Monday 13th February 2017

FG Accused of Using Arik’s Take over as Ruse to Set up National Carrier AMCON alleges airline owes over N300bn, additional N10bn needed to fix it

Chinedu Eze The Association of Concerned Aviation Professionals (ACAP) has expressed alarm at the brazen take over of Arik Air by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) on behalf

of the federal government, describing the foremost local carrier as a private concern, which accounts for over 60 per cent of domestic passenger traffic in the

country.

The group, in an advert published today in THISDAY, said there was a lack of sincerity in AMCON’s action, accusing it of pursuing a

selfish agenda to foster the federal government’s desire to establish a national carrier through subterfuge.

The uproar over the take over of the airline has not

been limited to professionals in the aviation sector, as the Senate, THISDAY learnt, has also indicated that the Senate Committee on Aviation would hold a public hearing

Landing Cost of Petrol Now Above N145 per Litre… Page 56

on AMCON’s court-ordered intervention last week.

Citing the airline’s inability to service its debt and meet its obligations to service providers, AMCON forcibly took over its operations with Continued on page 12

Monday 13 February, 2017 Vol 22. No 7970. Price: N250

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Whistleblowers Rake in N55.6bn Looted Funds

AGF: Justice Ngwuta’s prosecutor was fired due to conflict of interest Tobi Soniyi and Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja Less than two months after it released its whistleblower policy to expose fraud in the public and private sectors, the federal government has revealed that the policy has resulted in positive outcomes, following the recovery of N47.565 billion ($151 million) and N8 billion, totaling N55.565 billion in looted funds.

Continued on page 10

L-R: Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed; overall winner, female category of the 31st National Qur'an Recitation Competition, Aishatu Musa Gale from Bauchi State; Senate President Bukola Saraki; overall winner of the male category, Faisal Muhammad Auwal from Zamfara State; President General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III; and Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, at the grand finale of the Qur'an competition, held in Ilorin, Kwara State… weekend

As Emefiele Targets $40bn FX Reserves, CBN’s Strategy Becomes Apparent Reserves rise to $30.5bn as Bank assures importers' demand will be met through FX forwards Lobbyists eye central bank top jobs Obinna Chima The strategy adopted by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele to rebuild the country’s

foreign exchange reserves has been identified as one of the primary reasons the country’s Eurobond issue was oversubscribed by 780 per cent last week, THISDAY has learnt.

Investigations have shown that as of last week, Nigeria’s foreign reserves, which had hit $29.5 billion, climbed to $30.5 billion – the highest in more than 12 months – following the success of the

Eurobond.

A CBN official, who accompanied Emefiele and others in the federal government delegation on the Eurobond road show to the United Kingdom and United

States of America, informed THSDAY that the strategy adopted by the governor worked wonders in boosting investors’ confidence in the Nigerian economy and the country’s ability to meet its

foreign obligations.

He also disclosed that with the single-mindedness exhibited by the CBN governor to rebuild FX Continued on page 10

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page ten As Emefiele Targets $40bn FX Reserves, CBN’s Strategy Becomes Apparent reserves, he has set a target to grow reserves to $35 by the middle of 2016 and $40 billion by the end of the third quarter of this year.

The official, who preferred not to be named but is one of the architects of the central bank’s FX policy, held the view that contrary to the argument by several analysts that devaluing the currency and allowing a true float of the naira would attract foreign investors, it is actually the accretion of foreign reserves that would instill confidence in the economy.

“With a comfortable level of FX reserves, foreign investors will be assured that once they want to take their funds out, they can do so without hindrance.

“If you noticed, once reserves fell to as low as $21 billion, investors were not attracted to the Nigerian economy, irrespective of whether we devalued or whatever we did with the FX market.

“As long as they felt that you had insufficient reserves to meet your foreign obligations, they were not going to remain comfortable about investing in the Nigerian economy. They continued to exit the economy.

“For example, look at South Africa and Kenya which have floating exchange rates, yet they have found it difficult to attract investors. They continue to flee their economies in droves.

“However, since the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced in November that it had approved a $12 billion standby facility for Egypt, the country has been attracting almost $300 million a month.

“What this means is that investors need to feel comfortable with your level of FX reserves and your ability to meet your

obligations when they fall due.

“So instead of the CBN getting distracted by the debate over devaluation or no devaluation, it has focused on reserves accretion, which as you know help to attract investors during the Eurobond sale last week.

“Given what we know, the target by the CBN is to increase reserves to $35 billion by the middle of this year and $40 billion by the end of the third quarter,” he said.

The official said the accretion of FX reserves could be attributed to two factors – the improvement of oil prices following the agreement

by OPEC and Russia to slash oil production by 1.2 million barrels per day, and the relative peace achieved in the Niger Delta.

“The oil price rally coupled with improved output from Nigeria have resulted in increased foreign earnings in recent months.

“If you recall, about a year ago, revenue from the sale of crude oil fell to less than $400 million a month, but now Nigeria is making between $600 million and $700 million, enabling the CBN to save more,” he explained.

He was quick to add, however, that whatever savings the central bank is making must be complemented by a comprehensive fiscal and industrial strategy by the ministries and agencies of government.

“A fiscal and industrial strategy is still required, because saving FX reserves alone will not give you the silver bullet,” he said.

The official also allayed concerns that the savings being made by CBN could delay payments of maturing trade obligations and in turn continue to exert pressure on the FX market.

He said: “The CBN remains committed to funding maturing trade obligations through FX forwards on the interbank market.

“Importers with eligible transactions have nothing to be concerned about, as the central bank will continue to support them through the forwards arrangement already in place on the interbank market.

“Also, confidence is growing that the speculative attacks on the naira in the parallel market would subside, because with the accretion of reserves, the CBN will have a schedule that would enable it to meet demand through FX forwards.”

Also, THISDAY learnt that with the tenure of two deputy governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) gradually drawing to a close, some Nigerians have started jostling for the top jobs.

Specifically, while the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Dr. Sarah Alade, who has been in the position since March 26, 2007, is expected to step down next month, the tenure of the Deputy Governor, Operations, Alhaji Suleiman Barau would come to an end by the end of this year.

Both of them would have served two terms of five years each when their tenures expire.

Section 8 (1) of the CBN Act 2007 states that “the Governor and Deputy-Governors shall be persons of recognised financial experience and shall be appointed by the President subject to confirmation by the Senate on such terms and conditions as may be set out in their respective letters of appointment”.

To this end, THISDAY learnt that politicians seeking the plum jobs for their cronies as well as economists and other financial

market experts who feel they are qualified for the jobs are already lobbying officials in the presidency.

“There is intense lobbying for the CBN deputy governors’ jobs.

Those seeking for these jobs are already putting their contacts in the presidency under pressure,” a source who pleaded to remain anonymous said.

The CBN Act is silent on whether a deputy governor can be appointed from within the central bank on the recommendation of the CBN governor.

But there have been instances where directors of the central bank have been elevated to the position of deputy governors.

There have also been instances where a CBN governor made the recommendations and were approved by the president.

For instance, prior to her appointment as deputy governor, Alade was Director, Banking Operations Department.

In that capacity, she served as Chairman Board of Directors, Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) and was the Secretary, National Payments System Committee (NPSC).

She is from Kwara State, and in line with the federal character principle, she would likely be replaced by someone from any of the states in the North-central geopolitical zone.

As deputy governor (Economic Policy), Alade superintends the Economic Policy Directorate comprising the Research, Monetary Policy, Trade and Exchange, Statistics Departments and Financial Markets Departments.

Also as the Chairperson of the Monetary Policy Implementation Committee (MPIC), she interfaces with operational departments and coordinates technical inputs for

the help of truckloads of armed policemen, barely 24 hours after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had invited the chairman of the suspended board, Mr. Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide.

The suspended management of the company has vowed to challenge the action in court.

ACAP cited the propaganda that was being fed to the public

by AMCON, including the figures being bandied about as Arik’s debts and the allegation that the airline owed eight months salaries before its take over last week, whereas its workers, the group said, had confirmed they were owed only two months salary.

“We know that the airline has faced some challenges lately and some passengers have even expressed concern about its services.

But cutting off the head is not the cure for a headache,” the association said in a statement signed by Justin Nwokolo, secretary of ACAP. ACAP alleged that the action of AMCON was to preempt a crucial meeting the suspended management of the airline was scheduled to have with Afrexim Bank in Cairo, Egypt, this week on a loan facility to refinance its operations, which have been hampered by the forex crisis.

According to the association, “We strongly believe this course of action is motivated by the pursuit of a

cabal’s selfish interest masquerading as public good with the deployment of a ruthless propaganda machine to give it a gloss.

“How laughable that the same Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) hired the erstwhile Deputy Managing Director of the same management it accused of ‘poor corporate governance’ as new CEO of AERO Contractors on the very day it forcibly took over the company. Who is fooling who?

“The agenda is to bring together Arik Air and AERO to form what they call a new national carrier and bring in Ethiopian Airways as technical partner.

“What a shame! We bring a smaller country like Ethiopia to run a national carrier for Nigeria, the supposed Giant of Africa? If government could run an airline, Nigeria Airways would not have gone under.”

ACAP added that it was aware President Muhammadu Buhari had made it clear to government officials behind the agenda that it would be gravely unjust and ungodly to take over anybody’s business under whatever guise.

“In the interest of justice, the public needs to be enlightened on the genesis of AMCON’s dispute with the suspended management of Arik Air over

of the Federation (DPPF).

He quoted the prosecutor’s response thus: “Your letter of 6 February 2017, is received with great relief. I wish you and/or your colleagues at the NPCC, success in the continued prosecution of your ‘high profile’ cases. With my very best wishes.”

The full letter to him by the NPCC read: “I regret to inform you that Abubakar Malami (SAN), the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (HAGF) has withdrawn your membership of the National Prosecution Team.

“Consequently, you can no longer lead Team 16 engaged to prosecute the Charge No. FHC/ABJ/C/232/16-FRN vs S.N. Ngwuta. Furthermore, the fiat issued to you in respect of the case you presently handle is withdrawn.

“The Chief Accountant confirmed to me that you have been paid first installment fees which cover services till the close of the prosecution’s case.

“Please return to me all properties of the Ministry/ NPCC in your possession, if any.”

Isah also said that the insinuation that the AGF withdrew the case against the three Supreme Court officials because they are northerners was also unwarranted.

According to him, the decision to drop the suit was done in good faith and in the context of a plea bargain to achieve greater goals in the prosecution of the other bigger cases that are

ongoing against Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, among others.

“So, it is wicked and childish for anyone to allude undue colouration to an action taken in the national interest and reduce it to a North/South thing with a view to confusing the discerning public.

“This is not the first time such process will be entered into in law, especially as the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 allows plea bargaining in line with the national interest,” he explained.

He cited the case of Sergeant Rogers during the prosecution of Major Al-Mustapha (rtd.) for the alleged murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, adding that the charge against him was withdrawn to enable him testify against those charged with the murder.

Isah also accused AdeogunPhillips of “unprofessional conduct” because he was handling a case against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) while at the same time prosecuting cases for the federal government.

NPCC chaired by the AGF and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) was inaugurated by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on May 27, 2016.

It is charged with assisting the AGF in the exercise of his prosecutorial powers under Section 150 and 174(1) of the 1999 Constitution, especially as it involves high profile criminal cases.

The AGF spokesman said besides the non-disclosure of a conflict of interest, AdeogunPhilips had been exhibiting traits inimical and counterproductive to the interest of the NPCC that engaged him.

He accused the prosecutor of visiting a top security official at the presidency to discuss his welfare issues, using his engagement by the committee as instrument.

“As it presently stands, the committee plans to carry out a critical surgery on the present composition of the entire prosecution team to weed out those with question marks around them, because they had been informed before hand that anyone found wanting would be eased out since it is a continuous process,” the statement added.

the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

Barau, who is expected to step down by December, is from Kaduna State and would also likely be replaced by someone from the North-west region of

the country.

He superintends the Banking and System Payment Directorate, Branch Operations, Currency Operations, Information Technology and Reserve Management.

FG Accused of Using Arik’s Take over as Ruse to Set up National Carrier

Continued on page 12

Whistleblowers Rake in N55.6bn Looted Funds Under the policy introduced in December 2016, an informant who exposes financial wrongdoing within an organisation, leading to the voluntary return of stolen or concealed public funds or assets may be entitled to a maximum of 5 per cent of the total amount recovered.

A statement yesterday by Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the largest amount of $136,676,600.51 was recovered from an account in a commercial bank under the cover of a fictitious account name.

He added that N7 billion, $15 million and N1 billion, all from different individuals were recovered at the said bank.

Mohammed, however, stressed that the recoveries did not include the $9.2 million in cash allegedly traced to a former Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Dr. Andrew Yakubu – also the outcome of the whistleblower policy.

The money recovered from Yakubu was made possible by information provided by three whistleblowers who gave actionable information to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

“When we told Nigerians that there was primitive and mindless looting of the national treasury under the last administration, some people called us liars.

“Well, the whistleblower policy is barely two months

old and Nigerians have started feeling its impact, seeing how a few people squirreled away public funds.

“It is doubtful if any economy in the world will not feel the impact of such mind-boggling looting of the treasury as was experienced in Nigeria.

“Yet whatever has been recovered so far, including the $9.2 million by the EFCC, is just a tip of the iceberg,” Mohammed said.

He assured Nigerians that their confidentiality would be safeguarded if they continued to provide the authorities with useful tips on looted funds, while reminding them of the financial rewards that could be derived by those who make the information available to the federal government.

He restated that where “there is a voluntary return of stolen or concealed public funds or assets on account of the information provided, the whistleblower may be entitled to anywhere between 2.5 per cent (minimum) and 5 per cent (maximum) of the total amount recovered”.

Meanwhile, the National Prosecution Coordination Committee (NPCC) in Abuja provided reasons for the sack of the private legal practitioner, Mr. Charles Adeogun-Phillips hired by the federal government to prosecute Justice Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court for alleged corruption.

A statement by the AGF’s spokesman, who doubles as the head of communications

and public affairs of NPCC, Mr. Salihu Isah explained that the impression created by AdeogunPhilips that he withdrew his services was not correct.

The statement said it was the NPCC which engaged his services that actually withdrew the fiat issued to him for nondisclosure of a conflict of interest and for other sundry reasons.

It said reports claiming that Adeogun-Philips withdrew from prosecuting the case in protest over last Tuesday’s withdrawal of charges against the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Ahmed Gambo Saleh and two other officials of the court – Muhammad Abdulrahman Sharif and Rilwanu Lawal – which he is also handling for the federal government were false.

Isah added that AdeogunPhilips’ sack was conveyed to him vide a letter titled, ‘Withdrawal of your name as a member of Team 16 of the National Prosecution Team handling charges No. FHC/ ABJ/C/232/16-FRN vs Sylvester N. Ngwuta’ dated 6th February, 2017 and signed by Sylvester O. Imhanobe, Esq, Special Assistant to the President, Research and Special Projects who also doubles as secretary of the committee.

He also said Adeogun-Philips acknowledged receipt of the letter through an email message dated 8th February 2017 that he sent to the committee secretary and copied to Mr. Muhammed Umar Etsu, the Director of Public Prosecution

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monDAY, february 13, 2017 • T H I S D AY

page twelve

Xenophobic Attacks in S’Africa Continue, Nigerians, Other Immigrants Lose Homes At least 15 houses either belonging to or rented by immigrants, especially Nigerians, have been burnt by angry residents in Rosettenvile, south of Johannesburg in South Africa.

The residents were reported to be angry that foreign nationals had turned the neighbourhood into a drug haven.

Africa Review reported yesterday that some shops belonging to foreign nationals

in the area were also looted.

South African residents in the area claimed Nigerians had illegally taken over most properties and turned them into drug and prostitution dens.

The African Diaspora Forum (ADM) chairperson, Mr. Marc Gbaffou, confirmed the attacks and blamed Johannesburg Mayor, Herman Mashaba, for his inflammatory comments.

Early last December, Mashaba told a media

conference that illegal immigrants got there criminally and should be treated as such.

On Friday, he visited Rosettenville where he made claims that foreign nationals were using girls as young as nine as prostitutes in “drug houses”.

“According to community members, these homes are illegally occupied by Nigerian foreign nationals who run the homes as brothels and have

girls as young as nine years old working as prostitutes.

“Many of the women in these brothels are also alleged to have no official identification documentation,” said Mashaba.

Gbaffou said it was reckless for the mayor to make such a statement without proof.

“What proof does he have that foreigners are running these brothels? His remarks are very inflammatory, and it makes no difference that

he has diverted from illegal immigrants to drug peddling.

It is very dangerous and we see it as propaganda of hatred,” he said.

A community leader, Mr. Andile Tshem, called on residents to desist from violence, adding that it was high time law enforcement agents took action against criminals.

“We don’t encourage this at all, you cannot correct a wrong with another wrong.

South African people must not be living on the streets when foreigners are using houses as brothels,” he said.

Police have arrested a man found in one of the houses that were set alight in Rosettenville.

Some Nigerians in Johannesburg have taken to Twitter to express their anger.

Arewa Youth Forum @ ArewaYouthForum tweeted yesterday, “Nigerians’ houses burnt in Johannesburg.”

Croatian President Hosts Rising Nigerian Education-for-Girls Advocate, Zuriel Oduwole Over the last three years, Zuriel Oduwole has kept her focus on her dual initiatives of ensuring the education of girls across the globe, and more recently, empowering them today with skills they can use practically, when they are older.

Having recently met then US Secretary of State - John Kerry last month in Washington DC, it was the President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar- Kitarovic with whom she next shared the global stage with.

Becoming her country’s first female leader in February 2015 and the youngest at just 46 years of age, the president was eager to hear about Zuriel’s projects, and how her initiatives could be replicated in Croatia.

She liked her basic film making class programme for unemployed youths, which Zuriel has now successfully developed in more than three African countries, including Kenya, Mauritius and Namibia.

“I have been looking forward to meeting you,” President Graber told Zuriel.

“I read about you and I am very, very proud of your achievements. And then you are a Girl,” she said with excitement.

The president laughed and giggled with Zuriel throughout the meeting, enjoying the company of another history maker.

The Nigerian-American Zuriel was named the “Most Powerful 11-yearold in the World” by New

Croatian President, Kolinda Grabar- Kitarovic and Zuriel Oduwole York’s Business Insider in April 2014, and in 2015 was featured as one of “33

Women Who Changed the World” in ELLE magazine’s annual ranking, alongside

the US Federal Reserve Chairwoman - Janet Yellen.

At just 14, she is quietly building a powerful coalition of Female World Leaders to take on education and other global challenges head on. She has so far met oneon-one with the presidents of Liberia, Malta, and now Croatia - all female heads of government, as well as 21 other world leaders from Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Pacific Region.

Some of these include the leaders of Tanzania, South Sudan, Jamaica, Lesotho, Guyana, Cape Verde, Kenya, St. Kitts & Nevis, Vanuatu, Mauritius, Malawi, Samoa, Guinea, Tuvalu, and Nigeria’s last two leaders – Presidents Goodluck Jonathan in 2013

and Muhammadu Buhari in 2016.

The out of school children challenge across the globe, of which Nigeria alone has more than 10 million, has dominated world affairs since the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were agreed in 2000, now morphed into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and extended by the United Nations to the year 2030.

Though just one person, Zuriel has managed to find simple, childlike but practical ideas to dealing with aspects of this, including her recent skill transfer initiative, which was commended by Secretary of State John Kerry last month.

In September 2016, Zuriel was invited to speak at a UN session, in New York.

of the 28 aircraft in Arik’s fleet, only 10 are in operation.

AMCON also yesterday said it had discovered deep-rooted rot in the embattled airline, adding that it would require over N10 billion to fix the rot before Arik can resume full and uninterrupted flights to its regular routes across the country and beyond.

A statement by AMCON’s spokesman, Mr Jude Nwauzor said that “the situation was so bad that only nine aircraft out of the 30 in the fleet of the airline were operational”.

According to the statement, 21 of them had either been grounded, or gone for C-check in Europe, among other forms of challenges.

“As if these problems were not enough, the airline does not have money to procure aviation fuel for the nine operational aircraft because no dealer wants to sell aviation fuel to Arik if it is not on a cash-and-carry basis.

“This also calls for public understanding because flight schedules may be realigned based on the nine aircraft that are available, technically sound and ready for flight operations,” it said.

AMCON said it was discovered that Arik also owes its technical partners and was in perpetual default on its lease payments and insurance premiums, leading to regular and embarrassing squabbles with different business partners.

“All these problems, in addition to unpaid staff salaries, which have

remained unpaid for 11 months; vendors that supply different items to Arik Air that are also owed, it means that Nigerians may have to tarry a while to allow the new management clean up the huge mess at the airline before Arik can finally resume uninterrupted flights,” it said.

The statement quoted the AMCON appointed managing director, Captain Roy Ukpebo Ilegbodu as reassuring Nigerians that these issues, though daunting, would be gradually resolved to enable Arik, which carries about 55 per cent of the load in the country recover the 21 aircraft.

According to him, once all the aircraft are back, Arik will within the shortest possible time regain its pride of place as a leader among the comity of airlines in Nigeria.

He reiterated that the intervention at Arik clearly underscored government’s decision to instill sanity in the nation’s aviation sector, adding that the move also prevented the major disaster that would have befallen the airline.

AMCON further added that the new management had settled the insurance cover for the aircraft that would have expired on February 12 and also met with different trade creditors and aggrieved staff.

It called for public understanding, as the management begins the tough job of ensuring that Arik is returned to full operational capacity within the shortest possible time.

FG Accused of Using Arik’s Take over as Ruse to Set up National Carrier the size of the debt owed.

“Following the financial crisis of 2008/2009, AMCON paid money to conniving banks on behalf of ‘debtor companies’ under circumstances that were anything but transparent without the management of the said ‘debtor companies’ being carried along.

“It explains why whereas AMCON was bandying the figure of N135 billion as Arik Air’s exposure, what was finally arrived at after a clinical audit came to around N90 billion.

“While AMCON speaks so magisterially on ‘sound management’ today, it is as if the operating environment for businesses had been perfect all along.

“Things have been so difficult that airlines have had to fly to neighboring countries like Ghana to procure something as basic as aviation fuel.

“If AMCON itself is a good business manager, how come AERO, which had nine aircraft when AMCON took it over five years ago, now has only two aircraft in its fleet?

“With the massive devaluation of the naira by the CBN in the ongoing recession, Arik Air’s operations which are heavily dependent on forex have been negatively impacted.

“We believe the action of AMCON was to preempt a crucial meeting the suspended management of the airline was scheduled to have

with Afreximbank in Cairo, Egypt this week to unlock massive capital injection to refinance its operations, which had been hampered by the forex crisis.

“Rather than crucify a local investor who is patriotic enough to go into aviation at a time the sector was in disarray and planes were virtually falling off the sky, we believe the reasonable and fair thing to do is for government to support such individuals,” the association stated.

It called on the federal government to call off the siege on Arik and expressed hope that the National Assembly will intervene as a patriotic national duty.

It also accused the “powerful cabal” in the presidency of taking advantage of the president’s absence to hatch the plot, as efforts to sell the take over of Arik in the past to form the nucleus of “the so-called national carrier” did not receive a positive response from him.

Also, a top banker who is privy to the financial negotiations that were being pursued by the former management to recapitalise the airline, faulted official claims that the airline was on the brink of collapse before AMCON’s intervention last week.

He said: “Contrary to the bogus claims that Arik Air owes over N300 billion, I am aware that in the last reconciliation between the suspended management and AMCON, the figure agreed was in the neighbourhood of N90 billion.

“Besides, for an airline valued independently at over $4 billion by a world renowned valuer like Deloitte of London, I do not think that the company could be regarded as a bad case with such a debt profile.

“Some powerful interests are just desperate to call a dog a bad name in order to hang it.

“The agenda is to fuse Arik Air and AERO to form the national carrier and bring in Ethiopian Airways as technical partner.

“They said N90b provided by AMCON was to buy back the loan provided by Union Bank to acquire two brand new A340 Airbus aircraft used for international flights by Arik.

“So, it is most unfair to accuse the promoters of Arik of mismanagement when everyone knows that the economy is in distress and even foreign airlines have had to downgrade their operations in the country due to the hostile environment.”

Similarly, many aviation stakeholders considered AMCON’s action too high-handed considering that the suspended management of Arik Air had helped to raise safety standards in the industry in the last decade.

Arik has also been credited with facilitating Nigeria’s certification with a Category One status, thus opening the international routes for Nigeria's privately owned airlines.

Only recently, ARIK became the third airline after South African

Airways and Ethiopia Airlines to be certified in Africa by the Israeli secret service, MOSSAD, to fly directly to Tel Aviv.

AMCON Goes on the Defensive However, as the outcry over AMCON’s action gathers pace, sources close to the corporation have alleged that so far over N300 billion was reported to have been discovered since the federal government took over the management of the airline through AMCON on Thursday.

They maintain that the beleaguered airline would have stopped operations this week had AMCON not stepped in to take over the management.

One source said the airline was swimming in debt and there was no headway for it, as it was bereft of cash.

The source also noted that more debts would be unravelled as the receiver manager and his team continue to scrutinise the books.

Also, AMCON’s public relations consultant and ‎ CEO of SY&T Simon Tumba said in a statement that within 48 hours of intervention by the government, Arik Air was getting assistance to continue with smooth flight services.

THISDAY also learnt that virtually all of Arik’s trade creditors were being owed, staff salaries had not been paid, and

T H I S D AY MONDAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017

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T H I S D AY MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

COMMENT

Editor, Editorial Page Peter Ishaka Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

Lagos And The War Against Kidnapping The Lagos State anti-kidnapping law is in order, writes Kayode Oyekanmi

A

few days ago, over 20 gunmen stormed the Isheri North Estate and kidnapped the secretary of the community association, Mr. Dayo Adekoya. The abductors reportedly killed three security men as they attempted to prevent the gunmen from escaping. On Saturday, July 16, 2016, Oba Goriola Oseni, the Oniba of Ibaland, was kidnapped in his palace and the kidnappers purportedly murdered ‎a security guard, Sunday Eniola Okanlawon and a commercial motorcyclist, Joseph Okeke and also attempted to murder the monarch’s wife, Olori Abosede Oseni.

In the aftermath of the sad event, the 73- year- old monarch, his wife and five others were abducted. Ardent custodians of Yoruba tradition and culture have referred to the incident as a taboo. The respected monarch was to spend 21 agonising days in the hands of his captors.

While the gory incidence lasted, his family members, community, fellow traditional rulers and, indeed, the whole of Lagos State anxiously waited for news concerning his release. When eventually the monarch gained his freedom, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

However, the story did not actually end there. Being a state that has enormous respect for the sanctity of human life as well as the upholding of the rule of law, the Lagos State Government, in collaboration with relevant law enforcement agencies, vowed that the perpetrators of the dastardly act would not escape the strong arm of the law. The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, was emphatic that the architects of the heinous crime would be reprimanded. In a very unambiguous language, the Governor said: “The kind of Lagos we are trying to build isn’t one that tolerates this kind of needless gangsterism.

Take my word for it, we are going to go after these evil doers and ensure that they are appropriately dealt with in the spirit of the law of the land.

Our Lagos won’t be a haven for criminals”.

True to his words, weeks after the Oniba was released, his alleged abductors were caught by security agents. The suspects are: Yeris Fresh, 45; Anthony Ebidaear, 51; and Keremeni Mode, 40. They are now standing trial on an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy, murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, felony and kidnapping preferred against them by the Lagos State Government. Ordinarily, the state government ought to have allowed the police to take over the prosecution of the case as it is customary. But because the state government is itching to use this particular case to sufficiently drive home its zero tolerance for crime and all acts of criminalities in the state, the State Ministry of Justice is directly prosecuting the case.

According to Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, the State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, henceforth, the Office of the Attorney General will work closely with security operatives to ensure that all cases of kidnapping, cultism, rape, sexual and domestic violence are prosecuted to logical conclusions. He said: “The swift commencement of the trial of the suspects in the kidnap of the Oniba is a strong signal by the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode that it is not business as usual for criminals.” Kazeem further assured that the Ambode administration was determined to halt the scourge of kidnapping, cultist killing, raping and

We are going to go after these evil doers and ensure that they are appropriately dealt with in the spirit of the law of the land

murder in the state, adding: “If you commit a crime, we will find you and prosecute you, no matter how long it takes”.

To fully express its determination to give the trial of the case everything it takes, at the commencement of the trial at the Lagos Magistrate Court, Igbosere, it was Mr. Adeniji Kazeem that personally led a team of counsel for the state. According to the prosecutor, the offences contravened Sections ‎233, 230, 299, 297 (2) (b) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State C17, Vol 3 Laws of Lagos State, 2015. Just a few days ago, the case was up for hearing again at same court with Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo presiding.

It would be recalled that Governor Ambode recently signed the Anti-Kidnapping Law, which specifies death sentence for kidnappers in the state. The law recommends death for kidnappers in whose custody victims died and life jail for those who kidnapped for ransom. While speaking on the significance of security to his administration, Governor Ambode said: “Security is of utmost importance to our administration and we are confident that this law will serve as a deterrent to anybody who may desire to engage in this wicked act within the boundaries of Lagos”.

The Anti-Kidnapping Law is wide-ranging as it prescribes punishment for the actors, the collaborators, the aiders and those who saw the kidnapping being perpetrated and did nothing about it. Dwelling on the impetus behind the new law, Ambode revealed that kidnapping and all manner of atrocious crimes can no longer be tolerated. Hence, the law is a riot act to criminals that Lagos is not going to be a safe haven for them. Other measures being put in place by the state government to tackle kidnapping includes improved security system in public schools and other easy targets, particularly popular public places.

That the Lagos State Government is according the issue of security the desired attention is quite understandable. Lagos is the most populous state of Nigeria and is the leading non-oil sector contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic product (GDP). With three lighter terminals and two ports, Lagos generates 50% of Nigeria’s port revenue and the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, is the major hub for aviation within West Africa. Being the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, and indeed West Africa, Lagos has enormous security challenges. Apparently, this makes Lagos a soft target for criminal activities and the law is meant to curb this.

Society has always used the instrumentality of the law to discourage potential criminals from engaging in unlawful actions. The law is meant to trounce evil and evil doers. According to Irish statesman and parliamentarian, Edmund Burke, the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. It is, therefore, gratifying to note that the Lagos State Government is obviously doing something to put an end to kidnapping and related crimes in the state.

As in the case of Oniba, the law will definitely catch up with perpetrators of the recent crime at Isheri North.

Oyekanmi is of the Public Affairs Unit, Lagos State Ministry of Justice

The Central Bank And Monetary Policy Rate

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Boniface Chizea contends that the central bank should focus on achieving stability at the foreign exchange market

he Central Bank concluded its bimonthly Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting which took place on January 23-24, 2017 during which a hold decision was taken by the full complement of the 10- member Committee. But both before and after the meeting all the discussions and expectations revolved around how the outcome of the meeting would impact the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR). The expectations are that the MPC would at least twinkle the MPR to reduce it at least as a show of support for the need for monetary policy to be seen as contributing its role to the efforts being made by the fiscal authorities to cause a reflation of the economy to commence the process of the exit of the country from the ravaging recession. And this expectation has lingered over several MPC meetings commencing from the September 2016 meeting when last the MPR was actually increased from 13 to 14 per cent and had since remained at that level.

It will not be proper to continue this discussion by assuming that everyone is quite versed regarding what the term MPR means and therefore to ensure that we are all on the same page it is as well to digress by shedding some light on the term. One of the roles expected of the central bank in discharging its monetary policy obligations to maintain price and exchange rate stability in the country is to act as a banker to the government and a lender of last resort to banks to ensure that banks that temporarily suffer illiquidity have a window to access for accommodation. Naturally the central bank would not lend this money to the banks free and therefore the money is lent to the banks at an interest rate; which is the MPR. This explains why this rate is considered very indicative as it is at once represents a floor for interest rates

in the economy and foreshadows the thrust of monetary policy over the period since an increase in rate would signify tightening to make borrowing costlier while a lowering would connote relaxation to inject more liquidity into the system. Therefore the expectations across board is that since there is this intention to jump start the economy by boosting activity that the rates should long have been reduced for monetary policy to be seen to be playing a complementary role in this quest to reflate the economy. One other thing which is not often appreciated by most compatriots is the actual implications of the corridor which is often indicated whenever the rates are announced. For instance for the MPC meeting which just ended the asymmetric corridor was indicated as +2 and -4 which means that banks approaching the central bank for an accommodation will be charged an interest of MPR+2 which in this case is 16 per cent while the banks that would wish to deposit money with the central bank would be paid an interest rate of MPR-4 which in this case is 10 per cent often as a disincentive as banks have no business approaching the central bank to deposit their funds despite all the fixed income securities regularly on offer which the banks could patronise to warehouse funds surplus to their immediate requirement.

Tracking developments with regard to the rate of MPR following the various meetings indicate that the rates have not actually remained unchanged.

The rate was 12 per cent with a symmetry corridor of +-200 basis points after the September 18-19 meeting of 2014. It was increased to 13 per cent following the November 24-25, 2014 meeting; was reduced to 11 per cent during the meeting held on January 25/26, 2016; was increased to 12 per cent at the March 21-22, 2016 meeting and was increased yet again to 14 per cent after the July,

2016 25-26 meeting at which level it has remained since then despite all the clamour and expectations that it should be reduced to better align with the desired thrust of policy for a reflation of the Nigerian economy in recession.

It would be salutary to look at the problems of the Nigerian economy as outlined by the MPC. The committee is of the view that the key under currents i.e. scarcity of foreign exchange, low fiscal activity, high energy costs and the accumulations of salary arrears cannot be directly ameliorated by monetary policy. Though the view held by some analysts is that the drought in the inflow of foreign exchange in the economy is due to the uncertainty surrounding the rate of exchange as such an environment does not provide a scenario which is investor friendly and therefore the request for the central bank interventions in the determination of the rate of exchange to be terminated for the market to more or less determine the rate. The argument being that such a scenario would foster an environment which will enable overseas investors transcend from the prevailing uncertainty regarding the rate of exchange to the realm of risk which is a more familiar territory which the investors are more conversant with and more adept at managing.

The big question is how does the central bank stop its intervention with regard to the determination of the exchange rates as it is the dominant if not the sole supplier of foreign currency in the economy? It is on record that we have asked this question on several occasions. So I have had cause to ask to be enlightened regarding what allowing the naira to float entails and how it would play out practically. Some otherwise informed commentators have also argued that it is late in the day to be talking about floating the naira; that we missed the

opportunity to have done so timeously at the onset of the contraction which the economy suffered. It is in response to this argument that the central bank by mid-2016 introduced the flexible approach to the determination of the exchange rates with the key expectation that such a move would unlock the flood gates for investors to bring their dollars into the economy. What has been the result so far?

The exchange rate lost over 40 per cent of its value at the official window and almost 100 per cent at the parallel market with negligible additional inflow of foreign exchange arising from investors bringing in their money. But with far reaching price increases which have resulted in an inflationary environment with a record inflation rate of 18.55 per cent, the highest rate in more than a decade precipitating untold hardship on the citizenry.

It is also in order to illustrate that the problem of the economy is not illiquidity as such as to warrant the sort of relaxation being expected. The communique of the MPC meeting observed that money supply (M2) grew by 19.02 per cent in 2016, being 8.0 per cent higher than its programmed limit. And growth in Net Domestic Credit (NDC) was 24.79 per cent at the end of December, 2016 being 17.94 per cent above its provisional benchmark for 2016.

Likewise growth in net credit to government, 58.84 per cent surpassed its programmed target of 47.4 per cent. Therefore in effect all the major monetary aggregates exceeded their programmed provisional benchmarks for fiscal year 2016 and therefore its erroneous to continue to argue for further relaxation by reducing the MPR to encourage more credit growth even against the background of an increase in the policy rate by the US Fed in December, 2016 with the implications of this decision for international interest rates and capital flows Dr. Chizea is a management consultant

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editorial Customs And The 661 Rifles The customs service should wake up to its responsibility

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he recent seizure by the Nigerian Customs Service of 661 Pump Action Rifles illegally imported into the country from China has brought to the fore the urgent need for the nation’s security services to review their operational strategies for a more effective service delivery. The cache of arms packed in 49 boxes had been cleared by the customs at the Tin Can Island port a few days before a special task force on patrol intercepted the container at Oshodi in Lagos. Preliminary findings, according to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), showed that the arms were concealed as steel doors to beat security checks at the port.

Although Ali has commended the special patrol team for intercepting these dangerous weapons and ordered an investigation into the failure of the service to detect the arms at the port, the incident must nonetheless be very embarrassing to the customs service. It is their professional sloppiness at the nation’s boarders that has led to the massive illegal importation of Small and Light Weapons The public needs to (SALWs) into the know why in spite of country. the huge budgetary Therefore, the allocation to the investigation promised service for provision by the customs service of scanning equipment boss must not only be as well as the crowd speedy and thorough, of security agencies at but that its outcome the ports, such illicit must be made public.

For instance, the importations still public needs to know enter the country why in spite of the huge budgetary allocation to the service for provision of scanning equipment as well as the crowd of security agencies at the ports, such illicit importations still enter the country. More important to the public would be the specific measures the service is taking to prevent recurrence.

At a time sundry criminal gangs are creating

Letters to the Editor

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territories for themselves, either in the guise of religion (Boko Haram in the North-east) or militancy (Avengers in the Niger Delta) or the kidnappers that now target schools, further infiltration of arms into the country is one luxury we cannot afford. So, the Customs should wake up and be alive to its responsibility. We say this because we had called attention in the past to the growing influx and menace of SALWs in the country and that there is urgent need to address the menace of arms proliferation that has posed a clear and present danger to the security of the nation. Indeed, available statistics paint a grim picture of a disaster waiting to happen.

And the pity is that the response from the authorities is too lackadaisical to inspire hope that gun-running would be effectively brought under control soonest.

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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

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recent research revealed that out of the 857 million small arms and light weapons in the world, 500 million are illegal with 100 million found in sub- Saharan Africa. About 7.5 per cent of that is in Nigeria. This damning figure was confirmed by the findings at a National Consultation on Physical Security and Stockpile Management in Abuja. With 70 per cent of the West African sub-region’s SALWs, 90 per cent of which are in the hands of nonstate actors, any wonder why there is so much strife in the country? And the pertinent question is: How did the arms get into the country? The answer is obvious: The Customs Service has been derelict in the performance of its duty.

Yet the same service that has been lame in the face of massive illegal importation of illicit arms has suddenly found strength to flex muscles with the Rivers State Government that imported two aircraft for security surveillance. But unable to pay the huge duties imposed by the customs service, it decided to donate them to the federal government. Short of playing politics, the customs had no business entering into the controversy.

Certainly, the service has enough on its plate to chew and straying into the political arena will not only be an overflow but also a huge and an unnecessary distraction.

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.

Sparing A Thought For Prison Inmates

e have sufficient number of Nigerians speaking out on the poor state of infrastructure, unemployment, inflation, corruption, among others. Sadly, however, no one seems to be worrying about the shortage of something that is quite essential to social justice.

Few are concerned about the state of our prison and welfare of prison inmates in the country. Admittedly, peaceful co-existence is only guaranteed in the atmosphere of wilful submission to the rule of law governing the society as it is often said that an environment that has no law binding its existence cannot indict anyone of offence.

Prison is an institution created by the law to provide rehabilitation and correctional facility for those who violated the law as a punitive measure. Considering this, one is compelled to ask how the society perceive prison experience and how ex-convicts are integrated back into the society.

There have been instances where ex-convicts came out to become better citizens, while majority of others further consolidate on criminal acts that previously sent them into prison. In many instances, society seems to further compound the plight of ex-convicts by their stigmatisation. Hardly will anyone want to associate with them after release, thus making their re-integration a mirage. It is bad enough that society avoids them like plague, but worse that their immediate and extended families become laughing stock in their immediate environment.

The origin of modern prisons services in Nigeria dated back to 1861. The intention of the colonial government in establishing

prison was to protect their businesses as well as secure the activities of the missionaries. To this end, the acting governor of the colony, who was then a prominent British merchant in Lagos, formed a police force of about 25 constables. This was followed by the establishment in Lagos, four courts in 1863, namely: a police court to resolve petty disputes, a criminal court to try more serious cases, a slave court to try cases arising from their efforts to abolish the trade in slaves and commercial court to resolve disputes among merchants or traders.

The responsibilities of these courts and police during colonial era necessitated the need for prison to compliment the duo. The 1872, the Broad Street prison was established with a capacity for about 300 inmates. The colonial prisons at this stage was not designed to reform anyone. There was no systematic penal policy for which direction could be sought for penal administration, instead prisoners were used for public works and other menial jobs as dictated by the colonial administration. The need for unification of prison in Nigeria led to the termination of Native Authority Prisons in 1968.

Consequently, in 1972, Decree nine established the need to introduce specified units to take care of specific areas of prison services. Technical division was charged with the responsibility of general administration, provision of logistics and supervision of prison investments. Inspectorate division was saddled with activities such as staff recruitment, deployment, training promotion and discipline. The treatment of inmates/training and rehabilitation was the responsibility of welfare division.

Besides, the division sees to the medical needs of the prisons, while interfacing between the prison and voluntary (humanitarian)

organisations that help in treatment and rehabilitation of prisoners.

This division has additional responsibility of keeping the prison environment healthy and conducive for inmates while providing them with opportunity to acquire vocational skills such as tailoring, carpentry, painting, etc., in the course of their prison terms.

In terms of rehabilitation, Nigeria’s prison looks like a bad solution. Over the years, the welfare of prison inmates have deteriorated as many such prisons do not meet the minimum standard of treatment that should be given to prisoners. Other rights violated include absence of minimum feeding, allocation of accommodation, medical facility and other needed provisions or logistics. Until Lagos State among few other states of the federation donated brand new Toyota Coaster buses to convey prison inmates awaiting trial, oven or heat entrapped Black Maria lorries were fashionable means of moving inmates around.

Many prisons are congested with attendant facility decay, thus jeorpadising the life of inmates. In recent time, many incidence of jail breaks have been traced to the poor welfare conditions of inmates. In Gombe State it was reported that about 669 inmates are to be treated for scabies ( a disease prevalent in places like Nigeria, with over-populated prisons).

In present day Nigeria where latrines are being phased out, it is disgusting that bucket latrines which constitute serious health hazard are still in use in some of prisons, while litt In as much as the prison should not be a palace, it should equally not be a place where inmates should experience hell on earth.

Bolaji Odumade, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Lagos

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politics

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

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

Indian Occupied Kashmir and the Nigerian Factor

Every February 5, Pakistanis and Kashmiris around the world arrange special events to remind the international community that the resolution of the lingering dispute over the Indian occupied Kashmir is imperative for ensuring peace and stability in South Asia. Iyobosa Uwugiaren, who recently visited the “Line of Control” of the disputed Kashmir territory, and interacted with stakeholders, including the President of Jammu and Kashmir, reports on how they all look forward to the Nigerian vote at the United Nations Security Council for support and an end to the crisis

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o many historians and international affairs analysts, February 5 is witnessed yearly to remind the international community about the long struggle by the people of Kashmir for selfdetermination and pay tribute to thousands of gallant Kashmiris, who have been willing victims to liberate Kashmir from the alleged viciousness and callousness of high-handed Indian rulers. Described as a revolutionary day in the history of the oppressed people, it has become the model origin of the Kashmir’s fight for independence against foreign occupation.

Tracing the actual origin of the struggle, Sajjad Shaukat, who writes on international affairs and authored the book, “US versus Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations”, said the history of Dogra rule (1846-1947) in Kashmir was chockfull with tyrannous treatment, meted out to the Kashmiri Muslims by Dogra forces.

According to him, “Under the Dogra rule, they were leading so miserable life that it was difficult to differentiate them from beasts; slave labour, heavy taxes, capital punishment for cow slaughter, and living under constant terror was order of the day.”

Another author, Yousaf Saraf in his book, “Kashmiris Fight for Freedom” called it “free forced labour” and “instead of donkeys and horses, Kashmiri Muslims were used for transportation of goods across the far-flung areas.” Incongruously, over 66 years after, the people of Kashmir are still struggling and sacrificing for self-determination in line with the UN resolutions for the plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Commander, the 652 Mujahid Battalion (Mountain Tigers) of the Pakistan Army, Brigadier-General M. Akhtar, told THISDAY in Chakothi-Uri, Xing Point, 200 metres from the disputed Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) that Indian Occupied Kashmir has become one of the most heavily militarised regions in the world with over eight million armed security forces of Indians, who have been accused of daily carrying various forms of “state terrorism” on the innocent Kashmiris.

He said since 1989, a deliberate campaign by the Indian army and paramilitary forces against the Kashmiris has been demonstrated in brutal tactics such as “crackdowns, curfews, illegal detentions, massacre, targeted killings, sieges, burning of houses, torture, disappearances, rape, breaking the legs, molestation of Muslim women and killing of persons through fake encounter.”

The Pakistan Army Chief said the United Nations Security Council had passed several resolutions for the final disposition of State of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the will of the people through a fair and impartial plebiscite to be conducted under the auspices of the United Nations. According to him, the resolutions dated August 13, 1948 and January 5, 1949 were passed by the UN Commission for India and Pakistan, which he said constitute as international agreement for binding force.

He added that while Indian has continued to defy the implementation of the UN resolution, the Pakistan had consistently demanded their implementation in letter and spirit.

General Akhtar said the actions of the Indian Army while resisting the UN resolutions, had led to many heinous crimes in the occupied Kashmir since 1989: killing of 94, 504; custodial killing of 7,062; illegal arrest and detention of 136, 434; rape of 10, 433 women, while 106, 586 houses and shops were said to have been destroyed.

“Human rights violations in Indian occupied Jammu Kashmir are systematic, deliberate, and officially sanctioned. India has never prosecuted even one of its 700,000 military and paramilitary personnel there for human right abuses”, the Army Chief stated.

“And its law grants legal immunity for any actions aimed at suppressing Kashmiri dissent

Iyobosa with President of Jammu and Kashmir

or support for self-determination. Information compiled by various human rights organisations establishes that a massive complaint of brutal oppression has been launched by the Indian army since January 1989. Various estimates are given of the death toll of civilians so far.”

Owen Bennett Jones, a journalist associated with BBC News, in his report titled “Three Surprises from a visit to Kashmir” wrote that although all the numbers relating to Kashmir were keenly disputed, it was probably fair to say that as many as 100,000 people had been killed in the struggle between Kashmiris and the Indian state.

“Countless individuals have been maimed and thousands of women molested and assaulted.

Not a word of condemnation has been uttered at the United Nations; not even a call on India to cease and desist from committing its atrocities”, he added.

The Army General further stated that reports on the culture of impunity in Indian Occupied Kashmir, which have been released from time to time by different human rights groups, highlighting human rights abuses, exposed the volumes of human rights violations in Indian occupied Kashmir and the culture of impunity enjoyed by the Indian army and paramilitary forces.

“Torture in Indian occupied Kashmir is not new. Indian army and Para-military forces continue to employ third degree torture on the Kashmirs,” General Akhtar added.

He accused the Indian Army of using the ‘deadly’ Pump Action Shotgun or Pellet Gun against innocent people of Kashmir, saying several youths had got injured in south Kashmir’s Shopian town, with many of them even losing vision.

Narrating what he described as “heinous Indian State terrorism in occupied Kashmir”, the Pakistan Army General added that Kashmir has become a laboratory for Indian establishment to hone and improvise its Arsenals when unarmed Kashmiries surge on roads demanding nothing but their inalienable right to self-determination.

He revealed that a recent study conducted at the Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) showed that pellet guns caused death of many persons and injuries, while several others also lost their eyesight.

He further stated that “Government is dutybound under the law to protect the lives of people and in no case can they approve such measures that would jeopardize the lives of the common people in the name of maintaining law and order. So, law enforcement agencies should stop using this highly damage causing weapon.

“Innocent killings and other such incidents reinforce the already present political alienation among people of Indian occupied Jammu Kashmir. Continued human rights violations,

The Pakistan Foreign Affairs Minister, Syed Tariq Fatemi, told THISDAY in Islamabad that it seems non-condemnation of the Indian huge human rights violations and non-interference for the settlement of the issue by the international community, especially the US and UN, have further encouraged India to keep on with its ‘state terrorism’ on the innocent Kashmir people

as always witnessed, plunge the Kashmir into further political and economic turmoil – the following curfews, protests and spate of disturbance do not help in conflict resolution.”

General Ahktar who appealed to the UN to act quickly on the disputed territory said the economic impact of the Indian’s culture of impunity is tremendous – paralysing economic activities, stalling development works and aggravating poverty.

“The cycle of killings, impunity, destabilisation and further killings has to stop somewhere.

Failure to appreciate the perils of impunity could throw the state back to a kind of situation that would not help durable peace and stability in the region.”

An international human rights group, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International in their different reports had also pointed out grave human rights violations in the Indian-controlled Kashmir, indicating that, the Muslim majority population in the Indian Occupied Kashmir had suffered from the repressive tactics of the security forces.

Under the Jammu and Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act, and the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act and Public Safety Act, security forces personnel have extraordinary powers to shoot suspected persons.

In its report on July 2, 2015, the Amnesty International highlighted the extrajudicial killings of the innocent persons at the hands of Indian security forces in the Indian-HeldKashmir. The report points out: “Tens of thousands of security forces are deployed in Indian-administered Kashmir…the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) allows troops to shoot to kill suspected militants or arrest them without a warrant.

The Secretary-General of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Iyad Ameen Madni, stated recently that ‘”We are concerned over the grave situation in the Indian Occupied Kashmir” and called for an immediate cessation of “Indian CONT’D ON NEXT PAGE

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politics/ the monday discourse I n d i a n O c c u p i e d K a s h m i r a n d t h e Ni g e r i a n F a c t o r oppression and atrocities” in the occupied territory.

For the Foreign Affairs Minister of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu, resolution of the Kashmir dispute is important for peace and development in the South Asia, saying, “Kashmir issue is the major obstacle in PAK-India relations and its humanitarian aspect requires urgent attention of the international community.”

The Pakistan Foreign Affairs Minister, Syed Tariq Fatemi, told THISDAY in Islamabad that it seems non-condemnation of the Indian huge human rights violations and non-interference for the settlement of the issue by the international community, especially the US and UN, have further encouraged India to keep on with its “state terrorism” on the innocent Kashmir people. Perhaps so!

The President, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Masood Khan, in an interview with THISDAY in his office in Islamabad, accused Indian forces of committing “crimes against humanity” in the Kashmir and occupying the territory illegally for the past 60 years.

Drawing experience from other nations, he added that such struggles ultimately triumphed.

“There is no reason that Kashmiri people will not succeed in their heroic struggle. It is very tragic, traumatic and heart-rending. Here are people who have suffered grievously for the past 200 years. Nations around the world won independence after the Second World War, but Kashmiris remain in a state of constant subjugation and persecution.

“No year passes by without India coming up with new ways to kill, maim, torture and dishonour Kashmiris. This year came with the new, condemnable practice of blinding through the use of pellet guns and despite India’s drive to crush them, the Kashmiris have stood their ground and proved their resilience.”

He commended Pakistan and Azad Kashmir for extending moral, diplomatic support to the “just struggle” of the people of IOK. “After the uprising, we intensified our efforts.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif highlighted the suffering of the Kashmiris at the United Nations General Assembly and demanded that the UN fulfil its responsibility to implement its own resolutions on Kashmir. The leadership in Azad Kashmir also reached out to the international community and Pakistani/Kashmiri diaspora.

We succeeded to some extent but the response of the international community to the plight of the Kashmiris has been very guarded and cautious to the point of being apathetic. Our struggle continues.”

He said the UN Secretary General had issued statements offering his good offices, adding that, “Of course, laced with the condition that both India and Pakistan concur; India would obviously not. The High Commissioner for Human Rights has offered to send a fact-finding mission to India and Pakistan and to both parts of Kashmir, which India declines to receive.

Brussels did monitor the situation closely.

“International human rights organisations – including the Physicians for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Doctors without Borders – have highlighted the killings and blinding in Kashmir. They have, for instance, helped expose more than 8,000 permanent disappearances and several mass graves; that said, influential states despite all this data, are tight lipped on Kashmir.”

Recently Pakistan High Commission, Abuja, observed Kashmir Day by expressing solidarity with Kashmiri people, in their agitation for self-determination in line with the United Nations resolution. Every February 5, Pakistanis and Kashmiris around the World arrange special events in world capitals to remind the international community that resolution of the lingering dispute is imperative for ensuring peace and stability in South Asia.

“Right from the Day One, the people of Jammu and Kashmir never accepted India’s illegal occupation of their motherland and they have been struggling to liberate it from Indian subjugation. Their liberation struggle forced India to seek the help of United Nations to settle the Kashmir dispute”, the high commission stated in a press statement in Abuja.

“United Nations in its successive resolutions promised that a free and impartial plebiscite would be conducted under its supervision and the people of Kashmir would be given the opportunity to decide their future themselves.

These UN resolutions and the pledges made by Indian leadership remain unimplemented even after the passing of several decades.”

The high commission said it is ironic that India is using every undemocratic method to continue its illegal hold on Jammu and Kashmir – while on one hand, it wants to compel Pakistan to give up its support to the Kashmiri people, while on the other, it has been resorting to the “worst kind of state terrorism” in occupied Kashmir to intimidate the Kashmiris into submission.

The statement added: “This resulted in the

Iyobosa is also seen here with Pakistan Army General in the Line of Control

Amina Mohammaed taking the oath of office as Deputy Secretary-General of the UN

killing of nearly one hundred thousand innocent Kashmiris and disappearance of thousands in custody. This vicious cycle of killing has rendered over twenty-five thousand women widowed and around a hundred and ten thousand children orphaned.

“The extrajudicial killing of popular youth leader, Burhan Muzaffar Wani, by Indian troops on July 8, 2016, triggered massive anti-India and pro-freedom demonstrations. Indian troops responded with brute force, killing more than 200 innocent civilians, injuring over 16,000 and blinding hundreds others by firing bullets, pellets and teargas shells on peaceful protesters.

“Despite using all kinds of brutal tactics, it has failed to suppress the freedom sentiment of the people of Kashmir and they are determined to carry forward their on-going freedom movement to its logical conclusion at all costs.”

Given the fact that the Kashmir dispute involves two nuclear powers and a small incident can prove disastrous for the entire South Asia, the high commission said it is high time the world community took steps towards addressing this contentious problem, saying it needed to understand that due to the unrealistic and intransigent approach of India, the peace of the entire region is at stake.

It further added that February 5 is a reminder to the world powers that they should use their influence on New Delhi to settle the conflict

over Kashmir, stating that at the same time the supreme sacrifices of Kashmiri people must be acknowledged and India should be censured for disrespecting the UN resolutions and continued human rights violations in occupied Kashmir.

“The 5th February reminds the world about the urgency involved in an early resolution of the Kashmir dispute for the global peace, security and prosperity. All the peace and justice loving nations of the world must come together to express practical solidarity with the oppressed people of occupied Kashmir”, the statement added.

With the election of Khan as president of IOK, many political analysts had expected the Kashmir movement to gather momentum especially with a proven record as an ardent campaigner for the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions, and put an end to ‘’Indian atrocities, and the initiation of a sustained, substantive and structured dialogue process to resolve disputes between India and Pakistan.”

Renowned diplomat and former Ambassador to the United Nations and China, Khan, was elected President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir by a vast majority during polling by joint electoral college comprising 55 members of AJK Legislative Assembly and AJK Council.

President Khan has said Indian forces’ excesses

and aggression cannot suppress the struggle of Kashmiri people for freedom and they will continue their movement till the liberation of their land from Indian occupation.

President Khan believe the issue of Indian Occupied Kashmir can still be resolved without going to war if the international community puts pressure on the Indian to respect the UN resolutions and respect the inalienable rights of Jammu and Kashmir for self-determination.

For over two years, Khan has worked hard in UN to build support for the consciousness of the right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Records show that during his tenure as Permanent Representative to the United Nations, he reached out to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly and UN Human Rights Council to persuade them to fulfil the UN’s promise to help decide Kashmir’s political future through a fair, just and democratic dispensation.

He was said to have helped to organise the UN Secretary General Ban’s first official visit to Islamabad in August 2013 during which the Secretary General had detailed talks on Jammu and Kashmir with the newly elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Importantly too, they reckoned that with Nigeria’s support at the UN, things may look quite good for them in securing justice.

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

Perspective

Biafra and Kalu’s Misunderstood Prognosis

Unlike many, former Abia State governor, Orji Uzor Kalu has refused to play politics with the issues of Biafra in his recent position, writes Peter Ogbonna Eze

T

he scope and dimension the Biafran agitation will assume will marvel many if all the elites and political thinkers from the South-east boldly rise and give their honest opinions about the Biafran cause. Not only is the issue too sensitive, and somewhat emotive to the core, it also bears one of the strongest connecting point for the Igbo nation.

A few people have been courageous enough to speak up, although more or less being technical or playing to the gallery on their stand. The only simple difference between their stand and that of a distinguished national leader, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu is on approach.

While others maybe in consideration of the voices of the youths for a Biafran state – an eldorado of some sort – and fear of condemnation by the spirited youth on any stand that looks unbiafran, continues to give political responses to this ideology. Orji Kalu with his antecedents of guts and courage has refrained from playing politics with the agitation.

The Igbo nation, having been denied of federal presence since time immemorial, needs either the presidency, restructuring or Biafra to re-launch itself to a desired and self-actualising state. Other elites have either remained silent, massaged or avoided discussions centering on the latter or limited their discussions to the former. Meanwhile, there are so many of them who have related views with Kalu but are very scared to open up.

The unending calls for Kalu to clarify his hard line stand on the Biafra agitation recently reduced after a video of him passionately and critically saying NO to the country’s disunity went viral. Those who prefer Biafra to the other two (restructuring and presidency) have been registering their displeasure on Kalu’s stand through different means and media.

There were not a few controversial comments concerning the video interview Kalu granted. While a few accused him of sabotaging the Biafra agitation, others commended him for his outstanding courage and strength of character to seek a better approach that won’t lead to unnecessary deaths of civil protesters as well as guarantee a better deal for the Igbo nation.

Sometimes, the attitude of these commentators can be irritating. Few people debate the actual issue(s), others just seek

Kalu

to satisfy themselves by choosing the unintelligent way such as calling names and using improper language. Nevertheless, I understand that a phone and internet subscription comes with a price on the general well-being of the society and social interaction.

There were also suggestions from the camp of cheap peddlers of falsehoods and propagandists that Kalu no longer seeks the welfare and growth of the Igbo nation. Those who believe this could possibly believe anything.

However, those who easily fall for media headlines are the ones who actually express much reservation for the former governor.

They do not read his detailed views or opinions, neither do they recall issues nor keep an open mind. I guess they didn’t go to many schools.

It takes much intelligence to succeed in politics and business as Kalu exemplifies.

He attacks a problem and not sentiments, leaving people to react while he goes on to tackle other pressing issues. He has a duty to his people and his conscience to make sure his stand will not be controversial in history.

The Forbes billionaire would always stand with the truth.

In Nigeria, Orji Uzor Kalu is a brand. A fearless detribalised brand, whose stand on critical matters generates a lot of concern nationally and beyond. It is not unusual for

him to attract different reactions from his views. Despite not accepting to be referred to as the leader of Igbo nation, many still believe that the vacuum left by Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu can only be filled by him.

This title implicitly bequeathed on Kalu, I believe, did not come by chance. As a strong brand, he is known as a man who can bravely stand for his people against external aggression and his antecedents in rising against the aggressors of the Igbo people simply proves it.

In 1999, when he was in the front line promotion for the country’s restructuring, knowing fully its importance to the rise of the Igbo states, he was asked to concentrate more on the governance of Abia State and in due time, a ripe breadfruit will eventually fall. Today, restructuring is still an issue.

Kalu’s recently misunderstood definition of Biafra is not the first time he will be misunderstood on issues concerning Ndigbo. Earlier, he had refrained from making statements about Biafra as he once confessed that it is an issue that is too sensitive with a lot of fault lines on views.

In 2006, during the national census, a proBiafra group, MASSOB, once told Ndigbo not to participate in the exercise and reeled out tens of reasons for such unintelligent stance. Standing tall among the reasons was that boycotting the census would be a signal to the Nigeria government that the Igbo people are no longer interested in the Nigerian entity.

Orji Kalu couldn’t hide his displeasure with the body and leadership of MASSOB as he appeared live on national television to condemn the stance. His disposition then also showed his readiness to exchange blows with the leadership of MASSOB given an opportunity.

The former governor in his reaction explained to Ndigbo the consequences of boycotting the scheme and added that such ignorance could affect the South-east for the next ten years. Today, the result of the 2006 census is a decision criterion by the federal government in allocating some resources to states. And it has remained unfavorable to the South-east. Meanwhile, the Biafra independence is yet to be achieved.

Recently, Kalu embarked on APC sensitisation in the South-east and called on Ndigbo to participate in the APC re-registration exercise going on in the South-east. A reaction by one Tony Okeke

on the social media to Kalu’s call reads: “Attention! Anyone that partakes in the APC membership registration is an enemy of the Igbo cause (Biafra).

“Bear it in mind that your registration and photo capture shall be a stumbling block to our agitation for Biafra. Yes! Imagine where over 5 million South Easterners register for APC (a northern party) who then is demanding for Biafra? How many is left? It means the people are comfortable with the ruling party and their stay in a failed state in Nigeria. I am bleeding in my heart right now...”

My interest on this particular comment was because of the audacity of the ignorance it reflects also out of surprise that many people accepted his view and accommodated its shallowness and lack of intellectual depth.

First, it is very unintelligent to state that party affiliations will stall the real advancement of Igbo cause. Party politics is extremely divisive. If we must learn from other regions, the interest of our region must simply surpass pettiness. If this fellow believes the APC is owned by northerners, who then owns the PDP? I guess his village people?

Kalu has always been in the center of the campaign for the rights of Ndigbo which has cost him a lot of his hard earned fortune. He lost his business fortunes over disagreement with a particular leadership of the federal government, received a lot of persecution that almost forced him to transfer all his business interests to other African countries among others.

The African Pillar of sports has stated that his own definition of Biafra is a Nigeria where the South-east is given equal recognition and fair share of the national resources; where true federalism, justice and freedom of association uphold.

The 1967 debacle which birthed unimaginable injustice and wickedness against Ndigbo ought to be resolved someday, but we cannot be on an autopilot for now. Ndigbo should not be carried away with hateful comments from Kalu’s detractors because they are seemingly out of ignorance and shallow sentiments, undemocratic and should not be dignified with attention. No one is more hated than he who has the courage to speak when necessary.

•Eze, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Abuja

Adeola and the Burden of Ancestral Ties

The controversy over Senator Solomon Adeola’s true ancestral link to Yewa in Ogun State, casts a serious pall on his governorship dream, writes Raheem Ajayi

I

didn’t want to be part of the seeming controversy which the foray of Lagos Senator, Solomon Adeola, aka YAYI, into Ogun politics has generated simply because I felt it wasn’t time for such. I had assumed that when the real time comes, there will not be need for a narrative on political correctness in Yewa land! However, events of the last 24 hours have shown that the future events might have been drawn closer.

An open letter which was written by Omooba Damilare Oloyede, a native of Ado Odo to YAYI demanding his true origin escalated the discuss. Even though I have read a couple of reactions to the letter especially the one by one of our brothers, Ajiroba Dapo Oke, the defence has largely been made to look like there is substance in the accusation. The defence has been unusually characterised by long history which has left readers with more questions.

I will come back to that in a bit.

As a Yewa man, from Imasayi Ajagidiagbo, I wouldn’t stand by and allow my land to be portrayed as a territory to be acquired by anybody, no matter how noble or great he is, for political gains. I particularly find distasteful, the dimensions being introduced to the discourse about the origin of this accomplished politician suggesting that we are a people so subdued that such a thing

could happen in our land.

In Yoruba land, one of the greatest insults to pass on a noble man is to portray him as a bastard or “atowunrinwa”! Why would YAYI allow himself to be put in this kind of awkward position on account of politics? Why would he allow people to ridicule him? I don’t blame those who have questions to ask about his roots because he allowed it! Why did he wait till 2014 when he was aspiring to become Senator for Ogun West before he came to Yewa?

At what point did he remember he is from Pahayi because in 2014, he claimed to have come from Joga Orile? This smacks inconsistency! I wonder why he didn’t visit his “ancestral homes” either in Joga Orile or Pahayi before he decided to run for the Senatorial Seat of Ogun West.

Even those that have been living abroad for decades make contacts with homestead much less a family purportedly migrated to a neighbouring state of Lagos. YAYI could have been spotted in pictures as a young man with one or two of his kinsmen who grew up in that area hereby saving himself all these noise and controversy about his origin if he had come earlier.

Again where were his father and grandfather buried? This is a lesson for others who abandon their homestead when they are young only to identify with such places when there are opportunities which they think they are primed to grab.

Adeola

Even if YAYI’s ancestor were to be the founder of Pahayi, he has allowed his lack of compassion for his home to put doubts

over his origin. Above all, he has been consistently inconsistent about his real town.

People who want to defend YAYI should cut us some slack now, haba! They should speak to the matter not some elaborate lineage history dating back to when Oduduwa purportedly dropped from the sky. What a good defence should do is to answer salient questions not with a tone of annoyance. A defence which should be of modern history should give names of people who are blood relations of YAYI who had lived in Pahayi either dead or alive that people can trace.

A defence should not make it look like we are that backward, desperate or in need of a messiah whose arrival we have been waiting for to liberate us. If we are going to get the governorship seat of Ogun State after 40 years in 2019, we should be sure those putting themselves on the “front burner” are Yewa-Awori by blood not by “acquisition”.

Yes, YAYI has got impressive political credentials and anybody would want him to be part of his family, but in Yoruba land and especially in Yewa land, we like to know whose son you are if you seek to represent us. I don’t think that is too much to ask and I equally don’t think it’s too big to answer!

•Ajayi wrote from Imasayi, Yewa North, Ogun State

20

monDAY, February 13, 2017 • T H I S D AY

features

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

The Ogre Called DSS The battery of teachers of the Federal Government Girls’ College, Calabar, Cross River State, by operatives of the Department of State Services for daring to punish an unruly student who is related to a DSS official, has raised concerns about the lawlessness in the security agency already accused of human rights abuses, writes Ugo Aliogo

T

he students watched in utter dismay as he was being flogged.

Many who could not hold back their emotions cried. His frail appearance which was very visible cried for help, but his tormentors would not stop the battery. When the cane broke, they switched to kicks, and punches.

Mr. Owai Owai, a Civic Education teacher, at Federal Government College, Calabar, Cross River State with 17 years’ experience, was being physically abused by agents of state who were supposed to protect him, not for committing any crime, but for carrying his duty as a teacher and ensuring that a student who misbehaved was disciplined in tandem with the rules of the school.

It was a bright Thursday morning in Calabar, the Cross River State capital. Owai came to class as he has always done almost daily for the past 17 years and found a junior student sweeping the Senior Secondary School (SS3) classroom when classes were on in the junior school, which was against the school rule that junior students should not be found doing chores in the classes of seniors during school period. Owai fished out 10 senior students responsible for the violation and duly punished them by flogging each of them, two strokes of the cane.

One of the seniors, Grace Asuquo, in defiance, grabbed the teacher by the collar of his shirt, protesting her flogging. The teacher was shocked and gave her more strokes for attempting to challenge him. She threatened the teacher in the midst of the students that her parents will burn down the school building and stormed out of the class.

Within fleeting seconds, officials suspected to be members of the Department of State Security (DSS) stormed the school compound in three Hilux vans. When teachers and students saw them, they were terrified and sensed danger.

The protesting teachers carrying placards condemning the impunity of the DSS Owai said they jumped out from the vans, shouting ‘where is the teacher’.

Due to a case of mistaken identity, a woman who was part of the DSS team pointed at another teacher, known as Mr. Ndarake, whom she believed was Owai and they went after him, “One of them brought out a rifle, pointed it at Ndarake, while another shouted ‘shoot him’. But the man with the rifle fired into the air, grabbed Ndarake and tried to force him into one of the vans, but he resisted.

The man with the rifle wrestled him to the ground and began using the butt of his rifle on his head and neck,” noted Owai.

Another victim, a Fine Arts teacher, Mr. Mbeson Emmanuel, said some of the men that invaded the school were shooting sporadically into the air, while the pandemonium lasted and any teacher who tried to take pictures was attacked and their phones seized.

One of them brought out a rifle, pointed it at Ndarake, while another shouted ‘shoot him’. But the man with the rifle fired into the air, grabbed Ndarake and tried to force him into one of the vans, but he resisted.

The man with the rifle wrestled him to the ground and began using the butt of his rifle on his head and neck

The entrance gate to FGGC, Calabar Emmanuel added: “Over six of us were attacked for trying to take pictures of the incident. I had my phone and binoculars confiscated and another teacher, Mrs. Anne Agba, had her phone and N80, 000, which was in her handbag, confiscated. She was severely manhandled.”

He said the security man, James Asuquo, who locked the gate to stop the invaders’ vans from leaving the school was hit several times on the head and neck with the butt of a rifle, causing him to bleed profusely.

Apparently, Grace had matched her threat with action, by calling her mother whose sister is an operative in the Department of State Security (DSS) to rescue her from this

self-perceived battery in the hands of Owai.

The issue which has raised dust has become a story of a two sided coins. Reacting to the incident, the State Director of the DSS, Mr. Fubara Duke, said the incident was a case of mistaken identity, stressing that on Wednesday some hoodlums went to the school to beat up a teacher who flogged one of the students, “but did not see the teacher, so they returned yesterday morning.”

Duke added that when the teachers saw the DSS operatives, they thought she was one of the hoodlums and pounced on her, beat her up and tore her clothes, stating that there were no gunshots and the DSS men only went on the invitation of the school authorities, but the

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T H I S D AY • monDAY, February 13, 2017

features

We must all wail against the excesses of our law enforcement agents. Their duty is to protect us and not to intimidate us. A formal petition has been lodged with the appropriate authorities. But there is something we can do here: let’s stand up and shout against this barbaric intimidation by the DSS, if we don’t stand up now, there might be no one left to stand tomorrow teachers mistook DSS operatives for hoodlums.

He added: “They went there to sort out an issue, where the DSS operative’s daughter was beaten by a teacher, leaving her body with lacerations. But she was mistaken for one of the hoodlums, who went there to beat up a teacher on Wednesday. I have asked the school administration to fish out the teachers who attacked the DSS lady to face the appropriate punishment.”

The legal counsel handling the issue, First Baba Isa, Esquire, expressed sadness over the alleged ill-treatment of school teachers by officers of the DSS, stating that the body is vested with the power to protect the citizenry and not harassment.

As part of measures to seek redress, the

Operatives of the DSS...intimidating Nigerians management of the school through legal counsel has demanded from the DSS, a written public apology which will be published on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Radio Nigeria and four national dailies, an oral apology given at the assembly ground before staff and students, outright dismissal and prosecution of the operatives involved in this barbaric act, to foot the hospital bills of all staff who sustained injuries during the assault, to return/pay for all lost or damaged items like phones, monies, and glasses, replace the damaged school gate, and pay a 10 million naira compensation to the school.

The staff of the school have requested the

legal adviser to file a law suit in a court of competent jurisdiction in order to seek redress for the physical assault.

He said: “We must all wail against the excesses of our law enforcement agents. Their duty is to protect us and not to intimidate us. A formal petition has been lodged with the appropriate authorities. But there is something we can do here: let’s stand up and shout against this barbaric intimidation by the DSS, if we don’t stand up now, there might be no one left to stand tomorrow.”

Like festering sore, the trauma of the brutalisation is yet to heal. Last week, THISDAY gathered that staff of the school took to the

street to protest the alleged battery by the operatives of the DSS. The staff carried placards with various inscriptions such as ‘we need justice no Nigeria factor, Teachers are agents of development, DSS be warned, we need justice, perpetrators must be brought to book, and others.’

The state Chairman of the Cross River state Union of Teachers, Ogunyemi Akinwunmi, who is also a teacher in the school, said they are protesting to ensure that the perpetrators of the alleged act are brought to book.

He added: “As a union we have written a petition and as a body we have sent a message to our national headquarters in Lagos. The union is not taking it lightly. Our union’s slogan is injury to one is injury to all. If we don’t tackle this now, we don’t know where it would happen next. We want the world to know what happened here. It would not be swept under the carpet. Even though the ministry is doing something, the union cannot just sit down.”

The State Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Clarkson Otu, who participated in the protest, said they needed justice and offenders should be brought to book.

Otu added that those who took the laws into their hands must be punished, adding that they embarked on the protest because they are peace-loving Nigerians.

At the state House of Assembly, the Speaker, Mr. John Lebo, who was represented by the Clerk of the House, said: “We were all trained by teachers. Teachers should also get their reward on earth. We would ensure that justice is done.”

However, a Director in the office of the State Security Adviser, Mr. Etam Eno, who received the protesters promised to convey the message to the governor.

This incident is not the first in the series of impunity.

22

images

L-R; General Manager, British American Tobacco Nigerian Foundation (BATNF), Abimbola Okoya; Executive Director, BATNF, Mrs. Oluwaseyi Ashade; Dr. Anthony Anuforom and, Director-General/CEO, Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Professor Abubakar Sani Mashi at the 2017 Implementing partners’ workshop and isigning of Memorandum of Understanding between BATNF and NiMet in Lagos,.recently

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13 , 2017

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

L-R: Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe; , Special Adviser, European Space Agency/Chairperson of the Jury, Haignere Claudie and Vice President, Eutelsat, Rodney Benn during the DStv Eutelsat Star Award Outreach in Lagos.. recently Abiodun Ajala

L-R: A beneficiary, Femi Gbajabiamila Agricultural Empowerment Programme, Mrs. Oluwakemi Akitoye; Leader of the House of representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila; and Executive Director, Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute, Prof. Femi Peters, during the presentation of agricultural equipments to the beneficiaries in Lagos…recently

L-R: Executive Director, Investments, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Ltd, Mr. Dele Sotubo; Board Member, Health Service Commission, Lagos State, Dr Tokunbo Oluwole; Medical Director, Ebute Metta Health Centre, Lagos, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye; Head, Marketing and Communications, Stanbic IBTC, Mrs. Nkiru Olumide-Ojo; and Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Ltd, Mrs. Bunmi Dayo-Olagunju; at the commissioning of the revamped female and children’s wards of Ebute Metta Health Centre, by Stanbic IBTC’s Wealth Group in Lagos....recently

L-R; Sales Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc,. Hubert Eze ; MD/CEO, Ken Maduakor Group Limited/winner of 2017 Nigerian Breweries National Champions Award, Kenneth Maduakor; and Managing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Nicolaas Velverde, at the 2017 Nigerian Breweries Distributors Award night in Lagos...recently SUNDAY ADIGUN

L-R: General Manager, Corporate Communications, Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SACHOL), Mr. Basil Agboarumi; Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Rizwan Kadri; Sales and Marketing, Mr. Adigun Olaniyan and General Manager, Cargo Services, Boma Ukwumna, during a press briefing on the company’s activities, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos...recently KOLAWOLE ALLI

L-R: Marketing Manager, SuperSport West Africa, Chidozie Bede-Nwokoye; Public Relations Manager, GOtv, Efe Obiomah; General Manager, Marketing and Sales, MultiChoice Nigeria, Martin Mabutho and GOtv Marketing Manager, Johnson Ivase during the media parley to announce the addition of the rest of the 2016/17 Emirates FA Cup season to all DStv packages and GOtv Plus in Lagos...recently

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Quick Takes Wi-Pay Global Gets Int’l Approval

Wi-Pay Global, a United Kingdom based company has been granted registration approval to carry out international money remittance by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom.

In a letter received last week, the company was granted registration to carry out payment activities under money remittance services after a review of its application.

According to the Head of Operations/ITof the company, Mr. Charles Ighedo, “This remarkable feat is indeed rewarding and serves to reaffirm our faith in the corporate vision of the company, which is to make Wi-PAY the pre-eminent E-payment solutions provider locally and globally.”

The company’s business model hinges on the Tripod Strategy, which will enable Wi-PAY seamlessly provide POS payment terminal services, mobile money and international remittance services in Nigeria and abroad under a robust platform. Thus, this achievement is well timed as it puts the company in good stead in commencing our international remittance services before the end of 1st quarter 2017, the company assured.

“This will therefore complement our local domestic money transfer, bill payment, Etop-up and PTSP services and ultimately fits into the overall Wi-PAY ecosystem and long-term vision of becoming a leading e-payment solutions provider and world-class fintech company,” Ighedo said.

Wi-PAY Technologies Ltd (Nigeria), Wi-PAY Global (UK) and WiPAY Global LLC (USA) is a group of financial technology companies providing an integrated array of e-payment solutions.

LUCKY BENEFICIARIES

L–R: Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State; Chairman, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Mrs. Ifueko OmoiguiOkauru; Akanbi Motolani of The Freshies House and Executive Secretary, (LSETF), Mr. Akintunde Oyebode, during the LSETF Cheque Presentation ceremony to the beneficiaries of the Loan Scheme at Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos … recently

N17.5bn Bad Loans Cripple NERFUND Stories by James Emejo in Abuja The acting Managing Director of the National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND), Mr. Ezekiel Oseni has said the fund was unable to pay staff salaries while majority of the staff had been laid off owing to the N17.5 billion owed it by recalcitrant debtors.

He has therefore appealed to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to help recover the outstanding amount.

According to him, eight percent of the total customers, who borrowed money accounted for over 81 percent of total non-performing loans.

Speaking during a courtesy visit to the EFCC in Abuja, Oseni said since he assumed

economy office in August last year, he had engaged with 135 customer, who borrowed between N1million to N5million and had been making efforts to repay.

But the challenge according to him, lied with the big debtors who owed between N50million and above- and have sworn not to pay back simple because it was public funds.

Others said it was only their own share of the national cake, he told the anti-graft officials.

Majority of the loans lacked requisite collaterals and were merely backed by guarantees from past political office holders.

Some of the big debtors were said to have resorted to

endless litigation to frustrate recovery efforts.

He said the situation has rendered the fund broke and currently unable to pay staff salaries while many had recently been sacked, with more to follow if nothing was done to arrest the situation.

Oseni, therefore, asked the EFCC to set up a special task force in NERFUND to help in the investigation and recovery of N14.2 billion owed by the so-called big debtors.

Responding, Chief of Staff to the acting EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoye on behalf of his boss, Ibrahim Magu, assured the NERFUND of maximum cooperation, adding that the request was within its area of jurisdiction.

He further assured the NERFUND boss that the commission would be ready

to assist in the recovery after a memorandum of understanding is signed to that effect.

NERFUND was set up to provide needed medium – to long-term financing to viable Small and Medium scale production enterprises.

The grand objectives are to increase the quantum of goods and services available for local consumption and export, provide needed employment, expand our production base and add value to the economy.

It is designed to aid in the cake-baking process, and as such, fund disbursements by the NERFUND will be based on competitive efficiency”.

Since there is more demand for the NERFUND loans than the resources currently available can satisfy, only the most viable Continued on page 24

Food Prices Expected to Crash as Fertiliser Bill Nears Passage Stakeholders in the agriculture sector have commenced the review the fertilizer quality control bill, so as to checkmate adulteration of the farm input and boost food production in the country.

When passed into law, the bill is expected to crash the high food prices as fertiliser is properly deregulated and made readily available to farmers at reasonable prices.

The bill, which has passed second reading in the House of Representative and moved to the Senate, was being reviewed to regulate fertilizer production, supply and usage

economy in the nation, and also ensure that the environment is not polluted with the adulterated farm input.

The project funded by the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) under the Micro Reforms for African Agribusiness (MIRA) was geared towards regulating the production and the sale of fertilizer.

The Vice President of the Nigerian Agribusiness Group, Emmanuel Ijewere, during a stakeholders’ consultation on the economic impact assess-

ment of Agriculture reforms in the input sector yesterday in Abuja said there will be provision in the bill, fine against producers that engage in fertilizer adulteration.

Also, the fertilizer bill when passed into law would regulate players in the fertilizer procurement, blending and distribution, he said the Fertilizer Supplier Association of Nigeria would be strengthened to protect the interest of small-scale farmers.

The Project Consultant, Prof. Peter Okodua said the expectation was for farmers to get access to the right fertilizer

and high yielding seed so as to increase yield per unit area, adding that if farmers benefit by getting access to right fertilizers and seed, the blenders, producers, distributors would also benefit.

He said: “If we do not regulate the way we manufacture and produce the fertilizer, it then becomes a problem so we get substandard and farmers don’t get the right yield and income; also the soil would be degraded further and the chemicals would enter into our water that people drink, Continued on page 24

Mantrac Achieves Gold Certification

In keeping with Mantrac Nigeria’s culture of maintaining Caterpillar standard service, the company said it recently received Gold Certification of Caterpillar Marine Service Assessment (MSA) carried out by Det Norske Veritas, Germanischer Lloyd (DNV-GL).

Throwing more light on the certification, the Managing Director Mantrac Nigeria Mr. Edmund Martin-Lawson in a statement explained that the award was won by the company’s Lagos and Port Harcourt facilities following three years consistent efforts and thorough audit

by DNV-GL on Caterpillar Marine Service Assessment carried out for five consecutive days in September 2016, in both branches.

He said MSA is a tool to measure Product Support Capability and quality levels based on a number of standard requirements which every Caterpillar Marine Dealer must meet.

According to the Martin-Lawson was highly elated about the award, coming from an assessment carried out by the world’s largest classification organisation with 13,175 vessels and mobile off shore units amounting to 265.4 mill gt in its portfolio, all representing 21% of the global market.

He commended the Mantrac Nigeria team that worked tirelessly in achieving this feat, noting that the Caterpillar Gold Level Certification places Mantrac Nigeria in a very prestigious position as one of the top-notch dealers in marine service capability in the Caterpillar dealer network.

NACC Appoints Akpata New DG

The National President of the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), Chief Bintan Famutimi has announced the appointment of Mrs. Joyce Akpata as new Director-General.

ThiswascontainedinapressstatementreleasedonThursdaybyNACC. According to the Association, Joyce is expected to bring her varied experience and expertise into the administration of the Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce. Prior to joining the Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce, Joyce has had varied work experience in the practice of law, the Head, Legal and Administration at a proprietary trading firm, Company Secretary and Legal Adviser at Odade Investments Limited, Head, Consultancy Unit of Odade Consulting Services Ltd, and was until recently the Director-General of the Nigerian British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC).

Joyce Akpata earned her first degree in law from of the University of Abuja. She was called to the Nigerian Bar after graduating from the Nigerian Law School with a 2nd Class Upper Division. She was a winner of several coveted prizes at the Nigerian Law School. She is a Chartered SecretaryandalsoholdsanMBAfromtheDurhamBusinessSchool,UK.

“Recession has really affected asset management in the country because the growth rate has slowed down a bit” Managing Director, Afrinvest Asset Management Limited,

Mr. Ola Belgore

24

T H I S D AY • monDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD N17.5bn Bad Loans Cripple NERFUND

projects may benefit from the programme. Your challenge is to put together one of the most viable projects to benefit from the NERFUND programme.

The NERFUND has been very successful in reorientating the nation towards a production culture from the old trading culture. So far, the NERFUND has approved loans for one thousand four hundred and ninety seven projects, valued at over N5billion.

Food Prices Expected to Crash as Fertiliser Bill Nears Passage

causing Cancer among other diseases.”

The university don added that the plan was to remove the bureaucratic act of the government through subsidy control and allow the forces of demand and supply to equal out through proper regulation.

He posited the need to make adulteration of farm input a criminal offence so as to discourage people from engaging in the act.

The Abuja liaison manager for the Fertilizer Producer and Supplier Association (FEPSAN), Idoko Negedu lamented that there is little or no regulation of the fertilizer in the country, adding that farmers are only getting what they see.

He said: “There are a lot of local production of fertilizer that are going on that are unregulated, which bothers on law, the bill is to look into the challenges and find ways of government to regulate the industry. Farmers get a lot of sand in the name of NPK fertilizer, no wonder their yield is not as high as expected.”

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 (Maritime) Ejiofor Alike (Energy) James Emejo (Nation’s Capital) Obinna Chima (Money Mkt) Reporters

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (AgriBusiness)

NEWS

Onu: Private Sector Investment in Research, Others Will Boost Local Production Ugo Aliogo The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has called for increased private sector investment in research and commercialisation in order to boost local of production of made in products.

Onu, who disclosed this during a facility tour of the Nestle Flowergate Factory, Shagamu, Ogun State, noted that there is need for the private sector to partner the federal to improve research and innovation works to serve the needs of local, and international market.

He explained that May and Baker, and NASCO Foods have entered into Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry, adding that the two companies are commercialising three products that have international appeal. One of such, he added, is sickle cell anaemia, which has been commercialised and is working effectively in Nigeria and even in Europe.

Furthermore, the minister noted that the other product that was commercialised has been found to tackle malnutrition problems and high nutrition density. He urged Nestle Nigeria to indicate interest as the ministry would be willing to cooperate with it.

He explained that the present

administration is committed to addressing the issue of unemployment in the country, adding that efforts are in place to make Nigeria self-sufficient in sugar production in order to meets the industrial needs of the company in that area.

He added: “There are a number of areas that I think we can assist and help you.

As Minister of Science and Technology, it is my responsibility to help move Nigeria from a resourced to knowledge based

economy. We are happy with the work you are doing.

“I want you to start doing researches here in Nigeria; this will help you and also help us.

When you start doing research here, they will develop products that will be more sustainable to our people.

“The ones that are developed here is very good for the market and the company is making a lot of money. The products will not just be for the Nigeria market only, but also for export. We have

The Head of Energy Efficiency, Nigeria Energy Support Programme (NESP), Dr. Charles Diarra, has said that through the implementation of energy efficiency measures, the Nigeria industrial sector can potentially save-up to 30-35 percent of energy.

He disclosed this at the Implementation workshop of a Pilot Energy Efficiency Network (EEN) for industrial enterprises in Nigeria organised by the NESP in collaboration with Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) with funding support from the European Union (EU) and the German Government.

Diarra explained that the saving up of energy depends on what programmes the nation is implementing, the stage energy conservation is and how much the country is losing, while adding that if the Nigeria is to implement energy efficiency measures in all it’s dimensional from the consumption, and the supply side, much savings should be done.

He said: “To save up energy, we need to do a qualified audit for the different areas involved. Unless

the company will make money, employ Nigerians to work here, and pay tax to government.

Therefore, the money spent in the research will be recovered through this means.”

Onu commended the company for the technical man-power development efforts, which he noted is helping to provide skills to people and address poverty, while expressing hope that the company would bring more Nigerians onboard in the supply and distribution value chain.

COURTESY VISIT

L-R: Henry Bassey, Chief Marketing Officer, Sterling Bank Plc; Babatunde Faleke, Regional Coordinator, (South West) Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and Bukola Awosanya, Group Head, Agric Finance, Sterling Bank Plc during a courtesy visit by Sterling Bank to NEPC Regional office in Lagos...recently

NESP: Implementation of Energy Efficiency Measures Will Save Nigeria 30-35% Energy Ugo Aliogo

17 research centres in Nigeria which are under the supervision of the federal ministry of science and technology. We don’t want any of them to be commercialised, we want them to get to pilot plant levels.

“It will be a situation of doing your research and getting it up the level where it can be commercialised, then give it to the private sector to handle commercialisation aspect. For instance, if a research is given to Nestle Nigeria to commercialise,

a study is conducted, we may not be able to ascertain the amount of energy to be saved.”

He further noted that if regulatory bodies responsible are able to audit the energy consumption rates of industries and homes, then they would be able to present a correct figure of the amount of energy that can be saved over a period of time.

Diarra added: “For this programme, we are focused on the energy consumption; however, I will not be able to say that the amounts of energy to be saved because we have not conducted a study on energy consumption. We also need a representative sample of energy stakeholders and find out how we can scale up the rate of 500,000 and say how much we can save.

Energy efficiency measure is a new concept because in the power sector in Nigeria, we are struggling to meet up with power supply.

“People are much concerned in having power than energy efficiency measure. The implementation of energy is at a very low stage in Nigeria. We are happy that through this workshop, people are beginning to accept the idea and realising that it is not about getting power only,

but implementing some energy saving measures which would help avoid waste and conserve some energy. This workshop is aimed at mobilising people on saving energy consumption. However, before we came in, there were some industries that had the idea of implementing the energy consumption mechanism.”

Speaking on the objective of the workshop, he said the aim is to see how they can produce energy for the industrial sector in Nigeria, adding that NESP in collaboration with many partners has decided to introduce energy management system in Nigeria for companies and support mechanics, therefore we decided to support the implementation of the energy management system.

In his remarks, the Deputy Director, Renewable and Rural Power Access Department, federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing (FMPWH), Faruk Yabo, lauded the significance of energy efficiency practices and initiatives such as the EEN, adding the federal government, having ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change, and it is committed to meeting its emission reduction targets as well as renewable energy and efficiency target.

NBCC Harps on SME Growth at 40th Anniversary Emma Okonji The Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), Nigeria’s foremost Bilateral Chamber that promotes trade relations between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, has reiterated its commitment to developing the small and medium enterprises in Nigeria, as part of activities marking its 40th anniversary a bilateral chamber.

Announcing the activities for the anniversary celebration at a press conference in Lagos recently, its President, Adedapo Adelegan said the chamber will be launching the NBCC-DCSL MSME Centre at DCSL Corporate Services Limited a partnership between the Chamber and DCSL taking into cognizance the pivotal role that small businesses play in modern economies especially in areas of job creation and contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He said the SME centre will be used for the training of and incubation of young entrepreneurs who have ideas that are commercially viable and sustainable.

Aside the SME centre, the NBCC also plans to hold anniversary lecture as well as Photo/Arts exhibition coming up on the 9th of March, which would also include a documentary of milestones covered in the past 40 years.

“The NBCC Golf Tournament scheduled to hold in April; the Gala Dinner and Dance/ Patrons’ Investiture in June; visits to selected states, as well as the trade mission to the UK, focusing on the maritime sector, mining and mineral resources sector, finance and investment, are all part of the activities marking the 40th anniversary of NBCC,”

Adelegan said.

According to him, the NigerianBritish Chamber of Commerce over the couple of months has made fantastic stride in the area of Policy Dialogue, Advocacy, Networking and Business Referrals even with the country’s current economic state with the aim of garnering business sustainability in different sector of the economy.

“I can attest to the fact that as we stepped up activities and events and we were privileged to have enjoyed an impressive involvement of members one way or the other with the attendance and active participation in events organised by the Chamber and making suggestions for improvement. During this year under my review I was privileged to lead a delegation on a Trade Mission to the UK last year. The Mission was focused on infrastructure and Real Estate, which featured a ‘2-day Opportunity Nigeria Event’, which hosted the Hon. Minister for Transport, Rotimi Ameachi and the launch of the Nigerian Infrastructure Fund, a $2 billion fund offering investors’ unparallel potential returns and being managed by Pecora Capital,” Adelegan said.

Patron, NBCC, Akin Akintunde, reiterated the resolve of the chamber to boost SME training in Nigeria, stressing that the centre will be used as a platform for SME growth in Nigeria. He said SMEs are important factor of GDP growth in any society if the right support is given to them.

According to Adelegan, the chamber has created sector groups within its members, which include Construction and Real Estate, Professional Services, Creative, Media and Entertainment as well as Oil and Gas.

25

T H I S D AY • monDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD

MARKET REPORT

Equities Market Remains Bearish as Investors Embrace Risk-free Instruments Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie

bolstered by buy interests in Dangote Cement (+0.7 per cent), GTBank (+1.4 per cent), UBA(+0.8 per cent) and Access Bank (+0.8 per cent) .

Performance across sectors was mixed as three sectors gained while two declined. Although Dangote Cement propelled the broader index, the NSE Industrial Goods Index was surprisingly dragged by Lafarge Africa Plc (-5.9 per cent) while the loss in Nigerian Breweries Plc (-0.7 per cent) weighed on Consumer Goods Index (-0.3 per cent). The NSE Banking index appreciated 0.7 per cent as a result of gains in GTBank (+1.4 per cent).

Likewise, the NSE Insurance Index improved by 0.2 per cent as a result of gains in AIICO (+3.5 per cent).

However, the bulls could not sustain their hold as the equities market switched to the bearish side on persistent weak sentiments. The NSE ASI fell by 0.54 per cent to close at 25,322.30.

The Market Capitalisation also declined by 0.13 per cent to close at N8.763 trillion. The negative mood in the index and market cap was caused by the depreciation in the share prices of Nestle (-3.34 per cent), Seven-UP Bottling Company Plc (-5.00 per cent), Forte Oil (-4.99 per cent), Nigerian Breweries (-0.98 per cent) and PZ (-9.73 per cent).

But the market turned green on Friday, which was the last day of the week with the NSE ASI appreciating marginally by 0.07 per cent to close at 25,340.02. The appreciation recorded in the share prices of Access Bank, GT Bank, Transcorp, Oando and Zenith Bank were mainly responsible for the marginal gain recorded in the NSE ASI.

The Nigerian equities ended last week on negative note, recording two consecutive weekly decline as investors traded cautiously and focusing more on risk free securities. The market had declined by 2.0 per cent the previous week on persistent negative investor sentiments engendered by weak corporate earnings. The same factor and the current uncertainties underpinning the economy, made the market to remain in the bear zone last week. Specifically, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 1.79 per cent to close at 25,340.02, while market capitalisation shed N122.7 billion to close at N8.77 trillion.

Analysts at Cordros Capital said sentiments were expectedly low as investors continued to play safe in risk free assets.

“Although there have been snippets of activities in selected sectors (banking, consumer goods and cement), the impact is less visible on the overall market given investor preference for only a few companies within the aforementioned sectors. The largest loss of the week was recorded in the Monday (-0.83 per cent) session, while the gains recorded on Wednesday (+0.05 per cent) and Friday (+0.07 per cent) were very negligible,” they said.

Daily Market performance When trading resumed on Monday the bears maintained their strong grip on the stock market, causing the NSE ASI to fall by 0.83 per cent to close at 25,587.09. Similarly, market capitalisation shed N69.6 billion to close lower at N8.8 trillion. The negative performance yesterday has worsened the year-to-date decline to 4.7 per cent.

At the close of trading only eight stocks appreciated while 25 shed value. In all, the weakness on the day was predominantly driven by PZ Cussons (-4.95 per cent), United Bank for Africa (-4.00 per cent), Transcorp (-2.63 per cent), Total (-2.24 per cent), Access Bank (-2.2 per cent), Dangote Cement (-1.7 per cent), Zenith Bank (-1.4 per cent), Oando (-1.0 per cent), Guinness (-0.4 per cent), and Forte Oil (-0.4 per cent).

However, UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) Plc led the price losers’ chart, depreciating by 9.2 per cent to close at N2.25 per share.

At the current price, some market operators said the bid by the company to raise additional funds through a rights issue is under threat. According to them, the price is below the N3.00 issue price proposed by the company.

UPDC has applied to raise N5billion through a right issue of 1.719 billion ordinary share of 50 kobo each at N3.00 per share.

Meanwhile, United Capital Plc led the price gainers with 4.7 per cent to close at N3.72, trailed by Livestock Feeds Plc with 4.0 per cent, while AIICO Insurance Plc added 1.7 per cent.

Although the bearish trend was sustained on Tuesday, the volume of trading rose by 35.9 per cent despite amid the rampaging bears, which drove the year-to-date (YTD) decline to 5.3 per cent at that day.

Investors traded 207.18 million shares worth N1.58 billion in 2,791 deals, up from 152.391 million shares valued at N903.531 million executed in 2,706 deals the previous day.

However, the bearish trend persisted with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index sliding by 0.55

per cent to close at 25,446.66 as the bourse remained under pressure of heavy selloff in consumer goods sector.

Similarly, market capitalisation went down by the same margin of 0.55 per cent to close at N8.769.80 trillion.

A closer look at the performance indicated that the decline resulted from depreciation in the share prices of bellwethers such as Nigerian Breweries Plc, Forte Oil Plc, Nestle Nigeria and Guinness Nigeria Plc. Analysts at SCM Capital Research said: “We expect the current bearish mood to prevail, given the lack of catalyst to spur activities to the upside.

The scenario may, however, reverse if some positive results are released.”

In all, 22 stocks depreciated led by Forte Oil Plc with 6.4 per cent, trailed

by Nestle, which shed 5.0 per cent.

PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, International Breweries Plc and NASCON Allied Industries Plc lost 4.9 per cent apiece, while UACN Property Development Company Plc and FBN Holdings Plc shed 4.8 per cent each among others.

On the positive side, 14 stocks appreciated with Beta Glass Plc and Caverton gaining 5.0 per cent each to lead the price gainers. Presco Plc and Pharma Deko Plc and AXA Mansard Insurance Plc garnered 4.8 per cent each.

In terms of sectoral performance, the NSE Insurance and Industrial Goods indices appreciated while others declined. The insurance sector gauge apprecied by 0.8 per cent following gains recorded by AXA Mansard, while 0.6 per cent appreciation posted by Dangote Cement lifted the Industrial Goods indicator.

On the flip side the NSE Consumer Goods index led sector losers, down 2.5 per cent on account of decline in Nestle (-5.0 per cent) and Nigerian Breweries (-2.0 per cent) while the NSE Oil & Gas and NSE Banking

TOP TEN BROKERS(BY VALUE)

indices went down by 0.6 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively.

Respite came on Wednesday when the bulls returned lifting the NSE ASI by 0.05 per cent to close at 25,460.45.

The positive performance was

AS AT LAST FRIDAY

BROKER

VALUE % VALUE

STANBIC IBTC STOCKBROKERS LIMITED

4,227,916,606.07

A.R.M SECURITIES LIMITED - BRD

1,371,332,884.35

8.51

READINGSINVESTMENTSLIMITED-BDR FBN SECURITIES LIMITED

797,454,404.76 796,589,764.23

4.95 6.60

BESTWORTHASSETS&TRUSTLTD-BRD

769,444,913.26

4.77

CARDINALSTONE SECURITIES LIMITED

612,623,764.15

3.80

FUNDVINE CAPITAL & SECURITIES LIMITED SECURITIES AFRICA FINANCIAL LIMITED -BRD CORDROSSECURITIESLIMITED-BRD CSL STOCKBROKERS LIMITED

TOP TEN BROKERS

(BY VOLUME)

26.23

601,301,807.99

3.73

454,099,366.81

2.82

449,444,195.00

2.79

384,572,245.36 10,464,779,951.98

2.39Z 64.92

AS LAST FRIDAY VOLUME

%VOLUME

A.R.M SECURITIES LIMITED - BRD

395,949,061

18.81

STANBIC IBTC STOCKBROKERS LIMITED

202,940,836

9.64

IMPERIAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED -BRD

197,467,527

9.38

RENCAP SECURITIES (NIG) LIMITED CARDINALSTONE SECURITIES LIMITED

87,823,296 83,129,644

4.17 3.95

APT SECURITIES AND FUNDS - BRD

60,435,625

2.87

PRIMERA AFRICA SECURITIES LTD

59,675,916

2.84

FBN SECURITIES LIMITED

58,032,853

2.76

55,419,591

2.63

BROKER

VETIVA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LTD CSL STOCKBROKERS LIMITED

48,246,159

2.29

1,249,120,508

59.35

Market turnover Investors traded 1.052 billion shares worth N8.031 billion in 13,586 deals last week compared to a total of 1.153 billion shares valued at N8.032 billion that exchanged hands the previous week in 12,783 deals.

The Financial Services Industry led the activity chart with 905.319 million shares valued at N3.399 billion traded in 7,501 deals; thus contributing 86.03 per cent and 42.32 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Conglomerates Industry followed with 43.996 million shares worth N70.390 million in 581 deals. The third place was occupied

by Consumer Goods Industry with a turnover of 30.487 million shares worth N1.767 billion in 2,565 deals.

Price gainers and losers Meanwhile, 19 equities appreciated in price during the week, lower than 23 equities of the previous week.

Conversely, 38 equities depreciated in price, higher than the 37 equities of the previous week.

Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc led the price gainers with 12.5 per cent, trailed by Beta Glass Company Plc with 10.2 per cent. Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc and AXA Mansard Plc rose by 6.4 per cent and 5.2 per cent respectively, just as Transcorp Plc and Pharma Deko Plc garnered 5.2 per cent and 4.8 per cent in that order.

On the negative side, UPDC led the price losers with 23.7 per cent trailed by PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc with 18.5 per cent, while Forte Oil Plc and FBN Holdings Plc appreciated by 11.6 per cent and 10.5 per cent respectively. Nestle Nigeria Plc, Learn Africa Plc, Cutix Plc and Fidelity Bank Plc shed 8.2 per cent, 8.1 per cent and 6.7 per cent in that order among others.

26

T H I S D AY • monDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD

INSIDE BROAD STREET

A view of Lagos financial district

AKINWUNMI IBRAHIM

External Reserves Hit $28.699bn Obinna Chima Nigeria’s external reserves sustained its accretion last week as it closed at $28.699 billion on Thursday.

The current value of the reserves, according to checks by THISDAY, represented an accretion by 10 per cent or $2.605 billion, compared with the $26.094 billion it was at the beginning of this year.

Nigeria’s external reserves are majorly derived from the proceeds of crude oil sales. Oil prices rose on Friday after reports that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members delivered more than 90 per cent of the output cuts they pledged in a landmark deal that took effect in January. Supply from the 11 members of OPEC with production targets under the deal fell to 29.92 million barrels per day, according to the average assessments of the six secondary sources OPEC uses to monitor output, or 92 per cent compliance.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) - one of OPEC’s six sources - said the cuts in January equated to 90 per cent of the agreed reductions in output, far higher than the initial 60 per cent compliance with a 2009 OPEC deal.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting had at its last meeting expressed hope that the increase in oil prices would be complemented by production gains to provide the needed tailwinds to sustainable economic activity.

Money Market Review Activities in the money market were mixed last week as the open buy back (OBB) and overnight rates trended northwards on most trading days of the week. OBB and overnight rates inched one per cent and 0.8 per cent points to close at 11.5 per cent and 12 per cent respectively on the first trading session of the week as the N391.7 billion debit for successful open market operation (OMO) sales at the preceding Friday’s primary market auction dragged system liquidity. Rates however retreated in the following two trading sessions despite the absence of a major inflow before trending northwards towards the end of the week. OBB and overnight rates settled at 11.33 per cent and 12.17 per cent on Friday, up 7.9 per cent and 8.2 per cent week-on-week respectively.

According to a report by Afrinvest West Africa Limited, in contrast to the preceding week’s performance, activities in the treasury bills market were mixed as investors sold off

MARKET INDICATOR on shorter dated treasury bills instruments.

Consequently, average yields trended higher on three out of five sessions. The impact of the debit for the preceding Friday’s OMO auctions weighed on system liquidity last Monday as it led to a 25 basis points increase in average yield as investors sold off particularly in the treasury bills instruments maturing in February and March 2017.

“We believe investors may be liquidating their positions in anticipation for this week’s treasury bills primary market auction (PMA).

At the PMA, the CBN will be auctioning N32.4 billion of the 91-day, N30 billion of the 182-day and N80 billion of the 364 day instruments.

“We expect that investors will subscribe to the longer dated instruments in expectation of a medium to long term moderation in yield environment.

“In the week ahead, we project money market rates to trend northward as the demand for primary market instruments expected to be auctioned by the CBN and Debt Management Office (DMO) weigh on financial system liquidity,” Afrinvest stated.

Forex Market The naira/dollar spot rate at the Interbank market closed the first trading session of the week at N305.25/US$1.00 similar to the prior weeks and traded at that level throughout the week, save for Friday when it marginally appreciated by N0.25 to N305.00/US$1.00.

The parallel market rate however depreciated throughout the week, eventually settling at N506.00/US$1.00 on Friday.

The spread between the interbank and the parallel market continued to widen despite the resumption of sale to the BDC operators earlier in the year.

Also, the non-deliverable naira settled OTC FX futures contracts continue to underperform. As at market close on Friday, none of the contracts on offer had been fully subscribed. Total value of open contracts as at Friday 10th February stood at $3.9 billion, a far cry from the total contracts value of $12 billion.

“We expect rates at the interbank to remain at current levels while pressure on parallel market rates continue to mount,” Afrinvest stated.

Bond Market Performance in the domestic bonds market was largely bearish as average yield across benchmark instruments rose 14 basis points (bps) week-on-week to close at 16.3 per cent.

During the week, The FMDQ OTC Exchange signed an MoU with S&P DJI – the Global Index Provider and Rating Agency- and launched the S&P/FMDQ Nigeria Sovereign Bond Index. The agreement marked S&P Dow Jones Indices’s first-ever agreement with an Africa-based exchange to offer fixed income-based indices.

FG’s Eurobond Oversubscribed The federal government last week announced that its US$1 billion Eurobond was 780 per cent oversubscribed, demonstrating a strong market appetite for Nigeria. The government also revealed that the newly established US$1 billion Global Medium Term Note programme will bear interest at a rate of 7.875 per cent and will mature on 16th February 2032, with a bullet repayment of the principal. Nigeria intends to use the proceeds of the notes to fund capital expenditure in the 2016 budget.

A statement signed by the Director Information in the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Salisu Na’inna Dambatta said: “The development was clearly a sign of renewed confidence in the economy which has been hurt by the slump in crude oil prices.”

The notes represented the country’s third Eurobond issuance, following issuances in 2011 and 2013.

“The notes were approximately eight times oversubscribed with orders in excess of US$7.8 billion compared to a pre-issuance target of US$1 billion, demonstrating strong market appetite for Nigeria.

“This is despite continued volatility in emerging and frontier markets and it shows confidence by the international investment community in Nigeria’s economic reform agenda.

“The offering attracted significant interest from leading global institutional investors.

“The notes will be admitted to the official list of the UK Listing Authority and available to trade on the London Stock Exchange’s regulated market,” the statement added.

Banks to Support Export, Import Substitution The banking industry last week committed to contribute five per cent of their profit-aftertax (PAT) towards the support of eligible and

bankable export and import substitution projects.

Based on the industry profit and loss account in the past three years, and given average five per cent VAT charge for the period, it was estimated that about N25 billion will be realised from their annual contributions. While the scheme will commence in 2017, it will be bankrolled from banks’ 2016 financials initially.

Addressing journalists in Abuja shortly after the regular meetings of the Bankers’ Committee, Director, Banking Support Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Alhaji Ahmed Abdullahi said the new initiative for funding agriculture and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will boost federal government’s diversification efforts.

He said the fund will be made available to any firm or entrepreneur who aims to boost export drive or promote import substitution like processing of raw materials locally to reduce importation of finished items. The funding pattern will be based on equity partnership arrangement and not loan and with no interest charge- and will run for a 10-year maximum duration. Indications also emerged yesterday that the apex bank may not have foreclosed the use of virtual currencies in the run as it is still weighing the benefits and consequences which could result from the eventual adoption.

New Tax Policy The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) last week endorsed the new national tax policy recently announced by the federal government to shore up the country’s dwindling revenue base, occasioned by the shortfall in oil prices as well as activities of militant and vandals in the Niger Delta.

The acting Chairman of the commission, Shettima Umar Abba Gana, had in July 2016, canvassed the upward review of value added tax from 5 per cent to about 7.5 per cent in order to improve the country’s revenue base.

He had observed that VAT was a high tax revenue yielding instrument that could be used to shore-up revenue required for financing the ever-expanding public expenditure needs of all tiers of government adding that the current VAT rate of five per cent was one of the lowest in the world.

In a statement signed by RMAFC’s spokesman, Mr. Ibrahim Mohammed, the Commission reiterated its support for initiatives including the newly introduced revised tax policy, which would go a long way in boosting the nation’s revenue base for sustainable national development.

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APPOINTMENT / AWARDS

Nigerian Wins DStv Eutelsat Star Awards in Poster Category For the first time in six years, a Nigerian student Emmanuel Ochenjele, from CDM Academy, Gboko, Benue State, has emerged the overall winner at the regional level in the poster category of the DStv Eutelsat Awards.

Having been selected from Nigeria among the over 200 schools that entered for the competition in Nigeria, Ochenjele also won at the regional level, where winning entries from other African countries were judged.

In Nigeria, Zumia Abdulkari, from Zamani College, Kaduna, emerged as the runner up for the poster category, while two other students from Zamani College, Kaduna, emerged winner and runner up in the essay category of the competition.

At the regional level, students from Ethiopia and Nigeria won in the essay and poster categories at the 6th edition of DStv Eutelsat Star Awards organised by Eutelsat and MultiChoice Africa.

While Master Leoul Mesfin from Ethiopia won the essay prize, Master Emmanuel Ochenjele from Nigeria won

the poster prize.

The winners of this year’s DStv Eutelsat Star Awards, the unique pan-African competition that encourages young minds to explore innovative thinking in science and space technology were announced in Nigeria. The sixth edition shows sustained interest from African learners aged 14 to 19, attracting over 1000 entries from 20 countries.

Levels of accuracy, creativity and originality were judged to be higher than ever before, both in the essay and poster categories.

The topic of the essay category encouraged students to envision the role played by satellite technology in the Africa of the future. The winner in the essay category, Leoul Mesfin from Ethiopia, impressed the judges as the entry considered continental and country specific needs and closely aligns to the topic. As part of the winning prize, Mesfin will join a trip to Paris and onwards to a launch site to witness a rocket blast into space to place a satellite into orbit. The runner-up in the essay category was Davids Bwana from Tanzania who wins a trip

for two to visit MultiChoice facilities and the South African National Space Agency near Johannesburg.

In the poster category, first place went to Emmanuel Ochenjele from Nigeria for his depiction of a constellation of diverse satellites all contributing towards the advancement of solutions to challenges such as global warming, conservation of biodiversity, as well as stable energy supply. He will visit Eutelsat in Paris to understand how satellites are operated, as well as a satellite factory. Aobakwe Letamo from Botswana was the runner up in the same category. The four winning schools attended by the overall award winners and runners-up were also rewarded with a DStv installation, including dish, TV set, PVR decoder and free access to the DStv Education Bouquet.

Claudie Haigneré, Europe’s leading female astronaut and now special advisor to the Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), chaired the jury of the Awards for the first time.

According to her, “Taking part

in the DStv Eutelsat Star Awards for the first time has been quite simply a mind-changing experience, especially as this year’s topic was particularly challenging. The visionary ideas on Africa’s future satellite landscape developed in essays and posters underscore how Africa’s youth expect technology to drive positive change for their continent. The Jury engaged in intense discussions to award the most realistic and creative proposals that deserve to stand out on the African stage. Our congratulations go to all the finalists for their work and to the winners for their brilliant ideas.”

Other judges include, CEO at Innovative Technology Literacy Services Ltd, Ronke Bello, (Nigeria); Elizabeth Ohene, journalist and former Minister of State to the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (Ghana), Prof. Stephen Simukanga; Former University of Zambia Chancellor and now Director General of the Higher Education Authority, Jenerali Ulimwengu, and well known writer, columnist and lawyer from Tanzania.

Liman Bags Law Students Society Award Frontline lawyer, Hassan Muhammad Liman (SAN) has been conferred with the Law Students Society award of the Lagos State University.

The award, which was given to Liman during a ceremony hosted by the Law Students Society of the university recently was in recognition of the legal luminary’s vast knowledge and commitment to the advancement of justice and democracy in Nigeria.

The student body noted Liman’s track record of achievements especially his concern for a better society using his money to foster quality education for indigent students, devotion to peace & security and dedication to humanity.

“The LASU Law Students Society gladly confers on the highly respected legal icon, Hassan Muhammad Liman (SAN) the exalted Law Students Society award of this great university. The recipient record of achievements not only in legal advocacy spanning three decades but

also had commitment to scholarship and humanity recommend his pick and this salutary to the student body noted in the award excitation.

Liman the first SAN from Nasarawa State, who is instrumental to the creation of the state, graduated in Law from Ahmadu Bello University in 1986 and currently pursuing his Doctorate in Law from the same institution.

He has served in various capacities in the course of justice and promotion of democracy as well as the maintenance of law and order around the country.

Liman’s meritorious service to the nation has also been recognised with the national honour of the Member of the Order of the Niger (MON).

The humanist is happily married to Associate Professor Sa’adatu Hassan Liman the immediate past Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics) Nasarawa State University and the marriage blessed with children.

Chivita, Hollandia Win in Equity Awards 2016

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT

L-R: Cluster Head Apapa Region, Heritage Bank Plc, Adekunle Adewole; Founder/CEO at Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL), Prof Pat Utomi; Divisional Head, Corporate Banking Apapa Region, Kehinde Olugbemi; Head, Interventions Funds and other Support Scheme, Jubril Adeojo; Team member Interventions Funds and other Support Scheme, Fijo Wisdom at the graduation ceremony of the Young Entrepreneurship Business Training Programme (YEBTP) in Lagos...recently

Entrepreneurship Award to Odogwu, Most Timely, Says DNIDA Impressed by what it called laudable initiative, the Delta North Indigenes in Diaspora Association, (DNIDA) Atlanta Georgia, United States chapter, has lauded Anioma Professionals Forum for honouring Chief Sunny l. Odogwu with the Lifetime Award as Outstanding Personality of the Decade for Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy.

The association in a statement signed by its President, Dr. Willy Oyem and Secretary, Uche Monyei, respectively, said they were most impressed by the Anioma Professionals forum’s action, adding “while there is the penchant for Nigerians to idolise icons and legends only after their death, though Odogwu is a recipient of many

awards, but this recent honour becomes more apt and timely, because it is coming at a period when Nigeria and the world at large, are placing high premium on entrepreneurship in an age of crippling unemployment and recession.”

The statement further stressed: “We make bold to say that such an award will go a long way in building the bridge of progress, unity and further help in mentoring our teeming youths into becoming future leaders. It is beyond contention that Chief Odogwu has been a leading light in entrepreneurship in the country, who, while many in his generation readily settled for colonial civil service jobs, veered off the ‘norm’ to go into

private business, especially the unpredictable and comparatively unknown insurance sector in Nigeria. He remains undisputedly and admirably, one of the first ever notable then Bendel Igbo to dominate the business world and has made lasting impressions in the mould of other icons of his generation, like the now late Olorugun Micheal Ibru.”

The group further noted that, from Insurance Odogwu established the SIO conglomerate which became one of the leading private sector companies, employing thousands of youths across the country, adding that Odogwu’s SIO Industries at his home town, Asaba became the highest private sector employer of labour in Delta State in the

late 1990s and early 2000.

The association further called on the Delta State government and the nation’s leadership at large, to tap from Odogwu’s huge business experiences to chart a new course in rebuilding the state and Nigeria’s dwindling economy through private sector-driven policies for lasting entrepreneurship and prosperity.

The group added: “We urge the Forum and other bodies of similar interests, to continue to dig deep and recognise other outstanding personalities in the area and beyond, as this will serve as an inspiration to the younger generation in an age where value for hard work and honesty have been thrown overboard.”

Two brands from the stable of Chi Limited –Chivita and Hollandia, have been named Best Brand Equity Awards 2016 in Nigeria. The award, which was recently organised

by Kantar Millward Brown, one of the world’s leading global research agency was designed to recognise and honour some outstanding brands for the equity and consumer preference that they enjoy in the marketplace.

Chivita and Hollandia were honoured for their Outstanding Brand Equity and market leadership in their respective categories.

Chivita won the Best Brand Equity Award in the Juices and Soft drinks Category, while Hollandia emerged winner of the Best Brand Equity Award in the Dairy category.

Chivita and Hollandia’s success story is the result of consistent high quality, good marketing support, good understanding of the market and consumers, and of course an enviable consumer loyalty.

Their loveable marketing communication campaigns on multiple engagement platforms including Television, Radio, Print, Out of Home and digital space have in recent times attracted the attention of communication experts for their strict adherence to the principles of great communication ethics. These strategies have in no small measure created a top of mind awareness and brand recall, loyalty and affinity for these brands Speaking on the awards, Head of Marketing, Chi Limited, Probal Bhattacharya noted that “Building strong

brand equity cannot happen without a thorough understanding of the consumer and a deliberate decision to satisfy and exceed their expectations.

Chivita and Hollandia are market leading brands driven by strategic innovation and insight led marketing. Our aim for these brands has always been to be the gold standard whenever quality juice and dairy products are mentioned. The Brand Equity Awards, for Chivita & Hollandia, not only reflects the premium value we always place on consumer satisfaction, but also vindicate our commitment to effectively serve the Nigerian consumer’s need for health, nutrition & refreshment with best quality juice & value added dairy products.”

According to a Brand consultant with WingPlus Communication, Mr Akin Adeseko, “We have identified a few brands that have excelled in the marketplace and our observations with Chivita and Hollandia is that, Chi Limited has made conscious effort to build brand equity through strategies including attractive products, packaging, deliberate consumer targeting with healthy product variants and cost effectiveness which ensures Real Value For Money. When you add their various consumer engagement activities like activations and promotions to the various television advertisements, commendable digital presence and efficient product distribution ensuring that their products are available to consumers across Nigeria, there is no doubt that the recognition is well deserved.”

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INTERVIEW

Belgore: Investing in Mutual Funds Reduces Risks Managing Director, Afrinvest Asset Management Limited, Mr. Ola Belgore, in this interview, spoke about the importance of investing in mutual funds. Obinna Chima presents the excerpts: proliferation of asset management businesses.

One of the challenges is that our potential clients out there are constrained because they are cash-strapped. They have done businesses for government, private sector and even for us as investment services firm, there are advisory services we had given, and cash are trapped.

Of course, that directly affects us in terms of new flows. But in terms of performance, you have to be ingenious to take advantage of all the opportunities in the market. Of course recession comes with its challenges. One other way is that as against now, whereby most asset management firms would just focus on equities for their clients, we have to think of additional ways to bring value to our clients.

There is no point you giving me your money if I am not going to add value to it. So, you now have to restructure portfolios to meet clients’ investment objectives.

What investment opportunities do you think exists in the market?

Of course, there are lots of opportunities.

Nigeria is very blessed, both in human and mineral resources. So, definitely there are opportunities. And you know a challenging period is when savvy investors actually make their money. They take advantage of the opportunities. And we are confident that 2017 would be a better year. In terms of equities, most of the blue chip stocks are priced well below their fair value. So, that presents great opportunities, especially for people with longterm horizon. Naturally, one would hope that things would not go on this way. So, if you take advantage of the low stock prices by buying low now and you wait. Also, in the area of real estate, there is huge opportunity and prices are depressing. Of course, a lot of our clients now are looking at Eurobond investments because that helps them to find a way around the forex policy and all that.

That is because with Eurobond investment, they can get their returns in same currency, especially for those who have school fees to pay abroad or other business to fund. So, these are some of the opportunities in the market.

What level of attraction have you seen in the Eurobond investment space?

Like I said, I am sure it is not limited to Afrinvest. A lot of clients are making enquiries or making investments in Eurobond. So, in 2016, about two investment houses floated some kind of Eurobond investments, which wasn’t something you will find in this clime before then. We are hopeful that we are going to be doing one in 2017. And we know that there are other asset management firms that would be thinking along this line. So, public listed mutual fund or private investments in Eurobond or even in house funds are all growing arms of the asset management business. So, we are going to be floating an Eurobond-based mutual funds sometimes in 2017.

Can you shed more light about the planned Eurobond investment instrument?

Basically, as you know, we have two listed mutual funds at Afrinvest. We have the Nigeria International Debt Fund, which has been around for about 19 years and it has been the most consistent in terms of dividend payment. But this was originally priced in dollar because it was tracking the debt of Nigeria before the Paris Club debt forgiveness. We also have the AEF, which is the equity fund. In spite of the fact that the market in 2016 was negative by 6.2 per cent, we did 16.9 per cent. Of course, there is a law that say you cannot compare two mutual funds, but looking at the industry, I think we had the most impressive return on equity funds in the market. So, based on the skills, expertise and in response to clients’ demand, we are looking at floating an Eurobond mutual fund. We actually have a money market fund coming on board, but that is going to be priced in naira. We have gone far on that. We are just waiting for the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission. But the Eurobond is still work in progress and hopefully, before the end of the year we would get the neccesary permission.

So, don’t you think the issue of forex would affect the Eurobond as well?

It does in a way because there are regulations that state that for you to invest in Eurobond, the source of the fund must be genuine. So, you can’t do cash deposit. For instance, if I do my money market fund, the petty trader out there can go and deposit maybe N20,000

Belgore into the fund. But for Eurobond instrument, you can’t do such because everything can be tracked. You have to do a fund transfer from a genuine account. So, as it is, it is going to be for the high networth individuals.

One other way is that as against now, whereby most asset management firms would just focus on equities for their clients, we have to think of additional ways to bring value to our clients. There is no point you giving me your money if I am not going to add value to it

That is people who have genuine businesses that have Eurobond cited in their accounts.

Maybe some of those that had monies in their accounts that have been idle. For domiciliary accounts in Nigeria, I am not sure you will get anything and even if you get anything at all, I am not sure you will get up to one per cent. But with this, you can get real return from your money, with an average yield of about six per cent. So as against leaving your cash idle, you would be getting something on top because you invested. And the fund is going to be structured along the line of the bond. So, there is likely going to be two dividends in the year to be distributed to investors.

But how has the present economic recession affected the asset management business in Nigeria?

Well, recession has really affected asset management in the country because the growth rate has slowed down a bit. In 2016, I am sure there was only one new asset management firm that got approved as against previous years whereby we had a

Mutual funds appear to be getting more popular in the country, what do you think is responsible for that and what can be done to encourage more retail investors to key into this form of investment?

Mutual fund is becoming popular because a lot of people were badly beaten in the market as far back as in 2008. This is because back then, the market was so good that you could close your eyes, point to any stock and invest your money in it without looking at it. And you will probably make money. Back then, we saw a situation whereby we had companies that were still listed on the Exchange, but had shut down their businesses. And you saw investors buying their shares and they made money from it. Then, it was not about fundamental, it was just because everything was moving. But then, there was a market correction and people were badly beaten. So, that then made the case for professionals. You cannot just buy anything without seeking the advice of professionals. For most asset managers, you charge a token for managing the investment so that it is worth your time.

Now, not so many people can afford to pay that. So, what they now do is to find another way of getting that professional advice and that is what mutual funds give to you. So mutual funds are a pool of investment. The guy who invest N10, gets the same returns on investment that you are giving to the guy who has N1 billion in the mutual fund. In our experience in managing mutual funds, we realised that when you have so many people that invested in the fund, it reduces concentration risk. So, that has made mutual fund quite popular. It is not surprising. That is the trend world-wide because of the entry barriers and sophistication that has to do with investments. There is lot of campaign and there is going to be more around the fact that if you think things are bad now, what happens if you don’t have that source of income? So, the campaign is that no matter what you have, save something; even if it is 10 per cent of every income that you get. As a body, the Fund Managers Association is doing something regarding that, SEC had also done several road shows trying to encourage investors. We all know things are tough, but the advice is that every individual should have at least three to six months savings of their monthly pay saved, in case there is a loss of job. The trend has always been that when one losses his or job, it takes a minimum of three to six months to get another one, no matter how good you are.

So, in terms of the economy and how it affects disposable income, I think people have realised that they have to put some money aside.

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news

ARMHIIL Invests $552m in Amandi Energy Power Plant in Ghana Nosa Alekhuogie ARM-Harith Infrastructure Investment Limited (ARMHIIL), manager of the ARM-Harith Infrastructure Fund (ARMHIF), has announced ARMHIF’s investment in Amandi IPP in Ghana.

Consequently, the company said it has commenced construction of the $552 million Amandi Energy Power Plant, a 200 megawatt (MW) combined cycle, dual-fuel power project in Aboadze, Ghana.

Amandi Energy Limited, said in a statement that Amandi IPP is the only large scale base-load independent power generation project in sub-Saharan Africa that has achieved financial close so far in 2016.

The Amandi Project, it stated, will be crucial in helping meet Ghana’s growing power needs.

“Once constructed, the plant will be one of the most efficient power plants in the country

and will produce more than 1,600 gigawatt hours per year, energising up to one million Ghanaian households. The $552 million investment required for the Amandi Project comprises $134 million in equity from the sponsor group, which includes Endeavor Energy, Amandi Founder Group, Aldwych International, Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund 2 (PAIDF2) managed

by Harith General Partners, and ARMHIF. “The $418 million in debt financing is provided by a group of lenders, including the U.S. Government’s development finance institution, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which will provide a $250 million loan; CDC Group plc, which will provide an $83 million loan; as well as Nedbank Limited and Rand Merchant Bank, “it stated.

It added: “Taken together

with the $868 million AzuraEdo IPP in Nigeria, for which financial close was successfully achieved around this same time last year, ARMHIF is now invested in two significant power assets that give further credence to the Fund’s West Africa strategy. ARMHIF, through these two investments, has successfully helped close $1.42 billion of infrastructure projects in West Africa to date.

ARMHIF has a robust pipeline of further deals under development, including a 100MW Solar Power IPP under development for Northern Nigeria. Through the smart deployment of capital and management of infrastructure assets, ARMHIF aims to make, in a profitable way for investors, a solid contribution to improving infrastructure in West Africa, and Nigeria.”

ARMHIIL Managing Director/CEO, Opuiyo Oforiokuma, commented: “We appreciate the confidence and support

of our investors, especially the pioneering Nigerian Pension Fund investors in ARMHIF who were the first Pension Funds in Nigeria to commit to an Infrastructure Fund. We see from examples around the world, and now in Nigeria, that Pension funds are a viable source of funding for infrastructure.

As the main source of long term institutional savings in Nigeria today, valued at approximately $25 billion, our Pension Funds are ideally suited to the long-term investment horizons over which infrastructure projects are typically implemented.”

On the future prospects for infrastructure financing in Nigeria, he explained that the size of Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit is so large as to continuously challenge stakeholders on how to raise capital for much needed projects. “It is important that we closed the Azura-Edo IPP

transaction about this same time last year. This showed that well-structured and economically viable projects can attract large scale financing in Nigeria”, he stressed.

Furthermore, he noted that the economic environment in Nigeria has become more challenging since then, adding however that there is still some local and international interest to invest in Nigeria albeit cautiously so.

He added: “Should essential reforms in key areas of the country’s economic policies be made, we believe that the prospects for infrastructure investment in Nigeria this year and beyond will be enhanced.

Construction of the Amandi IPP will commence in the New Year, with power scheduled to go into supply in 2019.

The Azura-Edo IPP, on the other hand, has been under construction throughout 2016 and the plant is scheduled

to deliver power into supply in 2018.”

ARMHIF is a closed-ended specialist Infrastructure Fund established by Asset & Resource Management Company Ltd of Nigeria (ARM), and Harith General Partners Proprietary Limited of South Africa (Harith), and invests equity in transport, energy, and utilities infrastructure projects across West Africa. First close of the Fund was achieved in January 2015, with investment commitments received from the African Development Bank, ARM, Harith, Nigerian Pension Funds, a family office, and the Fund Management Team, amongst others.

ARMHIF is the first Private Equity Infrastructure Fund registered and approved by the SEC under its new rules for such vehicles, as well as the first in which Nigerian Pension Funds have made investment commitments.

NIMET, British America Tobacco Partner to Enhance Farmers’ Yield Chinedu Eze The Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BATNF) at the weekend signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for establishing a collaborative relationship to provide weather information to farmers under the foundation.

According to the Executive Director of BATNF, Mrs. Oluaseyi Ashade, the objective of the partnership is for NIMET to provide weather information including the likely period of dry spell and locations of likely flash flood occurrences to farmers who are grossly dependent on rain fed agriculture.

BATNF also wants to train implementing partner organisations on critical threshold of weather and climate monitoring and to provide other technical support for the attainment of

the full economic potential for the smallholder farmers.

BATNF would provide weather information dissemination platforms through different sessions of agronomics and other household economic strengthening trainings across the number of states where BATNF’s activities are carried out. The trainings include pre-season and in-season among other trainings for lead farmers and other relevant users.

The event was attended by the new Director General of NIMET, Professor Sani Abubakar Marshi and the out-going one, Dr. Anthony Anuforom.

The outgoing Director General of NIMET, Anuforom explained that the services of the agency cut across every sector of the economy, from agriculture to maritime, aviation, oil and gas, tourism and others; although the agency is attached to the aviation industry.

On why he was part of the signing ceremony, Anuforom said he had served two terms of five years and the second tenure ended this year, although, according to the letter of appointment of the new Director General, Professor Sani Abubakar Marshi, he has to understudy the out-going Director General who would proceed for terminal leave on March 25, 2017.

“We are in transition and I am working with the new Director General,” he said.

Speaking at the ceremony Marshi said: “We at NIMET are extremely happy with the relationship with British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation. We will give you the necessary support. We are in a transition. We will have expectation that our partners will collect information at the lower level which we will work with like Katsina state did for us to make necessary

Independent Survey Rates Glo 4G LTE Best in Lagos Emma Okonji The National Independent Wireless Broadband Quality Report (NIWBQR) has rated Globacom the best in terms of 4G LTE services in a recent survey.

NIWBQR, an organisation, which specialises in providing national broadband industry report on mobile wireless telecom services explained that the survey took into cognisance the experience of customers and the technical quality of all the 4G LTE networks in Lagos before arriving at Globacom’s position as the best. Smile and nTel came second and third respectively according to the report.

The body said the methodology applied in the survey include the purchase of SIMs with unlimited data and unlimited throughput from the five service providers in the report in order to perform

simultaneous FTP data transfers and Pings on all their networks.

“The throughputs and other performance measurement indicators recorded are therefore those that any customers with similar subscriptions are likely to experience,” the survey report revealed.

Tools and equipment including mobile phones, scanners, GPS Receiver and loggers were used during the driving tests around Lagos. Among the data collected are latency, continuous uplink file transfer and continuous downlink file transfer.

Globacom’s services were outstanding in uplink and downlink application layer throughput when the exercise was completed. Throughput refers to the amount of data moved successfully from one place to another in a given time period, measured in bits per second (bps), megabits per second (Mbps) or gigabits per second (Gbps).

NIWBQR revealed that Globacom had excellent RF coverage and quality, without any common Radio Frequency (RF) performance issues – RRC Call Drops, RRC Connection Failures, Handoff failures, excessive call setup delays and so on.

The second in the rating, Smile, had lower uplink and downlink application layer throughput than most due to an undeclared throughput. The body said Smile was ranked higher than MTN and because it has a higher service accessibility rate than MTN and better coverage than nTel. NIWBQR said that it was observed that MTN lacked contiguous LTE service along the driven route.

“As such, some of the application layer throughput recorded for MTN was in 3G”, the body stated. NIWBQR is an offshoot of Enextgen Wireless Limited.

adjustment for more effective weather prediction.”

The British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation BATNF is an independent charitable organization incorporated in Nigeria on November 13, 2002 as a Company Limited by

Guarantee in fulfillment of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the British American Tobacco Group and the Federal Government of Nigeria in year 2001.

BATNF provides technical assistance to build productive

capacity of smallholder farmers thereby transiting them from subsistence to commercial agriculture.

It focuses on Rice, Cassava, Maize, Vegetables, Oil palm, Poultry and Aquaculture value chains in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

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KPMG: Clear Govt Policies Will Enhance Nigeria’s Revenue Obinna Chima The Partner, Audit Services, KPMG, Kabir Okunola has said that developing clear policies by government at all levels would help to stimulate government revenue in the country.

Okunola, who spoke at an audit committee seminar for members of the Nigerian Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA), by KPMG, also identified other key drivers to increased government revenue to include stable crude supply through proper management of the Niger Delta issue, sustained increased in the price of crude oil, increase in foreign direct investments, stable political environment as well as a successful election in 2019.

Speaking on the topic: “The Foreign Currency in Nigeria: Implications for Audit Committees/Shareholders,” he pointed

out that while industry deposits growth had largely been on account of private sector deposits, it had grown by just four per cent as at last July, which was the slowest growth rate reported in the past six years “Decline in private deposit driven largely by declining Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth due to contraction of the oil sector. Nigeria’s GDP declined by -0.36 per cent and -2.06 per cent in first quarter and second quarter 2016 respectively.

“Outlook for deposit growth remains grim due to limited system liquidity given the continued reduction in foreign currency inflows from oil receipts.

“Decline in GDP largely driven by contraction of oil sector as Nigeria’s oil output declined by -20% from 2.11mbp in Q1 to 1.69 in Q2. As a result real growth in the oil sector was -17.48% in Q2 2016 compared to

-2.96% in Q1 2016,” he explained.

Okunola, argued that Nigeria’s forex market is highly fragmented, saying that analysts had indicated that six sub-market rates exists presently.

“Supporting structures and regulatory posture are yet to align with the concept of liberalisation. Forex sourcing issues pose a major challenge to stability.

Looking ahead it is imperative that CBN streamlines the forex market to a single platform to enhance transparency and price stability,” he said.

In his presentation titled: “Questions Shareholders Should Be Asking,” Director, Audit Services, Robert Araeb, urged audit members to always ask the right questions, and they should always remember the Companies and Allied Matter Act (CAMA) rights and responsibilities.

Fidelity Bank Rewards More Customers in Promo Six customers of Fidelity Bank Plc have won a total of N8 million in the fifth draw of the bank’s ongoing ‘Get Alert in Million’ promo.

The winners included Zubairu Bello of the bank’s Gwarimpa, Abuja branch, who won N2million; and Chisom Mary Cynthia (a 10-year old SWEETA account holder) with Parklane branch, Nkpor, Anambra State – N2 million.

Others included Esther Ehud –N1 million; Akinwale Olusegun Akinyode –N1 million; Hope Ujadughele –N1 million and Ifeanyichukwu Okenwa, who also won N1 million.

In addition, the draw, which

was monitored by both federal and state lottery regulators, also saw 12 winners that were rewarded with consolation prizes such as refrigerators and generators.

Speaking at the draw held at the bank’s head office in Lagos, its Executive Director of Shared Services, Fidelity Bank, Mrs. Chijioke Ugochukwu, said in total, 72 winners had emerged winners, saying that a total of N41 million had been given out as cash to lucky winners.

She said the initiative was to improve the financial well-being of customers of the bank.

“We expect more winners because we have N56 million

still to be won and that cash is waiting for both account holders and prospective customers to win.

“We want to make sure that more people who have interest in this promo are able to participate and get the benefits fully,” Ugochukwu said.

The promo is open to any of the bank’s savings account products with N20,000.

In other to participate in the monthly draw, customers are expected to top up existing savings account with incremental of N10,000 to qualify for monthly draw to win cash prizes ranging from N3 million, N2 million, and N1 million.

Citi Promotes Technology Innovation Nume Ekeghe Citibank has announced the Citi Tech for Integrity Challenge (T4I), a landmark effort to encourage technology innovators from around the world. The initiative is also to create cutting-edge solutions to promote integrity, accountability and transparency in the public sector and beyond.

The initiative, led by Citi, in collaboration with public and private sector allies, will provide public sector entities with access to tech innovators and their ideas on how to increase transparency and efficiency. T4I will also provide the support and infrastructure that tech innovators need to tailor new

technology solutions for this market.

T4I is structured as a global open innovation competition, where companies of any type or size can submit technology solutions. The challenge will seek to source innovation in a number of areas, including government transactions and procurement; culture, ethics and citizen engagement; cutting red tape; and information security and identity.

According to a statement, selected participants would enrol in a virtual accelerator program, which would provide mentoring, curriculum and infrastructure support to help them enhance their submissions.

“Finalists will showcase their

solutions at one of six Demo Days in cities around the world, including Buenos Aires, Dublin, Hyderabad, Mexico City and Singapore in May and June.

Due to the open nature of the competition, award recipients from the Demo Days will have the opportunity to work with any business, organization or government interested in exploring innovative integrity tools,” it added.

In addition, Citi has released the results of a two-month crowdsourcing survey of more than 150 individuals, spanning public, private and non-governmental organizations around the world, to identify Integrity Pain Points on which developers should focus their efforts.

Stanbic IBTC Revamps Medical Centre in Lagos Nume Ekeghe A new lease of life has been injected into Ebute Metta Health Centre, Lagos, following the renovation of the female and children’s wards by Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc. The move was part of the financial institution’s corporate social investment objectives.

The facility was inaugurated recently. The hospital, which was commissioned in 1964 and later upgraded to a comprehensive health centre, had become a major medical tourism centre

in Lagos mainland handling an estimated two million patients yearly. The upsurge in the demand had consequently over-stretched the facilities and resources, prompting the need for a comprehensive facelift.

The renovation, which has created a refreshing ambience around the hospital, involved the revamping and painting of the female and paediatric wards, provision of water supply infrastructure, and construction of toilets for staff and patients, and installation of air-conditioning units in

various offices.

While handing over the facility, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, Eric Fajemisin, said the project complemented the efforts of government to provide requisite infrastructure and facilities to benefit communities.

“We are very happy to contribute our little quota to building projects and amenities that address the needs of society, in the same way that our business is designed to help Nigeria achieve her developmental objectives,” he stated.

Broad street

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

October 2016 Broad Money (M2)

22,275,512.54

-- Narrow Money (M1)

10,023,616.69

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,521,797.77

---- Demand Deposits

8,501,818.92

-- Quasi Money

12,251,895.85

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,612,243.68

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

14,654,268.86

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

26,774,684.47

---- Credit to Government (Net)

3,705,049.41

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

6,242,932.95

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

-2,537,883.55

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

23,069,635.07

--Other Assets Net

-12,120,415.62

Reserve Money (Base Money)

6,580,594.55

--Currency in Circulation

1,825,664.51

--Banks Reserves

4,415,126.62 • Source - CBN

MANAGED FUNDS Month

December 2016 10.39

Inter-Bank Call Rate Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

13.96

Savings Deposit Rate

4.18

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.53

3 Months Deposit Rate

8.80

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.23

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.76

Prime Lending rate

17.09

Maximum Lending Rate

28.55 • Monetary Policy Rate - 13%

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE As At 9 February 2017 The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $52.76 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $52.13 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

37

MONDAY, february 13, 2017 • T H I S D AY

mARKET NEWS

Ministry Bullish on Green Bond, Discusses Projects with Green Potential Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Alhaji Hassan Bukar has expressed optimism that the planned N20billion Green Bond to be issued by the federal government will be successful.

His optimism is hinged on

the nature of the projects to be financed with proceeds of the bond.

Bukar recently held a briefing session with Permanent Secretaries from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that have projects in their 2017 budgets with green credentials.

According to him, these projects have been selected

T H E

through an iterative process conducted by the InterMinisterial Committee on Climate Change (ICCC).

The ICCC is chaired by the Ministry of Environment.

He explained that the amount of the bond to would be at least N20 billion. He pointed out that the green bond guidelines provided the basis for project selec-

N I G E R I A N

tion and that there are other projects in the pipeline which, although not ready, are being reviewed in order for inclusion in the next round of funding. The green bond is in the borrowing plan for 2017 and the projects are also in the budget.

At the meeting also, Senior Assistant, Technical to the Honorable Minister of Envi-

STO C K

ronment, Ms. Hadiza Elayo, disclosed that the World Bank, United Nations Environment Programme and DfID- Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (NIAF) continue to provide technical support.

She added that a Green Bond Advisory Groups is also in place and includes leading capital market operators and the Debt Management Office

E XC H A N G E

(DMO) to guide the issuance steps.

On his part, Adviser to the Honorable Minister on Climate Finance, Mr. Obi Ugochuku, provided details on the projects, saying that are in three ministries Power, Federal Capital Territory (FCT)-Transport and Environment with five associated projects.

38

MonDAY, february 13, 2017 • T H I S D AY

mARKET NEWS

‘Investors will Earn Stream of Income from United Capital Wealth for Women Fund’ Goddy Egene The Group Chief Executive Officer of United Capital Plc, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Sanni has said the United Capital Wealth for Women Fund and United Capital Nigerian Eurobond Fund will provide investors regular and steady income stream not generally associated with other forms of investment.

The two mutual funds are floated by United Capital Asset Management, which is a subsidiary of United Capital

Plc. Subscription for both offers opened on January 25 and will close on March 3, 2017.

Speaking at United Capital Investors Forum in Lagos , the two funds were formally unveiled, last week, Sanni the United Capital Wealth for Women Fund, for instance, is a public managed fund whose primary objective is to achieve the financial inclusion of the female gender by increasing their access to financial investment products.

“It is designed to address the current imbalance of most

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

investment products being skewed towards the male gender. The fund would focus on meeting the pressing investment needs of women that lay emphasis on safety concerns regarding investment decisions,” she said.

According to her, investment in the United Capital Wealth for Women Fund will provide investors with capital appreciation, competitive returns, diversified portfolio and regular and steady income stream not common with other forms of investment.

Sanni disclosed that the core

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 9-Feb-2017, unless otherwise stated.

focus of the fund will be to: enhance the financial security of women; encourage women to imbibe a healthy investment culture, provide avenues for women to be financially independent; and create a sustainable foundation for women’s financial empowerment and development.

She noted that the target of the fund are female business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors across Africa and in diaspora, primarily those with domiciliary accounts in Nigerian banks. The fund, she added, is also for top female

executives, and senior female servants.

She explained that the primary objective of the fund is to achieve long-term capital appreciation of its assets, through investment in a portfolio of high quality equity securities quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and other investments approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“The pooling of a variety of securities and investments should minimize fluctuations in earnings.

Investors will also obtain indirect

access to significant quantities of these shares,” she said.

Prominent female executives and investors who were at the forum endorsed the fund, saying it will really empower woman.

For instance, the Wife of former Vice President of Nigeria, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Dr.(Mrs.) Helen Boyo-Ekwueme; Wife of former Governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke, Mrs. Onari Duke; Wife of Senate President, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, among others, commended the introduction of the fund.

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 aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 1 270 1680 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 126.47 126.58 -0.57% Nigeria International Debt Fund 218.49 218.68 1.39% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.69 0.70 -1.17% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.72% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 12.08 12.45 -2.13% ARM Discovery Fund 284.30 292.87 -1.00% ARM Ethical Fund 21.86 22.52 -2.14% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.33% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 105.40 106.00 0.24% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.00% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Nigeria Global Investment Fund 2.16 2.21 -0.68% Paramount Equity Fund 9.31 9.55 -0.53% Women's Investment Fund 84.65 86.83 0.07% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.50% FBN CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,103.07 1,104.30 1.17% FBN Heritage Fund 109.39 110.12 -1.97% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 15.86% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $104.97 $105.22 0.68% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $105.87 $106.10 2.22% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 111.44 112.87 -1.11% FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Equity Fund 0.93 0.95 0.00% Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund 2.61 2.61 1.57% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 2,169.88 2,194.50 -1.80% Coral Income Fund 2,147.72 2,147.72 2.07% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 16.58% INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 16.47% Vantage Balanced Fund 1.68 1.69 -0.28% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 15.18%

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 0.15% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,014.15 1,014.15 1.13% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 9.60 9.68 -0.65% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 14.70% 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 1.06 1.08 0.67% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.40 10.43 -0.05% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 16.19% 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 111.00 111.95 2.59% 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 1.26 1.26 1.05% 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 1,810.34 1,820.07 -1.15% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 151.51 151.51 -1.59% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.75 0.76 -1.95% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 188.70 188.70 0.97% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 127.10 128.76 -2.10% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.68% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,234.59 7,322.01 -4.58% 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 1.13 1.15 8.00% United Capital Bond Fund 1.25 1.25 16.46% United Capital Equity Fund 0.65 0.66 -0.98% 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 9.65 9.82 0.28% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.07 11.17 1.43% Zenith Income Fund 17.00 17.00 2.92%

REITS

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 124.56

1.01% 0.48%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

7.80 70.87

7.90 72.20

-11.10% -6.48%

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

2.40 5.29 11.52 14.44 133.22

2.44 5.37 11.62 14.64 135.22

-12.50% -24.61% -3.93% -9.41% 2.55%

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.

T H I S D AY MONDAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017

39

40

MONDAY, February 13, 2017 • T H I S D AY

CITYSTRINGS A New House for Bayelsa

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

Emmanuel Addeh writes that the newly completed governor's office, which houses the major officials and departments that control the machinery of state in Bayelsa, is truly an edifice to behold

The front view of the new Bayelsa governor's office

S

itting in a relatively large expanse of land, the Bayelsa Government House, popularly called the Creek Haven, is situated in Onopa, Yenagoa, capital of the state.

It serves as the centre where major issues of state are deliberated upon and far-reaching decisions are taken, which in the main, either improve the lot of the people or impinge negatively on their well-being.

And like in other parts of the world, many have argued, the physical structure housing this engine room of state can be quite symbolic of the quality of decisions churned out from them.

So, in the last few years, the Bayelsa State Government has embarked upon, not the building of a new Government House from scratch, but the construction and relocation of the office housing the governor, his deputy and core staff.

Before now, the governor's office situated in the left wing of the Government House, say those who have had business to do therein, could hardly take a handful of staff and visiting leaders who, sometimes, come with large official delegations.

Aside that, it has been argued that the seat of power in Bayelsa is really run like a community palace where people of all classes and creeds, including youths, women, and elders troop into with little inhibitions to see their leaders and get their problems solved.

It, therefore became important to build a befitting office literally owned by the “people”

as it were, given that access to the place is mostly unrestricted, except for the routine security screenings.

Painted all white, Bayelsa's newest edifice on entry, comprises three major blocks, housing the governor's office, the deputy governor’s office and a third one, which is mainly the administrative hub of the Government House.

Adorned with state-of-the-art security gadgets, fire-fighting equipment and modern

Twenty years of the creation of Bayelsa State, no governor thought about building a befitting governor’s office. I give God glory and thank all Bayelsans and members of the cabinet for their support and encouragement. It takes only God to give the wisdom to erect such a structure

information facilities, the three block, three floor building has an Information Technology room from where security is monitored real-time including the control centre for security cameras, close circuit televisions, among others.

It also has sound proof walls to ward off unnecessary noise, a central electricity generating plant, water treatment plants, a restaurant in the admin building and two penthouses for both the number one and two citizens of the state.

Aside the aforementioned, while the governor would occupy the left wing of the building with his core aides, including his Chief of Staff, the deputy will stay in the right wing with his most important employees.

In the three-floor administrative floor, are essentially the finance team, the accounts department and the second floor occupied by the media team, chief of which are the Chief Press Secretary and the Special Adviser on media, supported by their branch subordinates, including the Special Assistants on Print Media, Electronic Media, the New Media team among others.

Standing on the rooftop, gives a vivid picture of the beautiful surrounding of the massive building. It shows the waters surrounding the house, and not far away, the polo club and the golf course which Governor Seriake Dickson, says would soon begin to draw tourists to the state.

Away from the admin block, there are the

governor’s “waiting room”, several conference rooms, which can comfortably sit a couple hundreds of people, the oval-shaped and the reflective-roof main Exco Hall, where State Executive meetings take place.

Added to that are over a hundred offices, which would shelter those who do the dayto-day running of the affairs of the state, powered by four elevators, with one VIP lift for the governor.

At the entrance of the building which will be officially launched on February 14, specifically on St. Valentine’s Day, when the administration would have completed the first year of its second term, one is also welcomed by the several water fountains just in front of the edifice, with a massive parking space for dignitaries.

But before tomorrow’s official launching, the Founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor William Kumuyi ‎had earlier visited the state to dedicate the building to God. During the event, he encouraged public office holders to dedicate their lives to God in the course of their service in office, noting that such spiritual exercise will help them in making good decisions and serve the people better.

Explaining that “without God no individual or group can succeed in any task,” Kumuyi who was accompanied by his wife admonished that aside dedicating the structure, occupants of the building must equally give their whole being to the creator.

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MONDAY, February 13, 2017 • T H I S D AY

CITYSTRINGS

Dickson...he matches his words with actions

If you had come here before now, you would pity the governor and his aides. That place we called an office, was the former deputy governor’s office and it was very inconvenient. This building is basically for the future.

In the next 50 years, no governor will be thinking of building a new office The cleric had also lauded the governor for “making God the centre of the government,” stressing that with the dedication of the edifice, there shall be showers of blessings in the state.

In his remarks, Dickson also thanked God for enabling him to build a befitting house that the future leaders of the state would be proud of. ‎”Twenty years of the creation of Bayelsa State, no governor thought about building a befitting governor’s office. I give God glory and thank all Bayelsans and members of the cabinet for their support and encouragement.

It takes only God to give the wisdom to erect such a structure,” the governor said.

Due to the difficult building terrain of the state, the building did not come without its own challenges, it was learnt.

First, it was massively sand-filled to almost two metres from the ground and despite that, water was still threatening the area.

It was learnt that the contractor had to do a concrete reinforcement of about three to five metres away from the building towards the river side before it was certified okay to build on.

But what is the essence of a new Governor’s Office, when there are still several other challenges faced by the state?

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, says since the creation of the state over 20 years ago, this would be the first time it would have an office space purposely built and befitting enough to be so called.

“Before now, the structure housing the Governor's office was nothing but a makeshift building hurriedly put together to serve that purpose.

“It wasn't a fit and proper place to administer governance especially in the light of the new order, a paradigm shift, capable of rubbing off brightly on our socio-economic progress as a people.”

He continued, “For those armchair critics who never see anything good in our govern-

The main Exco chambers

View of the surrounding from the rooftop

ment and may want to run their mouths or argue whether building a befitting office like this should be a priority, they should know that having a befitting work space is not a luxury, it is an absolute necessity.”

Governance is a serious business, he maintains, adding that “some of the policies we now see as solid achievements are products of serious thinking.”

According to him, “they were informed by strategic thinking, resulting in concrete actions to make Bayelsa one massive construction site, as it were, leading to the greater interconnectedness we now have in the state, which is good for economic development.”

Toeing the same line of reasoning, the Commissioner of Information and Orientation, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite, who gave the breakdown of the new edifice said that the new building now has a fully kitted recording studio where the governor can make state-wide live broadcasts without having to leave the Government House.

He also disclosed that there was now a purpose-made area where photos are taken, no matter the number of visitors to the governor's office and an inbuilt car park

for the governor and his deputy.

He put the cost of the building at almost N5 billion, explaining that the difficult terrain the building is situated and the rising inflation was responsible for the minor difference between the initial cost and the N4 billion plus-N5 billion, including the furnishing it finally gulped.

On the challenges, Obuebite said, “You know what happens here. What you will spend on that kind of building in Lagos, here you will spend times three of it. And that is because of the environment.

“We did a lot of earthwork. It’s a fact that everybody knows. Then, the cost of materials. You can’t buy the same thing you bought for N100 yesterday. It wasn’t easy.”

Following in the same line of argument, he said that for two decades, the governor did not have an office, but just a makeshift arrangement which was meant to be temporary.

“If you had come here before now, you would pity the governor and his aides. That place we called an office, was the former deputy governor’s office and it was very inconvenient.

“By the way, this building is basically for

the future. In the next 50 years, no governor will be thinking of building a new office.

As I have said, it is the best in this country, given the quality of work and the aesthetic that was put into it,” he maintained.”

But as the machinery of state moves from the old building to a new one within the same Government House, the people of Bayelsa can only concur with a prayer now etched into a mantel in the State Dining room of the White House, the seat of power in the United States of America.

On Saturday, November 1, 1800, John Adams, who became the first U.S. President to take residence in the building, during his second day in the house, wrote to his wife Abigail, containing a prayer for the new edifice.

In it he wrote, “I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this House, and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.”

Now and in the future, Bayelsa residents, on whose behalf power will be wielded from the new official mansion would hope that this short prayer holds for all time.

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T H I S D AY • monDAY, february 13, 2017

Nigeria’s top 50 stocks based on market fundamentals

10-Feb-17

9-Feb-17

% Change

Capitalisation

EPS

P/E

P/S

Div. Yld

Price/ Book Value

Table 1 Market Statistics Mkt Indicators

Open 9-Feb-17

NSE All Share Index NSE Market Cap (N'Trillion)

25,322.30 8.76

25,340.02 8.77

0.07% 0.07%

105.21 8.19

105.21 8.19

0.00% 0.00%

01 FBN Holdings Plc

3.13

3.15

-0.63%

112,352,266,438.96

0.21

15.08

0.21

4.79%

0.18

02 Mobil Oil Nig Plc

275.99

275.99

0.00%

99,520,686,359.38

19.32

14.28

1.10

2.61%

5.38

03 Guinness Nig Plc

65.00

65.00

0.00%

97,882,732,220.00

-3.06

-21.26

0.95

4.92%

2.48

04 Total Nigeria Plc

270.00

270.00

0.00%

91,670,895,990.00

38.02

7.10

0.34

5.19%

4.02

6.00

6.00

0.00%

72,000,000,000.00

1.03

5.85

0.50

8.33%

1.16

Table 3 Top 5 Gainers

53.87

53.87

0.00%

70,164,657,018.61

3.31

16.29

0.46

6.40%

1.62

Stock

106.50

106.50

0.00%

68,222,873,659.50

-0.05 -2,331.69

0.73

2.07%

3.07

4.85

4.80

1.04%

58,367,901,635.90

-3.15

-1.54

0.23

15.46%

0.37

09 International Breweries Plc

16.15

16.15

0.00%

53,202,125,872.00

0.02

716.76

2.00

1.55%

4.85

10 Flour Mills Nig. Plc

18.00

18.00

0.00%

47,236,269,366.00

-1.19

-15.09

0.11

11.11%

0.47

11 Julius Berger Nig. Plc

34.83

34.83

0.00%

45,975,600,000.00

-2.95

-11.82

0.39

4.31%

2.42

12 Okomu Oil Palm Plc

44.18

44.18

0.00%

42,143,743,800.00

4.82

9.16

6.41

0.23%

2.61

0.80

0.79

1.27%

30,976,797,940.00

-0.47

-1.71

0.59

0.00%

0.42

15.10

15.10

0.00%

29,005,052,243.70

3.37

4.48

0.38

6.62%

0.38

15 FCMB Group Plc

1.34

1.30

3.08%

26,535,632,446.54

0.61

2.19

0.16

7.46%

0.15

16 Fidelity Bank Plc

0.83

0.85

-2.35%

24,038,946,124.36

0.39

2.14

0.16

19.28%

0.13

32.00

32.00

0.00%

22,400,000,000.00

2.28

14.01

3.36

3.59%

13.09

18 Sterling Bank Plc

0.70

0.72

-2.78%

20,153,292,688.20

0.29

2.43

0.19

12.86%

0.25

19 Diamond Bank Plc

0.87

0.86

1.16%

20,149,538,402.16

-0.29

-2.96

0.10

0.00%

0.09

20 National Salt Co. Nig. Plc

7.40

7.19

2.92%

19,605,843,997.20

0.85

8.71

1.04

7.43%

2.65

21 Custodian And Allied Insurance Plc

3.33

3.33

0.00%

19,586,607,769.35

0.76

4.36

0.54

4.20%

0.68

22 Wema Bank Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

19,287,233,040.50

0.06

8.39

0.38

0.00%

0.41

14.25

14.25

0.00%

17,041,239,954.00

-2.98

-4.78

0.61

2.11%

1.94

24 Cadbury Nigeria Plc

9.00

9.00

0.00%

16,903,818,360.00

0.50

18.02

0.60

14.44%

1.65

25 Mansard Insurance Plc

1.60

1.59

0.63%

16,800,000,000.00

0.28

5.74

0.84

3.13%

0.80

26 Continental Reinsurance Plc

1.10

1.10

0.00%

11,410,018,743.20

0.42

2.62

0.52

10.91%

0.61

11.04

11.04

0.00%

11,040,000,000.00

5.69

1.94

0.77

0.91%

0.30

28 Unity Bank Plc

0.83

0.83

0.00%

9,702,150,491.86

-0.10

-8.10

0.15

0.00%

0.12

29 Honeywell Flour Mill Plc

1.09

1.09

0.00%

8,643,915,447.22

-0.40

-2.70

0.18

14.68%

0.26

30 Skye Bank Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

6,940,150,705.00

-2.93

-0.17

0.04

60.00%

0.07

31 Wapic Insurance Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

6,691,369,126.00

0.18

2.78

0.85

6.00%

0.41

32 Resort Savings & Loans Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

5,664,866,202.00

0.03

17.71

3.72

0.00%

1.94

33 Cement Co. Of North.Nig. Plc

4.50

4.50

0.00%

5,655,049,947.00

0.22

20.56

0.51

2.22%

0.53

34 Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc

2.57

2.57

0.00%

4,174,242,187.50

0.15

17.01

0.52

7.78%

0.70

35 AIICO Insurance Plc

0.60

0.58

3.45%

4,158,122,688.00

0.22

2.69

0.14

8.33%

0.41

36 UACN Property Development Co. Limited

1.89

1.98

-4.55%

3,248,437,490.55

0.30

6.32

0.77

37.04%

0.09

37 Fidson Healthcare Plc

1.14

1.14

0.00%

1,710,000,000.00

0.24

4.84

0.26

4.39%

0.27

38 Mansard Insurance Plc

1.60

1.59

0.63%

16,800,000,000.00

0.28

5.74

0.84

3.13%

0.80

39 Continental Reinsurance Plc

1.10

1.10

0.00%

11,410,018,743.20

0.42

2.62

0.52

10.91%

0.61

11.04

11.04

0.00%

11,040,000,000.00

5.69

1.94

0.77

0.91%

0.30

41 Unity Bank Plc

0.83

0.83

0.00%

9,702,150,491.86

-0.10

-8.10

0.15

0.00%

0.12

42 Honeywell Flour Mill Plc

1.09

1.09

0.00%

8,643,915,447.22

-0.40

-2.70

0.18

14.68%

0.26

43 Skye Bank Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

6,940,150,705.00

-2.93

-0.17

0.04

60.00%

0.07

44 Wapic Insurance Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

6,691,369,126.00

0.18

2.78

0.85

6.00%

0.41

45 Resort Savings & Loans Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

5,664,866,202.00

0.03

17.71

3.72

0.00%

1.94

46 Cement Co. Of North.Nig. Plc

4.50

4.50

0.00%

5,655,049,947.00

0.22

20.56

0.51

2.22%

0.53

47 Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc

2.57

2.57

0.00%

4,174,242,187.50

0.15

17.01

0.52

7.78%

0.70

48 AIICO Insurance Plc

0.60

0.58

3.45%

4,158,122,688.00

0.22

2.69

0.14

8.33%

0.41

49 UACN Property Development Co. Limited

1.89

1.98

-4.55%

3,248,437,490.55

0.30

6.32

0.77

37.04%

0.09

50 Fidson Healthcare Plc

1.14

1.14

0.00%

1,710,000,000.00

0.24

4.84

0.26

4.39%

0.27

05 Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc 06 Forte Oil Plc. 07 7-Up Bottling Comp. Plc 08 Oando Plc

13 Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc 14 U A C N Plc

17 Cap Plc

23 Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig. Plc

27 PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc

40 PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc

TOTAL

8,191,634,612,166.74

TOTAL MARKET CAP

8,769,701,629,627.60

% OF MARKET CAP Annotation - MA* = Simple Moving Average

93.41%

Thisday BGL 50 Index Thisday BGL 50 Market Cap (N'Trillion)

Close 10-Feb-17

Open 9-Feb-17

Access Bank Plc AIICO Insurance Plc FCMB Group Plc Zenith Bank Plc National Salt Co. Nig. Plc

6.61 0.58 1.30 15.01 7.19

Change %

Close Change 10-Feb-17 % 6.94 0.60 1.34 15.45 7.40

4.99% 3.45% 3.08% 2.93% 2.92%

Table 4 Top 5 Losers Stock

Open 9-Feb-17

UACN Property Development Co. Limited Nigerian Breweries Plc Sterling Bank Plc Fidelity Bank Plc Ecobank Transnational Incorporated

1.98 128.73 0.72 0.85 10.00

Close Change 10-Feb-17 % 1.89 -4.55% 125.00 0.70 0.83 9.80

-2.90% -2.78% -2.35% -2.00%

Market gains by a diffident 0.07% Market pulse on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today – Friday, February 10th, 2017 ended on a positive note as the stock market closed light green.

This was further highlighted by positive performance from the NSE Subsectors: Banking, Insurance and Consumer Goods (Save Oil & Gas). However, trading activities increased in volume as 201.73m shares worth of N2.59 billion in 2,604 deals exchanged hands today. This is an increase from the 143.23m shares worth of N1.55 billion in 2,551 deals which exchanged hands on Thursday. Topping in volume terms are: Union Bank Nig. Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc and Access Bank Plc, while Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd and Mobil Oil Nig. Plc ended trading as the most active stocks in value terms. Brent crude oil today settles today at US$56.75 per barrel.

The All Share Index (NSEASI) closed positive with 0.07% (+17.72) increase to close at 25,340.02 from 25,322.30 the previous trading day. Market capitalization appreciated in tandem to N8.77 trillion from N8.76 trillion of prior trading day. On the other hand, the Thisday BGL 50 Index holds position at 105.21 from 105.21 recorded at the end of the previous trading day, while its market capitalization stood at N8.19 trillion from N8.19 trillion of the previous trading day.

Market breath closed positive as 20 stocks gained on the bourse today while 10 stocks declined, leaving 63 stocks unchanged. Access Bank Plc topped the Thisday BGL 50 Index gainers’ list as it emerged as the day’s toast of investors with a gain of 4.99% to close at N6.94 per share. It was closely followed by AIICO Insurance Plc with a gain of 3.45% to close at N0.60 per share. Others on the gainers list include: FCMB Group Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and National Salt Co. Nig. Plc; while on the decliners’ list, UACN Property Development Co. Limited move to lead the pack with a loss of 4.55% to close at N1.89 per share. It was followed closely by Nigerian Breweries Plc with a loss of 2.90% to close at N125.00 per share. Others on the decliners list include: Sterling Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated.

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

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T H I S D AY MONDAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017

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MONday FEBUARY 13, 2017 • T H I S D AY

international Erdogan: Turkish Troops Enter ISIL-held Al Bab Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies have entered the centre of the ISIL bastion Al Bab, saying its capture was just a “matter of time”.

“Al Bab is now besieged from all fronts ... Our forces entered the centre”with Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, Erdogan told journalists in Istanbul on Sunday before leaving for a tour of Gulf countries.

Erdogan said it was “only a matter of time”before the allied forces took full control of the flashpoint town in northern Syria.

“Daesh forces have begun leaving Al Bab completely,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group, also known as ISIS. His comments came a day after Turkish forces and allied rebels entered Al Bab to drive ISIL fighters from it, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitor tracking developments in Syria’s conflict.

The Turkish army launched a campaign inside Syria on August 24, codenamed Euphrates Shield, to clean its border from ISIL fighters and stop the advance of Kurdish militia.

But the clashes in Al Bab

have proved the toughest so far, with Turkish military fatalities increasing.

One Turkish soldier was killed and three others wounded in clashes with fighters on Sunday, the private Dogan news agency reported, citing military sources.

The latest casualty raised the number of Turkish troops killed

in the Syria offensive to 67.

The three injured troops were evacuated from Al Bab and taken to hospitals in Turkey’s Kilis and Gaziantep provinces near the Syrian border, Dogan reported.

Al Bab is ISIL’s last stronghold in the northern province of Aleppo and is also being targeted by regime forces.

Somaliland Agrees to UAE Military Base in Northern Port Somalia’s breakaway northern territory of Somaliland has said the United Arab Emirates can establish a military base in its territory.

The Emirati government in January submitted a formal application seeking permission from the Somaliland government to open a military base in the port town of Berbera.

The parliament of Somaliland on Sunday approved the UAE plan. The plan is controversial and the neighbouring countries of Ethiopia and Djibouti are opposed to it, according to local reports.

In Sunday’s vote 144 lawmakers were in favour

of the military base, two voted against and two abstained. Nine others opposed to the base shouted against President Ahmed Silanyo and were led out of the chamber by soldiers.

Silanyo had spoken in favour of the base, s a y i n g i t would create jobs in Somaliland.

The UAE government is planning to establish a naval base with warships that would be used to attack Shia Houthi fighters fighting the government in Yemen, according to a Somaliland official who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press.

56

MONdAY, febrUARY 13, 2017• T H I S D AY

NEWS

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

Landing Cost of Petrol Now above N145 per Litre Marketers explain why depots can’t sell product at official ex-depot price Ejiofor Alike Independent marketers of petroleum products and depot owners have revealed that the landing cost of imported petrol is now N145 per litre and above.

The marketers, who spoke with THISDAY at the weekend, said the development was responsible for their inability to import petrol with the foreign exchange provided by the international oil companies (IOCs) at N305 per dollar.

They also gave reasons why it is no longer possible for depots to sell petrol at the federal government’s approved N123.28 –N133.28 per litre ex-depot price band.

THISDAY’s investigation revealed that 13 depots that had stock of petrol at the weekend were selling between the prices of N136 and N141 per litre, against the official prices.

The South-west Zone of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) had even threatened to suspend lifting products from the depots over the hike in ex-depot price, saying that high ex-depot price would make the N145 per litre pump price unsustainable.

But speaking to THISDAY

at the weekend, some of the marketers and depot owners said it was no longer possible to sell the product they imported or the ones allocated to them by the NNPC at official ex-depot price due to the high cost of foreign exchange.

Some of the marketers argued that the exchange rate provided to them at N305 per dollar by the IOCs is no longer sustainable.

One of the marketers said the high cost of forex was a serious challenge in the business, adding that 90 per cent of the product being distributed in Nigeria is imported by the NNPC because the forex intervention by the corporation was no longer working.

“If you collect foreign exchange from an IOC and import petrol for instance, you are going to land it at N145 per litre. If you land it at N145 per litre, you cannot even sell it because our official ex-depot price is N133.28. So if you land product at N145 and if you have to sell at the ex-depot price, which the DPR is obligated to enforce, you can see that nobody wants to touch the forex provided by the IOCs,” he said.

He argued that with the high cost of forex, the N145

pump price is no longer sustainable.

“It is no longer sustainableit is no longer feasible because we land it at even more than N145 per litre. If you are unlucky and you accumulate demurrage, you might land it at N148. That is why no marketer is importing now.

We are dependent on product imported by the NNPC, which I said is not sustainable,” he added.

Also speaking on the development, the Managing Director and Chief Executive officer of Mainland Oil and Gas Company Limited, Mr. Chris Igwe, told THISDAY that the only way out was for the government to liberalise the downstream sector or sell dollars to the marketers

at N240.

“That way, there will be steady availability of product in the market. Or government should come by way of subsidy and give us foreign exchange at subsidised rate because today if we are going to import product and sell at official ex-depot price, government should sell dollars to us at N240 per dollar if they expect us to import products and sell at official ex-depot price,” Igwe added.

“Marketers have gotten their hands burnt many times.

When they go and take money from the NNPC or an IOC to import and they land the product at a high rate and DPR will come and force them to sell at official ex-depot price and the marketer will get his

hands burnt. No marketer wants to continue because you go into business to make profit,” Igwe explained.

Igwe lauded the efforts of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, in sustaining the supply of petrol in the country.

On the over $1billion subsidy claims owed the marketers by the federal government, Igwe said the debt has made the banks to hike interest rates.

According to him, any marketer who borrows money today to import petrol or pay for allocation from the NNPC will end up working for the banks.

“Even to borrow money and import petroleum products today is not an option because the liquidity problems of banks have made them to increase their interest rates. So, if you borrow to import or pay the NNPC for allocation of petrol, you will find out that you are just working for the banks. So, we need government to seriously come to our aid by paying us the mature LCs that has run into over one billion dollars – yes, the whole amount owed marketers by the government is over $1 billion,” he said.

He noted that this fund was provided by the banks, stressing that if marketers go down on account of the unpaid debts, the banks will also go down.

Senate, House Begin Public Hearing on 2017 Budget Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Appropriations will today begin a three-day detailed public hearing on the 2017 budget.

The public hearing is intended to assist efforts towards improving transparency in the budgetary process, by making it all inclusive.

Some of the 59 stakeholders expected to submit memoranda include the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Central Bank Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, Civil Societies, and other groups.

Presentations at the hearing are expected to focus on the basic recommendations and budget policies of the president as contained in the budget speech by the president, and the fiscal, financial and economic assumptions used as basis in arriving at total estimated expenditure and receipts.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, at resumption from the Christmas and New Year Break, had pledged to ensure

that the 2017 budget process is transparent.

“We would ensure that the procedure and process of consideration and passage of the 2017 budget is transparent, inclusive and professionally handled.

“The details of the budget should be debated and passed in plenary to avoid those needless pitfalls that normally characterise the budget process,” Dogara had said.

Also, the spokesperson of the House, Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas, while briefing journalists yesterday noted that some news reports have given the impression that the hearing is being held by the Senate alone.

“It is important to note that the House of Representatives holds the power of appropriation, while the senate holds the power of confirmation,” Namdas said.

“People will be able to provide their opinions and at the end we will have a budget,” Namdas added.

The decision to subject the 2017 budget to public debate may have been informed by the scandal which trailed the 2016 budget, following allegations of ‘insertions’ and ‘budget fraud’ raised by the former Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Jibrin Abdulmumin.

Work is ongoing

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (second right); Zonal Director, North-west, Mr. Busari Olalekan (second left), Federal Controller of Works, Kaduna, Mr. Saad Tukur (left), Director Highways, Construction and Rehabilitation, Mr. Femi Oguntominiyi, (right) and others during the minister’s inspection tour of the ongoing emergency repairs of Kaduna - Abuja Expressway, Kaduna ...Friday

Ibori: My Detractors Sent Me to Jail Sylvester Idowu in Warri

Former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, yesterday attributed his ordeal to the handiwork of his detractors, insisting that they sent him to jail for committing no offence.

He, however, said he has left them to God for judgment, promising that he would soon unfold his next plan of action.

Ibori spoke at a thanksgiving service organised by his kinsmen at the First Baptist Church, Oghara-Efe in the state which was attended by prominent citizens of the state including his cousin, former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan.

Others who witnessed the ceremony included former Minister of Police Affairs, Alaowei Broderic Bozimo; Senator Ighoyota Amori, Managing Director of DESOPADEC, Mr. Makinde; House of Representatives

member, Evelyn Oboro; Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Monday Igbuya; Senator Emmanuel Aguariavwodo, Mr. Ovuozourie Macaulay, Chief Solomon Fukekeme, Senator Patrick Osakwe and Mr. Festus Ovie Agas, among others.

Ibori said what was uppermost in his mind when the whole issue started was the pains, suffering his people and followers would go through but thanked God that he was back in their midst.

“I drew myself from God and somehow, I knew that God will stand by me. I knew that one day, this day will come. I am indeed very pleased that I can stand before you, look at your faces, the faces I have missed, the people I have missed,” he said amid ovation by his followers.

Ibori said further that “so when I reflect on it, it gives

me joy that God has answered all your prayers. I will never forget all your support and solidarity for me all through this period.”

The former governor said he has handed his traducers to God for judgment, adding that he would not pursue any case again in London.

Ibori assured his followers that they would soon hear from him the next step he would take, noting that they should be patient with him.

He stated that if he were to give testimony of his journey it would take time that the only testimony he had was to say he was alive, well and back in their midst.

The traditional ruler of Oghara, Noble Eshemitan, Orefe III, described Ibori as a very humble man who has respect for elders and his seniors.

He recounted how he

wanted to visit the former governor on his return from London after his ordeal and how he politely turned him down and instead, preferred to visit him in his palace.

“Upon his return, I put a call across to him that I wanted to visit him but he said no your majesty. It is I that will come to you. That’s the kind of person Ibori is,” he said.

The Vice President of Pentecostal Federation of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Francis Awomakpa, who led other pastors to preside over the service, described Ibori as a worthy son of the state and Nigeria as a whole.

In his sermon titled: ‘Knowing the gift of God’ anchored on John 1 verse 6, bishop Awomakpa said Ibori was God’s gift, adding that “it has been a problem that the people have not recognise a gift of God in Ibori.”

MONdAY, febrUARY 13, 2017• T H I S D AY

57

NEWSxtra

PDP Woos Party Elders, Embarks on Re-branding

To meet Jonathan, IBB, Tukur today AD not in merger talks with PDP, says national auditor Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja In a bid to consolidate on efforts at re-building and rebranding its image, the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has kick-started moves to hold consultations with key political leaders in the country most of whom were the founding fathers of the party.

THISDAY gathered that the Strategy Review and Inter-party Relations headed

by Prof. Jerry Gana has been

given an additional task of spearheading the moves to reach out to these elders and founding fathers of the party and to get them to understand the shape of things and for them to buy into it.

It was learnt that having successfully concluded its initial assignment, the Jerry Gana-led committee has been asked by the party leadership to go ahead mobilising support for the recommendations made by the committee.

According to an itinerary on the consultative visits issued by the party at the weekend

Qatar Flight Incident was Caused by Bird strike, Says NCAA Chinedu Eze The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) yesterday explained that the reported incident concerning Qatar Airways, which aborted take off last Thursday to Doha from Lagos was due to a bird strike.

It said a bird entered one of its engines at take off point.

NCAA said Qatar Airways Airbus A330 with registration number, A7 – AED, Flight number, 1408 scheduled operation from Lagos – Doha “received a push back to take off from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) at 14.45hrs UTC. On board were 256 passengers and 10 Crew members.”

The regulatory authority also noted that the flight was to take off at 4:18Nigerian time but the Pilot-in-Command (PIC) made an air return to MMIA. “He took this decision after the Aircraft suffered a bird strike in flight. The bird strike hit

the No.1 engine. On its safe return to Murtala Muhammed International Airport, diligent inspection was carried out on the aircraft.

“However, findings disclosed no damage. Since there was no damage, the Aircraft was cleared and it recommenced the operation and departed at 17.30hrs UTC (5:30p.m.

Nigerian time)” NCAA noted in a statement signed by its spokesman, Sam Adurogboye.

NCAA said it was pertinent to point out that the aircraft pilot adhered to the Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs) in undertaking an air return, remarking that this was to carry out an assessment of the impact of the bird strike before continuing the flight.

“The NCAA wishes to assure Nigerians that it will continue to ensure robust safety oversight of the industry for safe and secure air transportation,” NCAA assured.

and signed by the Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee on Publicity, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, the party is to kick-start its consultations with separate meetings with former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, ex-military President, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (rtd) and former National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, today.

While confirming the move by the party, a former minister and a Chairman of one of the PDP’s syndicate committees, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, said it had become very necessary to consult with these political leaders to acquaint them with current developments in the party.

Adeniran, who spoke with THISDAY on telephone yesterday afternoon, said the idea was to reassure them of the resolve of the party to turn a new leaf and restore the party to its original vision and mission.

“We intend to meet the

stakeholders, everybody, including the founding fathers of the party, to intimate them on the present situation in the party and the efforts being made to reposition the party.

“We intend to go back to the core values of the party, the mission and vision of the party so that genuine internal democracy can be restored.

We want to make sure that thing becomes as it should. No doubts, some mistakes have been made in the past where due process was not followed in many things and then the triumph of impunity and lack of succession in leadership, all these things are to be corrected now.

“So we believe that the ways of doing things such that people’s confidence will be restored to the party and for the them to support the party and lift it up to take over power again. For us to achieve this, we believe that every stakeholder is important, particularly the founding

fathers of the party,” he said.

The Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee of the PDP, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, had while receiving the report of the Strategy Review and Inter-party committee last week, pledged that the leadership would work hard to win back the support of all those who might have been frustrated out of the party over past actions of the leadership.

In his speech, the former Governor of Kaduna State apologised and urged such party members to give the party another chance.

He said every effort would now be made to ensure strict adherence to the principle of internal democracy and that the days when impunity reigned was over.

Meanwhile, the National Auditor of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Mr. Ismail Ayodel, has disassociated the party and its leadership from the recent gathering of the main

opposition party, the PDP and other political parties in Abuja, saying the party is not in any merger talk with any party.

He said this at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, while answering questions from journalists.

Ayodele who said his political party was never part of that gathering, said whoever must have gone there and claimed to be the national leader of AD is an imposture.

“The person does not have the position of a national leader; no one can claim to be the national leader of the party. As I speak to you now, the party is yet to constitute its Board of Trustees (BoT). If the party is yet to constitute its BoT how can an impostor claim to be the party’s BoT chairman,” he stated.

He said the party had strongly condemned the use of its name by an impostor to deceive the Nigerian public that the AD was in merger talks with the PDP and other parties.

NPDC Blames Vandalism Keep the awards coming Chairman, Independent Newspaper Limited (INL), Gambo Lawan; Rivers State Deputy Governor/representative of Governor of Forcados Trunk Line for L-R: Nyesom Ezenwo Wike and recipient of Independent Man of the Year, Mrs. Ipalibo Harry Banigo, Executive Editor, INL, Ted Iwere; and Guest Lecturer, Prof. Gabriel Godini Darah, during the investiture of Wike as the Independent Man of the Year in Lagos ... weekend Gas Supply to Gencos Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), yesterday blamed inadequate gas supply to power generation plants on the destruction of the Forcados trunk line by militants last year.

NPDC stated in a presentation to the House Committee on Local Content that the destruction of the pipeline impacted its gas production and that of its joint venture partners.

A statement from the Group General Manager, Public Affairs of the NNPC, Ndu Ughamadu, in Abuja stated that the Managing Director of NPDC, Mr. Yusuf Matashi, made the presentation to

the House committee last week.

Matashi said the attack which primarily led to a loss of about 70 per cent of NPDC’s crude oil production capability also had an effect on its gas production.

“Unfortunately gas production in the region we operate is not non associated gas but associated with the crude oil we produce so by the time we shut in the oil well, we also shut in most of the gas, that is why we now see the level of gas supply shortage for power generation,” he said.

According to him, though other operators might have other reasons for the shortfall in gas supply in their domain, the damage of the Forcados export terminal supply line was the biggest obstacle to the production of gas by the NPDC and its partners.

Afenifere, Ohanaeze in Historic Parley Shola Oyeyipo The two most prominent socio-political groups from the South-west and Southeast, Afenifere and Ohanaeze Ndigbo, have agreed to work together in areas of common interests.

This was part of the resolutions reached when the new President General of Ohanaeze, Chief Nia John Nwodo, led a powerful delegation of the group on a visit to Afenifere leaders in Lagos at the weekend.

Afenifere National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, who gave the insight to the

meeting of the old comrades, said the two leading Yoruba and Igbo groups are prepared to come together to protect the interests of their people.

“The meeting of long associates was full of reminiscences, backslapping and reflections on issues of common concerns to the Igbo and Yoruba nations within Nigeria.

“At the end of the meeting, a resolution was taken that the two groups should work together in protecting the interest of the two nations and the progress of Nigeria,” he said.

The Nwodo delegation

comprised the Deputy President General of Ohanaeze, Mr. Hillary Opara, VicePresident General for Delta State, Dr. Sylvanus Ebigwei, Vice-President General for Anambra State, Mr. Charles Odunukwe, Chief Guy Ikokwu, and Chief Ben Onwugalu.

The delegation was received by an equally powerful group of Afenifere members led by Chief Ayo Adebanjo who stood in for the leader, Chief R.F Fasoranti; the Chairman of its Political Committee, Prof.

Banji Akintoye; Chairman of Committee on Restructuring, Dr. Amos Akingba; National Treasurer, Chief Supo Sonibare

and Odumakin.

The meeting was considered significant being the first outing of the Nwodo-led Ohanaeze to any socio-cultural group in the country since his election.

According to Nwodo, the decision to first visit Afenifere was due to the fact that it was the first organisation that openly congratulated him and followed with phone calls from its prominent leaders.

The occasion presented Afenifere the opportunity to reiterate its congratulatory messages to Nwodo for his choice to lead Ndigbo at this crucial period and to reassure him of Afenifere’s support.

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Ganduje: I’m Ready for Reconciliation with Kwankwaso Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has disclosed his willingness to make himself available for reconciliation with his predecessor, Senator Rabiu

Musa Kwankwaso.

According to Ganduje, “I will make myself available to reconcile with Kwankwaso. I cannot have a political associate like Kwankwaso and he too cannot have political associate like me.”

N’Delta Stakeholders Warn against Open Destruction of Illegal Refineries Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa Niger Delta stakeholders, including oil-producing communities, regulators and civil society groups, yesterday warned against the open destruction of illegal refineries by the security forces operating in the region.

In a communique released at the end of the quarterly meeting of the Multi-stakeholder Platform (MSP) on Oil Spill in the Niger Delta, the concerned groups said the action by soldiers was capable of further destroying the ecosystem of the region.

At the MSP forum, which is an initiative of the Nigeria Security and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP) and supported by the Department of International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom Government, the groups unanimously agreed that oil spillage in whatever form or by whatever agency of government remains unacceptable.

“No matter whatever anyone has to say, there is no gain whatsoever in oil spill. If there is any gain at all, it is ad hoc, perfunctory, selfish and easily short-lived with longer term negative impact on the people, the economy and the environment,” the stakeholders said.

In the statement released in Yenagoa and signed by

Dr. Austin Onuoha, the chief facilitator, participants called on security agencies to henceforth devise new means of destroying bush refineries discovered in the creeks.

“Security agencies should collaborate in stemming the tide of illegal oil bunkering and pipeline vandalism and desist from destroying and burning seized oil drums and tankers. They pollute the environment and deny relevant agencies evidence for prosecuting pipeline vandals “They are advised to train a special team to manage security operations during joint investigation visits to oil spill sites,” the stakeholders noted.

The meeting called on all and sundry to support the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to deliver on its mandate of responding and managing oil spills in a sustainable manner.

The stakeholders also called on the federal government to increase funding to NOSDRA to enable it to discharge its functions on oil spill response and management effectively and in a timely manner.

However, communities were warned to ensure that they do all in their powers to prevent oil spill, pipeline vandalism and illegal oil bunkering within their communities

In an interview with journalists in his office at weekend, Ganduje explained that his closeness with Kwankwaso has been a long time ago which makes them close political associates.

He said: “I cannot have a political associate in the rest of my life like Kwankwaso, and he too cannot have a political associate like me (Ganduje) for the rest of his life.”

The governor served as deputy governor for eight years during which he displayed loyalty to Kwankwaso.

He added: “That is all I can say over the issue because elaboration will give room for more noise.”

The relationship between Ganduje and his predecessor became sour after series of misunderstanding between

the governor and associates of Kwankwaso.

However, APC stakeholders in the North-west, including Katsina State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, have continued to appeal to the two political rivals to sheathe their swords and allow peace to reign.

Masari said: “I don’t think Kwankwaso or Ganduje can build any political alliance that will last to the time they have lasted.”

He told THISDAY in Katsina during an interview last week that “we are working behind the scene to see how we can bring the two of them together so that they can stop what they are doing to themselves because the energy the government is spending; the energy Kwankwaso is

spending would have been used for the development of the state better than what is happening presently.”

Masari said: “I think there is a jinx in Kano which we are hoping the current leadership will break in the future because they have been together since 1999, and I don’t think Kwankwaso or Ganduje can build any political alliance that will last to the time they have lasted.

1999 to 2015 is not a joke, and I seriously doubt if they can build such political alliance again.

“So their political lives and careers are inter-twined.

We thought with this political marriage and deep understanding between Kwankwaso and Ganduje, the political jinx in Kano would

have been broken, because Malam Aminu Kano fell out with the late Abubakar Rimi, from then on, that of Sabo Barkinzuwo didn’t last more than three months. During the NRC and SDP, Kabiru Gaya parted ways with his people like Abba Dabo who was his former SSG. The crack was visible.

“Kwankwaso came in 1999 and parted ways with Musa Gwadabe and others. So, when Shekarau came, with all what General Muhammadu Buhari did for him, they fell apart in ANPP. Kwankwaso, while in PDP, fell out with the party again and joined the new PDP, later APC. So, we thought that at least this time, having been together for so long the jinx would have been broken.”

Constituency project

L-R: Hon. Terkimbi Ikange; Speaker, Benue State House of Assembly, Hon. Benjamin Wayo; Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara; and Parish Priest, St. Martins Parish, Mbape, Kwande, Rev. Fr. Samuel Kete, during the inauguration of constituency projects of Wayo, at Ushongo, Kwande, Benue State...weekend SPEAKER’S MEDIA OFFICE.

NBS: NBET Recorded over Fresh Pro-Buhari Mega Rallies to Hit Major Cities and Thursday, Kaduna that may have been generated and exposed.”

N1.34bn in Bulk Electricity Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Tuesday and Kano on Wednesday while in the minds of Nigerians.

The group said despite the Less than a week after the it would end on Thursday in The group in the statement criticism, President Buhari’s Transactions in 2016 nation was awash with pro Lagos. said: “We have a leader who we government has given the James Emejo in Abuja Invoices and payments from bulk electricity transitions among the generating companies (GENCOs), distribution companies (DISCOs) and offtakers as well as the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) totalled over N1.34billion in 2016, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Specifically, it said an invoice of N30.51 billion was issued by the Gencos to the offtakers while a payment of N2 billion and a debit note of N1.12 billion for Net gencos imports was made with a balance N27.3 billion recorded at the end of the period.

According to the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Invoices and Payment to Gencos, Discos and Off-takers which was released yesterday by the statistical agency, an invoice of N331.02 billion was issued by the Gencos to the distribution

companies while a payment of N88.03 billion was made with a balance N242.97 billion recorded at the end of 2016.

It further stated that the generating companies issued a total invoice of N361.52 billion with the offtakers share of the total invoice put at N30.2 billion while payment N2 billion was received with a balance of N27.39 billion was recorded at the end of the year.

During the Transitional Stage of the Nigerian electricity market reforms, NBET was created to take charge for buying power from IPPs and reselling the power to the distribution companies (Discos) and eligible customers though it will not be the sole authorized or designated buyer, as other entities, such as Discos that have attained commercial viability, will be able to procure power directly from Gencos as well.

and anti-government protests in some cities, another group has come up with yet fresh plans to hold President rallies, this time in support of the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

A coalition of pro-Buhari organisations on the platform of Citizens Support for Good Governance in Nigeria (SGGN), yesterday said it would mobilise Nigerians across all walks of life to come out for a mega rally tagged: ‘I Support President Buhari,’ to be held across the major cities of Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna and Kano this week.

According to the organisers of the event, such show of support for a leader like President Buhari has become necessary for doing what they consider as right things.

A statement signed by the co-convener of the nationwide rally, Moses Abdullahi, said the rally for President Buhari would take place in Abuja on

The statement explained that before the emergence of President Buhari, “Nigeria, our beloved country, the greatest black nation on earth, has been a shadow of itself for the past 16 years. As a people, we witnessed the systemic looting and raping of our collective resources and consciousness by a few, with far reaching psychological damages which has rendered us bitter, bruised, battered and hopeless.

“Nigeria today is a nation undergoing rebirth. A people seeking a new path to higher attainment. A diverse community where a new awakening of self discovery can bring about a better economy for us all.”

In what seemed like a reprisal protests against earlier ones on hardships in the land, and being orchestrated by the coalition of Buhari Support Groups, the fresh protest intends to counter whatever negative aspersions

all know is different. We know he will not steal our resources.

We know he will not sleep until things are made right for us and our children. We know he means well. What then must we do to help get it right faster?

“We must support President Buhari because with him, it can only get better. Our economy today is in chaos not because of him, but because of the lies and deceit of 16years he inherited.

“Buhari is not out for quick fix measures, he is out to make sure the foundation of this Change is well laid such that even in the next 100 years, we will never suffer what we have gone through before today. The pains and agony of today are temporary. If we rally round President Buhari and support him, we will ensure all the enemies of our progress and agents of corruption (who only want thing to continue like before) will be shamed

anti-corruption agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the judiciary, the liberty to fully launch offensives against corruption and its agents. His government has defeated Boko Haram and working tirelessly to fix the economy in a short while, even the image of the country in international community has changed for better.

While calling on all Nigerians and especially, those who believe in what the president stands for, to come out en-mass and show theur undying love for Buhari-led government, the organiser said: “No matter your tribe, religion or political affiliation, this is about our collective interest.

Its about our future. It is about our country Nigeria”

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Darah Calls for Restructuring of Nigeria Wike emerges Independent Man of the Year Davidson Iriekpen A university don, Prof. G. G. Darah, has called for the restructuring of Nigeria on the basis of fairness, equity and justice.

Darah, a professor at the Delta State University, Abraka, stated this in Lagos at the weekend during the investiture of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, as the Independent Newspapers Limited ‘Man of the Year 2016.’

The event which was witnessed by politicians, corporate players and captains of industries, the Managing Director of Independent Newspapers, Mr. Ted Iwere, in his welcome address, said Wike was considered worthy of the prestigious award based on his sterling performance since assumption of office as governor on May 29, 2015.

He said the governor is a

grassroots politician that is loved by his people and has passion for the development of his state.

Meanwhile, in his lecture titled: ‘Who is Afraid of Nigeria’s Restructuring?, Prof.

Darah said it was unfortunate that the Niger Delta region that is producing oil which is Nigeria’s main resources is in a deplorable state.

He said those who amalgamated Nigeria did a lot of injustice which should be addressed.

“If three people own a thing and one of them forcibly takes it, it is because the other two allowed him.”

“Those who did the amalgamation of Nigeria are bandits and vandals,” he said.

With the current decline in economic growth of the nation despite its natural resources, Darah said Nigeria was an empire and not a nation.

Darah said it was high time Nigerian leaders took a bold step to implement democratic principles that would move the country forward.

He said Nigeria must return to her old structures since 1960 when the states were encouraged to function at their maximum capacity in relation to the resources available in the various places.

He acknowledged Lagos and Rivers States as two most viable states in the country, saying that other states were merely surviving on handouts.

“That is not a country, that is an empire like Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the rest. Those are

the non-democratic countries of the world. Nigeria is a democratic country. Some Nigeria leaders want to lead us to the direction of the eastern world. Let Nigeria return to democracy. The war ended in the 70s,” he said.

He stressed that one of the major challenges of the country is its sole dependence on crude oil and its inability to explore other solid materials.

“There are 42 solid minerals in Nigeria. In Taraba and Plateau States alone, we have 25 solid minerals which is more than the whole of Asia.

Bitumen in Ondo is second to that of Venezuala but Nigeria

prefers to buy bitumen to build road. Wickedness is not a religion. If President Buhari is not implementing 2014 reports of constitutional conference, no problem, Nigerians will implement it one day.”

Darah also stated that for Nigeria to become a crime-free nation, each state must have its own police force. “For a new rebirth, every state will have its police force.

The current 400,000 police cannot protect Lagos alone.

We need not less than five million police in Nigeria. With this, you can track down any form of crime including

Boko Haram insurgency. I am trying to warm you up for a better and brighter and more efficient country.

By the time we achieve all these, Nigeria will be self sufficient and the western world market will eventually close down. Please join in the movement for democracy, for justice and liberation of Niger Delta. Join the movement for the restructuring of the Nigerian nation.”

Also honoured at the event were three leading Nigerian financial institutions – Fidelity Bank Plc., United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB).

APC Clears Council Polls in Yobe Michael Olugbode The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Yobe State, has won all the 17 local government areas elections recently held in the state.

The election was made easy for the party when few days to the polls, all other political parties withdrew with little excuse.

Surprising was the withdrawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the excuse that it cannot afford to sponsors any candidate due to high cost of nomination form.

The chairmanship election was unopposed as they were contested by only APC, but few councillorship positions were contested by other parties.

Announcing the elections results at a news conference in Damaturu, the Executive Chairman of Yobe State Independent Electoral Commission (YOSIEC), Alhaji Jauro Abdu, said having received and compiled the election results, 17 candidates of APC were declared the winners of last Saturday elections.

He said pursuant to the powers conferred on YOSIEC by section 197, Sub-section 1 paragraph (b) and part two of the third schedule to 1999 Constitution as amended and the provision of section nine of the state electoral commission and Local Government Election Law, 2003, the APC candidates have been declared winners by the commission.

He said in Bade, Bursari and Damaturu council areas, Aji Sale Suleman, Zanna Abacha and Bulama Modu won the elections with 41; 159;25,908 and 20,484 votes respectively.

“In Fika, Damaturu and Geidam, Adamu Usman Bazam and Mulima Idi Mato, pulled 56,051; 62,121 and 41, 585 votes to win the concluded council elections,” Abdu stated.

Other candidates who were declared winners, according to him, were Kyari Batarama,

Babayo Hassan Gulani and Babangida Ibrahim Jaba from three councils of Gujba, Gulani and Jakusko with 33,606, 3,3659 and 49, 030 votes in that order.

He said other candidates who have been declared winner also, were Ubaliyo Musa Gambo (Karasuwa-32, 864 votes), Idrissa Alh.Bukar (Machina-24, 991 votes), Baba Langawa from Nangere with 40, 875 votes.

He said the election in Nguru, Potiskum and Tarmuwa council areas, were won by Ali Mai Dami, Mohammed Musa Potikum and Muhammed Gidado Abubakar with respective votes of 37, 746, 82, 006 and 20, 712 votes in that order.

“While the declared winners from the two council areas of Yunusari and Yusufari are Yerima Lawan Mahmud and Balama Budu, pulled total votes of 42, 302 and 26, 117,” Abdu said at the declaration of elections results in Damaturu.

An interesting scenario however played out during the press briefing by the independent observers as it ended in near fisticuffs with the parties disagreeing with the presentation.

The head of the coalition of the observers, Victor Kalu, had though admitted that the elections were contested by a party, he declared that it was “free, fair and keenly contested.”

This provoked many of the observers who had to raise their voices to express displeasure at the submission.

The press conference was brought to abrupt end when a woman, Chinyere Manukwem, stood up to state that the communique when not signed by all, the election could not be said to be keenly contested as it was never even contested by any other party other than the ruling APC. She equally alleged that some of the observers might have been settled to come to the press with such falsehood.

Networking

L-R: Regional Commercial Manager for West Africa, British Airways, Mr. Kola Olayinka; Founder, smartmoneyafrica.org, Arese Ugwu; and New Business Development Manager, British Airways, Ehi Edet, at the On Business Breakfast Event for Travel Consultants in Lagos....recently

Tambuwal: I Never Hated Jonathan as a Person Mohammed Aminu in Sokoto

According to him, this is the only way to create jobs Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji and boost the economy of Aminu Tambuwal, yesterday the country. said he had nothing whatsoever “Ask any economist around against former President, Dr. the world about the panacea Goodluck Jonathan, but only to recession, he or she will tell opposed some of his policies that you that it is the injection of were inimical to the progress money into the economy. That of the country. is why we are asking the federal Speaking during an interview government to give us the Paris with journalists in Sokoto, Club money to enable us inject Tambuwal averred that he huge funds into the economy. disagreed with Jonathan because “Former President of the of some of the policies adopted United States of America, Barack by his administration.

Obama, used this strategy of “As the Speaker of the House massive construction works to of Representatives then, I was take America out of recession. always raising the alarm on the So construction projects alone way things were being managed will create a lot of jobs and get in the country especially lack Nigeria out of recession. of prudence, but some people “I know that Nigerians are felt that I was against Jonathan. not happy and are running out “I never hated Jonathan as a of patience but they should be person, but only disagreed with patient. It is very easy to destroy his policies. The recession we are but to rebuild the economy currently facing was as a result takes time.” of the way the economy was He disclosed that the state mismanaged by the Jonathan government had adopted administration,” he said. measures to cushion the effect He emphasised that the only of high cost of food items in way out of this recession was the state. for the federal government The governor said the newly to inject more money into established state commodity the economy especially in board would soon spring into construction projects. action to stabilise food prices

in the state.

“Of course, the leadership of the Sokoto State Commodity Board had been appointed. We have been talking to the office of the vice president through the commodity board also in collaboration with Flour Mills of Nigeria to take over the silos in Sokoto so that we can buy and store grains and some food items.

“This is to enable us do some interventions when the need arises, and of course when the board comes on stream fully, we intend to use it as a platform and can always uptake excesses of our farm produce.

“So, this is a very important vehicle we intend to use for the benefit of our farmers. On our own part, the commodity board will be the platform we will use to intervene and stabilise food prices,” the former House speaker said.

On ways to improve the internally generated revenue in the state, Tambuwal posited that the management of the state Board of Internal Revenue was dissolved two days ago with a view to achieving the desired objectives.

“We have already constituted a new team and we gave them the mandate to look at areas of generating revenue without imposing hardship or making life difficult for the people.

“As at the time we came in, the highest the state Board of Internal Revenue generated and gave the state monthly was between N340 million and N400 million.

When I double -checked with the state Ministry of Finance, we gave the board a monthly target of N500 million.

“But since the time we assumed office and up till yesterday, the management was not able to meet that target not even once.

We realised that even tax deductions from salaries of federal and state civil servants in the state should be able to give us at least N400 million and upwards.

“In fact, we gave the management of the board several warnings to come up with more proactive measures to improve revenue generation but to no avail.That is why we desolved it,” Tambuwal added.

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NEWSxtra

FG to Introduce Speed Cameras on Nigeria’s Roads Chineme Okafor in Abuja The federal government has disclosed it will introduce speed cameras on Nigeria’s roads to help the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) curtail excessive speeding by motorists and improve safe use of the roads.

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, said this yesterday after he inspected ongoing repair works on the different sections of the AbujaKaduna Expressway ahead of the planned closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and diversion of air traffic to the Kaduna Airport.

Fashola also explained that repair works on the road has recorded some impressive progress with 130 out of its 160 kilometres already covered.

Fashola said in a statement from his senior special adviser on communications, Mr. Hakeem Bello in Abuja, that he saw an accident that occurred a day before his visit, and that most accidents on Nigerian roads were not necessarily from failed road networks but from irresponsible use of the roads by drivers who he alleged were less qualified

to drive on the roads.

He noted that his ministry would support the FRSC to improve safe use of Nigerian roads, and advocated for the retraining for drivers.

The FRSC, he stated, has continued to address the problem in terms of education, enlightenment and the introduction of speed limiting devices but that his ministry would further their efforts in the short to medium terms by introducing some speed cameras to deter people from excessive speeding.

“I think that it is fair to say that not many people who manage vehicles on our roads are actually trained to manage vehicles on the roads; many people are auxiliary drivers for want of something better to do. There are rules in the operation and utilisation of automobiles,” said Fashola.

The minister also said that it was the job of the government to ensure safe use of roads and that it was not going to give it up.

On the outcome of his inspection, Fashola said the work on the road was an emergency repair and not a reconstruction which he said would come later

after an ongoing procurement exercise on it is concluded.

According to him, the repair works would essentially remove the potholes and reduce the risk of accidents.

“The work that is being done here, you must understand this is a road of more than 160 kilometres. We are at kilometre 130 from Abuja. So, the work that is being done as I said is an emergency intervention essentially to remove the dangerous potholes and eliminate potential hazards that could cause accidents for motorists on this road.

“So, the road needs to be rebuilt because it has been subjected to a lot of axle load.

But what we are doing right now is emergency repairs to remove the potholes to make the road safe for commuters ahead of the planned reconstruction and repair of the Abuja Airport runway which will lead to a diversion of air traffic and passengers from Abuja to Kaduna which will start on the 8th of March,” he said.

He added that the role of his ministry was to make the road motorable and safe for commuters, and that it would be delivered on time for use.

NIMASA Pledges Support for FG’s Decision on Maritime University Eromosele Abiodun The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has disown speculations in a section of the media and a press statement from the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) to the effect that it is opposed to the establishment of the Maritime University at Okerenkoko, in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State.

In a statement at the weekend, NIMASA said it was in support of the federal government’s plan for the proposed university.

According to NIMASA, “This assertion is far from the truth and it has become necessary to clarify the issue as the federal government is committed to the actualisation of the project which the agency conceived. It is pertinent to note that NIMASA is supporting every aspect of the law in its determination to fulfill its obligations.

“In addition, the National Assembly recently held a public hearing on the matter and it is expected that the funding of the institution and other aspects of running it will be specified in the Act setting up the university.

“For the avoidance of doubt, at no time did the Director General, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, say anything contrary to the federal government’s position on the issue and we solidly stand behind the federal government on its determination to actualise the project.

It added that the benefits derivable from the setting up of the institution would be quite

numerous.

“Apart from becoming a citadel for knowledge and development of human capital,

job opportunities will be created to the Nigerian people, particularly the community, “it stated.

AUCTION SALE. AUCTION SALE. AUCTION SALE. THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT AUCTION SALE BY NATIONAL ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION FUND OF NO.3 ZUINGUICHOR STREET WUSE ZONE 4, ABUJA. AS UNPAID MORTGAGEE PURSUANT TO THE POWER OF SALE SHALL TAKE PLACE ON MONDAY, 13TH FEBRUARY, 2017.

PROPERTY TO BE AUCTIONED: Property located at No 65, Moses Majekodunmi Crescent, Utako, Abuja.

RESERVED PRICE: to be sold to the highest bidder.

TIME: 10 am.

PLACE OF SALE: No 65, Moses Majekodunmi Crescent, Utako,Abuja.

Signed by Mr. Taiwo Abe Esq RECEIVER. Phone No. 08033371913.

Email- taiwoabetim@yahoo.com

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crime&punishment

NURTW, Tricyclists Clash Claims Two Lives in Lagos Chiemelie Ezeobi

Lekan, both tricyclists, who sustained gunshot wounds.

A clash between members of the The soldiers who were said to National Union of Road have been invited by NURTW, Transport Workers (NURTW) allegedly fired sporadically and tricycle operators at the leading to the deaths and injuries Abule Egba area of Lagos, recorded. yesterday claimed two lives Already, the two injured men and left several others injured. were said to be undergoing The deceased persons were surgeries at the Lagos State said to have been allegedly University Teaching Hospital shot dead during the clash, (LASUTH), Ikeja. while soldiers of the Operation According to reports, the (OP) MESA with patrol vehicle relationship between the marked LSD529CX, accused of tricylists and NURTW had shooting two other persons ruptured about a week ago Michael Taiwo and Komolafe and degenerated to the clash

witnessed in the area.

It was gathered that the fight between both groups was as a result of the decision by the tricyclist union to disengage from the NURTW, a move that was not welcomed by the later.

It was also gathered that two of the thugs on NURTW’s side were apprehended and handed over to policemen at Miran and a pistol recovered from one of them.

The Chairman of Owode Community Development

Association, Baba Seriki, who confirmed that people were fleeing their homes, urged the government to bring a lasting solution to the crisis.

He said: “There has been tension in this area since Monday. But it was on Saturday night that the two groups fought.

We have been seeing thugs carrying cutlasses and bottles roaming the street.

“In fact, a young boy who came to live with a relative ran away that same day after seeing

the thugs.

“Since that night, people have been leaving. It was a terrible experience. I went out and was coming back around 6pm, but was greeted with gunshots.

“This is something the government is aware of. They know about this crisis and so, I don’t understand why they can’t find a solution to it.”

Chairman, Abule Egba Tricycle Operators’ Union, Lukmon Ogede, claimed one of the arrested suspects disclosed

that they were sent to kill him.

According to him, the suspect who had the pistol mentioned the name of an NURTW boss who sent them to kill him.

He said: “The only problem is that we have said we want to be on our own. We have our own certificate and are now affiliated to Trade Union Council (TUC).

“But NURTW wants us to still be under them so that they would be taxing us heavily as they usually do.

Lagos Takes Advocacy against Domestic, Sexual Violence to Army Officers In furtherance of its resolve to rid the society of domestic violence, rape, sexual violence, child abuse, maltreatment and neglect in the state, the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT), at the weekend embarked on an engagement initiative with officers of the army.

The engagement session which held from February 7 to 9, 2017 featured officers at 9 Division, Nigerian Army Headquarters; 149 Battalion, Ojo; and 174 Battalion, Ikorodu, Odongunyan; with over 100 officers in attendance ranking from Majors to new recruits.

Coordinator of DSVRT, Mrs. Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, said during the session, the philosophy of rape, being an act of violence and not a crime of passion was well thrashed and the myth that a woman’s mode of dressing is a determinant factor was debunked with scientific data.

“Furthermore, the various forms of domestic violence were discussed and officers were informed about the fact that the

Prevention Against Domestic Violence Law 2007 applies to all Nigerians,” she said.

She said the team also seized the medium to engage children in the command schools in the different cantonments on their rights and responsibilities by distributing relevant information, education and communication materials, in the form of safeguarding the rights of a child textbook as well as posters, pamphlets and fliers.

Vivour-Adeniyi said going forward, the DSVRT would take concrete steps to advance sensitisation including engaging the Nigerian Army Soldiers Wives Association, and further engagement with other security agencies, namely the navy, air force and NSSDC who are all relevant stakeholders.

She said the Chief of Staff, on behalf of the General Officer Commanding, reassured the team of the army’s resolve and firm commitment to driving the right mind-set to eradicating the menace of sexual and gender-based violence, and child abuse.

Nine Arrested for Vandalising Kaduna Electric, NDPHC Equipment Nine persons have been arrested for alleged vandalism of power supply infrastructure in Saminaka Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The Head of Corporate Communications of Kaduna Electric, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, stated this in a statement issued in Kaduna at the weekend.

He disclosed: “The nine suspected vandals and their four motor vehicles were recently apprehended by the police in Saminaka while perpetrating their nefarious activities and have since been transferred to Kaduna.”

According to him, three of the suspects have been arraigned before the Magistrate Court 1, Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Kaduna for vandalising power supply equipment worth millions of

naira belonging to Kaduna Electric.

The remaining six suspects were arraigned before Magistrate Court 16 also in Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Kaduna for vandalising power supply installation of the Niger Delta Power Holding company of Nigeria, the operator of the National Integrated Power Projects.

He lamented the recent increase in the cases of vandalism of power supply assets belonging to the company, which according to him, is “telling negatively on the efforts of the company to provide steady and qualitative power supply.”

He appealed to the public to be more vigilant and raise an alarm especially when strangers are seen around power supply facilities at odd hours.

for public peace A cross-section of suspected miscreants and hoodlums arrested by officials of the Lagos State Task Force in Oshodi... yesterday

KOLA OLASUPO

FRSC Boss, Wife Abducted in Ekiti, Kidnappers Demand N20m Ransom Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

demanding N20 million ransom.

According to the family, who An officer of the Federal Road craved anonymity, the couple Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ekiti were travelling inside a navy State, Oluwafemi Ojo and his blue Honda Accord car owned wife, were at the weekend by Oluwafemi’s elderbrother, abducted by gunmen in Oluwadare, who is also an FRSC Ogotun-Ekiti, a border town with officer serving in neighboring Osun State in Ekiti South-west Ondo State.

While the kidnappers dragged Local Government Area.

The incident happened Oluwafemi and his wife into at about 5p.m. at a location the bush, they spared the elder between Ogotun and Igbara brother (Oluwadare).

Their destination was still Odo, which has recently become a hideout for armed robbers and unknown as at press time.

Oluwafemi, his wife and elder kidnappers where residents are brother, Oluwadare were said being terrorised.

It was reliably gathered to have visited their hometown, from a family member that Ogotun on the fateful Saturday.

An eyewitness revealed that the kidnappers had contacted the family yesterday morning, some residents were robbed of

their money and other personal effects before the couple were abducted A motorcyclist in the community, Ojo Olabisi, who was also said to have ran into the kidnappers during the incident had an accident in a bid to escape from the scene and died in the process.

“This morning, the family was contacted by those who abducted them and they demanded N20 million ransom. We don’t have money to pay and those holding them should release them unconditionally.

“Femi and his wife were taken into the bush while Dare who owns the vehicle

they were traveling in was left.

“It is very curious that some policemen mounted a checkpoint some two kilometers away from the scene of the robbery and abduction. The policemen were on Igbara Odo side.

“In the last five months, criminals some of whom wore army and police uniforms killed not less than six residents in Ogotun and adjoining settlements. We want government and security agencies to save us.”

Efforts to get a reaction from Police spokesperson, Alberto Adeyemi, were not successful at press time as he had not responded to phone calls.

Lagos Task Force Arrests Ex-convict, 15 Teenagers, 194 Others for Criminal Offences Chiemelie Ezeobi Barely a week after his release from ‘Potoki Prison in Badagry, 43-year-old Femi Adisa, an ex-convict, was again arrested, alongside 15 teenagers and 194 others, during a raid at Oshodi by the Lagos State Taskforce.

Adisa confirmed that he was released from ‘Potoki Prison’

at Badagry on Monday, February 6, 2017, after serving a six-month imprisonment for a case of robbery.

The suspect who hails from Igbogi, Ilesha, Osun State, said he was arrested by the same Lagos State Task Force in September 2016 for snatching a ‘Samsung’ phone under Oshodi bridge and was prosecuted.

Although the 15 male teenagers have been taken to Lagos State Remand Home, the remaining suspects who were arrested for offences ranging from theft to being miscreants and hoodlums, will be charged to court today.

Confirming the arrests, the Head of the police Public Affairs Unit, Adebayo Taofiq, said the

raid was carried out at night to get maximum effect.

Also, the Chairman of the taskforce, SP Olayinka Egbeyemi, said the mid-night raid was carried out by the agency on the directive of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode through the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni.

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monDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

WORLD CUP 2018

Underrate Cameroon at Your Peril, Fashanu Warns Eagles Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja Former Wimbledon striker, John Fashanu, has admonished the Super Eagles to be cautious in order not to be clawed by the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in the Russia 2018 World Cup qualifying fixtures that come up later in the year.

Cameroon, recently crowned the champions of Africa and Nigeria will rekindle their rivalry in Uyo when the first of the two back-to-back matches is played in August.

Fashanu, the Nigeria-born former England international at the weekend, predicted the Group B matches to be difficult given the new lease of life by Cameroon, which claimed their fifth Africa Cup of Nations title penultimate weekend in Gabon in a 2-1 victory over Egypt.

“Cameroon should be given

their respect. They worked very hard by coming back from the dead. In the past four years, nobody was thinking about them as their days were felt to be over.

But they have come back. They deserved it. They have got good players and most importantly they did it with youth team,” Fashanu warned.

He also emphasised on the unpredictable nature of African football, saying that there is little separating African national teams nowadays because 95 per cent of the players that featured at the Africa Cup of Nations were drawn from the major European football leagues in England, Spain, Germany and Italy.

“Nigeria, the giant of Africa should be in world top 20. That we were not in AFCON for the second time running means there are some problems. What I will say is that we should not be agitated

but cautious knowing we are going to take on Cameroon. Football is unpredictable nowadays and all countries have their key players in Europe and not in the African continent,” Fashanu noted.

He called on Nigerian administrators to invest in youth development saying there will be no growth if tomorrow’s stars are not discovered.

“I ask where are the Austin Jay Jay Okochas, Nwankwo Kanus- the young boys with skills? Why should we be declining when we have the finest footballers in the world?

You must work on tomorrow’s future. If you don’t discover tomorrow’s future you will not grow. At 17, I was already playing in Premier League. If I was in Nigeria I would not be discovered. You have to go to Europe to be discovered,” observed the ex-Wimbledon star.

NPFL: Leaders Plateau Utd Suffers First Loss

Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) leaders Plateau United suffered the first loss of the season after going down 1-2 at Akwa United.

However, the Jos club remains top of the standings with 17 points from eight matches, three points clear of closest rivals ABS FC, who drew 2-2 at troubled Sunshine Stars.

The result took struggling Akwa United off the foot of the table.

There were also home wins for Niger Tornadoes, El Kanemi Warriors and Nasarawa United, while Katsina United picked up its second straight point on

the road courtesy of a goalless draw at Lobi Stars.

Former Nigeria U20 goalkeeper Dami Paul was the hero for Katsina United as he pulled off several daring saves to deny the home team.

Meanwhile, Akwa United Head Coach, Abdul Maikaba, has described as inspiring and a turning point, the side’s win against top-flight leaders Plateau United.

Former Enyimba marksman, Christian Pyagbara scored the match opener for the Uyo side in the sixth minute while Alhassan

Ibrahim doubled the lead in the 50th minute and substitute Chima Ndukwu scored the consolation for the Jos landlords.

Maikaba said the win against leaders Plateau United will inspire his side to further wins in the on-going Nigerian top-flight.

MATCH DAY 8

(Results) El-Kanemi 3-0 Gombe Nasarawa 3-1 Abia Warriors Akwa Utd 2-1 Plateau Utd Tornadoes 1-0 Enyimba Lobi Stars 0-0 Katsina Utd Sunshine 2-2 ABS FC

Enyimba: No Planned Protest over Stadium, Says Anyansi Agwu Chairman of Enyimba Felix Anyansi Agwu has bitterly condemned reports in the media that supporters of Enyimba Football Club are gearing up for protests in Aba over non-completion of work in the stadium.

The reports claim that supporters of the club under the aegis of Concerned Enyimba Supporters have concluded plans to march round Aba to demand the immediate completion of the rehabilitation work in the stadium.

But in an interview in Calabar after Enyimba’s one nil win over Akwa United on Thursday, Felix Anyansi Agwu labelled the reports false and shameful.

Anyansi Agwu said: “These are untrue reports. Very untrue, very misleading and very shameful. There are no such plans by supporters of the club to protest. What would anybody be protesting. No sane person would be protesting a genuine attempt by the Dr Okezie Ikpeazu led administration to develop Enyimba’s infrastructure and make us more competitive. A government that is not concerned about the welfare of a club will not embark on such a huge project in the face of the current economic condition of the country and in

particular, Abia State. So it puzzles me how such a protest story can be cooked up.”

“Our supporters held no meeting to plan a protest, neither did they contact anyone to protest on their behalf. Our supporters left Calabar in a triumphant spirit after our victory against Akwa and are planning to be on the road to cheer the team in our next away game, so who is protesting? As a matter of fact, this group that calls itself Concerned Enyimba Supporters have no connection with Enyimba Football Club. We have never heard of them, so I urge the public to disregard any actions or words coming from the group.”

“I believe that if such group actually exist, their actions are mischievous and what they planned to do is nothing but a calculated attempt to undermine the great support of the governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu for our club. Enyimba reached the group stage of the CAF Champions League last season and has started well this season.

Without the backing of the Abia State government, the club would not be where it is today. Don’t forget that Enyimba won her record seventh league title under this administration, so the signs

are evident that we have a very supportive governor. Work in the Enyimba Stadium has reached eighty five percent, all that is left is for the grass to be laid and I believe that will happen very soon, so the supporters have no reason to protest, none at all.”

Anyansi Agwu further added that Enyimba playing away from home is not the first of its kind in the league, even as he called for patience.

“Other teams have played away from home in Nigeria, some for even three to four seasons, so Enyimba is not doing anything unusual. We have only been away for one season. Right now, we are in Calabar and we are doing well. I appreciate the fact that Aba fans would like to watch us play in Aba, but our not playing at home is only temporary. The government has not abandoned work, things are still moving forward, so I appeal to everyone to be patient and give their full support to the team so we can continue to do well. The people of Calabar have made us feel at home and I wish to thank our governor for maintaining full support for the team because it is not easy to play away from home,” he concluded.

Managing Director, Seven-Up Bottling Company Plc, Mr. Sunil Sawhney, presenting a dummy cheque for N1 million prize money to Philibus Sharubutu, the first Nigerian male runner to reach the finish line at the second edition of Access/Lagos City Marathon in Lagos… last Saturday

L ag os C ity M aratho n

Okpekpe Race Promoter Hails Ambode, Access Bank

The Promoter of Okpekpe 10km International Road Race, Mike Itemuagbor, has congratulated Lagos State Governor,AkinwunmiAmbode and Access Bank for successfully hosting the second edition of the Access Bank/Lagos City Marathon last Saturday in Lagos.

“I congratulate Governor Ambode for promising and delivering a world class marathon and Access Bank for sponsoring the event,” began Itemuagbor whose race, the Okpekpe 10km International Road Race is the first and so far only road race in Nigeria to get an International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) label.

“I am particularly delighted that the second edition of the Lagos Marathon was a remarkable

improvement on the first edition and hopes subsequent editions would even be much better, “ he further said and harped on the health implications of running.

“Health they say is wealth.

A healthy nation will definitely be productive and by extension prosperous. And experts have not ceased to emphasise on the benefits of exercising to the body.

“By organising this marathon, the governor is not only promoting sports and tourism in Lagos State but also ensuring he governs over a healthy community of people,” stressed the race promoter.

Itemuagbor also hopes governor Ambode will strive to take the marathon to the next level by making it the first full marathon in West Africa to get an IAAF label.

“That will make Nigeria the only country in Africa to have two IAAF label races.

Kenyans swept all the top spots of the male and female category of the Access Bank/Lagos City Marathon. Abraham Kiptum who won the maiden edition last year successfully defended his title in 2hrs.15 mins : 20 secs to leave his compatriots, Ronny Kiboss (2 hrs 15mins 25 secs) and Kiprotich Kiroi (2hrs 15mins 30secs) for the second and third spots.

Kiptum smiled away from Lagos with the grand prize of $50,000 while the second and third place winners got $40,000 and $30,000 respectively.

The first Nigerian male runner to reach the finish line Philibus Sharubutu got N1million for his effort.

CONFED CUP

IfeanyiUbah Walks Tight Rope with Al Masry Draw, Wikki Crashes FC Ifeanyiubah barely managed to pip Al Masry of Egypt 1-0, while Wikki Tourists fell 2-0 at Royal Armed forces of Sierra Leone as Nigerian clubs began their quest in the CAF Confederation Cup yesterday.

Home team Ifeanyiubah had to wait till two minutes from time before they could stop Al Masry courtesy of a goal

by Cameroonian midfielder Tamen Medrano.

However, Wikki were not so lucky in Freetown as they lost 2-0 to the army-team RSLAF. Both teams have a second chance to ensure qualification to the next round of the competition next weekend.

No Nigerian club has won this second-tier continental

tournament.

Earlier at the weekend, Nigeria’s representatives in the CAF Champions League, Rangers International of Enugu pulled off a 1-1 draw at Algeria’s JS Saoura.

Nigeria’s other representative in the competition Rivers United also drew 0-0 away with Real Bamako.

T H I S D AY MONDAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017

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Price: N250

MISSILE Dogara to Power Sector Stakeholders

“Perhaps the most important question is what happened to the N2.74 trillion spent on the sector from 1999-2015? Why is it that the more we spend on the power sector, the more darkness we attract?”

– Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara querying the where-about of the mind boggling sums allocated to the power sector since 1999 to date without achieving sustainable results.

AlexOtti

OUTSIDE THE BOX alex.otti@thisdaylive.com

Teacher, Don’t Teach Me Nonsense –1

C

redit for the title of today’s column is to no other person than the late King of Afro beat music, the Abami Eda himself, Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, also known as Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Those who are old enough would agree that Fela, who died 20 years ago, was not just a philosopher but a crusader and revolutionist. In this 1980 song, Fela insists that everything one does must have been taught by someone. At birth, the teachers are the parents, and by school age, the teacher is the school teacher while at university level, the teacher becomes the lecturer. When one gets done with school and begins to work, Fela argues that the teacher becomes the government which can also be called the society. What is taught, according to Fela, is a function of Culture and tradition.

Virtually all the countries of the world have got its teaching right based on their culture and tradition except African countries. He believes that is the reason we have problems with governance in Africa because our governments ignore our culture and tradition in administering our countries and instead learn other people’s culture and tradition. This is also the reason, he continued, we adopted the colonial democracy model which he called “dem all crazy” and “demonstration of craze” According to him, demonstration of craze brought about corruption, mismanagement, stealing, inflation, election rigging and the new one called “austerity measure” that made him laugh. He laughed at ‘austerity measure’ because the rich steals from the poor and forces the poor to tighten their belts to pay for the former’s profligacy. He believes the white man taught African leaders the wrong things and actively encouraged them to misgovern their societies. Since Fela is not in the same category with those that have been taught the wrong thing, he warns the teachers not to attempt to teach him nonsense.

Today, we are going to look at teaching or better still, education and how seriously we have addressed that subject in Nigeria. We will also like to situate education within the context of the myriad of problems we are grappling with and how qualitative and ‘quantitative’ education can help liberate our youths from the shackles of poverty and hopelessness.

As a point of departure, I completely agree with Fela that whatever we do, we must have learnt. Think of a new born baby. It starts learning how to eat from liquids through semi solids to solids. The child learns how to crawl and subsequently how to walk and run. The first set of teaching happens in the home. Where the parents devote a lot of time to teaching their children, they turn out to be better children than where the parents had little or no time for them. Of course, this is the rule. Just like it is said, to every rule, there is an exception. The rule, however, is that good parental upbringing is synonymous with good behaviour in children and vice versa. Any situation that does not conform to this principle is an exception. Parents must, therefore, pay attention to the kind of examples and training they give their children particularly at those early formative stages of their lives. It is often said that man is a product

Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu of his environment. A tardy environment would naturally produce a tardy human being.

Beyond the family is the early school setting. This would include nursery school which is not available to everyone particularly the majority brought up in the villages. The officially recognised and generally acceptable early level education is the primary school. For most children, the primary school defines their basic encounter with education. Most kids take their bearing from their primary education.

Habits get formed from here. Unfortunately, this is the level that has received the greatest neglect from government. Granted, there are private schools available at this level, majority of primary schools in Nigeria are public schools. Statistics has it that there are over 62,000 public primary schools in Nigeria with pupil-teacher ratio of 40 and close to 24,000 private primary schools with pupil-teacher ratio of about 25. The structure is such that public primary schools are supposed to be managed, funded and supervised by the local government system. Public secondary schools are under the supervision of state governments, while public tertiary institutions are under the supervision of the federal government, except if otherwise owned by the states. This is where the fundamental problem is located. Most people should be aware of how local governments are run in most parts of the country. Some governors have formed the habit of appropriating the funds due the local governments on a monthly basis. To achieve this, they refuse to let local governments hold elections and instead, appoint transition local government Chairmen and Councillors. By the definition of the term transition, the appointments are supposed to be for a short while, usually six months, prior to an election that would produce substantive local government officers. But what do we get? The governors continue to renew the transition officers’ tenures after every 6 months, such that some governors would rule for 8 years without conducting local government elections. And who are the likely people to be appointed to the transition roles? They are cronies and miscreants, most of them without any agenda except to let the governors have access to the till and sign off that the money in

the Joint Local Government account has been used for purpose intended. They only account to their patrons who appointed them. Given that the people did not have a hand in the appointment of the transition officers, those officers owe no explanations to anyone in the local government. In a few cases where the governors feel compelled to conduct elections, they simply compile names of their thugs and touts and conduct a sham election and use the state electoral commissions to return these thugs, forcing them on the people who were not allowed to vote in the first place. This is exactly what happened in one of the states in the South East which claimed to have conducted a local government election in December last year. The state electoral body shamelessly returned the names of the candidates of the ruling party across board and boasted that the election was free and fair. Meanwhile, everyone in the state knows that there was no election. So, the question is, what kind of primary schools do we expect these illiterate charlatans to run?

Sadly, we are talking of the most important and the fundamental stage of learning and teaching. We are talking about the foundational teaching of the child. Where the foundation is faulty, it is very unlikely that any correction can happen along the line of higher education.

The other important issue is the quality and quantity of teaching staff. Who are the teachers at this level? Are they such that won’t teach the children nonsense? Did they go to school? If yes, what kind of school did they attend? Were they taught nonsense? How did they perform in their time? Were they amongst the best or worst? In order words, what kind of skills do they have? After all, you can’t give what you don’t have. What kind of motivation is in place for them? Are they paid commensurate wages or starvation wages? Are the wages competitive enough to attract and retain the best talent to teach the ‘future generation’? Do their salaries come regularly or does government wait until they go on strike before paying them?

In terms of numbers, we had demonstrated earlier on that the pupil-teacher ratio in Nigerian public primary schools is 40. That shows that on the average, for every teacher, there are 40 pupils. The case is different for private schools where the ratio is better by close to 50% at 25. According to Wikipedia, the rule is that the smaller the ratio, the better the quality of learning. On the other hand, high student–teacher ratio is often cited for criticizing proportionately underfunded schools or school systems, or as evidence of the need for legislative change or more funding for education. In the same period, primary school enrollment was about 23million while total number of classrooms in the public primary schools stood at 342,303.

The World Bank has come out with data on pupil to student ratio for most countries of the world. In the latest figures which were published in 2015, the world average ratio was 24. The best performers are Cuba, Kuwait and Norway with an average of 9 each. The average figure for the Arab world, Middle East and North Africa was put at 20 each.

North America had a pupil-teacher ratio of 15

while Europe stood at 13. Meanwhile, Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) had an average figure of 41. Our own figure of 40 is very similar to those of the HIPC. May be that is where we belong.

Infrastructure is another important factor.

In the 21st century, we still have schools that could not survive the test of the medieval ages.

A lot of the public schools lack basic learning and living amenities. Some have no libraries, no laboratories, no computers, no books, no desks, no hygienic environment, no modern healthcare facilities and no sporting facilities.

With everything lacking, it is doubtful that any serious learning takes place in these schools.

However, they must graduate pupils every year to go to secondary schools.

A lot of the schools do not even have relevant and up to date curricula for the modern age.

In this kind of setting, teachers will end up teaching the students nonsense. However, like I had pointed out earlier, these schools must churn out pupils to populate the secondary schools on a yearly basis. Talking about secondary schools, this is another area where we have planted disaster. First of all, the way the system is set up requires that a large number of the pupils that finish from primary schools are programmed not to proceed to secondary schools and we seem to be comfortable with that. Why do I say so? While there were over 60,000 primary schools with over 342,000 classrooms and 23m pupils, the public secondary school capacity was 11,874 schools with about 4.4m enrollment studying in 84,000 classrooms with a better student teacher ratio of 26. So, in the minds of our planners, more than 80% of pupils who would be finishing from primary schools would not proceed to secondary schools. That is very bad news. I agree that it may not be everyone that finished from primary school that would make it to a secondary school, but I think 80% drop out rate is scandalous.

We must begin to pay serious attention to the quality of education we give our children.

Education is the most important gift we can bequeath our young ones. It is the instrument they need to navigate the challenges of the future. An educated mind is a liberated mind.

It is a mind that can think in an articulate manner with a view to solving the challenges of life. Most of the young people that make themselves available for social vices and criminal activities are uneducated ones. Even if an educated person is jobless, he knows that he has a future that is bright. He knows that there is no glass ceiling to how far he can go.

He knows he has solutions to the problems around him.

I know someone out there would like to point my attention to a failed educated person and a successful person with little or no education. My response is, do not rejoice too quickly, because for every one educated person that failed, I will show you nine successful educated people and for every one uneducated successful person you show me, I will show you nine failed uneducated persons. I will also like to say that if the successful school drop-out was able to complete his education, only God knows how successful he would have been.

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