Friday 3rd March 2017

FX Market Gets Boost as Travelex Sells Dollars to BDCs Obinna Chima, James Emejo and Nume Ekeghe in Sokoto Liquidity in the foreign exchange (FX) market got a boost, following yesterday’s sale of dollars to authorised Bureau de Change (BDC)

operators in the country by Travelex.

In all, THISDAY learnt that in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) directive, 2,529 BDCs got $8,000 each from Travelex for onward sales to retail

customers. This amounted to a total of $20,472,000 that the currency dealers received.

The development is expected to improve liquidity in the market and also make dollars more

available to retail customers.

The President, Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, who confirmed the cash injection, expressed optimism that

the intervention would help improve dollar supply in the market.

“We are happy because the pressure in the market has eased. But our members are not happy because we are not part of the policy.

Up till now, our volume has been capped at $8,000 and our buying rate is still N381 to the dollar, which is far higher than the selling rate of the banks.

Continued on page 10

Soludo: We Want a Nigeria Where It Doesn’t Matter Where the President Comes From… Page 10 Friday 3 March, 2017 Vol 22. No 7988. Price: N250

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DSS Raid of Judges’ Houses was Illegal, Saraki Insists

Says fight against corruption is not a one-man show Osinbajo, Onnoghen insist on rule of law Sagay: NDDC used funds meant for ‘wretched’ Niger Delta people on pricey SUVs

Tobi Soniyi in Abuja Senate President Bukola Saraki had described as illegal the invasion of judges’ houses by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) last October.

He spoke at a National Dialogue on the Fight against Corruption organised by the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, (PACAC), in Continued on page 12

Vehicle Owners Nationwide Given One Month to Pay Customs Duty

Cars without duty will be seized from April 13 Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd) has approved a grace period of one month for owners of all vehicles in the country whose customs

duties have not been paid, to do so.

The grace period is between Monday March 13 and Wednesday April 12, 2017, the NCS said in a statement.

Continued on page 10

FG Files Fresh Charges Against Shell, ENI, Others… Pa g e 1 3

JEGA LECTURES GLOBAL AUDIENCE…

L-R: Chairman, Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG), Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede; First AIG Fellow and former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega; and Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, Sir Paul Collier, at the public lecture delivered by Jega at the Blavatnik School of Government… yesterday

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Soludo: We Want a Nigeria Where It Doesn’t Matter Where the President Comes From Warns of economic compression Ex-CBN governor is entitled to his opinion, says presidency Tobi Soniyi in Abuja and Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu A former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof Chukwuma Soludo yesterday in Enugu called for the restructuring of the country and one where it does not matter where the president comes from.

He also warned that Nigeria was drifting towards a failed state, noting that though President Muhammadu Buhari inherited a floundering economy, the “administration only made matters worse”.

He said the country was not just in a recession but had degenerated to economic compression, to the point where it has become “a fragile state with a failing economy”.

Soludo spoke as the former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke cautioned that except something happens urgently, the nation would slide to a pathetic state of “anything goes”, acknowledging that Nigeria is a big nation with great potential, the country now reasons like a small nation finding it difficult to earn the respect of the world.

He said for the nation to exit this embarrassing path, it must carefully plan its development, which he said would not occur by happenstance.

The two leaders spoke at a policy debate organised by the African Heritage Institution, Enugu, tagged the Big Ideas Podium with the theme: “Nigeria: A Prognosis of 2017.”

Other guest speakers at the event included a former Chief Economic Adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo,

Prof Osita Ogbu, and a member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Board, Prof Akpan Ekpo.

Participants were drawn from the civil society, labour, academia, private sector and media, among others.

The former CBN governor said Nigerian now competes at the same level with countries such as Afghanistan and Syria, with failed states status, moving from 17th position where it used to be to 13th at the moment, adding that anyone still talking about a recession would merely be trivialising the issue at hand.

“It will be a miracle, in the event that this administration stays for eight years, for the economy to be returned to where we met it in 2015, let alone bettering it.

“At the moment, politicians are still playing yesterday’s game with the same rules and they hope to get a different result.

“Buhari is fighting corruption and insurgency, yes.

The government inherited a bad situation but has made it several times worse. Enough of the blame game. Nothing will happen if we continue this way,” he said.

He advocated for a citizens’ activism to rescue the nation from the slide, saying, “It will be a luxury for anybody to say ‘I’m minding my business.’ We must unite as citizens because we will not get the leadership that we deserve, rather we will get the leadership that we demand for.

“If political parties implement only 25 per cent of their promises, this nation will be better. Check all the

three major parties – PDP, APC and APGA – and tell me the difference between them. They are all the same, doing the same thing.

“Time has come for us to get them to account. We need peaceful agitations, which must be encouraged in the country. These agitations call to attention the imperfections of the system.

“Recall that APC promised to restructure the country. It was the cardinal plank upon which they were given power.

But after the elections, the party won 23 states and the centre, but did we hear about restructuring again?

“They control almost two-thirds of the country to restructure the country but expectedly, nothing is happening. Unless we rise, Nigeria is not going anywhere.

“Nigeria is not working in anybody’s interest, except a privileged few. The obsession today is Igbo presidency, power rotation and all that, as if they mean anything, but they are simply an unnecessary distraction from the problems we have now.

“You can have the president, vice president, senate president, speaker of the House of Representatives and all that from one village (political party), and yet the lives of citizens of that village will not move from Point A to Point B. “The north has governed Nigeria for about 40 years and yet poverty in Nigeria is a northern phenomenon.

“In the last regime of President Goodluck Jonathan, the South-east headed almost all the economic and financial

institutions – the Minister of Finance, Deputy Senate President, Deputy Speaker of the House, SGF, etc., yet not a single motorable federal road exists in Igboland.

“We want a new Nigeria where it will not matter where the president comes from.

We need a system where a citizen has guarantee of his security and prosperity. All these obsessions are games for the elite.

“No change is ever given, it is a struggle. Nigeria got independence despite the pervasive poverty. How many graduates did we have then, yet it was achieved.

“The whole army in the world can never stop a determined people, literate or illiterate. We have to demand for the change, we have to agitate for it. Nobody will give it to you. Citizens must get back the confidence and consciousness in them to know that they are the change agents.”

On his part, the former Cross River state governor, who chaired the session, said corruption has continued to thrive in the country because there are no consequences.

He said a lot had gone wrong in the country and as such Nigerians need to change the narrative so as to enviably earn the status as the Giant of Africa, being the largest nation on the continent with 180 million people.

Also, Prof, Ekpo said Nigeria’s economy has been battered since 1999, observing that rather than fix the problems, the nation has been tottering as a result of poor planning and governance.

FX MARKET GETS BOOST AS TRAVELEX SELLS DOLLARS TO BDCS “We have written to the central bank, especially on the issue of rate disparity, so that people would not take advantage of the opportunity to round trip,” the ABCON president said.

The naira traded between N440/$ and N445/$ at some parallel market points in Lagos.

The CBN also revealed yesterday that it would sell dollars via a book-building process, a process of capturing demand in the market, to clear the backlog of dollar demand for companies importing machinery, airline equipment, and petroleum products.

Under this arrangement, bidding firms were required to pay the naira equivalent for their dollar bids on the spot market yesterday, while the dollars will be delivered in two months time, Reuters reported.

But the CBN did not say how much it would offer at the sale.

The CBN recently introduced new FX measures, which among other objectives was aimed at easing the burden of travellers and ensuring that transactions

are settled at much more competitive exchange rates.

The CBN, in addition, yesterday distanced itself from news making the rounds and a video in circulation on various social media platforms, alleging that the central bank and the federal government were behind the arrest of one Mr. Babatunde Gbadamosi, a Lagos-based businessman and former governorship candidate by the Department of Security Services (DSS).

It was alleged that Gbadamosi had exposed in detail the monumental organised foreign currency fraud under the Muhammadu Buhari administration and officials of CBN, which according to reports, led to the fine-tuning of the country’s FX policy.

Addressing a media briefing on the sidelines of a workshop for financial journalists in Sokoto, the acting Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, stressed that there was no link between the naira rally and the arrest of Gbadamosi.

Okorafor said: “There is a

trending video saying that the naira has appreciated, somebody is in detention. I don’t know how Nigerians try to establish these links.

“This is falsehood there and there is no relationship.

Somebody did something criminal, the law caught up with the person and he wants to use that to make himself a victim.

“I saw a video clip that circulated about somebody saying that we were selling dollars at 61 kobo.

“I want to state categorically that there is no relationship whatsoever between the allegation by the so called person that dollar was being sold at 61 kobo and the current appreciation of the naira.”

Okorafor explained that what led to the recent appreciation of the naira against the dollar was because the CBN did a lot of intelligence on the market and realised that much of what was driving demand for FX was a bubble and speculative attacks against the naira.

According to him, the CBN also decided to ease the

demand for FX for personal travel allowance, schools fees and medicals by pumping dollars into that segment of the market.

“The other issue was that the level of our foreign reserves before now, we did not feel was comfortable enough to do the kind of intervention we needed. Now, we have decided to intervene at this time because we are a bit more comfortable with the level of external reserves.

“That was why when we intervened, the market reacted positively and the naira started gaining strength.

“As proof that, when we supplied $500 million to the market, only $371 million was taken up. That tells you that it was all a bubble. The real demand was $371 million.

When we supplied $230 million, only $221 million was taken up.

“So, anybody who has contravened the law and the security agencies have caught up with him, should go and face his or her case and stop causing confusion among participants in the market,” the CBN spokesman said.

He said there was no need for panic measures in finding solutions to the current economic recession in the country, as it remains a permanent feature in a market economy.

He said the nation’s leaders need to think out of the box in order to get the country going.

“Today, we’ve witnessed unprecedented looting in Nigeria. Monies are now kept in soak-away pits, rooftops, foreign accounts. This is a special form of impunity and this will never get the nation anywhere positive,” he said.

In his presentation, Prof.

Ogbu said competence must be a major part of an effective government, as honesty was not enough, adding that since global instability had become the norm, the nation should equally face the challenge and not cave in.

Reacting to Soludo’s comments, the spokesman to the acting president, Mr. Laolu Akande said yesterday that Soludo was entitled to his opinion and Nigerians entitled to the facts.

He said the opinion expressed by Soludo was understandable in a democratic system.

“But the facts are that the challenges of today are a direct result of wrong headed decisions of the past, and quite mind-boggling actions of those who were entrusted with leadership.

“Some of those who served in the recent past have validated this assertion,” he added.

He also said that Nigerians had demonstrated that they

knew the Muhammadu Buhari administration inherited an economy already in trouble, but is working diligently to fix it with positive results emerging.

“What even former CBN governor, Soludo, cannot deny is the fact that the Buhari administration has ended the bleeding of the nation and is implementing reforms.

“The Buhari administration is spending more on infrastructure at a time when resources are lean. When we had abundant revenue what happened was profligacy and plunder.

“What no one can deny is that the Buhari administration is now implementing on behalf of ordinary Nigerians, a Social Investment Programme that is unprecedented in Nigeria's history, paying poorest Nigerians N5,000 monthly, feeding school children and engaging hundreds of thousands of unemployed graduates. And there is more to come,” he maintained.

Akande also said that the Buhari administration was plugging loopholes in several ways including through the Treasury Single Account, raking in resources that otherwise were hidden and misappropriated, including the proper audit of the federal payroll, which unearthed about 30,000 ghost workers and saved billions monthly.

He reminded Soludo that Nigeria no longer has to shell out billions of dollars for JVC cash calls, bringing relief from a burden that had slowed down investments in the oil industry.

VEHICLE OWNERS NATIONWIDE GIVEN ONE MONTH TO PAY CUSTOMS DUTY The service advised all motor dealers and private owners of such vehicles to visit the nearest Customs zonal office to pay the appropriate duty on them.

The statement signed by the acting Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joseph Attah said the four zonal offices of the Nigeria Customs Service are: Zone A Headquarters, No. 1 Harvey Road, Yaba, Lagos; Zone B Headquarters, Kabala Doki, Kaduna; Zone C Headquarters, Nigeria Ports Authority, Port Harcourt; and Zone D Headquarters, Yelwa Tudu Road, Bauchi State.

“The CGC therefore calls on all persons in possession of such vehicles to take advantage of the grace period to pay appropriate duties on them, as there will be an aggressive anti-smuggling operation to seize, as well as prosecute owners of such smuggled vehicles after the deadline of

Wednesday 12th April, 2017.

“For the avoidance of doubt, all private car owners who are not sure of the authenticity of their vehicles’ customs documents can also approach the zonal offices to verify their status with a view to complying with the provision of the law,” the statement concluded.

TOP GAINERS NGN NGN FORTEOIL 2.35 49.36 OKOMUOIL 2.00 48.00 AIICO 0.02 0.59 FCMB 0.03 1.20 OANDO 0.11 5.00 TOP LOSERS NGN NGN UNITYBANK 0.06 0.73 DANGCEM 8.44 160.55 DANGSUGAR 0.30 5.71 AFRIPRUD 0.14 2.72 PAINTCOM 0.03 0.62 HPE Nestle Nig Plc ₦570.00 Volume: 186.004 million shares Value: N1.749 billion Deals: 2,899 As at 2/3/17 See details on Page 43

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T H I S D AY FRIDAY MARCH 3, 2017

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Colonial Era Radio Station Gutted by Fire After a failed attempt by some unknown persons to steal equipment from a radio station used by Nigeria’s colonial administrator and governor general, Lord Frederick Lugard, the assailants set the radio station on fire.

The radio station, located on Baro Empire Hill in Katcha Local Government Area of

Niger State, had a five kilowatts transmitter. he Niger State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Jonathan Tsado Vatsa disclosed this in Minna yesterday when defending the 2017 budget of his ministry before the state House of Assembly Committee on Information.

He did not reveal when the

station was burnt, but said a report had been made to the appropriate authorities.

Mr. Vatsa told the committee that the ministry would retrieve what was left of the radio station and convert it to an FM station to serve the people of the state.

The commissioner said it was the intention of the state

government to “turn Baro town to a Camp David” and solicited the support of the state assembly for the quick passage of his ministry’s budget.

Vatsa expressed concern over what he described as inadequate budgetary provisions for the ministry, which he said had hampered

information dissemination in Niger State.

“The Ministry of Planning wants us to commit suicide; we were given a budget envelope which we cannot exceed, yet they want us to provide publicity on government activities.

“This is not about Vatsa, it is about government and

government business,” the commissioner declared.

He continued: “I am handicapped, this year’s budget for the ministry is the worst, the information ministry’s budget is the worst.”

The committee promised to look into the challenges of the ministry in its report to the whole house.

in Nigeria.

He said there was nothing peculiar about the Nigerian citizen, or the Nigerian type, but noted that corruption thrives where it is allowed to thrive.

He said there are many societies that found themselves in worse circumstances than Nigeria and had somehow managed to solve their problems.

He made the following suggestions: improving on the integrity of the entire justice system by making sure that judges, lawyers, clerks are not corrupt, and more screening for judges before appointment.

Apart from screening by the DSS, he suggested that there should be particular tests and proper investigations of candidates to be appointed as judges.

He also recommended the improvement of the general welfare of the judges.

“Judges accused of any infraction must be investigated and prosecuted through the National Judicial Council (NJC) to avoid political influence,” he added.

Justice Onnoghen, in his contribution, said the fight against corruption must be done within the concept of the rule of law.

He said corruption should be fought in such a way that the judiciary as an institution is not destroyed.

He observed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has boasted about the number of cases prosecuted and asked that if the judiciary was so corrupt, how did the commission secure those convictions?

He said the Nigerian judiciary remained very much committed and in complete support of the effort to cage corruption in Nigeria.

He also pointed out that corruption thrived because of impunity.

“So, if you are to fight corruption, then you have to fight the culture of impunity which is an attitudinal phenomenon, without adhering strictly to the constitutional provisions of the rule of law.

“If we allow the rule of law to reign, then you will agree with me there will be a dramatic reduction in corruption and injustice.

“That’s speaking for myself, that’s how I see it. However, ask yourself, the corruption the judiciary always stands accused of. In fact, it appears like the paint and the brush... it seems to be an institution that epitomizes corruption.

“But that’s not fair. That’s not correct. A Nigerian judicial officer is a gentleman. You have gentlemen on that bench.

“And by the nature of that institution, the judiciary, it is crafted and designed in a such a way that a judicial officer can only see and not be heard; not that he has nothing to say, even in defence of himself?

“So, when you are dealing with judicial corruption when one exists, you have to do it in accordance with the rule of law and then channel whatever you have through the appropriate channels so that you don’t destroy that institution.

“Because destroying it will not do any good. It will do it more harm than good,” he averred.

He also pointed out that sometimes prosecuting agencies based charges on shoddy investigations only to turn around and blame the judiciary.

Onnoghen said that judges should not be expected to convict an innocent person when the prosecution has failed to discharge the burden imposed on him by law.

He advised anti-corruption agencies to report whatever challenges they face in the course of prosecuting their cases to the leadership of the judiciary.

“Whatever problems exist in the cause of prosecuting their cases, let them bring them up, identify them and let us see how best we can improve on the system and not make it appear as if the judiciary is not doing anything,” he added.

He also said that some cases were abandoned in court even though judges were blamed for not concluding the cases.

In his remarks, the Chairman of PACAC, Itse Sagay accused the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) of being reckless with funds meant for development.

Sagay said the commission recently bought 70 cars, including eight Super Lexus SUVs at N78 million each and 10 Toyota Land Cruiser SUVs, each costing N63 million instead of executing developmental projects that would benefit the people of Niger Delta.

He said the vehicles were acquired with funds meant for the provision of water, housing, hospital, schools and infrastructure development in the Niger Delta region.

“The cars were bought with money from funds meant for infrastructure, water, housing, hospital, schools, without conscience and without a thought for the wretched people of the Niger Delta.

“These huge sums were plundered from their allocations and yet the managing director was ironically complaining as reported by The Nation newspaper of February 6, 2017, that the NDDC lacks funds to execute projects.

“The managing director also said that NDDC was in debt to the tune of N1.2 trillion. What an irony.

“The recklessness with which public officers spend public funds is insensitive to the point of insanity. The level of insensitivity has become pathological,” he charged.

Sagay said despite efforts by the present administration, corruption remained entrenched in Nigeria.

“Corruption is omnipresent in Nigeria. High and low office holders, the public and private sector, the executive, legislative and judicial sectors, Customs, Immigration, police, the civil service, everywhere,” he said.

Sagay also took a swipe at the Nigeria Customs Service, saying nothing had changed since the current administration came on board in May 2015.

He said: “Let me give you dear compatriots another example of bold and brazen corruption, thumbing its nose at this administration and at all of us Nigerians.

“This is happening at the Customs and Excise Department, which has completely ignored the fight against corruption, operating as if it is not in Nigeria.”

He cited an instance in the Tin Can Island seaport in Lagos, where he said customs officials now charge fees to physically examine goods following the breakdown of the scanner.

Describing it as brazen corruption, he said there were many other instances, which PACAC brought to the attention of the Comptroller-General during a recent visit to him.

Sagay decried public apathy to issues of corruption in the country, noting that the people’s attitude to corruption had hardened and there was no longer any fear of consequence.

“Now, we need to ask ourselves what the problem really is. We are definitely overwhelmed by the epidemic of kleptomania.

But do we also have a collective psychiatric problem?

“Why should a person loot what he cannot spend in 10 lifetimes, thereby exposing the rest of the population to misery, hunger, poverty and wretchedness?” he asked.

Sagay also reflected on judicial corruption, saying some judges still grant adjournments running into months, in contravention of the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act. He accused lawyers of contributing to the problem by using different delay tactics, thus causing the nation great embarrassment.

He said he had suggested to PACAC the need to recruit a group of young lawyers to monitor court sittings and note the adjournments.

According to him, the reports sent by the monitors will be compiled and sent to the National Judicial Council (NJC) for appropriate action.

Sagay faulted the recent public demonstrations against the present administration, saying they were sponsored by those who lost the elections in 2015 and those whose appointments were not renewed.

DSS RAID OF JUDGES HOUSES WAS ILLEGAL, SARAKI INSISTS collaboration with the Office of the Vice-President, in Abuja yesterday.

Saraki, who was represented

by Senator Chukwuka Utazii, accused PACAC of supporting the use of extra-judicial means to fight corruption.

This, he said, would make the fight against corruption unsustainable.

He said: “In the same vein, PACAC should not lend itself to supporting extra-legal actions if the fight against corruption must be sustained and ingrained in the body polity.

“A situation where PACAC speaks in favour of patently extralegal means of law enforcement does not bode well for the rule of law.

“The end result of any action of government is as important as the process. The platforms for fighting corruption should not, themselves, be corrupt or be seen to be corrupted.

“The recent so-called sting operation by the Department of State Service on the residences of some very senior justices, some without search warrants, others without any proof of incriminating body of evidence, leaves much to be desired.”

Saraki said that there was a need for all government bodies to operate within their mandate.

He said even though the National Security Agencies Act of 1986 granted the DSS the powers to act in economic crimes of national security dimension, Section 6(c) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Act of 2004, a latter enactment, had vested the power for the co-ordination and enforcement of all economic and financial crimes laws and enforcement functions conferred on any other person or authority on the EFCC. He said: “It is even more instructive that by Section 2(1)(e) of the EFCC Act, the Department of State Service sits on the board of the EFCC and could easily, in their meetings, point out the persons or bodies the EFCC needs to investigate and prosecute backed up by the evidence it has clandestinely gathered.

“That sting operation was a needless violation of our laws and an aberration that democratic society should consider anathema.

“The EFCC should have been provided the necessary intelligence to execute its mandate if the evidence disclosed a prima facie case against the justices.”

He also accused PACAC of demonising the National Assembly as a corrupt institution, saying that this would not help the fight against graft.

“Certain government agencies and civil society bodies (and PACAC is not innocent of this), have formed the habit of making a scape goat of the National Assembly as a den of corruption.

“They deliberately cast institutions of state in a nonsalutary hue that is divorced from reality. It does not help in confidence building, within government and across the civil population, when institutions of state are deliberately demonised in order to put the shine on others.

“As a critical stakeholder and partner in the mandate given to PACAC, it does not feel right when you mount rostrums to say how badly the National Assembly has performed; how they have left their duties derelict and how corrupt they are.

“Indeed, it is counter-productive for PACAC to do so because its mandate of advising should be given across board to all arms and tiers in order to promote the effectiveness of all government institutions and strengthen anti-corruption measures in a comprehensive manner,” he counselled.

The Senate President said it was important to continue to have intense discussions and interactions with a broad spectrum of the populace in order to internalise the message about the perils of corruption to the society and enthrone not only attitudinal changes but also institutional awareness of the strategies to eliminate corruption from the body polity.

He admitted that corruption was the greatest impediment to the development of Nigeria and the bane of the public service.

According to him, the pervasive nature of corruption and the brazen display of ill-gotten wealth had made it public enemy number one in Nigeria.

He said: “For this reason, special agencies have been created to deal with the issues of corruption, because laws that are designed to address escalating social misnomers require specialised agencies to implement such laws.

“More importantly, beyond specialised agencies to cater for them, the political will of the government of the day to regard corruption as an affront to societal cohesion and an impediment to growth is crucial.

“That is why it is gratifying that this government has placed the degree of premium it has on the issues around corruption.

“The scale of corruption in Nigeria is such that it is no exaggeration to say that no enemy of Nigeria, within or without, would have done the kind of damage to the psyche, integrity and ambitions of the nation, as much as what corruption has already done.

“Because of corruption, nations that were our competitors before, have left us far behind in the global index of development. There is therefore need to generate a platform for continuous discussions on the issues around corruption and I thank PACAC for this,”

Saraki said.

He recommended that the fight against corruption must be driven by a well articulated strategy, adding that the strategy must be multi-faceted, taking alongside all facets of Nigeria’s political, economic and social systems with each arm or department of government operating within their jurisdictions and mandates to secure a collective stakeholder stage about the fight.

He said deliberately “casting the fight as that of one man, a kind of knight in shining armour, who wrestles with a resisting society, in my humble view, will not secure the desired result”.

Also speaking, acting President Yemi Osinbajo and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen both agreed that the war against corruption must be waged within the ambit of the law.

Osinbajo said corruption was an existential threat to Nigeria as a nation and as a viable economic entity, but confirmed that corruption was fighting back.

He said: “When you are fighting corruption, everything is thrown back at you. First religion is used and ethnicity is used in order to undermine every fight against corruption. And this is not peculiar to Nigeria.

“Anyone who tries to fight corruption will try to undermine the very fundamentals of that whole programme of anticorruption.”

He said ethnicity was frequently used to fight back. “The truth is that you’ll always find those kinds of accusations. Those kinds of accusations will always be made and we must resist them.

“And we can only resist them by also ensuring that the systems that we put in place are fair and comply with the rule of law.”

He said that corruption in Nigeria was systemic.

According to him, “It doesn't matter whether it is the executive arm of government, the judiciary or the legislature, as every arm of government is involved in this systemic and life threatening social anomaly called corruption.”

He also said that corruption affect all segments of the society.

“It affects the religious, it affects agencies and civil society groups.

There’s no one in our nation that can say they are not in one way or the other, not necessarily being complicit, but at least under some influence or the other of some of the implications of corruption,” he added.

He urged participants at the dialogue to forget finger pointing, saying that finger pointing was unhelpful.

“What is important is that we recognise that there is a major problem here,” he added.

He suggested that models that worked elsewhere be considered and a determination made as to whether those models would work

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FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017• T H I S D AY

NEWS

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

FG Files Fresh Charges against Shell, ENI, Others Tobi Soniyi in Abuja The federal government has filed fresh charges against two multinational oil firms, Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Company Limited and Agip Nigeria Exploration Limited, for alleged complicity in the Malabu $1.1 billion scandal.

The charges were filed at the Abuja High Court yesterday against the oil majors and nine other individuals and firms.

Others charged alongside the two oil giants are former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke; former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Chief Dan Etete; Aliyu Abubakar, ENI SPA, Ralph Wetzels, Casula Roberto, Pujatti Stefeno, Burrafati Sebestiano and Malabu Oil and Gas Limited.

The federal government had earlier filed a similar charge before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja involving some of the defendants.

The suspects are accused of, among others, conspiring to defraud the Nigerian government.

The new charges are part of an international collaboration to ensure all those who partook in the $1.1 billion OPL 245 scandal are brought to justice.

A Federal High Court had granted an order of interim forfeiture of the OPL 245.

However, Shell and Eni have since appealed the order, asking that the block be returned to them. Both firms paid the $1.1 billion into a Nigerian government account in 2011.

In the fresh charge marked CR/124/17, signed by Johnson Ojogbane, the defendants were accused of conspiracy contrary to Section 26 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under Section 12 of the same Act. In the particulars of offence, the defendants were alleged to have sometime 2011 in Abuja conspired among themselves to commit a felony to wit

official corruption and thereby committed an offence.

In count two, the defendants were accused of official corruption contrary to Section 9 of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under Section 9(b) of the same Act. In the particulars of offence, the defendants were accused to have in 2011 corruptly received the aggregate sum of $801 million in relation to the grant of OPL in respect of the OPL 245 from Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Company, Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited and ENI SPA, and thereby committed an offence.

In count three, the defendants were also accused of official corruption.

In the particulars of offence, the defendants were alleged

to have in 2011 corruptly gave the aggregate sum of $801 million to Etete, Adoke and Ali Abubakar.

In the matter before the Federal High Court, the trial judge, Justice John Tsoho, had on January 26 granted a forfeiture order of OPL 245 to the federal government.

Shell and Agip had however gone back to court, praying it to reverse the forfeiture order.

The court had last Monday fixed March 13 for ruling in the two separate applications.

The forfeiture order of the court then was sequel to an ex parte application brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Shell and Agip are however praying the court to set aside the order on grounds that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman,

in the ex- parte motion, was not the proper person to make such an application.

At the last adjourned date,

counsel to Shell, Konyinsola Ajayi (SAN), argued that the EFCC chairman was wrong in law to have brought the ex-parte motion that led to the order of forfeiture in his capacity as chairman.

He cited Section 28 of the EFCC Act and submitted that the section did not allow the chairman to bring an ex- parte application in his capacity as chairman.

Ajayi further argued that the application having been brought by an incompetent person could not invoke the jurisdiction of the court and that the order that was made was supposedly to preserve property or assets.

In his response, counsel to the EFCC, Johnson Ojogbane, asked the court to dismiss the two applications on the grounds that there was no proper suit before the court.

He submitted that the exparte application was filed by the chairman in line with Section 44 of the 1999 Constitution, and as such was a competent person to bring the said application on behalf of the commission.

Ojogbane further argued that the application lacked merit and should be dismissed as granting it would be a disservice to the Federal Government and Nigerians.

He urged the court not to vacate the forfeiture order in respect to OPL 245 because of the element of criminality involved.

The court will rule on March 13.

Mass Exodus at INEC as Tenure of 33 RECs Expires 202 indicted staff to know fate next week

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The four RECs who will be leaving their duty posts next Barely a few months after the week are, Prof. Jacob Jatau Independent National Electoral (FCT), Mr. Segue Agbaje (Ondo) Commission (INEC) got its full Austin Okogie (Bayelsa), and compliment of the national Mr. Nasir Ayilara (Niger).

On the processes being commissioners in place, the election umpire is now faced pursued to get all those with the prospect of losing 33 indicted of election misconduct of its state Resident Electoral punished, Agbamuche-Mbu Commissioners (RECs) due to said: “You may recall that last year, the commission received a tenure expiration.

About 28 RECs have already report from the EFCC in which completed their tenure and are some of staff were accused of on their way out, whereas the certain infractions. A total of tenure of another four will 202 INEC officials from 14 expire next week, bringing the states were mentioned in the total to 33 out the 37 RECs report. Based on the EFCC’s covering the 36 states and the interim report, the commission Federal Capital Territory (FCT). subsequently queried and While giving update on invited the them to appear the commission’s activities before an administrative panel.”

She also said cases of another at the headquarters of INEC in Abuja yesterday, one of 29 staff of the commission the National Commissioners, earlier indicted by the police May Agbamuche-Mbu, said investigative panel and that the 29 of its staff indicted subsequently recommended by the police probe panel/ for disciplinary action have administrative panel have been been referred to the Disciplinary referred for disciplinary action. committee.

The national commissioner, She also said that 202 INEC staff from 14 states who were further stated that in keeping indicted by the Economic and with the recommendations Financial Crimes Commission made by the disciplinary (EFCC) report for benefiting panel on the misconduct from the alleged N23billion during the Rivers State reelection bribe money in 2015 run election, the commission are currently facing an internal has redeployed all senior administrative panel, adding management staff in its that they would know their Rivers State office.

The affected officers include fate next week.

The INEC commissioner the Administrative Secretary, who was flanked by two all Heads of Departments, other National Commissioners, Deputy Directors and Prof. Ok exhumed Ibeanu and Assistant Directors as well Mohammed Haruna, said apart as all 23 electoral officers from the four RECs that are heading local government billed to leave office next offices.

The national commissioner week, 28 others have already also spoke on the number completed their tenure.

“By March 4, five more RECs of associations that have so will complete their tenure. This far applied for registration is in addition to the 28 RECs of as political parties, saying who had earlier completed their it has reached 72 with more tenure with the commission,” of such applications still expected. she said.

WARM RECEPTION

Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (right), and Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, being cheered by the people of the state during the acting president’s visit to the state in continuation of the federal government’s outreach to oil producing communities in Niger Delta. ...yesterday

NPDC MD: Omokore Breached Contractual Agreement The Managing Director, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited (NPDC), Yusufu Matashi, yesterday told Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja that his company allocated 7,553,733 barrels of crude oil to Atlantic Energy under a Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA).

He gave this revelation under cross-examination

by Lawal Rabana (SAN) representing Jide Omokore who is facing trial alongside

Victor Briggs, Abiye Membere, David Mbanefo, Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited and Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Limited on a nine-count amended charge of criminal diversion of about $1.6billion alleged to have been the proceeds of sale of crude oil belonging to the federal government.

Matashi, whose evidence started last Wednesday as second prosecution witness stated that while the total value of the transaction as at 2014 was

$823, 750, 159, Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Limited could not meet up with its cash call for operations and training which made NPDC, a subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC, to use funds in its account to clear outstanding payments.

Responding to further questions from A. Adegbamere (SAN) and Tayo Oyetibo (SAN) representing the 3rd and 4th defendants respectively, Matashi maintained that “Atlantic Energy Brass Development

Limited and Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Limited breached the contractual agreement made with NPDC. “All I have said were based on records which I believe in its truthfulness and accuracy.

The SAA under review was carried out because of the success of the previous SAA and there was need to consolidate on the gains achieved earlier.”

Justice Dimgba, thereafter, adjourned to March 21, 2017 for further trial.

FG Seeks Increased Flow of Foreign Investment The federal government has stated that it is working towards increased foreign direct investments ( FDIs) in flow in the country, noting that with the current state of the economy, all hands are on deck to seek areas where Nigeria can attract the much needed foreign exchange to carry out developmental projects for economic prosperity and sustainability.

The Minister of Industry,

Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, during a business seminar organised

by Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), assured investors of a safe and business friendly environment for their investments, noting that the federal government was doing all it can to improve the ease of doing business in the country.

The minister, who was represented by the Executive

Secretary, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Ms. Yewande Sadiku, stated that there are more investment opportunities Nigeria and Japan can explore considering the size of Japan, while adding that Nigeria is seeking increased trade and investment inflows from Japan.

According to him: ”There is a lot more that both countries

can do together. The federal government is doing all it can to improve the ease of doing business in the country, it is as a result of this, the federal government inaugurated the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) chaired by the Vice President. This council has been focused on making life more convenient for businesses in the country.”

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COMMENT

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

BIG BROTHER AS A BIG BOTHER

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BBNaija is a reflection of contemporary societal values in Nigeria, argues Gbenga X-adebija

ometime last year in an article titled, “Cry, Our Beloved Country,” I groused about the way as a nation we exhibit an unhealthy fixation for issues which offer no meaningful contributions to national edification. I despaired at the way our national focus was perennially swayed by unimportant issues to the detriment of the socio-economic development of our country.

Well, this year, it is the turn of Big Brother to drive Nigerians ballistic and ignore more pressing issues of national significance.

Again, as a nation we are being distracted by the latest shiny object and have taken our eyes off the ball.

Quoting Wikkipedia, “Big Brother is a reality game show franchise created by John de Mol, originally broadcast in the Netherlands and subsequently syndicated internationally. As of 11 November 2016, there have been 387 seasons of Big Brother in over 54 franchise countries and regions. In the show, contestants called “housemates” (or “house guests”) live together in a specially-constructed house that is isolated from the outside world. Housemates are voted out (usually on a weekly basis) until only one remains and wins the cash prize. During their stay in the house, contestants are continuously monitored by live television cameras as well as personal audio microphones”.

John de Mol, or to give his full name, Johannes Hendrikus Hubert de Mol, Jr is a Dutch media entrepreneur and billionaire who founded Endemol and Talpa media. He is not, as far as his biography details, a relative (either distant or close) of Satan or other demonic powers and principalities.

To put into perspective, Big Brother has been organised in 54 countries around the world. It is therefore, not a special purpose creation designed to corrupt the morals of Nigerians.

So why all the noise about Big Brother? It is safe to conclude that the programme is a reflection of contemporary societal values in Nigeria. As a people, we have enshrined a culture of unbridled materialism which spans every sphere of endeavour including religion, public service and civic engagement.

This “Bling-Bling” culture is the reason why careers which do not offer opportunities to become “celebrities and “e-lebrities” are no longer attractive to our youth. Make no mistake, the current Big Brother housemates were not first-time applicants to the programme or similar reality shows.

The glittering opportunities for upward socio-economic mobility offered by these platforms required that they be serial applicants to various reality shows sometimes for at least three-five years.

So, a lamentable fact we have to face as a nation is that a significant percentage of our youth, the future leaders, have chosen celebrity as a career. All these happening now in a country still grappling with the challenges of socio-economic development and teetering under the excruciating burden of unemployment, poverty, corruption, poor infrastructure and a debilitating recession.

That is not to say the youths are to blame for this sorry state of

ONLY A NATION OF HYPOCRITICAL AND SANCTIMONIOUS PEOPLE WOULD HYPERVENTILATE OVER A GROUP OF CAVORTING YOUTH BUT REMAIN AMBIVALENT OVER THE REAL ISSUES SUCH AS CORRUPTION AND ETHNO-RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY

affairs. The key players in the blame game abound everywhere, beginning from corporate organisations which annually spend billions on sponsorships on such programmes. The take home prize for the winner of Big Brother is N25million, a “tear-rubber” posh vehicle plus other mouth-watering additions. All the participants are virtually guaranteed million –naira endorsements, appearances on the talk-show circuit, massive following on social media platforms, etc. More worthy examples of civic excellence in other spheres of national endeavour are largely ignored by corporate organisations and consigned to the dustbin of obscurity. You will have to google up the names of those students who recorded A1 in nine subjects in WAEC, or graduated first class or achieved any trail-blazing feat.

All the housemates have parents and family who obviously endorse their participation in the programme . In the aftermath of shows like Big Brother, it is not uncommon for the media to interview the parents who always declare how “proud” they were of their son/daughter and how fervently they prayed for him/ her to win. Compare this with my own parents’ generation for whom mere geographical proximity with a member of the opposite sex was an open invitation to mass filicide. There may even be interviews with the winner’s pastor who would declare with a straight face how he “decreed and declared” that she/he would emerge victorious on Big Brother…therefore, why blame the youth in the face of filial, spiritual, societal and economic enablers?

However, I refused to sign a petition circulating on social media to join the campaign advocating a ban of the show (the same way I ignored a campaign protesting why Big Brother Nigeria was being shot in South Africa) because reality shows have socio-economic importance no matter the thrust because jobs are created throughout the value chain.

Some readers may remember that I was one of the panel judges on The Intern, a business-themed reality show sponsored by then- Bank PHB several years ago. I agreed to participate because I believed then and still maintain that for a country at our current level of socio-economic development, it was more important to invest in encouraging the next generation of Aliko Dangote/ Tony Elumelu/ Bill Gates/Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg than producing the next rapper/singer/model/celeb .

In a country struggling to fulfil its potential after 56 years and which may have possibly frittered away its golden opportunity to achieve greatness, we are unbelievably incandescent over a PG-rated programme which is not free-to-air and therefore largely restricted to only those who want to watch. Only a nation of hypocritical and sanctimonious people would hyperventilate over a group of cavorting youth but remain ambivalent over the real issues such as corruption and ethno-religious bigotry.

Nigeria, we hail thee !

Gbenga X-adebija is the President & CEO of Business In Nigeria

TARABA’S CASE OF ABUJA POLITICIANS

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very state in Nigeria has its own version of the problem foisted by a group of people that have gradually increased in number and become a lot more visible for their nuisance value over the years.

They are the Abuja politicians. Their homes and villages in the states are the same as yours and mine but they don’t live there. They have not lived there for several decades. They don’t even visit there either as regularly as you and I do. Some of them do not even know the names of their local chiefs and community leaders and have never made any useful contribution towards the provision of those modest water and electricity facilities which members of their local communities are currently enjoying. But they claim to represent us - yes you and I - and they speak for all of us and about us as if they are our true representatives.

The case of Taraba State with Abuja politicians is no less different. Many of them are spent political forces with expired home addresses and have no real electoral value. They have the best houses in Abuja, Lagos and Kaduna but have none they can be proud of back home in Taraba. Their investments are in ventures located in other Nigerian towns and cities but none back home in Taraba to provide employment opportunities and other ancillary benefits for our children. Yet their voices are loudest in condemnation of the government back home for not bowing to their whims and caprices in the decisions it makes or for not placing funds belonging to the state on the table to be shared by them.

The government that does not enjoy the support of Abuja politicians is doomed to their political boxing ring. It will be pummelled beyond recognition. No project, no matter how relevant to the needs of the people and how well executed is recorded in favour of the government as an achievement unless

Taraba State deserves the support of all its indigenes, writes Inuwa Salihu

it has the stamp of approval of the Abuja politician or made some personal financial gains from it. The government that insists on doing things the proper way is always tarred with the brush of blackmail.

That is the way of the Abuja politician.

To them, it means nothing if the state is eternally in crisis and the people are daily killing themselves.

Why will it matter? They don’t visit the state.

Immediate members of their families don’t live in the state either. They don’t have investments in the state that will be at risk in times of crisis. That is the reason they don’t consider the efforts of the government that have saved the state from the inferno of ethno-religious crises as an achievement. But millions of Tarabans who have experienced the fire of crisis, who have lost loved ones and valuable property, experienced the social and psychological trauma from the unfortunate situation that prevailed before the coming of Ishaku as governor, have not stopped giving testimony in churches and mosques for the peace that God has used the governor to achieve.

The state’s Abuja politicians have, by choice, remained blind to the achievements of the present administration in infrastructure development. They claim not to have seen or heard about the renovation and renewal of the Jalingo Airport which is now open to direct flights thrice a week from Abuja. Their eyes and minds are also closed to the expansive water projects in Jalingo and the provision of 100 water boreholes that have radically redressed the water supply situation in the town and many other towns and villages in the state. They also claim not to know anything about the numerous road projects of the Ishaku administration, either already completed or still on-going.

They don’t know and, they don’t care either, that many hospitals and clinics in the state that were hitherto not functional due to lack of medicaments

are back on track with good stuck of what they require including drugs and running costs. They will also pretend that what the government is already achieving with the re-opening of the state’s School of Nursing and Midwifery which had remained closed for more than 10 years before Ishaku became governor, hasn’t gotten to their attention. Many idle school secondary school leavers have been offered admission and will soon take their seats at the nurses’ stations in the various hospitals and clinics in the state to render the much needed medical help.

They are also not impressed by the numerous efforts of Governor Ishaku in reviving several abandoned or ailing industries belonging to the government or in which it has an interest. The Kakara tea factory in Mambilla, is a living testimony. The tomato industry in Lau and several others are on line awaiting the remediation pill of the government.

The problem with Abuja politicians from Taraba is largely their inability to subdue political sentiments in their assessment of the government of the day in the state. The tendency, unfortunately, has always been to subject every decision, action and inaction of the state government to the narrow prism of divisive and self-serving political sentiments. This must yield way for a more reflective attitude of appreciation for what is being achieved with the lean resources of government. Indigenes of the state living outside the state, particularly those of them who are politicians, need to kill the virus behind the “pull down syndrome” that makes them blind to the good job the government is doing in the state.

The magic pill against this evil syndrome is empathy that is undiluted with toxic political sentiments. It is the only way government’s views, decisions and achievements can be understood from the correct perspective. It is no crime holding political views that are at variance with that of the

government of the day. That, indeed, is the essence of democracy which we practice today. But that is not a license to denigrate and demonise every action of the government of the day. The peculiar character of our own Abuja politicians is not informed by lack of information about the laudable achievements of the present administration but by the deliberate distortion of such information to whip up negative and divisive sentiments for their selfish political gains. That attitude is political demagoguery and it is unacceptable.

Taraba State is a state whose case is different from the others and, therefore, deserves the sympathy of all its indigenes. Many of its infrastructure and institutions have been in a state of decay for a long time before the Ishaku administration came on board less than two years ago. What the administration has been doing is to pull the state out of an abyss and lay a solid foundation for development at a time that resources are scarce. Despite this, the administration has made a lot of impact within a short time, in road construction, the provision of water, job creation, improvement of electricity supply and paid salaries of civil servants regularly. The huge spending on security as a result of the crises which the present administration inherited is hardly remembered by politicians on a mischief mission. Yet, the investment in the achievement of peace is unarguably the best thing the administration has done since coming into office. It is the reason the state is at peace today.

Our Abuja politicians need to repent and renounce their ways. They must show more interest in the development of the state. Governor Ishaku, the man whom God has prepared for the remediation project in Taraba, wants all hands on deck to make the job easier. It is the only way the good things of life that our people need and are asking for can come easy and fast.

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EDITORIAL THE RIGHT TO PUBLIC PROTEST

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The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental human right under our constitution

or too long, the police authorities have continued to frighten our public with the colonial law that requires permit to hold protests, processions and rallies. Yet, the right of the people to peacefully protest in open expression of their grievances or support of any issue in the public space remains a fundamental right that does not require anyone’s permission. In the light of the recent protest and how it was nearly scuttled by the police, we need to stress that the people do not derive their natural right to peaceful assembly from the government: they are born with that right.

Protests only become matters of public safety when they degenerate into riots. The definitions of protest and riot respectively are clear to every literate adult.

The recent practice by the police of citing undisclosed ‘security reports’ indicating that a particular protest could be hijacked by hoodlums to cause trouble to stop protests even before they take place is a subversion of people’s rights. It is an embarrassing display of operational laziness PEACEFUL STRIKES, by the police.

LOCK-OUTS, NONWe pay the VIOLENT POSITIVE police to be present ACTIONS AND OTHERS whenever and ARE WELL-KNOWN wherever the people LEGITIMATE WEAPONS are exercising their rights. In all such OF EXPRESSION IN A situations, it is the DEMOCRACY responsibility of the police to protect the lawful and arrest the lawless for prosecution where and when necessary. The citing of dubious security reports to scuttle and abridge citizen rights is a relic of decades of military autocracy and should be legally challenged. Security is not the myth and cultic mystery that we keep being blackmailed with.

The issue of protest and the role of the police are already a settled matter in Nigeria despite the fact that the police continue to flout the law. In ANPP

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WHO WILL PROTECT NIGERIA’S NORTHERN CHRISTIANS?

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he instinctive reaction to the story by Douglas Murray in the Spectator, which prides itself as the world’s oldest Magazine published in English, is to dismiss it as the product of someone who wrote about a subject in which he is inadequately schooled. Yet, this reaction would be falling into a trap since the hallmark of propaganda includes a sublimity that engenders indifference to lies being told by making excuses for the peddlers of lies by imbuing them with ignorance.

It is therefore imperative that the lies, mischiefs and intent of Murray and his employers are exposed to make sure they stop serving up lies to the world and to their readers. In this particular instance, the story is replete with enough inaccuracies to raise suspicions as to whether the journalist as much as bothered to rouse from his bed before concocting the story. The first indication that gave Murray away as being out of his depth was his feeble attempt in creating a distinction that does not exist for Nigerians. He wrote of Christians of northern Nigeria as if they belong to a different faith from Nigerians in other parts of the country. This is an irresponsible move at creating a new division when the country is striving to unite the diversities of its population.

The report stopped short of claiming that the unfortunate killings by herdsmen were an hourly occurrence. It also continued the uninformed tradition of singling out victims of such attacks as only Christians. Had Murray as much as done some online research, he would have seen that the herdsmen have also killed people in predominantly Muslim Zamfara State, when they clashed with farmers or are on reprisal over cattle rustling. Even the picture that accompanied the story on the Spectator’s site sufficiently depicted the ignorance of the magazine and its staff because several girls were wearing hijabs in the Christian

V IGP (2004) the Federal High Court declared police permit (for rallies and meetings) illegal and unconstitutional. In IGP V ANPP (2008) 12 WRN 65 the Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment and held that rallies and demonstrations are part of the fundamental right to freedom of expression which cannot be curtailed by the police. In view of the settled state of the law the FCT High Court did not hesitate to annul the ban on rallies convened by the BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) in 2014. ince after the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the US, there has been one protest or the other in the US and the West almost on a daily basis. I think that our police are finding it a bit difficult to understand the elementary fact that they are hired to manage the delicate balance between protecting citizens exercising their lawful rights and the responsibility of ensuring an orderly environment for the discharge of the obligations of government. A mindset that is trained always to see protesting citizens as potential criminals to be dispersed with tear gas and sometimes live ammunition is a disgrace to any society that aspires to be termed democratic.

If there is one cardinal democratic principle which was aptly demonstrated in the most recent nationwide protests in Nigeria it is that popular participation is the ultimate safeguard of democratic norms. The American founding fathers aptly recaptured this ageless truth when they said many years ago that, “governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”. Also, the Nigerian Court has ruled that the right to peaceful rally and peaceful demonstration is a fundamental human right protected under our constitution. Specifically, section 41(1) of the 1999 Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of movement. Besides, peaceful strikes, lock-outs, nonviolent positive actions and others are well-known legitimate weapons of expression in a democracy.

Since it is the people that directly bear the full brunt of government policy, they deserve to be heard.

dominated image. This experienced reporter also managed to ignore the magnitude of the problem that transhumance constitute for the West African sub-region where itinerant herdsmen from Burkina Faso spread their reign of terror across the entire region. This is a problem that has been identified as having environmental and climatic dimensions as the herders increasingly foray further south and under pressure to claim land amid urban sprawl that has altered their way of life.

As unbelievable as it sounds, this report actually canvassed, albeit covertly, for “Christians” to be armed as if no lesson has been learnt from the anomie in Libya where there are four firearms per citizen or in the United States where gun violence has killed more people than the rampaging herders ever killed in a year.

This further made the inclusion of last month’s erroneous bombardment of an IDPs’ camp in the story regrettable. Even with the more advanced gadgetory deployed by the US and other western nations, cases of green-on-green are not uncommon with coalition forces sometimes bombing hospitals or schools.

Once he ignored issues as fundamental as these, the other serial fallacies were no longer surprising. For instance, he attributed the IDPs camps filled with persons that fled the Boko Haram crisis as the product of the herders/farmers clashes. Possibly because Murray is one of their neocon journalists that helped propagate lies used as cover for certain countries to airdrop weapons on so-called Libyan rebels in the Gaddafi era, he hallucinated and saw military aircraft dropping supplies to Fulani herdsmen and to Boko Haram. He will do well to find out what country’s aircraft were caught by Cameroonian authorities dropping supplies to terrorists.

Philip Agbese, United Kingdom

DIFFERENT GOVERNMENT, SAME POLICIES

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fter the election of Muhammadu Buhari as the President of this great nation, Nigerians were happy as they strongly believed that he is the one to take them to the Promised Land. I was one among those who campaigned and voted for him in the 2015 general elections. A Nigerian even trekked from Lagos to Abuja as part of celebration for Buhari’s victory.

However, today, many Nigerians are disappointed as things are not happening in the way they expected. The killings of innocent Nigerians by the Fulani herdsmen, the epileptic power supply in many parts of the country, the removal of the fuel subsidy, partiality in the fight against corruption, where only the members of the opposition party are corrupt but those in the ruling party are regarded as saints.

The ongoing economic crisis in the country is further compounding issues and exposing the incompetency of the Buhari’s administration.

The promised change of the administration is now regrettable by many Nigerians as hardship now seemed to be the very heart of the change.

The excessive rise in the price of goods and services in the country and the government lackadaisical attitude to tackle the problem is another issue of serious concern. The poor are only the victims of every unfortunate condition created by each government in power.

At this point, let me advise Nigerians to pray earnestly for the success of this government and the survival of Nigerian and Nigerians. In God we trust.

Audu Gideon, North Bank, Makurdi

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POLITICS

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

PERSONALITY FOCUS

Reviewing Obaseki’s First 100 Days Judging from his activities within the first 100 days of his administration, Edo State governor Godwin Obaseki has shown strong commitment to actualising his campaign promises, Shola Oyeyipo writes

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nitially, the Governor Godwin Obasekiled All Progressives Congress (APC) government in Edo State which came on the saddle on November 12, 2016 did not seem enthused to celebrate the traditional 100 days in office by showcasing its achievements but the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was going to make a political capital from the issue, hence the need to put the record straight.

To some, 100 days may not be long enough to adequately examine the performance of a new administration, but propelled by antics of the opposition to label the government as non-performing, the government decided to keep the people up to date on its achievements within the period.

Though for the government it is not necessarily that there are not enough achievements to reel out, but the PDP chairman in the state, Mr. Dan Orbih, in a chat with journalists had said that the new APC leadership has little accomplishments to brandish.

The PDP chairman’s averment generated altercation between him and the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Obasaki, John Mayaki, who said the concept of 100 in office was a PDP idea. He however maintained that the administration had already done so much within the period.

So, it would be right to say that it was the combination of the PDP criticism and the interest of the public in knowing if the government was really walking its talk that necessitated the resolve to let the people know what had been done within the first 100 days.

Indeed, the young administration has not only laid the foundation for the implementation of some projects that are in tune with its campaign promises, it has put in place templates to embark on some very important projects while it has intensified the inner road in Benin, the state capital and it has also implemented policies that are bringing relief to the people.

The Governor flagged off the 29-kilometre Agbede Awai-Idegun road which he promised to do during his electioneering campaigns when he saw the hardship the people were going through when he visited the area. He vowed to build the road to standard.

The road, according to Obaseki will compliment government’s plan to open up the area for the proposed 40,000 hectares of land for mechanised agriculture by foreign investors who have already indicated interest.

Still in pursuit of road construction, the state government is partnering the Dangote Group to construct 3000 kilometres of roads in various parts of the state in four years, using concrete technology. Currently, the 450 meters stretch between Nevis Street and Lagos Street to Forestry Road in Benin City is being used to test-run the technology.

Without rolling out the drum, a number of roads in Benin City are being asphalted.

These include Plymoth Road, Akenzua Road, Ja,mes Watt Road and several other township roads, mostly areas the former governor Adams Oshiomhole administration left behind are being rehabilitated.

As a way to tackle environmental degradation caused by menacing erosion, the government has proactively commenced drainage projects at the Benin Water storm.

Knowing how much his government intends to invest on developmental projects and as a way to domesticate a large chunk of government spending in the state, about 50 youths from the state are now undergoing trainings in general road construction, surveying, carpentry, masonry, safety, lab technology, welding and road supervision. They are particularly being

Obaseki…a good way to start

trained in the aspect of the new technology of using concrete pavement to construct roads as being canvassed by Dangote Group.

A significant number of pensioners have quietly received their gratuities during the period under review without lobbying anybody. The workers have all been moved into the contributory pensions’ scheme in line with the Pencom law.

One important campaign promise Obaseki made to Edo people was that his government will create 200,000 jobs during his tenure.

This, he hopes to accomplish by improving the agricultural sector and he has been paying noticeable attention to the sector.

To this end, the government has invested serious efforts into improving the sector. It set up an ad hoc agric committee to facilitate the government’s projection to cultivate 5000 hectares of maize, 10,000 hectares of vegetables, 4,000 hectares of palm trees and to support 3,000

Even as some people are appreciating the way he has started, Obaseki is unrelenting. He is hitching to do more and he is optimistic about some projections. For instance, the governor is working to ensure that by 2019 the state would have added 1000 megawatts to its electricity generation. He is also hoping to ensure that his administration is able to come up with reforms and policies that would actualise the 200,000 jobs promised during his electioneering campaign

cocoa farmers to improve their yield. To further improve agricultural production, the government has resuscitated farm settlements. As a matter of policy, the state government patronises made in Edo rice. The state government is also partnering the federal government to revive and reclaim the nation’s arable lands that have not been put into optimal use over the years.

Sure that the government has both tangible and intangible achievements to showcase, the Coalition for Good Governance and Economic Justice in Africa (CGGEJA), during a colloquium with the theme ‘Tracking Governor Obaseki’s 100 days in Office’, highlighted some far reaching actions the government had already taken that are assuring the people that there is high hope for rapid development in the state under Obsaeki.

As part of efforts to bring about the promised industrial revolution in the state, Governor Obaseki inspected the abandoned Benin Technical College, Benin. The school was one of the two established in Africa by the Canadian government in the 70s. While there, the governor described the state of the school as “pitiable and sad”. He immediately set up a technical committee to see to the rehabilitation of the institution.

In Gele Gele, an oil and gas producing community in Edo State, there is a natural harbor that is considered one of the oldest in Nigeria.

The governor also visited the harbor, set up a technical committee to facilitate the construction of a port there. When active, the port will surely boost the economy of the state.

It was a move that won the governor accolades across the state. The Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II was indeed pleased by the decision of government to activate the port.

The paramount ruler assured governor Obaseki of the support of the palace and the ancestors.

He commended him for the inauguration of the technical committees.

Another policy that has brought commendations to the government was the ban on illegal taxes and levies collection. With the policy, the Edo State Government limited tax collection to people employed by government. Considered as direct ban on activities of ‘Agbero’, commercial motorists are praising the governor for the decision.

A renowned scholar and public opinion analyst, Prof. Adebayo Williams, who was the

guest speaker at the CGGEJA event in Lagos, was full of eulogies for the governor. He was sure that the people are yet to see the stuff the governor is made of.

Describing Obaseki as “A governor and a man of promise”, Williams said: “I can assure you that Edo State will soon be a talking point.

It is good to have hardworking governors that can conjoin modernity with governance. He can do that. He is quiet and self-effacing. You cannot have scandal around Obaseki in his first 100 days.”

He said Obaseki is a governor coming from a lineage of earlier tradition of a warrior politician in person of former governor Oshiomohle who smashed the culture of godfatherism in the state; he stated assuredly that “It is unfolding. By the end of his tenure, Edo State would have become the hub of technological development”.

But as he commended Governor Obaseki achievements made in his first 100 days in office, he urged him to quickly constitute a cabinet. “I believe it is paramount for a government to have a cabinet. I want to appeal that he should try as much as possible to get a cabinet in place. No man can be a comprehensive genius,” he noted.

The Editorial Page Editor of The Nation Newspapers, Mr. Sanya Oni, who said 100 days, was a long way to define the development of an administration, likewise commended Obaseki for his keen interest in re-building technical colleges across the state to train skilled technical manpower for industrialisation and job creation in the state.

He also commended the governor for setting up a committee for the development of the Gele Gele seaport to a container terminal, noting that “all these show that the government is futuristic and foresighted”.

The immediate past governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is happy with Obaseki on his achievements in his first 100 days in office, describing it as a good way to start.

Oshiomhole who gave the commendation during the inaugural meeting of the state caucus of the APC at the Government House in Benin last Monday, like others, described the governor’s commitment to develop technical education in the state as laudable.

“I am very proud that this administration, within the first 100 days in office, has achieved so much. I commend your initiatives and determination of sustaining your electioneering promises and I want to assure Edo people that the state is in good hands”, he said.

Even as some people are appreciating the way he has started, Obaseki is unrelenting. He is hitching to do more and he is optimistic about some projections. For instance, the governor is working to ensure that by 2019 the state would have added 1000 megawatts to its electricity generation. He is also hoping to ensure that his administration is able to come up with reforms and policies that would actualise the 200,000 jobs promised during his electioneering campaign.

When he addressed the Alumni Association of the Nigerian Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) who visited him in his office, he said that his goal is to make the state an economic hub.

“We set out to build on the existing foundation laid by the Oshiomhole led -administration. We identify clearly where the jobs will be coming from; agriculture, Industry, and we are set to revamp the various sectors in the state. In two seasons, we should have produced about 100 millionaires”, he projected.

But to him, it is not about talking too much, rather he said “we want to talk less and do more” and he is going on with the slogan “let’s go further, together”.

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017

POLITICS

TRIBUTE

Ayade: Portrait of a Promise Keeper @49 Yesterday, Governor Ben Ayade of Cross Rivers State clocked 49. In this tribute to him, Effiom Bassey writes that the young governor is modernising governance and keeping to his word to develop the state

H

e was renowned with just three labels when he waltzed into wider public consciousness in 2015, a professor, a barrister and a senator.

To his erstwhile colleagues in the upper legislative chamber from 2007 to 2015, he was a boisterous senator who waxed and dazzled with so much erudition. In the academia, he was famed for his scientific inventiveness. In the bar, he is reticent, but no less consummate.

But barely seven months into the life of his then embryonic administration as governor of Cross River State, Professor Ben Ayade had already amassed quite a panoply of sobriquets. Sobriquets earned but not acquired.

For his avant-garde and unconventional approach to governance, he was christened the “Digital Governor”. And for his transformational and humanistic leadership style, he was soon to add to his vast expanding titles as the “People’s Governor.”

Before long, such appellations as “Investment Friendly governor, Labour friendly governor, Environmentallyfriendly governor, Salary Master” became common refrain.

For governor who had set his mind on staying focused by ensuring that not only the middle class was resurrected, but also given the needed oxygen to find anchor for their roots, these appellations were not misplaced after all.

It is common knowledge that while most states in the country are literally suffocating under the weight of unpaid salaries, Governor Ayade has ensured that salaries are not only paid promptly, but as early as between 20th, 25th and 26th of every month.

Today, the challenge in the state is not whether salaries are being paid promptly, but rather, it is the complaint from civil servants themselves that it is coming too early in the month. Indeed, the practice has endeared him to civil servants, necessitating his being named ‘Salary Master’.

This has also earned him the title of ‘Labour Most Friendly Governor’ in Nigeria and similar award of recognition from a coalition of over 50 civil society groups in the country.

In absolute fidelity to his words that the wages of honest labour shall liberate families from the clutches of hardship and hunger, Governor Ayade, abolished taxes for civil servants below N30, 000 a month as well as the exemption of levies for artisans, petty traders operating in the state.

It is on this premise that one cannot but felicitate with the governor as he marks his 49th birthday today.

It is not surprising that while other states are to pruning down their workforce for lack of funds to pay salaries, in Cross River, the story is different as his administration, just barely three months in office lifted the 23-year-old embargo on employment into the civil service as most MDA’s are currently recruiting young graduates into the already jaded state civil service.

In order to rejig the fast depleting management cadre of the state’s civil service, the governor recently swore in 30 permanent secretaries. This is unprecedented and even more commendable as it was happening at the most challenging of time of recession. No doubt, this could only come from a man with a good heart.

Currently trending is the Cross River State Health Insurance Scheme, christened “Ayadecare”, which the governor signed into law a couple of months

Ayade…simply keeping his words

ago. This is socio-medical revolution will ensure that cheap and affordable healthcare is accessible to all and sundry in the state.

Today, many states have adopted it as a

Today, the challenge in the state is not whether salaries are being paid promptly, but rather, it is the complaint from civil servants themselves that it is coming too early in the month. Indeed, the practice has endeared him to civil servants, necessitating his being named ‘Salary Master’. This has also earned him the title of ‘Labour Most Friendly Governor’ in Nigeria and similar award of recognition from a coalition of over 50 civil society groups in the country

model. Under the scheme, even the poor can afford health care service with just one thousand naira monthly contribution.

As a further fillip to the AyadeCare, the administration of Ben Ayade recently secured a partnership with DANA (an Indian manufacturing conglomerate) to collaborate with the state government to develop a pharmaceutical outfit in Calabar to be known as CALAPHARM pharmaceutical to manufacture drugs locally.

When CALAPHARM becomes operational, it will cater for the drugs need of the South-south and South-east with capacity to generate massive employment for the regions’ teeming army of unemployed youths.

With an eye to completely alter the state’s economic architecture, the Calabar Garment Factory, with a capacity to guarantee 3000 employments, received so much accolade from the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Work left stunned by the sheer size and sophistication of the Calabar Garment Factory when he visited. To his amazement, he described the feat accomplished

by Ayade as the 8th Wonder of the world for a factory reckoned as the biggest in Africa.

The news of the automated garment factory also prompted the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris to express the intention of the Nigeria Police Force to partner the factory for uniforms

for its officers and men.

A few weeks ago, the Peace Corps of Nigeria also came calling, asking for the production of one hundred thousand pieces of uniforms for its officers and men. What more dividends of democracy can the people ask for?

Governor Ayade-led administration’s policy to create value chain for rice production in the state is equally evident as construction of the state’s Rice City project is in full speed. The project which is set for completion and commissioning on the governor’s second anniversary has the seedling and training centres incorporated with two or three technologies to be integrated, ushering in a new concept of rice farming in Nigeria. Of unique importance is the disease and pest resistance species of rice to be produced with increased yield per hectare.

At completion, this technology driven innovation will ensure that Cross River chalks up about 50 percent of the market share of rice.

To complement the Calabar Rice City and create its brand in the rice sector, the administration is currently constructing a state of the art Rice Mill in Ogoja.

To ensure easy access to facility for rice farmers, the administration has caused the state to key into the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers Scheme.

Leading from the front, Ayade is cultivating his own rice farm that will contribute immensely to the effort of becoming a leading state in rice production.

In a bid to stamp out the power challenge in the state, the governor is also constructing the Calabar power plant, to drive an industrialized local economy.

What more, the Ayade signature project and one of the biggest projects of this administration, the Bakassi Deep seaport just got an EIA approval from the Federal Government. This is coming on the heels of the Transaction Advisor recently inaugurated by the federal government for the project. When completed, it will revolutionize the state’s economic landscape.

Another commendable project being undertaken by the administration is the 260km superhighway, designed to serve as an evacuation corridor for the Bakassi deep seaport to the Northern part of Nigeria, Niger and the Chad republic.

Given the parlous state of the economy, it is not out of place for scenic and skeptics to sneer at the sheer audacity of the governor to dream. But for a governor who will not hesitate to give an eye and a leg to keep his word, he has gone a shopping in Asia and Europe for investors who are falling over themselves for a piece of the investment pie.

In Ayade, Cross River has got a leader who has consistently put his soul above his problems, allowing his body to just follow.

Given the fecundity of his ideas, the intensity of his vision and the bullishness of his thought, there is no gainsaying that in this young ebullient and dynamic governor, the future indeed, beckons for the people of Cross River State.

And so, as His Excellency marks another year of greatness attained, I call on good and well-meaning Cross Riverians to coalesce in wishing the Promise Keeper, the Salary Master, the Digital Governor many more years of excellence and exemplary leadership as he continues to propel our state to even greater heights.

Happy birthday, Your Excellency Effiom Bassey, a civil servant, wrote from Calabar

19

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S NIBOR OVERNIGHT 1-MONTH

A S

A T

NIBOR 18.5083% 16.6507%

3-MONTH 6-MONTH

17.7268% 20.3556%

Group Business Editor Chika Amanze-Nwachuku

Email chika.amanzenwachukwu@thisdaylive.com 08033294157

D E C E M B E R ,

NITTY 1-MONTH 2-MONTH 3-MONTH

15.4261% 15.7513% 16.1576%

6-MONTH 9-MONTH 12-MONTH

1 6 , 19.2703% 20.6120% 22.3006%

2 0 1 6 EXCHANGE RATE N314.77//1US DOLLAR* *AS AT LAST FRIDAY

Quick Takes Ethiopian Airlines Wins Award

BRAINSTORMING ON INSURANCE SECTOR

L-R: Deputy Commissioner, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. George Onekhena; Partner/Head, Financial Risk Management, KPMG, Nigeria, Mr. Thierry Mbimi; and Director, Financial Services, KPMG, South Africa, Mr. Gerdus Dixon, at the KPMG Insurance conference 2017 in Lagos … recently PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

West African Tax Institutes Move to Check Illicit Financial Flows Ndubuisi Francis Tax institutes in West Africa, including the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) are evolving new strategies to check revenue leakages occasioned by humongous illicit financial flows out of the region.

Converging on Abuja under the auspices of West African Union of Tax Institutes’ (WAUTI) 5th annual international conference, the sub-region’s eggheads on tax matters and revenue are brainstorming on how to boost domestic resource mobilisation in the face of global fall in commodity prices and an almost non-existent donor support.

With the conference theme: “Relevance of Base Erosion

ECONOMY and Profit Shifting (BEPS) to the Illicit Flow of Funds from Africa,” the WAUTI President, Dr. Teju Somorin said the theme was distilled from the activities of multinational corporations with subsidiaries in different jurisdictions.

“These activities which hitherto were not being critically viewed have resulted in capital flight, huge losses in tax revenue, and an unwholesome trend fast gaining grounds in the region.

“In view of the grave dangers this poses, we considered it worthwhile to make the subject the theme of this year’s confer-

ence with a view to sounding a wake up call for those who are still asleep,” Somori said in her opening address at the conference.

In the same vein, the Chairperson, West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) and Commissioner-General, Liberian Revenue Authority, Mrs. Elfreida Steward Thamba, said the global focus is on domestic resource mobilisation as donor support dries up.

The renew focus, she noted, was a cogent component of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

According to her, there was a need to collectively address the issues of illicit financial flows from West Africa in particular,

and Africa in general.

“Together, we must strive to comprehensively address these issues and influence through our advocacy and in our space and time, greater technical capacity building, the adoption of internal and regional policies to tackle and mitigate these ills in order to help ensure a better future for the unborn West African for the national good of our respective Countries and region as a whole.

“This must include our own self-assessment and commitment to strengthening ethics and state cards that is one of the core objectives of the union (WAUTI), also improving truthContinued on page 20

LADOL, Others Strategise on How Africa Can Benefit from $12trn Investment Eromosele Abiodun The Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics base (LADOL), has joined notable world business promoters in mapping out strategies on how Nigeria and other African countries could effectively benefit from a whopping $1 trillion from a projected $12 trillion new market value in an emerging global economic system.

In its second meeting of the year held recently in Nairobi Kenya, the body essentially deliberated on ways of getting the African continent to optimally benefit from the huge

ECONOMY projection with the conclusion that the continent could rake in $1 trillion dollars from the projected $12 trillion largesse, if well harnessed.

The commission, THISDAY learnt has a twin objective of mapping the economic advantages that could be available to businesses if the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals are achieved, and highlighting how businesses can contribute to delivering such goals. In its wide range deliberations at the Kenya

confab, the commission, under the chairmanship of former Deputy Secretary –General of the United Nations (UN), Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, noted that African business leaders, entrepreneurs and economies can benefit and even help to develop significant economic opportunities if they pursue sustainable business models.

The opportunities and how to achieve them took centre stage at the two-day events hosted

by Safaricom and Intellecap in Nairobi, to launch the African Better Business, Better World report from the BSDC. The projected $12 trillion

economic developing plan evolved from a meeting of the world business leaders in London, United Kingdom (UK), under the aegis of Business and Sustainable Development Commission (BSDC), to impact on the global economic system within the next decade.

At the London meeting, the group had raised the optimism that sustainable business models could open economic opportunities of such high value while at the same time creating over 380 million jobs every year by 2030.

The Business and Sustainable Continued on page 20

Ethiopian Airlines has been awarded the African Cargo Airline of the Year Award during the 2017 Air Cargo Africa Conference held in Johannesburg from 21st to 23rd February 2017. Air Cargo Africa 2017 has been organized by STAT Media Group in celebration of excellence in the industry while supporting Africa’s steady growth.

Winners have been selected through two rounds of online polling by worldwide readers of the magazine. While receiving the award, Group CEO Ethiopian Airlines, Mr.Tewolde GebreMariam, remarked, “Readers of STAT Trade Times across the globe have spoken and voted Ethiopian as ‘African Cargo Airline of the Year’. I would like to thank them all for their strong vote of confidence, which reiterates Ethiopian efficient global cargo service.The credit for this prestigious recognition goes to our strong workforce, especially, I would like to congratulate our cargo team for the job well done.”

Gebremariam said Ethiopian Cargo has been growing at a very fast pace and would continue to do so. “In order to support the fast growth that we are planning and to make Addis Ababa as one of the best Cargo hubs between Africa, Europe, The Americas, Middle East and Asia, we have built a new Cargo Terminal which can accommodate 600,000 tons per annum at a total cost of $115 million. The new Terminal 2 combined with the existing Terminal 1 will give a total tonnage capacity of 1 million per annum. Moreover, this year alone, Ahmedabad, São Paulo, and Orlando will join our global cargo network,” the CEO said. Ethiopian Cargo serves 36 freighter destinations operating the longest range twin-engine freighter aircrafts in the world, 6 B777-200 LR freighters as well as 2 B757F with a capacity of 103 and 35 tons each respectively.

Ethiopian is a multi-award winning airline. Ethiopian was recently named Airline of the Year, for the fifth consecutive year, by African Airlines Association (AFRAA), SkyTrax World Airline Award for Best Airline Staff in Africa, Best African Cargo Airline of the Year Award, and Passenger Choice Award for Best Airline in Africa.

FG Appoints New Directors for AIB

The federal government has approved the appointment of two new directors for Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB). The new directors are Hashimu Ilyasu Wali for Engineering and Capt.

Dayyabu Mustapha Danraka, Operations. The appointments are with immediate effect.Before their appointments, Danraka was the Bureau’s General Manager, Operations, while Wali was an Aviation Safety Inspector with Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

The appointments follow the expiration of the tenures of former director of Engineering, Engr. Emmanuel Diala and director of Operations Capt. Yusuf Lawal.The Commissioner/CEO of AIB, Akin Olateru thanked the former directors for their invaluable services to the Bureau and wished them success in their future endeavours.

NAMA Calibrates Kaduna Nav Aids

Ahead of the March 8, 2017 closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Internatinal Airport, Abuja, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has rounded off the routine calibration of the Very High Omnidirectional Radio Range/Distance Measuring Equipment (VOR/DME) and the flight commissioning of the Instrument Landing System/Distance Measuring Equipment (ILS/DME) for Kaduna airport, which is the alternative to Abuja.The component parts of the facilities which include Two VOR transmitters, two DMEs co-located with theVORs, two localizer transmitters, two glideslope transmitters and two DMEs co-located with the glideslope all passed the flight calibration test. The flight calibration was handled by Omni-Blue Aviation Ltd along with their technical partners (FCSL of United Kingdom) in collaboration with NAMA engineers who carried out the installation, alignment and parameter adjustment during the exercise. According to the Calibration Manager, Engr.

Akeem Ogunmola, the flight exercise which started from Kaduna will extend to Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Bauchi. In Bauchi Ogunmola said the calibration team would be commissioning three systems which include ILS/DME, VOR/DME and Non-directional beacon.

Also to be calibrated are facilities in the Port Harcourt and Lagos international airports.

The Nigerian Customs and NIMASA are both working to accomplish one purpose, which is to facilitate trade to our country, enhance the revenue of government and ensure that those who do business with us respect the laws of our land and that ultimately they don’t take advantage of our people Director General of NIMASA

Dr. Dakuku Peterside

20

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD WEST AFRICAN TAX INSTITUTES MOVE TO CHECK ILLICIT FINANCIAL FLOWS ful voluntary compliance and smart enforcement strategies,” she said. Thamba lamented that the lack of policy coherence, generally limited prioritisation of tax administration and the very deliberate actions of some multi-national companies investing in the region, were critical underpins of the alarming impact of base erosion, profit shifting and illicit flows from the region.

She cited the Global Financial Integrity report which said that a total of $530 billion was estimated to have been siphoned from Africa between 2003 and 2012 by multinationals bent on engaging in illicit flow of funds including tax evasion and other illegal activities.

Thamba described the loss rate as tragically alarming, adding that addressing the effects of these ills was exceedingly critical.

LADOL, OTHERS STRATEGISE ON HOW AFRICA CAN BENEFIT FROM $12TRN INVESTMENT Development Commission which was launched in Davos in January 2016, has the Managing Director of LADOL Dr. Amy Jadesimi as a member from Nigeria alongside other 36 global business entrepreneurs drawn from business, finance, civil society, labour, and international organisations across the world. According to the Commission’s Chair, Lord Malloch Brown, “the world is seeing increasingly that African companies are models for what can be achieved with ingenuity and innovation as they solve difficult social challenges. They are not wedded to old solutions and so here in Kenya, we see digital innovators delivering banking energy and health solutions. The speed of innovation and adoption is astonishing.

“The Better Business, Better World report launch in Nairobi puts the African private sector squarely in the drivers’ seat on the road to achieving sustainable development and we welcome more African business leaders to join the Business Commission.”

Group Business Editor

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Crusoe Osagie

Comms/e-Business Editor

NEWS

Airlines Face Undue Pressure over Planned Closure of Abuja Airport Chinedu Eze

Few days to March 8, 2017 when the Abuja international airport would be closed for repair of its runway, airlines are yet to complete arrangements for movement of their Abuja operations to Kaduna, the alternative airport.

The federal government had directed both domestic and foreign airlines to continue their operation to Abuja by using the kaduna as alternative airport. It had also allayed the fears of foreign airlines about insecurity on the Abuja-Kaduna highway.

A charter operator and former Managing Director of Nigeria Airways Limited, Captain Mohammed Joji, whose operation is based in Kaduna, had expressed disappointment with foreign airlines which cited incessant kidnapping on the Abuja-Kaduna highway as reason for resisting their movement to Kaduna.

Joji told THISDAY recently in Kaduna that all the facilities necessary for seamless flight operation had been provided in Kaduna and dismissed the kidnap fears, saying that kidnapping happens everywhere in Nigeria.

THISDAY spoke to some domestic carriers who said they would want to go to Kaduna so that the repair work on the Abuja airport runway could be done; however some said they would reduce their frequency to the Kaduna airport.

“We know that there will be cut down on the volume of passengers so we do not know yet the level of reduction, so from our four daily flights from Lagos to Abuja, we will start with two flights

daily to Kaduna from Lagos in the morning and in the evening, then if there is any encouragement, we add another frequency,” an airline official told THISDAY. But while domestic carriers have positive disposition towards the temporary move, which would last only six weeks, majority of international airlines have cancelled their flights to Abuja until the reopening of the airport, so they would not operate to Kaduna airport.

Reports revealed that British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France and South African Airways declined the government’s suggestion to divert their flights to Kaduna, while Ethiopian Airlines says it would fly there.

According to the airlines, Kaduna’s attractiveness dimmed on Feb. 23 when two German archaeologists were kidnapped and released days later in a village near the Federal Capital Territory.

Spokesman of the international airlines, Kingsley

Nwokoma, told THISDAY that there are certain reasons why the foreign carriers would not operate to Kaduna airport.

“The major reason is security.

The road between Abuja and Kaduna has many issues, security wise. There has been so much kidnapping on that road. The second reason is that the local carriers are not in any form of partnership with these international airlines so that they can code-share. Ethiopia Airlines might go to Kaduna, but the major carriers like British

Airways, Lufthansa, KLM, Air France, South Africa Airways, Etihad, Qatar, Emirates, Turkish airlines will not go to Kaduna,” Nowkoma said.

THISDAY learnt that some of these airlines wanted to increase their frequency or transfer their Abuja flights to Lagos but government reportedly refused.

But Nwokoma insisted that government cannot force the airlines to operate to Kaduna, if the airlines in all considerations say they would not be able to operate to Kaduna.

CONGRATULATIONS

L-R: Group Treasurer at Etihad Aviation Group, Ricky Thirion, being presented with the 2016 Treasury of the Year award by Michiel Radder, EMEA Director Sales Management at BNP Paribas in Berlin, Germany…recently

Group Blames Competitors for Media Attacks on Intels Eromosele Abiodun A group known as Concerned Maritime Professionals (CMP) has condemned incessant media attacks on leading logistics service provider, Intels Nigeria Limited.

In a letter to the acting President Yemi Osinbajo, copies of which were made available to journalists, CMP alleged that the attacks were being sponsored by Intels’ competitors for selfish motives.

The letter, titled, ‘Need to

Call to Order Competitors Who Are Sponsoring Media Attacks Against INTELS Nigeria Limited’, was signed by its Coordinator, Mazi Charles Obi. According to CMP, “Our attention has been drawn to incessant attacks in the media against private terminal operators in the Nigerian maritime industry, especially Intels Nigeria Limited, which is one of the few thriving businesses and the largest employer of labour in the maritime sector.

“Despite the harsh economic

environment, the company has weathered the storm, offering world-class services that could compete both nationally and internationally. Recently we have seen organised attacks in the media against the company that has served as robust revenue source for the government especially at this time when so many companies are on bended knees. We consider this uncalled for more so when the attacks are obviously sponsored by competitors and are politically

motivated.

CMP said while it is not holding brief for Intels and would stand up for any company in Nigeria unjustly pummelled by any group, it wants the federal government to caution media houses from being used by competitors to run down the few thriving businesses in Nigeria.

“Recently we see the trend of attacks against Intels Nigeria Ltd, ranging from unfounded allegations of monopoly and alleged indebtedness. The

entire plot by competitors smell of mischief. To be sure, Intels is not the only company in the Onne free zone and so cannot be accused of monopoly. There are close to 200 firms that operate in the zone with each of them professionally managed and duly regulated by appropriate agencies of government.

Intels has operated in the zone for three decades and made meaningful contributions to the socio-economic development of the country.

Emma Okonji

Capital Market Editor Senior Correspondent

IEI to Raise Operating Capital to N13 Billion

Correspondents

Ebere Nwoji

Goddy Egene

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

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

International Energy Insurance (IEI) Plc, has perfected plans to raise its operating capital to N13 billion.

Approval for this was given by the shareholders at the company’s 42nd annual general meeting held in Kano recently.

Prior to this, the shareholders had at the 41st AGM of the company given their nod to

raise the working capital of the company to N4 billion.

Interim Managing Director of the company, Peter Irene, said the new capital which the company may chop from foreign investors among others would enhance the firm’s working capital, improve IT infrastructure, meet solvency requirement as well create room for new investment opportunities.

At the Company’s 42nd

Annual General Meeting held in Kano, the shareholders approved that the directors in conjunction with the Technical Committee should further recapitalise the company by raising additional N9 billion, which when added to initial recapitalisation approval of N4 billion given at its 41stAnnual General Meeting amounts to a total approval of N13 billion.

The monies, according to

Irene, could be raised from the capital markets, local, or foreign investors whether by way of private placement, public or rights offer and / or issuing ordinary and/ or preference shares of the company for such equity, whether by bonds , convertible loans or other debt instruments, with or without the option of converting such bonds, loans or other debt instruments to ordinary and or preference

shares of the company or by debt equity conversion upon such terms and conditions as the directors may deem fit or determine, subject to all relevant approvals.

He said besides that, the directors were also authorised to constitute a Technical Committee of the Board and Shareholders to re-negotiate and restructure the company’s indebtedness to Daewoo Securities (Europe) Limited.

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BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

First Bank Launches Focused Product for Women Ademola Babalola in Ibadan In recognition of the role of women in driving socioeconomic growth and change especially in the current economic recession in Nigeria, First Bank Nigeria Plc has stormed Ibadan, the Oyo state capital with a female focused product and packages to enhance productivity and economic status of Oyo women.

The Bank’s management, at the launch, which attracted hundreds of women in Oyo, said the programme was solutions packaged to enhance the efforts of every Nigerian woman to participate in an ideal opportunity to meet their required needs.

The programme was under

the auspices of the office of Wife of Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi, Florence in conjunction with the Ministry of Women Affairs, community Developments and Poverty Alleviation.

Tagged “FirstGem”, the programme according to the organisers, is for women at every level and cutting across all income strata, including low-income earners to high net worth individuals, professionals, women entrepreneurs, business leaders etc.

Every woman can open a FirstGem account, just as the existing FirstBank Account holders can migrate to begin to enjoy FirstGem benefits, except for those under savings account which they said cannot

be converted into a FirstGem savings for now.

Through “ FirstGems”, the bank said it can provide advisory services for the participants to access the CBN N220bn MSME intervention fund at a single digit which provides for 60% of the fund to be availed to women entrepreneurs.

Speaking at the groundbreaking event held at Civic Centre, Ibadan on Tuesday, the wife of Oyo state governor , Mrs. Ajimobi described the initiative as the greatest tool for the emancipation of women.

She stated that First Gem initiative would prove to be a veritable tool for the attainment of the financial emancipation of women in the state.

Business Leaders Grace Brandzone Leadership Workshop Nosa Alekhuogie A highly innovative Brand Leadership workshop brought together SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) leaders, business visioners and investors from diverse background who gathered recently at the SME DIY Branding Workshop organised by Brandzone Consulting, a world class brand consulting firm. The inaugural SME-focused workshop tagged “Branding For Growth” was designed as the first of its kind and the first ever broadly inclusive workshop that creates an atmosphere of interactive and practical engagement as a learning methodology for the SMEs. The Brand Leadership Programme exceeded expectations in terms of attendance, with a broad based participation from diverse background which included Agri-preneurs,

Supply Chain Management, IT Solutions, Security and Systems providers, Tourism & hospitality, Oil & Gas, Manufacturing & Production, Retail, Fashion & Life Style and Logistics Management. Speaking at the event, Audrey Joe Ezigbo Executive Director of falcon Corporation, an indigenous world class Natural Gas Operator, “Brandzone did a remarkable job of lining up thought-provoking and stimulating agenda with subject matters that were of great interest to the participants who were very keen on leveraging branding to achieve increased growth in their various operations. It was obvious from the content and workshop scope covered that the workshop was designed to stir and stimulate knowledge amongst entrepreneurs who are seeking to remain ahead of their markets particular ly

within the highly competitive landscape faced by every sector of the economy.

In her opening address, the Managing Partner, Brandzone Consulting LLC and the Convener BrandPlatform, Chizor Malize, stated that the SME-Focused Brand Leadership Program was conceived out of the desire to provide a platform where SME businesses can converge to learn new skills in the areas of Branding and Brand Management that keeps them focused on maximizing the inherent opportunities that branding can create for their business, their products and their overall operations.

“The role of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SMEs) in the growth of our national economy cannot be overemphasized. Increasingly across the third world countries.

‘Open Source Solutions will Promote SMEs Devt’ Dele Ogbodo in Abuja The Country representative for Daydah Concepts, Mr. Adebayo Adeniyi, has advocated the the adoption of open source solutions for Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) in the face of increasing cost of software in Africa’s emerging economy According to Adeniyi, who is a known software developer, arrangement has been concluded with Google, Mozila, Joomila, WordPress, Typo3, Magen,and Grav to brainstorm on content management system.

He said the high cost of software purchase remains a problem for many small and medium scale companies in Africa’s emerging economy and inexpensive as open source solution holds the key to more meaningful and far-reaching adoption of technology for them.

“Open source champions, including Google, Mozilla, Joomla, WordPress, Typo3,

Magento, Grav, and many more are expected to grace the 2017 CMS Africa summit billed for Abuja, to further address the issue accessibility and affordability in software packages,” Adeniyi saud. According to him, an estimated 47 per cent of all websites on the internet today run on content management system and the rapid proliferation of e-commerce platforms in Nigeria is driven by the increased adoption of the platforms built for e-commerce. He said the summit is a premier open source technology event that brings together top ranking web developers, online retailer merchants, software engineers, web administrators, online marketers, online banking administrators, company owners, tech start-ups and incubation hubs. The theme of the event, according to him, is empowering businesses through open source with the focus being on encouraging African start-ups to use on open source as strategy

for growth by SMEs. He said open source is a catalyst for growth and innovation, ensuring that technology becomes an enable for better but less expensive business systems adopted by SMEs with attendant impact on the sector’s contributions to countries’ GDPs, productivity and employment.

“Previous editions was held in Uganda and Kenya and this is the first time the event is being brought to West Africa.

The audience will learn through 30 global speakers, web and app development workshops, entrepreneurship tutorials on how to use Open Source technologies to sell or run enterprises in today’s world,” Adeniyi said, adding that open source software is currently being leveraged on by developers across the globe not just for blogging and publishing, but also for designing feature rich and secure internal process systems and enterprise resource tools.

RISK MANAGEMENT WATCH Robert Mbonu

The Risk Policy Statement – “It Is Not My Portion…”

I

asked my friend Godwin if he had insured his new car against accident or theft. His reply was what has become a classic Nigerian response – “what accident? It is not my portion”. He left me wondering whose portion it is.

Benjamin Franklin famously said; “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Doing business without a plan, a strategy, appropriate risk management architecture and protocols means that business may fail. It’s almost like saying that the sandwich is about the content, whether it’s akara, meat or fish, but the bread and butter that hold the sandwich together is the material that gives the sandwich its substance.

So in a similar vein, the risk framework is the bread and butter of risk management. Like an architect who designs a building, the risk framework is a document prepared by an Enterprise risk professional that clearly sets out the risk architecture (roles and responsibilities), strategy (appetite and attitudes) and protocols (guidelines, rules and procedures). The most important component is the risk management policy statement. Every forward looking organisation (includes Government council, Ministry, Department and Agency) should consider making a statement that clearly sets out the organisation’s objectives for integrating risk management activities into mainstream activities, and demonstrating a commitment to implementing integrated risk management throughout the organisation. This statement must be in support of risk management as an integral part of the entire organisation’s structures and processes, it may best be included in existing corporate policies regarding the organisation’s objectives and commitments.

A good risk management policy statement mirrors the organisational goals and culture and talks about what the organisation intends to achieve out of risk management. Is the organisation in the business of taking risk? Then the policy should talk about how risk management is going to enable managed risk to be taken. Is the organisation about protecting vulnerable people? Then the risk management policy needs to be about how the focus is about minimising risk that threatens the ability to protect the clients. Aligning the risk management vision and objectives with corporate objectives and strategic direction helps make risk management meaningful and relevant to all employees.

The policy statement also needs to make it clear who is responsible for leading risk management, who implements it, who checks on it, who responds to it (control owners), what structure is in place to implement it, the governance structure surrounding protecting the stakeholders’ interests, and the resources to manage it.

Above all it should make clear that everyone in the organisation is responsible for spotting and reporting risks. Supporting the policy, there needs to be some form of implementation architecture.

Depending on the complexity of the organisation, this might vary from a simple aide memoire on the basic processes and terms of reference for the various committees that form the governance structure, to a full-blown Risk Operating Manual that sets out all the information required and the protocols including the risk appetite structure.

An organisation’s appetite for threat and opportunity varies with its culture and with evolving conditions in its internal and external environments.

Risk appetite and tolerance can be determined through consultation with affected parties, or by assessing stakeholders’ response or reaction to varying levels of risk exposure.

When establishing and articulating the overall direction for integrated risk management, an organisation may wish to consider: • The rationale for managing risk, including

internal and external contexts; •Links between the organisation’s mandate and objectives and the risk management objectives; •The necessary and appropriate accountabilities and responsibilities for managing risks (see below); •The commitment to adequately resource risk management activities; •The manner in which risk management will be integrated into the organisation; •Mechanisms for escalating risks and reporting on risks; • Mechanisms for enhancing opportunities through risk management processes; • The methodology in which risk management performance will be measured and the avenues for reporting risk management performance; and • The commitment to review and update the risk management approach as appropriate, whether in response to a positive or negative event or based on an appropriate periodic cycle. The risk framework and policies set out the governance structure, confirming that the board and senior management are ultimately accountable for the implementation of risk management within the organisation.

In determining and documenting the appropriate accountabilities, organisations should consider: •Specifying appropriate risk owners that have the accountability and authority for risks •Specifying appropriate risk control/ risk enhancer owners who have the accountability and authority to manage risks; • Ensuring the organisation’s governance structures support the required levels of accountability and authority for the risk owners and the risk control and risk enhancer owners; • Identifying the appropriate structure for the development, implementation, and maintenance of the risk management approach and associated processes; • Communicating that all staff have a role to play in identifying and managing risks; establishing performance measurement and internal and/or external reporting and escalation processes; • The way in which conflicting interests are managed; • Sanctions and incentives for poor risk taking behaviour versus good risk taking behaviour including ensuring appropriate levels of recognition, reward, approval and sanction; • Providing assurance over the risk management programme, policy and application of those in the processes of risk management Risk management processes are the meat in the sandwich, these are the ways in which we work out the context for risk, identify, analyse and then manage risks within our risk appetite.

The processes don’t create a sandwich on their own; the sandwich needs the bread and butter.

The bread and butter for risk management implementation sets out the surrounding architecture, policies and protocols for enabling risk management to succeed; by preparing to succeed we succeed in preparing.

Back to my friend Godwin, “Yes indeed, it will be your portion, if steps are not taken to prevent its occurrence, and manage same in any unfortunate event it does”.

•Mbonu, FERP, CIRM(UK), HCIB, MsRM (Stern), studied Engineering, is an experienced Banker and Enterprise Risk Management professional.

Earned a post graduate degree in Risk Management from New York University Stern School of Business, and is a member of the Institute of Risk Management -UK. Can be reached on 09092092046 (SMS Only); email: rm4riskmgt@ gmail.com

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AVIATION

Turkish Airlifts Passengers after Cancelled Flight Stories by Chinedu Eze No fewer than 266 passengers billed for Lagos-Istanbul flight, who were left behind when the airline cancelled the flight on Monday due to air-conditioning malfunction, were finally airlifted Tuesday to Turkey.

According to a statement from the airline’s media consultant, Tunji Faleye, passengers who had arrived Istanbul in a telephone conversation from Turkey, confirmed their arrival on Wednesday.

Explaining what happened,

an airport official, who was on duty that night explained: “The AC issue happened when the passengers started boarding the aircraft TK626 on Monday. The airline notified the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO), which also collaborated with them to resolve it in record time, but some passengers started complaining and some went as far as attempting to attack so they were asked to de-board the flight to prevent further altercation.

“However, all entreaties made by the crew members

to explain the situation to them why they should come out to resolve the issue to enable them fly that Monday night were rejected. Assuming they had listened while trying to explain things to them on time, they would have been airlifted to Turkey that night.”

THISDAY learnt that when it became obvious that the passengers could not fly again that night, the airline had to lodge them in Golden Tulip hotel in Apapa and on Tuesday, they were airlifted around 10.30 pm after the technical crew had done a re-check in.

Dana Air Launches Self Service Kiosk for Passengers One of Nigeria’s domestic airlines, Dana Air, has launched a self-service kiosk at the Murtala Mohammed Airport 2 to underscore its much-vaunted customer –centric service.

The self-booking kiosk, which is the first at the terminal, is a platform that enables travelers book the airlines’ tickets, modify tickets, book on hold, pay for tickets, and rescheduled their tickets on the spot, get information on promos and events and lots more!

The airline’s guests can also avoid the irregular queues at the counters and book, pay, and check -in online conveniently at the self-service kiosk which will be operational 24 hours every day. Speaking at the launch, Dana Air’s Communications Manager, Kingsley Ezenwa, said: “Every day we review our services to see how best we have served our guests and what more we can offer. The self-booking kiosk is just one, out of the many innovations our esteemed guests should

expect from us in 2017, as we will continue to deploy necessary technology to meet and exceed the flying aspirations of our guests.

“As an airline committed to offering desired services to its guests, we feel there is need to continue to churn out innovations driven by passion for what we do and technology, just so we can keep up with our vision.

“Also, as part of efforts to make our frequent flyer program a truly rewarding experience for our guests, we have partnered various hotels and cab service providers to give huge discounts to members of our frequent flyer program Dana Miles. We urge our guests to visit our website www.flydanaair.com or send us an email on Danamiles@ flydanaair.com for further details.’’

The CEO of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, Captain Jari Williams, commented: ”Dana Air is one of

the leading airlines here at our ultra-modern terminal and they will stop at nothing, just to satisfy their customers. This is just a commendable attempt towards enhancing passenger experience while reducing the time passengers have to wait to book or pay for their tickets.’’

The self-booking is the first in this terminal and we are not surprised that Dana Air is the first to launch as the airline is known for its creativity, innovations and efficient customer service.”

Reputed for its unrivaled ontime performance, world-class in-flight and customer service, Dana Air operates over 27 daily flights from Lagos to Abuja, Port Harcourt, Uyo and Owerri.

The airline with a record 4.5 million passengers flown in the last eight years of its operation, recently entered into an airline partnership with the Imo State Government to boost tourism, business activities and employment opportunities in the state.

Emirates to Unveil Enhanced A380 Lounge at ITB Berlin Emirates, Skytrax’s World’s Best Airline 2016, has announced that it would launch a series of new cabin products and enhancements in 2017 for both its A380 and Boeing 777 fleet.

The multi-million dollar cabin interiors upgrade programme includes an enhanced Onboard Lounge for its flagship Airbus A380 aircraft.

President, Emirates Airlines, Sir Tim Clark said, “The A380 Onboard Lounge is hugely popular with our customers, and has become an iconic feature of Emirates’ A380 offering. Particularly on long-haul flights, our customers tell us they appreciate the opportunity to stretch their legs and mingle in the relaxed, yet classy lounge area. “Since we first launched the product in 2008, our A380 Onboard Lounge has gone through small but successive enhancements in line with customer feedback to increase the amount of space for our customers to interact in the

lounge. In our latest revamp, we have taken inspiration from private yacht cabins, and amongst other thoughtful touches, we have increased the seating space, and also made it more intimate and conducive for our passengers to socialise or enjoy our lounge service.”

The new Emirates A380 Onboard Lounge would make its first public appearance at the Emirates Infinite Possibilities stand during ITB Berlin, one of the world’s largest tourism trade fairs.

It is currently being installed onto one of Emirates’ brand new A380 aircraft at Airbus’ facilities, and will make its operational debut in July 2017.While retaining the trademark horseshoe-shaped bar, the airline said its latest A380 Onboard Lounge would offer more seating space with a new seating arrangement along the windows on both sides of the bar. Inspired by private yacht cabins, each seating area will have a table and window view. Overall, the lounge can

comfortably accommodate up to 26 passengers at a time, including 8 seated.

The new Onboard Lounge would also feature an airier look and feel. Lighter champagne colours will be used in the cabin and lounge seating, accented by a glossy dark wood trim.

Emirates will also introduce soundproof curtains to partition the Onboard Lounge area from the other cabins, put in additional soft ambient lighting options, new window blinds with integrated LED mood lighting, and subwoofers for surround sound. The lounge also features a 55-inch LCD screen so customers can view the latest flight information, or enjoy live TV broadcasts of the latest news or sports updates.

All of Emirates’ 93 A380s currently in service feature the Onboard Lounge. The enhanced lounge product will be similarly located on the upper deck of the aircraft, for First and Business Class passengers.

AIR WATCH Documenting Passenger Movement at Airports

W

hen the report was broken by BBC on Christmas Day in 2009 that a Nigerian nearly bombed a US airliner, it took time for the report to simmer because before then, no Nigerian had been linked to terror attack.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab made history in what is popularly known today as the underwear bomber. He was convicted in the US for attempting to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear while on board Northwest airlines Flight 253, en route Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, on Christmas Day, 2009.

But there was something instructive about the failed attack. The Nigerian left Accra, Ghana to Lagos, from where he took the flight to Amsterdam. When he was arrested, Amsterdam Schiphol airport did not have the video documentation of his passage; Kotoka airport, Accra did not have it; it was only at the Murtala Muhammed International airport, Lagos that his passage was documented in video. That video helped security operatives immensely in their investigation and it went viral in the international media.

Aviation Security of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), according to industry security experts is efficiently carrying out its responsibilities, despite the shortcomings, which include inadequate manpower and lack of regular training.

THISDAY investigations revealed that every passenger that travels via any Nigerian airport, whether on domestic or international travel is documented on video and on records. Although FAAN may not have comprehensive Close Circuit Camera (CCTV) all over the airport facilities, but the ones at the screening centres where passengers move to board flights are now working effectively.

It was also confirmed that any personal effect that is forgotten during the processing and screening of passengers can now be tracked and kept and the CCTV on the screening areas are reviewed from time to time and in case of any incident, passengers could be traced through the video, using flight time and other indices to capture the movement of each passenger and his identification.

A passenger who forgot his laptop at the Murtala Muhammed Domestic Airport 2 (MMA2) while being screened to board his flight, recovered his laptop 48 hours after.

He forgot to collect the laptop, an Apple Macbook Air, after screening and left with his luggage. When he discovered that he forgot the laptop at the screening point, he promptly contacted the officials, who asked him to come and pick it up.

“I was informed that they could trace anything forgotten at the X-ray machines through the CCTV and whatever that is forgotten is recorded and documented. When the owner comes he has to convince the security officers that he is actually the owner of the thing. In my case, I showed them the pictures in the laptop. Both the Aviation Security and the

Bi-Courtney Staff are doing a thorough job. The terminal is run with high standards. I could not control my happiness when I got the laptop back.

It shows that many of these criticisms against our system are sometimes a bit exaggerated,” the passenger said.

THISDAY gathered from AVSEC officials that passengers items recovered can be kept for them as long as it takes them to come back and collect them.

“What they just need to do is to open contact with us and we will trace their belonging and keep them. The only problem is that sometimes other passengers may collect such items, but as long is the items are collected by us, they are safe,” an official told THISDAY. On the fight against terror, security experts said FAAN should invest more in technology and intelligence.

Aviation security expert and the CEO of Scope Centre, Adebayo Babatunde, told THISDAY recently that terrorists succeed when there is security breach, which in the case of airport would enable terrorists to have access to the terminal and detonate their weapons of destruction, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDS).

Babatunde said every security apparatus must have very intelligent community, noting that when there is failure of local intelligence, terrorists may have their way.

“What this tells us is that intelligence is the most potent weapon to tackle these problems.

How does it work? We are in the cyber age where everything happens in the flash of a second and therefore terrorism has a lot to do with cybercrime. Countries are investing to counter cybercrime technology, such that the state security is able to manage and nip in the bud potential terrorism act.

“It is very simple, if you don’t invest in the latest cyber terrorism technology and the latest counterterrorism, you cannot and you will not be able to counter this. It tells us one clear story; that we must focus our attention on intelligence and investment in e-technology solutions,” he said.

Babatunde explained that to effectively check security, passengers should be screened from the point of entry to the terminal and this means that government must invest in security.

“What do you invest in? You have to invest in solutions that can detect availability of IEDs and on person’s terrorism weapons. Today’s solution is that you have to look at the entire airport security architecture. Do we have adequate remedy for the level of threat that pervades the world today? Are we able to prevent situation as it happened in Brussels and Istanbul? Are we able to do that in Nigeria?

This is because you should not forget that security breaches don’t happen every day.

It never happened in Brussels. It happens once and once it does it has maximum economic damage,” he added.

The security expert recommended that the government should look at what is on ground and start building it from there. He also urged the government to carry out a comprehensive risk assessment of the airport environment.

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AVIATION

Kadiri: Nigeria Can Increase Earnings from Agriculture Exports The Managing Director/CEO of Skyway Aviation Handling Limited, Rizwan Kadri, in a chat with journalists, said Nigeria can shore up her foreign earnings through export of agricultural produce. He however said government must support the farmers and infrastructure challenges addressed for this to happen.

Chinedu Eze presents the excerpts: How did the economic downturn affect SAHCOL in 2016?

Yes, 2016 was a very challenging year; definitely a lot of things that could have been achieved were a bit slow, as we could have done much better. We still have done well, it would have been worse than this but with a strong team, the services and facilities; we still managed to handle a lot of business. Although we had no control of what was coming in because of the challenges in the economy, as a result of dollar constraint, but we still did well. Yes it was a good year for us, although not as good as it would have been.

Looking at the fact that some airlines pulled out from Nigeria and more will leave the Abuja lucrative route because of the Abuja airport closure, how will this impact on your business?

It will definitely take a big chunk of our revenue because we are basically a ground handling company and a cargo warehousing company and we depend on what comes in. If airlines pull out, it will affect our bottom-line revenue earnings. We have put a lot of things in place, we have gotten down to good revenue management, re-inventing ourselves to a certain extent where we can mitigate a little of that impact. The impact is huge and we are still looking forward to 2017 to see how well or bad it is going to be.

Looking at federal government’s policy on export promotion in agricultural sector, what effort are you making in supporting the drive?

As a service provider, we make sure we align ourselves with the federal government’s vision and the best we can do is to keep our handling rate low; that is just N28, which is a small amount, compared to the costs we incur.

We are encouraging perishables by enhancing our warehousing facilities. We are updating it now and adding more facilities to it. At the end of the day, the government has to do a lot in that sector. They have to make the roads motorable and build infrastructures. We are ready to support at any level. We are aligning ourselves and we are ready to go the extra mile to even reach out to the farmers.

What is the state of cargo export generally?

Export is slowly gradually increasing. We started with about 10 tonnes to 15 tonnes daily, we are now reaching 40 to 45 tonnes daily.

Export is moving up and can do much better.

On the issue of helicopters brought into the country illegally recently, was SAHCOL trying to keep the names of the culprit away from the media?

There is nothing for us to hide. We are just a service provider; we had nothing to do with it. It came in and we were waiting for someone to clear it, Customs came in and took it to the warehouse. So, we were just silent observer in the whole thing. It has been given away.

We have not even gotten money out of it and we still have close to N70 million to recover; whom to recover that from we do not know.

What is the volume of cargo handled by SAHCOL in 2016 vis-à-vis 2015?

For imports, we were doing about 31million tonnes in 2015 and 35 million in 2016. What is exported are yams, hair extensions, few vegetables.

Unfortunately, we don’t have capacity at the moment; we also do not have the right packaging facilities. The yams that goes out from here, goes

Kadiri

to Ghana and the same yam, gets standard in Ghana and is transported forward. We need all the facilities to be done by the government so our yams can be accepted in Europe. We are losing a lot to Ghana.

What were your challenges and major achievements in 2016?

In year 2016, the major challenge is that we have our warehouse and we make our money from handling whatever comes in but because of the dollar constraints, people do not import as much as they want to, otherwise, there is a huge demand for import. Apart from that, we didn’t have very major challenges. In 2016, we enhanced our service delivery, we are still putting in a lot of processes for ease of doing business, which is the reason we could pull a lot of the agents to clear goods from our warehouse, so people are now patronising us, clearing their goods through SAHCOL. The numbers are growing and airlines are coming down to us. We received Ethiopian Airlines and AirFrance/KLM last year and this was an achievement for us What are your projections for 2017?

For 2017, we keep on our crusade to keep on increasing our infrastructures to meet

the demand. This is the best time for us to reconsolidate ourselves and wait for the day in preparations that it is going to improve. We will keep on improving our products, services and marketing our products and give the best to our customers, so we can have more airlines coming to us in 2017.

How prepared are you to move your equipment to Kaduna airport to cater for your clients, especially the international airlines?

The government is taking the right step in the right direction to get the runway repaired.

There are a lot of loopholes as the stakeholders were not taken into consideration that could be one of the reasons why none of the foreign airlines are willing to go to Kaduna. We are definitely going to lose a lot of revenue, if we make about N70 to N80 million out of Abuja in a month, we have lost that because there are staff sitting there, no one asked us what we think. If we have to move our equipment to Kaduna, we have to spend a lot of money on that and it is a huge burden on us. How many flights are we going to see in Kaduna? How much manpower we require there? We will put a request to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and should consider giving

us something in return for the losses we are going to have.

Can you give us a recipe for what we will do to improve exports in Nigeria?

We do not have the oil now and so we need to look at other areas. The farmers are ready and we have a lot of hardworking people. We need infrastructure to enable them produce more and the only thing lacking is how to send it out. For that we need safety on the roads, we need to empower farmers, give them facilities for the seed and water. If they invest in these, the returns will be in ten folds. The road infrastructure has to improve, the freezing facilities also have to come in because the farmers are in remote places and for them to export, they have to come from one of the major airports, Lagos, Abuja, Kano. They need to transport and to do this, they need the refrigerators, fans. The government has to get into the global certification process because the goods are going out and they have to be accepted by other countries as coming from Nigeria. The government should have confidence in the products we have. The vegetable, mangos and yams can be acceptable and we have them. We have so much of space that we can export a lot.

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MARItIME

Imperatives of Passing the Maritime Sector Bills Eromosele Abiodun writes that the plea by the federal government for the House of Representatives to support its effort to review and amend many of the moribund laws and regulations in the maritime sector is a major step in the quest to move the sector forward Following the conclusion of the port reform programme by the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) without a legal framework, the House of Representatives initiated the Ports and Harbour bill. Ten years after cargo handling operations have been handed to private operators following the port reforms in 2006, the legal framework is still pending.

Regarded as one of the most important bills to Nigeria’s maritime sector, the Ports and Harbour bill was designed to provide adequate framework for the private sector participation and to promote efficiency based on the principles of accountability, fairness, competition and transparency.

However, the non-passage of the bill has become a major cause of concern for many stakeholders in the maritime industry, especially concessionaires who are worried that the bill, when passed into law, assures the terminal operators of the concession.

During the 7th National Assembly, most maritime stakeholders were in high spirits that the bill would be passed into law. They were rather discouraged when the blame game over who was delaying the bill became the order of the day.

The bill when passed into law ought to give a legal backing to the entire port reform programme and also create an Independent Port Regulatory Commission for the port industry as done in other climes where the landlord port model, such as Nigeria’s is practiced.

In 2014, the Senate Committee and House of Representatives Committee on Marine Transport expressed open dissatisfaction over the failure of the Presidency to submit the Ports and Harbour Bill and the Nigerian Transport Commission Bill to the National Assembly for necessary action.

Other maritime bills before the National Assembly include: the Chartered Institute of Shipping of Nigeria (CISN)Bill; the National Transport Commission Bill, the Bill Establishing the Economic Regulator (shipping sector); the National Inland Waterways Authority Bill; the Maritime Security Agency Bill; and Nigeria Railway Bill, the Maritime Zones Bill.

As part of the measures to speed up the passage of the Ports and Harbour Bill and several other maritime bills before the national assembly, experts have advised that stakeholders pile up pressure on the Senate Committee to enable them see the benefits of the bills to the maritime industry and the nation at large.

The experts also advised stakeholders so invite the Senate and House of Representatives Committees to maritime symposiums to expose them to the reality of the maritime industry.

Critical stakeholders were also urged to conduct researches on these bills, their applications in other countries and the results and send these findings to both chambers. Meanwhile, there is hope that the bills may soon be given the needed attention if the recent request for support for the passage of the bill by the federal government is anything to go by.

FG seeks Reps support Last week, the federal government urged the House of Representatives to support it in its effort to review and amend many of the moribund laws and regulations guiding the management and operations of the maritime sector.

Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi stated this while speaking at a two-day retreat of the House of Representatives Committee on Ports, Harbours and Waterways in Lagos.

Amaechi, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Sabiu Zakare said the review and amendment of the laws would make them not only relevant but also capable of handling current challenges and developments in the industry.

Amaechi also asked for adequate allocation in annual budgets for the implementation of critical maritime projects and programmes towards the realisation of the change agenda of the Buhari administration.

According to him, “In this respect, the honour-

NPA

able members may wish to be informed that currently, several states governments in the federation have enacted legislations which are in conflict with the powers conferred on the federal government for the management and operations of ports and the inland waterways.”

In his speech, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, said the transport sector is vital to the diversification and growth of the Nigerian economy.

He therefore called for a suitable synergy between the legislature and the executive foe a sustainable partnership between the two arms of government.

Dogara, who was represented by the Deputy Chief Whip, House of Representatives, Mr. Paley Eriase pointed out that the present economic recession is undoubtedly taking its toll on Nigeria adding that all hands must be on deck to support the government in its determined efforts to create and propel other sources of revenue to boost the economy.

Specifically, he said: “I am happy to say that we in the legislature are fully committed to giving maximum support to the timely passage of the 2017 budget so that implementation of the projects of the Federal Ministry of Transportation can commence. Let me use this opportunity to comment Mr President for the giant strides he has made in the transport sector within a short time, especially in the rehabilitation and revitalisation of the rail infrastructure as disclosed by oversight reports.”

The Nigerian ports and the maritime sector, he said, has the potential to sustain the economy adding that the present administration is doing a lot to reposition the sector.

He added, “It is truly heart-warming that the industry stakeholders have finally agreed on the importance and inevitability of an economic regulator as evidenced in public hearing the house conducted on the National Transport Commission Bill. One of the decisions that should come out of this retreat is the shape and form of an industry regulator and the need or otherwise of the National Transport Commission.”

On his part, the Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Ports, Harbours and Waterways, Patrick Asadu said the retreat would arm members with the real time knowledge needed to revisit the relevant laws by way of amendments so as to bring them up to speed with international standards, “with the specific aim of re-engineering our nation al economy through the maritime industry.”

He added that the leadership and members

of the House of Representatives are determined to conclude all outstanding transport sector bills pending before the house, especially those related to the maritime sector.

“The committee attaches importance to the key issues in the pending laws and the soon to be concluded NTC Establishment Bill which public hearing had long been concluded and report prepared to be laid before the house upon resumption, “he said.

NPA Seeks Quick Passage Also speaking, the Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Ms Hadiza Bala Usman urged the National Assembly to pass Ports and Harbours Bill, National Transport Commission Bill and other maritime bills before it to boost port development plan.

NPA, she said, was committed to capacity building of its workforce because its business is international and requires that the agency constantly keep abreast with global developments and cutting edge in technology and shipping developments. Thus in building capacity, NPA staff exposure to the international scene is vital.

She said there was an urgent need to pass the bills to replace the existing obsolete laws, which are not supportive of developmental goals of the country.

NPA, she said, was excited about the efforts by the Federal Government to reform and develop other related areas such as Inland water ways and ports, rail way and road network to promote inter-modalism, which, according o her, is very key to the success of the port.

“This forum is coming at a most auspicious time, a time when the President Mohammadu Buhari led federal government is exploring ways of diversifying and improving the Nigerian economy. I must say that this is a very welcome innovation. This is the first time this kind of forum is being organized by the House Committee. I am particularly happy because it will foster exchange of ideas and collaboration and I hope it will become an annual event as the gains from it cannot be overemphasised.

“I am also grateful that the ports have been identified as key areas of the economy with the potential to put the nation back on the track of economic boom. One of the key objectives of the retreat is to expose the Honorable Members of the House Committee and stakeholders to the dynamics of the maritime industry, which are quite vast. It is very gratifying that we can count on the support of this Honorable Committee in our efforts to reposition the ports to play the desired role in the current economic agenda of

the Federal Government,” she said.

From the objectives of the retreat, Ms Usman said NPA drew the following conclusions: “That our industry is one of the key areas of focus for economic development; That the National Assembly is committed to cooperating with the Executive to realize the development goals and objectives set for the sector; That the House Committee is concerned about bringing our sector up to speed with international standards and that the House Committee is desirous of creating suitable synergy between the National Assembly and the Federal Ministry of Transport.”

Need to harmonise the bills The National President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero disagrees with other stakeholders stressing that the bill has nothing much to do with the maritime sector.

“The bills cannot transform the marine time sector. We have so many bills before the national assembly from the sector. Our sector is more related to finance. The port and harbour is just a bill that is suppose to bring about new port act by repealing old one, look at what we are doing and try to see how we can work according to international best practice. But I have been in the assembly, we have seen the port and harbour bill. We believe that if the port and harbour bill is to be passed and the national transport commission bill is to be passed there is need for harmony within the port and harbour bill, the railway bill and national transport commission bill and the inland water ways bill.

“This is because it is a multi-sectoral regulatory arm. But if it’s not done and the port and harbour bill is passed it will be very difficult for you to pass the national transport commission bill. And if the transport commission bill is passed on its own that means the other bills will be passed with some elements of regulatory process in the bills in the laws which will be very difficult for the national transport commission to regulate those agencies. Like what is happening now, it looks like a railway bill is going on its own and if a railway bill is passed on its own, that means it’s no more being controlled by the national transport commission bill. And if the port and harbour bill goes on its own, that means it is off and will not be acceptable. If it is multi-soctoral bill there will need for us to look at it holistically and see how these bills can be pass for the benefit of the country.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

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BUSINESSWORLD

MARITIME

IMPERATIVES OF PASSING THE MARITIME SECTOR BILLS He called on the national assembly to put politics aside and pass the bills to ensure a better future for the maritime sector.

According to him, “These bills cannot be a political bill whereby I am passing it because I am the managing director today. They are bills that are going to midwife and reshape the maritime industry for the betterment of the economy. Because we are losing out, we control almost 80 per cent of the cargoes within the sub region and we have lost up to 60 per cent of the cargoes to our neighbouring countries. We have lost all our freight components to our neighbouring countries and you found out that Nigerians are moving out to all these neighbouring countries. They are the one doing the business there.

“What is the population of strength of Cote D’Ivoir, they are not more than 40 million but their tonnage is higher than Nigeria and who is the owner of those goods there, they are Nigerians goods. Togo, what is their population strength they are not more than Lagos and look at their tonnage; go round and see what we are talking about, it not just that some civil servant sitting down in Lagos and start to tell you one things or the other. Nigeria is losing out in a very serious way and this is very serious issues because the freight components which create employment are being diverted to other countries. Once a ship diverts, it goes with the freight components and you come back with the cargoes. The freight components are those charges that are supposed to be for Nigerians.

For instance, if a cargo which is supposed to be for Lagos is diverted to Togo, the charges the shipping company is supposed to charge, the service the terminal operators is supposed to charge and the charges the licensed custom agent is supposed to charge and the transporters are now going to be charged there.”

He added, “And when these goods come in, they come in just like that and only pay import duty. So, those components are what we call freight components because we paid you for it.

So, Nigerians are entitled to their freight payment.

That’s why in all over the world, freights are teamed with struggle because that freight is what generate employment. In our case, our freights are left alone for diversion and more than 60 per cent are out of this country. And these goods are still coming into this country perfectly. That is why you find out that our unemployment level is terribly high.

“You cannot continue to run a team without experts. Most of the people who are managing these areas are not experts. Most of the go to government and give them wrong information. Most of these information’s are not correct. Because when you go, you have to look at what is happening in Ghana, Togo, and Cameron and others. These are our competitors and for every increase you make here, they deduce their charges for them to attract our cargoes. So it is a very serious issue. It is not an issue of one just sitting down and someone who doesn’t understand just take over and that is the end of the whole thing.”

CEMA amandment Apart from the Ports and Harbours Bill, National Transport Commission Bills that are yet to be passed, another Act, the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) that is said to be very important for the nation’s economy, has also attracted many controversy.

Last year the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) presented its draft bill for amendment of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) to maritime industry stakeholders for observation and input before submission to the National Assembly for consideration and passage.

The CEMA is the principal law guiding the Administration of Customs and Excise in Nigeria.

It is divided in to 13 parts, spanning 195 Sections and 3 Schedules. Section 37-5 deals specifically with Duty on Imported goods, Relief from duty of goods entered for transit or transshipment; Relief from duty of goods temporarily imported, Exempt from goods and goods delivered free of duty; Valuation of imported goods for purpose of ad valorem duties among others. This is not the first time effort has been made to review CEMA. In 2010, the federal government forwarded a bill to the National Assembly requesting that the lawmakers repeal and re-enact the CEMA 2004 as well as repeal the existing Destination Inspection Act 2003 to allow Nigeria Customs

Bala Usman

Service take over all obligations of the Federal Ministry of Finance and the CBN under the Act. At that time, there were indication that the National Assembly tinkered with the Customs CEMA in order to make it more proactive to meet the challenges of a modern day customs service.

This, the lawmakers said, became necessary after it was discovered that some of the conditions adopted by the CEMA to deter crimes especially via fines were no longer relevant or stringent enough to deter such crimes.

Nigeria’s sovereignty THISDAY gathered that the CEMA, enacted in the 1950 does not reflect the sovereignty of an independent Nigeria.

“The CEMA does not reflect the realities of modern day international trade and it is also silent on Destination Inspection of the present day NCS. Trade practices procedures and sanctions that existed in the 1950 are no longer relevant, fines and penalties prescribed by CEMA are ludicrous and generally incapable of deterring economic criminals even if fully enforce,” said a player in the maritime industry who pleaded anonymity.

He stated that the National Assembly in the course of its statutory over sight functions had discovered that if the service was to incorporate Customs practice, traditions and obligation, then various recommendations and instrument on Customs and trade standard practice must be in consonance with the World Customs Organisation (WCO), the United Nation Trade and Development (UNICTAD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“For Nigeria to fully exploit the benefits of its strategic placement and its ambition to be the maritime hub of the sub-region, our trade laws, especially as they relate to NCS operations must be made very simple and harmonised, with that of other Customs organisations of the sub region,” he said.

Speaking on the issue of overtime cargo, he highlighted that the national assembly has a duty of transforming over time cargo task into a transparent Public Auction System (PAS); separate the board chairman from the supervising minister as is the case with other parastals under the Ministry of Finance (MOF) as well as make NCS operations to become more proactive.

He frowned on what he described as undue emphasis on revenue generation by the Customs service and advised that it was trade liberalisation that should be prioritised.

“Emphasis all over the world is on trade facilitation, liberalisation, economic integration and globalisation of markets rather than revenue generation which the CEMA stoutly promotes,” he added.

He charged the board of customs to carry out

Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechii

a holistic review and update of all customs notices, tariff, codes and books of instructions on imports and exports and harmonise them in line with global best practices.

CGC seeks stakeholders support Speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Lagos, Comptroller-General, of customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), urged stakeholders to consider national interest in their inputs to the review of the Customs and Excise Management Act. The comptroller-general said that the review was necessary and overdue to enable the NCS to meet up with modern Customs administration under a template provided by the world customs organisation.

Ali said that stakeholders are strong pillars for any modern Customs administration, adding that, “Customs legal framework defines who Customs is, what it does and how or who the laws relate with. Over the years, both Customs and stakeholders have clamoured for a review of our enabling law which was first enacted in 1958.”

He added, “CEMA did not undergo any major review for over half a century. This attempt represents a collective resolve to update our laws and realign its provisions with modern realities. Most importantly, we need to take a second look at the provisions for sanctions that are neither punitive nor deterrent enough to promote compliance.”

He explained that the review of the CEMA was originally initiated by the last administration of Customs, adding that they could not get Presidential assent after undergoing the legislative processes.

Ali said that review process by the last administration, therefore lapsed adding that, “the present administration is back at the starting blocks again to review the CEMA law.”

The comptroller-general urged government agencies and stakeholders to always access customs trade hub for any information relating to any consignment coming into the country, without visiting any Customs office.

MAN, LCCI kick The President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Jacobs Udemba, said that the association recommended that the Minister of Finance should be the Chairman of the Board of Customs and not the Customs boss.

Jacobs said that there is the N1.5 million fine proposed to be paid by any person who infringed on imports, exports, transit laws or two years imprisonment.

He said that such fine should be increased to enable importers desist from such acts of

infringement.

In the same vein, a member of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mrs Julie Ogboru, suggested that the Finance Minister should be the Chairman of the Board, while the Comptroller-General of Customs should be the Deputy Chairman of the Board.

Ogboru said that the inputs of all the stakeholders should be included in the review to enable them have a say in the implementation.

ANLCA, NAGAFF, CRFFN Position In his contribution, the President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Mr. Olayiwola Shittu, said that all administrations set up for checks and balances should be abrogated.

Shittu said that Section 58 (1) of CEMA Law says “examination of goods should be at the examination bay.”

He said that there was no reason for officers to continue taking samples when there was no dispute on a particular consignment.

The Chairman, Murtala Airport Chapter of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Segun Musa, said that there was need to review all fees imposed by all government agencies on importation, exportation as well as Transit goods.

He said that there should be fact of value of any particular consignment, saying that Customs officers should stop using their discretion to value consignments. A representative of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), Mr. Okudili Alagbi, said that the CEMA law should allow the Council to be issuing licenses to all freight forwarding practitioners to fulfill the Council’s Act. Alagbi said that the CRFFN Act 2007 stated the council’s obligations to all freight forwarding practitioners.

In his concluding Remarks, the Customs comptroller-general said that all the inputs of the stakeholders and other agencies would be looked into.

Ali said that the senior officers of Customs and the Review Committee would be having a three-day to review all contributions.

He said that about five chapters of the laws related to the stakeholders were the critical aspects of the law. The comptroller-general said that all the suggestions would go through scrutiny, adding that only those suggestions that would add value to operations would be considered.

Ali said that every suggestion that would be added must be in conformity with the existing laws.

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WEEKEND WEEKLY PULLOUT

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

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‘MY HUSBAND’S BROAD SHOULDERS ATTRACTED ME’ ACTING EDITOR CHARLES AJUNWA / charles.ajunwa@thisdaylive.com

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03.03.2017

‘My Husband’s Broad Shoulders Attracted Me’ She is soft spoken, bright and breezy, and yet a strong-willed woman who speaks her mind and defends her values. That's the simplest way to describe the wife of Ondo State governor, Mrs. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu who was completely swept off her feet by the charm of her husband, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu. In this exclusive interview with Mary Ekah, she speaks on her journey to Ondo Government House, how she met her husband, her unequivocal affection for him, and her plan to hatch many programmes for Ondo women and many more With the recent swearing-in of your husband as the executive governor of Ondo State, you should envisage new responsibilities and more burdens. How would you tackle that?

I won’t say that I’m totally ignorant of the responsibility that would be bestowed on me.

Democracy has been around for some years now and as an onlooker, I have that sense that a lot will be expected of a First Lady of any state given the mirage of problems confronting the society. The Executive Governor of Ondo himself might be concerned with what I will call direct governance, making sure that the wheel of the government rolls properly in whatever direction he may deem fit but there are fringes - other problems that might not catch his fancy or his attention; and if you look at these problems properly, you would find out that they do influence the society in a profound way. I’m talking about problems that affect families and it is usually the women that bear the brunt. So as women, we have inclination for nurturing and caring. So it is not out of place to expect a First Lady to look at that direction more than the husband.

That is why I’m saying that the First Lady is expected to look into that direction because that could in a very profound way ease the burden on her husband and also the burden of governance because if you are able to tackle all those little problems with families, in a way you are creating the path for a better society.

I can tell you that men will look at governance only as building of roads, providing electricity and all those things but they don’t seem to look at governance from the point of view of the people that would benefit from all those things they think are the bigger things. If we can look at the family and ask what are the basic things a family needs? They have to eat, the children have to go to school, and they should have visible income and a roof over their heads. Forget about having a car; I think that should be the least of the problems. If a family feeds well, the children develop properly; if they fall sick, they can easily recover from the sickness and they won’t miss school. The same thing happens to the father and mother, if they are strong enough, even if they fall sick, they would recover quicker and there would be less chances that they are out of work or whatever activities they are engaged in. So from that angle alone, you can ensure that your state is self-sufficient in food. You can’t rule out that people will not fall sick, people will always fall sick but how quick can they recover? And that is determined by how well fed they are. If your children are well fed, their brains will develop better and they will do well in school and pass their exams and get admission into universities, after which they would gain employment, because they would have done well in the universities. I’m just looking at the whole thing from the woman perspective, which my husband may likely not look at it from that angle.

So how do you intend to draw the governor’s attention to these seemingly trivial issues but so serious in the real sense?

I have to do my best because even if he eventually sees it through my own prism, it may not be so easy to convince his cabinet or the policy makers. But this is a government of change and we intend to reengineer the Ministry of Women Affairs. I have interest in making the Ondo State Ministry of Women Affairs become more responsive to issues that concern women. Unfortunately, looking at years gone by, the Ministries of Women Affairs in Nigeria have not lived up to our expectations because they have not been able

have been at the forefront raising awareness about breast cancer through the Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN), founded by me, telling everyone that even though cancer is a deadly disease, it is no longer a death sentence. I have been in it for the past 20 years, encouraging women to check their breasts, go to hospital, so that it can be detected early, so that they can survive and live productive lives. I’m also interested in the economic empowerment of women – women becoming players in the economic landscape of the country. I have already said that many of us are highly educated nowadays which shows that a lot more women are going to the university than during my own time and this is a moment we should be keen on advancing our women, making sure that their educational status is utilised. There are many unproductive educated women in this country and this is the area that this present administration will focus on, making sure that these young women are given the right guidance so that they would be able to utilise their education and become self-employed because once you have this basic university education, you can think for yourself and you do not have to wait for someone to employ you. We also need a forum, which is one area I am interested in, where we can bring together young graduates that really have the entrepreneurial spirit and help them develop it, thereby creating an enabling environment for those people who are yet to discover themselves because I can see many young graduates wasting away.

Akeredolu

to attend to issues that concern women to my satisfaction. So as the First Lady, I’m going to work towards making the Ondo State Ministry of Women Affairs more responsive to the needs of women in Ondo State so that it attends to their concerns and other needs properly.

That means there are better days for Ondo women during your husband’s tenure as the governor, right?

Yes, because one thing my husband will never fail to mention is that when he talks with women he would tell them that they already have an advocate in the house. If you look at my antecedent, you would not doubt the fact that better days await Ondo State women because I have always been at the forefront of anything that has to do with women. It comes to me as something natural. It is not something that I am just beginning to show interest in. The interest has always been there.

And given this opportunity you don’t expect me to do less. I will even do more. I have the leverage now to even do more. And I think that Nigerian women, without doubt, have come a long way and I think we have gotten to a level where we should be at the forefront and champion the cause of women because many of us have the educational background and what education does to you is that it emboldens you, broadens your horizon and it makes you objective. You would be able to ask tough questions. You don’t just swallow

hook, line, and sinker what any one tells you.

You would be able to ask questions because you have got the language, you have got the boldness and you are not timid. If there are causes so dear to us, you go out there and fight for it because the men aren’t going to fight for us. Let’s not pretend that we do not have war between genders, yes there is, and we cannot run away from it. No matter how open minded a man is, they will always protect their own. And I think that women too should also protect their own. Both sexes have their peculiarities. There are needs that are very dear to us, as women and these may not be the concern of men, so if you sit down there and say the men will do it, they won’t do it.

You have to do it and that is why I am saying that nothing should hold us from going all out and fight for the cause of the women.

We want our women to be more advanced in all endeavours. We can no longer say it’s a man’s world. No, it is no longer a man’s world. It is a man and woman’s world now.

Apart from your plan to encourage the Governor to focus on women-oriented programmes in the state, what particular project do you have in stock as the First Lady?

Like I said earlier, my antecedent will tell you that I have been there and one area that I can claim to be well known for is women’s health. I have focused on breast cancer, which has taken its toll on Nigerian women. So we

You started Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN) 20 years ago. You are still so passionate about it. What is the driving force behind this?

I am a survival of breast cancer. For me, it is an act of thanksgiving. There is no other way to explain it. If I can use my experience to save lives, then why not? I think I have touched lives because I didn’t behave like a typical Nigerian or African woman who shies away from talking about her ailment.

Thankfully, I am not that kind of personality.

I talk a lot about myself especially when it can help others.

So how have you touched people’s lives through BRECAN? I have been able to touch people’s lives through information and emotional support, because for you to survive breast cancer, you need to understand what you are dealing with. That is the most important thing because if you don’t, you would miss it all. If you do not encourage women to go early for check up and treatments, the disease keeps progressing with time. The typical sign is a painless lump that you would normally ignore and carry on with your life because it is not painful. But it is imperative that we educate women that this painless lump is a time bomb waiting to explode. Again, many had thought that breast cancer is a disease of white people, some didn’t even know what it was and so they ascribed it to witchcraft and all sorts. So by talking about it and letting people know about the nature of the disease, you are trying to attack headlong all those deeply entrenched misconceptions that make a woman to go to church to pray rather than go to hospital to examine herself while the cancer cells are multiplying. These are the things that you need to bring out time and time again, although it is taking us too long to convince Nigerian women that this thing has nothing to do with witchcraft or spiritual attack. But we just have to be

29/COVER

03.03.2017 consistent because when it comes to human behaviour, for you to make that paradigm shift to something new, it takes a long time.

So we need to be patient with our people and continue talking and talking. And that is why awareness creation is really important for us to tackle this disease and not even the monetary aspect because we have plenty of women who have the money but still die of breast cancer because they didn’t believe what they heard about the disease.

Let’s go back memory lane. Tell us about growing up?

I am from Emeabiam in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State. My parents were teachers. I lost my father in 1994. He was a renowned headmaster in that part of the country. My father was a very kind person, so is my mother, and she is still alive. She is nearly 90 now. I have two other siblings and mine is a very nuclear family, just the five of us but my parents had many dependants living with us. And you know as a teacher in those olden days, relatives will just dump their children in our house believing that’s where these children would be brought up properly. Initially, I didn’t appreciate it until my father passed on and then stories upon stories of how he helped so many people came up and I said ‘so good name is better than gold and silver’.

We were told of how my father will pay schools fees of kids from poor homes from his salary and my mother became basically the breadwinner as she eventually stopped teaching and went into trading and made so much money than when she was teaching while my father continued with the community service to everyone around him. I remain proud of the life he lived – a very selfless and contented life. I had a good life as daughter of a headmaster in those days and I think that was the reason why there was no impediment as regards to my going to school because my parents knew the role of education in climbing the social ladder. In fact, I want to say that my father, in particular, didn’t raise me as a girl, he raised me as a child and I’m very proud of that. He used to tell me those days that, ‘the sky is your limit and nothing can stop you attaining whatever position you set your eyes on.’

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and wife, Betty

Were you the only girl in the family?

No, I am the first child and the first girl. I have a sister and then a brother.

What schools did you attend?

I started school at a primary school in my village, precisely at Emeabiam Central School in 1958-1962 and then finished at Avu Central School, another school within the Owerri Division, from 1963 to 1965. Then I started secondary school at Egbu Girls Secondary School, Egbu, also in Owerri from 1965-1966 but my education was truncated by the Biafra Civil War from 1967-1970 and after the civil war, I went back to Egbu Girls Secondary School 1970-1972, I finished and then gained admission into University of Nigeria, Nsukka, to study Zoology. After I graduated I got employment with the Federal Department of Fisheries and later I went for my postgraduate course at University of Philippines, Iloilo, where I trained in Fisheries majoring in Aquaculture. I came back again and continued with the Federal Department of Fisheries, I retired voluntarily in 2006. At a point, I had a stint in politics. I contested on the platform of ANPP in my state for the Federal House of Representative for the Owerri Federal constituency in 2007 election but I lost. However, I still have interest in politics because I come from a part of Imo State that is largely marginalised and I felt that if a man was unable to represent my people, a woman should try then.

You seem to have had an eye for politics over time, so it would be very easy to support your husband during his tenure, right?

Yes, it was a lot of fun during his campaign because I had experienced it myself. I liked it all - the excitement, strategies and when things were working according to plan – moving from house to house and campaigning. I felt that we should do the grassroots campaign to demonstrate that when my husband wins, he would become the government of everybody, even though we did not have much to throw around like others did. We were able to device means to reach people and they responded overwhelmingly and we were very pleased

Akeredolu

about it.

Was your choice for Zoology a deliberate choice or circumstances made you study it?

I actually wanted to study Pharmacy but I had an uncle who studied Zoology and in those days there wasn’t really career guidance and so I was like my uncle read Zoology, okay let me read Zoology too. Given to what I have known now, I doubt if I would have gone in for Zoology. Probably, I would have gone for journalism or something else. But like I said, the good thing is that you have that basic university education and you can then do anything you like with your life.

So how did the Owerri girl then meet the charming Ondo prince?

It’s a long story. Actually my husband was a youth corper then in Enugu. I was also posted to Enugu. So a friend of mine visited me and then she came along with her boyfriend who also came along with my husband. That was how we met and it was love at first sight. I think people frown at love at first sight but it worked for us.

Really? So what was the attraction?

I fell in love with his broad shoulders. Then he was really looking very cute. I can still remember what he was wearing that day. I won’t forget – a red shirt, long sleeves, and jean trousers. He was really looking great and then we were very young and restless. That was like 37 years ago. He couldn’t even take me out because he didn’t have money as a youth corper. It was quite magnetic and that was it. And besides I have always said that whoever that was going to marry me must be able to sweep me off my feet completely and that was exactly what happened.

How old were you then?

There is a three-year age difference between us. I am older than him anyway. I was like 25 then while he was 22. It was love that really endured. I had graduated and in my place when a girl graduates from the university, suitors come from left, right and centre. And your parents would expect you to go for a self-made man with everything. But I have always known that there was no way I could have married a self-made man. I will better build a home from the scratch with you because I want to have a say in my home.

So what was your parents’ reaction when you eventually introduced him to them as your husband to be?

My parents were educated and so they didn’t see a reason to obstruct us. My father understood what modernity is all about when it comes to relationship and also understood the fact that when a young girl falls in love, it is always difficult to talk her out of it. And knowing that I was strong opinionated right from time, he knew that this one that I have brought was the right man.

How would you describe your husband?

He is very loving, kind and very straightforward. He does not tolerate people who are fraudulent or not straightforward, and that is where he might have some difficulties with people. If you have him as a friend, in your hours of needs he would be there for you. He is a loving father and grandfather. I think the Ondo people are in for a good time because they have a governor that means well and he is coming in with a sincerity of purpose and as a wife, I am here to support him to make sure that Ondo State demonstrates that good governance is possible in Nigeria.

And then he suddenly started growing grey beard. Are you comfortable with that

or embarrassed about it?

Did you say embarrassed? I love it and I can say that it is his trademark and signature appearance and I have grown to like it. The grey hair came too early actually but people tell me that they like it and I like it too.

What do you do for a living?

I am a fish farmer. I am the founder of Aquatek Farms Ventures in Ibadan, Oyo State.

We have the best brand of fresh and smoked fish in Nigeria. Even as the First Lady, I am still a farmer.

What is your dress sense like?

I’m simple and classic. My makeup is very moderate and I don’t plan to change. I am a jeans wearing person. Ordinarily I will be in my jeans and all that but sometimes I have to tie the iro and buba because I am a Yoruba wife.

I am freer in my jeans and T-shirts because I am a field person and a fish farmer too. I don’t like encumbrances. All these ‘geles’ give me headache. But I have to manage.

You are an Imo State woman in Ondo State Government House. Your kinsmen will be expecting certain level of goodwill from you while you must also satisfy your people in Ondo State. So how do you intend to balance up without offending either side?

First and foremost, I am First Lady in Ondo State and our focus is on Ondo State and not Imo State. But then I won’t forget where I am coming from. You can’t disassociate me from Imo State, there is no way you can remove me from Imo state because that is my caucus and I am very proud of where I come from.

So definitely you would see a lot of ‘kedi”, “ndewo” and all that around me but that does not mean I am going to transform the Ondo State Government House into Imo State Government House.

30/ NEWS

03.03.2017

Segun Arinze to Host Give ‘N’ Take Lottery Game Show

Mary Ekah

Veteran actor, Segun Arinze has been announced as the host of a novel and unique lottery game show tagged ‘G'n'Take National Lottery Jackpot’ which will be broadcast live on national television every week. Not just that, in addition of hosting the programme, the top actor, song writer, vocalist and director, has also become the brand ambassador of Give ‘n’ Take lottery business.

Arinze shall bring to bear his wealth of experience in promoting the image of G'n'T even as he assures numerous players of the company’s lottery games of fair play, and prompt payment of all winnings irrespective of the amount.

Announcing his appointment formally in Lagos recently, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Give ‘n’ Take Lottery, Mr. Jolly Egbe Enabulele, said Arinze’s appointment was a further testimony of the company’s resolve to conduct lottery business in the most transparent manner and bring Nigerian

Arinze

lottery industry at par with international best practices, adding, “We are delighted to have him and look forward to a fruitful and exciting relationship.”

Reacting to the appointment, Arinze said: “One could not be happier being chosen among several popular celebrities

to be the ambassador of the Nigerian’s prestigious lottery brand, G'n'T and to crown it with my hosting the unique national lottery game show is gratifying. I look forward to hosting the show and using the platform to reach out to thousands of people who will play the game and win the Jackpot and other prizes.”

G’n’T is a Nigerian company, granted a lottery licence by the federal government to carry on the business of conducting lottery in Nigeria with head office at Wuse 2 in Abuja. The company presently operates in 24 states in Nigeria, uses the best technology in Nigeria lottery industry in its operations and aspires to become a world-renowned lottery brand with track record of credibility.

It hopes to launch its unique national lottery jackpot game show this month with the hope of making lottery players win in billions for the first time in Nigeria.

This jackpot game show would be screened live on national television and social media platforms.

Group Complements Government in Resettling IDPs Mary Ekah Nero Asibelua Foundation has partnered National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons ((NCRMIDP) to complement government’s efforts at resettling Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who have become destitutes as a result of insurgence in North-east region.

Chairman and President of the Foundation, Mr. Nero Asibelua, said the partnership became necessary because of the hardship refugees and displaced persons are going through. He added that the business of running a country should not be left for government alone. He therefore called on well-meaning Nigerians to join the fight to save the people.

“The foundation is passionate about restoring dignity to internally displaced persons, refugees and migrants and therefore offers to partner government through the office of the NCRMIDP to render supports towards achieving the goal. “The business of running a country should not be left for government alone. As responsible citizens everyone should help by ensuring that their immediate families are properly and lawfully maintained, help the less-privileged in our society as this will in turn correct the ills in the nation at large,” he said.

Asibelua spoke in Lagos when the

Nero in a handshake with Farouq

foundation hosted the Commissioner for National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCRMIDP) Sadiya Umar Farouq, who is one of Nigeria's foremost female crusaders in the fight for peace, transparency and good governance.

He said the meeting was aimed at ensuring that IDPs settle in their new environment by ensuring mechanisms are provided for lasting solutions with a view to reintegrating the displaced persons periodically back into society. According to him, this would give hope to the affected, making them know that they are not alone.

The foundation donated items to the commission for the provision of proper accommodation for IDPs at the IDP Settlement Centre. Mrs. Sadiya Umar Farouq and the South-west Zonal Coordinator, Mrs. Margret Ukegbu, received the items.

The commissioner commended Nero Asibelua Foundation for the kind gesture saying that federal government has begun plans to resettle and reintegrate the over 500 IDPs from the North-east region in their various communities as soon as possible.

She disclosed that there are also plans to equip them with self-reliant skills so that those who may not wish to be voluntarily relocated to their states when it's time would have viable means of livelihood.

According to her, the commission is fully aware of the current state of internal displacement in the North-east and the issues that affect these people. She said that policies were being put in place by federal government to ensure that all persons affected are provided with food, water, medicine and shelter alongside provision of durable solutions towards their resettlement. The items donated by Nero Asibelua Foundation, which include 32" Plasma TVs, refrigerators, deep freezers, washing machines, cooking pots; electric kettles, microwave oven and other such appliances would complement the ongoing furnishing of the IDP Resettlement Centre.

Still Single In Gidi Set to Thrill Next Month After a successful Single In Gidi stage play in 2015, requests from far and near for a re-run have been pouring in, hence the sequel ‘Still Single In Gidi’. Billed to hold on Friday March 3 by 7pm and Saturday, March 4 by 3pm and 4pm at the Agip Hall, Muson Centre, Onika Lagos, ‘Still Single In Gidi’ reflects the every unique situation many singles in Lagos experience.

The story of being single in Lagos never grows old that’s why Single in Gidi stays relevant to us and comes back in March on an even larger stage in 2017.

Still Single In Gidi reflects the every unique situation many singles in Lagos experience. ‘Yoruba Demons’, ‘Becoming wifey’, ‘Single Motherhood’, ‘Lagos Packaging’ and others, are some of the themes explored in this well-crafted stage play. If you live and/or have tasted the Lagos life then you know that everyone has their own unique tale or varying views of being single and this play illustrates it in a unique performance covering topics mostly discussed on the Single in Gidi blog.

Sheila Ojei, a connoisseur of the arts, singer, poet, content developer and scriptwriter, created single in Gidi blog. She also writes the stage play. You don’t have to see the first one to enjoy this play and if you saw the first one then you need to see this one too. It is produced by S and S Creative Media Co. Directed by: Belinda Yanga-Agedah and would be showing at the Lagos Theatre Festival organized by the British Council.It shall feature stellar casts including, Toni Tones, Timi Charles-Fadipe, Omoye Uzamere, Damilare Kuku, Priye George, Patrick Oke, Charles Etubiebi and Omobola Akinde.

Panes House Sets Record at King's College

Estate Surveyors Chart a Way Forward Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) at the 23rd John Wood Ekpenyong Memorial Lecture held in Lagos recently charted a new way for the profession with the induction of 28 new Fellows, while also charging on members to uphold and promote professionalism in all its practice areas.

Nweke Umezuruike, the 15th President of the institution and Chairman of the Memorial Lecture with the theme ‘Deployment of Corporate Systems and Process to the Professions: The Estate Surveyors and Valuers’ Perspectives’, said, the characteristics of an institution were far deeper than those of institutes.

According to Umezuruike, the memorial lecture offers the institution an avenue to recognise and honour a man who qualified at a time the white man did not believe the blackman had the integrity to practice professionally.

Utchay Okorji, lecturer at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, and Principal of Utchay Okorji Associates, speaking on behalf of the inductees, said, “It shows that a lot of things have been done right both at the individual level and as a firm collectively to be recognised by the institution.”

According to Utchay, it has been a

King's College's Principal, Mr. Oluseyi Thomas

L-R: National publicity secretary; Charles Paul Ebiai; President, Bolarinde Joshua Patunola Ajayi of Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), 2nd Vice President; Emmanuel Okas Wike; Mr. Utchay Augustine Okorji and Mr. Emeka Emmanuel Orji, at the event

challenging and rewarding journey for most of the inductees both at the individual and professional level. “While we know that there is still a lot to be done, it is pleasing to be recognised and conferred with the highest grade of membership of the institution,” he said.

Speaking on the issue of housing deficit in Nigeria, Utchay said estate surveyors and valuers are always in support of the government to see that we meet the hous-

ing deficit in the country, and continually follow it through.

The John W. Ekpenyong Memorial Lecture was established as a stand-along event by the founding fathers of the institution because of the importance attached to it. And, it is believed that the newly inducted members into the institution will carry on the touch of the institution further by upholding professionalism in practice.

Panes House has set a record of three consecutive wins at the annual inter house sports of the college held recently at the school main campus sports complex in Lagos. The victorious Blue House has won back to back since 2014.

At the event, the board members, parents, students of the college and other invitees, cheered the young athletes as they compete for medals. Activities such as shot-put, cricket, tennis, volleyball, scrabble to mention but a few; were keenly contested.

Panes House (Blue) was the overall winner, by topping the medal table with a total of 53 medals- 20 gold, 10 silver and 14 bronze medals while Hyde Johnson House (Red) won a total of 46 medals secured from 17 gold, 12 silver and 17 bronzes to clinch the second position.

Harman's House (Green) finished third place with 12 gold, 10 silver, 14 bronze medals, while Mkee House (Yellow) came fourth position with nine gold, 11 silver and 13 bronze medals. Medals and gifts were also given to deserving old boys, parents, academic and non-academic staffs in competed events. The Principal King's College, Mr. Oluseyi Thomas, confirmed that sporting activities were part of the college’s daily routine, designed for physical well-being and mental alertness

31/ETIQUETTE

03.03.2017

THE ETIQUETTE FORUM ADEKANMI OLUSANYA

email mretiquetteonline@yahoo.com

tel. 08112661635, 0809285 4855

What Your Posture Says About You (1) In almost a decade of training on etiquette, I have noticed that about 20 per cent of Nigerians have bad posture. From bad walking posture to sitting, sleeping and even eating! This accounts for why many people don’t look as good as they should and why so many do not live as healthy and as happy as they should.

I drive a sedan. After a while I noticed that I started having pronounced back pain after minutes and hours of driving especially in traffic. So, I decided to put a little pillow under my seat when driving and I noticed that the pain stopped.

Whenever you feel pain when assuming a position, it could be an indication that that posture is wrong. Have you noticed that after sitting on a chair for a while you may feel like stretching or even changing your position? Now that’s may be your muscles and bones sending a signal to you that that posture may not be the best posture for you.

Those who work for long hours in sedentary jobs have a high risk of back pain and that is why many executives who have worked for decades eventually have all sorts of funny postures and ailments from slumped shoulders to hunch backs and clumsy walking postures.

Poor posture is caused by some of the following factors: sitting and working at a computer like I said, this causes back pain and ergonomic experts say that when we sit the hunch shape shrinks our chest cavity while we sit meaning our lungs have less space to expand into when you breathe that could be a problem because it limits the amount of oxygen that fills your lungs and filters into your blood.

When we tilt our head while talking on the phone or slouch the head forward while texting on a smart phone.

Wearing over-weighted backpacks or purses — these posture killers can be particularly stressful, especially those worn always over the same shoulder.

Standing on your heels. Most people stand with weight over their heels, which

cause your feet to become weak and turn in, which increases stress on your weight-bearing joints ankles, knees, hips and lower back. So then when next you stand, stand on your entire foot.

When we work with our arms out in front when in class rooms, in front of a computer or at an office desk e.t.c., we use large shoulder, chest and arm muscles that when over-used and under-stretched can begin to pull your shoulders and head forward leading to slumped shoulders.

While brushing teeth or lifting things from floor, we have a tendency to bend forward from our backs. What this does is that it makes the natural “S” curve of your spine to turn into a “C” curve that ruins your posture. So when next you have to bend, do so at your knees and not at your back.

These are a few of the things we can do to ensure proper posture.

1. When working on your computer, keep your eyes level with the top of monitor, elbows and wrists straight at 90-degree angle. Remember to never bend over, but instead hinge from your hips.

2. Use props and tools, such as lumbar support pillows and seat wedges that help maintain normal spinal curves when sitting to decrease posture stress.

3. Use bare feet or the thinnest sole possible, so nerve receptors in your feet can help your nervous system, brain and muscles connect more efficiently to create better coordination. This helps your posture and helps to smooth your quality of movement.

4. Wear less of high heels and thick soled shoes. High heels and thick-soled shoes are terrible for posture. Try to spend most of your time not wearing shoes when you do not have to, because it builds the muscles in your feet that are the foundation for your posture and quality of movement. Strong, aligned feet equate to a strong, aligned body.

Some of the postures we assume when doing menial tasks affect our overall posture and health

While brushing teeth or lifting things from floor, we have a tendency to Bend forward from our backs. What this does is that it makes the natural “S” curve of your spine to turn into a “C” curve that ruins your posture. So when next you have to bend, do so at your knees and not at your back

When working on your computer, keep your eyes level with the top of monitor, elbows and wrists straight at 90-degree angle. Remember to never bend over, but instead hinge from your hips

Wear less of high heels and thick soled shoes. High heels and thick-soled shoes are terrible for posture. Try to spend most of your time not wearing shoes when you do not have to

32 /XTRA

03.03.2017

Ayine Steps in as Auditor-General of the Federation, Unveils Agenda The newly appointed Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr. Anthony Mkpe Ayine, recently unveiled his roadmap as he assumed office following Senate's confirmation, reports Ndubuisi Francis

Ayine

The Office of the AuditorGeneral of the Federation (OAuGF) is a separate and independent entity whose existence, powers, duties and responsibilities are provided for under Section 85 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

Section 85(2) of the 1999 Constitution provides that the public accounts of the federation and of all offices and courts of the federation shall be audited and reported on by the Auditor-General who shall submit his report to the National Assembly; and for that purpose, the Auditor-General or any person authorised by him on his behalf shall have access to all the books, records, returns and other document relating to those accounts.

Similarly, Section 85(4) of the Constitution stipulates that the Auditor-General shall have power to conduct periodic checks on all government statutory corporations, commissions, authorities, agencies, including all persons and bodies established by an Act of the National Assembly.

Section 301 also vests the Auditor-General of the Federation with the power to audit the account of Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory.

Flowing from these constitutional provisions, it is obvious that the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation is saddled with an enormous responsibility.

It was, perhaps, in realisation of this huge mandate that the newly-appointed Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr. Anthony Mkpe Ayine recently challenged the management staff of the OAuGF, on assumption of office.

Addressing the management staff of the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) at the Audit House, the official headquarters of this critical institution in Abuja recently, Ayine noted that integrity remained key in the federal government's anti-corruption crusade, urging them to uphold that virtue.

Ayine said besides President Muhammadu Buhari's zero tolerance for corruption, an auditor, anywhere in the world, will be nothing without integrity.

His words: "I emphasise integrity because integrity is the key for an auditor. As an

auditor, if you take away integrity, you are completely gone.

"So for us to fit in, in the anti-corruption crusade of the federal government, we must have the important virtues of integrity, transparency and accountability in our lives, before we go out to tell others to be transparent and accountable,” he said.

Continuing he said, “it must start with us because this office is the office that has the constitutional authority to carry out this anti-corruption crusade even more than any other institution of government."

While commending the anti-corruption work of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as well as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offices Commission (ICPC), Ayine reminded his management staff members to realise that those two institutions were making a great impact.

According to him, they derive their powers from Acts of the National Assembly while the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation derives its own from the Constitution, hence greater the need for greater demand to be made of those in charge of the supreme audit institution.

Ayine noted that if the OAuGF is doing well, "we have that constitutional role to impact and even build strong institutions for the country."

He also told the management staff to always respect the office rather than just the person occupying it, adding that it was not the individual that occupies an office that matters most, but the institution.

Drawing from the recent inauguration of Mr. Donald Trump as President of the United States of America, he harped on the importance of the office "Look at during the inauguration of Donald Trump, see past presidents that were there; the office of the president in the U.S. is respected, and this is because they believe in strong institutions. Once a president has emerged, they work to respect that office; it’s not the individual that is there, but the office.

"And, I would like to urge us, as we have said that this is the supreme audit institution in Nigeria, we should therefore work

to project the image of the supreme audit institution in the country. Because this office is the symbol of the institution; so we must see that we build and work to project the image of the office,” Ayine stressed.

Paying respect and making reference to Nigeria's National Pledge, he admonished the management staff to in particular imbibe the virtues of faithfulness, loyalty and honesty as a true reflection of the country's Pledge.

His words: "We have a constitutional mandate that working together we are able to realise and to achieve that constitutional mandate that this office has. When we recite the National Pledge, the importance of some key words of the Pledge should not be lost on us. Let us reflect on what the Pledge says: I pledge to Nigeria my country, to be faithful, loyal and honest.

"So, in our duty faithfulness, loyalty and honesty, all those virtues are required of us, management staff, so that we can serve our nation well; we must realise that those virtues are very, very important in the discharge of our duties, including commitment and the need for a high sense of responsibility," he added.

He urged the management staff to exhibit discipline and commitment at all times, noting that if indiscipline was found in the management staff, it will pass the wrong message to the pesonnel at the lower rungs of the ladder.

He stressed that discipline and commitment must start with the management.

Born on October 25, 1960 in Bokalum, Boki Local Government of Cross River State, Ayine graduated with B.Sc (Hons) degree in Accounting from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria in 1986 and later bagged a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Calabar, in 1993.

He had also emerged the Best Graduating Student in the Department of Business Studies in 1982/83 in the Cross River State School of Basic Studies, Akamkpa, where he obtained the IJMB ‘A’ Levels.

His professional career is replete with sterling qualities quite early in life.

Having passed the final qualifying examina-

tions of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in November 1998, he was admitted Associate Member of the Institute (ACA) in 1999 and was further elevated Fellow of the Institute (FCA) in 2010.

Of note is that he is a Certified Forensic Accountant (CFA) and an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) as well as the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM).

He began his working career in the then Audit Department (now office of the State Auditor-General) of Cross River State in May 1988 and served until 1992 as Auditor 1 when he moved to join the then State financial institution, Equity and Investment Company Limited, in Calabar where he progressed to the position of Principal Manager in charge of Finance in 1999.

Realising the importance of his expertise, skill and experience, the Cross River State Government invited him back to mainstream Government Civil Service to take charge of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) in the State Ministry of Finance.

In September 2001, Ayine was subsequently appointed Auditor-General for Local Governments, a position which saddled him with the task of auditing accounts of all the 18 local governments of Cross River State.

This was the position he held until he was appointed Auditor-General for the Federation on January 12, 2017 by President Muhammadu Buhari after emerging tops at a rigorous, mandatory written and oral interviews as set out for the position in accordance with the Federal Civil Service Commission, In the course of his professional career and tour of duty, he has attended several courses and training locally and internationally which have expanded his professional horizon and enriched his competences.

A thorough-bred professional, Ayine has also served in several special and strategic committee assignments, all of which fittingly prepared him well for the tasks and challenges at hand.

33/ ANALYSIS

03.03.2017

Orji

Will History Be Kind to T.A.Orji?

Charles Ajunwa I had maintained that no amount of blackmail would pull Senator Theodore Ahamefule Orji down, when he served as governor of Abia State. And I want to reiterate my carriage given his numerous achievements when he was governor, as against the views of cynics making the rounds in his disfavour in the recent times.

The then governor T.A. Orji or Ochendo (as he’s fondly called) whom I served as Chief Press Secretary for over two years, delivered the dividends of democracy beyond bars.

This threw the opposition and political rivals into shame and they assembled all manner of hack writers to pummel the achievements of Orji in their malicious attempts for him not to shame them.

This spiteful character of the cynics against him can be seen vibrating again. But the more they attempted, the more T.A.Orji gave his best to the people of Abia State and will continue to give even now he is senator representing Abia Central senatorial district at the Red Chamber of the National Assembly.

Being the third civilian Governor of Abia State, T.A.Orji faced a lot of court litigations, wicked politics and mischief makers but he didn’t bulge to negativity. He refused to give excuses upon the iniquitous bahaviours of critics.

Orji was in the forefront of the campaign that all his aides should show love to his political rivals no matter their orchestrated measures to pull him down. He believed that his government was elected by Abia electorate and he had no escape route other than to give them the best of governance.

Hence, his government recorded many achievements ranging from health, agric, infrastructure, and others. So, no one can rewrite a positive and straight history such as was recorded during the stewardship of T.A.Orji as Abia governor.

It is fiendish and nefarious of any group or person to be economical with the truth in not saying that the administration of Chief

Theodore Ahamefule Orji demonstrated a rare enthusiasm and willpower to develop Abia State.

The people of Abia under Ochendo’s eventful eight years in office breathed a sigh of relief as the state witnessed development in its real meaning. As a leader who thinks outside the box, T.A.Orji bequeathed to Abia and Abians a new secretariat for its ministries, international conference centre, specialist hospitals and state-ofthe-art diagnostic centres, state-of-the-art eye centre over 300 health centres across the state, 100-bed hospitals located in the three senatorial districts of the state. It was this evidential transformation of the health sector that prompted the Nigerian Optometric Association (NOA) to recognise T.A.Orji and honour him with the award of Prime Ambassador of Health at the 37thAGM/ Scientific Conference of NOA. T.A.Orji presided over a knowledge-driven administration as education sector witnessed massive improvements. The primary and secondary school system witnessed massive transformation with the hitherto dilapidated classroom blocks gave way to modern facilities conducive for teaching and learning. T.A.Orji who was described as an education-friendly governor initiated the model schools across the state designed to lay a solid foundation for the education of Abia children. It was his belief then that if you put it right at the first two levels of education the problem of falling standard of education would be taken care of. Abia won many laurels on education under T.A.Orji.

Under T.A. Orji’s administration, Umuahia, the state capital dropped in a hurry the inglorious garb of being referred to as glorified village. Umuahia is now a beauty to behold, thanks to the Ochendo urban renewal programme through which the main market, industrial market and spare parts market were relocated to modern structures built in the northern, eastern and southern sections of the capital territory thereby freeing the city for expansion in every direction. So many infrastructures hitherto not seen in Umuahia

sprung up under T.A.Orji’s administration.

He started the construction of a befitting government house for Abia.

Under T.A.Orji Aba the commercial and industrial nerve centre of Abia had to undergo a process of renewal. The refuse heaps disappeared with Ochendo’s sanitisation policy.

Most of the major roads and drainages that were in total decay were rehabilitated so much so that Enyimba City was spared the perennial flooding during rainy season. Aba and indeed every other part of Abia were secured for social and economic activities under T.A. Orji’s administration as he ensured that criminals no longer have any foothold in God’s Own State.

As part of his pace setting accomplishments T.A.Orji gave Abia State a befitting secretariat complex. The two blocks of four storey edifices are now standing majestically in their beautiful splendor at Ogurube Layout. It is noteworthy that the secretariat complex came 22 years after the creation of Abia. That was why state ministries were accommodated in makeshift structures at different locations in the state capital. But today most of the ministries have moved into the ultra modern secretariat tastefully furnished to inspire high level productivity. The organised labour profusely then commended Ochendo during the 2014 May Day celebration for providing a conducive environment for workers. This infrastructural development robbed off on the state broadcasting media as a modern 48 office complex is now occupied by the Broadcasting Corporation of Abia State (BCA).

Road infrastructure under T.A.Orji’s administration received adequate attention in the development agenda of the Ochendo administration. These roads, both urban and rural, contribute to the growth of commerce and boosting of agricultural activities in the state. The emphasis on rural roads was predicated on the need to boost the transformation of the agriculture sector as farm produce must be evacuated from the rural areas to markets in urban areas. Under T.A.Orji’s watch Abia became a major producer

of cocoa and cassava due to the numerous incentives his government provided to Abia farmers having keyed into the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the then federal government.

There is no way one can enumerate the achievements of Governor T.A. Orji without making a reference to the peace and security secured under his watch. Abians then took peace and security for granted after he fought very hard to overcome the security challenges that faced the state back then. Abia was the butt of critics when the state was confronted with huge security challenges of armed robbery and kidnapping that culminated in the abduction of 15 school children on their way to school. T.A.Orji had confronted the challenge headlong and deployed every available resources to checkmate the evil doers. He not only ended the bazaar of the criminals but also took appropriate measures to tackle the root cause of the problem by implementing an unprecedented massive youth empowerment programme for Abia youths. Thousands of youths were empowered and taken off the streets and crime. Ochendo’s security architecture became a template for other states having security challenges to copy.

The acrimonious politics of Abia became a thing of the past under T.A.Orji’s watch.

With his humility and good-natured love for peace he was able to make peace among the political elites, who had been fighting themselves to the detriment of the state.

However, it has become evident that those fighting the governorship stewardship of Senator T.A.Orji are like those captured by Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, an Irish playwright, poet and author of numerous short stories and one novel, saying, “A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.”

Those still making direct and passive attacks concerning Senator T.A.Orji’s administration when he served as Governor of Abia State cannot rewrite history with falsehood. History no doubt will be kind to T.A.Orji at the end of the day.

34/XTRA

03.03.2017

When an Iroko Falls The land of Oraifite will not forget in a hurry the burial of Late Pa Godfrey Egbuniwe Okwuosa, an Iroko tree, whom the thud of its fall quaked the land, sending the news far and near; attracting personalities from every sphere of life and from the four corners of the earth. Peace Obi who was at the burial ceremony, reports that indeed an Iroko was laid to rest in Oraifite, Anambra State, recently

The Okwuosas during the service of songs for their late father, Pa Godfrey Egbuniwe Okwuosa (Amalunweze) at his residence in Irefi, Oraifite

When an Iroko tree falls, the thud quakes the land and the news goes abroad; man and animal in anguish mourn their loss for different reasons. And Just like the fall of an Iroko tree would attract the attention of all and sundry, the news of late Pa Godfrey Egbuniwe Okwuosa, alias Amalunweze demise and burial went far and near. And in solidarity to the bereaved family, were delegations from countries around the world, governments, business associates from Nigeria, republic of Uganda, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Canada, London, Spain, among others were all present to pay their last respect to Pa Okwuosa.

Described as an epitome of positive values and character; an iroko of inestimable value, among others, the late Amalunweze was said to be an absolute gem whose death has left his family, his kindred - Irefi, the people of Oraifite, Anambrians, Nigeria and the world with a vacuum too big to fill. His extreme handsome looks was said to be an X-ray of his good heart and person that eventually left him as a most likable person. The land and the people of Oraifite in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State will not forget February 24 in a hurry, when it received perhaps the greatest number of foreign visitors to its soil. The tributes poured in torrents and the similarities in their contents were as though being extracted from the same source.

It was a case of different minds speaking in unison with a formidable conviction that Pa Okwuosa lived a fulfilled life both in age and achievements.

Described by many as an Iroko tree and truly to this description were sparkles from Pa Okwuosa's life pointing to every attribute and characteristics of this unique tree. Iroko

tree, popularly known for its sturdy nature and ability to produce solid woods, Pa Okwuosa was said to have possessed strong and uncompromising character which he reproduced in his children. And as a very tall tree with wide branches, serving as shelter and shade for both humans and animals.

Amalunweze was said to have stood tall in his career as a teacher, a soldier, a contractor, an educationist, with exceptional qualities in leadership, service to God and humanity.

And that through his philanthropic life, he spread his hands wide to accommodate the needy around him and thus provided home, shade and shelter to many people beginning with his siblings. His branches became even wider as he transferred some of his unique virtues to his children and have them spread across important sectors like health, politics, oil and gas legal cum clergy where just like their father they are affecting and impacting lives positively.

The burial ceremony of the 96-year-old late Pa Okwuosa who was also a member of the Knight of Saint Christopher (K.S.C.) started on Thursday, February 23 with a service of songs at his residence in Irefi, Oraifite.

The service led by the Archdeacon of Oraifite, Venerable Dan Azodo and a team of priests and ministers from other denominations led the congregation in a number of soul searching hymns. As the crowd were thrown into a reflective mood by such hymn like "Asleep in Jesus! Far from thee. Thy kindred and their graves may be; But there is still a blessed sleep, From which none ever wakes to weep," Ven. Azodo in his admonition urged the congregation to always realise that they are pilgrims on earth. Taking his

Bible reading from John 14:1-8 and drawing references from other seven Bible readings slated for the service, the priest said that God has through his word shown man the way to life. According to him, no man can live a life worthy of emulation without the help of the Holy Spirit which he said was available to those who surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ.

Drawing references from the various testimonies by the children of the deceased, siblings among others, the Venerable said that Pa Okwuosa was able to achieve outstanding records and attained enviable heights during his lifetime because "he was a life that knew God from the onset. His impacts on lives and society are based on his knowledge of God. If we imbibe the qualities of honesty, integrity, compassion, the nation will be a better place,� the priest said.

The burial service which held on February 24 at St. Jude's Anglican Church, Oraifite - a church that was said to have been set up by late Pa Okwuosa's missionary father, late Mr. Alfred Onwukwe Okwuosa in 1910.

The church, with its modern structure and large capacity could not contain the crowd that turned up for the service, neither was its expanse land accommodate its visitors' vehicles. It was a gathering of the who-iswho in Nigeria, Anambra, and among the diplomatic world. The house of clergy was also not left out, as the Archbishop of Enugu Province and Bishop of Enugu Diocese, His Grace Most Reverend Emmanuel Chukwuma led the officiating archbishops, bishops and retinue of clergymen at the service.

In his sermon, titled ‘Heaven is Our Hope’, the Archbishop of Enugu Province and Bishop

of Enugu Diocese, His Grace Most Reverend Emmanuel Chukwuma said that death was a way God gives rest to his faithful children from their labour and struggles of life. Taking his Bible readings from Revelation 14:13; 1Corinthians 15:56, 2Corinthians 5:10 and Revelation 20:12, the Bishop reminded the congregation that judgment awaits everyone at the end of their journey on the planet earth.

And reiterating the fact that heaven and hell are real, the Man of God asked the listeners how ready they were for the prepared place, where God has made ready for those who will remain obedient to his word at his second coming. Chukwuma who urged listeners to shun evil and embrace righteousness, revealed God will reward everyone according to their works while living. And that the blessings of God follow righteous people while living and that they will also be received by God in heaven.

Extolling the virtues of the late Pa Okwuosa, the Bishop said that through his exemplary life of strong Christian virtues of discipline, truthfulness steadfastness, honesty, among others that Papa had written his name on the sands of time and that the huge legacies he left behind can never be erased. Urging parents, youth, church leaders and even politicians in the service to emulate the late nonagenarian, said that the evidence of his quality parenting is visible in the lives of his children who are successful in different fields of endeavours.

And in his condolence message, the clergyman wrote, "Amalunweze, you were without a doubt the greatest man we have ever known. You taught your children how to tell the truth, to respect elders, to forgive, love

35/XTRA

03.03.2017

Former President of Republic of Benin, Thomas Boni Yayi (1st right) and other guests at the funeral service

Former Nigerian Ambassador to Spain, Bianca Ojukwu (left) and Mrs. Gladys Ani

L-R Head of Delegation from Uganda, Lt. General Charles Angina_ ChaiirmanCEO Oil Serve Ltd, Sir Emeka Okwuosa and Ambassador Muntari Daura

L-R : Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano; former governor of the state, Lady Virgy Etiaba and Senator Andy Uba, at the funeral service for the late Pa Godfrey Egbuniwe Okwuosa at St. Jude Anglican Church, Oraifite, Anambra State...recently PHOTO CREDIT: ABIODUN AJALA

and fear God and also to be compassionate to everyone. You were indeed a generous man of immeasurable values and sterling qualities.

The strong moral values you inculcated into your children has taken them to a strategic and enviable height in the society.

"You were perhaps the most celebrated man in your community, Irefi, Oraifite, Ekwusigo Local Government Area in Anambra State.

You were a perfect example of hard work, humility and dedication. Your kind and selfless services in the church of God and humanity at large made the Diocese of Nnewi Anglican Communion to investiture you the Knight of Saint Christopher (KSC). We are grateful for the life you lived here on earth,” the statement read.

Also, the Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Willie Obiano who was at funeral service, in his condolence massage, said the he sympathised with the deceased's family, extended family and Oraifite people at large. Adding that the passage of a great man lights the path of the living. "On behalf of my family, Anambra State Executive Council and Ndi Anambra, please accept my condolences. The passage of a great a man lights the path of the living.

Amalunwaeze was a great man whose sense of generosity and community leadership is outstanding. He lived for the immutable service of men through good works. I extend my deep condolences especially to my Special Adviser on Agriculture, Tourism, Training, Methodology and Emergency, Bar. Amaechi Okwuosa, the larger Okwuosa family and all his loved ones."

Describing the deceased as a world citizen, the National Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. John Odigie-Oyegun, said that the deceased having served in the colonial army and fought in the Second World War at a young age in addition to his sojourn to Cameroun and other places, the obvious exploits he made in different professions, revealed that he was a man of remarkable achievements. "He served and lived amicably in several parts of Nigeria and the then Southern Cameroun, as a teacher, contractor, transporter and politician. In all his life’s engagements, he was acclaimed to have served with distinction. As a family

man, he was a good brother to all his siblings and a devoted father to his nuclear family.

In his older years he retired to his village where he continued his service to humanity as a respected community and church leader.

In the light of the above and on reflection, on his 96 solid years of life and achievements, I have little doubt that his transition is an occasion for celebration and thanksgiving to God rather than sadness and mourning on account of all the blessings that the good Lord has bestowed through him, on his family, his community and nation,” he said" In an interview with THISDAY, the leader of the Ugandan delegation, Lt. General Charles Angina, hinted that his country deemed it necessary to share and support the Okwuosas at the time of their grief, especially as one of his sons had shown interest in investing in Uganda. "Engr. Emeka has already made enroute to Uganda and he has clearly shown interest in investing in Uganda. And so, when we heard the news of the sudden passing on of our great Papa Okwuosa, we felt in African culture and tradition that when a brother loses a beloved one, it is a loss to all of us. So, we came to commensurate with him and give him support in the aspect of seeing off our beloved Papa who has left great legacies. And I bring greetings from President Yoweri Museveni and the people of Uganda. I bring love and best regards from Uganda to our beloved sisters and brothers in Nigeria,” Agina said.

The burial ceremony which seemed to be a gathering of the high and mighty in the society, the wife of late Ikemba Odumegwu Ojukwu, Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu said it was a testament to the legacies the deceased left behind. According to the former Nigerian Ambassador to Spain, "He was a very upright individual and very uncompromising in his values. He made immense contributions to his community. Pa Okwuosa is a sterling example of somebody who rose from adversity without compromising, essentially, the tenets of decent behaviour and he made a great impact not just to his church and Oraifite people but to Anambra and Nigeria as a whole."

The first son, Dr. Chino Okwuosa who spoke glowingly about his late father during

a testimony session, hinted that there were too many fond memories, legacies and lessons the father left behind. Chino who revealed that he had a unique relationship with his father as well as his siblings, said they were truly blessed to have had him as a father.

"We are truly blessed to have someone who had the patience and willingness to lay a great literary foundation in us as well as challenge us to greater heights from all we learnt from you.

"No one can forget in a hurry the stories from your experiences when you served in Burma during the Second World War, stories of your escapades when you resided in Southern Cameroun in the colonial days, your years in the Northern Nigeria and the years of the Nigeria/Biafra civil war. In all these, you remained a fountain of wisdom for all and sundry."

Speaking further, the Doctor said he would remain grateful to his father not just for the great benefits but also for some negligible things he learnt from him. "There were many little things, too numerous to recount such as teaching me how to knot the tie, tie my shoe laces, dress appropriately and neatly - tucking in my shirts, etc. Papa you were simply a complete gentleman in words and deeds. Above all, having been guided to professional fulfillment, you were to benefit from the outcome because I had the singular opportunity to personally contribute to your healthcare and taking life defining decisions in your later years,” he said.

The third son and Chairman, Oilserve Groups of Companies, Engr. Emeka Okwuosa who described his late Dad as an epitome of simplicity, said he was someone who clearly manifested all positive virtues anyone could ever dreamt of. Digging a little into the history of their late father, Emeka said that he lived a life that started with a humble beginning.

Adding that it was a beginning that came from his grandfather who was a primary person in terms of education, Christianity, among others. And that his grandfather was a Catechist which was the highest ranking position in the Anglican (CMS) Church as at that time. "My grandfather was the one who set up St. Jude’s Anglican Church here

in 1910. So you can see the background anchored in God, anchored in Christ and positive values. He went on to show escapade in education unfortunately for him, while he was still in secondary school in DMGS, Onitsha, his father died. And he had to start a different career, which made him to go into the military. Joining the military and fighting the Second World War as a young person in his 20s. Having said that, he went on to build a career and character that was on the truth, on positives, solid discretion and of course raised us as such. We learnt a lot from him. Our Christian values are all anchored on what he and our late Mum taught us.

"And then, when also you see the entire family as we are today, moving forward, you can see that the foundation came from him.

He is someone who believed that you have to lay a very strong foundation for you to get a good result and that is what you are seeing today. So, our Dad, we missed a lot and will continued to miss him. But again, we thank God for giving him long enough life. It is long enough life because nowadays people hardly dream of living beyond 80. But to have lived up to 96, and he has been able to achieve virtually all you would expect any normal human being to achieve.

“We will miss his calmness. In the heat of things, he would remain calm. And then, his compassion he was always willing to give up anything to help others to live a better life. That was someone who could have gone on with his life, but because he was the first born, when the father died, he gave up everything to be able to make sure that his siblings were okay.

"He was a teacher but despite the fact that being a teacher at that time meant a lot. It was beyond middle class, he felt that he needed to make more money to help the family by taking a risk to join the military to go to war. That is to tell you the story about my Dad. So, we missed that a lot. And of course what I missed again is that fact that most times whenever I thought about coming to Oraifite, I was always happy coming back home to see him but that won’t be anymore,” Emeka said.

36/COLLAGE

L-R: Parent of the Groom, Mr. Victor Oleru and wife, Grace; the couple, Mr. Victor Oleru jnr and his wife, Grace; parents of the Bride, Elder Jude Ekeoma and wife, Fidelia, at the wedding ceremony of their children in Lagos.. recently

03.03.2017

L-R: Chief Operating Officer, AutoMedics; Mr. Gbola Oba; Vice President, NATA, Western Zone, Comrade Samson Odewale; Head Lubes, OVH Energy Marketing, Mrs. Lillian Ikokwu; Best Graduating Student, Oleum Academy, Ibrahim Sanni Mohammed; Head Marketing and LPG, OVH Energy Marketing, Mr. Azeez Ganiyu and Lubes Technical Manager, Mr. Dayo Ayandokun, during the graduation ceremony of the Oleum Academy AutoTechnicians, in Ibadan.....recently

Mother of the celebrant, Mrs. Chisoba Madu (2nd left) little Osinachi Madu and other guests, during the Osinachi's birthday celebration in Abuja....recently

The couple, Mr. Joseph Mutah and his wife,. Rebecca with , Pastor Charles Chikezie, at the wedding reception in Abuja...recently ENOCK REUBEN

L-R: Olori Mojisola Abass; President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chief Dr.( Mrs.) Nike Akande; and Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, during the presentation of the Sun Newspaper lifetime achievement award to Akande in Lagos....recently

Mr. Oluwagbenga Offuje Ukana, and his Wife Ope, with their new baby Boy, Oladipupo Ukana, jr. during the naming ceremony of the baby in Lagos...recently

37/THISLIFE

03.03.2017

Mrs. Sarah Adebola

Sarah Adebola: You Are Living the Beautiful Life Toyin Akinosho Mama Mi! I have written your biography twice over the last twenty years: for your 70th Birthday February 15, 1997 and the 80thanniversary, February 15, 2007.

In this third exercise, I am taking a different track. I am going to start with describing how I “met” you, and play up the verve in your life as I knew it in my childhood days.

When I came out of your womb in Mersey Street Hospital on Lagos Island on the night of Tuesday, May 17, 1960, you were a gorgeous, 33-year-old, Lagos belle.

I emerged 11 years after your marriage to Alfred Ibikunle, the love of your life, who you met at the Dance School (Ballroom Dancing), located in the Olaiya Family house at Tinubu Square.

It was Lagos of the 1940s. Alfred Ibikunle Akinosho, in his early 20s, was the soul of the party. You couldn’t resist him.

You got married on September 1, 1949, at the First African Church, off Broad Street.

With your vivacious approach to life that I witnessed as I grew up, I couldn’t have known that you were carrying a large, emotional scar.

You and Dad had lost my sister at the age of eight. Kemi Akinosho, the only sibling I could have had, departed in 1958, nine years into your marriage.

You both named me Oluwatoyin, meaning The Almighty Deserves Praise, because it had taken 10 years to have another child after

Kemi’s birth and two years after her death.

But how would I know?

Our house was filled with laughter.

What I remember, as I grew up, were: • The aroma of Bongo Coffee and frying eggs from your Kitchen, on Sunday morning before Church.

• Loud arguments and protestations and banter as scores of friends of yours and Dad’s turn up for the Frejon Party you organised every Good Friday, the most important date in the Easter Holidays, itself being the most important event on the Christian Calendar.

• The rendering of Olorun Bethel Eniti, (Oh God of Bethel by whose hands), the Cathedral “anthem”, from a chorus of drunken voices, as the Frejon Party reaches its crescendo.

• Travelling together in a second class coach on the train from Lagos to Kaduna to visit Dad. • Your furious writing on scraps of paper, which turned out to be minutes of meetings of the Improvement Society. “The Secretary is the heart of any association”, you would say.

• The frequent complaints about the Printer’s job after he had inserted another error, in yet another bunch of copies of the anniversary programme for the Improvement Society.

• The smirk of victory on your face after you’d been announced the first President of the Cathedral Young Women Friendly Society.

• Your roaring laughter, at tale after riveting

tale, by Baba Ibadan, perhaps the most consistent customer at your Tavern in Ebute Metta.

• Your sending me off to Choir Practice at the age of 10, twice a week.

• Your sending me off to that white garment church, every Wednesday evening, to ‘fortify’ me, in spite of our being some of the staunchest members of the African Church Cathedral Bethel.

But why wouldn’t you turn out the vivacious, sociable, popular being that you are?

By your own telling, you were born in the market.

Your mother, Nancy Adetoun Nelson (nee George), was heavy with you when she set out that morning of February 15, 1927, from her matrimonial house on Sawyer Street, near Tinubu Square, to her father’s house on 6/6/10 Upper Offin Lane, in Ereko, Lagos Island, where she sold clothes. Birth pangs hit her. She gave birth to you right in the shopping area.

Your uncle, whose name you can’t recall now, promptly christened you: Adepate.

But your parents; Anreti Samuel George (ASG) Nelson and Adetoun herself, named you Sarah Adebola. For this heritage, you claim to be Saro on the paternal side and an Ijesha on the maternal side.

You attended the infant school at the First African Church (Jehovah Shalom), where your father ASG Nelson was a founding member, went to the St. Mary’s Covent and finished secondary school at St Theresa’s College, before it moved to Ibadan. Post Secondary School Vocational Training was

at Mrs. Remnick’s.

You chose merchandise and retailing and ran quite a successful retail store in Ebute Metta, as I recall. It was called Oluwaloseyi Stores.

“My Mum sold clothes; high quality damask, and velvet clothes among others,” you told me, one afternoon in your house in Festac Town. “She was successful at it, though not as wealthy as her own father Thomas Ige George.”

But your Dad was a grocer and you and your two sisters preferred that path.

And so each of your Mum’s three daughters; Omolara (of blessed memory), Adebisi (now 93) and yourself Adebola, ventured into the sort of merchandise that involved companies like the GBO (GBOllivant).

I have had the best education the country could provide anyone because of your generosity of spirit.

In 1983, you lost the main man in your Life. Alfred Ibikunle left in September of that year, at the age of 60. You had been married for 34 years. And you have spent the next 33 years living without him and still carrying on with the light you beam at everyone around you.

Life has been good to you, Adebola.

At 90, you don’t use eye glasses, you walk up flights of stairs with apparent ease and you don’t fall ill for any significant amount of time.

It is to the glory of God that we have come together to share time with you and celebrate your moment.

Happy Birthday Mama Mi!

38/OPINION

03.03.2017

Anambra Central and Umeh’s Supreme Court Triumph Michael Jegede After the conclusion of the March 28, 2015 National Assembly elections, Mrs. Uche Ekwunife, the then candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was declared winner of the Anambra Central Senatorial poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with 101,548 votes.

Ekwunife’s main contender, Chief Victor Umeh of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), came second in the race with a total of 77, 129 votes and Chris Ngige, the then candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), now Minister of Labour and Productivity placed third with 20, 850 votes.

Umeh, a dogged fighter and consummate politician who believes in always using the instrumentality of law to seek justice, as against resorting to violence, proceeded to the Anambra State Election Petition Tribunal to challenge Ekwunife’s victory at the poll with the conviction that INEC was wrong to have declared her winner.

The tribunal led by Justice Nayai Aganaba on October 8, 2015, affirmed Ekwunife’s election, but noted that from its calculation she scored 93,300 votes as against the 101,548 originally allotted to her by INEC. The APGA candidate had 85,898 votes from the computation done by the tribunal as against INEC’s 77,129. Notwithstanding the affirmation of her victory at the tribunal, the reduction in Ekwunife’s figure and increase in the number of votes for Umeh, made many to believe that the Anambra Central senatorial poll was rigged and the APGA candidate may have truly won the election as he had invariably claimed.

Consequent upon Umeh’s appeal, the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu on December 7, 2015, sacked Ekwunife and ordered a rerun barring her and the PDP from participating on the ground that she did not emerge as candidate through a properly conducted primary election. Dissatisfied with the verdict, the sacked Senator went back to the Appellate Court and requested for a review of the judgement. The Court of Appeal, however, stood by its decision and refused to reverse itself, insisting that its judgement was absolutely in order.

National Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu...all eyes on him to do the needful

Despite the provision of Section 246 (3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which made the Appeal Court the terminal point for matters relating to legislative elections, Ekwunife headed to the Supreme Court, where Umeh finally knocked her down with a heavy blow.

In dismissing the appeal by Ekwunife challenging the nullification of her election by the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court described her move as a flagrant abuse of court process and disobedience to the Constitution. According to Justice Amina Augie, who read the lead judgement, the Apex Court had no jurisdiction to entertain disputes arising from the conduct of National Assembly elections.

In the words of Augie: “The apex court lacks jurisdiction to hear and determine Ekwunife’s appeal in the circumstance. Looking closely at the wordings of Section 246 (3), it is clear that the decision of the Court of Appeal is final.

This court is completely bereft of jurisdiction to entertain the appeal. Once the court of appeal delivers its judgment on a National Assembly Election Petition appeal, the judgment becomes final. For the umpteenth time, the Constitution does not approve of the apex court to entertain this appeal no matter how cleverly it has been framed.”

In his reaction, Umeh described the decision of the apex court as victory for democracy and the rule of law, while calling on INEC to immediately rise to the occasion and fix a

date for the Anambra Central senatorial rerun election as ordered by the Appellate Court. He lamented the plight of the people of his senatorial district who had suffered from a long period of non-representation in the Red Chamber of the National Assembly.

Hear him: “The next thing to do now is for INEC to fix the date for the fresh election ordered by the Court of Appeal. This judgement has resolved all the issues. Firstly, the judgement read this morning (Friday, February 10, 2017) has confirmed that PDP’s candidate was disqualified by the Court of Appeal before it ordered for the fresh election. That being the case, under our law, somebody who was disqualified in an election can no longer take part in the fresh election. Supreme Court has decided it since 13th of February 2009 - this Supreme Court.

So, this affirmation that PDP’s candidate was disqualified according to the final judgement of the Court of Appeal makes PDP not to have a candidate in the election. So, INEC would not wait for anybody to conduct this election. They should go on now to conduct this election. My constituency had been unrepresented for over 14 months now. And it is affecting all of us.

The useful time that the person who will win the fresh election would have used to serve the people is being wasted.”

Also the Director General of Victor Umeh Campaign Organisation, Prince Emeka Udodeme, said: “One good thing about this judgement is that it has laid to rest all the cases pending in the court. What we are pleading now is for INEC to do the needful. Fix a date for an election so that the good people of Central senatorial district of Anambra State will be represented in the Senate.

I am very happy and thankful to Almighty God for the wisdom given to the Supreme Court judges to deliver a perfect judgement.

We expect INEC to now do the needful and save this nation from further disgrace and again save the people of the Anambra Central senatorial district who have been without a representative in the Senate for almost two years now. So, we are pleading with them with this Supreme Court judgement to go and fix a date for the election. We are ready!”

The electoral body was actually set to hold the Anambra Central rerun poll on March 5,

2016 as directed by the Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal without the PDP. But the PDP got a judgement from an Abuja High Court compelling INEC to include it in the exercise against the ruling of the Appeal Court. This prompted the electoral commission to postpone the rerun indefinitely and appeal the said High Court ruling believed to have been given in bad faith. The development led to series of other frivolous court cases which were meant to simply delay the rerun poll by those who have obviously lost out and want to do everything possible to stop the election from holding till 2019.

However, the February 10, 2017 judgement of the Supreme Court given between Umeh and Ekwunife, to many, as argued by the APGA candidate and his campaign director, Prince Udodeme, has clearly rendered all other pending cases concerning Anambra Central senatorial rerun election invalid and worthless. And in the views of enlightened Nigerians, INEC, do not have any reason to continue to delay the conduct of the exercise.

Many have continued to wonder why PDP, a party that was much more favoured by the same kind of judgment delivered by some other divisions of the Court of Appeal is bent on ensuring that the Anambra Central rerun election does not hold because it was disqualified from participating. For instance, today, PDP occupies Kogi Central and Kogi East seats in the Senate as a result of the judgement that disqualified APC given in the same manner as that of Anambra Central.

In the same vein, the seats of Okene/Ogori/ Magongo Federal Constituency in the House of Reps, Ankpa 1 and Ofu State Constituencies in Kogi Assembly all now belong to the PDP due to the same judgement of the Court of Appeal that stopped APC from taking part in the reruns. Outside Kogi State, a PDP member now represents Akko Federal Constituency of Gombe State in the House of Representatives because the APC candidate that initially won the seat had his election annulled and was equally disallowed participation in the rerun poll.

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

LEKANFATODU HEADS-UP

Email lekantodun@yahoo.com

Tel 07058069255

Fueling the Economy A fact well known to almost everyman on the street right now is that Nigeria is in dire straits. As such the country requires diverse activities well situated to fuel the economy for a quick recovery from the current quagmire it's in.

And to address the myriads of problems Nigeria presently faces, suggestions from experts both from within and outside of the country have largely been in favour of aggressive reform of institutions and provision of enabling grounds for suitable hands to deliver viable economic outputs.

Clearly, the need to accentuate and achieve these critical national objectives can be identified in the theme and structure of the just concluded Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, famously called NOG, Africa’s leading oil and gas conference which for the past 16 years has been gathering influential operators and relevant stakeholders in the oil and gas sector for development and to deepen business opportunities.

Actually, today's topic, Fuelling the Economy, was taken from one of NOG’s agenda for this year's edition. It is a welcome coincidence, you will agree, given the nation's pressing needs, and the necessity of charting a way forward.

Listed under this agenda by the conference organisers are Nigerians whose operations in the oil and gas industry are deemed germane to the solutions that the Nigerian government seeks in moving quickly out of recession.

Dr. Ladi Bada, CEO of Shoreline Natural Resources, Mr. Demola Adeyemo-Bero, managing director of First E&P and Mr. Taofik Adegbite, chief executive officer of Marine Platforms to

Baru and Adegbite

mention just a few of the top industry players in attendance, were on hand to offer wider perspectives for a good way forward for Nigeria.

Adegbite’s Marine Platforms is a fascinating case study on how well wholly-indigenous Nigerian companies can perform in demonstrating Nigeria’s local capacity and competence in the technical areas of the oil and gas industry; and at the same time, how difficult it is for most Nigerian companies to keep the momentum of success in a business environment that is full of confusing policies and overlapping regulations.

In the first panel discussion, Adegbite duly affirmed the benefit of the Nigerian Local Content law which he said had provided the legal framework that enabled his company and several others to participate fully in the industry and to help retain in Nigeria billions of dollars that were constantly being repatriated from the country by foreigners due to previous lack of

acknowledgment of the capability of Nigerians to take the local jobs available in the sector.

Adegbite therefore attributed the tremendous success made by his company, and the massive contribution his firm is making to the Nigerian economy, to the enactment and operation of a law that serves to empower Nigerian people and the economy.

Conversely, the CEO also shared the pains his firm is facing and unusual resilience being put up by his organisation, and possibly other Nigerian companies to remain virile during this tough moment.

And he admonished the government to tidy up its policies and laws so as to create more opportunities than stumbling blocks.

Interestingly, almost all the speakers on the panel, who were carefully drawn to represent the regulators, legislature and the operators, seemed to agree on the major problems plaguing the industry, and slowing down its gains to the country.

Really, the many paradoxes and contradictions in the Nigerian system deserve an urgent elimination for the country to attain greater heights and for the injection of necessary energy into the economy. Contributions from other members especially from those on the side of the government were disturbing as they confirmed the fears of many on the disruptions and uncertainties in the business atmosphere that were perhaps unwittingly created by the government itself.

Representing the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), a major regulator of the industry, in the discussion, Ms. Patricia Maseli,

expressed frustration on the different means of control of the sector and opined that the various regulatory agencies presently in place need to be streamlined.

Similarly, the head of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), the government agency that oversees the local content policy, Mr. Simbi Wabote, raised concern on some of the policies affecting quick attainment of the goals of the NCDMB. Wabote also cited the example of a ridiculous policy that allows foreign operators to bring vessels in on a Temporary Import Permit (TIP) at a low rate while indigenous vessel owners are made to cough out Full Duty Payment (FDP), a higher cost on their assets.

Strangely, and quite so often, it seems to be quite easy for us to locate the part where the shoe pinches. On the other hand, we are ever so reluctant to undertake the proper action of ditching the discomforting footwear and seeking better replacement.

Of course, we all know before this more difficult time that it takes someone with steely will to function well in Nigeria’s business climate. From appalling infrastructure to needless bureaucracy of company registration procedures, unabated insecurity, the demoralizing rigour of accessing funds and to other encumbrances, many potentially viable business initiatives are dead even before starting off.

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

T H I S D AY FRIDAY MARCH 3, 2017

39

40

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017

CITYSTRINGS

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

In the Spirit of St. Valentine’s Adedayo Adejobi writes that residents of Makoko, a suburb of the Lagos mainland, were showered with love by MIC Funeral Homes on Valentine’s Day

The staff of MIC Funeral Homes and some residents of Makoko, cutting the Valentine’s Day cake

F

ebruary 14th, every year, in most parts of the world, is characterised by an elaborate show of love, from the menfolk to the women and vice-versa. This is the day on which confectioners have limitless footfalls of lovers, at their shops, eager to book for and cart away specially-baked cakes. By the same token, some supermarkets, which are stocked with live roses, are swamped by ogle-eyed shoppers. Indeed, the frenzy of this day is, arguably, comparable to that of Christmas Day in all respects. The day, known as St. Valentine’s Day also has its own peculiar colour: Predominantly red. This accounts for why those who believe in its sanctity, will, literally, paint the town red, by being clad in that unmistakable crimson colour.

Indeed, from Lagos to Los Angeles, it is not surprising to see even children in nursery and primary schools wearing their school uniforms, with a touch of red. Such is the unifying magic of St. Valentine’s Day. Although there are a few dissenting voices who claim that the day is alien to our culture and so ought to be ignored, but, these nay-sayers seem to be in the minority as the lure of St. Valentine’s Day,

in these parts, and I dare say other parts of the developed world, would appear to be on the ascendancy.

But, while lovers, in the city-centre,

The event was conceived, first of all, as a way of keeping the legacies of our late founder, Mr. Tunji Okusanya alive. Because in his lifetime, if there was anything he cherished greatly, it was giving to the needy and downtrodden…

MIC Funeral Homes chose St.Valentine’s Day as a day on which love is expressed, in concrete terms, for reaching out in love, to the needy

concerned themselves with the exchange of gifts, greeting cards – well worded with amorous and endearing messages - and visits to notable quick service restaurants and allied places of fun and excitement, to share love, MIC Funeral Homes decided to do something different. It reached out in love to the needy in downtown Makoko, a suburb of the Lagos mainland, where the majority of residents not only live in abject poverty and squalor but may not have had a whiff of St. Valentine’s Day, through an event with the self-explanatory theme: ‘Reaching out in Love’.

According to the spokesperson of MIC Funeral Homes, the facilitators of Reaching out in Love, Pastor Debola Okusanya : “The event was conceived, first of all, as a way of keeping the legacies of our late founder, Mr. Tunji Okusanya alive. Because in his lifetime, if there was anything he cherished greatly, it was giving to the needy and downtrodden. Are we going to talk about the scholarships he gave to indigent students or his habitual kind gesture to anyone in need who approached him for help? In addition, MIC Funeral Homes chose St. Valentine’s Day as a day on which love is expressed, in concrete terms, for reaching out in love,

to the needy. Indeed, we expect to sustain this initiative as an annual event.”

Reaching out in Love which, in form and function, elected to put smiles on the faces of the old and young in Makoko, began with a courtesy visit, by the organising team to the Baale (traditional head) of Apollo, Makoko, Alhaji Ibrahim Aladetan. The elated Baale was so effusive in his gratitude to the MIC team for choosing his domain as its first port of call for its Reaching out in Love initiative. His words, “MIC Funeral Homes has demonstrated that it is not merely interested in making money from the society, it has also done well to give back. This kind gesture of singling out areas like Makoko, where we have a high population of the needy and less-privileged in Lagos State, is very much welcome. I thank your team from the bottom of my heart.”

Also on hand to provide robust musical entertainment to the people of Makoko at the Reaching out in Love event was the MIC 15-piece band. From one well-known gospel song to another, the band titillated the residents of Makoko no end.

The event, which sole purpose was to distribute mainly household gifts – which will be of immense use to all the recipients

41

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017

CITYSTRINGS

The staff of MIC Feneral Homes distributing giftsitems to residents of Makoko on Valentine’s Day

The music band from MIC Funeral Homes entertaining residents of Makoko on Valentine’s Day

A medical team attending to residents of Makoko on Valentine’s Day

- had everyone present going home each with a goodie bag containing insecticide bednets, detergents, granulated sugar, salt, tinned milk and food packs of rice and chicken.

There was also free medical check-up by a six-man medical team. Indeed, all the elders and young ones in Makoko were very glad to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime gesture. After a gigantic cake branded Reaching out in Love was

cut by the Chef de Mission of the MIC team, Pastor Debola Okusanya, flanked by her staff and some residents of Makoko, the cake was shared to all present. Indeed, from the delighted looks on the faces of every resident lucky to be at the event, it needed no telling that the gifts had come at the right time.

Soon, it was dancing time, for the Makoko residents and the MIC band lived up to its

L - R The Baale of Makoko, Alhaji Aladetan, Pastor Debola Okusanya of MIC and Communications Consultant, Olawale Obadeyi

billing, yet again, by dishing out countless danceable tunes which saw the head of the MIC team, leading the charge, by hitting the dance floor while she was joined by her host community. Indeed, the people were so overjoyed that one of them, a petty trader, who simply wanted to be identified as Julie, ecstatically, noted “Chai, this one sef pass Valentine enjoyment o. No be small thing.”

With its Reaching out in Love, a Corporate

Social Responsibility (CSR) Initiative, MIC Funeral Homes would seem to have begun a worthy tradition of not only keeping alive the legacies of its founder, but more importantly, seeking out needy communities within the Nigerian society and putting smiles on their faces, at an opportune time.

It is, particularly, noteworthy at a time, like this, when the economic recession is taking a serious toll on the downtrodden.

42

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Insurance Experts Advocate Increased Collaboration to Achieve Growth Ugo Aliogo and Gloria Onoja Experts in the insurance industry have called for increased collaboration with relevant stakeholders in order to achieve a projected N1.5 trillion gross premium growth.

Disclosing this in a presentation at the KPGM Insurance Conference 2017, the Chairman, Wapic Insurance Plc, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, urged operators in the industry to play in line with the strength of their capital, adding that a lot of insurance businesses were being given to foreign because the sector does not have the required capacity.

Aig-Imoukhuede, who was represented by the Executive Director of Wapic Insurance, Mr. Oyebode Ojeniyi, further explained that there was need to increase the industry’s capital

base five times of what it is presently and build an industry driven by innovation and established robust consumer protection framework.

He added: “People have grown to trust their banks, so when as an insurance company you ride on the back of a bank; you are more liable be acceptance than going alone. Today, the regulator has stifled almost all the channels that will enable insurance products to be distributed through other channels even through telecommunications.

“It is for the regulator and the operators to look at all the things that will enable transformation in banking and begin to tweak it to suit the insurance industry and see how the industry will transform from there. The insurance industry should start transforming itself.

“If we increase capacity body

in terms of capital base and go in terms of the skill set within the industry, we will be able to retain more of the businesses in the industry than taking them to the London market to do and technically that increases the Gross Writing Premium (GWP) and the income that is retained by insurance company within the country. The level of interest that has been shown in conferences and initiatives of this nature implies that the regulator is interested in seeing the industry grow.”

In his remarks, the Deputy Commissioner, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) George Onekhena, explained that capital availability depends on the risk profile, adding that stakeholders in the sector should not wait, but examine their businesses and ensure that they have enough capital.

NDIC Urges Depositors to Report Banks Indulging in Sharp Practices John Shiklam in Kaduna The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has urged depositors to report any sharp practice by commercial banks.

It also called on Nigerians to shun dubious financial schemes and wonder banks which have continued to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.

Speaking at the NDIC day at the ongoing 38th Kaduna International Trade Fair on Thursday, the Managing Director of the corporation, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, urged customers to report any bank involved in sharp practices, saying the NDIC was out to protect the interest of depositors.

Ibrahim who was represented

by the Deputy Director, Corporate Affairs, Alhaji Suleiman Birchi said the corporation had established a 24 hour help desk with a toll free telephone line.

“Depositors and stakeholders are therefore, advised to make effective use of the free telephone line in making their enquiries or laying genuine complaints to NDIC on sharp practices being perpetrated by their banks” he said.

He further warned against keeping large sums of money at home, in the market or shops and other unsafe outlets, pointing out that there are 978 licensed Micro finance banks nation wide with seven of them located in Kaduna state.

The NDIC boss expressed regret that despite repeated

warnings by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the corporation, Nigerians still patronised wonder banks and some questionable financial schemes, especially the phonzi scheme known as Mavrodi Mundial Movement (MMM).

Quoting the social media, Ibrahim said an estimated three million Nigerians lost N18 billion in MMM He stressed that the creation, usage or trading in the Phonzi scheme in forms of virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, Ripples, Monero, Litecoin, Dogecoin and Onecoin as currencies for medium of exchange are Internet-based transactions and are not authorised by the CBN due to the risks involved in their operations.

EFCC, Court Order Heritage Bank to Freeze Firm’s Accounts Heritage Bank Plc said its attention has been drawn to a malicious and untrue report trending online, titled, “Heritage Bank Should be Shut Down- Company Tells Court, CBN” and about the bank’s financial and liquidity condition that questioned the ability of the bank to honour its obligatory engagements with a customer, Geonel Integrated

Services Limited. The bank in a statement however stated that the allegation was not true as the Geonel Integrated Services Limited’s account is currently being investigated for financial crimes by the EFCC. “However, the bank was advised formally to freeze the account by the federal agency through court injunction pending when the investigation will

be concluded.

“The investigation is still ongoing and the bank is under obligation to respect a valid order of court.

“We want to state categorically that Heritage Bank is not distressed as being malevolently reported, the bank is capable to honour its obligations to customers and numerous stakeholders alike,” it explained.

GTBank Wins Six EPIS Awards Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) said it reaffirmed its position as Nigeria’s leading financial institution on e-payments with its emergence as a multiple award winner during the 2017 Electronic Payment Incentive Scheme (EPIS) awards organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System (NIBSS) recently.

With six awards, GTBank took home half of the dozen honours won by Banks and had the highest number of the total awards presented to the financial institutions, Fin-techs, merchants and other stakeholders in the Electronic Payment Incentive Scheme.

The EPIS Efficiency awards was established to reward

and celebrate financial institutions, merchants and other stakeholders at the forefront of driving electronic payment in Nigeria. Among the awards won by GTBank are the Best Customer Experience Award (Electronic Payment Platform Experience); for achieving the highest level of overall customer satisfaction in the delivery of electronic payment services to customers, the Cashless Driver: Instant Payments; for the Bank’s outstanding performance in recording the highest transaction count on the NIBSS Instant Payments (NIP) Platform and the Cashless Driver: Point of Sale (POS) Issued Cards’ Transactions for having the highest Point of Sale (PoS) transaction count on the

National Central Switch with Issued Payment.

GTBank also won the award for Instant Payments Transaction Efficiency; for achieving the highest transaction count in Point of Sale (PoS) terminals through the National Central Switch (NCS) Platform, the Point of Sale Card Transaction Efficiency; for the Bank’s outstanding performance in recording the highest level of efficiency in card payments on POS terminals connected to the National Central Switch and the award for the Electronic Data Rendition Compliance and Integrity for the Bank’s outstanding performance in ensuring customer data integrity and compliance to CBN mandated submissions.

A view of Lagos financial district

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 Inter-Bank Call Rate

December 2016 10.39

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,WEDNESDAY, 1 MARCH 2017 The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $53.82 a barrel on Wednesday, compared with $53.40 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Rabi Light (Gabon), 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

43

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017

MARKET NEWS

Nestle Nigeria Cuts Dividend as Profit Declines 66% to N7.6bn Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie Nestle Nigeria Plc yesterday announced its audited results for the year ended December 31, 2017 , showing the negative impact of tough macroeconomic environment. While the company grew its top line, bottom line declined by about 67 per cent.

Specifically, Nestle Nigeria recorded a revenue of N181.911

billion, up by 20.2 per cent from N151.272 billion recorded in 2015. Cost of sales rose by 27 per cent from N83.926 billion to N106.583 billion. Gross profit stood at N75.328 billion, up by 11.8 per cent from N67.346 billion recorded in 2015. Marketing and distribution expenses grew by 11 per cent from N25.905 billion to N28.775 billion, while administration expenses rose by 8.3 per cent from N7.694

T H E MAIN BOARD

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

billion to N8.339 billion, resulting in an operating profit of N38.213 billion, up by 13.2 per cent from N33.747 billion in 2015.

However, net finance cost soared 276.6 per cent from N4.425 billion to N16.665 billion in 2016. Consequently, profit before tax (PBT) fell by 26.51 per cent to N21.548 billion, compared to N29.322 billion in 2015. A higher growth in income tax expenses

N I G E R I A N QUANTITY TRADED

STO C K

VALUE TRADED ( N )

Daily Summary as of 22/02/2016 Printed 22/02/2016 14:36:10.010

Daily Summary (Bonds) No Debt Trading Activity Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board EQTY AGRICULTURE Crop Production OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Crop Production Totals Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. Livestock/Animal Specialties Totals AGRICULTURE Totals CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. Diversified Industries Totals CONGLOMERATES Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Infrastructure/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction Totals Real Estate Development UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED Real Estate Development Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Totals CONSUMER GOODS Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. GUINNESS NIG PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Totals Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Totals Food Products DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. TIGER BRANDED CONSUMER GOODS PLC Food Products Totals Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. Food Products--Diversified Totals Household Durables VITAFOAM NIG PLC. Household Durables Totals Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. Personal/Household Products Totals CONSUMER GOODS Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED FIDELITY BANK PLC GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. SKYE BANK PLC STERLING BANK PLC. UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC UNION BANK NIG.PLC. UNITY BANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC. Banking Totals Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services AIICO INSURANCE PLC. CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals Micro-Finance Banks NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC Micro-Finance Banks Totals Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UNITED CAPITAL PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC

by 143 per cent, contributed to depress profit after tax by 66.6 per cent from N23.737 billion in 2015 to N7.925 billion in 2016.

The lower bottom line notwithstanding, the directors have recommended a dividend of N10.00 per share, down, however, from N29.00 paid the previous year.

Commenting on the results, the directors said revenue grew by 20 per cent in spite

6 6 12

30.00 34.00

12,629 11,640 24,269

374,530.15 421,345.20 795,875.35

19 19 31

1.25

1,078,511 1,078,511 1,102,780

1,358,964.30 1,358,964.30 2,154,839.65

5 68 13 86 86

0.77 1.13 20.47

33,500 6,740,423 65,995 6,839,918 6,839,918

25,070.00 7,635,453.96 1,344,425.15 9,004,949.11 9,004,949.11

13 13

41.50

31,970 31,970

1,409,214.78 1,409,214.78

5 5 18

5.20

28,901 28,901 60,871

154,716.48 154,716.48 1,563,931.26

6 24 7 98 135

2.85 118.85 20.00 99.00

190,900 53,000 15,200 429,541 688,641

528,079.00 6,201,924.95 293,757.00 42,728,789.84 49,752,550.79

9 9

168.50

166,476 166,476

28,285,937.95 28,285,937.95

54 38 6 12 1 29 140

5.61 19.00 1.37 6.86 6.65 1.27

2,120,306 314,421 40,000 119,863 433 3,285,739,119 3,288,334,142

11,610,520.13 5,953,792.96 55,716.00 842,442.48 2,736.56 4,074,348,894.07 4,092,814,102.20

11 54 65

17.86 700.00

18,825 98,360 117,185

329,518.50 68,567,962.00 68,897,480.50

11 11

4.46

99,050 99,050

420,455.00 420,455.00

13 21 34 394

21.90 28.00

36,887 133,117 170,004 3,289,575,498

820,034.75 3,737,067.92 4,557,102.67 4,244,727,629.11

82 51 21 25 200 41 16 147 11 15 67 676

4.10 1.49 15.60 1.21 16.70 1.07 1.76 2.95 5.30 0.63 0.98

3,962,506 2,163,396 278,470 790,900 4,847,312 1,969,858 1,204,932 8,586,418 39,752 501,617 5,920,564 30,265,725

16,210,255.82 3,314,106.88 4,136,459.40 958,864.34 80,963,793.44 2,115,552.11 2,087,767.85 25,302,954.71 205,645.40 316,018.71 5,813,502.17 141,424,920.83

14 8 2 3 7 10 1 1 46

0.80 0.90 0.50 0.50 2.06 0.76 0.50 0.50

200,107 276,500 5,004,000 1,000,000 351,540 327,285 37,708,135 10 44,867,577

160,838.67 251,350.00 2,502,000.00 500,000.00 720,728.80 245,325.31 18,854,067.50 5.00 23,234,315.28

1 1

1.08

4,760 4,760

4,950.40 4,950.40

31 7 105 7 20 170 893

2.46 4.00 0.85 14.15 1.31

1,149,464 27,041 31,257,120 38,035 708,255 33,179,915 108,317,977

2,830,722.84 104,002.06 26,613,309.20 537,985.34 931,556.31 31,017,575.75 195,681,762.26

27

2.69

614,065

1,572,223.05

of the challenging operating environment and softer consumer demand due to rising inflation.

“This is a confirmation that our brands continue to enjoy strong patronage as they enable our loyal consumers to live happier and healthier lives. Notwithstanding the increase in the cost of sales and operating expenses due to rising input costs and currency devaluation, operating profit

increased by 13 per cen. This was made possible through internal cost savings initiatives, 0peratign efficiency and pricing management,” they said.

However, the directors added that the PAT was negatively impacted both by revaluation of foreign loans resulting from the devaluation of the naira and higher income tax provision due to expiration of the pioneer status.

E XC H A N G E

MAIN BOARD GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC Pharmaceuticals Totals HEALTHCARE Totals ICT IT Services TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. IT Services Totals ICT Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials ASHAKA CEM PLC BERGER PAINTS PLC CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. Building Materials Totals Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. Electronic and Electrical Products Totals Packaging/Containers BETA GLASS CO PLC. Packaging/Containers Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Energy Equipment and Services Totals Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CONOIL PLC ETERNA PLC. FORTE OIL PLC. MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals Exploration and Production SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD Exploration and Production Totals OIL AND GAS Totals SERVICES Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals Printing/Publishing LEARN AFRICA PLC Printing/Publishing Totals Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Transport-Related Services Totals Support and Logistics CAVERTON OFFSHORE SUPPORT GRP PLC Support and Logistics Totals SERVICES Totals EQTY Board Totals Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board ASeM CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC Food Products Totals CONSUMER GOODS Totals ASeM Board Totals Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board PREMIUM FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC Banking Totals Other Financial Institutions FBN HOLDINGS PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials DANGOTE CEMENT PLC Building Materials Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals PREMIUM Board Totals Equity Activity Totals

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

32 4 6 69 69

25.33 0.94 0.69

551,998 16,020 597,000 1,779,083 1,779,083

13,903,164.18 15,299.40 412,110.00 15,902,796.63 15,902,796.63

1 1 1

1.69

500 500 500

805.00 805.00 805.00

16 9 4 6 10 31 76

24.00 9.30 35.78 8.62 3.36 80.50

110,727 40,229 26,700 142,300 299,900 14,373,223 14,993,079

2,707,053.97 362,501.29 992,680.00 1,227,076.00 966,480.00 1,157,057,077.16 1,163,312,868.42

6 6

1.51

134,500 134,500

204,240.00 204,240.00

5 5 87

50.00

24,529 24,529 15,152,108

1,165,135.50 1,165,135.50 1,164,682,243.92

2 2

0.50

24,262 24,262

12,131.00 12,131.00

90 90

3.47

3,827,573 3,827,573

13,288,632.05 13,288,632.05

21 7 8 21 7 64

18.34 1.84 342.00 150.00 145.00

81,125 100,300 20,300 16,295 13,699 231,719

1,505,034.50 182,832.00 6,595,470.00 2,396,080.60 1,959,692.96 12,639,110.06

33 33 189

318.00

389,934 389,934 4,473,488

124,037,602.56 124,037,602.56 149,977,475.67

1 1

0.50

941 941

470.50 470.50

5 5

3.80

32,870 32,870

127,756.40 127,756.40

13 13

0.89

624,500 624,500

538,430.00 538,430.00

1 22 23

2.29 4.00

4,588 251,094 255,682

10,001.84 1,001,583.80 1,011,585.64

1 1 43 1,811

1.68

10,000 10,000 923,993 3,428,226,216

16,000.00 16,000.00 1,694,242.54 5,785,390,675.15

2 2 2 2

1.21

270,464 270,464 270,464 270,464

327,261.44 327,261.44 327,261.44 327,261.44

306 306

11.45

13,929,679 13,929,679

159,605,439.23 159,605,439.23

278 278 584

3.74

10,438,552 10,438,552 24,368,231

39,515,087.18 39,515,087.18 199,120,526.41

35 35 35 619 2,432

139.83

38,770 38,770 38,770 24,407,001 3,452,903,681

5,304,666.00 5,304,666.00 5,304,666.00 204,425,192.41 5,990,143,129.00

2 2 2 2 2 10 10 10

2,330.00 2.33 6.02 11.09 18.07

3,000 20 20 20 15 3,075 3,075 3,075

6,986,000.00 46.70 120.20 221.80 270.65 6,986,659.35 6,986,659.35 6,986,659.35

Daily Summary (ETP) Exchange Traded Fund Name NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND (ETF) VETIVA BANKING ETF VETIVA CONSUMER GOODS ETF VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF VETIVA INDUSTRIAL ETF Exchange Traded Fund Totals ETF Board Totals ETP Activity Totals

44

friDAY, mArch 3, 2017 • T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

Vitafoam Shareholders Approve N125m Dividend, Commend Performance Joshua Odebisi Shareholders of Vitafoam Nigeria Plc yesterday approved the N125 million dividend recommended by the board of directors for the year ended September 30, 2016.

The dividend, which translate to 12 kobo per share, was approved by the shareholders at company’s 55th annual general meeting (AGM) in Lagos. The shareholders also commended the directors on improved performance recorded amidst challenging operating

environment.

In his address to the shareholders, Chairman of Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Dr. Bamidele Makanjuola said in spite of the tough operating environment the company achieved a 110 per cent increase in the profit after tax from N196.64 million in 2015 to N412.39 million in 2016.

According to him, the company’s total assets grew by eight per cent from N 12.09 billion in 2015 to N13.09 billion last year.

Makanjuola, who said the

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

Nigerian business environment had experienced severe headwinds in recent time, attributed the positive performance of the company to its strategic repositioning efforts.

He said the company’s insulation business, Vitapur Nigeria Limited, had overcome the initial startup challenges to post its first profit during the financial year.

“This hi-tech business remains one of the flagships of our business with huge opportunities for tremendous growth. We shall continue to leverage

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 1-Mar-2017, unless otherwise stated.

our first -mover status to position the company as a dominant brand in the insulation business within the West African sub-region,” he said The chairman stated that another fruit of strategic repositioning, Vono Furniture Products Limited, which emerged as a subsidiary following the recent merger of Vitafoam and Vono Products Plc had commenced business on an encouraging note.

According to him, another subsidiary, Vitavisco Nigeria Limited, the Cisco-elastic arm is now

producing highly specialised products that are complimentary to Vitafoam’s core products.

He disclosed that the ongoing strategic repositioning would strengthen Vitafoam’s operations in Sierra-Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Ghana.

According to him, the company is currently evaluating its business strategy in Ghana “with a view to make Vitafoam the brand of the first choice increased market presence,” he said The Group Managing Director/

Chief Executive Officer, Vitafoam Nigeria, Mr Taiwo Adeniyi had earlier said the company would continue to introduce innovative products to enhance shareholder value.

According to him, the challenging operating environment notwithstanding, the company would ensure payment of dividend to the shareholders.

Adeniyi expressed optimism that a strategic repositioning exercise had been put in place to sustain the company’s competitive edge.

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 126.51 126.84 -0.45% Nigeria International Debt Fund 219.69 220.18 2.02% 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 0.70 0.70 -0.63% 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 17.54% 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 12.11 12.47 -1.93% ARM Discovery Fund 285.22 293.82 -0.68% ARM Ethical Fund 21.88 22.54 -2.07% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 15.79% 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 105.53 106.27 0.41% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.24% 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 2.20 2.26 1.36% Paramount Equity Fund 9.42 9.66 0.63% Women's Investment Fund 86.57 88.79 2.33% 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 17.32% 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 1,115.12 1,116.24 2.27% FBN Heritage Fund 109.07 109.78 -2.26% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 16.01% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $106.48 $107.29 2.39% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $106.19 $107.00 2.81% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 109.74 111.24 -2.57% 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 2.63 2.63 2.40% 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 2,175.96 2,201.22 -1.51% Coral Income Fund 2,168.28 2,168.28 3.04% 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 17.25% 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 16.90% Vantage Balanced Fund 1.68 1.69 -0.32% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 15.61%

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 1.00 1.01 0.88% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,020.10 1,020.10 1.72% 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 9.51 9.60 -1.52% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 15.30% 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 1.07 1.09 1.51% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.42 10.46 0.17% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 14.18% 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 108.84 109.74 6.91% 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 1.27 1.27 1.70% 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 1,814.31 1,823.89 -0.94% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 153.59 153.59 -0.24% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.74 0.75 -3.25% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 190.56 190.56 1.96% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 126.41 128.07 -2.62% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.42% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,201.64 7,288.51 -5.01% 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 9.86% United Capital Bond Fund 1.27 1.27 15.68% United Capital Equity Fund 0.64 0.66 0.39% 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 9.64 9.82 0.25% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.09 11.19 1.60% Zenith Income Fund 17.17 17.17 3.90%

REITS

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 124.66

1.01% 0.56%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

7.56 69.88

7.66 71.20

-13.82% -7.78%

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

2.75 5.84 11.34 15.34 123.19

2.79 6.92 11.44 15.54 125.19

0.00% -9.76% -5.41% -3.80% -5.11%

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.

45

FRIDAY MARCH 3, 2017 • T H I S D AY

WORLD OF ISLAM

Edited by: MJO

Mustapha Email deji.mustapha@thisdaylive.com

God as the Only Creator – 2 Continued from last week

Spahic Omer/IslamiCity

Humans as creators As seen above, creating ex nihilo (from absolute nothingness) is both the right and power of God alone. Such a style of creation cannot be ascribed to humankind. Humans were and will remain forever short of enjoying a power of bringing into being anything without making use of the available raw materials and elements created for them in nature.

Indeed, everything that humans invent, conceive, concoct and create, is only possible thanks to the unbounded bounties and munificence from God, which humans only discover, manipulate, process, use, and reuse in different ways most convenient and efficient for them and their terrestrial goals.

Consequently, humankind’s civilized and cultural ‘creations’ are a relative thing. They are not really ‘creations’ but only the temporary possessions of humankind in their temporary custody. As such, humans neither create nor possess anything. The Qur’an declares this emphatic truth time and again, such as in the following verses: “To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. Whether you show what is within yourselves or conceal it, Allah will bring you to account for it… ” (al-Baqarah, 2:284).

“Do you not know that Allah’s is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and that besides Allah you have no guardian or helper?” (al-Baqarah, 2:107). “… His verily is all creation and commandment.

Blessed be Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!” (alA’raf, 7:54) Everything around humans has been loaned to them so that they can carry out their duty of vicegerency in a responsible and unhindered manner.

Their duty is no more than that. Even humans’ lives are not their own. Their lives belong to their Creator and Master, and, if needed, they must sacrifice their lives for their Master and His cause: “Indeed Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties (in exchange) for paradise… ” (al-Tawbah, 9:111).

God explicitly reveals that he is the Creator and thus the Owner of everything including people, their selves and whatever they are able to make or create. People’s creations and all possessions are in fact God’s: “And Allah has created you and what you make.” (al-Saffat, 37:96). The Prophet (pbuh) also said in a tradition: “Indeed, it is God Who creates every other creator and his creation.” This tradition is recorded by al-Bukhari in his “Sahih”, a compilation of authentic traditions of the Prophet (pbuh), in a section entitled “Allah’s words: ‘Allah has created you and what you make’ and ‘Verily, all things have We created in proportion and measure.‘” No sooner do humans come to this world than they set out displaying their inherent readiness to take from this world: to breathe, to eat and drink, to wear apparel, albeit without possessing anything, save their own self, to give away in return.

Humans therefore, are born as insolvent consumers, as it were. Not only do they own nothing, but also they remain forever short of enjoying the power of bringing into being anything without making use of what is already there created for them in nature. Creating things, conditions and environments from nothingness is the right and authority of God alone and signifies authentic splendor, dominion and power to which God alone is entitled. The upshots of humankind’s myriad civilizational pursuits on earth therefore are never really their own possession and, as such, by no means could be solely utilized for returning the debt of creation and existence to God. Hence, people are given the title of servants or slaves and God alone is the Lord or Master.

There can never be any alterations whatsoever in titles: the servant will remain forever the servant, and the Lord will remain forever the only Lord, irrespective of any human intervention that may transpire on any plane of existence. It goes without saying, therefore, that being prudent, modest and grateful when dealing with God’s gifts, as well as when dealing with one’s own accomplishments,

are of the virtues most appreciated in humans.

It likewise follows that the legitimacy of human ‘creations’ is based only on the strengthening of people’s legitimate relationships with their Lord and with the rest of His creation.

Moreover, God created humans as the most beautiful creatures on earth, in the best of moulds, and gave them the power of reasoning and insight. (al-Tin, 95:4) He created humans as His vicegerents on earth, never to be forsaken by God’s words of guidance, lest they lose their way, rebel against the will and plan of their Lord, and gradually become puffed up with egotism, self-exaltation and innumerable superstitions pertaining to their own existence and existence taken as a whole. (al-Baqarah, 30-39) When these exceptional qualities of humans are paired with their submission to the Creator, Lord and Cherisher of the worlds, they confidently set out proving their worth, elevating their status over that of the angels in the process.

Conversely, no sooner do they start mishandling and abusing the same qualities and gifts, than they start drifting away from the plane of truth, debasing themselves to a status lower than that of animals.

On that note, in addition, the Prophet (pbuh) declared that God created Adam, the father of humankind, in His own image. (Sahih Muslim) In other words, God bestowed Adam with life, knowledge, and the power of hearing, seeing and understanding, but Adam’s features are different from those of God. God has life, knowledge and power of understanding, which has been bestowed upon Adam as well, but there is no comparison between the Creator and the created thing. This truth by extension applies to the whole of mankind, the children of Adam.

Hence, God’s names and attributes, including those pertaining to creation, manifest themselves in human beings. People make, build and shape many beautiful and useful objects and things, manifesting thereby certain divine attributes in themselves and in those creative and consequential actions of theirs. However, most people over and over again get carried away and misjudge. The artist says that he ‘creates’ beauty. The engineer ‘invents’ a flying machine. An architect ‘designs’ and ‘creates’ a building. They think that it is they themselves who do this. They even forget the other people who might claim that they ‘created’ the paint and the brush, building materials and the whole of building technology and engineering, and the sciences of geometry, physics and mathematics, without whose ‘creation’ their ‘creation’ could not have been possible. They forget about the sources that produced the materials for that ‘creation’.

They disregard their vulnerability and complete reliance on other human and physical factors. They sometimes even close the eyes to their humanness.

Who created the mind, the eyes and the hands that put all that they deal with together? That which people make depends on many conditions, materials and assistants. Whereas God’s creative act does not depend on any model, material, time, tool, aide or anything else. When He creates, He says Kun ‘Be!’ and a whole universe becomes.

(Tosun Bayrak, The Name and the Named) It is thus often asked if it is permissible to say that humans are ‘creators’ on account of them creating things, ideas and objects. The answer is that it is permissible if by creation it is meant working on something, crafting it, giving it shape, processing it, assembling it, using and reusing it, or some other meaning that is suitable for human beings to ascribe to themselves and their creative and meaningful functioning as God’s vicegerents on earth, reflecting their actual existential state with all its strength as well as limitations. Ascribing the terms ‘creation’ and ‘creators’ to human beings should thus always be conditional and metaphorical, not authentic or unqualified. A hint at this restricted authorization is presented via God’s description of His Holy Self as “the best of the creators” (ahsan al-khaliqin). This description appears twice in the Qur’an. Unquestionably, a creation should never claim, or aspire, to be a bona fide creator. Such is an aberrant view and goes against the pure and natural order of things.

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46

T H I S D AY FRIDAY MARCH 3, 2017

T H I S D AY FRIDAY MARCH 3, 2017

47

48

FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017• T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

Oyegun: Plot to Heat up Polity over Buhari’s Health will Fail Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said attempts by mischief makers to destabilise the polity through negative speculations on President Muhammed Buhari have not succeeded in hampering the functionality and effectiveness of governance.

The party accused the media,

especially the social media, of attempting to destabilise the polity by constructing negative narratives about the APC administration.

The APC National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who spoke yesterday at the national secretariat of the party during a meeting of his National Working Committee (NWC) with the

Jega: Nigeria Has Set a New Standard in Conduct of Credible Elections in Africa Agha Ibiam in London The former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, has said despite the numerous challenges facing the country, Nigeria has set a new standard and shown resilience in conducting credible elections in Africa.

Delivering a lecture at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, England, Prof. Jega stated that the recent elections held in The Gambia and Ghana which saw the incumbent presidents losing election, was something to commend the country and Africa for.

The paper titled: ‘Electoral Integrity in Africa: Lessons From Nigeria’s 2011 and 2015 Election’, was his inaugural speech as Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG) visiting fellow of practice for 2016 to 2017.

The school lecturer set out an outline before dismantling the paper which is comprised of introduction, context, five key challenges and hurdles he went through before conducting the 2015 election and steps to addressing the challenges. Others are outstanding challenges, lessons and conclusion.

But speaking extemporaneously, he said after the successful conduct of the 2015 general election that saw the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari, INEC set an unbeatable record that is being imbibed by other African countries in conducting elections where incumbent presidents remain unelected as the people’s choice.

He explained that after the 2007 general elections, many Nigerians had written off INEC as a cash and carry organisation that went to the highest bidder, adding that rigging of elections and snatching of ballot papers were so rife and engrained in the system.

But quoting the United Nations Global Commission on elections, democracy and security, he said elections can have either positive or negative impact on democratisation, and that whether or not the impact is positive is largely to an extent, related to whether or not they are conducted with integrity.

The professor of Political Science however blamed the

colonial elite and military rule for ethno-political crises, through their divide and rule tactics, but praised the civil society organisations, the media and other notable groups that mobilised the society for the good conduct of better elections at that time.

Jega, who said he was called out from the Ivory Tower to conduct election as INEC chairman, had the initial fear of how to protect his integrity by conducting election devoid of electoral malpractices.

Jega, however, noted that his six months stay as a fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government has been intellectually stimulating and excellent.

Lending a voice at the event, the former Managing Director of Access Bank and founder of the Africa Initiative for Governance, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, noted that Jega is one man in the country that has convinced him that peoples’ votes can always count after election.

“I did not believe that Nigeria could conduct free and fair elections. Now, a line has been drawn on the sand that elections in Nigeria will always count.

“Attributed to Ghana and Gambia’s electoral successes to the Nigerian examples which Jega spearheaded, we celebrate Professor Jega, who had made history in Nigeria by conducting a free and fair elections in 2015, and has made history in Africa which made me a believer in credible electoral processes in Nigeria,” Aigboje said.

The former banker said he and the wife, Ofovwe, entered a five-year partnership with the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government to provide intensive post-graduate worldclass training in governance and public policy for 25 students over the next five years (2017 to 2021).

“Starting in 2017, five scholarships will be awarded to candidates from Nigeria and Ghana. These are candidates who can demonstrate academic excellence, proven leadership and commitment to public service. Upon graduation, the scholars will be expected to return home and apply their learning experiences in the public sector,” Aig-Imoukhuede said.

Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF), however, said the party was very happy that President Buhari left a structure that is functioning very effectively in spite of his unfortunate absence, adding that the president has handed over to a competent team led by acting President, Yemi Osinbajo before embarking on medical leave.

Oyegun said: “What makes me happy in spite of these negative speculations and attempt to destabilise the polity is that, thanks to his respect for due process and the constitution of this nation he has left a structure that is functioning very effectively in spite of his unfortunate absence and one can say quite clearly that the wish of the President is that the government will continue to function efficiently and effectively, and that the party also should continue to execute its normal duties and functions.”

Against the expectations

of Nigerians on the promise of ‘change’ by the APC, the party-controlled administrations both at the federal and states have not been able to satisfy the peoples yearnings.

For instance, most of the states controlled by the party are still owing several months of unpaid workers’ salaries and emoluments to pensioners.

A visibly worried APC national chairman added: “Today, the papers were replete with all manner of speculations which have become the past time of the social media to carry all manner of fake and totally out-of-line speculations as to any step that we take on virtually any issue. I think this is something that we have to talk about later.”

While addressing journalists after the meeting, the Chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum and Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulazeez Yari, said they (governors) agreed to give support to the party leadership and the government

at the centre.

He said the meeting has agreed on April 29 as the tentative date for the national convention of the party.

The meeting also reviewed the state of the party, x-raying the challenges facing the APC in relation to funding and financing.

It was agreed that the party is not effectively funded and a new funding mechanism be devised based on a planned continuous membership registration exercise across the country.

The meeting agreed that this was the only sustainable way to fund the party.

The meeting also discussed the situations in some of the state chapters of the party, and it was agreed that an effective conflict resolution mechanism would be put in place to stem the tide of internal dissension and resolve existing issues.

A statement issued at the close of the meeting said: “As we near the midterm,

the meeting also resolved to launch a project to showcase the accomplishments of APC governors in all the 24 states controlled by the party.

Governors in attendance at the meeting included Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Tanko Almakura (Nasarawa), Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa), Abdulfatai Ahmed (Kwara), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (Kano), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto) and Rochas Okorocha (Imo).

The governors of Lagos, Oyo and Niger States were represented by their deputies.

Some of the governors were however not at the meeting.

They included the Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-rufai, Adamawa State Governor, Jubril Bindow, and Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun.

PRESS BRIEFING

L-R: National Commissioners, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Okechukwu Obiano; Mrs. May Agbamuche- Mbu; and Mallam Muhammed Haruna, briefing the press to update them of the various activities of the commission in Abuja.... yesterday JULIUS ATOI

El-Zakzaky’s Son Petitions NBA, Legal Practitioners’ Committee over Malami

John Shiklam in Kaduna

Muhammad Zakzaky, the only surviving son of the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) also known as Shiite, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, has petitioned the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) over what he described as the alleged “gross misconduct” by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Malami Abubakar (SAN).

According to him, Malami has failed in his duty to enforce the judgment of an Abuja Federal High Court which ordered the release of his parents who have been in

detention for over one year since their arrests following the clash between members of the IMN and the Nigerian Army in Zaria in December 2015.

Over 300 members of IMN were killed by soldiers during the incident.

Muhammad, in his petition, called on the legal bodies to apply appropriate sanctions and punitive measures against the AGF for disobeying an order of the court even as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

“I fervently call upon the Nigerian Bar Association/ Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee to enforce and uphold any punitive measures against the AGF, being the chief law officer of the federation and a Senior Advocate of

Nigeria, through withdrawals of privileges otherwise due to him for gross misconduct displayed by him, and to urgently act to secure the enforcement of the rights of El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat,” Muhammad said.

The petitions to the legal bodies dated February 28, 2017, said Nigeria is under international treaty obligations to ensure that fundamental rights of all citizens are guaranteed and protected, insisting that the government is a democracy that should be ruled by the constitution and the rule of law.

Muhammad stated further that his parents had approach the Federal High Court to seek the enforcement of their

fundamental rights to life, personal liberty, dignity of the human person, right to private and family life and private property pursuant to sections 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41 and 46(1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and articles 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12(1) of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ratification and enforcement) act law of the federation of Nigeria 2010 and order 11, order xi and xii of the fundamental rights (enforcement procedure) rules, 2009.

He said rather than comply with the ruling, the federal government has continued to illegally detain his parents.

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2016 Budget: FG Records N1.1tn Revenue Shortfall Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The federal government realised paltry N398 billion as internally generated revenue (IGR) from the total N1.506 trillion targeted in 2016 budget, thus implying a shortfall of N1.1 trillion, Director-General of the Budget Office, Mr. Ben Akabueze, disclosed yesterday in Abuja.

This disclosure was made when Akabueze along with some members of the federal government’s economic team appeared before the Joint National Assembly Committee on Appropriation.

Nwabueze who said of the total N1.587 trillion capital expenditure in 2016 budget, N870 billion, representing 55 per cent, had so far been

released, added that all the budget sub-heads did well except the capital expenditure.

He attributed the poor capital release to the revenue shortfall, adding that projected oil revenue of only 20 per cent in 2016 budget also contributed to the development.

While giving a break down of the budget performance, the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Ahmed Idris, said N1.3 trillion, representing 100 per cent of the budget for debt service had been released.

He also said N1.482 trillion, representing 100 per cent of the personnel cost, had been released adding that N132.8 billion, implying 85 per cent of the overhead budget and N285.8 billion service wide

vote had equally been released.

Disclosing that N1.182 trillion budget for domestic borrowing had been exhausted, Idris said N351 billion had equally been released as statutory transfer, explaining that the total receipts or approvals from Federal Allocation Account Committee (FAAC) were N4.058 trillion in 2016.

In her submission, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, told the committee that when the lifespan of 2016 budget will eventually terminate in May 2017, a minimum of N1 trillion would have been spent on capital expenditure.

According to her, having realised that there would be significant revenue challenges in 2016 fiscal year, the government

opted to prioritise capital projects with concentration on infrastructure, agriculture, security, mining and education.

Against this background, she said major releases were made to Power, Works and Housing Ministry and other relevant MDAs. But the committee was unhappy with the capital release as it lamented the initial non-availability of the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, at the briefing, saying she had been withholding monies meant to be released to ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).”Why warehousing monies meant to be released to MDAs to allow the economy grow?” the committee kicked.

The committee also queried the rationale behind the release

of only 50 per cent of the budgets of MDAs, observing that most MDAs had only the releases of 50-56 per cent respectively while only few of them had a release of 70 per cent each.

The committee also queried government representatives for giving only gross figures of the IGR generated, saying doing so impeded its ability to know how the income was generated.

However, Adeosun who later arrived the venue of the briefing, told the senators that the huge sums of about N3 trillion perceived to have been “warehoused” in the treasury single account (TSA) do not entirely belong to the federal government.

According to her, such monies are jointly owned by the

federal and state governments along with specialised agencies such as the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

She described it as the total collection of monies including monies from Federal Allocation Account Committee (FAAC).

Adeosun also said the 55 per cent capital release was the highest so far in recent years.

Earlier, the committee had walked out an acting Director of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mohammed El-Yakub, from the meeting venue, saying he lacked the requisite qualification to appear before it as the representative of the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

The committee insisted that it would only take briefings from the apex bank’s helmsman.

MTN Posts First Ever Loss South African telecoms giant, MTN, yesterday said it made a $200 million loss in 2016, the company’s first, after suffering a huge fine in Nigeria and currency challenges in key markets.

“MTN Group’s financial results for 2016 reflect the most challenging year in the company’s 22-year history,” MTN said in a statement.

Johannesburg-based MTN reported profits of 20.2 billion rand ($1.6 billion) before tax for 2015.

Overall performance was hindered by lower than expected growth in both South Africa and Nigeria — as well as the depreciation of the rand against the dollar and the continued impact of a $1 billion (950 million euros) fine

by Nigerian authorities.

Nigerian authorities fined MTN in October 2015 for failing to disconnect unregistered mobile accounts in the country — originally ordering it to pay $1,000 for each improperly registered SIM card.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Federal Government of Nigeria had ordered the purge for security reasons, as the country battles

Boko Haram Islamists as well as criminality, especially kidnapping for ransom.

The original Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) penalty was equal to roughly a quarter of the country’s annual federal budget.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is MTN’s largest market, where it now has 62 million subscribers out of a total of 233 million — a 1.2 per cent increase on 2015.

MTN’s operations in South Africa were hit by technical issues and customer service problems during the year, which also hurt the bottom line, the company said.

“Towards the end of 2016 our two largest operations (South Africa and Nigeria)… began to show signs of a turnaround following an extended period of underperformance.”

Revenue was fractionally up for the year at 146.9 billion rand ($11.3 billion, 10.7 billion euros), the company said.

The MTN share price on the Johannesburg stock exchange rose five percent after the announcement of the company results compared to the close on Wednesday.

Moroccan King Calls Buhari, Seeks to Join ECOWAS Tobi Soniyi in Abuja King Mohammed VI of Morocco on Wednesday had a telephone conversation with President Muhammadu Buhari in London, where the Nigerian president is on vacation.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the call was initiated by the Moroccan monarch.

Adesina said the King asked after the president’s health and expressed satisfaction at his level of improvement.

He said the two leaders also discussed the current stage of the Morocco-Nigeria Atlantic crude oil pipeline project.

Adesina said: “King Mohammed VI thanked President Buhari for Nigeria’s support in returning Morocco to the African Union and notified him of Morocco’s request to join the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The Moroccan King also expressed his intention to make the Rabat-Abuja strategic partnership a framework for regular consultation and cooperation on African issues of mutual interest to both countries.

Buhari, who thanked King Mohammed VI for the phone call, said that he looked forward to deepening relations between both countries.

CONGRATS ON YOUR CONFIRMATION

Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (middle), in a handshake with the Chief Justice of Nigeria, (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen (right) and Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), during PACAC’s national dialogue on corruption at the State House in Abuja....yesterday STATE HOUSE

Nigeria Targets 10% of Global LNG Sales Nigeria is set to capture at least 10 per cent of the global market share of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as part of the concerted efforts to harness the nation’s gas resources which currently stand at 192 trillion cubic feet (tcf), of proven reserve.

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, who stated this while delivering a keynote address at the 2017 Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum, said the projection was in line with the gas component of the NNPC 12 Business Focus Areas termed the 12BUFAs initiative which seeks to increase domestic gas supply to 5bscfd by 2020.

Providing details of the plan, the GMD said the initiative was anchored on: Growing gas supply to support the power sector, with a view to achieving at least a three-fold increase in generating capacity within five years and stimulating gas-based industrialisation

with a view to positioning Nigeria as African regional hub for gas based industries such as fertilizer, petrochemicals, methanol and others.

He said these steps would position Nigeria for selfsufficiency in these sectors and at least five per cent of global output.

The GMD explained that the gas component of the 12 BUFAs initiative would help to “selectively expand our export footprint in high value and strategic foreign markets, with a view to maintaining a 10 per cent market share in global LNG trade and dominance in regional gas pipeline supplies.”

On domestic gas utilisation architecture, the GMD enthused that measures have since been activated to ensure that the industry responds adequately to the new wave of demand necessitated by the power sector massive investments in new power plants and rehabilitation of existing Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) power plants which has increased

total gas requirement to three billion standard cubic feet of gas per day. ``With Nigeria’s current production averaging at 8.0bscfd, of which 1.3bscfd is for domestic consumption, 3.5 bscfd for export, 2.5bscfd for re-injection/fuel gas use and about 0.7bscfd is flared, the need to encourage gas production to meet with the demand becomes paramount,’’ he said.

The GMD listed the pipeline infrastructure intervention projects that have been completed to include: the Oben-Geregu (196km), Escravos-Warri-Oben (110km), Emuren-Itoki (50km), Itoki-Olorunshogo (31km), Imo River-Alaoji (24km) and the Ukanafun-Calabar (128km).

He said other projects like the strategic East-West Obiafo/ Obirikom to Oben (OB3) pipeline (127km) is scheduled for completion by the end of 2017 while the looping of the Escravos-Lagos Gas Pipeline System from Warri to Lagos

is scheduled for completion

by July 2017.

“The Ajaokuta-AbujaKaduna-Kano pipeline (650km) is currently on tender. This project will soon be awarded under a contractor financing scheme.’’

Baru said Nigeria was on the path of maximising its gas resources, having put in place a commercially sustainable framework for gas supply, developed an aggressive gas infrastructure blueprint and articulated a gas-based industrialisation programme that is currently under way.

This year’s SPE Oloibiri Lecture Series & Energy Forum has the theme: and ‘Domestic Gas Utilisation in Nigeria: From Producers to Users.’

Saka Matemilola, Council Chairman of SPE, Nigeria, earlier in his opening remarks, called on oil and gas professionals to close ranks and ensure that the country reaps bountifully from its huge hydrocarbon resource base.

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Arik May Lay off Workers over Low Revenue Chinedu Eze

With a projected monthly revenue of about N1.5 billion, Nigeria’s beleaguered airline, Arik Air, may sack more than half of its workforce as it cannot generate enough revenue to pay about 2000 of its Nigeria staff, THISDAY has learnt.

Before the airline was taken over by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigerian (AMCON) on February 8, 2017 and before the downturn of the nation’s economy, the airline was generating about N7 billion monthly and was able to pay the wage bill of about N1 billion, service its 28 airplanes and fund its operations.

From 120 flights a day, Arik currently operates 16-20 flights daily with very low load factor.

Now with projected revenue of N1.5 billion, the airline would either owe its workforce or lay off many of them.

But the media consultant to Arik Air, Simon Tumba, denied that the airline has any plans to sack the workers.

He said instead of sacking workers, the new management appointed by AMCON was planning to service five more aircraft and put them back in the air.

According to a source from the airline, the challenge the airline is having is lack of funds because it cannot on its own generate enough revenue to service the aircraft already on AOG (aircraft on ground).

THISDAY learnt that to service the five airplanes mentioned by Tumba, the

Centenary City: House C’ttee Indicts Anyim, Mohammed, Recommends Probe by EFCC Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The House of Representatives Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has indicted the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, and former Minister of the FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed, for their roles in the management of the Centenary City project.

The committee found that the project, which was worth $18.37 billion, was awarded to two companies that formed the Centenary City Plc with a combined share value of N20,000.

It therefore also indicted the owners of the two companies: Ms. Boma Ozobia and Mr. Paul Oki, who allegedly share the same address.

Led by Hon. Herman Hembe, the committee recommended that law enforcement agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), should investigate the roles of the four persons in the management of the project.

The recommendations were contained in the report of the committee following its investigations into ‘alleged irregularities surrounding the Centenary City project’, laid before the House at plenary yesterday.

The report obtained by THISDAY is yet to be considered and adopted by the House of Representatives.

It accused Anyim, as SGF, of acting on behalf of the company by applying for Certificate of Occupancy on its behalf and awarding a contract on behalf of the company for the relocation of 330KV DC transmission lines crossing the proposed city.

Anyim also wrote Mohammed, on behalf of the company, requesting for details of bank accounts to pay N1.2billion into, for the compensation of displaced persons, and also wrote the minister to request for additional land

for the company, the report said.

The committee said Anyim ought to have known that financial consideration was the real essence for sourcing for a private investor for the project, which was initiated under the Goodluck Jonathan administration to mark the centennial anniversary of Nigeria in 2014.

“As far as the committee could determine, there was nothing in the portfolio of Centenary City Plc, to suggest that the company had the financial capacity to implement a project of $18,376,660,950... the two companies that own Centenary City Plc, have a combined share value of N20,000,” the report read.

It accused Mohammed of revoking lands that had existing rights of occupancy, some of which were issued by him, and re-allocating the same land to the company, in a manner inconsistent with the Land Swap Gazette and Land Use Act. The committee therefore recommended for the restoration of revoked lands for the project, back to its original owners But a member of the committee, Hon. Linus Okorie said the committee did not present the entire facts, and the recommendations did not flow from true facts or findings of the investigative hearing.

Okorie who hails from Ebonyi State like Anyim, in a memo he submitted to the committee, disagreed with the recommendations, saying the R-of O revoked by Mohammed in respect of the area covered by the project should be restored to the original owners.

He noted that the basis for the recommendation was misplaced as the committee confirmed that the project was not part of the land swap programme, and so cannot be guided by land swap terms.

Okorie noted that the recommendation that Anyim and others be investigated by anti-corruption bodies, “appears to have come from the moon.”

airline would need about $1.5 million, which it may likely source from the black market.

It was earlier reported that AMCON may inject about N15 billion into the airline as start up fund after the initial funding of about N4 billion, but the hope of getting more fund from the government agency continues to recede as the leadership of the airline, led by Captain Roy Ilegbodu, grapples with the airline’s management.

On the alleged debt owed the International Air Transport Association (IATA), former management of Arik Air explained that it did not owe the international agency, but IATA has the mandate to collect the revenues of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)

and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), so as Arik paid its charges to these agencies, the invoices were duplicated in IATA, saying that the alleged $78 million debt was a misunderstanding.

“We have our receipts and banking tellers to back these payments, which we made directly to these agencies instead of through IATA. The agencies should have notified IATA to clarify that these debts represented by those invoices had been paid by the airline.

Meanwhile, our court case with FAAN still subsists,” said a source from the former management of the airline.”

The planned sack was confirmed by inside sources, which disclosed that the airlines would have to sack some of the expatriate pilots

and some Nigerians because it cannot keep the workforce when it could not generate enough revenue to pay the bills “because even now we are already incurring heavy losses.

“To fix the airplanes we need money. We may have made a mistake by stopping the Lagos-London flights because it is now difficult to get spares from the manufacturers, which we used to fly in from London and we need the spares on regular basis,” a management official said, adding that the new management had to cut off regional and international flights because it is difficult to source forex to services those routes, noting that the downturn of the economy is what is threatening the existence of Nigerian airlines.

It was also gathered that Captain Ilegbodu said he cannot compromise the safety standard of the airline; that he must get spares directly from the manufacturers; that instead of getting spares from secondary sources, he would rather rest the airplanes.

According to informed source, Ilegbodu said he would not want to record any major incident or accident while the airline is under his management.

An official of the airline said one of the major challenges Arik Air is facing is the reduction of its frequencies and destinations, coupled with the fact that passengers have shunned the airline because of the growing uncertainty surrounding Nigeria’s biggest carrier.

STRATEGIC MEETING

L-R: Governors Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi); Abdulfatai Ahmed (Kwara); Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano) and Rotimi Akeredolu, (Ondo) during All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) meeting with APC governors at the party’s headquarters in Abuja ....yesterday ENOCK REUBEN

NNPC Invites Contractor Financiers for 650km Ajaokuta-Kano Gas Line Warns power sector difficulties could deny Nigeria 6,000MW by Q2 2017 Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday said it had tendered and was expecting contractor financiers to take up the construction of its 650 kilometres northern gas line network which would run from Ajaokuta in Kogi State to Abuja, Kaduna and then Kano when completed.

The tender processes for the construction of the line, it said would be concluded by the end of the second quarter (Q2) of 2017, after which preferred bids who would recoup their investments from the operations of the line ought to be announced.

The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, stated this in an interview with journalists shortly after his remarks at the 2017 edition of the annual

Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum (OLEF) which was held at the auditorium of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Abuja.

The 2017 OLEF had as its topic, ‘Domestic Gas Utilisation in Nigeria: From Producers to Users,’ and the President of the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA), Mr. Dada Thomas as its lead speaker.

Baru said the corporation would put in good efforts on the construction of the Ajaokuta to Kano gas line, adding that the 123 kilometres East-West Obiafo/Obirikom to Oben (OB3) pipeline and looping of the Escravos-Lagos Gas Pipeline System from Warri to Lagos would also be completed by the end of 2017, and July 2017 respectively.

“The Ajaokuta-AbujaKaduna-Kano pipeline is

currently on tender. This project will soon be awarded under a contractor financing scheme. The pipeline is a typical example of public private partnership and it is being tendered and going to be funded by partners who would recover their investments from the operations of the pipeline,” said Baru.

He stated: “We intend that we should conclude the tenders latest by the end of second quarter, we are determined to conclude most of the processes.”

The line from its project schedule is expected to run 187 kilometres from Ajaokuta to Abuja, 193 kilometres from Abuja to Kaduna, 65 kilometres from Kaduna to Zaria, and then the balance from Zaria to Kano.

Baru equally disclosed that unless quickly addressed, the current operational challenges experienced in Nigeria’s power sector could limit gas generation

companies (Gencos) from increasing their outputs to 6000 megawatts (MW) of electricity by the second quarter of 2017.

According to him, while the Gencos would be able to increase their outputs on account of improved gas supply to them by then, the operational inabilities of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and electricity distribution companies (Discos) could keep Nigerians from getting up to that.

He said: “As we speak today, there is enough gas to generate about 4800MW and 6000MW by Q2 2017 based on our gas supply plan but the power sector is presently struggling to evacuate 4500MW power due to Discos’ incessant rejection of allocated load and transmission line constraints.”

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Police Gun down Notorious Kidnapper, Vampire, Arrest Five Others

Chiemelie Ezeobi

The Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) yesterday gunned down a notorious kidnapper, Henry Chibueze, alias Vampire during a gun battle in Rivers State.

The IRT also arrested some members of his gang, who were identified as 26-yearold Obinna Elah, 24-year-old Arinze Abecheta, 23-year-old Chukwuebuka Ikeazota, 24-year-

old Samuel Ugochukwu and Clifford Aheana.

Confirming the incident, the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, said the notorious kingpin was killed during a gun duel with the police.

He said: “Vampire has killed many families. He has wiped away innocent people. This is a criminal that escaped from the court under gun fire. We have to do everything possible to ensure people like that are

Laughter Foundation Holds Special Service to Celebrate 20th Anniversary Mary Ekah Come March 12, the Laughter Foundation International Ministry will hold a special service with the theme: ‘By This Time Next Year’ at the church’s cathedral located at Plot 6, Abayomi Adelaja Drive, Off Kudirat Abiola Way, Olusosun Area, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos.

Founded in March 1997, Laughter Foundation (aka God’s baby factory) is God’s answer to couples believing God for the fruit of womb with the major focus on salvation of souls, child bearing, marriage for singles and prosperity.

Announcing activities to mark the anniversary, the founder, Pastor Gbenga Oso, in a press statement noted: “God has been so good to us at Laughter Foundation that in 20 years, we have not lost a mother nor child or children during delivery.”

Oso noted further that by the

special anointing of the Almighty God bestowed on him as the General Overseer of the church, the Lord has broken the yoke of barrenness for many couples, adding: “Where medical science has failed, our God has never failed.”

“Our history is filled with testimonies of women who have tried every possible means to have biological babies without success. Many of such women by the anointing of the Holy Spirit available to us, have become mothers of single babies, twins or triplets,” the G.O added.

He cited an example of one of the testimonies given by one of the several couples God has blessed at the Laughter Foundation Cathedral of a woman who had a set of triplets (two boys and one girl), delivered in nine years of marriage after seven failed attempts on IVF while a giant ovarian cyst also disappeared miraculously.

NCC Works with Telcos to Rebuild Destroyed Facilities in North-east Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

The National Communications Commission (NCC) is working with GSM providers to rebuild facilities worth billions of naira lost to Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east.

One of the major facilities attacked by the insurgents in a siege that lasted about five years in parts of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States were telecommunications facilities leading to loss of signal in many areas.

But with the insurgency winding down, there is need to rebuild the destroyed facilities and restore GSM communications to the affected towns.

Speaking in Maiduguri, the Director General of the NCC, Prof. Umar Dambatta, said the commission was in talks with the GSM providers on ways to get the destroyed facilities rebuilt and bring back effective telephoning.

Dambatta who was represented by the Director, Legal and Regulatory Service of the commission, Hajiya Hafsat Lawan, at the donation of ICT equipments to the

Borno State Command of the Nigerian Police, said: “We are working on making GSM work effectively in Borno State and parts of the North-east destroyed Boko Haram.”

Lawan said the commission was equally ready to make some sacrifices needed to take the full pains off the GSM providers.

She said the representatives of the commission were in Maiduguri to collaborate with the police on ending cybercrime which has added to dent the nation’s image in the eyes of the world.

She disclosed that the donation was to assist the police to tackle cybercrime, adding that the commission was ready to give further donation in this regard.

Receiving the donation, the Borno State Police Commissioner, Damien Chukwu, said they would be put to use in fighting crimes.

He promised the commission that the police would provide needed escort whenever the work on the destroyed telecommunications facilities were commenced.

not in the society.

“They shot one of our officers in the course of the battle. The officers who went there are humans and they have right to self-defence.

“The criminals fired at them and you don’t expect them to sit idle and watch while they were being attacked by armed criminals. He died in the process of the battle.”

Parading the suspects in Imo State, the Force Headquarters spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) said five AK47 rifles and 300 rounds of AK47 ammunition were recovered from them, adding that charms were also found on Vampire.

Moshood said: “Concerned with the spate of kidnapping and other violent crimes in Imo and other South Eastern States, the IG, Idris, deployed Police Special Forces led by Intelligence Response Team to these states.

“The special forces working under the supervision of the Commissioner of Police, Imo State, swooped on the hideout of Henry Chibueze aka ‘Vampire’ and his gang and engaged them in fierce gun battle that lasted several hours.

“In the early hours of yesterday, at Omu Awa forest Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, the operation was successfully carried out as the dreaded, vicious kidnap for ransom and armed robbery kingpin, Chibueze who was rescued by his criminal cohorts from the Owerri High Court premises on January 27 was killed.

“He escaped while in custody of officers of the Nigeria Prisons Service but he died during the shootout. Other suspects were arrested and exhibits recovered from them.

“Henry Chibueze (aka Vampire) (deceased) was a cultist

who later turned into a vicious and dangerous kidnapper/ armed robber, and was declared wanted since 2013.

“He was responsible for several cases of kidnappings, armed robberies, murder of notable and prominent personalities in Imo State and South-eastern/South-south states.

“He had earlier confessed to the murder of his girlfriend, Sandra and eight members of her family, among them six children in Lagos State.

“He alleged that the girlfriend stole his N45million share of N110million ransom paid by the family of one of his victims in Omoku, Rivers State.

“He is a serial killer who also confessed to have killed over 200 people in various kidnappings and armed robbery attacks.

“He claimed responsibility for the murder of the following persons- Placid Ejimadu (Nze

Ji Obi); Jonathan Ibemere aka gwuogwuo and Livinus Iwumune all natives of Agbaja Nwangele L.G.A. Imo State.

“The killing of a member of the Imo State House of Assembly at Orji in 2015; kidnap/murder of a traditional rulers’ wife from Mbaise in 2015 whose corpse has not been seen till date and the kidnap/murder of a man from Malaysia at First Bank, World Bank Branch Owerri.

“The killing of three members of a family including a woman from Nkwerre in 2012 after collecting ransom from the family.

“The living members of the gang have made useful statements to the police confessing and admitting to have carried out four successful kidnap operations after the rescue of their gang leader at the Owerri High Court premises.

They will all be charged to court on completion of investigation.”

GETTING READY FOR CELEBRATION

L-R: Church Administrator, Laughter Foundation International Ministry (Laughter Foundation Cathedral), Pastor Benedict Osuagwu; General Overseer, Pastor Moses Gbenga Oso; and Church Administrator, Pastor Rotimi Adesipe, at a press conference on the forthcoming 20th anniversary of the church at the church’s headquarters, Olusosun, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos.

Sunday adigun

Jonathan Never Asked Me to Resign, Says Sheriff

Dickson’s c’ttee proposes convention in second quarter

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in abuja

The embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has denied that former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has asked him and the Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, to resign as part of the political solution to the crisis in the party.

In a statement issued by spokesman of the Sheriff’s leadership, Hon. Bernard Mikko, it urged leaders and members of the PDP to rally round his boss in order for the party to conduct; as soon as possible, a national unity convention.

“The public, PDP members and the media are hereby informed that the issue of the national chairman’s resignation as the political solution has

never been discussed nor was it put up for discussion with former president and other stakeholders.”

Mikko said instead of resigning that Sheriff is hoping to work out modalities with stakeholders of the party on how to organise a convention.

“PDP members nationwide and the media are hereby informed that shortly before the Court of Appeal judgment of February 17, 2017; all parties and stakeholders agreed that on the receipt of the court of appeal judgment whichever way it goes; members will be prevailed upon and urged to support the judgment and orders of the court of appeal and rally round the successful party to conduct; as soon as possible a national unity convention for the election of officers; the modalities of which shall be worked out

by all stakeholders of the party.

“As a law-abiding citizen and advocate of the rule of law, Sheriff hereby calls on all stakeholders including but not limited to PDP governors; national and state assembly members; Board of Trustees (BoT) members to make themselves available and give their input on how we can as quickly as possible conduct a national unity convention; where our national officers will be elected. The national chairman has promised and undertaken not to contest.”

Meanwhile, the Standing Committee on the Reconciliation of the crisis rocking the party headed by the Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, has recommended that the next national convention of the party would be held before June this year.

The committee at the end its meeting held yesterday in Abuja, which reviewed recent developments in the party and decided among others that a political solution is the best option to end the protracted crises in the party.

In a statement jointly signed

by Dickson, the Vice Chairman of the committee, Senator Ibrahim Mantu and Secretary, Senator Joshua Lidani, the committee said it would embark on extensive consultations with all stakeholders with a view of building confidence and necessary consensus towards the Unity Convention.

The statement read: “We endorse the resolution of the meeting between the former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan GCFR and PDP state governors in this regard without prejudice to the ongoing judicial processes.

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CRIME&PUNISHMENT

FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017• T H I S D AY

Drama as Obasanjo Lampoons Police for Breach of Protocol Chiemelie Ezeobi

There was mild drama yesterday at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, when a breach of protocol by the police kept former President Olusegun Obasanjo waiting for over an hour.

The event, a bi-annual Special Training and Capacity Development Seminar for police officers, was billed to start at 10.30am but did not start till 11.52 a.m.

At this point, the police helicopter from the air wing had already been sent to Ogun State to ferry the former president to the venue of the event, where he was billed to be the special guest of honour.

After he had landed at the sports stadium at Onikan, he was ferried to the venue in a motorcade for the programme organised by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 2, Kayode Aderanti.

However, when he got to the venue of the event, he was made to wait for an hour at the hotel lounge for the arrival of the Inspector General of Police, Idris Ibrahim.

When he got tired of waiting, he marched straight into the event hall and climbed the podium when the national anthem was being played by the police band.

Admitting that he was breaking protocol by speaking at that point, the former president chided the police for keeping him waiting.

He informed the gathering that he had to return to Ogun State immediately for an event organised in his honour, which he had left midway to attend the police event.

In his speech, the former president charged the police to

ensure that its facilitators are in touch with new developments in policing.

Pointing at the former Inspector of Police, Musiliu Smith (rtd), who was seated in the audience and worked under him, he expressed hope that the police would not appoint him as one of the facilitators for the training.

Speaking on the initiative, Obasanjo said there was no substitute for training, urging the police to be in tune with the practices of their peers in other parts of the world.

According to him, all human institutions need constant appraisal, regeneration, introspection and training but by people who are up to date with what is done in other countries.

He said: “The police must be aware and in touch with new developments in other parts of the world. I can see my former IG, Musiliu Smith.

“Smith is completely out of date to give a lecture on police duty. He has experience to share with you, but not on modern way of doing things.

“I don’t even know how digital he is. I am sure we are on the same level when it comes to digitalisation.”

Immediately after his five minutes talk, he dropped the bombshell in the hall expressing his displeasure over the way he was kept waiting, before departing with a flurry of security aides.

He said: “Next time, before you call me for your event, please be ready.”

Notwithstanding the way he was shabbily treated, he graciously agreed to take a group photograph with the course participants before he was whisked away.

A police officer, who spoke on

DSS Snubs Kashamu’s Court Petition Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Abuja has decried the attitude of the Department of State Services (DSS) in the suit filed by Senator Buruji Kashamu against the Inspector-General of Police and others.

When the case came up for hearing yesterday, the DSS counsel neither sent a representative nor gave reason for his absence.

Dimgba, however, ordered that a letter be written and hearing notice be forwarded to the DSS to formally intimate it of the next hearing date fixed for March 21.

The suit was filed against the Inspector- General of Police and the Director- General of DSS

by Kashamu to restrain them from extraditing him to the US to face charges on drugs related offences.

Kashamu, representing Ogun East in the Senate, also joined a serving House of Representatives member, Oladipupo Adebutu, in the suit.

Kashamu claimed that the summon issued to him to appear

before a special investigation panel of the IG on the strength of a petition by Adebutu, on alleged assassination attempt was a ploy to abduct and transport him to the US He also claimed that the petitioner had been boasting that he would cause his extradition to the US with the assistance of the police and DSS. Kashamu pleaded with the court to restrain DSS and Police from inviting him to appear before any panel.

The DSS, police and Adebutu had asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to compel Kashamu to honour invitation extended to him by the DSS and police on alleged assassination attempt on Adebutu.

They had asked the court to disregard and reject the claim by Kashamu that the invitation of the security agents was a ploy to forcefully abduct him and extradite him to the US They said in their counter affidavits that the claim of extradition raised by the senator was speculative.

the condition of anonymity said: “It was a serious mess.

The police officers in charge failed in communication.

Ordinarily, there should have been communication between the air wing and the ground staff.

“Because there was no such thing, they flew in the former president instead of waiting for the IG to leave Abuja first.

We only hope he truly forgives us for the breach in protocol.”

Meanwhile, the IG who

finally arrived at 12.19 p.m., 10 minutes after Obasanjo’s departure, directed the AIG Zone 2 to extend his regards and apologies to the former president.

In his speech, the IG said the police needed to be a step ahead of criminals, adding that it could only be achieved through training and retraining as the reason for training is to improve efficiency and performance.

Afterwards, in an interview

with journalists, he addressed the issue of the arrests of members of the Nigerian Peace Corps.

Idris said the recent joint raid of the controversial Peace Corps, by the police, Department of State Service (DSS) and the military, was to show that Nigeria is not a lawless country.

He said all the arrested members from Wednesday’s and past raids in Niger, Kwara and Abuja, would

be charged to court soon.

He said: “Nigeria is not a lawless country. There are processes and procedures.

Therefore, somebody cannot jump up and start a security outfit.

“A group cannot just by having numbers call a group of people together and get them to pay N50,000 to join.

We raided and arrested them in Kwara, Niger and Abuja when they were carrying out illegal military training.”

CAPACITY BUILDING L-R: Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris; Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni; and Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2, Mr. Kayode Aderanti, during a first biannual special training and capacity development seminar organised by CFL Group and Zone 2 in Lagos...yesterday KOLA OLASUPO

N4.7bn Fraud: Ladoja Bribed Assembly Members with 22 Cars to Stall Impeachment, Witness Tells Court

Davidson Iriekpen

A witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Adewale Atanda, yesterday informed a Federal High Court, Lagos, how former Governor of Oyo State, Senator Rasheed Adewolu Ladoja, bought 22 vehicles to win the loyalty of 22 assembly men to avoid being impeached by the state’s lawmakers in 2005.

Atanda, a lawyer, also informed the court that out of the 22 bought by the former governor, only 14 was given out to Ladoja’s loyalists in the state’s assembly, while the remaining eight were shared among the former governor’s families.

Atanda, a political associate of Senator Ladoja, is a second witness to give evidence in the trial of Senator Ladoja, and a former Commissioner of Finance, Mr. Waheed Akanbi, who were arraigned before the court on charges bordering on laundering of N4.7 billion.

In the charge, marked FHC/L/336c/2008, the EFCC alleged that both Senator Ladoja and the former Commissioner of Finance conspired together to convert properties and resources

derived from an illegal act, with the intention of concealing their illicit origin.

The duo were re-arraigned on an eight-count charge of money laundering contrary to Section 17(a) and punishable under Section 14(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004.

At the resumed trial of the two accused persons, Atanda, started his evidence by saying that the most memorable about the Impeachment of Ladoja was when a rift between the members of the Oyo State House of Assembly, in one hand and political actors in Oyo State, like the late Lamidi Adedibu, and some external forces from Abuja.

The witness stated that when he noticed that there was attempt to Impeached Senator Ladoja, and to secure two third members of the assembly members which is 22, that will support Ladoja, he suggested that 22 vehicles be bought and give to the loyal members of the assembly.

Atanda said to get vehicles bought, he secure a loan of N80 million from Wema Bank, which he used his personal

assets and personal guarantee to secured, as the Commissioner of Finance was unable to raise the money from the state purse.

He stated that despite buying and sharing of the vehicles, Ladoja was impeached in December 2005.

He stated that immediately after the impeachment, an High Court in the state declared the impeachment as illegal.

He also stated that after the impeachment, Ladoja and his 14 loyalists at the state assembly, and other political associates regrouped in Lagos, in which he made available his hotel at Victoria Island.

He also stated that while in Lagos, each of the lawmakers asked Ladoja to be paying them N1million each, and the lawyers who handled the matter at the state High Court, also increased their fees from N50 million to N350 million, on the condition that if they are to prosecute the matter up till Supreme Court.

He also stated that upon the enormous financial pressure on the former governor, he approached his bank, Lagoon Saving and Loan for another N50 million loan, which he used his landed property on

Victoria Island as guarantee.

He further stated that after he secured the loan, he issued a cheque of N35 million to the lead firm of lawyers that handled the matter in December 2006.

He stated that when he was returned to office after the Supreme Court judgment, in 2006, the Commissioner for Commerce briefed Governor Ladoja and the exco, how Governor Alao Akala, who was interim governor transacted and entered into agreement with Churchgate Group, for supply of 10,000 bags of rice for the purpose of selling it to the public, but stated that the price at which the rice was to be sold was higher than the market price. Consequently, the rice was rejected.

He also stated that it was discovered that Charter Bank provided guarantee and collateral, and that the Akala’s regime had put up the state’s shares for sale.

However, due to time, the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, adjourned the matter till March 27 and 31, for continuation of trial.

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017

FRIDAYSPORTS Why We Want Change in CAF Leadership, By Ahmad

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

Duro Ikhazuagbe The lone challenger to Issa Hayatou at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) elections scheduled to hold in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on March 16, Ahmad Ahmad, insisted yesterday in Abuja that Africa cannot continue to lag behind with ancient principles that are no longer in tunes with how the game is now govern globally.

Speaking when he met with the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung and NFF officials in the Federal Capital City yesterday, Ahmad who is Madagascar’s FA president as well as the deputy senate president of the Indian Ocean island nation, said his group is committed to installing new thinking and ideals at the CAF headquarters, if he wins the presidential poll.

“The rest of the world has changed in almost every sphere.

Why must African football remain static? We want to bring a breath of fresh air. We are committed to a CAF that is transparent, that is accountable and that is more inclusive of the actors of the game.

“We will open the debate on whether there should be a larger Africa Cup of Nations (with more teams), and we have to think hard about infrastructure, real development, maintenance of facilities and filling the stadia during major competitions.”

The 57-year old insisted he had not always nursed an ambition to be CAF President, but that he was the candidate of a group that came together after the FIFA Congress in Mexico last year and opted for change.

“There are many reasons why we need change. Presently, too much power is concentrated in the CAF Executive Committee, and we feel that should not be so.

There is no separation of powers, and certain individuals feel they should take all the decisions while others applaud.

“At the same time, CAF is too far from its affiliate Member Associations. The CAF President should travel more often to the Federations and help nip in the bud the usual tensions that exist between government and the Federations.

“I have very high regard for Nigeria, for what Nigeria has achieved in football and for being an economic power in the African region. I am really grateful to Mr. Pinnick who has been the strongest voice of my campaign, and I thank the Government of Nigeria for supporting him.”

Senate President Saraki, who received Ahmad and the NFF delegation led by 2nd Vice President/LMC Chairman Shehu Dikko in his house, noted: “We are a nation of very passionate football fans. Football, like other areas of life, needs visionary leaders who can institute reforms for good governance.

“We are happy with the developments at FIFA level and we desire the same for CAF. There is need for policies that will stimulate rapid development of African football.”

Sports Minister Dalung affirmed that football is a major unifying factor in Nigeria, a multi-cultural country of over 250 ethnic nationalities and about 170 million people.

“Our country has made, and is still making major contributions to peace and security in several African nations, and has also been making positive contributions in the game of football. Over 70 per cent of Africa’s youth are unemployed, and we believe that with good governance and excellent management of resources, football can provide employment for hundreds of millions of Africa’s young population and by so doing, reduce social vices and restiveness.

“The barriers against Africa competing favourably in the international sphere must be broken. There are a lot of impediments, including poor infrastructure. FIFA should allot more money to Africa for infrastructural development, and there must be equity.

“We cannot afford to remain a mere plucking ground for the European Leagues. The leaders of African football must address these salient issues”.

With Ahmad were Dikko, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi (NFF General Secretary), Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah (proprietor of FC IfeanyiUbah and Chairman of Anambra State FA), Dr. Emmanuel Ikpeme (NFF Deputy General Secretary), Mr. Ademola Olajire (NFF Director of Communications) and Mr. Chikelue Iloenyosi (special assistant to NFF President).

Ahmad was first received by the NFF Management at the Glass House, and later visited the office of the League Management Company, where he addressed media representatives, before flying out of Nigeria last night.

He had arrived in Lagos earlier on Thursday where he was received by NFF President Amaju Pinnick and 1st Vice President Seyi Akinwunmi, before proceeding to Abuja.

L-R: Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, NFF’s 2nd Vice President/LMC Chairman, Shehu Dikko, CAF Presidential candidate, Ahmad Ahmad and NFF’s Deputy Secretary General, Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme during Ahmad’s visit to Nigeria… yesterday BELOW IS LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR THE 2017-2021 CAF EXECUTIVE Candidatures for the CAF President and CAF Executive Committee elections for the 2017-2021 cycle deemed valid; Election of CAF President for the period 2017-2021 Outgoing President: Issa Hayatou (Cameroon) Candidates: Ahmad (Madagascar)

Issa Hayatou (Cameroon) Elections for CAF Executive Committee for the period 2017-2021 *NORTHERN ZONE: Outgoing member: Mohamed Raouraoua (Algeria) Candidates: Anwar El Tashani (Libya)

Fouzi Lekjaa (Morocco)

Mohamed Raouraoua (Algeria) WEST ZONE A Outgoing member: Amadou Diakite (Mali) Candidates: Amadou Diakite (Mali)

Hassan Musa Bility (Liberia) WEST ZONE B Outgoing member: Anjorin Moucharafou (Benin) Candidates: Amaju Melvin Pinnick (Nigeria)

Anjorin Moucharafou (Benin) CENTRAL ZONE Outgoing member: Adoum Djibrine (Chad) Candidates: Adoum Djibrine (Chad)

C O N F E D E R AT I O N S C U P

FIFA Dismisses Fears over Security, Pitches FIFA yesterday shrugged off hooliganism and pitch fears for the Confederations Cup in Russia this June, insisting the World Cup warm-up event will be a “festival of football”.

“We trust in the arrangements that the authorities are going to put in place for the Confederations and the World Cup,” Colin Smith, the head of Fifa’s operational commission, said after a four-day tour of venues.

“And we’ve got trust that everything will be done right.”

Fears of fan violence at the Confederations Cup this year and 2018 World Cup were heightened by clashes involving Russian supporters at Euro 2016 in France.

Moscow has pledged a zero

tolerance approach to crack down on troublemakers and football’s world governing body said it was sure only genuine fans would be allowed to participate.

“These tournaments are the festivals of football. They’re supported by the real football fans. And that is by far the vast, majority of people,” Smith said.

“There’s no place in such festivals for those who are not here to support the game.”

During their visit to Russia the Fifa delegation focused on the state of the pitches at the four arenas set to host the competition this year.

Inspectors last year said the retractable pitch at the 68,000-seater Saint Petersburg Arena -- which is set to hold

the opening and final games of the Confederations Cup -- was unstable and not fit for matches.

CENTRAL-EAST ZONE Outgoing member: Magdi Shams El Din (Sudan) Candidates: Juneidi Basha Tilmo (Ethiopia)

Magdi Shams El Din (Sudan)

Moses Magogo (Uganda)

Suleiman Hassan Waberi (Djibouti) SOUTHERN ZONE (2 Vacancies) Outgoing members: Ahmad (Madagascar)

Suketu Patel (Seychelles) Candidates: Danny Jordaan (South Africa)

Frans Mbidi (Namibia)

Rui Eduardo Da Costa (Angola)

Suketu Patel (Seychelles) FEMALE CANDIDATE (1 vacancy) Candidates: Isha Johansen (Sierra Leone)

Lydia Nsekera (Burundi) 2. ELECTION OF AFRICAN REPRESENTATIVES TO THE FIFA COUNCIL FOR THE PERIOD 2017 - 2021 Subject to eligibility confirmation by FIFA, the following candidates were approved for the election of African members onto the FIFA Council: ARABIC, PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH Grouping Tarek Bouchamaoui (Tunisia) FRANCOPHONE Grouping Constant Omari Selemani (DR Congo) Augustin Sidy Diallo (Cote d’Ivoire) ANGLOPHONE Grouping Kwesi Nyantakyi (Ghana) Leodegar Tenga (Tanzania) Kalusha Bwalya (Zambia OPEN APPLICATIONS (3 vacancies, including one female member) Almamy Kabele Camara (Guinea) Chabur Goc (South Sudan) Danny Jordaan (South Africa) Hani Abo Rida (Egypt)

National Table Tennis Coach Commends Oshonaike National Table Tennis Coach, Nosiru Bello, has applauded Germany-based six-time Olympian, Funke Oshonaike, for organising the ongoing National Junior Clinic in Lagos.

Speaking at the NTTF Training Centre, Bello said it was a notable idea from her and something worth emulating by others.

“Funke (Oshonaike) has shown that she has interest of the younger ones at heart,” the coach said.

“The clinic will help to improve on the players and also boost the development of the game in the country.

“If this can continue, it will give the players something to look up to every year and I will love the other top players to emulate her gesture and come up with something to help the coming players.”

The clinic which enters its fourth day yesterday saw Onoja

Agnes and Ololade Oyenekan winners of the female and male categories respectively.

On her part, Oshonaike urged the participating kids at the clinic to be serious and take the sport as part of their life and not just to pass time while also revealing that 18 players are already in camp.

She added that talents abound in the country and there is need to unearth them and also monitor them to become top stars.

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T H I S D AY FRIDAY MARCH 3, 2017

T H I S D AY FRIDAY MARCH 3, 2017

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Friday, March 3, 2017

UT H

& RE A S O

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Price: N250

MISSILE Makarfi’s Faction to Sheriff

“As far as we are concerned, the forceful entry of Ali Modu Sheriff and his team into the party secretariat is illegal and most unwelcomed. – Spokesman for the Ahmed Makarfi’s faction of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Dayo Adeyeye, accusing Senator Ali Modu Sheriff of perpetrating illegality by forcefully breaking into and taking possession of the party’s secretariat.

CHIDIAMUTA GUEST COLUMNIST

Beyond the Circus

W

e must quickly draw the line.

Between a groundswell of sincere well wishes for a president on medical leave and exporting our penchant for silly opportunistic sycophancy to London, there is a wide margin. We need to carefully mind the gap before it deepens into a dangerous political gorge.

Empathy for the ailing president is normal and appropriate. Our common humanity and basic patriotism demand no less. Variously, our citizens are praying, fasting and commiserating with the first family. Some have even marched in procession in sympathy with Mr. Buhari in his present indisposition. In spite of the extreme hardship and multiple privations of the times, a painful calm now defines the current mood of the nation in deference to the absent president. The angry have swallowed their bile while the hungry have further edited meal plans. The tenuous hope endures among many that the man who promised us so much would soon return to deliver some happiness.

Photo opportunities of the president receiving empathizers in London have largely reassured a cynical home audience.

Visiting officialdom has reassured us, mostly with no credible medical evidence, that the president is ‘hale and hearty’. The president himself has recently called his friends and close officials to reassure us further. What is yet to happen is for the man Nigerians elected to govern them to return and resume work. That is where we need him most since his motley visitors insist he is fit. Nigerians await the president’s return to full active duty. That expectation is our entitlement because Mr. Buhari’s job description is clear and specific: President and Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

While ‘we the people’ anxiously await the return of our president, a wild traveling circus of political and special interest sycophants is steadily building up in London. The Senate President and House Speaker have led the train. That visit is perhaps understandable given the strategic place of the legislature in our order of precedence. Innocuous special interests (mostly businessmen) have also reportedly sneaked into London to ‘greet’ the president. Factions of the presumptive leadership of the ruling APC have been to London. A delegation of the Governor’s Forum is reportedly underway. Many more are likely to follow in typical Nigerian fashion. Soon delegations of the Federal Executive Council, Service Chiefs, permanent secretaries, Governor’s wives, market women, imams, bishops, herdsmen etc. cannot be too far off. Some may even travel with full complement of soothsayers,

Buhari

prophets, imams, colourful dance troupes and traditional drummers.

A motley circus of fawning Nigerians is converting Buhari’s ill health into a traveling theatre with London as the stage.

Public funds are being spent while major international airlines are smiling to the bank.

The British audience must be somewhat bemused. But ordinary Nigerians are no doubt astonished at this festival of prodigality in a time of democratized hardship.

If the object of the president’s medical vacation was for him to get some rest and obey his doctors, the purpose is dead because we are transferring the schedulers and protocol officers of Aso villa to London to manage this deluge of presidential well-wishers.

For those visitors who occupy important government posts, it is disguised vacation time with the usual racketeering in estacodes and allowances. Perhaps this is a dramatization of the joblessness of these officials at a time when the Nigerian commonwealth is terminally stressed and requires even more committed work by key officials of state.

I am not sure Mr. Buhari intended this traveling circus to accompany him to his health vacation. The president is reputedly a shy, self-effacing, compulsively austere and private man. He must be thoroughly embarrassed by this endless stream of political well-wishers. I am sure he would have preferred to be left alone to rest, undergo his medical tests and telephone acting president Yemi Osinbajo to check on the affairs of state until it is time to return home. But political dramatists seem to be overwhelming Buhari’s more austere preferences.

We cannot totally blame the pro-Buhari touring band. The president is first and foremost a political persona. Wherever he goes, in health or infirmity, politics will follow him. Not surprisingly, most of the

politicians jetting into London to wish him well know their art well. They visit the president in the day and retire to their hotels to hold innocuous nocturnal meetings to plot his 2019 succession. Politicians are dramatists of outcomes; they define their ends but act out their route.

However, embedded in this whole London drama are some of the contradictions of Mr. Buhari’s endangered presidency. Here is a president that Nigerians expected to place a moratorium on officially sponsored medical treatments abroad but who prefers to jet out to check an ear infection. Here is a man that many expected would provide for the best health facilities for most Nigerians in Nigeria but allows for huge budget provisions for the state house clinic that he hardly trusts to run routine tests on him. Here is the one leader that many expected would actively discourage the kind of sycophancy that is driving these comic trains to London. Even now, many Nigerians still expect that Mr. Buhari ought to summon the moral courage to insist that those officials who wish him well should stay home and discharge their responsibilities with even greater commitment.

In fairness, the president has spared us the confusion that his absence would have caused. He quickly transmitted the relevant authority for an acting president to the National Assembly. By the letter and spirit of the constitution, my friend and brother, Yemi Osinbajo is doing what he has to do, holding the fort for his boss and ensuring that the machinery of state grinds on. But Buhari’s communication machinery has failed a basic rule of public accountability. At his inauguration, the president declared that he belongs ‘to all and to none’. His health status is public business and belongs to ‘all’. His vacation time and how he spends it is his private part and belongs to ‘none’ other than he.

The task of walking that fine line is what seems to have overwhelmed his handlers.

In these matters, there is no substitute to prompt, credible and sensible information.

It is the absence of this rather than any appetite for mischief that has created room for wild rumors and ‘fake news’.

The best way to course correct is to press the restart button, not to fruitlessly hunt for imaginary regime foes.

Admittedly, the general aloofness of the president and his self-effacing nature has not made the burden of his communicators any easier either. A public communicator at the apex of the place of power, no matter how ingenious, cannot put a spin on what he does not know. I would not know how much Buhari’s official communicators know about the situation of their boss. Mr. Buhari’s personal style (or lack of it) has

unfortunately established the unflattering identity for his presidency as one that thrives on protracted silences.

This has led many Nigerians to see the president as distant and even insensitive at the best of times. Yet he is tenacious about his concern for the common folk and presents as a combatant against elite privileges. But his policies have ended up migrating the highest number of Nigerians into abject poverty and spreading misery to the most unlikely segments. These are perhaps unintended interim dividends of an otherwise well-intentioned presidency.

However for those who share the optimism that our present misery is part of the foundation for future prosperity, the gate of optimism remains open. The fact that the president’s most spirited strivings and famed good intentions have so far rapidly pauperized and saddened most of the populace is enough to send even the healthiest of men to hospital.

At this point, the president needs to have a frank discussion with his London doctors.

They need to agree a workable schedule that enables him to return to work while pursuing whatever treatment options he needs to. The mood of discomfort among the people could worsen if the president allows his prolonged absence to deepen the growing feeling that he is after all dispensable. While the supremacy of the constitution ordinarily makes every president dispensable, the unwritten law of political longevity compels every sensible incumbent to feign indispensability. And the risk for Buhari is even higher because the nation that elected him to improve things is in a sad state. Soon, people will begin to argue that there is no difference in their lot whether or not the president is in Abuja or London. Politically, that will literally end Buhari’s reign and incinerate the endangered myth that he could fix Nigeria’s multiple crises.

There still remains a bit of political capital that Mr. Buhari and his followership can recover. That depends on how much longer the president remains in London.

If he returns home now and manages to do a quick rejig of his uninspiring administration, he might be able to take on the severe economic problems that we face. If, however, he stays away for longer than is defensible, the Nigerian public may get used to life without him for as long as the machinery of government continues to run constitutionally. In either direction, a key political proposition has already been irreparably and fatally compromised by President Buhari’s long medical vacation: his basic political viability and electability in 2019.

• Dr. Chidi Amuta is Chairman of Wilson & Weizmann Ltd., Lagos.

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