ASSETS DECLARATION: Govs refuse to emulate Buhari, Osinbajo

...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 62487

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

Investors lose N1.6trn in 100 days of Buhari's govt

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ASSETS DECLARATION:

Govs refuse to emulate Buhari, Osinbajo

By Our Reporters

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•Say they are not bound by law to toe Buhari's line •Ajimobi, Ahmed, Wike, others insist it's personal •We're still in court over the issue, says El-Rufai

BUJA—NIGERIA’S governors are shying away from following the path of probity laid by President Muhammadu Buhari in making public their assets, as they, weekend, declined to follow suit.

The exception was Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Jigawa State, who, yesterday, pledged to follow the example of President Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo in making known his assets and that Continues on Page 5

Dagogo seeks release of Donu Kogbara >>15

Mr & Mrs AWARD—From left: Mr Charles Timothy ''Chuck'' Hagel, former United States Secretary of Defence, and Dr Kayode Fayemi, former Governor of Ekiti State, presenting award to Mr Jim Ovia, Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, during the 20th Anniversary awards of Thisday newspaper, held on Saturday at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. PHOTO: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

COLUMNISTS:

I pledge to Buhari my President •P.19 C M Y K

65 more refineries, •P.36 Buhari after 100 days•P.20 Hurray, but...

Army Chief probes multi-billion dollar arms purchase >>9

2—Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015—3

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Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 , 2015 —5

POCKET CARTOON

WEDDING—Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki (middle); former Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola (right); Sen. Rafiu Ibrahim (left) and Sen. Dino Melaye (2nd left) during the wedding of Oyinlola’s daughter at our Saviour's Anglican Church, Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, weekend.

ASSETS: Govs refuse to emulate Buhari, Osinbajo Continues from Page 1 of his deputy, Ibrahim Hadeja.

Other governors contacted, weekend, however, demurred. The nays cutting across party lines said that they would not go beyond the constitutional requirement imposed on them in submitting their declared assets to the Code of Conduct Bureau.

President Buhari and Osinbajo had, last Thursday, made public their assets, becoming the second time a Nigerian leader in the Fourth Republic would make known his assets. The only other precedence was in 2007 when late President Umaru Yar‘Adua made known his declared assets.

Contacted, yesterday,

IT'S UP TO YOU

BY AYO ADIO

I

USED to think that HIV, cancer and diabetes were man’s greatest enemies until I saw how many became prisoners of complacency, procrastination and inertia. No one is entitled to what they never crave for. Beyond our inadequacies lies the true genius. If we decided to move past what seemed to limit us, that which held us back will become leverage for our elevation. It's up to you.

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

Control of consciousness determines the quality of life —Mihaly- C

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PERSON’S state of awareness is consciousness, and like a mirror, it allows all images to reflect on it. The mirror gives you what it sees, untainted, not modified or altered images.

Likewise, behind every single thought there is the pure consciousness and awareness. It cannot be tainted intrinsically with negative emotions such as hatred or envy. If you want to attract beautiful energy, change your consciousness and you’ll change your life. Go from hate to love. Envy and greed to contentment. Anger to forgiveness, undue attachment to material things to detachment and balance. Passions of lust to right discrimination and haughtiness to humility.

SAYINGS OF OUR PEOPLE

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very fool knows that he cannot reach the stars, but what we must remember is, it never keeps a wise man from trying.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State affirmed that he would not do it, saying that having done it in 2011 necessity was not on him to do it again and urged those interested in knowing his worth to use the Freedom of Information Act to access it.

Ajimobi, others say no Speaking through his spokesperson, Mr. Gbade Ojo , the governor said: “Declaration of assets is a constitutional matter that all civil servants must do.

The Code of Conduct Act makes it mandatory for all civil servants to do so. But the Act does not make it compulsory that it is done publicly.

“In 2011, when Governor Abiola Ajimobi was sworn in as the governor of the state, he declared his assets and since he is a re-elected governor, he doesn’t have to do it again. The media can go through the Code of Conduct Bureau to access it.

“As for President Buhari and his Vice, Professor Osinbajo, they are newly elected. So, that is why they have done it as required by the constitution. “ As for me, I have also declared my assets but not publicly and since there is Freedom of Information Act, the media can go and access it to know whether what I have declared is correct or not”, he said.

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, who is also the chairman of the APC Governors

Forum, it was learnt, was not in a hurry to publicly declare his assets, at press time.

Chief Press Secretary, CPS, to the Governor, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo said: “I will need to confer with the Governor before making a categorical statement on the issue.”

Continuing, the Governor’s CPS also said: “I am not aware that any state governor has, so far, declared his assets openly. Moreover, I do not know of any law of this land, which insists that governors must openly declare their assets.”

When Vanguard sought to know why Governor Okorocha would not toe the line of President Buhari, the CPS said there was no marching order from the Presidency that all governors must copy the President’s style.

Attempts to find out from Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State on whether he would declare his assets publicly like his predecessor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, who claimed to be worth N4 billion, was unsuccessful.

The governor did not respond to calls and text messages sent to him but the Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, said the issue of public disclosure of assets declaration was personal.

Efforts to also find out the readiness of Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State to toe the path of Buhari did not yield result at press time.

The Director of Press and Public Affairs to the Governor, Mr. Emmanuel Nanle, told Vanguard yesterday: “The governor has already declared his assets to the relevant authority, it is his decision to either make it public or not.

“It is not part of the law to make public your assets; it is a personal decision. The Governor did not make mention of his intention but I will find out if he intends to do that.

“The Governor is particular about bringing the needed change to the people of Plateau, public declaration of asset is a private decision and certainly, the Governor has that personal decision to make but if he decides not to do so, he has not gone against any law of the land.”

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State and his deputy, Elder Peter Kisira are equally not disposed as they, yesterday, said they would not proceed beyond the constitutional step of submitting the declarations to the CCB. The governor spoke through his spokesman, Dr. Muideen Akorede who said public disclosure was at the

discretion of the office holder.

Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State, on his part, could not be reached on the issue but his aides insisted that he was already in court on the issue arising from an alleged libel.

His stance nonetheless, the governor ’s political rival, Senator Shehu Sani, APC, Kaduna Central, has followed the president’s example by declaring a cash balance of N22 million, five residential houses and six vehicles among others.

We're still in court — El-Rufai El Rufai has been out of the country for over a week and his deputy, who confirmed yesterday that the governor had strings of international engagements, has been sitting-in for him.

El Rufai had on July 27 this year, filed a case of defamation at Kaduna High Court, against a national daily (not Vanguard ) which published a story claiming that he had declared N90 billion and 40 mansions with the Code of Conduct Bureau.

Said one of his aides who does not want his name mentioned: “It is not proper to make issues out of something that is already in Court. I am sure that you know the consequences of that.

But, I can assure you that the governor is not afraid to declare his assets publicly when the case would have been done with.”

Senator Sani in a statement at the weekend had said: “In line with the moral example set by President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo, and in conformity to the standard of transparent and exemplary leadership, and in submission to the public and popular demand for integrity test for all public office holders, in a new Nigeria on a

filtration process for a politically clean and decent future, I have decided to voluntarily make this public declaration: Two residential houses in Kaduna, two houses under lease in Kaduna; two uncompleted office apartments in Kaduna; one residential house in Abuja; one family inherited house in Kurfi, Katsina State and one family inherited house in Minna, Niger state.”

Others are: “Bank account N22 million; shares in four firmsbought N5million shares in 2007 but it crashed in 2008; five books – I authored over 30 books published in Nigeria, United States and United Kingdom with royalties and I publish a community journal ‘Peace Magazine”, he said.

He further declared that he had six vehicles but did not specify the types.

Governor Abubakar of Jigawa State was the only APC governors contacted, yesterday, who was inclined towards following the president’s example.

Governors belonging to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, were equally defiant in their determination not to follow the example set by the president.

Governors Nyesom Wike (Rivers) and Dave Umahi (Ebonyi) also demurred on the issue when contacted.

Governor Wike said he followed the laid down regulations on the issue.

Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the governor, Mr. Opunabo Nko Tariah, said yesterday: “He will be in sync with the relevant provisions of the law on asset declaration” The Ebonyi State Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, in a response on the position of the governor said: “Quite frankly, I have no comment on the subject.

It doesn’t even arise to the level of gossip...as a political issue”.

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

Robbers raid NYSC members’ lodge in Abeokuta

By Daud Olatunji

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BEOKUTA—A fourman gang of armed robbers, weekend, invaded the residence of National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members serving in Abeokuta , Ogun State, and robbed them at gunpoint.

The NYSC lodge is located behind Development Centre, Presidential Boulevard, Abeokuta.

Vanguard gathered that the robbery, which occurred on Saturday at about 3a.m., was the third in five months.

Some of the victims, who spoke with Vanguard said the four-man gang escaped through bush path after the operation.

Two of the bandits moved from one room to another, while the other two stood guard outside.

2 cable vandals electrocuted in Enugu

By Francis Igata

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NUGU—TWO persons, who specialized in vandalizing installations of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC, were electrocuted, weekend, while attempting to remove the power distribution property.

Meanwhile, a young man of about 25 years of age is currently hospitalized in Anambra State for burns to his body while attempting to

vandalize EEDC’s 2.5 MVA transformer, which serves customers within Nnewi town.

EEDC’s Public Affairs Manager, Mr. Eugene Aniowo, who made the disclosure to journalists in Enugu yesterday, said the incidents had been reported to the police, even as he lamented incessant vandalism of EEDC’s installations in various parts of the South-East geopolitical zone.

Recalling that a High Court

in Abakaliki recently convicted a young man for vandalizing property of the company, Aniowo said about 30 transformers had been vandalized in the last six months at Nnewi.

Narrating the present incidents, Aniowo said the vandal used iron ladder and that the mangled body of the Agulu victim was found inside EEDC substation while attempting to vandalize the transformer components.

Robbers invade Ogun hospital, rape patients, nurses

By Daud Olatunji

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Illegal crude oil refining sites being destroyed at Buguma, Asari Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State. PHOTO: Nwankpa Chijioke.

Daddy touches me, puts his manhood in my mouth, gives me money—7-YR-OLD GIRL

By Esther Onyegbula

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seven-year-old girl (names withheld) has narrated how her father paid her after sexually abusing her at their Ojokoro Housing Estate, Meiran, Ijaiye, Lagos, residence.

The primary three pupil said: “My daddy usually gives me money after touching my private parts or putting his penis in my mouth. He touches my private parts when my mother is outside washing clothes or when she is not in the house.”

The victim’s father, identified as Chukwuemeka Odunzie, allegedly started defiling his daughter early last year.

Narrating her ordeal, the victim’s mother, Mrs Odunzie, said: “Last year, my son told me that his younger sister was fond of playing with her private parts. It sounded strange that a seven-year-old child would be doing that.

“I will talk to her, scold her and sometimes beat her. There was a time I told my husband.

“All he said was that if she was acting strangely I should take her to any of these white garment churches. I was alarmed when one day, while we were in the sitting room, she started touching and playing with herself.

She confesses to mother

“Immediately, I called her

Aniowo said: “EEDC requests that the general public be vigilant and not allow its network and installations to be vandalized within their communities. EEDC customers should see electricity installations around them as theirs and protect them as such.”

Aniowo said the company had lost millions of naira in revenue to the activities of vandals in the last couple of months, stressing that the issue was on the rise in the five South-East states.

inside the room and asked her what the problem was. I asked her if anyone was fiddling with her private parts. She said it was her father that always touched her private parts and that after touching her private parts, he would give her money.

“I confronted my husband when he returned from work but he denied vehemently. I reported a case of defilement to Ebenezer Divisional Police and the policemen invited my husband for questioning.

“He was arrested later by the police, who gave me a report to take my daughter to the hospital. The doctor said there had been no penetration, but that there is an opening in her virginal and advised that the victim be tested for infection.

I did it just once—FATHER It’s a family affair—POLICE Rights group intervenes would beat them for no tangible reason.

“Two weeks ago, it happened again. I asked her what she did for her father that made him give her money without giving her siblings. That was when she said that daddy gave her the money after touching her private parts.

“Her siblings said it had been ongoing for a while and that they refused to tell me because the last time they did, their daddy kept beating them.

“He puts it in my mouth” Family pressure

“By the time we came back from the hospital, the IPO said it was a family issue and that we should go home and settle the case.

“Members of his family were shouting, saying that I had no right to report the case to the police, that it was a family issue that should be treated as one.

They mounted pressure me till I withdrew the case, after which he promised not to defile our daughter again.

“After I withdrew the case, my husband began to beat the children at the slightest provocation. And at times, he

“Her brother said whenever I was not around, or I was outside washing clothes, daddy would send him and his other siblings inside the bedroom, while he would ask the victim to kneel down in between his legs and bend her head towards his manhood.

“She also confirmed that after touching her, daddy would put his penis in her mouth.

“There was even a time my daughter was caught in the act with a four-year-old boy, who is a neighbour’s child.”

In his defense, the victim’s father, Chukwuemeka Odunzie, admitted that it was

Mr. Chukwuemeka Odunzie

only once he abused his daughter and that he was not doing it for occult reasons.

Reacting to the issue, the Cocoordinator, Project Alert, Josephine Effah Chukwuma, said: “Apart from ensuring that the law takes it course, the main task is how to rehabilitate this little girl, whose life has been messed up by her father.

“This is because the abuse was not a one-off thing as the victim had become so accustomed to the act, that when she feels the urge and there is no one to touch her, she touches herself.

“There is need to rehabilitate her and her siblings, who watched.”

BEOKUTA—OGUN State Police Command has arrested suspected armed robbers, who allegedly robbed and raped patients and nurses at a private hospital in Ijebu-Ode. Police also said the suspects were responsible for the killing of one Alayande Oladipupo after dispossessing him of his belongings in Ijebu-Ode. Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Muyiwa Adejobi, said in a statement that no fewer than 10 armed robbers had been arrested in Ijebu-Ode for the two incidents.

According to Adejobi, the command made the arrest while acting on a tip-off that the armed men, who had been terrorizing IjebuOde and its environ, were sighted at Molipa-Ikanga area in Ijebu-Ode about 5:30p.m. on Saturday He said: “The police operatives attached to Igbeba Division of the command swung into action immediately the information got to them and rushed to the said area where the suspected armed robbers opened fire on the police operatives, who responded with heavy fire power before eight of them were arrested.

“These suspects have been identified as the killers of one Alayande Oladipo, who was shot dead in Ijebu-Ode on August 25 and those responsible for the robbery and rape cases at a hospital in Ijebu-Ode. “The suspects had robbed patients and staff of the said hospital and raped some of them during their operation at the hospital.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015—7

Police nab Mile 2 pickpocket kingpin

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Accident on Airport Road, Benin, Edo State. NAN PHOTO.

Flood sweeps off 6 roadside traders in Onitsha

By Nwabueze Okonkwo

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NITSHA—SIX roadside jeans and T-shirts sellers were, Saturday evening, feared dead as they fell into a drain and were swept away by flood during a downpour.

The incident, according to an eyewitness, occurred at about 7p.m. at the foot of Upper Iweka flyover bridge by Ezeiweka Road Junction, along Onitsha-Owerri Road, Onitsha, Anambra State.

The eyewitness said the traders were doing their businesses on planks laid across the Sakamori gutter, when the planks suddenly broke and they fell in.

Passers-by, who witnessed the incident, cried helplessly as no one dared jump into the rampaging flood. At press time, the bodies of the traders had not been recovered and no one could establish their identities.

The source hinted that traders had for a long time converted the Sakamori area into a roadside clothes market, probably due to their inability to pay for a shop in any of the markets in the commercial city.

We’re not aware—POLICE

However, Police Area Commander for Onitsha, Mr. Philip Ezekiel, told newsmen, yesterday, that he was not aware of the incident, adding that the scene was within

Awada Police Division.

Also, the Divisional police Officer at Awada, Mr. Joseph Dimale, told newsmen on phone that he was not also aware of the incident.

Dimale added that he would

send his men to the scene to ascertain the true position of things.

The Publicity Secretary of Anambra Markets Amalgamated Traders Association, AMATAS, Uzor A.

86-yr-old landlady killed in Lagos fire

By Abdul-Lateef Ligali

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RAGEDY struck, weekend, in Iba New Site, Ojo, Lagos State, when fire completely razed a 10-room bungalow, killing an 86-yearold woman.

It was alleged that the fire was caused by a tenant’s child, who reportedly lit a match stick and left it on a mattress. It was said to have spread to another mattress in the apartment before it engulfed the entire house.

Report said while everyone was scampering for safety, the unsuspecting landlady of the building, Mrs Ayeola James,

86, who was suffering from stroke could not move from her apartment.

Her son, who usually stayed with her, was reportedly not at home.

Confirming the incident, Lagos State Fire Service Director, Mr. Rasaq Fadipe, said the charred remains of the landlady was later discovered.

When Vanguard visited the scene yesterday, one of the children of the deceased, who simply identified himself as James, said: “I went to work, leaving my mother in the house hale and hearty, only for a neighbour to call me on

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NUGU—POLICE in Enugu have arrested a suspect (names withheld), who slashed the throat of one Anthony Nnamani in a bid to snatch the victim's Toyota Camry, at Udenu Local Government Area of

the phone, saying the building was on fire.

“I rushed home and from the look on every face, I knew all was not well with my mother.

After much persuasion, I was told she died in the fire.”

The remains of landlady was buried yesterday.

In a related development, an explosion rocked Ikorodu area of Lagos yesterday, destroying property worth several millions of naira.

The explosion reportedly started from a shop loaded with gas cylinder at Ibeshe area of Ikorodu. Fadipe also confirmed the incident.

Zamfara flood kills 24, washes out 400 houses; 2,000 homeless

By Salisu Maradun

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USAU—NO fewer than 24 people were reported to have lost their lives in Gusau, capital of Zamfara State, following a downpour, which many people described as a calamity beyond human

imagination.

Also, property worth millions of naira were destroyed, including food items and domestic animals.

The rain, which lasted about seven hours, also washed away over 400 houses, submerged a number of culverts and

Cars snatcher slashes vehicle owner’s throat in Enugu

By Francis Igata

Uzor, described the incident as very unfortunate and regretted that most of the traders in Onitsha do not like to move into the market, where there were vacant shops, but preferred to do business on the roadsides.

NE member of a gang that specialized in picking pockets around Mile 2, Lagos State, was arrested last week.

The suspected robber, Monday Ubi, 23, was nabbed by the operatives of Rapid Response Squad, RRS, at about 11:40p.m. last Thursday, following a distress call from his victim, Mr. Orji Ogbonnaya, after he had successfully removed N28,000 from Ogbonnaya's pocket inside a commercial bus heading towards Festac.

The victim told police that the suspect sat beside him on the last row, where he picked the money from his pocket.

He recounted his ordeal: “I boarded a bus to Mile 2 from Oshodi. On getting to Toyota, the suspect came in as another passenger because we still had vacant seats on the bus.

“I did not have any inkling that he had a mission.

“I shifted a bit for him and he sat closer to me. When I noticed that he had removed the money from my pocket, I pretended as if nothing had happened.

Then I was looking out for any police patrol vehicle to come to my rescue.

“When we reached Mile 2, he wanted to alight, but I held his trousers and called the attention of an RRS patrol team I saw around the area.

“Unknown to me, he had passed the money to an accomplice. But when police officers surrounded us, one man dropped the money and fled.”

Enugu State, on August 28.

An eyewitness said that the incident, which occurred at about 3:40p.m., quickly drew peoples’ attention, noting that they thought the car snatcher was a ritualist.

Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, confirmed

the incident in a statement, saying operatives of Udenu Police Division got wind of the incident, rushed to the scene and arrested the car snatcher.

Amaraizu said: “The suspect will be charged to court upon the conclusion of our investigation.”

uprooted many shops and kiosks erected in some major streets.

At press time, over 2,000 people had been rendered homeless, with the victims taking refuge at some government quarters across the town.

Five among the dead were female, while the remaining were male, including children, whose ages ranged from four to five.

Trapped while asleep

Eyewitness account said some of those who died in the calamity were trapped in their rooms, while sleeping, as the rain started very late.

The remaining, according to the eyewitness, who sought

anonymity, drowned in the flood water, despite screaming for help, which they did not get because every other person was struggling to survive.

The State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, Chairman, Engr. Sanusi Kwatorkoshi, could not be reached for comment on the issue as he was said to have left the state capital for Mecca.

The areas mostly affected were Birnin Ruwa, Sabon Fegi, Filin Gunza and Tudun Wada.

Other areas also affected include Sabon Gari, Hayin Danhausa, Tudun Kosau and Hayin Malam Sani, which lost nine of their residents, four vehicles and nine motorcycles.

8—Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

By Emeka Anaeto, Economy Editor

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AGOS — INVESTORS in the Nigerian stock market lost N1.6 trillion in the first 100 days of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, going by report of activities at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as at close of business last weekend.

The NSE market capitalization (total value of all shares in the NSE) closed at N10.1 trillion, down by over 14 per cent from N11.7 trillion closing value on the last day of the former President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration, May 28, 2015.

Similarly, the key performance index of the exchange, the All Shares Index (ASI), dropped by over 13 per cent to 29,511.1 points from 34,310.9 within the same period.

Market analysts have described this development as a summation of local and foreign investors’ characterization of the economic policy environment as hazy and uncertain in the past three months.

They also attributed the negative turn of affairs in the stock market to the gloomy picture foisted on the economy by the combination of declining oil revenue and lack of a clear policy response to it.

In reaction to the economic developments in the first 100 days of Buhari’s regime, Afrinvest Group, a Lagos-based investment banking house, said: “Investors in the financial markets have remained on the sideline as a result of lack of fiscal policy direction from the president coupled with exchange rate uncertainty.

Equities market lost 14% since June

"The Nigerian equities market has lost 14 per cent since June till date while the bonds market (as measured by FMDQ index) shed 3 per cent in the same period.”

They added that “in the absence of clear fiscal economic blueprint, the monetary authority introduced several exchange rate policies which have continued to pressure the market, constraining foreign portfolio inflows into the market.”

Similarly, investors’ unenthusiastic expectations for first half of 2015 corporate financial reports, especially in the consumer goods sector, has further dampened investors’ sentiments. This is evident in the unimpressive earnings posted by the companies that have released their reports for the first half where almost all of them show significant decline in earnings.

According to stockbrokers, earnings results published so far underscore the tough operating environment in the economy.

Notwithstanding, Afrinvest expressed optimism thus: “The President has promised to unveil his list of cabinet members in September. This is expected to catalyze the economy and the capital market to optimizing their potentials in the medium term.

"Our position is anchored on the

AWARD: From right, All Progressives Congress (APC) leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who was conferred with Honorary Doctor of Political Science and Diplomacy; Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State; former Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Alfa Belgore, who was conferred with Honorary Doctor of Law of Jurisprudence and ProChancellor & Chairman, Governing Council, Adeleke University, Dr. Adedeji Adeleke, during the maiden convocation for the conferment of first degrees, award of prize and honorary degrees, at Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State, yesterday.

Investors lose N1.6trn in first 100 days of Buhari tenure fact that ministerial appointments, which are set to be concluded by September 2015, are expected to give the market a sense of direction of the Buhari-led government, consequently, activating improved market performance.

"Correspondingly, we expect economic activities in the second half of 2015 to improve relative to first half of 2015; thus, corporate earnings performances should mirror the economic outlook.

"Therefore, we place a higher weighting on the possibility of a fantastic positive overall return for medium to long term investors and also preach caution on short term speculative trading.”

Afrinvest Group had earlier said the economy growth rate would be down to 3.5 per cent as against 5 per cent it had projected this year.

Updates on economy and markets

Reacting to the updates on the economy and the markets, Renaissance Capital (Rencap Group), a multinational financial institution, downgraded Nigeria’s economic growth rate expectations. According to them, Nigeria’s economy will grow year-on-year (Y-o-Y) by 2.8 per cent, down from its earlier forecast growth rate of 3.4 per cent.

In its report, Rencap Group stated: "We revise down our 2015 growth forecast for Nigeria to 2.8 per cent (from 3.4 per cent) following this week’s release of exceptionally weak growth data from Nigeria and South Africa.

Rencap was referring to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its latest economic statistical report

focusing on the Nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for second quarter (Q2) 2015.

The NBS report indicated that the real growth rate of the monetary value of all goods and services produced in the country during the period slowed to 2.4 per cent Y-o-Y, down from 4.0 per cent in Q1, 2015 and 6.5 per cent in Q2, 2014. This was on the back of the low crude oil prices and decline in oil production to

2.1mbpd from 2.2mbpd in Q2, 2014.

Growth rate mark-down

Giving reason for the growth rate mark-down, Rencap Group said: "We revise down our 2015 growth forecast for two reasons: First, half 2015 growth of 3.1 per cent Y-o-Y came below our 2015 forecast of 3.4 per cent and second, we expect supply

constraints, related to foreign exchange restrictions and the de facto import ban, to undermine growth in second half 2015."

The impact of continued decline in the international oil price has dragged down growth indices in the Nigerian economy in the second quarter, 2015.

According to a report by the NBS, Nigeria’s GDP expanded 2.35 percent on an annual basis, compared with 3.96 percent a quarter earlier.

Adesina, Oteh’s appointments show we had world-class economic team —Jonathan

By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

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BUJA — FORMER President Goodluck Jonathan has said that the emergence of Dr Akinwumi Adesina as President of the African Development Bank, AfDB, and Ms. Arunma Oteh as Treasurer/Vice President of the World Bank demonstrated that he had a good economic team.

Adesina was Jonathan’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, while Ms. Oteh was the Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC. The former president’s position was contained in separate letters of congratulations to Adesina and Oteh which Jonathan personally signed.

He described them as high achievers and Nigeria’s worthy ambassadors.

In his letter to Adesina, the former President said: “Given your exemplary record of performance, while serving as the Minister for Agriculture and

Rural Development in my cabinet, I have no doubt that you will deploy your energy and the bank’s resources to ensure that Africa experiences a new era of accelerated development.

“You were not only a critical voice in my economic team, you also walked the talk, and earned the praise of our countrymen and women, by ensuring that Nigeria’s quest for selfsufficiency in food production became an achievable dream.

“I am particularly pleased with your emergence as the AfDB boss, a development, I believe, has come as a reward for having served your country meritoriously. It also attests to the fact that my administration had a good team that managed the affairs of the country.”

Also writing to Ms. Oteh, Jonathan said: “I am delighted that you are going to your new job, fresh from the experience of having led the recovery and growth initiatives of the Nigerian Bourse in the wake of the decline, occasioned by recent global economic recession and financial crisis.

“I am particularly pleased that you are being rewarded and elevated on the world stage, after serving your country meritoriously, at a time I was the President. This is a clear testimony to your capacity, high integrity, and tenacity of purpose. It is also a vindication of the decision of my administration to stand by you, believing in your abilities and competence, even when questions were being raised in some quarters over your choice.

“I am convinced that the experience you gathered as Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria (SEC) gave you deep insights on how to tackle the peculiar challenges of a developing nation.

"The World Bank can draw from this to ensure that its future partnerships with emerging economies in Africa and other parts of the world are anchored on policies that will lead to sustained growth and development, which is a sine qua non for lifting millions of people in the developing world out of mass poverty.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015—9

Arms purchase: Buratai sets up panel to probe his predecessors

By Kingsley Omonobi

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BUJA — THERE is palpable tension in the military while fear has gripped loyalists and former aides of Chiefs of Army Staff who held sway from 2010 to May 20, 2015. This follows the setting up of a panel by Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, to probe his predecessors over how billions of dollars were spent on arms purchase and logistics during their tenure.

Vanguard was told, weekend, that the army boss, who took over from Lt.0-Gen. KTJ Minimah, decided to institute the investigation panel after carrying out a preliminary inventory of army weaponry needed to combat the Boko Haram menace and other security challenges, and discovered that what was available was a far cry from what should have been in stock.

Consequently, Vanguard gathered that the eight-man panel headed by a Brigadier General with four Colonels and three Lieutenant Colonels as members will investigate all armament equipment most of which were denominated in dollars, including armoured tanks, artillery weaponry and other logistics bought by the Nigerian Army from 2010 to 2015.

Since the outbreak of the violent Boko Haram insurgency in 2009, the Federal Government had consistently increased budgetary provisions for the army on a yearly basis with a view to acquiring sophisticated weapons, logistic support and needed training to ensure the security challenges were tackled.

Terms of reference

The panel is expected to go round all the army’s armament depots across the country, take inventory of specific arms, compare types and quality of arms with actual recommendation, approval and amount of money released for the purchase as well as what was bought.

In doing this, the panel is to find out the names of the contractors who executed the jobs and supplied the equipment and at what cost. The panel will also ascertain why some of the arms purchase contracts whose monies have been collected were not done and at what level those implementing contracts have reached.

Expatiating more on the investigation, the source said there is no link between the probe being carried out by the Chief of Army Staff and the general probe ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari whose committee is sitting at the office of the National Security Adviser.

Other reasons Vanguard gathered which influenced the decision of General Buratai to set up the investigation panel, C M Y K

include revelations which came out during the battle to dislodge Boko Haram terrorists that subsequently led to thousands of soldiers deserting their commission and so many abandoning their duty posts and running away from terrorists.

It was gathered that many of the weapons failed to respond

in the frontline, armoured tanks broke down while many could not shoot. Aside this, many logistics equipment deployed refused or failed to work in very critical periods where soldiers were face-to-face with armed terrorists.

In some cases, there are documentation showing that

some of the arms were purchased and have been taken to certain locations but these arms are nowhere to be found and nobody could render account.

The panel is expected to complete its assignment and submit its report to the Chief of Army Staff by November.

VISIT: From left, Comrade Oladele Hunsu, President, National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, NUTGTWN, Comrade Carlos Treso Sosa, Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria; his wife and Comrade Issa Aremu, General Secretary, NUTGTWN, during the Ambassador's visit to NUTGTWN office in Ikeja, Lagos. Photo: Diran Oshe.

Trips to Paris, Dubai: Ex-Works Minister replies Vanguard Identifies 4 NASS members who made Paris trip Says they were not ‘ghost’ representatives

By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor

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BUJA — IMMEDIATE past Works Minister, Arc. Mike Onolememen, has responded to an exclusive report by Vanguard in which he was accused of smuggling four unnamed officials into the delegation that represented Nigeria at an international infrastructure summit in Paris, France, in 2011.

The story, which was run by the newspaper last Tuesday, had also indicated that the minister included the names of his wife and sister on the official delegation of the ministry to a leadership training programme in Dubai, United Arab Emirate that same year.

But Onolememen, who reacted to the report while speaking to our correspondent in Abuja, yesterday, denied any wrongdoing in any of the two trips, which cost the country over N26 million.

The former minister said the four unnamed persons referred to as “ghost representatives” by the newspaper were members of the Senate and House of Representatives committees on Works, who decided to accompany the ministry ’s delegation to Paris after the necessary arrangements had been concluded.

Onolememen explained that it was in a rush bid to raise a memo for the inclusion of the four stakeholders on works to meet up with the departing team that their names were inadvertently omitted, adding that there was no intention by those who prepared the document to make away with the money approved.

He said: “The truth of the matter is that the four men attended the Paris summit and made serious contributions to our road infrastructure and I can say with all honesty that the N20.6 million approved for them was for their trip to Paris

and nothing else."

The former minister, who also defended the inclusion of his wife’s name on the ministry’s list for a trip to Dubai in 2011, explained that the meeting was actually for ministers’ wives and top female ministry officials.

Onolememen stated that his wife was specially nominated to lead the team from Nigeria to Dubai and she in turn picked three female officials to accompany her to the event, which lasted five days.

The former minister said that as a sticker to probity and accountability, he was mindful of the things he did while in office and declared that he saved huge sums of money for the country as a result of stringent measures to prevent waste.

He also said he did his best to improve the country’s road sector from what he inherited on assumption of office in 2011.

BVN: 19m bank customers registered so far —CBN

By Rosemary Onuoha

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AGOS — OVER 19 million bank customers have been registered under the ongoing Bank Verification Number, BVN, exercise taking place in the banking industry, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has said.

Director, Banking and Payment System of the CBN, Mr. Dipo Fatokun, who disclosed this, appealed to all bank customers to register and get their BVN before the October 31 deadline because the CBN will be strict with the deadline.

Fatokun said: “Over 19 million bank customers have been issued BVN. What we are doing now is to move round the banks to see how they are doing and those that are complying. The campaign from the CBN is that Nigerians should go and enrol for the BVN, that is why we are going to be very strict with the deadline.

“Please, bank customers don’t have to wait till October 31. By beginning of October, it will be 30 days left to the deadline and those that don’t enrol will not be allowed access to their accounts.”

Fatokun said with BVN, fraudulent activities in the banking industry would be put to check.

“When we get to the cut-off date, any account that does not have BVN cannot receive or take out money. So, if you are a fraudster and you try to transfer money into an account that doesn’t have BVN, the system will reject it. Now, if you are a fraudster and you transfer money into an account that has BVN, then we know you. It is going to engender transparency in the banking industry,” he added.

Fatokun, however, identified apathy, poor infrastructure as key challenges confronting epayment system in the country, adding that the initiative is facing some resistance as a result of prevailing cash culture, where people preferred to transact business with cash rather than electronic system of payment which is safer and convenient.

He, however, said that the bank is picking up the pace to confront the identified challenges to enhance smooth operation of the system, even as efforts are on to get rid of fraud arising from e-payment transactions.

10 — Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

RCCG donates ultra modern police post

Lagos to enforce restriction law on articulated vehicles To rid streets of traders, hawkers

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

By Olayinka Latona

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AGOS—IN order to complement the efforts of the Nigerian Police Force in curbing insecurity within communities, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye yesterday dedicated a fully equipped police post which was built by the national headquarters of the church, Throne of Grace Parish, Ebute-Metta, for Denton police station, EbuteMetta, Lagos.

Adeboye alongside his wife, Pastor Folu Adeboye and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Jonathan Auragi dedicated the post before he started a special prayer for all first born themed: “Destined to Excel”.

L

AGOS—THE Lagos State Government says it will henceforth impound, any articulated vehicle which driver contravenes the State Road Traffic Law 2012.

The government also added that it will restrict them from plying the metropolis between the hours of 6am to 9pm.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Oluseyi Whenu, stated that the measure

became necessary following incessant auto accidents of articulated vehicles, especially, the fatal accident at Ojuelegba, Surulere Local Government Area, involving a containerladen trailer on September 2.

He said the trailer was discovered to have contravened Section 2 (i) and 2 (ii) of the Traffic Law. According to Whenu, the state government would henceforth go tough on any trailer and long vehicle that contravenes the

Law by impounding and making them to pay the stipulated fine accordingly.

Meantime, leaders of various transport unions and associations in the state, weekend, at a meeting with officials of the state government resolved to support the new directive introduced in apprehending traffic offenders.

In his reaction, The State Chairman of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, RTEAN, Alhaji Musa

Ex-cop nabbed over alleged impersonation, extortion

A

43-year-old expoliceman identified as Lawal Akeem has been arrested by policemen attached to the Lagos State police command for impersonation and extortion.

Akeem who is currently in the custody of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad Ikeja is undergoing interrogation over allegation that he deserted from the police but was caught with a fake police identity card which he used to extort money from unsuspected members of the public.

According to the police, the suspect was exposed after he fought with a motorist last month at Maza-Maza.

HONOUR FOR TOP JOURNALISTS: From left, Mr. Deji Balogun, General Manager, Lagos Television; Mr. Yinka Adagun, General Manager, Lagos Traffic Radio; Mr. Habib Haruna, Chief Press Secretary to the Lagos State Governor; Mr. Fola Adeyemi, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy; Mrs. Funke Moore, General Manager, Radio Lagos and Eko-FM; Mr. Femi Adesina, Special Adviser on Media to President Muhammadu Buhari; Mr. Waheed Odusile, National President, Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, all honourees, and Mr. Deji Elumoye, Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Lagos State Council, during a reception in honour of 10 distinguished journalists by NUJ Lagos State Council, in Lagos. Photo: Bunmi Azeez.

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AGOS—AN Anambra-based lawyer, Chinelo Egini 61, who is a customary court president, and her son, Valentine Egini, 32, have been arraigned before Igbosere Magistrate Court, Lagos, for providing false information to the police against her brothers.

The accused, who were arraigned on four-count charge, before Magistrate W.B. Balogun, were said to have accused Messrs, Godwin Obedike, Chikewe Igweke and Fidelis Obedike of stealing N40 million from WECO systems international limited as well as sponsoring illegal organisation against the Nigerian state and importation of C M Y K

…To rid metropolis of street traders, hawkers

In a related development, the state government has restated its readiness to rid the state of street trading, saying it would fully enforce the provisions of the law restricting street trading in the metropolis.

Chairman of the State Task Force on Environmental and Other Special Offences (Enforcement Unit), Olubukola Abe, who gave the commitment while speaking to journalists in Alausa, Ikeja said the new drive is to reduce the traffic congestion on the road, often caused by the activities of street trading.

Abe said Section 1 of the Street Trading and Illegal Market Prohibition Law 2003, restricts street trading and hawking in the metropolis.

Abe said his men were prepared to step up enforcement of the relevant sections of the law, urging motorists not to patronize them.

According to him, Section 10 of the law prescribes a N5000 fine or three months imprisonment upon conviction.

Lagos NUJ honours distinguished journalists

By Abdulwahab Abdulah

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AGOS—IT was a day of honour for 10 journalists occupying political offices as well as those who have excelled in the journalism profession as they were honoured by the Lagos State

council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ. Those recognised at the weekend by the NUJ, according to the chairman of the council, Mr Deji Elumoye were the ones who have excelled on the job and in their character.

Judge, son docked over false information

By Ifeanyi Okolie

Muhammed, speaking on behalf of other transport union leaders, described the measure as a welcome development just as he pledged the support of their members in co-operating with the state government in maintaining law, order and sanity in the transport sector.

fake and expired drugs.

The allegations were contained in a petition written to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Adeniji Adele, Lagos.

The police, during its investigations, uncovered that the allegations made in the petition, were false and that the matter between the lawyer, her son and her brothers was over alleged criminal conversion of monies and properties belonging to one of their late brothers, the late Chief Executive Officer of WECO System International Limited, Uchenna Obedike, who died in August 2013, in the USA, without a wife and children.

It was also alleged that, Valentine and some of his siblings,

had unlimited access to Obedike’s house in Lekki, as at the time of his death and they were alleged to have transferred huge sums of money from his bank accounts, using his personal computers.

The brothers, on learning what has gone wrong, demanded for the return of the money and properties stolen from their late brother, but Valentine and his mother, in turn wrote petition against his uncles.

Counsel to accused asked the court to grant bail on self recognition as the lawyer is a President of a Customary Court Igboukwu in Anambra State.

However, the Magistrate, in his ruling denied bail on self recognition to the accused.

They include the special adviser on media to President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, Secretary to Lagos State government, Tunji Bello, National President, NUJ, Waheed Odusile, Chief Press Secretary to the Lagos State governor, Habib Haruna.

Others are the managing director, Sun Newspapers, Eric Osagie; MD, New Telegraph, Funke Egbemode; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Fola Adeyemi, GM, Radio Lagos/Eko FM, Funke Moore, GM, Lagos Television, Deji Balogun, and GM Lagos Traffic Radio, Yinka Adagun.

The NUJ chairman, Elumoye, stated: “The distinguished journalists have not been found wanting either on the job or in their character and have made the council to be proud of them.

“We deem it fit to honour these 10 senior journalists because they have been worthy ambassadors of our profession and have brought glory to journalism, and that is why their recent elevation did not come to us as a surprise.

“Some of them have even gone beyond the newsroom to serve in government and they returned unblemished.

“For instance, Funke Egbemode was the spokesperson for former House of Representatives’ Speaker, Patriciah Etteh and Eric Osagie was Special Adviser to Governor Adams Oshiomole of Edo State. Both of them are back to the very top echelon of the newsroom”, Elumoye said.

Odusile, who responded on behalf of the honorees thanked the NUJ state council for recognising their worth, while promising that they will not in any way let the NUJ and members down in their responsibilities.

Earlier, the former Editor in Chief of the defunct Newswatch magazine, Ray Ekpu, who chaired the occasion urged the journalists, especially those serving under this civilian administration, to handle the job with caution and protect the trust of the journalism profession.

He noted that public offices like the one they are occupying is transient and require lots of magnanimity.

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015 — 11

OONI: Giesi family short-lists 5 princes, awaits directive

By Gbenga Olarinoye

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SOGBO—AS efforts are in top gears to fill the vacant stool of the Ooni of Ife, the Giesi ruling house of Ile-Ife which claimed it is its turn to produce the town’s

next monarch has conducted its final screening of aspirants with five princes scaling the hurdle.

The last screening which took place at the family compound at Agbedegbede lane in Ile-Ife followed the

first test done to identify the true princes from the ruling house who have the right to occupy the throne.

The Screening Committee according to a competent source was headed by Prince Bayo Ologbenla with eight

Ekiti to hold education summit

By Rotimi Olaleye

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DO-EKITI—EKITI State Government has finalised arrangement for an all inclusive Education Summit aimed at addressing decadence and the setback noticed in the sector.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Idowu Adelusi, in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, said that all arrangements had been made for a successful parley.

He noted that Governor Ayo Fayose was familiar with taking such a step, as the governor organised a similar event during his first term in office.

“The summit then was chaired

by Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) and within two years, the result was

clear for all to see, as the performance of our students in external examinations conducted

by WAEC and NECO improved significantly.

“Ekiti moved from number 35 in WAEC exams to number seven and later to five and the best in the South-West. If the administration was not illegally truncated then, we would have moved to the top of the chart.

“The significant improvement was achieved due to a lot factors.

Facilities were upgraded, conducive learning environment created and teachers were motivated. It was Governor Fayose that made the celebration of Teachers’ Day a glorious one.

Tutors-General were appointed and best teachers were given cars

and other awards,”he said.

Adelusi added that the coming summit, which would have the Oluyin of Iyin-Ekiti, Oba Ademola Ajakaye, as the chairman, would draw participants from across various sectors.

Meantime, worried by the increasing cases of abandoned babies in government hospitals, Ekiti State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Olurotimi Ojo has advised couples in the State on the need to embrace family planning and adopt child-spacing to guarantee a healthy living.

Dr. Ojo stressed that proper family planning and child spacing would not only reduce the incessant cases of child abandonment but also ensure a manageable and healthy family.

FG repatriates 260 Togolese immigrants

By Monsur Olowoopejo

T

HE Federal Government has repatriated 260 Togolese immigrants, barely three

months after they applied for asylum in Nigeria.

The Federal Government through the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS repatriated the Togolese immigrants

Labour condemns controversy trailing Buhari’s appointments must learn to judge the

By Victor AhiumaYoung & Mmadukwem content of the character and the vision for good Stephen

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A G O S — ORGANISED labour, weekend, in Lagos, condemned the controversy trailing appointments by President Muhammadu Buhari, saying they were induced by personal agenda of those making them.

This came as labour implored Nigerians to borrow a leaf from Cuba in the anti-corruption war.

Speaking through the National Union Of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, NUTGTWN, during the visit of Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria, Carlos Treso Sosa, to Lagos office of NUTGTWN, General Secretary of the Union, Mr. Issa Aremu, labour contended that Nigerians C M Y K

governance of the appointees rather than their tribal or regional marks.

According to him; “The point cannot be overstated; Nigeria is a 21st century democratic republic. It is not an enclave of hewers of wood and drawers of water in tribal communities that existed before Christ. ‘’We must therefore learn to judge the content of the character and the vision for good governance of the appointees rather than their tribal or regional marks.

Section 23 of Chapter II dealing with the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State defines Nigeria’s national ethics as discipline, integrity, dignity of labour, social justice, religious tolerance, selfreliance and patriotism.''

last Saturday, ending their three months stay in Nigeria after arriving on foot through Seme border.

An official of the Lagos State Government and Mrs. Megan Chapman, Co-founder of Justice and Empowerment Initiatives, JEI, a Non-Governmental Organisation assisting the immigrants in their application for asylum, confirmed the repatriation to Vanguard yesterday.

Vanguard also gathered that the plan to repatriate the immigrants was concluded last Tuesday, after the state government assured the Federal Government of its readiness to provide the logistics to ensure success of the exercise.

Of the 260 Togolese Immigrants, 199 were under the care of the Lagos State government while the central government took responsibility for the others.

The immigrants in 2005 flee their homes following the post-electoral violence which erupted after the April 27th, 2005 presidential election in the country.

They were allegedly hunted down by the government for campaigning against the reelection of the son of the former Head of State, Faure Gnassingbe Nyadema.

other people including Prince Adekunle Adelowo as Secretary, Kehinde Ogunwusi and Timothy Ademakinwa among others.

The five names will be submitted to the kingmakers.

One of the members of the screening committee who preferred anonymity said, “To get to where we are now, we had to set some criteria. One, the preferred candidate must be at least 50 years old, not an underage.

“The person must understand the Ife people; understand Ife as a major and spiritual head of the Yoruba and the candidate must have full identity of the culture, the religion and the tradition of our people”, he said.

Meanwhile, it was gathered that the state government is yet to send any letter to the kingmakers on the selection of a new Ooni of Ife as the law demands.

Another source said, “The process is straightforward, the state government through the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs will send a letter to the Local Government, the Secretary of the Local Government

will forward same to the kingmakers and the kingmakers will send it to the next ruling house to forward names of their qualified princes to them.

Lafogido calls for review of chieftaincy declarations

Meantime, the Lafogido ruling house at the weekend called for immediate review of both 1957 and 1976 chieftaincy declarations, describing them as fraudulent and completely outside Ife custom and tradition.

While stating the position of the ruling house on the vacant stool of Ooni in Ile-Ife, the head of Sooko of Lafogido ruling house, Sookoo Adeleke Adewoyin said that the call for review became imperative because the ruling house has been marginalized in all the chieftaincy reviews.

Adewoyin, who was also former Deputy Governor of the state stated the readiness of the ruling house to present suitable candidate to occupy the vacant stool of Ooni, noting that there was lopsidedness in the preponderance of the Oonis at the expense of Lafogido, which is a major ruling house of the two original ruling houses.

12—Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

BAYELSA POLL: PDP slams Jonathan's former

aide Y

Says he is no threat to Dickson

By Samuel Oyadongha

ENAGOA—THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described as empty, the decision by a former Special Assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Waripamowei Dudafa, to work against the re-election bid of Governor Seriake Dickson.

Acting Chairman of PDP in Bayelsa State, Chief Serena Spiff, said that Dudafa was not an issue in the politics of his local government, Kolokuma/ Opokuma as well as the politics of Bayelsa State.

Dudafa, a former Special Assistant to ex-President Jonathan on Domestic and Social Events, had weekend distanced himself from an alleged directive by the former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan that all her loyalists should support the second term bid of Governor Dickson in the state forthcoming governorship election.

But the state PDP chairman, Spiff in a statement through the party's Publicity Secretary, Osom Makbere, said “Dudafa cannot

determine the victory of the PDP.” According to him, “All the critical stakeholders in Bayelsa State politics are with Governor Dickson. They have also endorsed the governor for a second term.

“The governor does not need Dudafa’s endorsement or support to win his re-election, as he has never supported the governor’s political ambition.

“Instead of dissipating his

energy, criticising the governor, Dudafa should go in retrospect and purge himself of the evils and atrocities he unleashed on unsuspecting visitors to the Presidential Villa in Aso Rock, while he served as domestic aide.”

MARINERS DAY: From left: Mr. Charles Majoroh, Mr. Clement Djebah, President, Government College Ughelli Old Boys Association, Lagos branch, Mr. Cyril Ogude, Vice President, and Prof. Benedict Itsueli, guest speaker, at the GCUOB Lagos branch Ancient Mariners Day in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Akeem Salau.

DISSOLUTION: NDDC board drags Buhari to court By nnocent Anaba & Bartholomew Madukwe

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AGOS—MEMBERS of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC board, have asked the National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja, to declare that President Muhammadu Buhari has no powers to sack them as their appointments are governed by statutes and for a fixed period, as same period has not expired.

It will be recalled that there were recent circulars from the office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation, dated July 16, 2015, Ref. No. SGF.19/S.81/XIX/964 and July 23, 2015, Ref. No. SGF.55/S.2 that all boards stand dissolved.

The Sen Bassey Ewa-Henshaw led board, through their counsel, Mr Ebun-Olu Adegborowa, is contending that the circular were wrongly applied to NDDC. Defendants in the suit are the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senate and House of Representatives.

Their counsel pointed out that by virtue of section 6 (6) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, once parties have submitted their dispute before a competent court, none of them is allowed to resort to self-help or to take any step that may jeopardize the due hearing of the matter on its merit.

The claimants argued that by virtue of sections 2, 3 and 5 of the NDDA Establishment Act, they were entitled to four years unbroken tenure from December 16, 2013 to December 15, 2017 and they cannot be deprived of the said appointments, or C M Y K

removed from office, dissolved or their appointments terminated save and in accordance with the extant provisions of the said Act. According to them; “By virtue of the NDDC Establishment Act, the Governing Board of the commission cannot be dissolved, either through the letters dated July 16, 2015, Ref. No. SGF.19/ S.81/XIX/964 and July 23, 2015, Ref. No. SGF.55/S.2, respectively, or in any other manner that constitutes a violation of sections

2,3,5 and other extant provisions of the said NDDC Act.” They are praying the court to; “Declare that the letters respectively, are ultra vires, ineffective and ineffectual to ground the dissolution of the 4th Governing Board of the NDDC and the same are invalid, null and void and of no effect whatsoever, in so far as they relate to the dissolution of the said Governing Board.

“An order forthwith re-instating

the claimants as members of the 4th Governing Board of the NDDC in compliance with their respective letters of appointment and sections 2, 3, 5 and other extant provisions of the NDDC Establishment Act and to direct the second defendant to pay all allowances, benefits and perquisites to which the claimants are otherwise entitled.”

Otuaro assures on Okowa's prosperity agenda

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By Festus Ahon

SABA—DELTA State Deputy Governor, Mr Kingsley Otuaro, has assured that the Senator Ifeanyi Okowa’s administration would deliver on its prosperity for all Deltans agenda.

Speaking during the induction of more youths into the state's ongoing Skills, Training and Entrepreneurship Programme,

STEP, at Songhai-Delta, AmukpeSapele, Sapele Local Government Area of the state, Otuaro said both STEP and the Youth Agricultural and Entrepreneurs Programme, YAGEP, of the state government were targeted at realising prosperity for Deltans.

He said that the programme represents a shift from Nigeria’s reliance on oil in a mono economy that has suffered in the doldrums due to falling prices to agriculture,

in way that will make the state stand out as a shining example to other states in the country.

He said that the focus of the empowerment programmes, was to create a future for Deltans, who will not only be self-employed but also employers of labour so as to reduce unemployment and joblessness amongst the youths in the state.

100 DAYS: Delta activists differ on Buhari's

performance

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By Emma Amaize

SABA—HUMAN rights activists in Delta State have sharply disagreed on President Muhammadu Buhari’s scorecard at the end of his first 100 days in office.

While the National President of Foundation for Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Crusade, FHAC, Warri, Alaowei Cleric and his Ijaw People Development

Initiative, IPDI, counterpart, Austin Ozobo, slammed Buhari, the executive director of the Centre for the Vulnerable and Underprivileged, CENTREP, Oghenejabor Ikimi, rated him high.

Ozobo, who is baffled by Buhari’s anti-corruption battle, said: “Mr. President should stop convicting alleged looters of the nation’s treasury on the pages of newspapers and seek conventional

means to compel them to refund their loots if there is any.

“Fighting graft with the methodology of a sorcerer will only help the looters to hide their loots in safer grounds and make them better equipped to defend themselves. Nigerians are not interested in using dogchasing methodology to fight graft, it is giving the nation a bad identity before the world and creating false impression that the people are not trustworthy."

Commissioner worries over poor health care system in A-Ibom

By Chioma Onuegbu

U

YO —THE Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dominic Ukpong, has said that his investigation reveals that one of the reasons so many people do not go to hospitals was because of the poor condition of Primary and Secondary Health Care system in the state.

Ukpong weekend while briefing newsmen on his achievements within the 100 days in office, added that the hostile attitude of medical staff also contributes to low patronage of hospitals by patients.

CNS warns personnel against barbarism

C

By Emma Una

ALABAR—VICE Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, Chief of Naval Staff, has warned naval personnel against misconduct or carrying out unnecessary acts of barbarism on civilians as anyone found guilty will be dismissed from the services of the Nigerian Navy.

Admiral Ibas, who handed the warning in Calabar, Cross River State, weekend, while addressing naval ratings at the Eastern Naval Command headquarters, said acts of misconductbyratingshadcaused the Navy over N1 billion as compensation for damages inflicted on civilians by naval personnel in the last four years.

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015—13

BAYELSA POLL: Mimiko, 12

other govs for Dickson's 2nd term declaration

By Samuel Oyadongha

Y

SYNOD: Rt. Revd. Jacob Olajide (left) and Senator Francis Alimikhena, during the 3rd session of the second Synod of Etsako Diocese Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion.

ENAGOA—ONDO State governor and Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Governors Forum, Chief Olusegun Mimiko, will lead 12 other governors to attend the formal declaration of Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, for a second term in office tomorrow.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan and

his wife, Dame Patience, are also expected to grace the event as their first public appearance since they left office in May. The governors, who are mainly of the PDP, according to a source, will arrive Yenagoa, the state capital, today to hold a special meeting of the PDP Governors scheduled to take place at the Government House, Yenagoa.

The meeting will precede the formal declaration where some far-reaching decisions are expected to be taken not only about the current situation in the party as it repositions for the future but also on the common agenda for the governor ’s declaration and success of the campaign.

A source revealed that the Director-General of the PDP Governors Forum, Osaro Onaiwu, was sighted, yesterday, at the Government House in Yenagoa liaising with key government officials to finalise arrangements for the governors’ meeting today.

Be concerned with change, not Buhari's wealth —OKOWA

B

E N I N — GOVERNOR Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, yesterday, advised Nigerians to be concerned with the change process rather than President Muhammadu Buhari’s wealth.

Okowa decried various statements from some Nigerians over the Buhari’s declaration, saying “What the President has today in terms of his personal wealth ougth not to be the business of Nigerians.”

He spoke in Benin, Edo State at the 13 years anniversary celebration of Rock of Ages Christian Assembly International Incorporation.

Okowa, however, said that Buhari’s declaration was a welcomedevelopment.

Responding to questions from newsmen after the service on President Buhari's asset declaration, he said: “I don’t comment on asset declaration, assets declaration is personal.

“But his personal wealth and all he has at the moment is not supposed to be the business of Nigerians.

The only thing that we should be concerned about is what is going to be his output in government, that is where we should concentrate on.”

14 — Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

THISDAY'S 20TH ANNIVERSARY AWARDS @ EKO CONVENTION CENTRE, ADETOKUNBO ADEMOLA ST, VICTORIA ISLAND LAGOS. Photos by Kehinde Gbadamosi.

From left; Former United States Secretary of Defense, Mr Robert Michael Gate presenting an award to Dr Jackson Gaius-Obaseki, Former GMD NNPC. On the right is Dr Ibe Kachikwu,

Mr Jim Ovia, Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc (left) and Mr Nduka Obaigbena, Publisher of Thisday Newspaper.

Senator Liyel Imoke, former Governor of Cross River State (left) presenting award to Mr Tony Elumelu, Chairman of UBA Group Plc Mr Sam Amuka, Publisher of Vanguard Newspapers (left) and Mr Herbert Wigwe, MD, Access Bank (right) presenting award to Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Former Governor of Lagos State.

From left; Mr Charles Timothy Hagel and Dr Ibe Kachikwu, presenting an award to Ms Member Fesse, Bomb Survivor Hope Campaigner.

From left; Hajia Rakiya Zubairu; Mr Gbenga Adefaye, GM/ Editor-in-Chief, Vanguard Newspapers and Mrs Modele Sarafa.

From Left; Mr Robert Michael Gate; Mr Babatunde Fashola, Former Governor of Lagos State, present ing award to Mrs Fiona Hecushor and Mrs Ngozi Edozien on behalf of Late Mrs Ameyo Adadevoh.

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(LEFT) From left; Mr. Tunde Ayeni, Chairman of the Board, Skye Bank Plc; Mr. Segun Sebanjo and Capt Osa Osunbor.

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015—15

Rivers lawmaker calls for Donu Kogbara unconditional release

By Jimitota Onoyume

P

ORT HARCOURT—THE lawmaker representing Degema constituency in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rivers State, Farah Dagogo has

condemned the abduction of Vanguard columnist, Donu Kogbara and called for her unconditional release.

Dagogo, a former commander of Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND, appealed to her kidnappers for her

unconditional release.

He said that it was sad that some persons could still indulge in acts of abduction despite the anti-kidnap law recently passed by the state House of Assembly, which specified stiff punishment for any person caught for the

Abia health workers suspend 5 months strike, to resume work today

By Anayo Okoli

offence of kidnapping.

He enjoined security operatives to step up efforts to secure her release.

“I condemn this kidnap in its entirety. I’m saddened and pained by this latest kidnap, which is one too many.

“It is even more worrisome and frightening how kidnap activities have escalated despite the recently passed amended anti-kidnap law that was recently passed by the state House of Assembly, which has since been assented by Governor Nyesom Wike.

“The state government has been

convinced the health workers salary in the sector by October.

On the strength of this promise, to suspend the strike and go MUAHIA—ABIA State the State Council of NLC back to work today. health workers have suspended their five months old strike which they embarked upon to protest non-payment of arrears of their salary.

The workers from the State Health Management Board, Abia State University Teaching Hospital, ABSUTH, Aba and Social Welfare officers from the Ministry of Women Affairs, under the aegis of their union JOHESU, had been on stike in the last five months due to nonpayment of arrears of their salary.

Sources from the Abia State chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress [NLC] disclosed that the union leadership met last week with the Governor who gave the assurance that he would pay the arrears soon.

According to the source, the governor has promised to use the over N14 billion bailout fund approved for the State to clear all the arrears of the salary.

The governor was said to have promised to pay within two weeks, DEMOSTRATION: From left, Ebonyi State Deputy Governor, Kelechi Igwe; May and July salaries of the Governor Dave Umahi; Speaker, Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Francis striking workers and also clear Nwifuru; a Chinese technician, and government officials, at the demostration of light agricultural equipment procured by the state other arrears soon. government, at the permanent site of the Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki He was also said to have promised to remove disparity in

U

doing so much in the area of security as it recently donated vehicles with security equipment to security agencies in the state.

“The police must and should as a matter of urgency step up their fight against the menace of kidnap in the state by not only securing the unconditional release of the Va n g u a r d columnist, but also ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book and dealt with accordingly,” he said.

Kogbara was whisked away from her Nkpogu residence in PortHarcourt, on August 31, by her abductors.

PTDF denies cancellation of overseas scholarship scheme

By Michael Eboh

T

HE PETROLEUM Technology Development Fund, PTDF, has stated that it has not cancelled or intends to stop its overseas scholarship scheme.

The PTDF, in a statement by its Head, Press and External Relations , Mr. Kalu Otisi, stated that its decision not to cancel the scheme was in view of its continued relevance in building a crop of well-trained Nigerian professionals to effectively manage the critical sectors of the oil and gas industry as well as the academia.

According to Otisi, the intention of PTDF in reviewing the operations of the scheme through its training domestication drive is to increase the involvement of local universities whose facilities and faculties have over the years been massively upgraded by the Fund.

He stated that the Federal C M Y K

Government has invested huge resources through the PTDF in upgrading 26 departments involved in teaching oil and gas related courses in 26 universities, with world class facilities that put them at par with their contemporaries abroad.

He said, “These upgraded universities, some of which have become Centres of Excellence in the teaching and research of specific oil and gas disciplines, are already being used for the training of PTDF scholars at undergraduate and postgraduate levels under the Local Scholarship Scheme of the Fund.

“Part of the domestication policy of PTDF scholarship scheme is to gradually reduce foreign training of our scholars and build up incountry training facilities towards self-sufficiency in oil and gas capacity-building.

“We must emphasize, however, that this new thinking and direction does not in any way translate to a cancellation,

stoppage or withdrawal of the overseas segment of our scholarship programme.

Qualified Nigerians will continue to be sponsored abroad for training especially in critical subject areas in the oil and gas industry that we currently lack enough capacity for in Nigeria.

“The other limb of the domestication approach is to

encourage foreign universities where Nigerian scholars are regularly sent for their Masters and PhD studies to set up branches or campuses of their institutions in Nigeria or go into partnership with the upgraded Nigerian universities for split PhD programmes, whereby aspects of the training and research will be conducted both in Nigeria and abroad. “

APPOINTMENTS:

PDP chieftain tasks Buhari

By Anayo Okoli

U

M UA H I A — A former lawmaker and PDP chieftain in Abia State, Chief Ukwu Rocks Emma has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to review the political appointments he has so far made to reflect the principle of federal character as enshrined in the constitution of the country.

According to Ukwu, by leaving out the entire South East in all the political appointment he has so far made, President Buhari was not carrying every part of the country along.

He said though the people of South East did not vote for President Buhari, a reasonable number of people from the zone led by Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu and Owelle Rochas Okorocha and others mobilized well for APC which would have made the President to appoint people from the area.

Ukwu who is the current transition chairman for Bende Council Area urged Ndigbo to stand up for their right and speak with one voice in order to get what is due to them in the nation.

He, however, commended the President for his war on corruption but urged him to also look towards his kitchen cabinet.

“The war against corruption should be holistic, nobody should hide under any political party or any other platform no matter how highly placed, and be shielded”, Ukwu Rocks said.

He also called on the President to set up a special court to try people on corrupt practices, saying that is the surest way to succeed.

Imo Catholic, Anglican bishops decry deplorable roads

By Chidi Nkwopara

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WERRI—CATHOLIC and Anglican Bishops of Owerri and Egbu dioceses have raised alarm over what they called “the deplorable state of roads in Imo State”.

The Catholic Archbishop of Ecclesiastical Province, Most Rev. Dr. Anthony J. V. Obinna

and the Anglican Bishop of Egbu Diocese, Rt. Rev. Geoffrey Okorafor, who spoke at different fora, were unanimous in the belief that nearly all the roads, including the “newly built ones”, have completely fallen apart about two months of rainfall.

While Obinna made his feelings known during the pre-Odenigbo Lecture press conference in Owerri, Okorafor however spoke

when he made a pastoral visit to St. Michael’s and All Angels Anglican Church, Umudibia, Nekede, Owerri West local council area of Imo State.

“Nearly all the roads, including the newly built ones have fallen apart, after only two months of rainfall. This has created more misery, especially among hapless, helpless motorists”, Archbishop Obinna said.

16—Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

Bishop Mike Okonkwo's 70th birthday special thanksgiving

From left, Vice President's wife, Dolapo Osinbajo; Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; Bishop Mike Okonkwo, and his wife, Bishop Peace Okonkwo, during Bishop Mike Okonkwo's 70th birthday special thanksgiving at the TREM Headquarters, in Lagos. Photos: Diran Oshe

From left, Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, Bishop Margaret Idahosa, and Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence, Dr. Sunday Makinde (ret'd), during the birthday special thanksgiving.

BAILOUT: APC group wants govs to give

workers’ salaries priority

By Ugochukwu Alaribe

A

BA—CANDIDATES of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2015 state Assembly polls, from the South East zone, have urged state governors in the country to use the bailout funds to pay

arrears of salaries and gratuity owed workers in their states.

In a chat with Vanguard in Aba, Abia state, leader of the group, Comrade James Chikwendu, said it is important for the governors to strictly disburse the fund for the purpose for which it was approved and

Ex-Gov Nnamani loses wife

By Francis Igata

warned against diversion to other projects.

“We commend the presidency’s prompt release of funds to the troubled state governments in Nigeria and urge them to use the fund judiciously.

As it is a right steps in the right direction which has the backing of law. We implore state governors to ensure that they pay workers and pensioners, owed arrears of salaries and gratuities, and resist any temptation to misappropriate the fund,” Chikwendu said.

He commended the President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osibajo for slashing their salaries by half, describing it as an act of patriotism motivated by a burning desire to save the country from economic wastages.

Chikwendu called on other political office holders to emulate the President and cut wastages to save their states from bankruptcy.

Telecom subscribers want more re-validation centres

By Ugochukwu Alaribe

A

E

NUGU—FORMER Governor Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State has on behalf of Nwankwo Anike Nnamani family of Amaiyi, Amakpu Agbani,in Nkanu West Local Government Area, announced the death of his wife, Nnenna Agnes Nnamani,aged, 47.

The former first lady died on September 4, in Orlando, Florida, United States,following complications from sickle cell disease and cerebral aneurysm.

In a statement made available to newsmen in Enugu yesterday by Nnamani’s Media Aide,Mr. Dan Nwomeh, the Ebeano patriarch thanks all and sundry for their support and prayers, while further burial arrangements will announced by family.

BA—MOBILE telecommunication subscribers in Aba, Abia state, have called on the management of telecommunication firms to establish more re-validation and registration centres in the city.

A cross section of MTN subscribers who spoke to Vanguard at the MTN centre in Ogbor Hill, said FIRST 100 DAYS IN OFFICE: the call for the establishment of more revalidation centers has S A B A — M R . of Delta, who gave him become necessary in order Michael Tidi, their votes across the to accommodate the Special Assistant on News various senatorial districts teeming population of Media to Delta State and local government areas subscribers who daily Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi of the state.”

While celebrating converge to re-validate their Okowa, has described the first 100 days in office of the Okowa’s achievements mobile numbers.

A visit to the Airtel and governor as “full of which he listed as: Etisalat offices on Okigwe achievements, showcasing Prudence, transparency road and other parts of the a paradigm shift in and accountability in that managing the lean city revealed that they were governance His finances of the state, Tidi yet to direct from their demonstrates Excellency’s sterling pansaid other milestones of the network subscribers to reDeltan credentials and Okowa administration validate their mobile detribalized approach.” include, economic numbers.

In a statement made empowerment through A subscriber, who simply available to newsmen, e n t r e p r e n e u r s h i p , gave his name as yesterday, in Asaba, Tidi constructive engagement of Chukwuma, said that after asserted that “within this youths and women for spending several hours for remarkably short period, economic empowerment, three days at the MTN Governor Okowa has institution of a social Ogbor Hill re-validation successfully exemplified security direction for the centre, he was yet to be re- his leadership role as a most vulnerable in the validated. brother to all great people society, among others.

Okowa, a brother to all — TIDI

A

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Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015— 17

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18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015 THE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) recently cancelled crude oil swap contracts and Offshore Processing Contracts, which it entered into with traders under the previous administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The Corporation in a statement also announced new measures aimed at cost reduction and strengthening of operational efficiency across its value chain.

The NNPC stated that after proper evaluation and in line with the terms of contract for the delivery of crude oil to the nation’s refineries in Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna, it cancelled the contracts due to exorbitant cost and inappropriate process of engagement.

The Corporation noted that as a stop-gap measure, NIDAS Marine Limited, a subsidiary of the NNPC, has been engaged to provide crude delivery services on negotiated industry standard rate pending the establishment of substantive

Sanitising NNPC’s oil swap regime contracts. The NNPC explained that it resorted to the delivery of crude oil to the refineries by marine vessels following incessant attacks on the Bonny-Port Harcourt refinery pipeline and the Escravos crude pipelines by vandals and oil thieves resulting in the complete disabling of the pipelines in 2013.

The corporation also disclosed the Offshore Processing Contracts it entered into in January 2015 with three companies - Duke Oil Company Inc, Aiteo Energy Resources Limited and Sahara Energy Resources (Nig) Ltd – had to be cancelled because it was

“skewed in favour of the companies”, and observed that the structure of the agreement did not guarantee unimpeded supply of petroleum products as delivery terms were not optimal.

The SWAP contracts have in the recent past been trailed by tales of woe and scams of varied magnitudes. The infamous subsidy scams and the under-the-table deals in the arrangement had undermined the probity, honesty and credibility of the contracts.

Many saw the deals as frauds that greatly shortchanged the nation.

Many of the companies involved were accused of using political

influence to get the contracts.

Some were alleged not to possess the required infrastructure and expertise to deliver on the contracts. The cancellation is thus welcomed but the process of reawarding the contracts this time must not only be transparent, it must be open for competitive bidding. The companies that will be selected must have proven track records of performance and their managements must be fully committed to good corporate governance.

They must deliver ser vice to Nigerians and not to fraudulently feather the nests of individuals. We strongly recommend that the selection process must be professional and devoid of favouritism or tribal sentiments.

The invisible hands of the “powers that be” must be removed.

The Buhari administration’s pledge to make the NNPC ’s operations transparent is of prime interest to Nigerians and we are watching with keen interest to see it implemented.

OPINION Okowa's 100 day: Signs of abundance

By Prince Abugo

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HE ritual of 100 days in office had acquired spiritual, political, historical and social toga in our democractic dispenasation. It has become a landmark to measure what the future tells and its impact on sociopolitical progress of any administration.

This culture entrenched by Western democracy began when the prefect of Paris in a speech welcoming Napoleon Bonaparte’s return home on March 20, 1815 from exile, made reference to it, and with time elected leaders celebrate 100 days in office.

Though not enough to assess a government, it has become a reference point, a pendulum of time and purpose.

Governor Okowa who hails from Ika paternally and Ndokwa maternally, parts of the former two Provinces that make Delta State, carries the burden of responsibility and is aware of the historical ties that run in his veins as a child of unity and leader of the state. Okowa represents a new beginning, fresh ideas, and a departure from the past; a stainless page from our past failures to the present with hope and prosperity. Okowa is an opportunity to discard barren ideas, to use our diversity as strength and turn our ears from ethnic bigots, political merchants and economic saboteurs who exploit our vulnerability for personal gains. Okowa is

undiluted service and what we can give rather than what we can get from the state.

In the last 100 days, Okowa had repositioned a team, rolling out programmes in fulfillment of his promises to the electorate.

The S.M.A.R.T initiative had started and the last discredited civil service recruitment was cancelled because the exercise denied many Deltans the opportunity to serve the state based on merit.

After his inauguration, he came up with the financial situation of the state in furtherance of his promise to entrench transparency and accountability, assuring Deltans that his government will stop profligacy in fulfilling his electoral promises.

Another achievement was sending a

In the last 100 days, we have learnt that Delta is not all about its resources but the people; the people come first as their welfare is synonymous with prosperity

bill to the House of Assembly to remodel DESOPADEC after NDDC which he recently signed into law, though political opponents and tribal jingoists made an issue out of this. The State Assembly after modification passed the bill, vindicating the Governor that he had no vested interest other than the good of oil producing communities and the need to develop these areas. The local governments in the state are witnessing accountability and prudence under Okowa's watch. This is because the Governor understands that corruption brings its corrosive effect on growth and development.

Every person needs an abode as an identity, so do states, local governments and others. Delta deserves a worthy capital that we would be proud of and Asaba as our identity must be given attention. The Asaba Capital Development bill was conceived in this regard to give life to the state capital. The ongoing rehabilitation of the Asaba International Airport to meet international standards and the Sapele Market which was gutted by fire and the EPZ project at Ugborodo near Warri to boost trade and commerce, are all receiving the attention of the Governor in his last 100 days .

The promise of employing six thousand Deltans every six months started within the period and though over 50,000 applied, collation is to reflect the diversity of the state. This will reduce unemployment within his first term in office. Another achievement was weaving an understanding between power brokers, elders, traditional rulers and stakeholders

in the state into synergy with his policies, so that all shades of interests are carried along in developing the state. The Governor has equally appealed to the opposition to collaborate with him because the interest and welfare of Deltans should be devoid of political, sectional or parochial interests .

The Governor is organised, methodical and as a scientist guided by facts, he has a unique style that is personal. This he has deployed in the selection of the team to work with him. He is also aware of the burden of responsibility placed on his shoulders. He is equally aware of public expectations and his conduct had made him the major issue.

The rule of law, traditional institutions, youths and women have found an ally in Governor Okowa because he is not insensitive to the yearnings and aspirations of the people. The office has not changed him rather his emergence had changed the office in ideas and efficiency.

Thus,many Deltans are touched by his servant leadership. In the last 100 days, we have learnt that Delta is not all about its resources but the people; the people come first as their welfare is synonymous with prosperity.

*Mr. Abugo is SA on Social Adovacy to Governor Okowa of Delta State.

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015—19 Send Opinions & Letters to: opinions1234@yahoo.com

I pledge to Buhari my President

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PLEDGE to Buhari my President, to be , faithful, loyal and honest. To serve him with all my strength. To uphold his honour and glory so I will not be counted amongst his enemies. So help me God. Knowing that he is an ‘ol soja’ I need to pledge my one hundred percent loyalty to him as he marks his first hundred days in office.

Those who asked him to present a score card of his one hundred days in office, are trying to introduce an American culture to which we are allergic. There are also those who want to claim that he is not implementing the party’s Road Map. They fail to realise that this was merely a road map to the Presidency, not the programme he is expected to implement. In any case, who but the unpatriotic will expect him to implement his manifesto when we did not know things were so bad? All we can do is hope.

I do not think the ruling APC set out to deceive Nigerians as some claim; it is only that it got its facts wrong. It was also not dialectical; in its hurry to move the country forward, it did not

go back to see where we are coming from or where we are.

But we must believe the APC when it told us, that President Buhari achieved far more in four weeks, than former President Goodluck Jonathan accomplished in six years. With such first class performance, he can politically be said to have completed his tenure and can retire to Daura. But my fear is that such suggestion can be misconstrued, and I may be counted in the camp of retired Colonel Sambo Dasuki, the former National Security Adviser who was caught planning treasonable felony by having seven high calibre rifles in his house. That arsenal is enough to overthrow the combined governments of Russia, United States and China!

The President is too modest to present his monumental achievements in his first one hundred days. So as show of deep loyalty, I have decided to attempt a summary. First is insecurity. I echo the popular singsong; Buhari has degraded the capacity of Boko Haram. We now have a Commander-in-

Chief who stays up to bolt the doors, when we all have gone to bed. When in two months, Boko Haram would have been pulverised; the attention will be on kidnapping, banditry and cultism.

As Nigerians, we have suffered power blackout since birth. Now without buying transformers, generating more power, laying additional cables or building any new system, this is now a thing of the past. My brother, Garba Shehu, the President’s Spokesman in explaining this phenomenon, said it is Buhari’s body language that changed the performance of the privatised power sector. I put it down to a miracle; Buhari said, Let there

We should not be so impatient as to assess a man in his first hundred days in office; I have no doubt that President Buhari will make all the necessary changes and fulfill his electoral promises; all we need is patience and good luck

Bayelsa defines Nigerian political class

By Godwin Etakibuebu

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T was a mammoth gathering at the Samson Siasia Stadium in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, South South Nigeria, on the 15th of August, 2015. It was a gathering of defecting politicians, crossing over from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Party (APC). The crowd in the stadium that day could not be less than four thousand people, talking of the politicians, their supporters and the usual hired political hoodlums. It was an embarrassing defection to PDP as nearly every leader of the party in the State left to join “the-allsaints” party of APC. The decamped was led by the PDP State Chairman; retired Colonel Sam Inokoba; a terrible blow you would say considering the fact of his position as Chairman for PDP till that fateful day. Timi Alaibe; a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) also “crossed over ”. Others are Senator Heneiken Lokpobiri (you are not most likely to forget him in hurry if you are a keen observer of political abracadabra in Nigeria, Senator John Brambaifa, Senator Clever Ikisipo, Nestor Binabo; one time acting Governor of the State, Werinipre Sebarugu, Dr. Stella Dorgu; a former honourable member of the House of Representatives, Christopher Enai; another former member of House of Representatives, Professor Tarila Tebepah; former NDDC Chairman, among others.

The APC leader in Bayelsa State in the person of Timipre Sylva; former Governor, was obviously over-whelmed with joy when the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun, announced to all (decamped) that “the only road through which they could get to

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President Buhari is by passing through Timipre Sylva”. This statement has its negative far-reaching effect which we shall evaluate later.

We need to understand the implications of this action on two personalities, which are former President Goodluck Jonathan and President Muhammadu Buhari. The former, for who he was as president and who he is now that he is out of power, while the latter, for whom he is perceived to be, considering his past record as military Head of State. We can summarise two questions from the episode of that day. One, what is the difference between Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari as political leaders? Two, what is the difference between the PDP and APC as political parties?

Goodluck Jonathan is from Otueke community of Bayelsa State. He started his political career as Deputy Governor of that State. He later became a Governor of the same State and at both times he operated from the State headquarters – Yenagoa. He began his political life in the PDP and ended it in the PDP, at least for now, because l cannot see that man truthfully coming back to political lime light again. Now, all the gladiators that defected from the

If the truth must be told; APC minus Muhammadu Buhari equals to PDP

be light. As a patriot, I now want to sell my generators and inverter. A similar miracle saw the refineries sprouting back to life. Na God win o!

The signs have been there; but disbelievers have been blind. In his first one hundred days, the President has run the country quite efficiently without Ministers thereby saving us a lot of money. If he goes on like this for another hundred days, we will save more money that can be used to build schools, hospitals, roads and fund social security.

My only regret is that he was too much in a hurry to inaugurate the National Assembly.

He has also cleansed the Directorate of State Security by sacking the mouthy Marylyn Ogar and other senior spooks while also curtailing their powers in the Presidential Villa.

Our President has also publicly declared his assets. My fear which he has confirmed, is that relative to his fellow generals in office, he is a poor man. But our amiable Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo rescued the image of a poor Presidency.

I support all the actions and inactions of President Buhari, although I confess to being confused sometimes. For example what are the summersaults on foreign exchange about? What really is the policy?

Within hundred days, the war against corruption is in its last stages. He must resist pressures to probe beyond the Jonathan years; you don’t because you want to scratch your body, peel off your skin or scratch yourself to the bone. Leave Halliburton, leave Power Sector, leave Pentascope-NITEL, leave PTF probes!

PDP that day were people that “passed” through Jonathan as a political leader, so to say, at least counting from 1999 till the date of the defection. Another fact to be taken into consideration is that as of that date of 15th August 2015, when this disaster of defection happened to the PDP, Goodluck Jonathan was not dead, was not sick and was not physically impaired by any means. Yet it was he; the former president, that those politicians rejected directly first and foremost before the PDP as a party. What a calamity!

What this implied in the final analysis is a fundamental truth that President Goodluck Jonathan, as a political leader, was a disaster of monumental proportion, according to the epistle written by his own people of Bayelsa State. That was on Goodluck Jonathan on one hand. In the other hand, it can be conclusively adduced that all those politicians from Bayelsa State that perpetrated that act of massive defection represented, what l would call “the Nigerian squad of barbaric, unrepented destructive, eat-to-quench and killer political group”. They shall forever remain a class of perfidious ignominy with consequences of curse upon their unborn generations for ever.

This is the implication to Jonathan and his brothers (representing that shameless Nigerian political elite class all over the country). What is the implication of this on PMB and his APC Party?

The fact has been established that those who decamped that day did so for only one or two reasons. They understood PMB body language that CORRUPTION MUST BE KILLED .

They equally know the fact that corruption is metaphysical that cannot be personified. It means therefore that the only process of killing corruption is to “kill” the perpetrators of corruption.

They (the defectors, either from Bayelsa

We should not be so impatient as to assess a man in his first hundred days in office; I have no doubt that President Buhari will make all the necessary changes and fulfill his electoral promises; all we need is patience and good luck. It is heart warming to see so many professors and educated people speaking up for the President and endorsing all the actions he has taken, or may take in future. If all the good people he can find, even for ministerial appointments are from Daura, he should go ahead and appoint them.

I am learning to be as patriotic and loyal as one of my old acquaintances, Sola Salako who declared on her wall “Just so they know; there is nothing PMB (Buhari) can do right or wrong that will ever make me regret supporting his candidacy or make me wish we had kept GEJ (Jonathan) in office. NOTHING! No matter how slow, nepotistic, outdated, self-righteous or insensitive you claim he is, he is still 100,000 times a better option than GEJ…I don’t care if he fills the whole country with his family members” This is so brilliantly put, that I recommend we replace the National Pledge with it. I am tempted to go on, but I need to stop here so I don’t get invited to a duel on the social media where thoughts are cheap and words are used and discarded like rain water. I hear that the masses in our country drink champagne through the throats of their leaders; on the occasion of a hundred days in office, let champagne pop, and let them drink on behalf of the citizenry.

Hip, hip, hip, hurrah! Hundred gbosa to the peoples general!

or all over Nigeria) left the PDP, believing that Buhari may not be willing to deal too ruthlessly with “those who made his presidency’s journey possible”. All of them are now coming to APC to save their heads from going to jail since it is the platform of APC that brought Buhari to power. And this exactly was the interpretation of the APC National Chairman when he told the crowd of defectors in Yenagoa on that day that “the only road through which they could get to President Buhari is by passing through Timipre Sylva”. What the Chairman may have told the people, inadvertently though was “as long as you can cross over to APC, you are safe with your looted wealth”. On the other hand, while the preservation of their stolen wealth is guaranteed as long as they remain in the ruling party, they (the decampees) are given a second chance to steal more.

This is where the implication on Buhari is more daunting because if the truth must be told; APC minus Muhammadu Buhari equals to PDP. Over two third of those who brought APC the crown of glory, during the April 2015 general election, came from PDP and this majority could not have become real saints over-night. Then, with more of PDP members crossing into APC, the more of “demons” Buhari will have to contend with in his battle to “kill corruption”. The vital information for PMB is that Nigerians know the fact that most of these “born again politicians” coming to APC are notorious looters.

With all these looters that are becoming latter day saints, how can Buhari kill corruption? It is only the President that can answer this question and Nigerians are waiting for the answer.

*Mr. Etakibuebu, a commentator on public affairs, wrote from Lagos.

20—Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

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OT much was heard about the “first one hundred days” fad before 1999, when our democracy was rescued from the military doldrums. The renascence of democracy thrust it forcefully into our political culture. The new civilian leaders used it to try and paint images of themselves as “action” or “performing” political actors. Needless to say, it was often a mere hoodwink to buy cheap popularity as most of them ended up fabulously rich while leaving the country and their states in ruins and debt-riddled.

Still, the “first one hundred days” holds a whole lot in terms of symbolisms. It has since emerged that the man who “invented” the “first hundred days” political idiom was American President, Franklin D. Roosevelt who, in 1933, used the period to champion a number of legislations that gave more powers to the federal government to enable him push through his New Deal programme. It was a tool to tackle an economic emergency at a time in America’s history that could only be compared to our own 1984. In 1933, there were goods in America but no money to buy. But in General Muhammadu Buhari’s 1984 in Nigeria, people had money but no goods to buy.

Roosevelt used the New Deal in a brave attempt to take America out of the Great Depression. The positive impact of it was what made the “first one hundred days” a popular startup yardstick around the democratic world.

It became a conventional metric to judge a leader’s readiness and ability to start governance from Day One. In Nigeria, we call it: “hitting the ground running”. The purpose of campaigns before elections is to give the candidates the opportunity to unfold their agenda for governance before the electorate. For a country grappling with a depressed economy, severe security challenges and crippling corruption, the Nigerian electorate was looking for a president who would quickly tackle these challenges.

They saw in Buhari, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), a man reputed for his integrity and a track record of fighting corruption. Being a former head of state and having run for president four times, Buhari looked tailormade as that experienced leader who would “hit the ground running” with a crop of proven disciples cultivated over the past forty years.

This expectation was further stoked by the prevalence of many campaign promises, including two critical documents that loomed large during the campaigns and occupied prominent spaces on the APC website: “My Covenant

Buhari after 100 days with Nigerians” and “100 Things Buhari Will Do In 100 Days”. These helped capture the imagination, especially of young voters, who did not know the ultraconservative, Arewa-minded Buhari of 1984 now parading as a as a “born again democrat” and “progressive”.

The only positive change in 100 days of Buhari is that federal government agencies have become more serious with their work. The fear that the new leader is no-nonsense has made them to do the work which they had either neglected or sabotaged under Jonathan. Pipelines are no more being broken, and gas is getting to the power stations, thus increasing power supply, as Jonathan’s kinsman and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Power, Godknows Igali, sensationally disclosed. The refineries are now working.

Let’s see if this can be sustained. Soldiers fighting Boko Haram are no longer selling out to the terrorists as they frequently did under Jonathan. The onslaught which was ignited at the tail-end of the Jonathan regime is proceeding with renewed vigour. There is a general sense that a more effective leader is in power.

Furthermore, the recent public unveiling of the president’s and vice president’s declared assets are very

Apart from the reign of sectionalism and nepotism of the past 100 days, the denial by the Presidency and the ruling APC of their campaign promises to Nigerians are worrisome signposts of the new administration

warmly welcome, even though Presidency spokesman, Femi Adesina, had denied that Buhari ever made such a pledge. After the official Code of Conduct Bureau verification, the public and the media can now do their own independent investigations to confirm the declarations.

If Buhari forces all his appointees to do the same, it will give the anti-graft war a big boost and enhance its credibility. This we applaud.

But in constituting his government, Buhari has only appointed his kitchen cabinet – personal staff, service chiefs and heads of strategic state agencies. He has not appointed ministers. He has not told the country the direction he is taking the economy. For that reason, the economy is in suspended animation. With the rampant holidays embarked upon by the National Assembly, he is running a virtual one-man show, which is another word for civilian dictatorship. Everybody is just waiting for Buhari to say or do something to enable them know how to react. His opponents have even accused him of not preparing adequately for the job. The first 100 days of PMB in power has been a period of freeze, anxiety and uncertainty. The populace is left to their own guess about what to expect.

By far the most animating and disturbing event of the first one hundred days of Buhari is the pattern of composition of his kitchen cabinet. Out of the thirty or so odd officials he appointed, 13 are from his native North West, six are from his wife’s native North East, five are from the South-South (perhaps the North wants to reclaim their “traditional allies”), three are from the North Central and three others are from zone that helped bring Buhari to power, the South West. South East has none. He says all appointments were based on “merit”, perhaps, merit meaning those who voted for him (97%/ 5%).

Buhari, who in his inaugural speech had

promised: “I am for everybody and I am for nobody” has shown clearly that he is a president for the North, especially Arewa Muslim North, which had been desperately clamouring for a return of political power to them. The nation is thus divided between the privileged Arewa North, South West and South Southern crumb collectors and South East “aliens”.

Not only is the South East totally excluded, Buhari has been removing Igbo speaking people, such as Eugene Juwah (Nigerian Communications Commission) and Mustapha Chike Obi (Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and replacing them with his Northern Muslim kinsmen, Bashir Gwandu and Ahmed Lawan Kuru, respectively.

Apart from the reign of sectionalism and nepotism of the past 100 days, the denial by the Presidency and the ruling APC of their campaign promises to Nigerians are worrisome signposts of the new administration. APC Spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has told Nigerians not to hold the party and its regime responsible for their “covenant” with Nigerians but to hold them by the party’s manifesto. The APC Manifesto looks even more untenable for implementation than Buhari’s discredited “covenant” with Nigerians because it contains many items that are clearly against the ideas pushed by Buhari and his Arewa political establishment. One of such items is “devolution of powers”.

We live to see if the president and APC will not also distance themselves when we hold them to it. In particular, we watch to see if and when the Tinubu camp will begin to push for the implementation of “true federalism”. This will test his true commitment to the enduring political interest of the South West.

We are waiting to see how many more they will deny.

#Bringback Donu

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F one of Vanguard’s popular female columnists, Donu Kogbara has not been released as you read this column, I join millions of well-meaning Nigerians to demand for her immediate, unconditional and safe return to her family by her abductors. No motive can be justified by the kidnap of an innocent, defenceless and law-abiding citizen, much less a lady.

While the law enforcement agencies continue to do their best to rescue her, I pray the kidnappers will allow their conscience to prod them to voluntarily and safely release her as soon as possible. #BRINGBACK DONU KOGBARA!

OPINION Making a scape goat

By Eric Teniola

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N seizing power from General Gowon(80),the then Military ruler, General Murtala Ramat Muhammed (1938-76) told the nation on July 30 1975 that: "this Government will not tolerate indiscipline. The Government will not condone abuse of office”. He kept his word.

He retired over ten thousand public servants including top military officers. He set up a committee that reviewed the performances of all public officers.

At the end of the exercise, only two Ministers were found not guilty, Alhaji Shehu Shagari(90) and Shettima Alli Mongunnu(89).

At that time Nigeria had twelve states governors: Benue-Plateau, Chief Superintendent of Police Joseph Gomwalk, East Central-Ukpabi Asika, Kano-Deputy Police Commissioner Audu Bako, Kwara-Brigadier David Bamigboye, Lagos-Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson, Mid-West- Brigadier Samuel Ogbemudia, North Central- Brigadier Abba Kyari, North-East Brigadier Musa Usman (Air Force), North- West Police Superintendent Usman Faruk, Rivers- Lieutenant Alfred Diete-Spiff(Navy), South-East- Brigadier Uduokaha Jacob Esuene (Air Force) and WestBrigadier Christopher Oluwole Rotimi.

Only two of the Governors, Brigadiers Oluwole Rotimi and Mobolaji Johnson were cleared of corruption. Quite a number of public servants, Ministers and Governors had their assets seized. No one was prosecuted for corruption.

C M Y K

In taking over power from President Shehu Shagari, the then Major General Muhammadu Buhari told the nation on January 1, 1984 that: “the change became necessary in order to put an end to the serious economic predicament and the crisis of confidence now afflicting our nation”. He said: "the situation could have been saved if the legislators were alive to their constitutional responsibilities. Instead, the legislators were preoccupied with determining their salary scales, fringe benefits and unnecessary foreign travels, et cetera, which took no account of the state of the economy and the welfare of the people they represented”.

To mark his one hundred days in office on April 7, 1984, the then Major General Muhammadu Buhari further told the nation that: “we took over from the defunct civilian Administration at the Federal and State levels a financial situation of vast indebtedness.

In fact, the depth and seriousness of the financial predicament of the State Governments and, by implication, of the nation has become clearer and clearer, day by day. The Federal Government had to assist State Governments recently with a sum of over N 600 million as loan to enable them pay all arrears of wages and salaries before the end of April 1984”.

At that time he was 42 and still vibrant, Only two of the resounding and resonant. Governors, As a military officer with regimental discipline he Brigadiers turned to decrees to Rotimi and administer the nation.

Johnson were They are (1.) The cleared of Constitution and modification decree 1 of corruption

1984, which he signed into law on February 9 1984 (2.)

The state security detention of persons decree of 1984, which he signed into law on February 9 1984, (3.) the Federal Military Government Supremacy and Enforcement of Power of 1984 which is known as decree 13, which he signed into law on May 13, 1984,(4) the Exchange Control (anti-sabotage) decree 1984 otherwise known as decree 7 which he signed into law on April 5 1984, (5) the counterfeit currency special provision decree 1984 otherwise known as decree 22 which signed into law on May 17, 1984,(6) the Public officers Protection against false accusations decree 1984 which he signed on April 17 1984, (7)the robbery and fire arms special provision decree 1984 which set up special tribunal for the trial of armed robbery and special cases, (8) Political Parties (Dissolution and Prohibition) Decree, 1984: this Decree provides for the dissolution and Prohibition of political parties and other similar organisation and forfeiture, disposal and discharge of the assets and liabilities of the dissolved political parties and state Creation movements and (9) the Banking (Freezing of Accounts) Decree, 1984: which empowers the Head of the Federal Military Government, where he suspects or believes that any person has been involved in certain offences, including bribery and abuse of office, to issue or cause orders to be issued authorising an investigation into the accounts of such persons and restricting the operation of such accounts on such conditions as may be prescribed in the order.

Continues tomorrow on pg 18 •Mr. Teniola, a former director at the presidency, wrote from Lagos.

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015 — 21

SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

Forex restrictions: Ghanaian timber exporters at risk of losing N6bn

By FAVOUR NNABUGWU with agency report

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he restriction by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the sale of hard currency to importers of some 41 items seem to have taken toll on neighbouring countries’ markets as Ghanaian timber exporters risk losing N6billion ($30million) as a result of the restriction.

Among the affected Nigerian importers are those that deal in timber products from Ghana which annually imports N6bn ($30m) worth of timber products.

The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Timber Millers Organisation (GTMO), Dr. Kwame Asamoah, in an interview in Ghana, stated that the Nigerian central bank’s decision could impact negatively on the fortunes of an already ailing timber industry in Ghana This, he said, is as a result of the fact that Nigeria is the main destination of plywood and wooden doors from Ghana within the ECOWAS and African Timber market, importing about 25 percent of Ghana’s wood exports. Records of Ghana’s export of timber and wood between 2014 and 2015 showed a significant drop in volume and value, painting a gloomy future for the country’s timber industry.

For instance, the volume of timber and wood products exported to Nigeria from January to June 2014 stood at 19,251.458 m³ whereas the figure for January to June 2015 is given as 9,904.665m³, representing 45.88 percent decrease. Asamoah said the best product that can be processed out of the type of timber species available in the country is plywood, the bulk of which goes to the Nigerian market; and that many jobs are on the line should the timber firms fold-up because of shrinking access to the Nigerian market.

He said already the number of buyers from Nigeria has reduced significantly, and fears that the situation will further worsen if government does not intervene immediately to address the issue. He said this development is completely beyond the industry and therefore appealed for government to act without delay. Per the Nigerian Authority’s new regulation, dealers in timber importers are barred from going to the foreign

exchange market for hard currency to procure products - leaving the more expensive black market as their only option.

The central bank of Nigeria (CBN) took the decision as part of measures to contain its fast-depleting external reserves, which some analysts attributed to capital flight, and has blocked the sale of hard currency to importers of wood particle and board, wood fibre board and panels, plywood

board and panels, wooden doors, textiles, cold-rolled steel sheets, galvanised steel, roofing sheets, cement, rice, margarine, palm kernel, vegetable oil, poultry products (chicken and turkey), roofing sheets, steel drums, steel pipes, wire mesh, steel nails, and among others. The CBN had in a circular issued on June 23, 2015, said that the implementation of the policy is expected to help conserve foreign reserves and facilitate the resuscitation of domestic industries as well as generate employment.

The circular, which was signed by the Director, Trade and Exchange, CBN, Olakanmi Gbadamosi, noted that it had become necessary to exclude importers of some goods and services from accessing foreign exchange on the Nigerian foreign exchange market in order to encourage local production of the items.

Part of the circular said: “In the continuing efforts to sustain stability of the forex market and ensure efficient utilisation of forex and derivation of optimum benefits from goods and services imported into the country, it has become imperative to exclude importers of some goods and services from accessing foreign exchange on the Nigerian forex markets in order to encourage local production of these items.

“Importers of the listed items who wish to continue their import activities have been told to do so using their own funds without recourse to the Nigerian foreign exchange market.”

This, some stakeholders have said, will increase the cost of importing wood products from Ghana; and as a result may cause the country to lose the Nigerian market to China and other foreign countries that have means of selling directly to the Nigerian consumer market without having to go through a dealer. However, the action of the Nigerian government is said to Continues on Page 22

22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

Cover

Vocation and technical education – A key to improving nigeria’s development (4)

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Nigerian cashew processors operating below installed capacity

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igerian cashew processors are operating below 30 per cent of their combined installed capacity of 48,000 tonnes, according to an official of the umbrella association for the crop. Mr Sotonye Anga, the National Publicity Secretary of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

He attributed this to high cost of procuring raw cashew nuts, among other factors. The scribe said that the cost of cashew nuts now selling at between N170,000 to N200,000 per ton, has added to the problem of job loss and closing down of some processing plants.

“In the 2015 cashew season alone, many cashew processors in Nigeria operated below 30 per cent of a combined installed capacity of 48,000 tonnes due to high cost of raw nuts.

“Selling at between N170,000 and N200,000 per ton, high cost of doing business and zero incentive, all these put together led to massive job losses and cashew factory shutdowns in the country.

Cashew processors, at the moment, are endangered and there is need to protect and strengthen them,” Anga said.

He remarked that the subsector needed government’s support that would encourage competitiveness among the cashew processors.

According to him, cashew processors are demanding N50,960 ($260) per ton investment incentive to strengthen the sub-sector in Nigeria. “Strengthening cashew processing in Nigeria is a step that will contribute to the nation’s economic development. We call on the

C M Y K

Nigerian Government to approve an investment incentive of $260 per ton for cashew processing in Nigeria.

We need to understand that cashew farmers need guaranteed markets to remain in business.

“Whenever a cashew processor processes a metric ton of raw cashew, it translates to over 200 jobs. In Nigeria, more than 70 per cent of workers in cashew processing

In the 2015 cashew season alone, many cashew processors in Nigeria operated below 30 per cent of a combined installed capacity of 48,000 tonnes due to high cost of raw nuts

facilities are women, who are trained to de-shell the cashew.

They also delicately peel and pack the cashew kernels and get them ready for the export markets,” he said.

According to him, the country presently has seven cashew processing plants.

These are Olam, Foodpro, Esteema Diamond, Abod

Continues on Page 23

Nigeria to raise $4bn in treasury bills in Q4-CBN

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he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it plans to auction N814.78 billion in Treasury bills between September 17 and December 3. According to the bank’s data over the weekend, it will auction N215.14 billion worth of the 3-month paper, N193.64 billion in the 6-month debt and N406 billion worth of 1year paper. It said that the total debt proposed for the fourth quarter would be 6.66 per cent short of the N872.96 billion raised earlier in the year.

Ghanaian timber exporters risk losing N6bn to forex restrictions Continued from Page 21 contravene ECOWAS’s Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) that seeks to promote regional integration by encouraging free trade among member-countries through eliminating both tariff and non-tariff restrictions.

The implication for the Ghanaian economy is that the situation could further sink any hope of reviving the

once-vibrant timber industry, as companies may be forced to downsize their labour-force to sustain their business. Board and plywood manufacturing, which is presently the timber industry’s backbone, employs about 80% of the current 35,000 workers in the country ’s timber industry.

These companies also earn 90 percent of the US$120 to US$200million annual foreign exchange.

he focus is on the roles technology development of technology and strategies. Above all, technology vocational education in education is a human right and, enhancing entrepreneurial as such, should receive priority in skills that will equip the allocation of national resources. students for It has become very necessary not entrepreneurship education to only keep technology education in Information and bound to the role of manufacturing Communication Technology skilled manpower but also to (ICT.) driven technological economic development and global environment. The world has economy. In Nigeria, technology become globalized and the education was previously not seen future prosperity depends as fundamental for national on comparative advantage. development, or for the economic This comparative advantage development, but for the school hinges on people and their dropouts, and other social and technical or technological political development within the sophistication. Towards this, nation and for individuals. Hallak some crucial entrepreneurial (1990) argues that technology and technical skills needed education is also linked to human by the students in colleges resources development and that of education (technical), this has an impact on more than polytechnics and just economic growth, but also an universities to meet the impact on the wider development trends in a global economy of individuals and societies. is analyzed.

According to him, it contributes to: Technology education is to (a). Individual creativity, be considered as the key improved participation in the agent of economic, social and technology cultural roles in society. development, (b).

Improved either as a way of understanding of an developing individual and heir human capacity, respect for others, thus Technology promoting increasing the social education cohesion and material shield work force f o r is to be understanding modernization, (c) Improvement in considered health industrialization, and nutrition. as the key environmental (d). Improved chances development or economic agent of of as a matter of development. technology personnel (e).

Improved f r e e d o m , development t e c h n o l o g i c a l developing development. capability and (f). Socio-cultural empowerment. Technology change. education is increasingly (g). Democracy and equality recognized to be central to (h). Ecological development/ both the origins of quality of life (increasing people’s technological development awareness of their environments). and challenges and to the From our analysis so far, it is clear prospects for successfully that modernization and economic dealing with them (Alam, development, depends on 2009). Decision makers at all investment and appreciation of levels, need timely, reliable modern trends in technology access to knowledge education. According to Woodhall generated by technology (1997) investment in technological and technical education to education and training produces introduce rational policies benefits for the individual and for that reflect a better global society as whole. understanding of complex The roles of technical and technical, economic, social, vocational education in enhancing cultural and article issues entrepreneurial skills using concerning the society, and information and communication our environment. Technical technology is very important in decision making and priority training for self-employment, selfsetting is an integral part of reliance and skills acquisition now overall development that government cannot employ planning and formation of every graduate.

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015 — 23

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igerian governors have not stopped to amuse me. They are so empty in thought and imagination that whenever it pleases them, they speak tongue-in-cheek. They double-speak and dance naked to please their mentors or to get political advantage. Development in the country in recent weeks has shown how shameless these small men in agbada can be. They throw up figures they know are not correct to distract public attention from them.

When the oil boom was in vogue, governors fought with every arsenal in their kitty to stop the plan to save for the rainy day. Some had whimsically told Nigerians in 2010 that the rains are falling on them already, why talk about saving. It was like a crime committed by the then Minister of Finance in her first outing in Nigeria when she came up with the idea of a buffer for the nation to fall back on when crude oil prices crash. The idea of excess crude account saving was seen then as a taboo and some uninformed governors went to court over the matter.

Today, the same set of public officers in the name of state governors are singing discordant tunes about low level of financial flow from the federation account. The rains, which they said then were falling, are now torrential and governors are scampering for bailout. Many cannot pay salaries because there is no savings anywhere to fall back on. When there was fund in the excess crude account, it was used to augment shortfalls from the federation account. This, for a long time to come, may not happen. Governors will for some time be looking for financial cover from the Federal Government.

Looking at development in the international oil market, state governments may be heading for more difficult times from external shock that has seen the price of crude fall from $110 to about $49 per barrel.

This time, the impact on the

The proverbial rains are here; no shelter for Governors nation's finances may be worse than the impact the 2008 global financial crisis had on it. Oil prices are still tumbling and traditional importers of crude oil are either finding alternatives or are oversupplied.

Nigerian economy is facing a very challenging time and this may continue to early 2017.

The sovereign wealth fund that would have acted as cushion has not been adequately funded. It has only about $1 billion as seed money and since inception in 2012, nothing has been added.

Governors had bickered over the legality of the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund.

Nigeria has over the years come to depend on crude oil export for its revenue that is shared among the three tiers of government. Recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria Monetary Policy Committee raised alarm over the deteriorating national economic growth stating that “The growth and development of the Nigerian economy will continue to be at risk so long as progress is not made in structural reforms.”

Figures released by the

National Bureau of Statistics attest to this. The data for the second quarter of 2015 indicated that the economy is going down the slope. In the second quarter of 2015, the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2.35 per cent in real terms. This was lower by 1.61 per cent from growth recorded in the preceding quarter. It is also lower by 4.19 per cent from growth recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2014. During the quarter,

Equally saddening is the fact that the nation’s leading politicians instead of facing governance are busy scheming for political appointments

aggregate GDP stood at N22.859 trillion at basic prices. Compared to the second quarter of 2014 value of N21.7348 trillion, nominal GDP was 5.17 per cent higher.

Nominal GDP growth was also higher relative to growth recorded in first quarter of 2015 by 0.85 per cent.

A growth rate of 2.4 per cent should give Nigerians cause for concern. Nigerian economy needs to grow faster than its rate of school leavers to be able to cope with the growing unemployment in the country.

In real terms, the economy should grow by 10 per cent to give hope to younger generation. As it is now, unemployment will rise further and this is not in the interest of the nation.

In general, the paradox of rising poverty incidence in the face of impressive economic growth in the last few years, further reinforces the call for the implementation of appropriate structural reforms in the key sectors notably agriculture, power and the petroleum sector to stimulate productivity.

What does this imply for the average Nigerian? In a period

Business & Economy

when oil prices were high, the economy was struggling, what then happens now that oil prices have fallen below the budget benchmark? Many states, local governments and even the Federal Government are finding it difficult to pay salaries not to talk of embarking on developmental projects. Poverty which is staring the nation in the face is worsening. Unfortunately for the nation, Nigeria's policymakers are not addressing their minds to this trend and development in the country. Instead, they are politicking and toying with the lives of Nigerians, throwing figures here and there. Equally saddening is the fact that the nation’s leading politicians instead of facing governance, are busy scheming for political appointments and mudslinging of perceived enemies.

Nigerians are more at home with whoever will put food on their table, ensure their children attend good schools, and provide health care, security of properties and lives. The only way to achieve this is when there are resources to carry out governance. For too long, successive governments have paid lip service to the transformation of the nation’s economy, yet 55 years after independence, the nation’s economy is at risk as a result of the vagaries of the international oil market.

When will Nigerians and their leaders learn the hard lesson?

PenCom rebrands, launches new logo, hosts World Pension Summit in Abuja

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irector-General, National Pencom Commission (PenCom), Mrs Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, said weekend in Lagos that Nigeria was ready to host the second edition of the World Pension Summit-Africa Special in Abuja. Anohu-Amazu said this in Lagos during an interactive session with newsmen on the upcoming event and the launch of a new logo for the commission. She said the event was scheduled for Oct. 5 and Oct. 6 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, with the theme “Building Sustainable Pension Systems in Africa”.

The director-general explained that the successes recorded by Nigeria in pension administration since the inception of the new system gave the country the lead in Africa.

“I am happy to say that the successes recorded so far in the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme,

lends itself to be replicated in other jurisdictions across Africa.

“It is with this in mind that

the commission partnered with the‘ WorldPensionSummit, The Netherlands’, a global pension brand, to host the maiden

Cashew processors operating below installed capacity Continued from Page 22 success, KD Foods, ACET Nigeria and Valency and they are members of the NCAN. He added that the association had privately invested N12 billion into cashew processing in Kwara, Kaduna, Ogun and Lagos. Anga said that cashew processors were selling to the same markets, hence the need for government to protect cashew processors.

“There is need for the government to protect cashew processors and make them better competitors globally.

“Irrespective of where you process your cashew from, we all sell under the same price regime and to the same markets in United Kingdom, Netherlands and Germany.

“United States of America, Canada,

Australia, United Arab Emirate, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and most recently China. So, the countries that offer the best investment incentives, to cashew processors, rule in the cashew world,” he said. The secretary told NAN that Nigeria was presently producing 144,000 metric tonnes of raw cashew nuts.

“This mean that available raw nuts for cashew processors still has one of the highest processing cost at N101,920 ($520) per ton.

This is without investment incentives from the government. The government of Mozambique gives N24,696 ($126) per ton investment incentive for cashew processing while India gives N16,268 ($83) per ton.

“This brings cost of processing cashew to N52,528 ($268) per ton in Mozambique, N49,784 ($254) per ton in India and N42,532

edition of the WorldPensionSummit - Africa Special – in Abuja, Nigeria, last year, to discuss and share ideas on pension administration in Africa. The summit was adjudged a great success as over 400 delegates from 23 countries, including 15 African countries attended,” she said.

According to her, the forthcoming summit would once more attract diverse experts from across the world in the areas of investment, infrastructure financing, real estate and other pensionrelated fields.

Anohu-Amazu added that “reforms and developments in African pension systems (regional reports” and global

Continues on Page 24

24 — Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

Business & Economy

Africa foreign exchange market trend Nigeria he naira is expected to hold steady this week with central bank dollar sales expected to help narrow the gap between the official and the parallel market. The naira has traded at N197 to the dollar on the inter-bank market. On the parallel market, the naira was trading at N219 to the dollar, down from N211 a dollar last week, but was expected to stabilise this week, traders said.

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Illicit flow of funds moves thousands of millions of dollars in Africa — Thabo Mbeki

By Omoh Gabriel

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he continent of Africa loses over $50 billion dollars each year as a result of the illicit flow of funds, former president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki told the meeting of the Group of African Governors affiliated with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund,

known as the African Caucus.

“Africa faces the great challenge of large volumes of capital leaving the continent illicitly – money that our continent needs to address the challenges of development. We, as Africans, have an absolute obligation to act on this to ensure that the rest of the world (the destination

of these illicit movements of funds), by acting together, will help stop this drain of resources which belong to the continent that needs them so badly,” said Thabo Mbeki.

Mbeki is now head of the High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows From Africa created by the United Nations

Ghana hana’s cedi may extend a rally next week, supported by central bank dollar sales.

The local unit, which weakened by about 25 percent after a strong rally in mid-July, recouped some this week. It traded at 3.7000 last week, compared to 4.1100 two weeks ago. Joseph Biggles Amponsah, analyst at Accrabased Dortis Research, said central bank dollar sales expected in the coming week would help the currency make further gains.

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Kenya enya’s shilling is expected to remain under pressure this week, hobbled by dollar strength and the retreat by foreign investors from emerging markets across the globe.

The shilling was quoted at 105.00/20 to the dollar, from 103.70/80 to the dollar a week ago. It is closing in on an alltime low around 107. “Over the last couple of months on average, the shilling has lost about a shilling every week ... and the trend looks set to continue,” said a trader at one Nairobi-based commercial bank. There is a lot of liquidity in the market and also the dollar has been strengthening against major emerging market currencies,” he added.

Traders say expectations of further central bank intervention with dollar sales was providing some support.

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Tanzania anzanian shilling is expected to remain steady against the dollar, helped by a slowdown in demand ahead of elections next month. Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 2,145/2,155 to the dollar on Thursday, unchanged from a week ago.

“There is a slowdown in business activity partly due to the upcoming elections on Oct. 25.

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Deploy communication satellite to drive mass economy — NASRDA

By PROVIDENCE OBUH & BUSAYO SAMUEL

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ational Space Research & Development Agency (NASRDA) has recommended the deployment and implementation of “dual purpose communication satellite” as a drivers of mass economy to diversify economy.

Dual purpose communication satellite is a strategy for improving mass economy through commercialisation with regards to national security.

To enable sustained implementation and return on investment, Director General, NASRDA, Prof. Seidu Mohammed, further recommended the adoption of Public Private Partnership (PPP) as a source of funding for the communication satellite, saying, “A complete nationwide fiber optic coverage is very costly, not feasible and some are being vandalised.

Introduction of Communication satellite services is the only way to have total coverage within Nigeria and beyond. Satellite systems also support disaster management, precision

agriculture, tele-medicine, tele-education, e-commerce and tele-conferencing. The satellite industry is a channel for job creation and spin-off technology development.” he said.

Mohammed who said these at the Credit Professionals Luncheon in Lagos, said PPP is identified as the way forward because it would enable adequate funding and efficient management of the programme and also make it commercially viable with good return on investment.

He added, “By 2020 $200 billion will be available for African countries to tap into and for Nigeria to tap into it, we must be able to develop our broadband satellite, a dual purpose communication

Communication satellites remain an efficient backbone of ICT

satellite.”

Mohammed argued that the communication satellites remain an efficient backbone of ICT, providing wider coverage to remote areas, supporting broadband and internet-based services which are drivers of socio-economic growth.

Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union, which did exemplary work and analysed the magnitude of the problem on the continent, producing a report now known as the “Mbeki Report”.

The former President of South Africa maintains that it is possible to put an end to these issues with proper monitoring of the transactions of large commercial companies.

Moreover, he points out that in order to combat this phenomenon interventions are needed from institutions such as tax authorities, customs, central banks, financial intelligence units for combating money laundering, audit and anti-corruption authorities and the police.

It is clear to Thabo Mbeki that there is also a need for appropriate legislation to give these institutions the mandate they need to cooperate in the fight against illicit capital outflows and so that countries can also cooperate at the regional level, given that some of these outflows move across shared borders.

“Our governments lose large amounts of revenue owed to the state due to the unlawful outflow of significant capital that we need for development,” he pointed out. Thabo Mbeki says that it is imperative to build the global architecture required for a focussed offensive to put an end to these illicit outflows, within the framework of UN processes, in order to avoid a piecemeal approach to the problem and to enable supervision by an appropriate UN body.

PenCom rebrands, launches new logo, host World Pension Summit in Abuja Continued from Page 23 developments in pension systems” would be part of issues to be addressed at the summit.

The other subjects include “The real deal: Structuring pension investments for sustainability ” and “Expanding investment frontiers for pension funds”.

“It is expected that such exposure would provide milestones, against which Africa, as a continent, can benchmark its performance in the area of pension,” she said.

However, she noted that not much had been achieved in Africa in the area of micro pension plans, and stressed the urgent need to redress the situation by emulating the

advances in China and Kenya. She also announced the introduction of Africa Pension Awards in the upcoming event to appreciate innovation, excellence and commitment to the development of pensions in the continent.

On his part, the Co-founder of the “WorldPensionSummit, The Netherlands”, Mr Eric Eden, underscored the need to build trust, transparency and accountability to alleviate poverty among retirees in the world. The event was also graced by the Special Adviser to the President on Media, Mr Femi Adesina, NLC and TUC representatives as well as other stakeholders in the pension industry.

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Banking & Finance

SWF not affected by global economic challenges, NSIA assures Nigerians

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By MICHAEL EBOH

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he Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, NSIA, manager of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, SWF, weekend, assuaged fears over the prevailing challenging global economic environment, stating that it has put in place measures to ensure that the funds under its management are not adversely affected. Chief Executive officer/ Managing Director of the NSIA, Mr. Uche Orji, who disclosed this at a briefing in Abuja, affirmed that the year 2015 had been a challenging one, both locally and globally, adding, however, despite the challenges, its structure had helped in insulating it from crisis.

According to him, the NSIA run a fully diversified asset structure and this has helped made it competitive and protected from the vagaries of the global economic challenges.

Orji further stated that the NSIA is considering extending its investment to other areas such as in crude oil refining, rail, aviation, communication, gas pipeline, storage and processing among others.

He, however, stated that its overall investment strategy would be based on nationwide strategic impact and which would attract foreign investments and guarantee attractive commercial and social returns. He identified infrastructure development as a veritable means to drive economic growth, noting, however, that measures have to be put in place to encourage both local and foreign investors as well as pension funds.

He said, “Infrastructure development requires long term investment. This investment is often achieved through long term bonds, running as much as 25 years.

Long term investors such as, SWFs, governments, pension funds and insurance companies typically invest in such bonds. This is the case in most developed countries – water, sewage, power, toll roads and other infrastructure have been funded by pension funds. At issue however, is that pension funds need credit enhancement or some form of insurance to invest in

GTBank appoints new executive director

PRESS CONFERENCE - From left: Managing Partner, Redmediaafrica, Mr. Chude Jideonwo; Publisher, TW Magazine, Adesuwa Onyenokwe; Executive Director, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman and Executive Director, Field of Skills and Dreams VTE Academy, Omowale Ogunrinde, during a press conference on ‘Get ready for work’ in Lagos. risky infrastructure bonds.”

To this end, Orji stated that the NSIA is partnering with GuarantCo to establish the Nigeria Credit Enhancement Facility (NCEF). He said, “NSIA – in collaboration with GuarantCo, a leading facility, developed by UKDFID, which provides local currency guarantee in frontier Economies – is leading the establishment of a Nigeria Credit

Enhancement Facility (NCEF).

“Depending on the regulators views, we expect $400 million equity can support over $8 billion of bonds. By facilitating borrowing for infrastructure projects, NCEF will manage credit risks and expand liquidity in the domestic bond markets, attracting a wide array of lenders to the domestic capital markets. NCEF will

also play a critical role in reducing infrastructure financing costs to affordable levels for issuers.

Presently, NSIA/Guarantco is finalising business development, hiring financial and legal advisors and raising core capital to establish the business.

In its performance for the 2014 financial year, Orji stated that the NSIA posted net comprehensive income.

Nigeria’s competitiveness will attract investment inflow — NESG To host Summit Oct 13

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igerian Economic Summit Group, NESG has stated that it has concluded arrangement to bring stakeholders in the private and public sectors together to dialogue in making Nigeria more competitive so as to attract the desired investment inflow.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, Chief Executive of NESG, Mr. Laoye Jaiyeola said that the 21st NESG seeks to examine and facilitate stakeholders’ consensus on how best to achieve competitiveness and inclusive growth in a sustainable way, through measurable outcomes and as such it is expected that the Summit conclusions will be crucial in defining the agenda that will help in making Nigeria’s socio-economic environment globally competitive.He said the Summit will hold on October13-15, 2015 and the theme is “ Tough Choices: Achieving Competitiveness, Inclusive Growth & Sustainability”.

In attendance at the press conference was the Vice Chairperson of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mrs. Sola David-Borha; Mr ‘Laoye Jaiyeola, CEO, NESG; NES#21 Private Sector Co-chair, Dr. Abiodun Adedipe; NES#21 Public Sector Co-chair, Mr. Tunde Lawal; and the Executive Secretary of the National Planning Commission (NPC), Mr. Bassey Akpanyung.

During her welcoming remarks, Mrs. David-Borha stated that the 21st Summit comes at a crucial period in the economic history of Nigeria when government revenue is declining, along with the existence of other macroeconomic challenges facing the Nigerian economy.

Mr. Akpanyung stated that the Summit has over the years contributed immensely to strengthen the relationship between the public and private sectors, and the transformation of Nigeria’s economy.

According to him, key outcomes of the Summit have helped in influencing policies since the inception of the Summit arrangement.

President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to lead a Presidential Policy dialogue, which will focus on key strategic elements required to make Nigeria globally competitive. Other sessions during NES#21 include: Leveraging Nigeria’s Competitive Advantage; Business and Sustainability in the Age of SDGs; Roundtable with the Vice President on Reforming Public Institutions; Roundtable with the National Assembly on Setting a Legislative Framework for HighPerformance Governance; Conversation with State Governors on Sub-National Competiveness; Policy Commission breakout sessions as well as Design Workshops.

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Board of Directors of Guaranty Trust Bank, GTBank Plc has announced the appointment of Haruna Musa as an Executive Director of the Board.

The appointment of Haruna Musa follows a thorough selection process by the Human Resources & Nominations Committee of the Board in line with the bank’s corporate governance standards and regulatory provisions.

He will be responsible for the Bank’s Retail & Commercial banking and Public sector businesses within the North East Division.

Haruna holds a B.A. Agriculture degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and a Masters in Business Administration from Bayero University, Kano, as well as Finance and Management from Cranfield University, UK. He began his banking career with United Bank for Africa plc (UBA), and had worked in other reputable financial institutions, including FSB International Bank plc before joining Guaranty Trust Bank plc in 2001. His experience, spanning over 17 years in the financial services sector, covers various aspects of banking including banking operations, corporate banking, commercial banking, compliance and risk management. Prior to his appointment, He had been responsible for strategy formulation and business development of the bank’s retail, public and commercial sectors in the North East Division.

Announcing the new appointment, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Segun Agbaje stated that: “As a Bank, we maintain high corporate governance standards and ensure that Board appointments are in line with global best practices and industry standards”. He further stated that “Haruna has been an integral part of the Bank’s success and has seen the bank evolve and develop through the years.

I am confident that his appointment will further strengthen and position the bank for improved performance”.

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26 — Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

Corporate Finance

CIS moves to partner AfDB to develop Commodities Exchange

By PETER EGWUATU

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s part of its contribution to develop the Commodities Exchange and enhance the Nigeria’s capital market, the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) said it has concluded arrangement to partner with the management of African Development Bank (AfDB).

Under the new plan, the two institutions are to work together in ensuring the viability of the commodities market and listing of Agro Allied companies to boost activities in agriculture in line with the Federal government’s plan to diversify income base by shifting attention from oil.

Addressing the Capital Market Correspondents at the weekend, the Institute’s Acting President, Mr. Oluwaseyi Abe who congratulated the newly appointed President of AfDB, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina explained that the CIS had been working closely with Dr. Adesina during his tenure as the Minister of Agriculture.

Abe explained that both the CIS and AfDB had many things in common, especially in the areas of creating awareness on the benefits of promoting active commodities exchange and the listing of companies in the agro allied industry.

“We need active and transparent commodities exchange in order to develop our agricultural sector as a huge source of income rather than depend on crude oil. This is in tandem with the Federal Government Policy of diversification of the economy.

The agro allied companies require standardization of products and effective pricing mechanism to thrive. The CIS trains manpower in this regard” Abe said.

According to him, other areas of partnership with AfDB include listing of power related institutions to access capital through the various relevant market platforms, and partnership with CIS for empowerment on its Diploma Programme to create employment and support financial inclusion programme of the government, especially into the rural communities.

“The CIS is willing to engage AfDB on how we can harmonise our Diploma Programme. The ultimate is to empower the holders of our Diploma to create employment"' he noted.

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NSE: Foreign investors raise stake on low equities valuations

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

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he volume of foreign portfolio investment (FPI) on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, rose by 54.30 per cent in the month of July as foreign portfolio investors continue to take advantage of low equities valuation to raise their stake in the market.

Figures from the NSE showed that monthly FPI on the Exchange went up to N107.47 billion or 62.91 per cent of total transactions in the month of July compared to N69.65 billion recorded at the end of June 2015. On the contrary, total domestic transactions on the local bourse decreased to

N63.36 billion, representing 37.09 per cent of total market transactions within the month.

Further breakdown showed that domestic investors conceded about 25.82 per cent of trading to foreign investors during the period.

However, foreign portfolio investment inflows at N48.64 billion, accounted for 28.47 per cent of total transactions while the outflows accounted for 34.44 per cent of the total transactions in July 2015.

According to Johnson Chukwu, Managing Director/ CEO, Cowry Asset Management Limited, the increase in foreign portfolio investments in July could be attributed to some investors that

tried to take advantage of very short-term opportunities in the market.

However, “If you look at the inflows and outflows of foreign portfolio investment in July, you will observe that the increase in investment was

Foreign investors’ confidence is gradually being restored in the country as a result of the smooth political transition

SUMMIT: From left: Chairman, Private Sector, Joint Planning Committee (JPC), Dr. Biodun Adedipe; Chairman, Public Sector, JPC, Mr Tunde Lawal; Executive Secretary, National Planning Commission, Mr Bassey Akpanyung; Vice Chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Sola David Iborha and CEO, NESG, Mr. Laoye Jaiyeola at the media briefing by NESG and National Planning Commission (NPC) on 21st Annual Economic Summit in Lagos.

more than offset by the increase in outflows, indicating that the inflows literally left the same month.

“A breakdown of the inflows and outflows indicate a 14 per cent increase in FPI in July to N48.64 billion from N42.67 billion. However, there was a larger increase in outflow by 118 per cent from N26.98 billion recorded in June to N58.83 billion. In effect, foreign portfolio investors’ interest in the Nigerian market is very delicate,” Chukwu noted.

Speaking in the same vein, Mr. Tola Odukoya, Managing Director, Asset Management & Research, Dunn Loren Merrifield, said investors were positioning to make optimal returns on the back of relatively attractive prices of Nigerian equities and their respective valuations and the weak domestic currency.

Also, Mr. David Adonri, Managing Director, Highcap Securities Limited, stated that foreign investors’ confidence is gradually being restored in the country as a result of the smooth political transition.

He added that measures being taken by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to conserve foreign exchange are also having positive impact. “There is reasonable macroeconomic stability notwithstanding fragility in the crude oil market. These factors are having positive influence on foreign investors’ interest in Nigeria’s financial markets,” Adonri posited.

Fidelity Bank assures of sustained growth ...unveils new corporate identity

By NKIRUKA NNOROM & BISOLA OLOGUNDE

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he Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, has assured that the bank will sustain the growth trajectory it recorded in the last financial year.

Okonkwo, who gave the assurance at the unveiling of a new corporate identity by the bank in Lagos, said Fidelity todate is the highest capitalised bank in Nigeria in terms of capital adequacy ratio.

He stated that while the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, requires a capital adequacy ratio of 15 per cent from the banks, Fidelity Bank has a capital adequacy ratio of 22.3 per cent.

“This is a solid bank; well capitalised.

In the industry today, we are the most capitalised in terms of capital adequacy ratio. While the CBN requires us to have 15 per cent capital adequacy ratio, we actually have 22.3 per cent.

Last year, our profit before tax grew by 72 per cent in this challenging year when company’s profits are dropping.

We will continue to strive to make sure that we deliver the kind of numbers we promised the Board or at worst, something close to it,” he declared.

Okonkwo explained that the achievement was a result of an internal self rebranding and cultural reorientation of its people, which culminated in the improved financial performance and ultimate change in the corporate identity.

On the new logo, which is deep blue, green and white line linking the two colours at the middle, the bank’s CEO explained that the deep blue colour reminds the bank of its “ rich, solid background as a bank’, adding “It holds dear an accommodative path which inspires us to go into the future.”

The green colour, according to him, stands for fertility, growth and progress

to the future, while the white line at the middle stands for safety, purity and a guiding light.

“The combination of the forth going manifestation I just described actually signifies the upward trajectory, the vibrancy and the energy with which Fidelity Bank conquered the new frontier,” he stressed. He stated that evolving the new identity took the bank months of painstaking strategising, planning and execution, saying that the bank needed to change its identity to be in touch with the changing realities of the modern time.

The bank CEO added that the new identity was the bank’s way of connecting with the younger generation who he said are technology savvy.

He said: “In business, there must be a time you need to change. For Fidelity Bank, there are many reasons why we need to change. Historically, we are perceived to be a conservative bank.

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30—Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

Homes & Housing

Sokoto to revive Savings & Loans agency for housing

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okoto State government is set to revive the state’s Savings and Loans Agency with a view to helping citizens acquire homes based on affordable terms.

Gov. Aminu Tambuwal disclosed this while laying the foundation stone for a 250housing unit estate for workers in the state’s civil service. The estate, to be sited at Karasawa, on the Sultan Abubakar III International Airport Road, consists of four-bedroom detached duplex, threebedroom detached bungalow and two-bedroom semi detached bungalows.

Tambuwal noted that the state government now has three housing projects currently under construction and expected to be ready in 2016.

He said more than 1,300 units of houses in total would be put to use for the benefit of the people of the state.

The governor also said his administration would provide the necessary incentives to enable workers own homes, adding that the target was to ensure civil servants benefited from the projects optimally. He said government would partner with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), labour unions and the organised private sector to boost housing development in the state.

UPDC to raise fresh capital

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ACN Property Development Company (UPDC) Plc is set to source additional capital through a supplementary equity issue.

The firm is also making moves to dispose certain surplus assets as part of a medium-term plan to deleverage the real estate company and boost its liquidity.

Chairman, UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) Plc, Mr. Larry Ettah, disclosed the strategic plan of the company at the annual general meeting held in Lagos.

According to Etah, the company is focused on longterm value creation and has put in place strategies to enable it take advantage of emerging opportunities in the market place. As such, he said the company would be raising new equity funds through a supplementary capital issue while it would also dispose its surplus equity stake in the UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust (UPDC REIT) to reduce its debt overhang and free more earnings for shareholders.

•High-end estate development

FG plans 30% reduction in cost of housing delivery Stories by YINKA KOLAWOLE, with agency report

include affordability gap in home-ownership; dearth of long-term funds; inadequate

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he Federal Government is developing a blueprint to reduce cost of housing delivery in the country by 30 percent.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mr. George Ossi, disclosed this in a statement, signed by the Ministry’s Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Ajibola Adedeji. He said the intervention would be carried out through the provision of land, infrastructure, and payment of compensation to land owners.

He noted that the overall effect of the government’s plan is reduction of the nation’s 17 million housing deficit.

Ossi said a Committee on Affordable Housing Delivery set up by the Ministry to examine the blueprint for affordable and social housing delivery in the country has submitted its report. According to him, the report will assist government in its concerted effort to ensure provision of affordable housing for Nigerians. He identified the need for direct government intervention to developers and off-takers in obtaining loans to finance housing projects and payment of compensation to original land owners.

The statement quoted Chairman of the Committee, who is Director, Planning, Research and Statistics in the ministry, Mr Aithelbert Mouka, as saying that access to adequate and affordable housing was recognised as a core human right by the United Nations (UN), General Assembly Article 25, 1948, the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria and the Vision 20: 2020 document. “The committee identified the challenges to

What is required is for government to partner capable developers and then allocate these lands to them

capital and resource base for the primary mortgage institutions,” he stated.

Meanwhile, a property developer has called on government to adopt international best practices in its quest to reduce the nation’s housing deficit. Chairperson, Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Chapter, Hajia Binta Ibrahim, said government should involve all relevant stakeholders in its effort to boost housing delivery in the country. “Government needs to carry along association like REDAN, because there are speculators in the business as

well. We are talking about people that have stake and by this I mean developers who source for the land, do all the needed infrastructure requirements in the proposed estate that they are embarking on without receiving any assistance from the government. Those are the kind of people or companies that government should look for and assist. If it’s a jack of all trade, people will sit in their house and they just get allocation, these people spoil the environment for the real developers.

What is required is for government to partner capable developers and then allocate these lands to them, then still assist them in pushing these developers to be able to get loan from banks to actualise their dream. This is the way out of the huge deficit.

“But the problem still lies with certain group of people having vast land and yet they are not using it and they didn’t get it for anything and they will come back to us developers to re-sell to developers for personal gains and these are virgin lands with no infrastructure.

So, tell me how these houses will be affordable, definitely, these houses will not be affordable because the estate developers buy lands, they put in infrastructure, they source funds from commercial banks and as you know these commercial banks offer flat interest rates for all borrowers for whatever the money is going to be used for,” she stated.

Firm unveils mortgage calculator to ease housing loans L

amudi Nigeria has entered into a unique partnership with a mortgage bank, Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank Ltd, to extend access to affordable home loans.

Through Lamudi’s online mortgage calculator, property buyers can now do more than just search for properties on our website. They can also estimate their mortgage repayments and apply for a loan for their property of choice.

Objective “The dream of a large number of Nigerians is to own their own home. However, for many it is a dream deferred because of what is perceived as a colossal amount of funds necessary to make a purchase. This sentiment reveals itself in statistics that show people who are relatively more financially secure are bolder about purchasing property than their less welloff counterparts. This is the gap in the market that Lamudi Nigeria has chosen to fill with the launch of its mortgage calculator in partnership with Imperial Homes.

Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank is a dulyregistered mortgage bank, affiliated to GTBank, committed to making home loans

affordable and simple. After putting in their personal financial data, this calculator helps potential home-buyers estimate their mortgage using the best interest rates from Imperial Homes,” Obi Ejimofo, Managing Director of Lamudi Nigeria stated.

“This is a very big deal for us as a platform.

From the start, our core objectives have been to make it easier for our customers to secure their next home. We chose to partner with Imperial Homes specifically because they share the same ideals and have developed mortgage and savings products designed to assist the broader populace in getting a firm foot on the property ladder,” Ejimofor added.

How it works Clicking on the Credit Calculator button opens up the mortgage calculator app which has the property price, the interest rate from Imperial Homes, and loan amount automatically filled in. Select the preferred percentage for down payment; Choose the loan period, ranging from 3 to 15 years; Mortgage cost is provided; If satisfied with the mortgage cost click on the Get Rates button and; Enter personal details and mortgage cost is sent to your email.

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“There are no desperate……. ven the village idiot knew that by May of this year, most states were in deep financial problems. Those hyped to be “innovative” and the confirmed wastrels and utterly corrupt suddenly found themselves in the same boat. I was probably the only person in Nigeria who was not surprised. Several articles had been published on this page predicting that outcome. Two, among others will serve as reminders. WHY STATE GOVERNMENTS CANNOT PAY was written in 2013 predicting what we are now just experiencing. Early in 2015, in the article titled BEFORE YOUR STATE GOVERNOR RUNS AWAY, I warned Nigerians that their governors, irrespective of political affiliation, will struggle to pay salaries up to the time of the 2015 elections. But, with the elections out of the way, the expected. The Federal people will be told the truth, Government first offered bail-out namely, that their states cannot funds to the states from the usual on their own pay salaries Federation account beefed up by anymore. Again, we have seen withheld revenue by the Nigeria that happen.

Liquefied Gas limited from the With the elections over and consolidated account. But, as it Jonathan no longer giving a turned out, and as I knew that damn what happens to unpaid was insufficient to get the states workers, most of the governors out of trouble. Given huge loans ran to Abuja or abroad to stay. thoughtlessly taken, funds for The re-elected and new the projects diverted, governors were waiting for one “variations” (read campaign man to mount the saddle to go money for 2015 elections), begging – President Buhari. suddenly sharp drop in oil Again, we were all witnesses to revenue, the states could only how the governors, at their survive one month on the first National Economic Council bail-out package. They needed meeting with the new President more and that more must be a threw self-respect to the winds long-term package. Now, the and openly solicited for bail-out.

Federal Government and At first, Buhari told them off and several states, thank God I must confess that I was one of excluding Lagos State, but those who sought for a surprisingly including Akwa compromise that enabled the Ibom State, have signed up for Federal Government to come to the deal packaged by the the aid of the states.

Federal Government.

Unfortunately, what followed In any other country where the was not totally or even remotedly

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015 — 31

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Mortgaging states to FG in the name of bail-out state legislators, the professionals (accountants, lawyers, economists, finance and investment specialists, bonds managers, bankers etc) are alive to their responsibilities, this is a deal that should have caused the loudest uproar and should have been subjected to wider public debate before being sealed than it had been. In fact, a deal which,

A deal which, to me, is unconstitutional, between the Federal Government and desperate state governors has been foisted on the people.

to me, is unconstitutional, between the Federal Government and desperate state governors has been foisted on the people.

President Buhari has my sympathy because he has never pretended to be an economist or financial expert. He has also never claimed to be a constitutional lawyer. I am also not a lawyer. But, I am aware that there are things called precedents. I also know that “the road to hell is always paved with good intentions.” After initially tasking the governors requesting for bail-out to go and look inwards to solve the problem of outstanding wages, Buhari, had turned around to mandate the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Central Bank of Nigeria, to assume the debts owed to workers in those states by converting the debts to bonds.

Nothing like this had ever occurred before in our federal republic, since the government of President Shehu Shagari guaranteed the external loans of the nineteen(19) states of Nigeria at the time. That economically ill-advised measure was partly

responsible for turning the $2.8 billion facility acquired by Obasanjo’s government, and which was repayable into the $36 billion which both Buhari, Babangida, Abacha and Abubakar found it impossible to repay – until rapid rise in crude oil price under Obasanjo provided the funds for us to exit the debt trap.

Even that agreement, which was arranged by Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in 2004 resulted in partial debt-forgiveness for Nigeria. We paid only about $24 billion out of the estimated $36 billion owed.

What went wrong?

When Shagari set about to guarantee the external loans of states from 1999to 1983, he could not have imagined that people elected to high office, specifically governors, could be so callous and conscienceless as to take loans on behalf of their people for development only to embezzle them. Unfortunately, that was what happened. Out of the nineteen governors who served from October 1, 1979 to October 1, 1983, only three escaped jail sentence for defrauding their states.

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Insurance

Only professionals should carry out insurance business — NAICOM Stories by ROSEMARY ONUOHA

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he National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, has charged insurance operators to ensure that only professionals are allowed to carry out the business of insurance.

Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive of the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, Mr. Mohammed Kari, who gave the charge, noted that the influx of non professionals into the insurance industry is denting the image of the sector.

Kari who spoke in Lagos regretted that the insurance profession is the most bastardised because operators have allowed all manner of non professionals to penetrate the sector.

Kari said, “Why should we allow other professionals to dictate what we do in this profession. We should stand up and be our own professionals.”

He charged operators to protect the insurance profession and be proud of it and do it right.

According to Kari, the sector is aligning with the change policy of the federal government because insurance sector cannot be left behind in the scheme of things.

Kari said, “As we are aware, this is the era of change. The insurance industry certainly cannot be left behind in the scheme of things. I therefore urge the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, CIIN, to uphold and encourage its members to adhere strictly to the observance of the industr y ’s codes of conduct and ethics for a healthy practice of the insurance profession.

“NAICOM as a regulator is committed to high standard of professionalism and ethical behaviour in the insurance industry so as to regain the confidence of policyholders and increase insurance contribution to the GDP. If we must win the public apathy to the business of insurance we must desist from unwholesome practices in the discharge of our C M Y K

responsibilities to the insured by playing as true professionals,” Kari said.

According to Kari, current developments in the country obviously call for collaborative effort to reposition the profession and the insurance industry, adding that operators should not be unmindful of the perception of the insurance profession by the public.

“The apathy towards insurance and the way and manner the profession is being addressed need a rethink from all of us.

We all know the whys, let us discuss dispassionately and agree the hows of

correcting the wrong perceptions,” Kari stated.

Kari said, “There is need for a reawakening to ensure only trained personnel are allowed to practice. You will agree with me that insurance services are being rendered by persons and bodies without adequate training. We must embrace professionalism as core value in our industry. To achieve that we must train all persons that carry our flags to our consumers. “ I n s u r a n c e practitioners and professionals should be seen to uphold the tenets of the profession both in their words and actions.

“Reinsurance industry undergoing evolution, not revolution”

C

hanges in the g l o b a l reinsurance market, exacerbated and perhaps triggered to a degree by the growth of alternative reinsurance capacity, resulting competition and benign loss activity, has been more of an evolution than a revolution, according to Guy Carpenter ’s Vice Chairman, David Priebe.

Various influential factors including ample capacity, a lack of large loss events and intense market competition, have combined and persisted in recent times leading industry experts and analysts to note, predict and attempt to navigate changes in the reinsurance industry landscape. But recent commentary from experienced industry executives suggests that the evolution of the international reinsurance sector certainly isn’t something new and that essentially, whether traditional or alternative capital providers, reinsurers are doing the same job now as they were a decade ago, albeit with a broader scope of services and wider global reach.

“It’s been an evolution; it hasn’t been a revolution. The service that we’re providing is very similar today to what it was 10 years ago,” explained Priebe.

“The real change has been that we’ve expanded the services

and the roles the reinsurance industry is providing in terms of risk analytics, supporting clients as they seek out new growth opportunities and lines of business, and helping innovate in terms of using technology to do a better job understanding risk, pricing risk and managing risk,” continued Priebe.

The evolution of the global reinsurance industry is an interesting topic, and one that has been significantly influenced by the wealth of alternative, or thirdparty reinsurance capital providers entering the space, seeking the returns and diversification of reinsurance exposures.

Essentially, however, the expanding base of alternative reinsurance capital providers are doing the same job as the traditional players have been doing for the last 10 years or so. Highlighting how alternative capital providers are essentially doing the same thing as traditional players, and echoing the view of Guy Carpenter ’s Britt Newhouse, President of Swiss Re’s U.S. P&C Reinsurance division, Bill Donnell said; “So you need to understand that alternative capital is focused in on low barriers to entry, high margin, basically nat cat business and retro business. And that’s a very defined segment of the market.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015 — 33

Economy

NASME moves to reposition fortunes of MSME sector

BY EMEKA ANAETO, ECONOMY EDITOR

T

HERE are indications that the organised private sector involved in the micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) are taken bold steps to change their fortunes positively in the face of apparent lack of government commitment to promoting the sector.

Chairman of Lagos chapter of the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Mr. Ladi JemiAlade, told Vanguard last week that the association is engaging a world’s leading business management consultancy firm to design and articulate an SME policy and strategic framework for Nigerian government and other stakeholders in the sector.

He said when this is

Though Nigeria has advantage in other areas too but the issue is that since we have been in export of raw materials we can easily develop processing areas including solid minerals completed the stakeholders will lobby for national adoption and implementation, a development if successfully carried out, will provide a unified and focused approach to the sector development for the first time in the history of MSME development campaign in Nigeria.

Jemi-Alade had described the existing government policies and activities in the sector as unserious and lacking in ingredients that would have made a success out of the huge resources being pumped into promotional activities by both

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private and public sector institutions which have little or no direct impact on the sector and the operators.

Some of the unseriousness, according to him is manifested in terms of vague data that lack credibility being bandied about as the statistics of MSMEs population and profile in Nigeria as well as funding, extension activities and public policy governance.

He said that though most government policies on the sector indicate that government understands the potentials and the need for a vibrant MSME sector in Nigeria, there is no

corresponding actions to realise the potentials.

Jemi-Alade lamented that now the big global retail chains are coming into the country with huge cash spending by Nigerians on the products on their shelf there are little or no Nigerian products to be patronised by the shoppers, instead the shops are flooded with imported goods, especially those that could easily be produced in Nigeria.

He lamented that though the retail giants were given concessions to bring in those goods no effort has been made by government to curtail and

place a time line and limits within which a domestication should begin to apply.

According to him ‘’there must be conscious effort to protect and promote local industries’’.

He said government’s policies should focus on strengthening made in Nigerian products and the manufacturers of these products with funding and knowledge as well as trade policy protection.

He noted that since many of the products in question are agro-based where Nigeria has comparative advantage the government will find it easy to successfully develop the sector

if the policies are right with the necessary incentives.

He also noted that ‘’though Nigeria has advantage in other areas too but the issue is that since we have been in export of raw materials we can easily develop processing areas including solid minerals. That is the missing link. We don’t have processing industry with a lot of multiplier effects in key areas such as petroleum, palm oil, etc’’ The NASME boss remarked that the drop in oil prices is a blessing in disguise though it may take some time before Nigeria starts seeing the positive results depending on how the challenges are turned around for domestic economy.

FCMB Agribusiness: Why diversification of Nigeria’s economy necessary

BY PETER EGWUATU

T

HE sustainable banking initiative in the financial sector has received a boost from First City Monument Bank, FCMB Limited with a $ 70 million (N14 billion) facility created for agric sector in collaboration with International Finance Corporation, IFC. The package, made up of a long term loan of $50 million and a convertible loan of $20 million, was targeted at supporting the bank’s growth strategy and helping it increase financing of small and medium enterprises in the sector.

Mr. Ladi Balogun, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive, FCMB, who had viewed IFC’s investment as a stamp-of-approval on the bank’s strategy and commitment to good corporate governance and risk management, said “this partnership with IFC would help First City Monument Bank achieve its strategic growth objectives.”

FCMB’s Divisional Head, Agricultural Business Finance, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), while elaborating the bank’s interest in agric financing “that since agriculture has the potential to stimulate economic growth it follows that agricultural financing becomes an

Mr. Ladi Balogun important instrument of economic policy for Nigeria, in her effort to stimulate development in all directions.

He further noted that agriculture is the biggest employer in Nigeria and other developing economies even as it has been demonstrated that economies that are selfsustaining in agriculture have relatively lower inflation rates.

Gumunyu said that FCMB intends to partner with players in the agric space with a view to taking advantage of the many opportunities it presents and ultimately contribute positively towards economic

growth, employment creation, import substitution and economic sustainability.

With regards to the fears by farmers that the turn-around time and conditions attached to some credit facilities could be prohibitive, he allayed their fears, saying that the experience with the FCMB facility will be different.

In his words: “Farmers have a point in complaining about slow approval processes as their businesses are season bound and need reasonable time to access finance. Most complaints stem from some Nigerian banks not understanding the farmer ’s businesses. Fortunately they will not experience this at FCMB as we have a team of experienced and qualified Agric bankers who do not only have a holistic knowledge about agriculture, but its associated businesses, especially the fact that they are time and season bound”.

Gumunyu added “We are committed to providing feedback to clients on the status of their requests within competitive timelines provided we are in possession of all the requisite information which can enable us make decision. However, farmers have to realize that they also can help by providing the requisite information and that not all credit can be approved

as the bank has to be satisfied with the risk and return of such transactions”.

FCMB, he said, has put in place systems and processes to improve its credit turnaround time, including the recruitment of Agric Credit Analysts who are dedicated to working on agric transactions and a Structured Trade and Commodity Finance team which assists in several structured commodity finance deals that ensured prompt service delivery to customers. ‘’Every loan request is treated on a case by case basis.

Requests for intervention funds from the CBN are dealt with using the attendant guidelines governing such scheme, Gumunyu explained.

FCMB’s agric financing portfolio was 0.8 per cent of the bank’s total assets in January 2012 but it has grown to 6.64 per cent by 31 July 2015. The bank’s interventions cut across various enterprises and activities in the agric value chain. These include poultry, fisheries, oil palm production and processing, cassava, maize production and commodities trading, among others. The bank is also active in other value chain sections such as agrochemicals, fertilisers, seed and mechanization, and has been deploying unique solutions for inclusive banking as well as asset financing.

FCMB’s sustainability principle in agriculture and empowerment of farmers will go a long way to reducing the level of poverty in Nigeria as the bank continues to play its financial intermediation role for national development. This can be buttressed by the fact that the bank’s intervention has resulted in better access to financial resources by needy individuals, organisations and companies.

It has also led to improved processes, better output and profitability. Much more, it has enhanced confidence in the ability of the financial services sector to drive economic growth.

34 — Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

People in Business

M

rs Ihinosen Etareh is the M a n a g i n g Director/Chief Executive Officer of Abuja-based Oven Cake Craft. In this chat with Financial Vanguard in Abuja recently, the graduate of Accounting from the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, speaks on why she left her job at the European Union to go into cakemaking and the challenges.

Excerpts: Educational background: After her diploma in Accounting Education and a degree in Accounting from the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Nosen, as she is fondly called, did her one year compulsory service to fatherland (NYSC) at the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) in Lagos.

She was thereafter employed by the European Union to work in their Accounting Department.

Going into business: "I have always had this passion for baking. I have baked at every stage in my life, from primary school to the university. My parents are professionals but they encouraged us. My mother bought from icing pumps, to baking pans and the ingredients as well so everybody in the house used to bake for fun but at an early age, I realised I could make some money out of it so I took cakes to school and my friends would buy and ask for more.

While waiting for a job after my youth service, I baked as well and I eventually got a job in Abuja.

"It was then I realised that I was missing my baking because it was like a hobby turned into a business. At that point, I realised there were not many baking outfits here so I felt I should grab the opportunity and so, Oven Cake Craft in Abuja came into being. " Quitting my job: "As orders kept rolling in, I really could not keep up with work anymore, and because this has always been my passion, I asked myself if I want to do the business when I am old and retired. What will happen to the passion that I have for baking? I said to myself, “No, I do not want to do this when I am old and retired, I have the passion and energy for it now and I would rather do this now and run with it properly. So while I was working, I was able to find out I could make a living out of it and it could pay my bills. So I decided it was time to say C M Y K

•Mrs Ihinosen Etareh transfers don’t go through. I experience the same thing when I have to pay my vendors.

I try to do a bank transfer to make life easy for me and it just bounces back."

Start-up capital: "I started the business on February 7, 2004 with about N3,200,000. The February 14 date was deliberate because we did quite some sales for the Valentine."

•Some of the cakes

For me, it was hobby turned into business — IHINOSEN ETAREH

By EBELE ORAKPO goodbye to the EU and move on with baking. I have not looked back since then,” she enthused.

Products: "We make cakes for pretty much all occasions - birthdays, weddings, baby dedications, graduations etc. We also do desserts such as cheese cakes, carrot cakes etc. as well as snacks.

We make our products to order which means that a customer can walk in, place an order and we will make it to suit the purpose/event and also the person. This is our 11th year in business and so far, so good, particularly in Abuja where it has become competitive because quite a number of people are into cake-making but we try as much as possible to be on top of our game so that we can be a step ahead of our competitors.

Challenges: "For me, the biggest challenge particularly in Abuja, is the cost of renting a place. Because of the nature of the business, we get calls round the clock so as a working mother of two, with a son who is less than one year, it is important for me to separate my business from my personal life and for me to be able to do that, I have to have a shop located in a prime area accessible to our customers.

We try as much as possible to be on top of our game so that we can be a step ahead of our competitors

Most of the shopping plazas are highly priced. Rent ranges from N2 million to N2.5 million per annum, because of this, I have my bakery in a different place. We have to factor in logistics of carrying cakes from the bakery to the shop and we have to go through traffic and all that.

"Electricity is another because a lot of our equipment like the mixer, oven etc., depend on electricity. We tend to prefer electric ovens because they bake more evenly than the regular gas oven.

Another challenge is the cashless society we find ourselves in. The Points of Sale (POS) tend to have network issues. Sometimes customers pay and the POS malfunctions and the customers are debited; it takes time to resolve and sometimes the customer feels like we have taken their money because they have been debited and we are telling them we did not receive the money, so this cashless policy is an issue.

There is also problem with bank transfers. Sometimes the

Getting customers: "When we started, we did a lot of marketing, we took cakes to offices of the Bureau for Public Enterprise. I have a lot of clients from there. We took cakes and fliers to banks and schools. I believe in the taste of our cakes and so we took samples of cakes to people so that they could have a taste because we believe that when you taste something and you like it, that is when you can appreciate it and buy. So we took cakes to people who trusted us enough to taste and we gave out a lot of fliers and cards. I would say that 80 per cent of our clientele actually saw and tasted our products because the feedback we get is: ‘I saw, I tasted and I liked’ and they keep coming back.

For some of them, when they taste our cake, they copy out the number and call. But now, with social media, it has gotten better. We have a web site and a lot of people go on the internet and when they Google where they can get cakes in Abuja, our link pops up and they are able to see our products and place an order."

Staff: "They come and go but at the moment, we have between 18 and 21. One is on maternity leave, I have some students who come to work only on holidays. I train most of my staff. We intend to start a formal training school for children from age 5 to grandmas. It is still in the pipeline because of accommodation. Hopefully, by next year, we will have that sorted out," she said.

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015 — 35

Advertising & Promotions

How Infinix mobile is changing Africa’s smartphone ecosystem Stories by PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

T

he mobile market in recent time has witnessed an influx of various phone brands, but neither of the high-tech companies has reached their goals in the Nigerian marketplace.

However, Infinix Mobility has marked its entry with a significant turning point in the telecommunication ecosystem.

Recently, in collaboration with Google, Infinix Mobility launched Infinix Hot 2 as the first official Android One product with lollipop 5.1 in Africa.

In its three years, Infinix Mobility has built a strong reputation in the Nigerian market and

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globally from the Middle East, Europe and South East Asia regions.

Technology and innovation at fingertips

By April, a technology storm hit Nigeria; African market is a special market—facing energy issues, Bruno Li, Country Manager for Nigeria, stated, “As a High-tech company, it is our duty to deliver product that brings concrete solutions to the market.” Infinix Hot note a 2 days battery life smartphone and super fast charging technology (30 min charge 7 hours use) was released by the manufacturer.

June 2015, the honourable successor of Infinix Zero series, Zero 2 delivered high specs and premium design, first of its kind on the

continent. With its 5 inches HD Super Amoled and an ultra efficient 13 MP camera, Zero 2 brings to Africa bright and sharp vision of the High tech industry. Talking about design, the device weighs only 118g. The biggest surprise is the

Finding the right partners at the right time and place is also part of the smartphone success story

unique material selected

by Infinix R&D. In fact Zero 2 comes with a Kevlar battery back cover that is used in aeronautic equipments, safety and military industry. Kevlar is highly resistive against shock and five times lighter than steel.

This time, Infinix decided to launch the device in the most prestigious university of Nigeria, Unilag University. Bruno Li, Infinix Nigeria Country Manager said “Being closer to our fans and end-users is what makes us understanding the market. We like to interact with our users either online or offline. “ Infinix Mobility partnered with Google, Jumia and MTN, three pillars of the High-tech ecosystem.

Infinix launched Infinix HOT 2, the 1st official Android One product with lollipop 5.1 in Africa. Moreover the device comes with a 2GB RAM which will be a standard for the market.

The operating system will be getting an update to the latest Android version up to two years. With the Hot 2, the largest African operator MTN is offering 1GB data for 500 Naira to fit consumers need in data connection. Finally HOT 2 has break new records with 30 000 units sold online in seconds.

A brand built by industry people: The device is a brand built by people who understand the industry.

Thus Infinix Mobility has set a benchmark and here is how.

Infinix Mobility is a Hong Kong based company Headquartered in Shanghai for its research and development (R&D) center, and Paris as design center. While Shenzhen the electronic hub of the world is Infinix production center.

To have a better understanding of Infinix Mobility there is no doubt that its success definitely comes from experienced executives of the industry.

Benjamin Jiang, CEO of Infinix Mobile, is an art bachelor graduate of Hefei Technology. He may answers questions

around why Infinix smartphones designs are so trendy, catchy and unique (i.e. Infinix zero 2 made of Kevlar).

In 2003, Jiang joined the Bird Company Limited, pioneer Chinese mobile phone company, as Head of Project Management.

The following year, the company was listed in Shanghai Stock Exchange later the company received a government subsidy of 14 million Yuan. By 2007, he joined Longcheer Holdings, a leading Chinese mobile handset design house as General Manager of International Business Unit. Since 2012 Jiang has been the CEO of Infinix Mobility.

Online smartphone and emerging markets: Finding the right partners at the right time and place is also part of the smartphone success story. When Infinix launched the Infinix Zero last year, it made Infinix Zero the leader and best selling online smartphone in Africa.

Nigerian consumers loved the phone and bought 150,000 units.

The phone made with gorilla glass and sporting an octa-core processor from Mediatek, a High Definition, HD screen and a 13 Mega Pixel camera with flash LED. The device brought innovation to the Nigerian market. The success in Nigeria was later extended to EastAfrica, Middle East and South East Asia.

In November 2014, the s m a r t p h o n e manufacturer set Christmas mood with Infinix HOT. The device seems to match Nigerians taste of 5.0 inches screen, pocket friendly and colorful smartphone—yellow, red, white, black and pink—that reach 100 000 hands.

The worldwide German statistics institute Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung showed that Infinix HOT raised the bar and surpassed brands like Samsung and Nokia in Q1 2015.

Knorr Quest hots up as eviction stares competitors in face

By MICHAEL ODOH

A

s the quest for the best “masterclass” cook organized by Knorr, a seasoning brand from the stable of Unilever Nigeria Plc continues, two contestants have been evicted from the contending 12 competitors. This was contained in a statement sent by the company.

The two contestants identified as Ugochi and Idahosa were evicted based on unanimous decision of the judges, Dr. Robert, Chef Fregz and Omobola Koya on the ground that their dishes and presentation were far below the quality required in the master class. According to the statement, “the episode of the competition which led to the eviction of the two people reduced the number of the contestants to ten people that will be contesting at the next episode”.

The task for the last episode was for the contestants to come up with a three course meal and re-invent the chocolate mousse as a desert in one hour.

NB, Lafarge, FCMB others register for SERAs

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ruContact CSR N i g e r i a , organizers of the annual Nigeria CSR awards otherwise known as The SERAs have announced that they have received a total of forty-seven entries from participating organisations for the 2015 Awards.

Entries were received from ExxonMobil, Nigerian Breweries, Lafarge, Total, Cornerstone Insurance, Etisalat, BATN, Airtel, DHL, Nigerian Stock Exchange, FCMB, Promasidor, First Bank amongst others The award that is Nigeria’s top CSR and sustainability honour enters in ninth year. The awards process is designed to integrate principles and framework of the Global compact, global reporting Initiative and ISO 26000.

36 — Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015 Email:lesleba@lesleba.com, lesleba@gmail.com Blog page:www.lesleba.com/blog2 Website: www.lesleba.com Tel:0805 220 1997

T

he release of licenses, in June this year, to 65 Nigerian companies to establish local refineries must be welcome news to everyone who is unhappy with the overwhelming Foreign Exchange bill for our fuel imports.

The licenses were granted barely two weeks after President Buhari’s inauguration, and probably provide a strong indication of PMB’s burning desire to reduce Nigeria’s huge fuel import bill and hopefully also reduce or eliminate the incidence of subsidy in fuel pricing. Indeed, in an attempt to attract investors to this venture, the Department of Petroleum Resources(DPR) is reported to have reduced the licensing fee for new refineries from $1million to just $50,000.

It is however, not yet clear if the 18 companies which had earlier paid $1m and received licenses since 2002 to establish refineries would now be favored with a partial refund to maintain

refineries produced just 10m litres to compliment the output expected from the 2012 MOU with the American-Nigerian consortium.

Indeed, in July 2012, we had cautioned in a related article titled “6 new refineries, Hurray, but not yet Uhuru” that “in its anxiety to facilitate adequate fuel supply, the Nigerian government appeared constrained to fetch water with a porous and poorly cellotaped basket! The ultimate result can only be frustration and failure”.

The unanswered question therefore, is why companies which received licenses to establish refineries continue to dash our expectations for self sufficiency in fuel supplies. With this hindsight, what changes, we may ask, have now been made to guarantee that the 2015 batch of 65 licensees would not also disappear and frustrate our country’s hopes of ultimately becoming a net exporter of fuel.

65 more refineries, Hurray — but... some level of equity in the application fee.

Nevertheless, Nigerians may also wonder why, till date, only one of the 18 licensed companies had actually come on stream with a modest capacity for just 1,000 bpd output of diesel.

Curiously, industry observers may similarly wonder why nothing came out of the celebrated Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Federal government with an American and Nigerian Joint Venture Group in July 2012 for the construction, within 12 months, of six modular refineries, with a combined capacity of 180,000 bpd at an estimated cost of about $4.5bn.

Incidentally, the promoters of the project had claimed that, within 30 months, “the six refineries would produce 30m litres per day of refined

The licenses were granted barely two weeks after President Buhari’s inauguration, and probably provide a strong indication of PMB’s burning desire to reduce Nigeria’s huge fuel import bill

products, as the entire modular refinery complex, including all piping and electrical fittings would be built and test operated in the United States to ensure that each of the six plants will achieve 100% of their projected average 5m litres per day production capacity before 2015.

The firm assurance by Olusegun Aganga, the serving Minister of Trade and Investment, at that time, that his ministry would work together with the DPR and the NNPC to ensure the actualization of the project, makes the apparent failure of the venture, more disturbing. Instructively, Nigeria’s estimated daily domestic demand of about 40m litres would have been adequately covered if existing government

Business & Economy

Firm plans 200 units Agro Industrial Training centres nationwide ...To empower 619,200 Nigerian youths

By CHRIS OCHAYI

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N Agro based firm, Novone Consult Limited, has said it plans to establish 200 units of AgroIndustrial-Training-Centres in the 774 Local Government Areas of the country, with a view to empowering no fewer than 619,200 Nigerian youths aimed at reducing unemployment.

On the platform of Youth Agro-Housing Empowerment Programme, YAHEP, when it fully takes off, is expected to train 154,800 youths every year

to own their businesses in four years.

Managing Director of Novone Consult Limited, NyaEtok Ezekiel, in Abuja, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari, to adopt the project as a Presidential Initiative, which according to him fell into the same page with his (Buhari) concern and commitment to providing employment to millions of Nigerian youths Ezekiel, while speaking on the important of the project to the national growth, noted that the idea was to spread the benefits to all the nooks and

crannies of the country, especially in the areas of youth employment, food security, provision of low cost housing, and establishment of cottage industries.

While seeking support, he called on the President to “adopt this as a Presidential Initiative – Buhari-Youth Agro Housing Empowerment Programme, B-YAHEP, for Youth Empowerment (which will develop a new generation of Informed and Patriotic E n t r e p r e n e u r s ) , Industrialization (Cottage Industries Revolution), and Agriculture (Food Security). We

Make concrete arrangements for cyber regulations, LCCI urges Govt

By NAOMI UZOR

T

he Lagos Chamber of Commerec and Industry, LCCI, has urged the Federal Government to make concrete arrangements for cyber regulations and enforcement.

Speaking at the 2015 seminar/ luncheon tagged “Current Issues in The Nigerian Financial Sector” of the financial services group of the LCCI, the President of LCCI, Alhaji Remi Bello, said issues around data privacy and security laws, implementation of the 2015 Cybercrime Prohibition and Prevention Act, intellectual C M Y K

property rights protection and ICT infrastructure deficits must be resolved for Nigeria’s quest for a vibrant digital economy.

“It has become obvious that any sustainable business must be driven by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for service delivery and operations. It is also equally imperative that government must make concrete arrangements for cyber regulations and enforcement. Government needs to build local capacity to understand Nigeria’s cyber infrastructure to the extent of ensuring ICT users of security

assurance” he said. He noted that recent developments in the financial sector has been generating concerns in the business community.

“Recent restrictive foreign exchange policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have had some unitended adverse consequences. In trying to appraise the current state of our financial sector, the case of 41 items banned from accessing the official FOREX market for import, restrictions on use of export proceeds and doubts on avaliabilty of Forex to meet valid demands resonate” he stated.

urge the president to use your good offices to avail us access to the Central Bank of Nigeria domiciled Agricultural Loan, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, and other sources, as well as leverage cooperation of MDAs, State, and Local Governments. As may be necessary, you may consider the option that our Israeli partners have access to interest free loans; which require Sovereign Guarantee.

“Your Excellency, in our assessment, this will definitely turn out to be one of your greatest legacies, on account of

Omoh Gabriel Babajide Komolafe Clara Nwachukwu Peter Egwuatu Yinka Kolawole Favour Nnabugwu Godwin Oritse Godfrey Bivbere Michael Eboh Franklin Alli Ifeyinwa Obi Rosemary Onuoha Nkiruka Nnorom CONTRIBUTORS Princewill Ekwujuru Jonah Nwokpoku Naomi Uzor Providence Obuh LAYOUT

its amazing national spread as a people-oriented program and a unique Social Security Safety Net project; with history of tremendous successes in Israel, Eastern Europe, and Latin American countries.

Unemployment, notably youth un-employment features strongly in our Party’s Manifesto. We intend to attack the problem frontally through revival of agriculture, solid minerals mining as well as credits to small and medium size businesses to kick-start these enterprises.”

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Group Business Editor Deputy Business Editor Energy Editor Asst. Business Editor Snr Bus. Correspondent Insurance Correspondent Maritime Correspondent Maritime Correspondent Energy Reporter Industry/Agric. Reporter Maritime Reporter Insurance Reporter Capital Market Reporter

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Media/Marketing E-Commerce Industry Micro Finance Graphics Department

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015— 37

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38 —Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

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Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015—39

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OKOLI—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Okoli Amuche Irene, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Nwajagu Amuche Irene. All former documents remain valid. General public, please take note.

S M O O T H — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Rachael Boyeilayeifa Smooth, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Rachael Boyeilayeifa Itimi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

EKECHUKWU—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ijeoma Ekechukwu, now wish to be known and addressed as Ijeoma Omeni. All former documents remain valid. General public, please take note.

NNODU—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ifunanya Nnedinma Nnodu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ifunanya Nnedinma Nwachukwu.

All former documents remain valid. General public, please take note.

OGUNTONA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Egbu Ugochi Patricia, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oguntona Patricia Ugochi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ISEMARIEDJE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Favour Endurance Isemariedje, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Favour Eyeh. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ESSIEN—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Essien Ekaette Antonia, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Omenai Ekaette Antonia. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

E M E J UA I W E — I , formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Adaku Comfort Emejuaiwe, by court dissolution of marriage, now wish to be known and addressed as Miss Adaku Comfort Nwagbara. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

IDAM—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Idam Uzoma Confidence, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oko Uzoamaka Confidence. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OBEWE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Obewe Chinyere Queen, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Joshua Chinyere Queen. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

EBOH—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Eboh Immaculata Ifeoma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Okpechi Immaculata Ifeoma. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

AGU—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Patience Ukamaka N. Agu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Patience Ukamaka N. Onyia. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

N E W T O N — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Ufuoma Anita Newton, now wish to be known and addressed as Miss Ufuoma Anita Omamogho. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

YUMKELLA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Binta Mena Yumkella, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Binta Mena Yumkella Williams. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

El Rufai recovers N42bn from 237 'silent' govt accounts

By Luka Binniyat

K

AFANCHAN— KADUNA State governor, Mallam Nasir El Rufai, has announced the recovery of N42 billion from no fewer than 273 unknown accounts of the state government.

The governor, who disclosed this through his deputy, Arc. Bala Bantex, at the monthly zonal Town Hall meeting at Kafanchan weekend, said it was the outcome of state government’s policy of Treasury Single Account, TSA, adopted last month.

Governor El-Rufai stated further that its ongoing staff and salary verification had revealed that not only did ghost workers existed in the state, but also “ghost” primary schools.

He said: “When we came to office, as we have said, we had less than N300 million to work with. But we knew that we had very

many accounts, some of which have never been known to most people in government. ‘’That was why we came out with the policy of the Treasury Single Account, in which all moneys from all the accounts of the state government must be paid

Tribunal grants Adeyemi’s request for witnesses

...hearing commences tomorrow

By Boluwaji Obahopo

L

OKOJA—THE Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lokoja Kogi State has granted Senator Adeyemi’s prayer to bring in additional witnesses to testify in his suit challenging Dino Melaye as winner of Kogi West senatorial district

ASSETS DECLARATION: AANI

lauds Buhari, Osinbajo

By Victor AhiumaYoung

K

ADUNA—ALUMNI Association of National Institute, AANI, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, for declaring their assets public last week, saying “by the singular personal examples, both President Buhari and his Vice had made the war against graft inclusive in putting the probity searchlight on all public holders including themselves” In a statement in Kaduna, AANI’s Secretary General Mr. Issa Aremu, insisted that “only those who make public their assets can also be taken serious on the official

rhetoric on the war against corruption.”

The statement read in part, “Better late that President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo made public their respective assets last week. By the singular personal examples, both President Buhari and his Vice had made the war against graft inclusive in commendably putting the probity searchlight on all public holders including themselves.

Alumni Association of National Institute, AANI, commends this courageous move, the second of such since 2007 when the late President Yar’Adua gave full disclosures of his net worth. This is in line with the motto of AANI which is “Towards A Better Society.”

election.

Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Akon Ikpeme, who granted the prayer while declaring the pre-hearing session closed, also granted two other prayers of the petitioner to admit the report of the recounted ballot papers in 21 disputed polling unit as well as submit the request for determination of primary election of the 1st and 2nd respondents. (Dino and APC) The Tribunal also granted the prayer of the 3rd Respondent, INEC, to withdraw its amended response to the petitioner’s motion filled on April 3; amounting to nonchallenging of Smart prayer on the irregularities in the conduct of the election.

The INEC counsel, Adeolu Salako who asked the Tribunal for withdrawal of their response to the petitionals prayers also pray the court to grant the oral application to strike out some paragraph of its response to Adeyemi’s prayers.

Ikpeme while giving out modality for commencement of hearing in view of the limited time left for the Tribunal, approved for the Adeyemi, Melaye and INEC two days to open and close their case.

Professionals call for action on Ajaokuta firm

By Kingsley Fanwo

A

N INTELLECTUAL group, Ebira Professionals, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency on Ajaokuta Steel Company to save the nation’s economy.

Speaking to Vanguard at the end of the group’s extra-ordinary meeting at Obangede, weekend, the

group’s spokesman, Engr.

Saliu Jimoh, said the nation needed to diversify its economy in order to rescue the country from ruins.

According to him, Nigeria is capable of becoming one of the 20 biggest economies in the world if the government can revive the Iron and Steel Company.

He said the company could become the steel destination of Africa,

adding that since Ajaokuta Steel was one of the critical campaign points of the President, the nation was looking forward to speedy action on the project.

He said: “If the administration of President Buhari is serious about enthroning a strong and viable economy, the Ajaokuta Iron and Steel project should be fundamental to his plans.

40—Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

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46 —Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015 YOUR LUCK TODAY

LEISURE

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139 ARIES; It’s true you’re willing to work harder but you just have to drop both aggression and mental arrogance to allow things to roll accordingly. Then, you’re accident prone within your working arena. Respect the law and its agents today.

TAURUS; Serious thought may be giving to matters of the heart but it’s better you tarry a while. Joint ventures of short duration today may be an invitation to avoidable trouble GEMINI ; If you back your financial plans with concrete and positive actions things’ll go according to your desire. If you fail to realise importance of your spouse you would work your way into avoidable trouble; aren’t you tired of crisis?.

CANCER; Your intelligence, competence and level of concentration may today bring you envy, which you don’t deserve within your working arena in a negative form but, you’ll succeed.. Entertain no fear, and take advantage of your sex-appeal for love.

LEO;. Placement of the Moon highlights your Solar second house of money which is good but, if you try to buy true love with money, you’ll be disappointed.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

By Richard Eromosele

A

N O T H E R fallacy that I found very difficult to accept is the belief that the rich can’t be broke. And I ask, why can’t the rich be broke? In fact, the rich man is more

So The Rich Also Cry? prone t o b ei n g broke than the poor man. For instance, he needs working capital to keep his n u m e r o u s b u s i n e s s e s running. He needs

TERROR MUDA

funds to service his overhead, he needs money to maintain his status, he also needs funds to service the numerous requests f or f in an c ial

in “Scavenger Elite”

assistance from friends, relations and acquintances.

Can you now see that the rich also cry?

Rich or poor, no one is immune from crying. Yes, the rich also cry!

By Lanre Kehinde

VIRGO; The. Moon in your Star sign’ll gives you new confidence and with new supports from the powers-that-be, it’s like you are now un-stop-able. But be cautious, especially with the veterans within your base of operation.

LIBRA; It is your day. But you will need to do away with nonproductive argument and/or agreement. Try to be more diplomatic now.

SCORPIO; If what you’re doing today ’ll depend on tomorrow’s event it’s better you’re more careful now. Even things may not go according to your personal plans today. Yet it’s important you plan both your immediate and far future carefully now SAGITTARIUS; If you take to aggression, your ego would be deflated by your superior colleagues, but your being cooperative in a civilised way’ll prevent trouble.

CAPRICORN; Those willing to put you to shame one way or the other’ll be disappointed with the turn of things today. It’s good to secure support of your spouse.

KAPTAIN AFRIKA

in “HEY’

By Andy Akman

AQUARIUS; You’ve had enough of fun in the recent times and it’s now time you settle down for hard work in order to prevent avoidable trouble. Be patient please.

PISCES; Your concentration level and determination are the pillars of your success today. Yet you’ll need to respect your senior colleagues and protect your image.

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING Send yyour our dat tr ological datee and place of bir th ttoo the As Astr trological Counselling, PP.M.B .M.B 1100 00 7, Apapa, Lagos 007,

SAGITTARIUS PLEASE!!!

Dear Joshua, Kindly give me characteristics of Sagittarius Dunni, Lagos.

Dear Dunni,

VIRGINIA

dadadekola@yahoo.com

Here-under are basic characteristics of Sagittarius BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF SAGIT TARIUS Sagittarius is a mutable sign by its quality. It ‘s element is fire, symbolised by half horse half man and/or an Archer aiming at the sky. Mutable means changes and experimentation, while fire is all about enthusiasm, taking of the initiative and leadership ability. Thus, you are the type that will exhibit strong interest in an important project that catches your fancy and you will not mind to experiment with ideas just to achieve your objectives and aims. Sagittarius is 9th of the twelve Zodiac signs that rules philosophy, RELIGION, law, foreign land, higher mind/higher institutions, lawyer, long (distance) travelling, in-laws, future, optimism and bluntness. Major problem or weak points of Sagittarians are excessive openness/bluntness and sometimes fanatical approach to religion.

Being a born adventurer, you are not afraid of exploration and new beginning. Sagittarians are incurable optimists and ever ready to listen to and eager to believe others. Honesty is truly in your inner self You are a tolerant person but you are not ready to compromise your FREEDOM Sagittarius as a fire sign can make you a quick tempered person. Half horse half man as the symbol, of Sagittarius indicates dual (double) personalities known in different circles with different personalities. Yet, you are not a pretender. As the Archer aims arrow into the sky so also Sagittarians have many lofty ideas and ambitions. But sometimes their ideas and/or ideals are not practical enough for realisation. Many times, they start too many things at the same time only to .either forget or lose view of their original target.

Development of practical approach is more important for Sagittarians this is in order to make success of many of their brilliant ideas, otherwise they tend to become dreamers.

In reality, Sagittarians are dreamers (by this 1 mean real dream many use to have at night when sleeping) and many of their dreams usually come to pass. Sometimes their dreams are vividly prophetic.

Sagittarians are born philosophers. That is why they have well developed minds indispensable to rare wisdom, Then, they are humorous, lively, sports loving out going, energetic, good hearted, in love with change/experimentation, ever willing to co-operate, socially inclined, enthusiastic and highly intelligent. Ironically as intelligent as they are, they can surprisingly appear fanatical about their convinction and/or views.

HOME & ABROAD

By Lawrence Akapa

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015—47

Ovia S-West LG crisis worsens as security agencies invade secretariat

By Simon Ebegbulem & Gabriel Enogholase

B

ENIN—THE crisis rocking Ovia South West Local Government Area, Edo State over the suspension of its chairman, Morrison Ogunrobo, and Secretary, Oyomire Idahosa has taken a twist with soldiers and policemen allegedly invading the council secretariat at Iguobazuwa.

Nine of the 10 council councillors led by its legislative leader, Cletus Atigbi, who addressed

newsmen in Benin, yesterday, alleged that the embattled chairman of the council had deployed thugs and some security agents to intimidate, harass and prevent them from sitting in Iguobazuwa, the council headquarters.

But the chairman and five other councillors, described the suspension as illegal, alleging that the councillors were acting the script of a political leader from the area who was alleged to have induced them monetarily to sack the

chairman.

Also, reacting, Secretary of the council, Oyo Idahosa, described the alleged deployment of security men to the council headquarters as false and unfounded and an attempt by the councillors and those behind them to heat up the polity.

He described the action of the lawmakers as illegal, saying that it cannot stand.

He accused the councillors of usurping the powers of the Edo State House of Assembly.

According to the Secretary, “The councillors don’t have the power to suspend a council chairman and they know it.

It is only the Edo State House of Assembly that can suspend the chairman; the councillors can only recommend to the Assembly.

“The allegation is wrong.

The councillors have no reason whatsoever to intervene in a matter that is before the state House of Assembly.”

However, leader of the

legislative arm, Cletus Atigbi, had while addressing journalists explained that when the House received a petition from the revenue consultant

to the council, Dan Owegie (Jnr), they immediately constituted a committee that looked into the petition based on its merit.

Rivers APC slams Wike over Amaechi documentary

P

By Gbenga Oke

ORT HARCOURT— RIVERS State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday, berated Governor Nyesom Wike and his party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, over a documentary being aired

by African Independent Television, AIT, to allegedly dent the image of the former governor of the state, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.

The party described the documentary as highly obnoxious and evil.

A statement by the party’s State Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, said it was not surprised that the medium for airing the documentary was the same AIT that angered decent Nigerians with documentaries that

disparaged the present President of Nigeria and his family members just to ensure Nigerians did not vote for him.

According to him, “The present documentary is simply aimed at driving a wedge between President Muhammadu Buhari and the formergovernorbyblackmailing Buhari from having a place in his government for Amaechi."

“The APC believes that just as the blackmail against Buhari was ignored by Nigerians and they massively voted for him, so President Buhari having himself been a victim of PDP and AIT documentary terrorism will discountenance the dirt the PDP and AIT are trying so hard to pour on a honest, sincere and courageous Rotimi Amaechi."

Akpabio speaks from London, says ‘I thank God I survived'

L

ONDON—THE Senate Minority Leader, and former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, who had an auto accident last week in Abuja and was flown to London for treatment has expressed gratitude to God for his survival.

In a statement issued from London, which he personally signed, Akpabio also disowned twitter and Facebook accounts opened on his behalf, advising those who are doing so to desist from such, as he has not authorized or cause to be opened any Facebook or Twitter account on his behalf.

He further charged Nigerians, particularly the political class, "to desist

from politicizing disasters and tragedies, but work towards the unity and progress of the country without any political or ethnic colouration.”

Akpabio, thanked God for his survival and said he remained grateful to Nigerians for their prayers and display of concern.

The former governor specifically thanked President Muhamadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President,BukolaSaraki,Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dogara, Akwa Ibom State Governor,MrUdomEmmanuel, his colleagues in the National Assembly and former president Goodluck Jonathan for their concern and expression of love when the accident occurred.

Omadino community gets Agwaragweye in matters new exco relating to the community.

W

ARRI—THE people of the Omadino community in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, have elected a new executive to run their affairs.

They, yesterday, informed oil companies, contractors, development partners, government and the public of the expiration of the tenure of the executive council led by Mr Austin Oniyesan and Oritsema

A statement by the new President, Prince Metsese Diden gave the names of the other new executive members as Peter Wetegire, Vice President, Monday Ugbameta, Secretary, Mr Emiko Edemeko, Assistant Secretary, GeorgeEjemu, Treasurer,DanielOkorie,Finance Secretary,QuincyOnuwaje,PRO, Utseoritselaju Ukusaren, Organizing Secretary and Aboyowa Mikey, Provost Marshal.

48—VANGUARD, MONDAY,

SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

•Jonathan

•Buhari

What has changed?

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor, Dapo Akinrefon & Charles Kumolu

T

HE political tradition of assessing a president after 100 days was an offshoot of the New Deal proposed by President Franklin Roosevelt to salvage the United States from the Great Depression that was largely blamed on the preceding administration of President Herbert Hoover.

In his first 100 Days, President Roosevelt had sought through a number of public work projects, and mobilisation, using for the first time, radio to rouse the populace every Sunday. The president's aim was to lift the gloom brought by the economic depression by oratory and action.

assets.

“The issue of public asset declaration is a matter of personal principle. That is the way I see it, and I don’t give a damn about it, even if you criticise me from heaven.

When I was the Vice President , that matter came up, and I

told the former President (late Musa Yar’adua) let’s not start something that would make us play into the hands of people,” President Jonathan had said in a remarkable June 2012 interview.

President Buhari’s decision to make his assets public even

Nothing to celebrate — Labour Party, Afenifere exercising powers that they dont have today. Look at the illegal bailouts being packaged for the states in clear contravention of the fiscal responsibility act which could have been prevented through a robust debate at the executive council.”

Economic depression President Muhammadu Buhari who came to power in Nigeria last May in the midst of similar despair may, however, not have been gifted with the kind of public oratory that President Roosevelt used in lifting the hearts of his people.

Personal Probity: President Buhari’s predecessor had in a television interview dismissed the focus on his declared assets saying I don’t give a damn to the question on whether he would make a public declaration of his C M Y K

though not as submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau is a decisive step in probity.

Remarkably, the public declaration of assets by high profile government officials was a cardinal point in a joint communiqué between Nigeria and the United States agreed

Robust debate •Ajulo

F

•Odumakin

OR the Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere the president has performed below the expectations of Nigerians.

Afenifere’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Yinka Odumakin said “the failure to have a cabinet in 100 days has led to a situation where governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has taken over the powers of the minister of Industry doing a list of what can be imported into the country.

Only God knows the number of people

Besides, Odumakin said “the 100 days have also witnessed serial violations of the Federal Character principle through skewed appointments.

Day-for-day, Boko Haram has killed more people in the last 100 days and we dont even hear a word of empathy for the victims these days.

Perhaps, the greatest disappointment of the period is the brazen denial of promises made to the electorate by the APC before the elections. They have denied the 100 days without telling us what

Continues on page 49

at the Nigeria-United States Bi-National Commission in June, 2012.

Relationship with the United States: President Jonathan’s failure to adhere to the tenets of the Binational Commission among other reasons, including perceptions of graft among senior officials of the Jonathan administration, inevitably led to deterioration of relations between the two administrations.

By the time Jonathan was leaving office, the United States had withdrawn its military engagements and collaboration with the Nigerian authorities.

However, in his second month in office, President Buhari was welcomed into the White House by President Barrack Obama in a visit US administration officials celebrated by the unprecedented act of lodging Buhari in Blair House, the official guest house of the President of the United States.

Military support The United States has subsequently followed up on the visit by unfolding a new phase in its military support for the embattled Nigeria military.

Language and Dressing in the Villa: Just a year ago even if you didn’t know the Ijaw language, knowing someone influential who spoke the language was a good entry point into the Abuja power circus.

Those who neither spoke nor knew individuals with access

Continues on page 49

VANGUARD, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015—49

What has changed?

in Adamawa State, has, however, taken a backseat in the politics of the country and even of her husband’s home state, Katsina. Aisha for now is not known to have conceived a political structure in Katsina.

Power: Power supply across the country has generally improved in the last 100 days even though no one is attributing the reason to any measured step taken by the new president.

Continues from page 48 rather turned to their dressing to identify with the powers that be in Abuja.

Today with the exit of President Jonathan, the language and fashion in the villa has changed.

Hausa has gained overwhelming influence especially given the wide reach of the language. Even more, the dressing in the villa has changed to reflect more of the Hausa babaringa style.

Power monger: A year ago, a powerful former senator from the Niger Delta was the ultimate man of power in Abuja. A number of ministers even before going to office would stop over at his well protected residence in the high brow Asokoro area of Abuja.

The residence always guarded by security men was a power centre where many men and women in desperate search for political relevance almost always gravitated to for sessions with the president’s adopted political father.

Today, the residence has lost the gravitas that drew the politically desperate men and women to see the elderly politician.

In his place, a new man of power has emerged in Abuja.

He is said to be the president’s uncle who, however, is not strange to power play in Nigeria having been a key player in the mythical Kaduna Mafia.

Public purse However, unlike his predecessor in the Jonathan administration, the new power man simply known as MD may not be as accessible.

Sources disclosed that he has taken permanent residence in the presidential villa and is believed to be playing decisive roles in the operations of the new administration Anti-Corruption: President Buhari’s spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu told Vanguard that the level of stealing from the public purse may have reduced by about 50%.

The indices used by him were not given, but it is generally believed that apprehension about Buhari and his body language may have instilled a serious fear among those who had in the past fed on the public treasury.

Just as before him, no individual has been convicted for corruption even in the face of widely acknowledged acts of discretion by public officials.

Insecurity: The new administration took off from where the former left in its C M Y K

Improved gas supply

•Aisha fight against the Boko Haram insurgency. What has changed is that the morale and commitment of the fighting soldiers has been greatly boosted by the new leadership of the armed forces.

Niger Delta: A new glimpse of hope may be coming the way of the Niger Delta with the administration’s resolve to implement the recommendation of the United Nations report on Ogoni land.

Though the report was commissioned by President Jonathan, he, however, dillydallied when it came to implementation.

Foreign Exchange Problem The advent of the Buhari administration and new policies on the operation of

In the last 100 days, the First Lady, Aisha Buhari has taken a backseat in governance. Dame Jonathan as First Lady was a front player in the politics of her husband’s home state with a political structure in her husband’s home state, Bayelsa

•Patience domiciliary accounts has led to the entrapment of large amounts of foreign currencies allegedly stockpiled by public office holders.

Not surprisingly security agents in Nigeria and neighbouring countries have been reporting the arrest of currency traffickers as several individuals seek ways to dispense of them.

First Lady: The advent of the new administration has phased out the court of Dame Patience

Jonathan and with it, the hilarity with which many Nigerians saw the former First Lady.

In the last 100 days, the First Lady, Aisha Buhari has taken a backseat in governance.

Dame Jonathan as First Lady was a front player in the politics of her husband’s home state with an extensive political structure in her husband’s native Bayelsa State.

Aisha who like Patience is not from her husband’s home state, being from the Ribadu family

The improved power supply has been traced to improved gas supply arising from the fact that there has been no report of burst pipelines since the advent of the new president.

Less women: The warning

by Mrs. Jonathan that a vote for Buhari may lead to less visibility of women in the political space it is feared may have played out in the last 100 days with women almost being left out in the political appointments made by the new president.

Out of about 30 appointments so far made by the president, only one woman, Mrs. Amina Zakari has been found worthy of appointment.

Nothing to celebrate Continues from page 48 to expect in the remaining days.”

I doubt Buhari’s good intentions —Ajulo, LP scribe Giving a cursory glance at the president’s 100 days in office, National Secretary of the Labour Party, LP, Dr Kayode Ajulo expressed doubt over the president’s good intentions in fixing Nigeria.

Ajulo said “President Muhammadu Buhari has recorded one hundred days in office as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. A hundred days means he has spent approximately three months since his inauguration as president on May 29.”

“On the whole, one is left to wonder if President Buhari, his good intentions notwithstanding, has taken upon himself a responsibility so huge to bear in his goal to fix Nigeria”, he said.

In addition, he said “regardless of what the army of praise-singers, in whose eyes the President can do no wrong, may say, it is in tune with globally acceptable best practices to evaluate his performance as president so far; indeed in view of our unique circumstances as a leadershipchallenged nation, it is also very prudent and also necessary for every socially conscious and well-meaning Nigerianparticularly those who clamored and voted

him in as president- to conduct a personal scientific evaluation of the performances of the man who promised to usher in change, and a new season for Nigerians and Nigeria.

“His party’s manifesto, his campaign promises, which are presently being denied and the level to which he has redeemed his promises are the standards by which his performance should be evaluated.

Performance evaluation President Buhari has been severally described by many as a man of integrity whose word is his bond. He is generally perceived as an austere man who belongs to that class of men for whom materials acquisitions take a distant second place to honour, moral rectitude and integrity. If this is so, he should not have any issues with those who seek to hold him to account based on promises made while seeking their votes.

“It is on record that as a candidate, he promised to address three major issues concerning Nigeria namely Security, Corruption and Economy. Areas such as Security, corruption, Economy, National Unity and Integration should serve as a yardstick for ascertaining if Nigerians are on the right track or if we have been given a ‘dud cheque’ by the APC.”

50—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

KOGI DECIDES

By Kingsley Fanwo

Wada’s second term, a necessity — Gen. Jemibewon (Retd) •Audu:Won the APC governorship ticket

Those against me are jobless --- AUDU

By Kingsley Fanwo

T

HE governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Prince Abubakar Audu has described those who recently protested against his emergence as candidate as “sponsored jobless people”.

Audu made the remarks while reacting to the recent protest at the National Secretariat of the party during which hundreds of protesters stormed the secretariat to demand his disqualification on account of corruption cases hanging on him.

The former governor defended himself, saying he won a free and fair primary.

In his words: “I don’t know the basis for the protest. We all picked our forms, went through a rigorous screening by the party and had a keenly contested primary. I am not surprised that the enemies of our party are now sponsoring jobless people to create an impression that we are not wanted in the state. I remain the candidate the Kogi people trust and we are prepared to return the state to the old good days”, he said.

However, one of the

protesters, Adejoh Samson told Vanguard that the protesters were only concerned that APC is about to mismanage its goodwill through the emergence of Audu as the governorship candidate of the party.

According to him, it amounts to foolhardiness to present a candidate who had lost four consecutive elections after ruling the state. He said the people of the state are united against the return of Audu.

“One of the strong factors that won us the presidential election

I don’t know the basis for the protest. We all picked our forms, went through a rigorous screening by the party and had a keenly contested primary

is the anti-corruption stance of our dear president and leader of the party. Presenting a candidate who is standing trial for sundry corruption charges will make mess of the confidence Nigerians have in President Buhari.

“Secondly, Prince Audu had won governorship election in this state twice. After that, he has gone on to lose four consecutive governorship elections.

National leadership The PDP leaders are already celebrating that our party has given them a perpetual loser.

Our party leaders must look into this before we lose this golden chance”, he said.

Another protester, Gideon Otitoju said they are prepared to mobilize against Prince Audu if the national leadership of the party fails to act on their demands. “If Audu says we are jobless, he is right. He is the Architect of joblessness and retrenchment. All the names he called workers and pensioners are still fresh in our memory.

We will show him we do not need him on November 21, 2015”.

Kogi poll: We will checkmate PDPs desperation to destabilise APC, Ahmed •Says Abuja protest a distraction

By Chris Ochayi

A

CHIEFTAIN of All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kogi State, Alhaji Abdulkadir Ahmed has alleged that he Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and few elements are plotting to destabilise the All Progressive Congress, APC, ahead of the conduct of the governorship election in the state.

Alhaji Ahmed, apparently reacting to Wednesday’s protest

staged by some youths at the APC national secretariat in Abuja, where they said Audu should first clear himself of the N11 billion corruption charges with the EFCC before seeking to become governor again, described the development as ‘distraction’ He said the sponsors of the protest were jittery over the emergence of Prince Abubakar Audu.

The politician, who described as mischief and nonsensical

the issue of alleged corruption case raised against Audu noted that it is public knowledge that Audu’s case with the EFCC is a mere political persecution.

“But it is still on record that Audu has contested four different elections since 2007 and was not disqualified. He contested in 2003, 2007 and 2011. So what are they talking about now? Are they just been mischievous?

•Jemibewon

A

FORMER Military Administrator of Old Oyo State and a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party, Gen. David Jemibewon (retd.) has described the second term bid of Capt. Idris Wada as a necessity for the PDP to consolidate its hold on the state and deepen democracy dividends.

Jemibewon disclosed this while hosting a PDP Stakeholders’ meeting in his Iyah Gbede country home.

The meeting which was attended by the Deputy Governor of the State, Arc. Abayomi Awoniyi, Prince Olusola Akanmode among all others who all endorsed the candidature of Gov. Wada.

Jemibewon, a former Police Affairs Minister said all the leaders of the party were behind the governor because of his achievements in office which cut across the sectors of the economy.

“As far as we are concerned, the governor has done considerably well in view of the available resources at his disposal. We are behind his second term ambition and by the grace of God and the support of the Kogi people, he will be re-elected”, he said.

In the same vein, Akanmode called on party leaders to avoid unnecessary rancour and support Wada for second term.

We are behind his second term ambition and by the grace of God and the support of the Kogi people, he will be reelected

He hailed the governor for completing all inherited projects and initiating new ones which will improve the welfare of the people and the economy of the state.

Responding to the endorsements of the governor, Awoniyi hailed the leaders of the party for providing leadership at this critical period, saying the governor will not let the party down.

Awoniyi called on party leaders and members across the state to rally round the governor in order to consolidate his transformation agenda, assuring the leaders that challenges over salary payment will soon be a thing of the past.

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015—51

UNENDING KILLINGS IN PLATEAU:

Residents accuse FG of bias on anti-terror war •Want immediate end to bloodshed

By Marie-therese Nanlong, Jos

R

ESIDENTS of Plateau State are not new to attacks, especially bombings, ambushes, isolated killings and the likes in Jos and the hinterlands of the State. Local government areas in the Northern zone of the State which include Jos North, Jos South, Jos East, Bassa, Riyom and Barkin Ladi are flashpoints of conflicts.

Others in the central zone like Mangu and Bokkos have had a taste of same problem. Wase, Langtang North, Langtang South, Shendam, Qua’an Pan, Mikang in the Southern zone have equally not been spared as they have all been plagued by disputes between Fulani herdsmen and native farmers.

The bone of contention which had hitherto been farming/ grazing land has now given way to criminality where farmlands are being destroyed and cows rustled. A frightening dimension of the criminality, especially in the Barkin Ladi and Riyom local government areas, beside ambushes in lonely paths, is the blocking of highways by marauders. Innocent passersby who are journeying through these paths are often attacked with some killed or injured.

Innocent passersby In the past three weeks, it has become a tradition for motorists to ask drivers of oncoming vehicles if the roads are safe, especially around Bisichi area of Barkin Ladi. They avoid roads where there are no signs of traffic.

Men, women and children are not spared in the barbaric attacks.

The only light at the end of the tunnel remains the Operation Safe Haven, Op SH, led by Major General Tagbo Ude, which has been tackling the menace on the highways.

Worried by this development, government agencies, non-governmental organisations, NGOs, individuals and groups are calling for drastic actions to end all forms of criminality in the state.

Explaining some of the reasons for criminality to Vanguard Metro, VM, the Administrator, Centre for Addiction Treatment and Research, Jos, Dr. Nantok Dami, said drug abuse is a major C M Y K

factor.

He said about 30 per cent of residents of the State between the ages of 15 and 64 years have been confirmed to be engaged in drug abuse and called on relevant agencies to rise to the task of curbing the unhealthy trend.

Dr. Dami who addressed youths from the 17 local government areas of the State on the dangers of drug abuse in the society, added that the Centre which is working in collaboration with the Jos University Teaching Hospital, JUTH and the Vom Christian Hospital, Vom admits between 25 and 30 drug addicts in a month and called for urgent action to reverse the trend.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth Development, Mrs. Dorcas Din, who also addressed the youths noted that “no responsible government will ignore its teeming youths in implementing its programmes but will inculcate qualities of selfdiscipline, honesty and patriotism and expose them to contemporary problems confronting the society.”

However, a former member representing Jos South/Jos East in the 7th National Assembly, Mr. Bitrus Kaze, said President Muhammadu Buhari should find a way of addressing the lingering herdsmen/farmers crises and the killings taking place in villages in the State as he seeks an end to insurgency in the North East

The Federal Government has completely turned a blind eye to the perpetual killings by ‘unknown herdsmen’ on the Plateau; since May, an average of 10 lives are wasted on a daily basis in Plateau State

*Members of some youth groups protesting against incessant killings in Plateau region of the country.

He accused the President and the All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal Government of bias, noting that “the APC controlled Federal Government has carried on with the fight against insecurity as if some sections of the country matter more than others.”

He said: “While taking over the reins of power, President Muhammadu Buhari relocated the military command centre to Maiduguri where it will remain until Boko Haram is completely subdued. Also, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has been traversing Borno State and other parts of the North East. But most regrettably, the Federal Government has completely turned a blind eye to the perpetual killings by ‘unknown herdsmen’ on the Plateau.

“Since the APC took over power in May this year, an average of 10 lives, comprising mostly innocent women and children, are wasted on a daily basis in Plateau State, particularly in Riyom, Barkin Ladi and Bokkos.

Amnesty programme Beginning with the 2016 appropriations, the APC-led Federal Government plans to spend at least N100 billion annually on a 10-year amnesty programme targeted at the Boko Haram terrorists notwithstanding that they have consistently rejected any amnesty offer in the past.

“While the counter-insurgency war still rages, the President has already concluded plans to rebuild the North East with a whooping USD 2.1 billion loan from the World Bank. The re-

cently appointed National Security Adviser and Service Chiefs have been criss-crossing the North East but none of them has spared a thought for Plateau State; we call for such discrimination to be addressed in the interest of the country.”

Able-bodied and physically challenged youths in Jos North Local Government Area who talked about the recurring crises at a two-day capacity building training for youth associations organised by the Centre for the Advocacy of Justice and Rights, CAJR, in partnership with Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme, NSRP, said crippling unemployment is the cause of violence.

Cause of violence The Project Manager of CAJR, Mr. Amos Kwatwa said his organisation seeks to “foster unity among the diverse groups in the area and also enhance the capacity of youths’ associations to constructively engage government at all levels on employment and empowerment processes.”

Also, the Chairperson of the State Chapter of Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ, Mrs. Jennifer Yerima who led her members on a visit to the State Head of Service, Mrs. Hulda Fwangchi, appealed to the State Government to give keen attention to issues of violence and molestation as well as girl-child education.

She commended the efforts of the Governor Simon Lalong-led administration for creating a platform for negotiation between disputing communities in the state, stressing: “As women, we

get disorganised as we are worse affected by these senseless killings of our husbands who are breadwinners and children. We condemn these attacks and call for a stop so that our society can move forward.”

Also adding its voice, a group, Women for Peace on Plateau, WPP, working through the sponsorship of Institute for Governance and Social Research, IGSR, paid advocacy visits to women groups in the six local government areas in the Northern zone of the State.

Vocational training Leader of the women, Mrs. Gloria Alade, appealed to them to talk to their husbands and sons to lay down arms and criminality and embrace peace in the areas.

IGSR has been in the forefront of seeking the return of peace in the troubled areas through youth camps and vocational training for youths in the affected areas. The Media Officer of the Institute, Mr. Sadeeq Musa noted: “It is disturbing that efforts so far seem not to yield the expected results but we will not despair as we are optimistic that the fight against violence will be won.”

Meanwhile, the spokesman of the Operation Safe Haven, Op SH, Captain Ikedichi Iweha assured the insecurity plaguing the State will soon be over as the operation is intensifying efforts at mopping up arms in the State.

Iweha urged the residents to volunteer credible information which will assist the operation in carrying out its duties and is determined to restore peace and order in the State.

52—Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

C M Y K

VANGUARD, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015 —53

F

OR a lot of personal reasons, I would have loved to keep Saturdays result and performance of the Super Eagles in Dar es Salaam to myself, but not so readers of this column.

Twenty minutes into the match, I started receiving phone calls and text messages…. “…Are we playing well?”

No we are not.

“We are not playing well” No we are not “Who is that wearing nos 10 jersey?”

Sorry I don’t know him “Are we likely to win this match?”

Yes we may win “Can this team beat Egypt” This team, no” I did not mind the text messages. Those who chose to call tended to distract me, but in this business where Readers are also kings, I had little choices but to pick my calls and explain that yes this was Oliseh’s baptism of fire, that most of the players were playing together for the first time, therefore their uncoordinated play was expected(?)

“Was he expected to build an entirely new team.

Could he not have built on the foundation already laid?”

My answer was yes and no. Especially as regards those that hold the view that there was no team in place when Oliseh took over.

“Who was to score goals for us? Oliseh had said in the media that he did not need certain key players. Was this not an admission that Tanzania was not going to be a problem? How come we were suffering the way we did? “ Thank God and Ikeme that we did not lose. This match will definitely tell Oliseh a lot about coaching at that level and how it is necessary to use the best legs you have and reduce the number of unknown players “that you want to see….”

I get very temperamental with those who say “……..there are no more minnows in football”….of course there are. Chad and Tanzania are minnows in African football. So are Uganda, South

When goalkeeper is Man of the Match Africa…..The power houses? Cameroun, Ghana, Senegal, Egypt, Morrocco, Cote D’ivoire, Algeria....Yes, Algeria who beat Lesotho 3-1 away at the weekend. We cannot say that when football is believed to be developing in their climes, we have

'

It is a result that has set us back two points, one that has made us start the catch up race too early

with the Pharaohs of Egypt and the results garnered against Chad and Tanzania was to help us decide our fate against Egypt that is why, even when we beat Chad 2-0 in Kaduna a lot of Nigerians still took the result with a pinch of salt.

We did not need to play well in Tanzania to win.

We needed to win at all cost. That we did not may come back to haunt us. We are a great African team.

Ghana won at away against Rwanda so did Senegal, 2-0 over Namibia,……

As earlier said, even if we had lost, ( Thank God and Ikeme we did not) there are millions of Nigerians who would have found one excuse or the other, including yours truly, to explain away why the draw is a “good” result.

The reality however is that it is a result that has sent the Tanzanians dancing with joy because they never expected to do so well against Nigeria, it is a result that has set us back two points, one that has made us start the catch up race too early in the competition because Egypt returned to the top of the group table after defeating Chad 5-1 in N’Djamena.

“Hello, is that Ighallo, Hello Iheanacho....Moses, this is Coach Oliseh calling just checking on you. I hope all is well……….”

That Okagbare injury

'

remained static for them to come and catch up with us. Tanzania for the records are 140 in the world by FIFA rankings.

Saturday was not good enough. For the goalkeeper to be man of the match means the defence was in tatters. How can I forget the 12th minute, when Samatta made a mess of Obiora and Kwambe before unleashing a shot that goalkeeper Ikeme stretched to save? That was the story of the match.

When the draw of the Nations Cup was made, I went to sleep. For me, it was a direct competition

W

ONDERS they say, will never end.When Blessing Okagbare crashed at the 100 metres final of the World Championships in China, they (Okagbare and AFN) came out with the injury excuse that prevented her from taking part in the 200 metres and the 100 metres relay.

The drama was extended to the All Africa Games when she was withdrawn, I believe due to “injury” Then came the Diamond League in Switzerland and our dear Okagbare appeared live, healed, perfectly healed to be able to clinch a second place finish in a blistering time of 10.98 seconds.

This miracle, calls for an investigation.

See you next week.

We've to work harder against Egypt – Ikeme T

WENTY-nine year-old goalkeeper, Carl Ikeme produced a virtuoso performance in his competitive debut in place of Vincent Enyeama who asked to be excused from the tie following the death of his Mother The keeper was the man that kept the Stars marauding strikers at bay playing like a veteran instead of a rookie in his first start Ikeme remained grounded after his spectacular performance. “It was indeed a tough game but we managed to keep the Tanzanians at bay.

Playing in your first game for a team like Nigeria is not easy because there are many expectations that include fitting the big shoes left by Vincent Enyeama who has been amazing for us. I am glad I kept a clean sheet and wish to take time out to thank my team mates who have been amazing and welcomed me from the moment I arrived.”

“I hope to continue from where I left off and if given the chance. All I can say it was indeed a great feeling putting on that jersey for Nigeria and a dream come true for me. The team is young so we can expect better results as we go along in subsequent matches .

One thing is for sure, football dynamics have changed especially in Africa where we no longer have small teams unlike before. This just means we will all have to work harder in the coming matches, especially with Egypt looming up” the elated Ikeme ended.

•Carl Ikeme ensured Nigeria came out unscathed against Tanzania on Saturday.

Enyimba, Sunshine slip

L

EADERS Enyimba and Sunshine Stars slipped in their chase for the Nigeria league championship after they lost at Giwa FC and Shooting Stars, respectively, on Sunday.

Giwa kept intact their unbeaten run in the league against Enyimba when they won 1-0 in Jos and Shooting Stars edged past Sunshine Stars 2-1 in a southwest derby.

However, Enyimba remained on top of the standings with 52 points from 28 games, four points clear of Warri Wolves, who toppled Sunshine Stars from second spot.

Giwa have 46 points from 28 games to within touch of the front runners.

The only goal of the game was a 74th minute penalty which was converted by Giwa captain Charles Henlong

after Enyimba defender Emmanuel Anyanwu handled the ball inside the 18-yard box.

In Ibadan, home team Shooting Stars upstaged Sunshine Stars 2-1.

Tope Orelope was the match winner for ‘The Oluyole Warriors’ when he tucked away a penalty in the 82nd minute.

Cletus Itodo, who marked his birthday on Saturday, opened the scoring for the home team in the 23rd minute.

Nigeria U20 striker Wasiu Jimoh failed to score from the penalty spot after Stephen Eze handled Yinka Adedeji’s free kick in the 34th minute.

And Eze was sent off for second yellow card for hand ball.

54 —

VANGUARD, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

FIFA Presidency: Amanze, Toro, Bassey ‘re embarrassing Nigeria –Obi W

HEN Amanze Uchegbulam, Sani Toro and Paul Bassey raised objections to the aspirations of two eminent Nigerians - Dr Orji Uzor Kalu and Segun “Mathematical” Odegbami’s ambitions to contest for the highest office of world football, the FIFA President, little did they know that they were preparing whips for their backs.

The trio who picked holes in the process of the declaration of interest by Kalu and Odegbami to contest for the FIFA Presidency as Nigerians working for CAF/FIFA said their declarations to that office amounted to an embarrassment to Nigeria.

But President of Africa Sports Journalists, ASJU, Mitchel Obi said that the three ‘wise’ men were indeed the ones embarrassing Nigeria by not allowing Nigerians to go for the highest office of world soccer-ruling body, FIFA. ‘’They are the ones who are embarrassing Nigeria by their myopic and selfish reasons of not allowing Nigerians join others in contesting for international positions. What rubbish!

What is the big deal of not consulting them as Nigerians in CAF/FIFA? Must he consult them?”, Obi, President of AIPS Africa and Vice President of the World body of Sports Journalists fired back on our hotline. ‘’We should grow beyond this idea of only me can do it in Nigeria.

We should be concerned about the requirements and encourage them where necessary. What is the difference be-

Pharaohs Continues from BP champions.

With the win, Egypt now have six points, two points ahead of the Super Eagles who are on four points. Both countries will meet in March 2016 when the Eagles will host the Pharoahs in the first of their doubleheader.

Chad and Tanzania will square off against each other in the group’s other games.

The Super Eagles failed to qualify for this year’s AFCON in Equatorial Guinea.

Egypt have failed to qualify for the last three editions (2012, 2013 and 2015) after their 2010 triumph in Angola.

Obi tween Odegbami and Platini who is also seeking election to that office? He provided answers. One operated from Europe as a player while another made waves in Africa. They all played the beautiful game and brought joy to many hearts. Didn’t Figo also aspire to that same office? Or, is it because it is Odegbami or because he is a Nigerian? We must look at the ladder of progression

Bassey and encourage Nigerians to go for different offices in sports. That is the only way our sports and sportsmen and women can do well. International politics is everything and we lack Nigerians in those offices.

Little countries who do not have anything are the ones deciding our fates in international politics. If not for Amos Adamu tell me who else we have? Perhaps the NOC President, Habu

Gumel who is in IOC. But his hands are full.

That is how we mismanaged our chances of hosting the World Cup in 2010. It was an African World Cup and what did we benefit when South Africa hosted it?

We’ve to be pushing our people forward where they can influence decisions. I am happy these Nigerians have kindled interest in this office.

Let’s rekindle it and let it glow”, Obi, a veteran and versatile Journalists with quality credentials of covering seven World Cup finals, six Olympic Games, two Wimbledon Championships and many African Cup of Nations finals said. He also speaks a cocktail of international languages. ‘’We don’t need these distractions. Lets work together as one. We need to be politically alert. At the end, it is Nigeria that benefits not the individuals’‘, the President of Mastersports International noted.

Oliseh begs Nigerians S

UPER Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh has described the 00 draw against Tanzania as satisfactory considering it was his first game in charge of the Eagles.

Oliseh seemed relieved that his debut as coach had now come and gone, and called on fans and the media to rally behind the team in their subsequent matches promising better results.

“I can describe the match as a game of two halves because we struggled in the first half but came back strongly in the second half containing the Tanzanians who also played very well” “We only had 2 days to train together and I am impressed with the way we played even though the striking was blunt but I am optimistic we will work on those mistakes step by step” “Our midfield was not covered properly that is why I decided to do some early changes but I don’t want to point at any players,” Oliseh said, but obviously referring to Lukman Haruna who was a huge disappointment.

On keeper Ikeme’s performance Oliseh was full of praise for the Wolverhampton keeper “I

am very happy with Ikeme’s performance.

He was brilliant and he kept the Tanzanian strikers at bay, It was a very important debut for him and thankfully for us he was A1.”

Prodded to explain why he decided to replace Haruna Lukman very early in the game and the long time effect on the player Oliseh was diplomatic in his answer “Things did not work as planned that’s why I decided to make the change but I don’t want to be negative because I will have time to talk to the player and see how we can correct mistakes we saw but if we hadn’t made that early change,” he stressed “ we would have lost”.

NIGERIA will splash at least $300,000, about N600m for Tuesday ’s friendly against nextdoor neigbours Niger, a top official has disclosed.

This budget will include an appearance fee of $150,000 to the visiting Mena of Niger as well as their local transportation and boarding while in Nigeria for this game.

The Eagles will each be paid $2,000 as appearance fee with coach Sunday Oliseh pocketing double that amount.

It is hoped that hosts

Rivers State Government will defray part of these expenses.

Tuesday’s match will be played at the Adokiye Amiesiemake Stadium in Port Harcourt.

Niger, who failed to qualify for Equatorial Guinea 2015, are fresh from a 2-0 defeat in Burundi in an AFCON qualifier.

Drogba scores hat-trick!

F

ORMER Chelsea striker Didier Drogba scored a hattrick on his first Major League Soccer start as Montreal Impact beat Chicago Fire 4-3. The 37-year-old made his debut as a substitute in a defeat two weeks ago.

But on Saturday he scored one first-half goal, made it 3-3 on the hour and then headed the winner four minutes later.

The former Ivory Coast international is the first player to get a hat-trick within his opening two MLS matches.

Drogba, who is his country’s all-time leading scorer with 65 goals in 105 international appearances, signed for Montreal in July after leaving Chelsea.

Meanwhile, former Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins and ex-Fulham and Tottenham forward Clint Dempsey were the goalscorers for Seattle Sounders in a 21 win over Toronto.

Eagles arrive Port Harcourt

T

Oliseh

Eaglets lose 3-2 to W/Cup rivals, Croatia

N

Amuneke

Eagles vs Niger friendly to gulp N600m

IGERIA’s Golden Eaglets lost 3-2 to Croatia in their final match of the Suwon International Cup on yesterday.

The Eaglets thus finished on four points after they beat Brazil 2-1 and drew 1-1 with hosts South Korea. The result of the match will determine the overall winners

of the competition.

Brazil have three points, while Korea are on two points. Incidentally, both Nigeria and Croatia will clash again at the FIFA U17 World Cup in Chile in October.

The Eaglets who are the reigning world champions will train in Argentina for the World Cup in Chile.

HE Super Eagles have landed in Port Harcourt after a fourhours-and-forty minutes from the city of Dar es Salaam, following Saturday’s 0-0 draw with the Taifa Stars of Tanzania in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match.

The delegation, led by NFF President Amaju Pinnick, arrived in the oil city at exactly 2am on Sunday, and the Eagles have been quartered at the Hotel Presidential.

On Tuesday, the Super Eagles tackle the Mena of Niger in an international friendly at the Adokiye Amiesieamaka Stadium.

Musa

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015—55

C M Y K

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

NFIFA Presidency:

Amanze, Toro, Bassey ‘re embarrassing Nigeria –Obi Details inside

•Odegbami

•Kalu

Pharaohs whip Chad 5-1, remain top of Eagles group

GYPT have top Eagles vs Niger E pled the Super as Group G leadfriendly to gulp N600m Eagles ers after the Pharaohs ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Oliseh begs Nigerians ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Bassey writes on Eagles, Okagbare

US OPEN —The world No 1 came from a set down to defeat American wildcard Bethanie Mattek-Sands 3-6 7-5 6-0

defeated Chad 5-1 in N’djamena in their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Sunday.

A hat-trick from Basem Morsi and a goal each from Mohammed Sallah and Mahmoud Kahraba secured the win for the seven-time African Continues on Page 54

Drogba scores hat-trick!

AFCON 2017 QUALIFIERS

NPL

RESULTS

RESULTS Chad 1 Egypt5 Lesotho 1 Algeria 3 Swaziland 2 Malawi 2 Zimbabwe 1 Guinea 1 Lesotho 1 Algeria 3 Kenya 1 Zambia 2 Madagascar0 Angola 0 Mauritius 1 Mozambique 0 S/Leone 0 C/dÍvoire 0

Giwa 1 Enyimba 0 Nasarawa 1 W/Wolves1 Kwara 1 A/Warriors 0 Shooting 2 Sunshine 1 El-Kanemi 2 Lobi 1 Wikki 3 Akwa Utd 1 Heartland 2 Rangers 0

Eaglets lose 3-2 to World Cup rivals Croatia QUICK CROSSWORD

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

FRI DAY'S FRIDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS 1 Divide (4) 4 Jump (3) 6 Choose (4) 8 Earlier (6) 9 Mad (6) 10 Elderly (3) 12 Started (5) 14 Under (5) 15 Elbow (5) 18 Writer (6) 20 Guide (6) 24 Nude (5) 26 Kingly (5) 28 Adored (5) 30 Marry (3) 32 Figurine (6) 33 shrewd (6) 34 Trampled (4) 35 Dance (3) 36 sand-hill (4)

DOWN 2 Stood (5) 3 Drums (7) 4 Idol (4) 5 Settled (4) 6 Adhesive (5) 7 Comfort (7) 11 Record (3) 12 Coach (3) 13 Gist (3) 16 Lair (3) 17 Moose (3) 19 Maker (7) 21 Fish (3) 22 Assumed (7) 23 Wand (3) 25 Hatchet (3) 27 Performed (5) 29 Consumed (5) 30 Departed (4) 31 Moist (4

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 2 Creed 7, Fibre 8, Arena Aphid 12, Ore 13, State 15, Central Threat 19, Lee 20, Tiniest 23, Name Thin 26, Arrived 30, Rue 31, Regret Expanse 37, Singe 38, Pit 39, Tapir Begin 41, Steer 42, Cloth.

10, 17, 25, 34, 40,

DOWN: 1, Birth 2, Crate 3, Repeat 4, Epic 5, Protest 6, Sneak 9, Err 11, Deliver 13, Stand 14, Aroma 16, Nee 18, tidiest 21, Thorn 22, United 24, Erratic 27, Run 28, Desist 29, Expel 32, Girth 33, Egret 35, Pig 36, Earl

How to Play Sudoku

P

lace a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

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C M Y K