 36 Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig. Plc

TOTAL

9,066,860,080,744.38

TOTAL MARKET CAP

9,628,405,903,737.04

% OF MARKET CAP Annotation - MA* = Simple Moving Average

94.17%

Close 6-Oct-16

Open 5-Oct-16

7-Up Bottling Comp. Plc Flour Mills Nig. Plc Fidelity Bank Plc United Bank for Africa Plc National Salt Co. Nig. Plc

145.80 20.05 0.92 4.03 8.01 Open 5-Oct-16

Lafarge Africa Plc Oando Plc Continental Reinsurance Plc Honeywell Flour Mill Plc Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc

54.80 5.60 1.05 1.37 1.04

Change %

158.00 21.05 0.95 4.15 8.10 Close 6-Oct-16

8.37% 4.99% 3.26% 2.98% 1.12% Change %

49.60 5.32 1.00 1.31 1.01

-9.49% -5.00% -4.76% -4.38% -2.88%

Bargain hunting resumes as ASI gains 0.08% Market pulse on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today – Thursday, October 6th, 2016 ended on a bullish note as the stock market closed green today due to renewed optimism. This was further highlighted by positive performances from the NSE Sub sectors: Banking, Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas (Save Insurance). Trading activities increased in volume as 348.80 million shares worth of N2.65 billion in 3,366 deals exchanged hands today. This is an increase from the 187.16 million shares worth of N1.47 billion in 3,132 deals which exchanged on Wednesday.

Topping in volume terms was Access Bank Plc, FCMB Group Plc and Zenith Bank Plc, while Zenith Bank Plc and GTB Plc ended trading as the most active stocks in value terms.

The All Share Index (NSEASI) closed positive with 0.08% (+22.50) increase to close at 28,031.90 from 28,009.40 the previous trading day. Market Capitalization appreciated in tandem to N9.62 trillion from N9.71 trillion of prior trading day. Similarly, the Thisday BGL 50 Index followed suit with an increase of 0.08% to close at 116.45 from 116.35 recorded at the end of the previous trading day, while its market capitalization stood at 9.07 trillion from 9.06 trillion of the previous trading day.

A total number of 20 stocks gained on the bourse today while 22 stocks declined, 49 leaving stocks unchanged. 7-Up Bottling Comp. Plc emerged as the day’s toast of investors as it topped the Thisday BGL 50 Index gainers’ list with a gain of 8.37% to close at N158.00 per share. It was followed by Flour Mills Nig. Plc with a gain of 4.99% to close at N21.05 per share. Others on the gainers list include: Fidelity Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc and National Salt Co. Nig. Plc; while on the decliners’ list, Lafarge Africa Plc led with a loss of 9.49% to close at N49.60 per share.

It was followed by Oando Plc with a loss of 5.00% to close at N5.32 per share. Others on the decliners list include: Continental Reinsurance Plc, Honeywell Flour Mill Plc and Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria 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

46

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

MARKET NEWS

Stockbrokers Want National Assets Sold through Capital Market

Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie

Stockbrokers have said the federal government should sell its assets through the capital so more Nigerians can benefit from the exercise. The federal government is considering selling some of its assets to raise funds as part of efforts to come out of the economic recession.

Speaking on behalf of the

stockbrokers on Wednesday in Lagos, the Chairman, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Mr. Emeka Madubuike said: “If the government wants to sell any of its assets as being contemplated, it should do so through the capital market so that Nigerian investors can become part owners of the assets.”

Some financial analysts have advised the government to

T H E MAIN BOARD

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

borrow, sell assets to get funds that would be invested in infrastructure to move the economy out of recession.

Although the government said it was yet to take a final decision on the sale of assets, the Senate has voted against the move.

However, Madubuike said should the government final decides to dispose of any assets, that should be done through the market.

N I G E R I A N QUANTITY TRADED

STO C K

VALUE TRADED ( N )

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

Similarly, the President of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr. Oluwaseyi Abe said nothing was wrong in selling national assets that are under performing to save the economy.

“I believe there is nothing wrong if the government plans to sell assets that are not performing optimally.

But caution should be applied in taking this decision.

The country will surely come

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

out of the recession if actions and measures being taken by the government are properly executed. I see us coming out of recession latest from the first quarter of next year,” Abe said.

The CIS boss had said the nation’s capital market can provide the needed capital that can take the country out of the current economic recession.

“The capital market can provide funds for the government and corporates. It has

been doing so in the past and I believe the market has the potential to provide what funding needs of government and corporate bodies. What we need is products that will attract the capital from investors both domestically and foreign,” Abe said.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index (NSE ASI) appreciated marginally by 0.04 per cent to close at 28,247.56 points.

E XC H A N G E

MAIN BOARD GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC Pharmaceuticals Totals HEALTHCARE Totals ICT IT Services TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. IT Services Totals ICT Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials ASHAKA CEM PLC BERGER PAINTS PLC CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. Building Materials Totals Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. Electronic and Electrical Products Totals Packaging/Containers BETA GLASS CO PLC. Packaging/Containers Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Energy Equipment and Services Totals Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CONOIL PLC ETERNA PLC. FORTE OIL PLC. MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals Exploration and Production SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD Exploration and Production Totals OIL AND GAS Totals SERVICES Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals Printing/Publishing LEARN AFRICA PLC Printing/Publishing Totals Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Transport-Related Services Totals Support and Logistics CAVERTON OFFSHORE SUPPORT GRP PLC Support and Logistics Totals SERVICES Totals EQTY Board Totals Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board ASeM CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC Food Products Totals CONSUMER GOODS Totals ASeM Board Totals Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board PREMIUM FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC Banking Totals Other Financial Institutions FBN HOLDINGS PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials DANGOTE CEMENT PLC Building Materials Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals PREMIUM Board Totals Equity Activity Totals

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

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

47

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016

MARKET NEWS

Shareholders Move to Protect Investments, Hold Workshop on CAMA Bill Goddy Egene Retail shareholders in Nigeria are making moves to ensure that their interests are protected in the Bill to amend the Companies and Allied Matters Act(CAMA),CAP C20, 1990. The CAMA is in the process of being amended.

The Bill for the amendment has been exposed and published in the website of the Corporate Affair Commission (CAC) where various groups, individuals and organisations have been studying and scrutinising it.

As stakeholders, whose concerns are the full protection of their investments, different shareholders’ associations in the country have come together under the aegis of the Joint Shareholders Association(JSA) to organise a one-day workshop scheduled for Monday October 10, in Lagos to discuss the provisions of the Bill.

Explaining the reason behind the workshop, Mrs. Oludewa Thorpe said shareholders’ associations are interested in ensuring that the law enacted

A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

at the end, would, as far as it possibly can, meet the aspirations of retail shareholders who the associations represent.

“It is for this reason that the different shareholders’ associations came together under the umbrella of JSA to organize a Workshop. The theme of the Workshop is: The proposed amendment of the Companies & Allied Matters Act and its effect on Retail Shareholders,” she said.

Thorpe, who is also a legal practitioner, disclosed that

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 5-Oct-2016, unless otherwise stated.

the workshop will have a boardroom guru, Chief Olusegun Osunkeye as chairman.

“In reviewing the Bill, it was immediately recognised that there were sections in it that, if allowed to be enacted as they stand, would be onerous to and could eventually lead to the annihilation of the shareholders’ associations. As a result, the subjects to be discussed are: Audit Committee: Are the Section 358 in the interest of Retail Shareholders; The new regime of high fines and

penalties, an avenue to deprive the shareholders of dividend?; publication of names of persons entitled to unclaimed dividend in the newspaper, with Nigeria’s high crime rate, whose interest is it; The new regime for Incorporated Trustee: The death of Shareholders’ Associations?

And the problems of the shareholders’ associations in the face of the proposed amended Companies and Allied Matters Act. The way forward,” she said.

Thorpe added that JSA has lined up panel of erudite players

in the capital market operators, Shareholders’ Association members and members of the Academia to present a robust discuss of the subjects.

“We decided to get the stand of the members of the Academia so as not to be myopic in our view of the issues involved.

The discussants are, Chief Anthony Idigbe, SAN, Mr. Sola Ephraim-Oluwanuga, Dr. Hamza Sule Wuro Bokki, Prof Ige Bolodeoku, Prof. Joseph Abugu, Alh Abatcha Bulama and Mr. Adeniyi Adebisi.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors.

Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return.

NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 1 270 1680 Fund Name Bid Price Afrinvest Equity Fund 124.10 Nigeria International Debt Fund 216.22 ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.67 AIICO CAPITAL LTD Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price AIICO Money Market Fund ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name ARM Aggressive Growth Fund ARM Discovery Fund ARM Ethical Fund ARM Money Market Fund AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name AXA Mansard Equity Market Fund AXA Mansard Money Market Fund CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Nigeria Global Investment Fund Paramount Equity Fund Women's Investment Fund FBN CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fbnquest.com; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name FBN Fixed Income Fund FBN Heritage Fund FBN Money Market Fund FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Legacy Equity Fund Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Coral Growth Fund

100.00

aaml@afrinvest.com Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 124.69 11.06% 217.02 8.01% info@acapng.com Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 0.68 9.75% ammf@aiicocapital.com Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

100.00

14.33%

enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Bid Price 12.94 295.40 22.95

Offer Price 13.33 304.30 23.65

Yield / T-Rtn 6.14% 5.69% 4.11%

1.00

1.00

11.68%

investmentcare@axamansard.com Bid Price 100.79

Offer Price 101.42

Yield / T-Rtn 1.11%

1.00 1.00 11.63% investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Bid Price 2.10 9.43

Offer Price 2.15 9.67

Yield / T-Rtn 3.16% -4.31%

82.33

84.44

1.50%

invest@fbnquest.com Bid Price 1,062.34 114.35 100.00 $104.99 $104.92 112.19

Offer Price 1,063.31 115.35 100.00 $105.78 $105.71

Yield / T-Rtn -1.83% 5.38% 9.99% 5.39% 5.32%

113.72

12.96%

fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Bid Price 0.94 2.50

Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 0.96 4.40% 2.50 7.72% coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com

Bid Price 2,245.06

Offer Price 2,273.52

Coral Income Fund 2,033.19 INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price

Yield / T-Rtn 3.25%

2,033.19 7.49% enquiries@investment-one.com Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund

1.00

1.00

11.09%

Vantage Balanced Fund

1.64

1.66

0.56%

LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 0.99 1.01 11.50% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 983.39 983.39 -1.66% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: www.meristemwealth.com ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 9.87 9.96 0.95% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.97% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.02 1.04 -2.73% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 107.02 107.90 5.12% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.21 1.21 7.60% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 1,816.64 1,827.56 8.19% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 150.61 150.61 2.40% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.80 0.81 7.33% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 179.15 179.15 5.57% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 137.69 139.39 1.75% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 14.09% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,818.68 7,922.96 8.79% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.17 1.17 8.79% United Capital Bond Fund 1.26 1.25 16.11% United Capital Equity Fund 0.77 0.77 0.74% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.00% ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD info@zenith-funds.com Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 10.01 10.19 4.78% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.53 11.64 0.59% Zenith Income Fund 16.47 16.47 2.70%

REITS

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.43 122.18

2.69% 5.46%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

9.09 79.67

9.19 81.18

-5.09% -4.27%

Fund Name FSDH UPDC Real Estate Investment Fund SFS Skye Shelter Fund

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS

Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697

Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

2.76 7.40 12.88 18.24 -

2.80 7.48 13.02 18.44 -

19.31% 15.71% 2.78% -5.02% -

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

48

FRIDAY OCTOBER 7, 2016 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY FRIDAY OCTOBER 7, 2016

49

50

FRIDAY OCTOBER 7, 2016 • T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL WORLD OF ISLAM email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

Deadly Hurricane Matthew Heads for Southeastern US Hurricane Matthew, the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, barreled toward the southeastern United States yesterday after killing at least 69 people, mostly in Haiti, on its deadly northward march.

As Matthew blew through the northwestern Bahamas , it was predicted to strengthen from a Category 3 to 4 storm en route to Florida’s Atlantic coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The storm could either take direct aim at Florida or brush along the state’s coast on Thursday night.

Some 65 people were killed in Haiti and thousands were displaced after the storm smashed homes and inundated neighborhoods earlier in the week.

The National Hurricane Center extended its hurricane warning area farther north into Georgia and more than 12 million U.S. residents were under hurricane watches and warnings,

according to the Weather Channel.

Roads in Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina were jammed and gas stations and food stores ran out of supplies as the storm approached, carrying with it strong storm surges, heavy rain and sustained winds that accelerated overnight to about 125 miles per hour (205 kph). Matthew was 215 miles (346 km) southeast of West Palm Beach at about 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT).

The damage could be

“catastrophic” if the hurricane slammed directly into Florida, Governor Rick Scott warned, urging some 1.5 million people in the state to heed evacuation orders.

“If you’re reluctant to evacuate, just think about all the people who have been killed,” Scott told a news conference on Thursday. “Time is running out. This is clearly either going to have a direct hit or come right along the coast and we’re going to have hurricaneforce winds.”

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly known and addressed as MONICA OBIGAELI, now wish to be known and addressed as MONICA OBIGAELI NKECHI. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly known and addressed as UHUNMWANGHO CLEMENT, now wish to be known and addressed as UHUNMWANGHO ERHAHON CLEMENT. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as ABASS AYUBA , now wish to be known and addressed as ABANA AYUBA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS JOY WOJI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS BIOBELE TIMI-OMUBO. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MRS AMINAT TAIWO FALOYE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS AMINAT TAIWO A-AMEEN. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS OKELEKE GIFT AWELE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS AFOLABI GIFT AWELE. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as EMMANUEL YAHAYA, now wish to be known and addressed as EMMANUEL TENSHAK YAHAYA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS AYISHAT ISA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS AYISHAT ISA IDRIS. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as TAIWO TOYIN AREGBESOLA, now wish to be known and addressed as TAIWO OLUWATOYIN COKER. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS PRECIOUS JAS, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS PRECIOUS PRINCE DAVID. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as AUGUSTINA DIEDJOMAHOR, now wish to be known and addressed as AUGUSTINA EMUOBO DIEDJOMAHOR . All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

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I formerly known and addressed as TREASURE CHISOM ADEWUMI, now wish to be known and addressed as EMMANUEL AYO ADEWUMI. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as CHARITY NDIDI OKORONKWO, now wish to be known and addressed as CHARITY NKEM OKORONKWO. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as SATURDAY CHINONYEREM CHARITY and SATURDAY CHARITY now wish to b known and address as AKARAHU CHINONYEREM SATURDAY. All former documents remain valid, Fidelity Bank, Unity Bank Plc and the general public should please take note

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Edited by: MJO Mustapha Email deji.mustapha@thisdaylive.com

After Hajj: Signs of Acceptance and Fulfillment IslamCity/MuslimVillage/Inter-Islam

Once again more than one and a half million believers were honored to become the “Guests of Allah” and through Divine Guidance have completed the rituals of Hajj with great love and enthusiasm. How fortunate are those souls who are blessed with the following words from Rasulullah (Allah’s peace be upon him): “Whoever performs Hajj for the Pleasure of Allah and therein utters no word of evil, nor commits any evil deed, shall return from it (free from sin) as the day on which his mother gave birth to him.” (Bukhari, Muslim) “Verily there shall be no reward for a Mabroor (Accepted) Hajj except Jannah.” (Bukhari, Muslim) It is hoped that all the Pilgrims were sincere in their intentions and had travelled thousands of miles only to secure the Pleasure of Allah by fulfilling the obligation laid down upon them. May Allah the Almighty grant all the Pilgrims acceptance and grant them opportunity again and again to visit the Sacred Land. Ameen Ya Rabbal A’lameen.

Nevertheless, we wish to draw the attention of the Pilgrims towards certain points that are necessary and of utmost importance to observe about which many Pilgrims seem to attach little importance.

Firstly, the sincerity of intention should remain even after the performance of Hajj. There should be no pomp or show. One should not wish to be called or recognized as a Haji. Many people adopt the habit of talking frequently about their journey in order that people may come to know of their Hajj. They talk about the expenses incurred in the way of Allah, their charity amongst the poor and needy, their devotion and worship, their assisting the weak and old, etc. and all this is mentioned with the intention of gaining fame. This is a deceit from Shaytan who ruins the Ibadah (worship) of the person who is unaware of it.

It is therefore of great importance that the Pilgrim does not talk about his/hers Hajj without necessity as it may lead to Riya (show, insincerity). However, if necessity arises and one must talk about his/hers Hajj then he/she is at liberty to do so. But, the Pilgrim must not indulge in this type of conversation unnecessarily.

Secondly, it is noted through experience that many Pilgrims return with nothing but the sad memories to reflect upon and this darkness filters through their tongues to the extent that they talk only about the hardships they have encountered during Hajj. The Pilgrims should strictly refrain from this. On the contrary, they should talk about the greatness of the Sacred Places, the spiritual gains, the enjoyment in devotions of Haramayn – Umrah, Tawaf, Salam on the Sacred Grave, Salah in Masjidul Haram and Masjidun Nabawi etc. If one looks at his/hers journey of Hajj carefully he/she will find that the spiritual benefits far outweighs the physical hardships. Every second spent

in these Sacred Places is incomparable with anything in the world.

The journey to Hajj is a long journey; one has to travel by air, pass the immigrations, go through the customs, encounter people who speak foreign languages, etc. In these circumstances, difficulties are certain to arise. When we travel in our country, do we always travel with comfort and ease? Do we never encounter difficulty? Do we not find ourselves held up in traffic for hours on a Motorway?

Considering the fact that 3-4 million Pilgrims perform the rituals of Hajj at one time, in one place and that they all come from different countries and backgrounds and that many of them have never before used or seen the facilities available to them, we think the difficulties encountered are insignificant. Moreover, the Pilgrims are rewarded abundantly by Almighty Allah upon every difficulty encountered in their journey whereas the same is not the case whilst we undertake other journeys.

Those people who engage in these types of conversation become the cause of discouragement to others who have not yet had the opportunity to perform Hajj. These unfortunate Pilgrims fall into the category: “…and who stop (men) from the way of Allah, and from the Sacred Masjid,…” mentioned in Surah Al-Hajj (22:25) in the Holy Quran.

They should take heed that if people are discouraged by their conversation and postpone their Hajj then those who have discouraged them will be in part responsible.

Thirdly, the sign of a `Mabroor Hajj‘ or `Accepted Hajj‘ is that upon one’s return, his/her life changes from worst to good. He/She becomes totally punctual in fulfilling the commands of Almighty Allah. His/Her love and inclination towards the Hereafter increases and love for the worldly pleasure decline. Therefore, it is essential that the Pilgrim is watchful over his/hers actions and conversations and should try his/her utmost to instill in himself/herself good characters and refrain from all types of evil. He/She should endeavour to fulfil the obligations laid down by Almighty Allah and avoid all the things forbidden by Him. He should be punctual with the recitation of the Holy Quran and in performing his five times Salah with Jama’ah in the Masjid.

Fourthly, the Pilgrim should adopt the Sunnahs of our Prophet Muhammad (Allah’s peace be upon him) especially with regards to males appearance i.e. his clothes, his beard, and so on.

The ladies must also dress according to the Laws of Islam, especially the wearing of the Hijab.

Finally, those who have returned from Hajj should encourage and persuade other relatives and friends upon whom Hajj is compulsory (Fardh) to start making preparations from now and to go and perform this great duty of Hajj next year.

Hijrah – An Event That Changed the Course of Human History

Aslam Abdullah/IslamiCity

Medina was still a city with a non-Muslim majority as the total number of Muslims in Medina some 1437 years ago was not more than 75. Yet, at the command of God, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his companion Abdu Bakr (rta) traveled to this city to implement the divine guidance for a better society.

Why did God choose Medina to be the city to establish a society based on divine ideals? Why was this not done in Makkah, the city where the House of Allah was built by the patriarch of monotheism, Ibrahim (pbuh). A simple answer that is often given by many is that the Prophet was persecuted in Makkah and the political climate there was not ripe enough to grow Islam, hence the Prophet moved to a city that was more open to his ideals.

Messengers and Prophets never turn their back on people they are sent to guide nor do they run away from persecution. They endure and stay their ground. So it was not persecution that led the Prophet to Medina. It was primarily to prove that the divine guidance is not limited to a particular place or a particular town. It can be lived anywhere in the world regardless of the number of people who adhere to the message.

In fact, the migration demolished several practices and myths that the world had entertained for ages and has been entertaining even today. It demolished the false division between the house of peace (Dar al-Amn) and house of war (Dar al-Harb). It demolished the division between Land of Islam and Land of Kufr (unbelief). It proved the idea that everything that exists was created by God and He is in control of everything. He is the owner of everything that is out there in our universe. It also proved the point that regardless of the number, the divine guidance needs to be shared with everyone.

Medina promoted the idea of a plural society with respect to all. What happened in Medina after the arrival of the Prophet was something unique and unheard of in a society that was divided on tribal lines. Upon his arrival in Medina, The Prophet invited the major tribes to come together and sign a covenant to ensure the interests of all. The covenant also

known as the constitution of Medina promoted the idea of common citizenship for the people living in Medina, regardless of their ethnic or religious backgrounds. All were referred to as one umma or nation.

The Prophet made the security of the people of Medina a top priority and the signatories were asked to participate in the defense of the city as one people. Moreover, they were assured that if one of them were killed while defending the city, the entire population would take care of the family of the fallen. This is what one calls insurance in modern terminology.

The covenant also ensured that each religious community was given autonomy in dealing with its affairs according to its religious ideals and traditions. Each was guaranteed the freedom to practice its own religious, family and personal law provided it did not infringe upon the rights of others.

The Prophet also ensured that the rights of women and weaker sections of society were secured. Additionally, he accepted the right to dissent with the covenant when four tribes of Awas refused to sign the treaty. The process of formulating the covenant was lengthy, the tribes discussed it among themselves and then all of the tribes had discourse on its salient features. It was democracy in action at the grassroots level.

So what are the lessons of Hijrah?

1.

The distinction between darul harb and darul Islam is false. Every land belongs to the creator.

2.

The divine guidance can be lived anywhere.

3.

Muslims must not isolate themselves from the society in which they live.

4.

Muslims should get involved in societies they live in.

5.

Muslims must ensure the safety and security of all citizens and should join the system to protect all.

6.

Muslims should respect the personal and family laws of others.

7.

Muslims must follow a system that secures the participation of each member of society in the decision making process.

8.

Muslims must not be entrapped by the false divisions people create on the basis of ethnicity and religion.

9.

Monotheism means that humanity should be treated as one.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016 • T H I S D AY

51

NEWSXTRA

Osoba, Uduaghan Unveil Editors’ House, Canvass Cut in Govt Spending Adesina explains how the secretariat was built

Gboyega Akinsanmi Former Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba and his Delta State counterpart, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, among others, yesterday unveiled the first secretariat of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE).

Also at the unveiling of the secretariat christened Editors’ House were the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed, Deputy Governor of Adamawa

SGF Shuns Investigative Hearing on N1.2bn IDP Funds Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir David Lawal, yesterday failed to appear before the House of Representatives Committee on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) seeking detailed account of how the N1.2 billion allocated to his office for the IDPs in the North East, was spent.

He had been expected to appear alongsides officials of the Presidential Initiative on North East (PINE) who were also expected to explain how the sum of N270 million was spent to clear grass, and provide account of the N180 million expended on Nigerian refugees in Minawao, Cameroun.

Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Sani Zorro, who was visibly irked by the absence of the SGF, said there was an urgent need to investigate why the situation of the IDPs remain dire, despite the billions allocated and released to ameliorate their situation.

“The PINE officials said he is at the villa. But as the Secretary to the Government under whose office the rehabilitation of the Northeast was placed, we had expected him to come to shed light on the financial expenses

made by his office and the implementation framework being used to spend money,” Zorro said.

The Chairman added that the committee has been inundated by reports of diversion of materials and funds meant for the rehabilitation of the IDPs, and the North East, with the ensuing embarrassing scandal for the country.

“Given the issues of credibility and integrity raised against the agency in charge of the PiNE which falls under the SGF office, we had expected him to respect the invitation of the National Assembly to shed light on grey areas,” Zorro said.

The Executive of Secretary of PINE, Mr. Umar Musa Gulani, in his submission, said the N270 million was the sum for a contract awarded for the removal of 250km of invasive plant species along river channels and simplified village irrigation scheme (phase II) in Komadugu Basin in Yobe State.

Zorro however harped on the need for the initiative to properly prioritise adding that the contract sum is not justifiable, where the IDPs experience a lack of food, medical care and shelter.

Dalung Blames In-fighting in APC on 2019 Race The Minister of Sport and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung, has said that the current crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), is largely about the ambition of some politicians for future offices.

He said the problems inherited by the party made it impossible for leaders to pay attention to party members, leading to frustration.

According to Premium Times report, the minister said this yesterday, while speaking to journalists at the national secretariat of the APC in Abuja.

“I think we should try and appreciate the chemistry of what is referred to as APC today.

APC started as amalgamation of different political groups then graduated into a mass movement and formed the government,” Mr. Dalung said.

“The significance of this was that these are political systems that are an embodiment of diverse interests.

“Now, the management of that interests is very critical, but the challenge the party

and the government is facing is that the government itself inherited a situation where it has more challenges of fixing the country, and so nothing or no good attention at all would have trickled down along the line in view of the economic constraints.

“That is enough to stir bitterness in the party and this can give birth to crisis,” he said.

The APC is currently in crisis after one of is leaders and a former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu, asked the national chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, to resign.

Mr. Tinubu accused Mr. Odigie-Oyegun of going behind the back of members of the National Working Committee to nominate Rotimi Akeredolu as the candidate of the party for the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo state.

An Appeal Committee of the party had recommended that fresh primary election for Ondo State should be conducted after the exercise that produced Mr. Akeredolu was allegedly rigged.

State, Mr. Martin Babale and his Borno State counterpart, Alhaji Usman Mamman Durkwa.

The inauguration attracted key figures in the media including Managing Director of THISDAY Newspapers Group, Mr. Eniola Bello, Special Adviser to the President, Mr. Femi Adeshina, Editor-in-Chief of Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, President of the Guild, Mrs. Funke Egbemode and the Managing Director of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) among others.

Before the secretariat was officially unveiled, Uduaghan referred to an engagement with former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, on the Platform 2016, a public discourse organised by the Covenant Christian Centre on Oct. 1 annually.

Uduaghan, who chaired the inauguration of Editors’ House, said he agreed with Obi’s position on the programme that government officials at all

Ambode urges editors to ensure objective reportage levels should cut spending in order to attend to other matters of public interests and pursue primary reasons for which they were elected.

He, also, said he agreed with Obi’s approach to public governance, which he said, had earned accolades on different social media platforms, though acknowledged that his approach might be controversial, citing the country’s tenuous political environment and people’s perception.

Beyond what people might say about any approach to cutting government spending, Uduaghan said there “must be a cut in government spending. I agree with some of Obi’s approaches to cutting government spending, but some of the approaches are controversial.”

He said some of the approaches “are controversial because after God, the lives of public officials are in the hands of cooks, security officials,

drivers and other domestic staff members. If a public official is not careful in the way he deals with these people, his life is actually at stake.”

With the current economic challenges, however, Uduaghan said it was compelling “to look for ways of cutting spending.

We can take advantage of interstate cooperation and relations irrespective of our political affiliation, religious orientation or ethnic background to get things done.

He cited practical examples of how the Delta State Government under his leadership always relied on the Rivers State Government “to get public address system.

The public address system is very expensive. So, every time we needed it, Rivers State always lent us its public system.

“Even though Edo State Governor, Comrade. Adams Oshiomole is not in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), we had robust relationship, which helped

cut spending in one way or the other. So, inter-state cooperation can be a tool of cutting spending,” Uduaghan explained.

Also at the inauguration, Adeshina conveyed the goodwill message of President Muhammadu Buhari to the Guild, the highest professional body in Nigerian journalism and explained how the idea of Editors’ House was conceived when he indicated interest in its leadership.

The special adviser explained that he promised to build a befitting secretariat while contesting for the presidency of the Guild in 2013, though was uncertain of how the idea could be realised.

After winning the election in Ibadan, Adeshina noted that the Guild put together a fund-raising dinner, which he said, really helped “to raise some funds used to purchase Editors’ House and a parcel of land in Abuja.”

IN SEARCH OF ELUSIVE CHANGE

L-R; Minister of lnformation,Culture and Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Dr. Garba Abari, and Founder, lnstitute for National Transformation, Prof. Vincent Anigbogu, at the unveiling of the ‘Change Begin With Me’ in Lagos...yesterday Abiodun Ajala

Eminent Nigerians Brokered Peace between Sheriff, Makarfi Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The recent peace accord reached between the two warring groups in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may have been brokered by prominent Nigerians and personalities who are nonmembers of the party.

A revelation to this effect came to light yesterday when the National Secretary of the Senator Sheriff faction, Prof.

Wale Oladipo explained that very eminent and committed non-partisan Nigerians waded in to broker understanding between the two party leaders.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja on the progress so far made in the reconciliation process, Oladipo said both Sheriff and Makarfi have agreed to set up a 24-man joint reconciliation committee to finalise the peace deal.

“Eminent and committed Nigerians, some of them completely apolitical, waded

in behind the scene, initiated a peace accord that came into effect between Sheriff and Makarfi. The two leaders have agreed that a 24- man committee of committed PDP leaders and members from all over the country, will be formed to chart the way forward for our party,” he said.

Oladipo said that the crisis rocking the PDP as reached a stage where it was beginning to threaten the survival of democracy in the country, hence the rally by concerned eminent Nigerians whose names were not mentioned to save the party from collapse.

He said following the initial understanding, the two leaders have agreed that a 24-man committee of committed PDP leaders and members from all over the country be formed to chart the way forward for our party.

Oladipo who said that Sheriff ‘is away on a foreign

trip however promised that committee will be inaugurated very soon so that PDP can bounce back to reckoning.

“This is with the view to bringing this unnecessary crisis to a stop and making sure that the party comes out of it stronger. We are working to select the twelve members that would join the other twelve to find peace. The chairman (Sheriff) who is out of town is in constant touch with relevant stakeholders.”

He added that their group will make known the 12 members when the other side would have been consulted.

“We want a holistic solution that would stand the test of time, we are selecting people of timbre and calibre and there is no point preempting their work,” he said.

He said the role of the 24-man committee will be to unify the party and return the people who had left it On the minimum standard of

concessions that will be made by the side, Oladipo stated that there would not be any need for the committee to be rigid since the two principal gladiators Makarfi and Sheriff are not fighting to perpetuate themselves in office.

“None of the gladiators are fighting to perpetuate themselves in office. There will be give and take and when you negotiate, there will be no need to be rigid.

Oladipo said he would not be able to name a date saying it is the prerogative of the principal actors, Makarfi and Sheriff to name a date for the inauguration committee.

On the just concluded Edo governorship election, the national secretary stated that the party was not giving up as there were people already handling that while saying their performance was not bad as Edo people craved and voted for change of the status quo in the state.

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Senate Begins Probe of Mismanagement of N328bn N’Delta Amnesty Fund Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja Six years after the inauguration of Niger Delta’s Presidential Amnesty Programme, the Senate yesterday commenced investigation into the utilisation of N328 billion budgeted for the smooth running of the programme since 2009.

The amnesty programme was initiated in 2009 by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua to rehabilitate disarmed militants who had been involved in massive vandalisation of oil pipelines as well as kidnap of expatriates operating in the region and consequently integrate them into the society.

Even though the programme had helped a number of disarmed militants to acquire education and various vocational skills since 2009, there had in recent times been allegations of corruption and mismanagement of resources allocated for the programme by its handlers.

These allegations prompted the Senate to mandate its Niger Delta Committee to conduct a public hearing on the handling of the funds for amnesty programme since inception.

While declaring the public hearing open yesterday, Senate President, Bukola Saraki recalled that it was exactly six years ago that the programme took off as he described the timing of the public hearing as a perfect time.

Saraki who recalled that the programme was designed to last for only three years, raised a number of rhetorical questions, which included why the programme had not achieved

target goals six years after and why corruption inherent in it should be exposed through the hearing.

“The time of this hearing is a perfect time. Amnesty started six years ago and the purpose was to ensure the true development of Niger Delta and create opportunities for youths.

Six years down the line, have we achieved the objectives? Have conditions improved? Has pipeline vandalisation improved?

How has the money been spent?

Until we find answers to these questions, we ‘ll be postponing the evil day.

“Six years down the line, we are back to vandalisation.

Militancy is back. Can we conclude that the programme has brought the desired result? If no, why? What is the problem? Is it corruption? Who’s responsible?

What is to be done? The truth must be told. We must expose those behind it for the sake of the youths. We can’t be here and speak for hours when there is no peace in Niger Delta...We ‘all be culpable if we keep quiet,” Saraki said.

In his address, the committee chairman, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, recalled that the amnesty programme was designed to create a better and more progressive programmes to better the lots of Niger Delta youths on one hand and the economic prosperity of Nigeria on the other hand, noting that “economic prosperity of the country is partly tied to peace and security of the Niger Delta region.”

He also recalled how the

FG Launches ‘Change Begins With Me’ Initiative, Partners Private Sector SundayOkobiandAbdulkareem Azeezat The federal government yesterday launched the ‘Change Begins With Me’ Initiative, calling on the private sector to buy into the campaign in an effort to correct the anomaly in the Nigerian system, including the business environment.

At the launch which took place in Lagos, the Minister of Information and Culture,Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who unveiled the campaign, stated that with the way the value system in the country has degenerated, which has resulted in the mess in the country is today, “there is no better time to launch the initiative than now.”

He noted that the initiative has actually started long ago, but that there is need to bring it to Nigerians particularly the private sector because as long as Nigerians refuse to toe the line of integrity and honesty, the private sector will never have dedicated workforce The minister said the partnership with the sector is a win-win situation as any money spent on the campaign, will be recoup through quality airtime on NTA and FRCN. According to him, “I think the purpose of this initiative is that we need a national rebirth; we need to change the way we do things and

imbibe in our people the culture of integrity, honesty and good morals in every facet of life.

“What we are saying is that the problem in Nigeria is not just about bribery and corruption by public officers, we are saying that everybody must have contributed in one way or the other to where we have found ourselves-the pharmacist who sells fake drugs, the bus driver who drives under the influence of alcohol, the market woman who uses false weighting equipment to sell products thereby cheating customers; the doctor who does not put his patients before the money, the public officer who is not diligent in his job, the agitators who has little or no respect for government properties.

“Everybody must change the way we look at things and that is the essence of this. We brought this to the private sector because we believe that there have more to gain from a Nigeria that is reborn from a Nigeria with sound moral values because a Nigeria with sound moral values will get worth again and will be diligent and productive, and at the end of the day, the balance sheet of the corporate company will improve, and this will go a long way in determining the growth and development of Nigeria.

core mandates of the amnesty programme included disarming militants who “engaged the federal government in a struggle to control the region’s natural resources with the consequences of heavy disruptions of oil and gas business, leading to massive economic losses.”

Other mandates of Amnesty Programme as highlighted by Nwaoboshi were demilitarisation of the militant youths in the region‚ aged between 15-39 years; rehabilitation and sustainable reintegration of the ex-militants into the society with acquired skills or training of various sorts.

However, Nwaoboshi who added that the programme was targeted at 30,000 ex-militants in the Niger Delta with a view to guaranteeing peace and security in the region, lamented that the programme had now been compromised, while full blown militancy had returned to the region.

“Indeed, in order to realise these laudable objectives, the then federal government and subsequent governments devoted massive financial and material resources to pursue the agenda of the Amnesty Programme. No doubt, the programme recorded some Ievel of successes as the nation and the Niger Delta region in particular had enjoyed a relative peace and say, moderate stable economic activities and public order until recently.

“Yes, until recently, because of media reports, it does appear that the objectives of the amnesty programme have been compromised and failing to actualise those lofty goals.

As we speak, restiveness has returned to the region, our youths are back to the creeks, some have returned to the country without completing their trainings; the trained ones cannot find employment, companies are leaving the region,

pipeline and other strategic national infrastructure are being destroyed and the national crude oil output drastically reduced.

If we take into account the crashed price of crude oil in the international market, we would then appreciate the impact of these on the Nigerian economy.

“It is in light of the above scenario that this public hearing is imperative. Therefore, this stock taking today is to tell ourselves the obvious truth; and the two key burning questions we should be asking about the amnesty programme, which has operated as an interventionist entity for over seven years are: what are the things we did right?

And what did we do wrong?” he queried.

The guest speaker at the occasion, Chief Jasper Jombo, lamented perceived misplacement of priority in the execution of the amnesty programme. According to him, the amnesty programme ought

to consist of various value adding programmes such as agriculture, industrialisation and property development.

He bemoaned the exclusion of various youngsters who were victims of militancy in Niger Delta, arguing that it was wrong of the programme to target only repentant militants without taking into cognizance the interests of children who lost their fathers or mothers or displaced by militancy.

However, Jombo who alleged that handlers of the programme had not done well, shocked the gathering when he claimed that his community was suffering from underdevelopment without any access road and yet disclosed that he executed a N2 billion contract for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). He threatened to cause trouble if his money was not paid within one week.

PROBING THE AMNESTY PROGRAMME

L-R: Senate Leader, Ali Ndume; Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and Vice- Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta, Baba Kaka Garbai, at the official opening of a two-day public hearing on the activities of the Presidential Amnesty Programme held in Abuja...yesterday Julius Atoi

No Nation Survives Religious War, Says Sultan Paul Obi inAbuja The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar III, yesterday called on religious leaders to teach their adherents to embrace peace and eschew violence, given that no nation can survive a war in the name of religion.

Speaking at the end of a three-day conference organised by the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) in collaboration with the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) and the Interfaith Mediation Centre (IMC) in Abuja, the President General of the Nigeria Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) called on religious leaders to teach their adherents to embrace peace.

The Sultan cautioned that the consequences of a religious war will be severe and will have negative effect on the nation.

He said: “We have seen what religious violence has done to other nations. We must do everything to encourage our Muslim and

Christian members to embrace peace. No nation can survive any form of war that is waged in the name of religion. Both religions preach peace.

“As religious leaders we should be seen encouraging peace for development. I hope that after this conference organised by KAICIID and the IPCR, in partnership with IMC , we shall continue to remind ourselves on the need for peace and forge a common front toward religious understanding.

“We have no option, but to live in peace. Our religious leaders must teach their followers on the need for peace. We cannot continue to live in violence and bloodshed and expect development,” the Sultan added.

But in a communiqué signed by KAICIID Nigeria Country expert, Joseph Tanko Atang, the Director General of KAICIID International Dialogue Centre and Institute for Peace and Conflict resolution, (IPCR), Mr Fahad Abualnasr and Prof. Oshita Oshita they applauded the commitment of

religious leaders in charting the path of interfaith unity, which is critical for peace, security and sustainable development.

According to the communique, “participants resolved to promote interfaith platforms for religious scholars and leaders; foster religious freedom; partner with media to promote conflict-sensitive reporting on religion; explore legislative and other measures to curb hate speech; create opportunities for increased interfaith education: and work towards removing discrimination, among others.”

President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev Dr Samson Supo Ayokunle on his part bemoaned the insurgency in the country, saying that, “When I was elected CAN President, I wrote to the Sultan and told him of the willingness of CAN to work with Muslims in order to promote peace in the country. Lack of trust and mutual understanding must be dealt with.

“There are more common

issues that unite us than issues that divide us. In the atmosphere of destruction, there will be no progress from both sides. We must seek for peace and attain it for the development of our country,” the CAN President stated.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hajiya Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim, speaking through Ambassador A. U Bako, commended KAICIID and other partners for organizing the event. The minister noted that the country cannot achieve peace in an atmosphere of conflict. She called on Nigerians to leverage on the nation’s diversity for development.

KAICIID Senior Advisor, Prof. Mohammed Abu-Nimer stated that the “conference has provided a platform for genuine interaction among participants. I hope the gains of this engagement will continue to manifest in promoting peace among Christian ad Muslims in Nigeria.”

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Tariff Increase: N’Assembly Passes Bill Imposing N500,000 Fine on Discos Amends Utility Charges Commission Act

Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja Henceforth, electricity distribution companies (Discos), generating companies (Gencos) and water boards,

which unilaterally increase tariffs without consulting the regulatory commissions will pay a fine of N500,000 for a single offence.

This new fine, contained

Nigeria’s Active Mobile Telephone Lines Hit 222.70m, Says NCC The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), yesterday stated that the number of mobile telephone lines in Nigeria stood at 222, 695,990 as at the end of August.

The commission said this in the August edition of its monthly “Subscriber Data’’ publication.

The report stated that in July, the number of lines was 222,440,207, and increased by 255, 783 lines in August.

According to the data, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network services in August rose to 222,695,990 compared to July, which was 222,440,207.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators had 3,608,272 active users in August, indicating a decline of 3, 654 from 3,611,926 customers recorded in July.

The report also revealed that

connected Fixed Wired/Wireless networks’ consumers increased to 349,185 in August, rising by 252 subscribers from the July figure of 348,933.

It showed that Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) had 32,925 in August as against 19,420 in July, representing an increase of 13,505.

For tele-density of the country’s telecommunications industry, it indicated an increase of 109.14 per cent in August, from 107.33 per cent in the preceding month.

The tele-density statistics measures the percentage of a country’s population with access to telecommunication services as determined from subscribers’ data.

Nigeria’s tele-density is currently calculated based on a population of 140 million by NCC, using the 2006 census figures.

Senate begins screening of NCC nominees

in the amendment to Utility Charges Commission (Amendment) Act 2004, passed by the Senate yesterday, implied 4,900 per cent increase from the existing N10,000 fine in the original Act. The bill had earlier been passed by the House of Representatives. Speaking on the astronomical increase of the fine, Deputy Senate Leader, Ibn Na’Allah, said the amendment was done to reflect the current realities.

The sections amended to reflect the new fine in the existing law include sections 7 (2), 11 (5) and 13 (2).

As from the commencement of this Act, a scheduled Utility intending in vary or increase its

charges, tariff or rates shall first seek the commision’s approval for such permissible increase.

“A person who contravenes the provisions of sub-section one of this section commits an offence under this Act and is liable on conviction to a fine of N500,000,” the amendment read.

The Senate also passed 11 other bills in concurrence with the House of Representatives.

They are: Defence Space Agency Bill, Agricultural Credit Scheme Act (Amendment) Bill, University of Abuja (Amendment) Bill, Chattered Institute of Stock Brokers Act (Amendment) Bill and Treaty to Establish African Economic Community Relating to Pan

African Parliament Bill.

Others are National Judicial Institute Act (Amendment) Bill, Endangered Species Act (Amendment) Bill, Quantity Surveyors Act (Amendment) Bill, Advertising Practitioners Act (Amendment) Bill, Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act (Amendment) Bill and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Development Agency (Amendment) Bill.

Also yesterday, the Senate asked its Committee on Communications to commence the screening of Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye and six others as chairman-designate and prospective commissioners in the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC).

The mandate was sequel to a recent letter from President Muhammadu Buhari to the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, urging the Senate to confirm the nominees in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Other nominees on the list besides Durojaiye are Sunday Dare, Executive Commissioner (stakeholders’ management); Aliyu Saidu Abubakar, (North-east); Clement Omeiza Baiye (North-central); Okoi Ofem Obono Obla (Southsouth); Pastor Ezekiel Yissa (North-central) and Senator Ifeanyi Ararume (South-east) as nonexecutive commissioners.

A’Court Rejects Injunction Stopping Installation of New Oba of Benin Adibe Emenyonu in Benin A Court of Appeal in Benin has rejected an injunction filed by one Rich Arisco-Osemwingie, to stop the installation of Crown Prince Eheneden Erediauwa, the Edaiken N’Uselu as the new Oba of Benin.

The Edo State Government had filed a criminal charge against Arisco-Osemwengie and others sometime ago after the latter ascribed to himself, the Ogiamien of Utantan Benin nation, which the state government described as an attempt to usurp the powers of the Oba of Benin and wage communal war.

In aparent defiance, AriscoOsemwengie went to the High Court, filed suit against the Edo State Government, the Benin Traditional Council and others, arguing that the charge before the Magistrate Court is above the powers of the Edo State Government and trying to set aside the chieftaincy edict in Edo State which makes the Ogiamien a chief in the palace of the Oba of Benin.

After Osemwnegie filed the suit at the High Court, Counsel to the Edo State Government and others, Augustine Alegeh (SAN), filed a notice of preliminary objection, saying the suit is “status barred”, and that Rich Arisco-Osemwengie and others have no locus standi to institute the suit and that

the suit does not disclose any reasonable cause of action.

Consequently, the presiding judge at the High Court 7, Benin City, Justice Ahamoje, earlier this year, ruled against Counsel to the Edo State Government and others on the matter.

Thereafter, Counsel to the Edo State Government, Alegeh filed a notice of Appeal at the Court of Appeal, Benin City, saying that the trial Judge erred in his ruling, urging the court to reverse the decision.

At the hearing yesterday, Counsel to Arisco-Osemwengie and others, G.E. Oaikhena Esq, informed the court of his application seeking for an injunction to stop the installation of the new Oba which is slated for October 20, 2016, on the ground that the re-enactment of the Ekiagbado treaty which they claimed the Ogiemien family is supposed to be part of is not included in the programme of event for the installation of the Oba. Oaikhena’s motion elicited legal fireworks from the Councels to the Governor of Edo State and others, Alegeh (SAN), Chief Charles Uwensuyi Edosomwan (SAN), Omoruyi Omonuwa (SAN), when Alegeh informed the court that it had earlier ordered that the motion should abide by the judgment of the court, and therefore cannot be heard.

DEFEND WITH INTEGRITY

Vice PresidentYemi Osinbajo at the 27th convocation ceremony of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) handling out certificate to one of the graduating cadets in Kaduna...yesterday

London Trial: Ibori Calls for Independent Inquiry into Justice Perversion Case resumes in London Friday

Former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori’s trial will resume today at the Southwark Crown Court in London under David Tomlinson to enable the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) led by Jonathon Kinnear and Mike Newbold to set out its position in relation to the recent National Crime Agency (NCA) Review.

A statement issued by Ibori’s Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor, yesterday, said the review was an internal investigation into the allegations

by Ibori’s counsel that some people who investigated and prosecuted Ibori and his associates were corrupt and that the CPS erred terribly by withholding pertinent materials from the defence team and misled the court.

For instance, he said: “It is now totally clear that the NCA, which investigated the corruption allegation against the

Police officers, is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), the same body that funded the original Ibori and Gohil investigations.

“The same DFID also funded the CPS (the prosecutors), so it is difficult for a DFID-funded body to indict a sister DFIDfunded body, especially after it has been established that the same DFID signed an agreement with Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that it will have a first line payment of $25 million from any money confiscated from Ibori, before it is repatriated to Nigeria, if Ibori’s conviction is achieved in any way.

“So there is a clear conflict of interest as the DFID, through its various arms, has been engaged in a bounty hunt.”

The statement, moreover, noted that NCA is the same body, which oversees the Proceeds of Corruption section

where DC McDonald worked when he investigated Ibori.

“Thus, NCA would be effectively investigating itself and clearing itself prematurely, despite continuing and outstanding disclosure, because McDonald is tainted over corruption charges and as a result, dropped from the Ibori and its related cases,” it stated.

Eleumunor stated that Ibori’s counsel would attack the report of the alleged tainted review because the CPS has no basis to suggest that the convictions of Ibori, Gohil and others are ‘safe’. “This is the function of the Court of Appeal. The CPS has tried to prejudice the defendants’ position in the public domain by making that claim, thereby playing its usual game of trying to manipulate the court,” it added.

He condemned the CPS’ stand that its report should be kept away from the media.

According to him, “This is another attempt at media manipulation because the mass media should be entitled to receive the disclosed and highly incriminating material and to expose the magnitude of the corruption in these cases, so that people should judge the level of malfeasance involved in the judicial persecution that Ibori and his associates have been facing for years now.

“Most of all, Ibori’s team hereby calls for independent investigation (public enquiry) into the police corruption and prosecutorial misconduct and why it was permitted to happen, including the systematic misleading of the various courts and the Court of Appeal. This is the only way to expose the extent of the corruption and to ensure that it does not happen again in future.”

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Ghana Starts Fuel Exports to Nigeria, Others In a development bound to bring shame to Africa biggest oil producer, Ghana has started exporting fuel and gas oil to Nigeria, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali from the Bolgatanga Petroleum Depot run by the state-owned Bulk Oil Storage and Transport (BOST) Company Limited.

Ghana’s Minister of Petroleum, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, made this known yesterday at press briefing in Accra, adding that there were plans to extend the exports to Liberia in the coming months.

The minister said the vision of the government was to make Ghana the hub for the distribution of petroleum products in the West African

sub-region.

The Bolgatanga Petroleum Depot, with a capacity of 46 million litres of refined gasoline and gas oil, was re-inaugurated in August 2015.

Buah said Ghana had been ushered into a new gas era that would guarantee its energy security for the next two decades.

“Despite the global downturn in the oil industry, we have managed to increase production.

“Ghanaians have been empowered to be at the forefront of the industry and a liberalised petroleum downstream sector with strong private sector participation where product availability, competition, better customer

service and lower prices are making Ghana the preferred destination for doing business in the sub-region,” he said.

He said the Ghana Gas Company (Ghana Gas) had completed the extension of its pipeline to the battery limit of the West Africa Gas Pipeline Company’s (WAPCo’s) Regulatory and Metering Station at Aboadze

and indicated that Ghana Gas was awaiting WAPCo to interconnect.

“In the long term, a 290-km onshore pipeline to ensure gas supply reliability and downstream infrastructure expandability is planned.

“Additional volumes will, in the long term, provide the opportunity for Ghana to realise its vision to utilise

gas for the other industrial uses, beyond power generation, such as fertiliser and petrochemicals,” he said.

Buah said Ghana’s strategic stock was at an all-time high, with about one million metric tonnes of petroleum products imported from January to June 2016.

He said the feat was chalked up following the restructuring

of BOST, which had been successful in ensuring the availability of petroleum products in the country.

“The restructuring of BOST has resulted in a turnaround in the performance of this strategic national asset which is now successfully fulfilling its mandate of ensuring the availability of petroleum products,” he said.

IJAW YOUTHS ACCUSE BUHARI OF FREEZING JONATHAN’S ACCOUNTS with inscriptions such as “Leave Patience Jonathan alone”, “LNG must be bought by Bonny people”, “If you must probe, all first ladies must be probed”, “We need projects not soldiers”, “Unfreeze Jonathan’s accounts”.

While speaking during the protest, Eradiri added, “We appeal to Buhari to respect Jonathan the way he respects other past presidents.

“They have frozen his account; they are not paying his allowances. Even the security agents around him do not get what is due to them. Why is the Presidency victimising Goodluck Jonathan?

“Patience Jonathan is not the only first lady in this country. A wife to a former deputy governor, governor, vice-president and president, are you expecting her to be a poor woman? There are other first ladies in this country.

“In recent times, a former first lady was awarded a university license. So, we are using this medium to send a message, leave our first family alone.

Some people are not happy about Jonathan’s rising profile and they want to destroy it.”

The Ijaw youth leader also called for the resumption of work at the Maritime University, Delta State, noting that the Buhari’s aides were misreading his “body language”.

However, Mr. Elvis Donkemezuo, leader of another faction of the IYC distanced his group from the protest, describing it as “shameless”.

“We, the executives and members of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) worldwide write to distance ourselves and to unequivocally condemn the shameless and most disgraceful protests staged earlier today (Thursday) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

“It was carried out by some paid political jobbers led by the embattled former interim president of the IYC, Udengs Eradiri against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“While we would not in any way countenance the use of our anti-graft agencies or any other institutions of the state to unjustly persecute anyone, we, the IYC under the able leadership of Elvis Donkemezuo find it quite appalling that any reasonable Nigerian or Ijaw person would

march on the streets of any city to pressure the EFCC to abandon any of its ongoing investigations against anyone, no matter how highly placed.

“For the record, our mother, the former first lady, Patience Jonathan, is not the only Nigerian or Ijaw person under EFCC investigation.

“So we find it quite curious and to say the least disturbing that these profiteers are trying to surreptitiously drag the good name of the IYC that has been built and earned over many years with the sacrifice of many Ijaw patriots, into this ignominious affair.

“We therefore call on all Nigerians and most especially the media to totally disregard these latest shenanigans of Udengs Eradiri and his co-travellers who have only helped in vindicating our position that they are only influenced and driven by pecuniary gains,” he said.

Also reacting to the allegation made by the faction of the IYC, the president’s media aide, Mr. Garba Shehu said it was not possible for Buhari to have given the directive for the bank of accounts of the former president to be frozen.

Speaking to THISDAY yesterday, Shehu said: “Claims by the demonstrators that allowances have been stopped and accounts were frozen are patently untrue.

“Checks with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and the investigation agencies show clearly that the former the president and the other past leaders were paid their allowances up to the second quarter of this year.

“Dr. Jonathan along with the others have not, however been paid their allowances due in third quarter but will get their dues when remittances are received by the SGF from the Ministry of Finance.

“The story of account closure is a fairy tale. It is not known to the investigation agencies.

“To put it starkly, we believe there is clear motive for the demonstration, different and far removed from that which is being claimed.

“This is a premeditated and unabashed attempt to blame the president for something he knows nothing about. These claims are false and poorly sourced to present a picture of vendetta against a fair and a just president.”

ENDORSED TO LEAD EDO

L-R: Chairman, Edo State All Progressives Congress (APC), Anselm Ojezuwa; Edo State Deputy Governor-elect, Philip Shiubu, and Governor-elect, Godwin Obaseki, after receiving certificates of return from INEC in Benin City...yesterday

Dasuki’s Lawyer Asks Buhari to Obey ECOWAS Court Judgment Tobi Soniyi in Abuja A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Alhaji Ahmed Raji has advised the federal government to respect and obey the judgment of the Economic Community of West African States Court of Justice, ordering the immediate release of former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki rtd.

Dasuki who has been in the custody of the federal government since December last year, got a reprieve from the regional court, which also imposed a fine of N15million on government for illegal and arbitrary detention of the applicant.

Raji who spoke with newsmen in Abuja said that Nigeria as a respected member of ECOWAS and the International Community was expected to honour its obligations to the protocols establishing the court by complying with its order.

The lawyer, who is also defending Dasuki in all the charges filed against him, said that the spirit invoked in the acceptance of the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the disputed oil-rich Bakassi Land must be rekindled in the decision of the ECOWAS Court.

Raji explained that ECOWAS Court was not a domestic court, its sitting in Nigeria notwithstanding, adding that

complying with the order of the court would further boost the confidence of international investors to invest in the country.

He warned that should the federal government turn deaf ears to the court’s verdict, foreign investors would be wary of doing business with the country, not to talk of coming down to establish business ventures.

He said: “I am appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari to facilitate immediate compliance with the ECOWAS Court decision. I am also appealing to the presidential aides, especially the Chief Law Officer of the Federation Mallam Abubakar Malami SAN and the heads of the intelligence units to advise the President properly.

“The order of the court cannot be ridiculed and Nigeria, as a democratic nation, cannot afford to ridicule the court order in the interest of the corporate image of the country.”

The lawyer expressed happiness that the allegation of coup plot and waging war against Nigerians brought against Dasuki at the court by government to justify his unlawful detention was not sustained since Dasuki was not charged with treason.

Besides, Raji also said that the allegation of non purchase of arms and ammunition against Dasuki had not been substantiated because the records were there that several towns

Appeal Court Reserves Judgment in Saraki’s Suit to Set Aside CCT Ruling Tobi Soniyi in Abuja The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has reserved judgement in the appeal filed

by Senate President, Bukola Saraki, challenging his trial at the Code of conduct Tribunal (CCT), over alleged false and anticipatory declaration of assets.

Justice Abdul Aboki, who presided, said judgment would be delivered on a date that would be communicated to the parties. is contending in the appeal that the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) did not give him the opportunity to react to the alleged discrepancies in his assets declaration form he submitted to the bureau before charges were filed against him.

Saraki is also challenging the jurisdiction of the CCT to try him on charges bordering on false and anticipatory assets declaration, operating foreign accounts and receiving the salary of a governor after his tenure elapsed.

He asked the appeal court to set aside the ruling of the tribunal dismissing his application challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal to entertain the case against him.

He had alleged that he was not given fair hearing before he was charged before the tribunal.

At the hearing yesterday,

Saraki’s counsel, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN told the fivemember panel that Saraki’s statement ought to form part of the evidence before the tribunal.

He said, “If you bring an accused to court without his statement, it can do damage to his case. A pre-action notice is not unconstitutional. The tribunal had been told to apply the same procedure it adopted in similar cases. Legislation is subject to judicial challenge. If it is a precedent, my client can’t be treated differently.

“Failure to follow this earlier decision is fatal to the case of the accused. It is not in the interest of justice that you bring a man to court 13 years after he had left office. Only the CCB can file action at the CCT and not the EFCC or ICPC.” On his part, counsel to the Federal Government, Mr. Rotimi Jacob (SAN) asked the court to dismiss the appeal for lacking in merit.

“I urge this court to hold that this appeal lacks merit and should be dismissed. Once the CCB finds an infraction in an asset declaration form, the onus is on the defendant to prove his innocence before the tribunal.

The issue of fair hearing does not appear in this case”, Jacobs added.

Saraki’s earlier appeal had been rejected by both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

55

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016

FRIDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

2 0 1 8 W O R L D C U P Q UA L I F I E R

Mikel: We Are Ready for Zambia Challenge Eagles to fly into Ndola Saturday to improve head-to-head against Chipolopolo Duro Ikhazuagbe Super Eagles Captain, John Mikel Obi, reassured Nigerians yesterday that the team is ready for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification battle against Zambia’s Chipolopolo.

“We are all looking forward to the qualifying matches, starting with Sunday’s game in Zambia.

Each and every one of us knows what it means – big battles that we have to win. We are ready for the challenge,” stressed the Chelsea FC player as Eagles round up preparations for the trip to take on Zambia on Sunday, October 9.

Algeria’s Desert Foxes are Eagles next opponents on November 12 before four more matches in the qualification series next year.

Mikel is unfazed by Zambia skipper, Rainford Kalaba’s boasts of the Chipolopolo picking all three points at stake in the Russia 2018 qualification opener.

“Our target is to make the party to the World Cup in Russia. We cannot afford to be complacent.

That is why this first game against Zambia, just like all the other matches mean so much to us (players),” stre.ssed Mikel who defied all odds to lead Nigeria’s Under-23 team to Olympic bronze medal in Brazil last August With superior head-to-head against the Chipolopolo, Eagles are committed to improving Nigeria’s superior record against Zambia at senior international level, Nigeria has won six of 16 previous matches with Zambia at international level, drawing five and losing five.

Zambia walloped Nigeria 5-1 in the first-ever encounter, a 1974 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match in Lusaka on July 15, 1973.

Nigeria’s 3-2 win in the return leg in Lagos two weeks later was of no effect.

Both teams battled to a 0-0 draw in Accra at the 1978 Cup of Nations, but Zambia then gained two successive 3-0 wins over Nigeria – a friendly in Lusaka in 1981 and a group phase clash at the 1982 Africa Cup of Nations in Libya.

However, the Zambians have not beaten the Eagles in a competitive match in the past 31 years.

Nigeria edged a memorable Africa Cup of Nations final in Tunis in 1994, and then prevailed over the Zambians 5-4 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the quarter-finals of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola. None of the 16 previous clashes was a World Cup qualifying match.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian delegation to Zambia will depart from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Saturday.

NFF officials confirmed yesterday that the team will arrive in time for an evening training session at the Levy Nwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.

Apart from the 23 players and 15 team officials that will be on the flight, there will be some top officials of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports, some members of the National Assembly, few members of the NFF Executive Committee and Management, some NFF staff

StarTimes Broadcasts 200 W/Cup Qualifier Games LIVE! Football loving Nigerians can watch their European football heroes in sizzling-hot super sporting actions and enjoy maximum sporting entertainment as digital TV network, StarTimes Nigeria has concluded plans to broadcast LIVE and exclusively over 200 matches of the European Zone of the Russia 2018 World Cup Qualifiers.

StarTimes Head of Public Relations, Israel Bolaji, said the European Zone qualifier is an exciting competition amongst all European countries who are renowned football dynamos, all fighting for glory and places in

the forthcoming FIFA World Cup. Starting with the live broadcasts of Match-day1 games in September 2016, StarTimes network continued the service yesterday with all 39 games for Match-day 2 (19 matches) & Match-day 3 (20 matches) on the card to be televised live.

The cracker between Italy and Spain, then Portugal and Andorra, Belgium and Bosnia, France and Bulgaria, England and Malta, Poland battling Denmark and Germany versus Czech where the old rivalries are re-ignited are all for StarTimes subscribers to enjoy.

NSA Salutes Enugu Rangers on NPFL Title Unmissable Incentives Limited – organisers of the Nigerian Sports Award has congratulates Enugu Rangers International Football Club for winning the 2015/2016 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

In congratulating the Club, popularly called the ‘Flying Antelopes’, which thrashed El Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri 4-0 during the final match of the season played at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu, broking a 32-year jinx to win

the League Trophy, since they last won it in 1984, the Executive Director, Unmissable Incentives Limited, Mr. Kayode Idowu hailed their perseverance and doggedness throughout the matches leading up to this remarkable victory.

The newly crowned champion finished the league with 63 points, three points ahead of second-placed Rivers United who defeated Akwa United 2-1 in Uyo, winning its 7th League Trophy.

and some stakeholders including media representatives.

“We have allocated slots to some stakeholders because it is a chartered flight and a number of seats are available after the players and team officials have taken their seats.

“The NFF is not paying anybody for being on the trip. We don’t have the money. All the stakeholders on the trip will be there simply to support the team during the game. We have told the persons involved that they will pay for their own board and lodging, and they have accepted to do that,” said NFF 2nd Vice President, Shehu Dikko.

Dikko, who is also chairman of the League Management Company, further stressed: “In the near future, we would look at the possibility of commercialising this kind of opportunity. If you give out, say 80 seats, to persons who can pay for them on 145-seater aircraft, you can raise some good money for the team. It is a practice firmly in place in some climes.”

Mikel on duty against Tanzania last month

Amapakabo Not for Sale, Says Enugu Govt Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu Amidst pressure from some national and international club owners seeking the services Head Coach of Rangers International Football Club, Imama Amapakabo, Enugu State Government yesterday declared its intention to retain the gaffer who led the Flying Antelopes to end 32-year wait for a major title.

Rangers won the 2015/2016 Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) title in grand style last Sunday after mauling hard-fighting El Kanemi Warriors Football Club of Maiduguri 4-0.

Enugu State Commissioner for Sports, Charles Ndukwe, told newsmen that the victorious coach was not available despite the fact that his previous contract ended with the season. He told

clubs seeking his signature to look elsewhere.

He said the coach would lead Rangers Club to victory in the CAF Champions League.

Ndukwe said the state government was not ready to let him go, stressing that it has so much confidence in his abilities to lead the club to victory in the continental championship next season.

The commissioner said the state would do all in its power to retain the coach as well as players for the 2016/2017 professional league and other engagements.

“Imama (Amapakabo) came as coach in the mid season. He was interviewed as well as other coaches. He signed a one year contract with Rangers. Unless on his own volition makes up his mind that he is no longer

Heartland Fined N3m, Relegated

The Plateau team also fined N1m for unruly supporters Heartland FC and Plateau United have been sanctioned for various infractions of the rules which happened during their Match-day 38 fixture last Sunday in Jos. The League Management Company (LMC) following a review of reports and video of the match issued separate Summary Jurisdiction Notices to the clubs.

In the case against Heartland, the LMC charged the club for breach of B13.26 in that they failed to continue with a match.

Heartland was fined N3,000,000 and a forfeiture of the three points and three goals which were awarded to Plateau United.

Players of Heartland abandoned their match against Plateau United

on the 75th minute following a dispute with the match referee’s call. Scores were 1-1 at the time but the decision meant Heartland lost the match 3-0.

It also officially confirms the relegation of the Owerri-based club which also has the option of appearing before a commission within 48hours.

In the charge against Plateau United, their supporters were cited for throwing objects on to the field of play which led to delay in the start of the second half, an act considered a breach of Rule B13.18.

For the breach, the LMC fined Plateau United N1,000,000 and the club has 48hours to submit to the ruling or elect to appear before a commission.

with Rangers, all those looking for him are wasting their time.

Imama on his own is making arrangements of settling his family here.

“Nobody holds the ace alone and there is no success that can come to anybody alone. Imama is a wonderful coach, he is a good guy and I love his stubbornness, he is not somebody you can push around, he does whatever he wants to do. We value him but I don’t know why the media is making it to look as if Imama is indispensable. As you are saying all these, you are making Imama look like someone who does not value what Enugu State Government has done for him.

“We appreciate him so much and we want to assure all that he is not going anywhere. We have a player in the hospital and he

has been calling to know how the young man is doing. We are aware that it was the national team that took him to Abuja, so when the media is saying he has gone to South Africa; he has gone to everywhere, that is not true. Those saying he is former coach of Rangers are doing so to encourage those looking to sign him.

“This trophy has eluded us for 32 years. It does not mean that those people who were there did not do their best, only God knows why it has to come now. I am very sure that Imama seeing this trophy here and the team going on continental want to be part of that team that he loves so much. All I want to say is that those looking for Imama should keep their money.

Imama is not for sale. He is not available,” stressed Ndukwe.

PGAN Announces Partnership with BJ Promotions Professional Golfers Association of Nigeria (PGAN) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BJ International Promotions as marketing partner for Tour events.

PGA Director, Samson Lawal, who spoke at the event said, the development was part of the association’s effort at reaching more stakeholders for an improved tour.

“It is no doubt that with the Tour we will have a hold on the continent. This is evident in the number of countries that our members are drawn from.

Only the Sunshine Tour in South Africa can rival us in this capacity.

“But that is not to say we have all things perfect yet. Partners like the BJ International are people we are working with to drive our brand and deepen our deliverables for our members and all stakeholders,” he said

Lawal, who took over the helms of affairs of the professional body earlier in March, 2016 said he hopes to leave the PGA of Nigeria better than he met it.

Chairman of BJ International, Bunmi Jenyo, said the new partnership with the PGA excites his team and are already working to make the development a worthy one for both parties.

Jenyo, a businessman said his team came to the event with some experience that will propel faster development for the game.

“We have a pedigree in promoting Nigerian talents across the world in the past, although this maybe our first incursion into sports, we are hoping all our machinery will work for the good and development of the PGA,” he further assured the body’s stakeholders

Friday, October 7, 2016

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Price: N250

MISSILE Umar to Saraki

“As human beings, we are bound to make mistakes and only the almighty God is infallible... We will give an account of our deeds on earth to God on resurrection day and we must therefore be fair and just in anything we are doing while on this earth.” – Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Mr. Danladi Umar, declining an application to recuse himself from the trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki over his statement which Saraki claimed was prejudicial to his trial for false declaration of assets.

TUNJIBELLO GUEST COLUMNIST

How Tinubu Nominated Osinbajo

N

othing strengthens deceit more than silence. And on an occasion like this, one often wonders why some people twist events and history in order to legitimise a mission.

While ruminating over why this should be, it is not impossible to embark on introspection by thinking out so many possibilities that politics is replete with. This line of thought is informed by laughable events of the last few days.

The news media have become agog with false story as to how Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo came to be. During the launch of a book: ‘Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of leadership in Nigeria,’ a biography on President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Monday, 3rd October 2016, Nigerians were fed with half truths by the author, Professor John Paden, on how Osinbajo became the vice-president of the country. I don’t know how the author came about his story, but he totally got it wrong because what he wrote basically is based on falsehood that reeks of deliberate misinformation and mischief.

I know how Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu picked Vice-President Osinbajo because I was part of the process that midwifed his nomination. In mid December 2014, it was a Saturday morning after President Buhari had been picked by the All Progressives Congress (APC), at the party’s presidential primaries at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, Lagos. I received a phone call from Senator Tinubu to see him that morning.

On my way to his house, I discovered that a car at a reasonable distance was that of former Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dele Alake, who was, ostensibly, heading towards the senator’s house in Ikoyi. Senator Tinubu must have called him too for that task that could be explained underneath.

As soon as we arrived, he quickly asked us to join him in his car as we headed to a guest house. At the guest house, the former APC Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, Prof. Osinbajo and one renowned pastor joined us.

At the meeting, Senator Tinubu related to us the urgent need to pick a vice-presidential candidate for the APC. He advised that we immediately discard the idea of his being nominated for the vice-presidential slot as it was no longer possible to pick a muslim-muslim ticket. This he reasoned made sense if indeed we were to be realistic in our bid to defeat President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 election. He reasoned that what was important and imperative at that time was to look for a good Christian nominee to complement President Buhari.

Tinubu

I remember Baba Akande responded to his aversions that he would still have preferred that the senator should be the running mate since it had been done before.

Baba Akande was obviously referring to the MKO Abiola/ Babagana Kingibe nomination.

Tinubu responded by distinguishing the political equation then from what was before us at that point in time. He foreclosed that scenario as no longer possible. We all voiced our opinions, and at the end of the day, it was resolved that we had to get a Christian candidate.

It was at this point that Tinubu reminded us to be fast in coming up with an option because he felt other geographical zones are also jostling for same position reiterating the need for the South-west to get it as a must. He audaciously told us for that left for him, and if he were to pick anyone, he would suggest Prof. Osinbajo. That Osinbajo, apart from being a brilliant legal luminary is also a committed progressive, and democrat. And having been married to late Obafemi Awolowo’s grand-daughter, it would not be a problem selling him to the old political establishment of South-west for acceptance. He asserted that Alake and myself having served in his cabinet could attest to the great works he did as Attorney General during his, Tinubu’s administration as governor of Lagos State.

He also reasoned that the second major factor in favour of Osinbajo was the fact that he is a strong Christian and one that he is already a Pastor at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).

In the long run, Osinbajo’s nomination was well received by all of us at that meeting and Prof. Osinbajo was asked to start detailing with us, further strategy sessions to which he brought out his laptop and we all commenced a brainstorming session. The rest of the discussion was to strategise on how to contain other likely opponents from the South-west zone before proceeding to Abuja to battle other regional zones in the coming nomination.

The meeting did not finish until about 9.00pm when we returned to Tinubu’s residence in Bourdillon. By the time we returned to his house, there were about six serving governors already waiting to see him from different parts of Nigeria.

What is particularly sad now is that the book launch of the president was deployed to create a make-believe story that puts the society at a disadvantage of history.

One would have thought that now that the progressives, through an uncommon alliance in 2015, created an upset by defeating, for the first time in the country’s history, the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), it might be taken as given that the role of all active participants in the

exercise would be correctly recorded. But surprisingly and painfully too, such an avenue was used to create a historical distortion of facts.

If a political adversary had done that, one would not have been disturbed. This is because at the end of the day under such circumstance, the goal is usually to create a make-believe story that puts the society on a wrong side of history. But now that the progressives, through an uncommon alliance in 2015, created an upset by defeating, for the first time in the country’s history, the then ruling PDP, it might be taken as given that the role of all active participants in the exercise would be correctly recorded. But surprisingly painful is the fact that a historical distortion of facts is coming from an unexpected quarters at this early stage of progressive politics.

It becomes more of a matter of concern when a renowned intellectual writes a book and begins to redefine events in his own way by abashedly evading facts that are bellowing in the public space in order to re-create a world of make-believe for his audience. Sincerely, such an act understandably becomes a matter to ponder seriously.

Let us stop here. It is not all clothes that can be dried in the sun.

• Mr. Bello is the Secretary to Lagos State Government

What is particularly sad now is that the book launch of the president was deployed to create a make-believe story that puts the society at a disadvantage of history

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