Jonathan's govt must account for N13.9 trn - APC

...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 62472

**

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

N150

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

I still miss Abiola, says IBB at 74

8

Jonathan's govt must account for N13.9 trn— APC

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor & Henry Umoru

•Says attempt to stop probe unpatriotic, criminal •It's all lies, APC chasing shadows — PDP •My $1bn China-Exim Bank story, by Okonjo-Iweala

9

A

BUJA—THE All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday, faulted what it described as a massive campaign to stop the recovery of an estimated N13.972 trillion allegedly squandered by the immediate past administration.

The N13.972trn as computed by Vanguard was the summation of funds allegedly unaccounted for, withheld or allegedly stolen mostly from the oil sector.

Continues on Page 5

Fashola and the enemy within •Pages 49&51

Mr & Mrs NIGERIA PRAYS—From left: Pastor Bamidele Olurin, representing Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; former Head of State, Gen Yakubu Gowon; Rev Moses Aransiola, National Director, Nigeria Prays and Amb Moses Ihonde at the prayer service of Nigeria Prays, South West zone, held at Redeemed Christain Church of God, Banana Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos, weekend.

Photo: Shola Oyelese.

COLUMNISTS:

Over documented and under governed •P.42

C M Y K

Nigeria: Where prosperity is unconstitutional •P.40

Buhari’s impending anti-graft war •P.43

NAF bombardments dislodge terrorists from Sambisa forest 9

2 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 — 3

C M Y K

4 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 —5

POCKET CARTOON

AGM—From left: Mr Rahul Savara, Group Managing Director, Tropical General Investment Group; Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, Rasheed Olaoluwa, Managing Director, Bank of Industry; Mandisa Mashologu, Deputy Country Director, United Nations Development Programme; Sonny Echono, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture; Mr Sani Dangote, Chairman of the Nigeria Agribusiness Group Associates ,NABG; Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, and Wilma Aguele at the 1st Annual General Meeting of NABG in Lagos.

Jonathan's govt must account for N13.9 trn— APC Continues from Page 1 The party said in a statement, yesterday, that the campaign to stop the recovery of the funds would be a total disservice to probity and public decency.

The APC’s assertion was immediately rebuffed by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which described the APC claim as reckless, irresponsible and highly provocative.

The PDP said APC’s display of imaginary figures was a desperate effort by the ruling party to achieve a heinous agenda against the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

The PDP also yesterday, appealed to Nigerians and the international community to appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to guard against what the party claimed as the seeming determination of the government to derail the countr y ’s

democracy. Citing what it claimed was an attempt to stifle democratic institutions, the opposition party said that Buhari was showing himself not to be a born again democrat as he had earlier claimed.

The APC which described as mindboggling, the massive looting of the nation’s treasury by public officials during the Jonathan administration, vowed that nothing but the total recovery of the funds will be acceptable to patriotic Nigerians.

The APC reaction followed commentaries at the weekend that trailed the statement by the National Peace Committee calling for caution in the war against graft. Besides, a member of the committee, Bishop Matthew Kukah was also quoted last week as calling on the administration not to focus on a probe of the Jonathan administration.

In a statement issued

IT'S UP TO YOU

BY AYO ADIO

M

ANY things are beyond our reach but that’s because we refuse to try. We never really know how much is available to us unless we dare.

Until you dare the Unthinkable, you will never experience the remarkable. It's up to you.

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself— George Bernard Shaw

N

O matter how positive a role identity may seem, it comes with a price. Any kind of label, good or bad, is inherently limiting if you believe it encompasses your personality to the exclusion of all else. Do you really want to be just one thing? Of course you want to be more of everything uplifting!

You are made for more. Dream bigger.

C M Y K

in Lagos, yesterday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said anyone who attempts, either by deeds or words, to sabotage the recovery efforts is not a patriot and deserves nothing but public opprobrium.

Narrating some of the funds allegedly stolen or unaccounted for during the Jonathan administration, the APC said: *3.8 trillion Naira out of the 8.1 trillion Naira earned from crude oil (2012-2015) withheld by NNPC *2.1 billion US dollars (N413.7 billion) from Excess Crude Account unaccounted for *Department of Petroleum Resources’ unremitted 109.7 billion Naira royalty from oil firms *6 billion US dollars (N1.182 trillion) allegedly looted by some ministers of the last administration *160 billion barrels of crude worth 13.9 billion US dollars (N2.7383) lost between 2009 and 2012 *15 million US dollars (N2.955 trillion) from botched arms deal yet to be returned to Nigeria *13 billion US dollars (N2.561 trillion) in NLNG dividends mostly unaccounted for *30 billion Naira rice waiver *183 billion naira unaccounted for at the NDDC

Tip of the iceberg

Remarkably, the APC said the above listed ‘missing’ funds constituted just a tip of the iceberg since they

are mostly from a few sectors of the economy, mostly the oil sector, and were discovered even before the forensic audit now being undertaken in some key areas.

Saying that the present administration cannot turn a blind eye to such, the APC said: "It is absolutely gratifying that Nigerians are vehemently opposed to the few who would rather have the government of the day turn a blind eye to the looted funds and, in their words, carry on with the process of governance.

"Truly, what sort of governance can go on if the billions of Naira in a few hands are not recovered? In the first instance, the government needs every kobo of the funds it can muster to bring about the change it has promised Nigerians.

Secondly, leaving such hair-raising funds in the hands of the few looters is dangerous, because they can use the funds to destabilize any government. In fact, no one will be surprised if the looters use their dirty funds to sponsor public demonstrations against the government’s determination to recover the funds.

"Thirdly, allowing those who privatized the commonwealth to get away is offering a thumbs-up for looting.

No responsible government will do that," APC said.

The party said that already, the looters have embarked on a relentless and an increasingly-bold campaign to discredit the government of the day and sabotage the funds’ recovery process, using newspaper columnists, ‘talking heads’ and otherwise respectable opinion leaders.

"They and their paid hirelings have tried to employ sophistry to muddle the waters, but Nigerians are much wiser, and will not succumb to the dirty antics of the looters’ megaphones," it said.

APC said it is necessary to remind Nigerians of the kind of massive looting of the treasury that took place in the past few years, so they can better appreciate the seriousness of the issue at stake. It, therefore, listed some instances of the looting: "The level of looting that went on in other sectors is better imagined, hence the need for all Nigerians to rally around the Buhari Administration to recover the loots, bring the looters to justice and to put in place measures to prevent such looting in the future," it said.

It's all lies — PDP

In its response yesterday, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, described the claims by the APC as a desperate attempt by the APC to get public approval.

The PDP said: “In trying to escalate their stock-intrade of lies, wild allegations and falsehood, the APC failed to understand that their baseless fabrications are capable of throwing an unsuspecting nation into chaos.

"The spate of fabrications

by Lai Mohammed has become a sickening source of worry for well-meaning Nigerians, including those in his party.”

The PDP, therefore, called on President Buhari and the APC as a party, to call their spokesman to order before "he plunges the country into crisis with wild and unsubstantiated claims."

The PDP said instead of engaging in unnecessary playing to the gallery, the APC-led government should get serious with the fight against corruption by investigating and prosecuting corrupt persons, while moving on with the demands of governance, especially in fulfilling their numerous campaign promises for which they were voted into office at the centre.

The PDP in another statement accused the APC-led government of aiming to undermine the critical democratic institutions and notably, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC which it said had now been laid constitutionally prostrate on account of lack of a quorum.

Metuh said despite claims of being a converted democrat,n President Buhari has allowed, under his watch, an incessant violation of sections of the nation’s constitution, a development that has become a huge threat to democracy and the stability of the nation.

“For instance, how can this government explain the fact that a major

institution of democracy like the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been deliberately debilitated to the extent that it can no longer perform its statutory responsibility for lack of quorum?

“Nigerians are aware that before his tenure expired on June 30, the former INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega wrote to President Buhari, intimating him of the fact that the tenure of majority of the national commissioners will expire before August, yet the President never acted, resulting in the present crisis in the commission, where more than 80% out of the statutory 13 members remain vacant, even as 11 states of the federation are also without Resident Electoral Commissioners.

“We note that this anomaly is in addition to the uncertainty surrounding the controversial appointment of an Acting Chairman of INEC in the person of a national commissioner whose tenure has since expired, not minding that there is no provision for an acting chairman of INEC in our constitution.

“This development has completely enervated the commission from carrying out its functions as stipulated in part 1 of 3rd schedule of the 1999 constitution as amended, thereby putting our electoral system under severe threat.

“We ask, if not for a possibility of an ulterior motive to inject a constitutional crisis and undermine the nation’s democracy, why should President Buhari wait to be urged before he upholds his responsibility of forwarding replacements to the Senate for confirmation so as to enable the commission effectively carry out its constitutional responsibilities to the nation? "

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Driver, conductor die scooping fuel in tanker

By Ugochukwu Alaribe

A

BA—TWO persons, suspected to be the driver and conductor of a tanker conveying Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS, have died in Aba, Abia State Vanguard gathered that the bodies were evacuated by men of Ndiegoro Police Division in the premises of the State Fire Service along Constitution Crescent, Aba. Sources told Vanguard that the duo went inside the tanker to scoop the leftover of the product they discharged at a filling station in the city and were choked to death when the cover closed in on them.

An official of the Fire Service, who refused to have his name in print, told Vanguard that they later recovered two 50-litre jerry cans, which the deceased were suspected to be using to scoop the residue inside the tanker.

According to him, the driver and the conductor are suspected to have died as a result of the fuel vapour, which they inhaled while inside the tank.

The fireman said: “We suspect that they might have died as a result of the vapour they inhaled while trying to scoop the remaining fuel inside the tanker after they discharged the tanker ’s content at the designated filling station.

“The bodies of the driver and the conductor, when they were brought out, had started decomposing and increasing in size, which is an indication that they may have died inside the tanker over two days ago and it is like they have always done this kind of thing before the incident.”

Contacted, spokesman of Abia State Police Command, DSP Ezekiel Onyeke, confirmed the incident.

He said the corpses of the victims had been deposited in an undisclosed morgue in the city, while the truck had been towed away to Ndiegoro Police Division.

C M Y K

A truck driver prostrating for a Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, officer at Motor Way Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday.

PHOTO: Akeem Salau.

Catholic priest assassinated in Imo

By Chidi Nkwopara

O

WERRI—RAMPAGING hoodlums in Imo State, weekend, murdered a Claretian priest of the Catholic Church in Owerri.

The priest, whose full identity could not be ascertained at press time, was an academic staff of Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo, in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of the state.

Confirming the incident yesterday in a telephone interview, Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Andrew Enwerem, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said the priest was murdered by assassins on a bush path.

Enwerem said: “The police are suspecting that it was a clear case of assassination. The priest was gruesomely murdered along a very lonely bush path that would have led him into Port Harcourt Road.”

While noting that whatever happened to the priest might be connected with the bickering and happenings in Imo Polytechnic, Enwerem, however, wondered why the Catholic priest chose to use such a lonely bush path.

He said: “The police are suspecting that whatever happened to the priest cannot be far from the ceaseless bickering emanating from the polytechnic.

“Again, I wonder why the priest chose to use the lonely bush path on his Toyota SUV.” He confirmed that although the police have recovered the vehicle, no arrests had been made in connection with the crime.

The PPRO said that police patrol teams were despatched to the area as soon as the information was passed on to them.

He said: “The youths of the community joined the police in

combing the surrounding bushes.

“The hoodlums simply perfected and carried out their damnable act before vanishing into the thin air.”

Enwerem confirmed that the command had not only expanded its dragnet to all corners of the state, but were following all available leads.

Enwerem said: “There is the

likelihood that the assassins carefully monitored the priest’s movement and laid ambush for him on his track.

Honestly, it was a gruesome murder.”

... as man who beheaded pastor in Cross River says he'll do it again if...

By Emma Una

C

ALABAR—A 27-year-old man, Cyril Ojar, who beheaded James Eni, a pastor of an Evangelical church at Old Netim in Akamkpa Local Government Area of Cross River State, has remained defiant, stating that he would do it again if the same circumstance arose.

Cyril, who is in detention at the Cross River State Police Command headquarters at Diamond Hill, told Vanguard that he was on a stroll around the Pastor’s house, when the man got angry and chased him with a machete.

The suspect said he over powered the pastor and chopped off his head.

Cyril said: “I went to stroll

near his house on Friday, but there was nobody in the house.

I went there again on Sunday afternoon and he saw me and chased me. He cut me in the head with a machete.

“When he tried to cut me again, I wrestled with him and both of us fell on the ground. I collected the knife and murdered him.”

Cyril, whose head had no mark of a machete cut, said he was angry that the pastor wanted to kill him even after he had ran away from his house.

He said: “To teach the man a lesson, I killed him. In case of next time, I will do it again.”

He's a hardened criminal—POLICE

However, Police spokesman for Cross River Police

Command, Hogan Bassey, disputed Cyril’s account, stating that the suspect was a hardened criminal, who has been breaking into houses in Old Netim.

Bassey said: “When he went to the pastor’s house to steal for the second time, after he stole from the place the previous Friday, it angered the pastor who chased him. But Cyril overpowered the man and cut off his head.”

He said after killing the pastor, Cyril escaped to Akwa Ibom State, but was traced to his hideout by the police, who arrested and brought him back to Akamkpa, where he committed the act and from there to the police headquarters, where he was being detained.

Drunk dies fighting wife

By Ugochukwu Alaribe

A

BA—A 30-year-old man, identified as Ndubuisi Kalu, has slumped and died after he was allegedly pushed down by his wife in Aba, Abia State.

The couple, who lived at Pepple Street, Ogbor Hill, reportedly quarreled frequently over his drinking habit.

As the deceased came back again drunk, his wife, Immaculeta, was said to have pushed down. He fell and died

before he could receive medical attention.

A resident in the area said: “The man was formerly employed, but was laid off by his employer and had since remained unemployed.

“On that day, the man went out to drink as usual and came back drunk. The wife, who was not happy with his drinking habit, started rebuking him and that angered the man.

“While they were arguing, the wife pushed him and he slumped and died.”

Spokesman of Abia State Police Command, DSP Ezekiel Onyeke, who confirmed the incident, said Ogbor Hill Police Division had commenced investigation into the incident.

He said police were also investigating their landlady and two eyewitnesses, adding “late Kalu has epilepsy and there are other things that we need to find out.

“We learned that the landlady gave them three hours to vacate her house, which she effected on the day of the incident.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015—7

23-yr-old albino commits suicide over condition

Man seeks dissolution of 19-yr marriage over wife’s laziness

By Evelyn Usman & Esther Onyegbulam

By Bartholomew Madukwe

L

AGOS—A 23-year-old man, Ugochukwu Ekwe, yesterday committed suicide at Festac Town, Lagos, over the colour of his skin, being an albino.

His dangling body was discovered in an apartment on 311 Road, Festac Town, Lagos, where he lived with his parents and siblings.

Vanguard gathered that the deceased refused to eat since Saturday in protest of what he said was people’s rejection and stigmatisation because of his skin condition.

He was also said to have refused to go to church with other members of his family yesterday.

When the family returned from church, Ugo, as he was fondly called, was dangling from the end of a rope tied to the ceiling fan, and one of his siblings raised alarm.

Vanguard gathered that the deceased had attempted to take his life before now.

A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “I was returning from church when I saw people gathered in front of the block of flats.

“When I enquired, I was told that Ugochukwu had committed suicide. He finished his secondary school education since 2009.

“I also learned he had threatened to take his life before now, saying he was frustrated.

Later, we saw some policemen from Festac Division, who removed the body.”

His mother and other members of his family cried uncontrollably as sympathisers thronged their abode.

Spokesperson of Lagos State Police Command, Patricia Amadin, said she was yet to get details from Area ‘E’ Commander, Mr. Frank Mba. She, however, promised to reach Vanguard later, but had not done so at press time.

A

Ugo lived with his parents and siblings in one of the flats in this apartment house.

Parents reunite with 112 children in Edo IDPs camp

By Simon Ebegbulem

B

ENIN—EMOTIONS ran high yesterday as one 112 children at the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camp in Benin, Edo State, reunited with their parents.

The parents and their children had been separated for months, some for years, due to the

activities of members of Boko Haram group in the North-East states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

This came as Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State assured that President Muhammadu Buhari would end insurgency in the NorthEast soonest.

Some of the parents, who

Police nab herbalist over robbery, recover foreign currencies

By Evelyn Usman

L

AGOS—POLICEMEN attached to Ilupeju Division in Lagos State have arrested a suspected ring leader of a robbery gang known as Catch in the air, recovering $118,000 and 50,000 Pounds.

The suspect (names withheld) a herbalist, was arrested in his shrine in Mushin area of the state.

C M Y K

N Igando Customary Court in Lagos will today continue further hearing on a petition filed by a 57-year-old man, Joe Ubigho, seeking dissolution of his marriage of 19 years over alleged laziness of his wife, Rita, aged 45.

The petitioner told the court that his wife was too lazy and had left everything in the house to maids to do.

He said: “It was owing to such laziness that I was forced to take our children to a boarding school for proper care.”

The petitioner begged the court to dissolve the union, saying he was tired of the marriage and was no more in love with his wife.

Reacting to the allegation, Rita, a mother of three, said it was her husband who chased her out of the house, threatening to pour acid on her if she refused to leave.

She promised to take good care of her husband and children and urged the court not to dissolve the marriage, saying she was still in love.

The suspect and members of his gang, Vanguard gathered, attacked a vehicle which was conveying the money to the bank last week.

The recovered cash, according to Police sources, had been handed over to the owner, Bankers Warehouse Management, following the directive of the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni.

Lauding police effort, a staff

of the company, who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “Immediately the money was recovered, the Ilupeju Divisional Police Officer, Olayinka Egbeyemi, handed it over to us intact.

“An anti-robbery team from the division escorted us in order to guarantee our safety and that of the money.”

The suspect, as gathered, will be charged to court today.

could not conceal their joy, recounted the harrowing experiences they had gone through, thinking they were dead.

Although some of the parents expressed regrets that they had lost other close family members and property to the insurgency, they, however, said they were comforted by the fact that their children were still alive in Edo State.

Parents express joy

Father of one of the IDPs, Ali Yakubu, from Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, who had four children in the camp, said he was lucky to be alive to see his children, adding that he lost all his siblings to activities of Boko Haram sect.

Another parent, Lukas Saidu, expressed gratitude to Governor Oshiomhole for making the state home for their children.

“You have shown that you are a true Nigerian and God will

bless you,” the elated parent told the governor as he feted parents and their wards at Government House, Benin.

Addressing his guests, Governor Oshiomhole called for the support of all Nigerians for President Muhammadu Buhari’s government to enable it deal with insurgency problem in the country once and for all.

He said: “We must commend the efforts of our Armed Forces in combating the insurgency.

We weep everyday to see parents and children divided due to insurgency and it is not good for our children.

“Every child needs the care of parents and that is why we must all support the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to fight insurgency and also pray for our troops, who have also left their families to defend our nation.

“We are optimistic that this administration will bring Boko Haram to its knees. Their activities are inhuman and God will see us through.”

8—Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

NNPC to review PSC, JV contracts, others

By Michael Eboh

A

BUJA — THE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, yesterday, vowed to undertake a review of all Production Sharing Contracts, Joint Venture Agreements and all other contracts between it and its various partners.

In a statement in Abuja, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, stated that the review would be undertaken to reflect current day realities in the global oil and gas industry.

Kachikwu also stated that under his watch, the NNPC would put in place mechanisms that would plug all revenue leakages in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors, adding that all crude oil proceeds due for the Federation Account would be remitted accordingly.

He disclosed that the mandate given to him by President Muhammadu Buhari is to turn around the entire commercial processes and procedures of the NNPC in order to impact on the growth trajectory and operations of the corporation.

To this end, he denied embarking on a mass retrenchment of the workforce, stating instead that his mandate in the NNPC is to put in place an efficient, transparent and profit-oriented processes.

According to him, the reduction in the directorate from eight to four at the top management cadre of the NNPC is to refocus and sharpen the business aspiration of the corporation.

He further stated that training and retraining of members of staff to align with the new vision is the next stage of the ongoing reforms.

Kachikwu reassured that the recent repositioning is to put in place the right set of skills for performance, stressing that the new arrangement provides a veritable vista for upcoming professionals in the corporation to have a speedy career path.

The decision of the NNPC to review all its contracts is apparently in response to several reports, the latest being the Natural Resource Governance Institute, NRGI, which identified the contracts as a major drain-pipe to revenue meant for the Federation Account.

I still miss Abiola, says IBB @ 74 Looks forward to 50 years of unbroken civil rule Backs Buhari’s war against corruption

By Wole Mosadomi

M

INNA— TWENTY-TWO years after annulling the June 12, 1993 presidential elections, former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), yesterday, said he still misses the winner of the historic polls, late Chief Moshood Abiola, who died in government detention in 1998.

To show how he sorely miss his erstwhile friend, Babangida, who turned 74 today, said last week he searched for one of the letters Abiola wrote him and reread it.

Babangida spoke at an interactive session with journalists in Minna, Niger State ahead of his 74th birthday anniversary.

Asked if he was missing his friend, MKO Abiola, Babangida said: "Let me see, last week, I dug out one of the letters he wrote to me and I read it. So, that shows that I still miss him."

In the engaging interview, the former military ruler also opened up on his response to the coup plot led by Major Gideon Orkar in April 1990, the Dimka coup plot in 1976, his assessment of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration and comments that he is from Oyo State instead of Niger State.

Babangida, who commended the Federal Government on its renewed offensive against the Boko Haram insurgency, also gave the government high marks in terms of performance.

He said: "So far, I am confident that they are doing well. They have identified the problems and they look resolute in confronting these problems head-on and there are a lot of people in the society who are offering a lot of sound advice on what to do."

On PDP

Asked how he felt as a leader of a former ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that is now in the opposition and whether the PDP could return in 2019, he said: "I think one of the good things we are experiencing in this country is that for 16 years there has been democracy and democratic practices in the country.

"A lot of things must have gone wrong somewhere and the right judges are the people and the people have spoken. I think it is natural they needed a change after 16 years and they did what is right. They did not go wild, they did not fight anybody; they used their ballot papers to change the government. I think this is the beauty of what happened.

"I look forward to such practices in the next 50 years of democratic practice in this country. I hope

they learn from their mistakes, what they did wrong, what they did right and what they can do now to re-launch their party."

On his reaction to President Buhari’s vow to recover stolen funds from the nation’s treasury, Babangida said: "During the tenure of my boss, President Obasanjo, he had a similar strategy and to be fair to him, he made a lot of recoveries. So, we should support this present Federal Government, which is trying to do the same to achieve the same objective. If that objective is pursued reverently,

I believe it will achieve some degree of stolen funds.

"You talk about oil theft, I am sure President Buhari is resolute to stamp out all those and to bring to book all those who have tampered in stealing our oil."

How I escaped Orkar coup

On how he escaped death during the Gideon Orkar coup, he recollected: "I can remember very well that I had some loyal officers, who were supposed to be my protectors and my

bodyguards. Initially, they told me to leave but I told them no, I am not leaving anywhere but they remained steadfast and later I took my family outside Dodan Barracks and joined my guards.

"So, we went out of Dodan Barracks and we went to a safe house where we got in contact with loyal troops. May God bless Sani Abacha. Sani Abacha was the Chief of Army Staff. He got in touch with me, I got in touch with him and we sat down and talked on what we were going to do. Abacha and I rallied the loyal troops and then I left my safe house and joined Abacha in his house. That was how I escaped."

SYMPOSIUM: From left: Felix Bajomo, past president, Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria, ICAN; Idiat Oluranti Adebule, Deputy Governor, Lagos State; Muhammad Sanusi, Emir of Kano/royal father of the day; Samuel Olufemi Deru, President, ICAN during the ICAN-Federal Government budget symposium in Lagos. Photo: Akeem Salau.

Existing revenue sharing formula archaic to review current arrangement —Senate Moves Says they're in the dark on how Ecological Funds are spent

By Henry Umoru

A

BUJA— THE Senate has described the present existing sharing formula of fund from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, where the Federal Government receives 56 percent while state government and the local government councils get 24 and 20 percent respectively as archaic, saying the upper chambers would soon carry out a holistic review of the process.

According to the Senate, “the 8th Senate is poised to review the archaic existing arrangement. More so, Sections 313 and 315 of the 1999 Constitution call for the periodic review of the revenue sharing formula.”

The Senate also said it would henceforth look into how the funds for general ecological problems and that of the Development of National Resources were spent, stressing that the upper chamber was kept in the dark about the funds.

These were some of the recommendations contained in the report of the Ad-hoc Committee on Legislative Agenda which has the Senate Leader, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume as Chairman, with 17 other Senators as members.

Senate President Bukola Saraki had on Thursday, June 25, 2015 constituted the Ad-Hoc

committee to, among others, develop an agenda that will be the compass for directing the activities of the 8th Senate.

According to the report, the Senate will review some of the existing acts relating to how government agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC; Department of State Services, DSS; others operate.

Nigerian, Freeman Osonuga, shortlisted to travel to space

L

AGOS — A Nigerian Freeman Osonuga, has been shortlisted as one of the lucky persons to travel to space.

Osonuga, a Medicine and Surgery graduate from Olabisi Onabanjo University, was selected through the Rising Star programme, launched at the One Young World Summit 2014 in Dublin. The programme invited both One Young World Ambassadors and outstanding members of the public aged 18-35, to nominate

themselves to take on the trip of a lifetime.

Osonuga is a 2015 WIRED Innovation Fellow. He will be speaking live on stage at the WIRED 2015 conference scheduled for October in London.

In late 2014, at the peak of Ebola epidemic in West Africa, he worked as a volunteer and worked with the African Union team of Ebola responders for six months in Sierra Leone.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015—9

My $1bn China-Exim Bank story, by Kano-Lagos rail not funded by China-EximBank Okonjo-Iweala Says Funds are released directly to Chinese contractors

By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

A

BUJA — THE immediate past Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has denied that the China-EximBank loan for the rehabilitation of the Lagos-Kano rail line was diverted as alleged by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Alhaji Muhanned Bashar.

Alhaji Bashar had told President Muhammadu Buhari during the ministry’s briefing session, last week, that only $400 million of the $ 1 billion ChinaEximBank loan meant for the project was spent, creating the impression that over $600 million was diverted by the last administration.

According to him, only $400 million was released by the Ministry of Finance for the project.

However, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said, yesterday, that the Permanent Secretary did not get his facts right, as there was no such $1 billion China-EximBank loan for the Lagos-Kano rail project, in the first place.

She gave details of the ChinaEximBank loans for various projects in the country through a statement by her Media Adviser, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, and insisted that the Lagos-Kano rail project was not one of them.

According to the minister, a total of $2.084 billion was secured from the Chinese bank and that the facilities were being managed directly by the bank which disburses the funds directly to the Chinese contractors, based on certificates of work done.

The breakdown

The breakdown showed that $500 million was for the on-going expansion of four international airport terminals in Abuja, Kano, Lagos and Port-Harcourt.; $500 million for the Abuja Light Rail Project; $984 million for the Zungeru hydroelectric power project; and $100 million for the Galaxy Backbone project.

The statement read in part: “I want to state categorically that there is no truth in the reported allegation. Anyone who is interested can cross-check with the China-EximBank or the Chinese Embassy.

“It is noteworthy that even though President Buhari, in his reported comments on the allegation, made no reference to Dr. Okonjo-Iweala but rightly stressed the need for due process and transparency in the execution of public projects, a sponsored media campaign has once again been launched by political elements to make the former minister the culprit in a nonexistent scandal.

“The alleged diversion has no

Perm Sec didn’t get his facts

substance for the simple reason that the Kano-Lagos project was not even among the projects presented for funding by the China Exim Bank for several strategic infrastructural projects across the country.

“In fact, it was the LagosIbadan rail project, not LagosKano rail project, that was proposed in the original application to the ChinaEximBank. But in the end, no funds were assigned for the Lagos-Ibadan rail project by the China-EximBank.

“It is also important to note that

even if the alleged project was on the list of China-EximBank funded projects, diversion of any Chinese funds would have been extremely difficult because the terms of the contract and the processes would simply not have permitted such action.

“The procedure is that funds for approved loans remain in the China-EximBank and are released directly to the Chinese firm executing the contract only after the presentation of duly certified proof of work by the responsible ministry, in this case it would have been the Federal

Ministry of Transport, based on the agreed milestones.

“For the sake of emphasis, the China-EximBank does not disburse money directly to government and, therefore, the issue of diversion does not arise.

“This is yet another example of the kind of whispering campaign of calumny, innuendo, misinformation, and outright distortions being perpetrated by certain political elements against Dr. OkonjoIweala in a bid to try to damage her reputation."

MOU: From left: General Manager, Sales and Marketing, PAN Nigeria Limited, Umar Abubakar; Managing Director, PAN Nigeria Limited, Alhaji Ibrahim Boyi; Executive Director, Personal and Business Banking, Stanbic IBTC, Obinnia Abajue; Executive Director, Finance, PAN Nigeria Limited, Alhaji Jumat Alli Oluwafuyi; and Head, Business Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Lloyd Onaghinon; at the MoU signing ceremony between Stanbic IBTC Bank and PAN Nigeria Limited, in Lagos.

Treasury Single Account: Bank deposits loss may hit N2trn Presidency’s directives to the CBN. "This had an impact on

L

AGOS — The nation’s banks would be losing about N2 trillion deposits to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, with the implementation of the Treasury Single Account, TSA, as ordered last week by President Muhammadu Buhari. States are also gearing up to adopt the policy.

The report on accounts of banks with CBN shows that as at beginning of this current quarter, banks’ total public sector deposits was N1.3 trillion but additional net flows from Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FACC, as at end of last month (about N240 billion) as well as expected inflows by end of this month may push the figure close to N2.2 trillion by the time the pull out begins next month.

According to the directive from the Presidency, the implementation of the TSA by all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) is to enable compliance of MDAs with the provisions of the constitution.

This is also in line with the

National Economic Council, NEC, to ensure full compliance of MDAs to relevant laws on accounting, allocation and disbursement of public funds.

Bankers had pressurized the former government of Goodluck Jonathan, which had initiated the policy in December 2014, to soft pedal on the implementation which was originally scheduled for February 2015, on the reasons of a likely negative impact on the economy.

Last weekend, bank treasurers told Vanguard that the implementation would adversely affect liquidity in the banking system and end up putting pressure on interest rates and availability of credit to the economy.

In a statement, weekend, Afrinvest Group, a Lagos-based financial investment house, said: “Whilst the directive issued came as the first official statement by the Presidency on the TSA, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, had earlier began withdrawing its funds from banks for retirement into

liquidity level in the banking system, resulting in a surge in money market rates during the period as banks scrambled for funds to cover their liquidity positions.

"With the TSA implementation now extended to all federal MDAs, the Nigerian banking industry, on an aggregate basis, would be affected in terms of deposits and funding cost structure.”

In relation to this FBN Capital, an investment arm of FirstBank of Nigeria Plc, stated in its money market reports last weekend that the NNPC withdrew about N400 billion from the banks last month pushing Open Buy Back, OBB, and overnight interest rates to a record high of 50 per cent. It, however, stated that this pressure was corrected when FACC inflow came to the banks within the same period.

In the implementation of the TSA there will be no FACC inflow to correct or compensate for the outflows.

Boko Haram terrorists dislodged from Sambisa forest As NAF sustains air bombardment

By Kingsley Omonobi & Dotun Ibiwoye

A

BUJA— BOKO Haram terrorists that have continued to operate from bunkers inside the Sambisa forest were dislodged, yesterday, following sustained air bombardments

by Nigerian Air Force fighter aircraft while several bunkers were destroyed.

A security source confirmed that, “in the continued onslaught against the terrorists in the North East, Nigerian Air Force pilots smoked out Boko Haram elements from their fortified bunkers deep inside Sambisa Forests. The raids are part of efforts aimed at ensuring that the marching orders issued by President Muhammadu Buhari for the military to annihilate the deadly terrorists and their activities in the next three months is complied with.”

Meanwhile, a series of videos made available to the media showed Alpha jets and attack helicopters raining explosives on some targeted locations hidden under trees and open warehouses.

The source revealed that “unlike the standard bunkers that are fortified chambers built below the ground with reinforced concrete, some of the fortifications destroyed by Nigerian Air Force were not set below the surface of the ground but were mostly covered by logs and tree trunks.

“The mission is being accomplished by the recent deployments of fighter jets and attack helicopters in the North-East.”

Meanwhile, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, weekend, expressed optimism that the deadline given the military to end terrorism in the North East, was achievable.

Speaking in Lagos at a dinner organised in his honour by the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Osinbajo said: “I know that it is entirely possible, I know that they can do it and we have a great military, we know that there have been problems such as lack of equipment and resources, but that’s a problem that we have to deal with as we go along."

10 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Indonesian plane crashes with 54 on board

T

HE wreckage of a pas senger plane which went missing with 54 people aboard in rugged eastern Indonesia yesterday has been found by villagers, an official said, with rescuers expected to head to the crash site.

The plane operated by Indonesian carrier Trigana Air lost contact with air traffic control just before 3:00 pm (0600 GMT) after taking off from Jayapura, the capital of Papua province, the search and rescue agency said.

The ATR 42-300 twin-turboprop plane was carrying 44 adult passengers, five children and five crew on the flight which was scheduled to take about 45 minutes, it said.

But the plane disappeared about 10 minutes before reaching its destination Oksibil, a remote settlement in the mountains south of Jayapura, shortly after it asked permission to start descending to land.

Ambode approves Treasury Single Account effective Sept 1 As Lagos trains 190 responders for sexual, gender violent crimes

By Olasunkanmi Akoni before making payments.

The development is in line ,with agency reports

L

AGOS— IN an effort to efficiently improve on the processes of revenue generation and collection in the state and ensure proper accountability and transparency in all government accrued revenues, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has approved the operation of a single account in the state effective September 1, 2015.

According to a statement by the Permanent Secretary/ Accountant General of the state, Mrs Abimbola Umar, the state government took the decision to address the challenges previously faced with the operation of the multiple accounts system.

Governor Ambode said the operation of a Treasury Single Account (TSA), aside providing transparency and accountability, would also encourage tax payers to request for a single account

with the objective of the move by the All Progressives Congress, APC, led Federal Government headed by President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that all government revenues are kept in one consolidated account.

In addition, all the affected revenue collecting banks have been mandated to immediately close all the existing multiple revenue accounts domiciled in their banks to give room for a single revenue accounting system in line with the accountability and transparency policy of the current administration.

“With this development, it is expected that a l l parastatals, l o c a l governments a n d establishments w i l l commence the operation of the TSA on September 1,

2015,” the governor said.

… trains 190 responders for sexual, gender violent crimes

In line with the quest of the Lagos State Government to ensure that victims of sexual and gender based violence have a voice and concerned members of the public who wish to report acts of violence are able to do so with utmost confidentiality, the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team, DSVRT, has concluded training for 190 officials of the state emergency command and control centre

on how to receive reports of sexual and gender based violence incidents in the state.

Coordinator of DSVRT, Mrs Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, told newsmen, yesterday, that the officials were trained on how to receive reports of sexual and gender based violence.

This came as the state government also approved the use of 112 toll-free emergency lines to report cases of rape, defilement, domestic violence, child abuse, neglect, maltreatment and other sexual assaults, assuring that information provided will be passed across while the concerned agencies will be notified immediately.

VISIT: Inspector General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase (left) and CEO, MTN Nigeria, Michael Ikpoki during a courtesy visit to the IGP at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, yesterday.

Alleged website scam: Groups defend Fashola

By Ola Ajayi

I

BADAN —THREE groups have risen in defence of the former Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, over N73.3 million he allegedly spent on his personal website.

According to the leaders of the groups, Mr Samuel Adeola-Ilori, a lawyer and President, Vote for Service Initiative; Steve Aborisade, Executive Director, Projekthope/Media Integrity and Mr Olumide Alasoadura, an engineer and Co-convener, Congress of Electorate, “we charge civil society groups desiring a wholesale eradication of corruption from our land to match their actions with the responsibility, impartiality and credibility deserving of all effort which questions the integrity of others.”

While making reference to a rebuttal by the former governor in which he denied the allegations, the groups said: “If the accusers had cared to

contact the ex-governor, they could have got the former governor’s side of the story.

"As a private citizen now, CSNAC cannot claim to lack access to Babatunde Fashola, but instead elected to act on an unconfirmed

accusation as if they were facts.

“We insist we owe Nigerians a stronger sense of responsibility than what is currently on offer. But we admit the group may have information which is not readily available to others."

Of fensive exam question: SERAP drags Amosun to UN

L

AGOS — A CIVIL society group, SocioEconomic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has sent an urgent appeal to two UN special rapporteurs urging them to use their “good offices and positions to urgently request the government of Ogun State of Nigeria to immediately and unconditionally reverse the unlawful sacking and retirement of education officials for allegedly setting examination questions considered too critical of the government of Governor Ibikunle Amosun.”

The rapporteurs petitioned are: Mr. David

Kaye, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and Mr. Kishore Singh, Special Rapporteur on the right to education.

In the petition dated August 14, 2015, and signed by SERAP Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organisation said: “The sacking and retirement of these officials is unlawful, unfair, and a serious violation of their internationally recognised human right to hold opinion and academic freedom."

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 — 11

Fayose alleges plot to destabilise his govt E KITI State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, said, weekend, he was not unaware of the sinister plot to destabilise his government because of his strong stands on national issues. He also vowed not to be cowed by threat from any quarter.

Fayose in his characteristic manner urged President Muhammadu Buhari to be mindful of the body language of those hailing him today, stressing, “the president should be cautious enough to know that the former head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar led National Peace Committee tactically told him to tread cautiously and be mindful of the fact that he is not heading a military government.”

A statement by the governor's special assistant on public communications and new media, Lere Olayinka, said, “opposition is one of the roots on which democracy stands and any president or governor that does not want opposition will eventually become a dictator.

“I want to state without fear or favour that I will continue to speak the truth no matter whose ox is gored. Nigeria belongs to all of us and no one can intimidate me or the good people of Ekiti State who freely and overwhelmingly gave me their mandate.

Democracy as a form of government thrives on our ability to ask questions and get answers from leaders.”

The governor urged the President to listen to wise counsel from the General Abdulsalami Abubakar led National Peace Committee saying; “the Peace Committee has reminded the president that he is not heading a military government and with the calibre of Nigerians in the Committee, their wise counsel should not be ignored.

“These are Nigerians who don’t need personal favours from the President and he should get the message very clearly that he is being told not to act as a dictator.”

Fayose said the President should also know that Nigerians are not interested in any honeymoon, but their well-being.

His words, “rather than concentrate and make a difference within his 100 days in office, the president’s greatest achievement so far is harassment of PDP leaders."

L-r: Executive Director, Technology and Ops, Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), Niyi Ajao; Second Runner-Up, Jerry Boakye-Mensah; Representative of Director, BPSD, Central Bank of Nigeria, Isa Abubakar; Grand Winner of Electronic Payment Incentive Scheme (EPIS), Adeyinka Adejuwon; Executive Director, Business Development, NIBSS, Christabel Onyejekwe; and 1st Runner, Chioma Ukwosah at the CBN EPIS Raffle Draw Cash Reward Presentation in Lagos

Ooni: Osun APC thanks all, eulogises late monarch

By Gbenga Olarinoye

O

SOGBO – ALL Progressives Congress in Osun State has expressed gratitude to all and sundry who had shown sympathy and expressed empathy with the Yoruba nation over the passing of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, Olubuse II, whose physical remains was committed to mother earth, weekend.

The party, in a statement by its state chairman, Prince Adegboyega Famodun, yesterday, said the late Ooni was ‘Atobalete’ personified, adding that he was born a king, and also lived it like nobody else had done before him in 200 years. He said, "Okunade Sijuade, Olubuse II was an exceptional and authentic representation of royalty that Yoruba nation has ever experienced in two centuries.

"Occasionally, his personality stirred controversy; he had been through some rough and tumbles, but what made the late Ooni so special is that he commanded your respect even when you were reluctant to give it. The authority of Oodua radiated through him."

Prince Famodun said the APC “is proud to be associated with

this great monarch, who will live on in our memories as one of the greatest and compelling personalities in Yorubaland, Nigeria, Africa and the cultural world that nobody could afford to ignore.

"Like him or hate him, the late Ooni is one royalty whose charismatic and cultural opulence will live on in the history of world royalties. He has set a standard that will be difficult to outshine in Yorubaland. That is what makes him so unique."

“We accept his passing as natural just as we realise that

mourning the event is also natural. However, the Ooni lives on with his ancestors while we carry on and live the traditions of our forefathers to make our people prosperous and our country great. Osun State, the APC, and the Yoruba nation thank the world for empathizing with us on the death of the Ooni of Ife. His great soul will luxuriate in peace and comfort in the world beyond as it pleases the Creator spirit to offer him’, the APC concluded.

Unremitted PAYE taxes: Defunct PHCN owes 8 States N6.5bn

By Gbenga Olarinoye

O

SOGBO – EIGHT states of the federation are said to be threatening to drag the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Limited to court over N6.5billion unremitted PayAs-You-Earn, PAYE, and Withholding Tax being taxes it deducted from salaries of disengaged staff of the defunct Power Holden Company of Nigeria, PHCN, but failed to remit to the states.

The affected states are Abia (N417.08m); Adamawa (N139.30m); Benue (N410.75m); Delta (N2.59billion); Kaduna (N759.39m); Ogun (N1.26billion), Osun (N601.93m) and FIRS (N285.49m).

When contacted, the acting chairman, Osun State Internal Revenue Service, Mr. Dayo

Oyebanji confirmed the development. He said his state was being owed almost N602 million for the purpose.

Oyebanji noted that efforts have been intensified through the Joint Tax Board, JTB, to intimate Nigeria Electricity Liability Management which acquired the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) on the backlog of debt.

According to him, “we are aware of the PHCN nonremittance of the PAYE deducted from their staff on behalf of the state government before it was privatized by the Federal Government.

How APC allegedly rigged Ogun guber polls — Witnesses

By Daud Olatunji

A

BEOKUTA— SOME witnesses of the Ogun State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at the Governorship Electoral Petition Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta have revealed how the April 11, election was allegedly rigged and manipulated to give victory to Governor Ibikunle Amosun of the All Progressive Congress, APC. The PDP and its candidate, Prince Gboyega Isiaka had dragged Amosun to the tribunal, claiming that the election was fraught with irregularities in nine local councils and urged the tribunal to declare him the winner of the election.

The witnesses who were cross-examined, Thursday, by counsel to Amosun led by Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, that of the APC, George Oyeniyi and Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Oluwadare Ogunnaike said they witnessed how the election was rigged and manipulated.

The first witness, Aliu Musa who identified himself as a polling agent at Idi Ota in Alapoti ward in Ado-Odo/ Ota local government argued that the result of the election was counted and announced at Ado-Odo Police Station instead of the polling units. He also told the court that he got the information of where the result was collated and announced the following morning from members.

12—Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

AYOMIKE TO UGBORODO INDIGENES: No

offensive comments on EPZ W

By Emma Amaize

ARRI—ELDER statesman and chairman, Itsekiri Leaders of Thought, ILoT, Warri, Delta State, Pa J.O. Ayomike, weekend, counseled natives of Ugborodo community, Warri South-West Local Government Area, Delta State, to refrain from making unguarded comments concerning the $16 billion Export Processing Zone, EPZ project in Ogidigben, Ugborodo.

There had been no love lost between the Itsekiri and Ijaw ethnic groups in the area since the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC sponsored project took off, but some concerned leaders brokered the peace that enabled former President Goodluck Jonathan to perform the groundbreaking ceremony in March.

Ayomike from Ugborodo, who is at the centre of the on-going reconciliation to bring lasting peace to the community, said he personally avoided making comment on the project all these months in the interest of peace.

“This silence has to be broken at last in the interest of the community regarding the NNPCdriven EPZ project in Ogidigben-Ajudaibo in Ugborodo community. The controversy trailing the project siting had long ended and work is progressing

as programmed. Therefore, recent comments and press interviews on the project, not authorized by the chairman of the EPZ Interface Committee, should be completely ignored by the public.

“Until early this year when former President Jonathan turned the sod on the site, negative reports/comments often appeared on the site controversy.

A reconciliation process at

whiche centre I am working round the clock to achieve full peace in Ugborodo is nearing conclusion.

“Therefore, nob one of Ugborodo – no matter his personal feelings – is permitted to comment outside the chairman of the EPZ Interface Committee on the proposed Gbaramatu Seaport Project, an arm of the Escravos Development programme promoted by the Nigeria Port Authority, for which land is yet to be acquired.

more “In making this statement, full consultations have been made with all peace-loving people of Ugborodo community who are anxiously inviting our new governor to visit the biggest project-to-be in his state, in preparing the ground for the visit of Mr. President.

“All prospective investors are called upon to take advantage of the new re-structuring in NNPC to come over to the new Macedonia to help in our development,” he added.

AWARD: From left: Mr. Gilles Valentin, Managing Partner, The Oil and Gas Year, Ms. Gergana Urdarevska, Country Director, The Oil and Gas Year, Mr. Charles Odita, MD, Midwestern Oil & Gas Company Ltd, Mr. Chris Erhi Omoru, Executive Director, Services, Midwestern Oil & Gas Company Ltd, Mrs. Ioana Marins, Regional Director, The Oil and Gas Year; Mr. Morgan Oche, Technical Assistant to the MD of Midwestern Oil & Gas Company Ltd, during the awards ceremony in recognition of the Midwestern Oil & Gas Company Ltd's continuous investment in Umusadege and purchase of Shell's Oil Mining License 18 as part of the Eroton consortium in Lagos.

Tension in Jesse as oil spill ravages communities J

By Perez Brisibe

ESSE—CRISIS is presently brewing in Jesse and other adjourning communities in Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State following an oil spill currently ravaging the community, 17 years after the biggest pipeline explosion in the country in the community killed over a thousand persons.

Speaking to Vanguard yesterday, President General of Jesse community, Chief Austin Omonode, attributed the spill to a ruptured pipeline passing through the community, hinting that local vigilantes from the area, noticed the spill on Friday.

He said: “We can’t really tell the content of the spill but I think its a mixture of oil which has

affected aquatic life and other farm produce in Jesse town, Atiwhor, Ugbomoya, Ajakatite and other surrounding communities.

“As I talk to you now, (Sunday), we are yet to see any official from the relevant various oil ang

governmental agencies or companies visiting the sites of the spill to curtail or monitor the extent of damages done so far.”

Contacted, External Relations Officer for the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, Mr. Ugo Atugboko directed this

Delta SUBEB suspends salaries of 218 workers

A

By Festus Ahon

SABA—CHAIRMAN of the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, Delta State, Mr Elijah Ologe, weekend, said that the board has suspended salaries of over 218 staff, who allegedly

absconded from their duty posts some years back.

He said the board had also suspended Secretary of the Local Education Authority in Okpe Local Government Area, Efetobore Okeh, Head teacher of Erhuwho Primary School, Mr Vincent Ugolovwiroro and one of his teachers, Mrs U. Ighereno on

Group warns against hijack of Ogoni UNEP report implementation

P

By Jimitota Onoyume

ORT HARCOURT— GOVERNOR Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has been enjoined not to hijack the clean up of Ogoni that was recently ordered by the Federal Government.

An Ogoni group, Ogoni Support Group for President Muhammadu Buhari, OSGMB, in a statement, yesterday also C M Y K

reporter to SEPLAT for comments, as the company was in charge of crude oil pipeline in the area while attempts to reach SEPLAT’s General Manager, External Affairs and Communication, Mrs.ChiomaNwachukwuwasfruitless at press time.

called on the President of Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, MOSOP, Mr Legborsi Pyagbara to give room for all Ogoni to be actively involved in the clean up process.

“We are not unaware that certain persons in the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, in the state are already claiming credit (for the approval), we warn

that the Rivers State Government led by Wike should not hijack the entire process.

“MOSOP President, Piagbara should be liberal, broad minded in the management of the programme by ensuring that all strata of Ogonis, the leaders, chiefs, women, youths and students are dully carried along,” the statement added.

allegations of serious misconduct.

Ologe who disclosed this to newsmen in a chat, raised alarm over planned protest against him by those affected by the cleanup exercise being embarked upon by the board.

Insisting that he would not be discouraged by the blackmail of those whose fraudulent activities had been stopped by the board, he said that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s administration has zero tolerance for corruption and corrupt practices.

He said he had been undaunted by plans of some disgruntled elements to use some groups against his office, adding that the board’s decision to expose all ghost workers and stop salaries of all those who were not going to work yet drawing salaries from the state government was irreversible.

Navy moves to tackle oil theft in N-Delta

By Jimitota Onoyume

P

ORT HARCOURT— CHIEF of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas has said that the navy will create new choke points as part of efforts to effectively fight oil theft in the region.

The naval chief who spoke at the NNS, Pathfinder, Obio Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State, weekend, said the new choke points to be created on the high sea in the Niger Delta will make it impossible for crude oil thieves to take the product out of the country for sale.

He lauded the Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder, Commander Shuwa Mohammed for the success so far recorded in the state in the fight against oil theft.

Group distances self from court action against Oyegun, APC

By Samuel Oyadongha

Y

E N A G O A — MEMBERS of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, the All Nigerian Peoples Party, ANPP and the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, yesterday, distanced themselves from the court action instituted by a faction of the All Progressive Congress, APC, against the national leadership of the party led by the Chairman, Chief John OdigieOyegun, over alleged violation of rights of members of the party in Bayelsa State.

The suit filed on July 27, 2015, by a legal practitioner, Funlayefa Seibokuro on behalf of some aggrieved members led by a former Security Adviser during the Chief Timipre Sylva administration in the state, Chief Richard Kpodo, is praying the court to restrain the defendants, their agents, servants and/privies from interfering with and/or abridgingtheirrightsasmembers of the APC pending the hearing and determination of the suit.

The claimants, are also asking the court to declare that the purportedexpulsionofthe1stand 2ndclaimantsfromthepartywas unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect.

14 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 — 15

C M Y K

16 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 IN Nigeria and Africa as a whole, breastfeeding has been the most culturally acceptable mode of feeding babies within the first two years of life. As a practice, breastfeeding has a strong connotation for promoting the bonding that started at pregnancy between mother and child.

Breastfeeding in the Nigerian setting has always been a thing of pride. Culture actually demands that every mother should breastfeed her child except otherwise advised.

Nigerian mothers used to be well known for breastfeeding anytime and anywhere.

Some even breastfeed while working on the farms, which is why advocates of breastfeeding recommend the continuation of the practice by breastfeeding babies wherever mothers earn their living.

Breast milk serves as the best food for babies that are less than six months. Breastfeeding a child provides all the goodness of breast milk that are known to be uniquely superior and vital for optimal infant physical, emotional and mental growth. It is essential for their healthy development and all other short and long term outcomes.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that infants should be exclusively

Restoring The Glory Of Breastfeeding breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth.

In response to the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, the Federal Government established the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) in Benin, Enugu, Maiduguri, Lagos, Jos and Port Harcourt with the aim of providing mothers and their infants a supportive environment for breastfeeding and to promote appropriate breastfeeding practices, thus helping to reduce infant morbidity and mortality rates.

It is, however, worrisome and unacceptable that Nigeria currently has one of the lowest exclusive breastfeeding rates in Africa. In a National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS), the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the country stood at 13 per cent.

Despite sustained efforts, exclusive breastfeeding rates in Nigeria have fallen well below the WHO/UNICEF recommendation of 90 per cent for children less than six months old in developing countries. Currently, exclusive breastfeeding rates in Nigeria compare poorly with other neighbouring countries in Africa.

As the global community marks this year’s edition of the annual World Breastfeeding Day with the theme - “Breastfeeding And Work: Let’s Make It Together”, more involvement and dedication is required to galvanise multidimensional support to enable women everywhere work and breastfeed.

Nursing mothers in particular require more support to combine breastfeeding with work in the formal, informal and home setting. The private sector must get involved in the process of encouraging breastfeeding mothers through provision of crèches and breastfeeding rooms in work places while approving flexible work hours for mothers.

The promotion of actions by employers to become baby friendly and actively facilitate the support of employed mothers to preserve and reap the benefits of the age-long practice of breastfeeding, is a task that must be done.

OPINION Buhari: Snail or Sniper?

By Alex Atawa- Akpodiete

D

EMOCRACY envisages Freedom of expression and the press. As a result, Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria states that “(1) Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, every person shall be entitled to own, establish and operate any medium for the dissemination of information, ideas and opinions.”

Nonetheless, there must be some checks and balances, especially with the proliferation of social media, such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. I will buttress my point with the fact that some weeks back, I saw a picture on social media of a snail with the picture of President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR (PMB) transposed on the face. The artist was attempting to depict what he believed was the pace of His Excellency in handling the affairs of the country. I was actually annoyed at the sight and enraged by what length people would go to disrespect an individual. I have always been a proponent of constructive criticism of government as opposed to destructive criticism. In fact, I venture to say that part

C M Y K

of patriotism includes being careful of what we say, how we say it and when we say it. In civilised climes, the media actually helps shape public opinion and does not always publish everything.

The immediate past president, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR was arguably the most vilified president in the history of Nigeria. Part of the zest for a change in power, led to so much media abuse of the office of the Presidency by the opposition. Even his wife was not spared in the unabated insults. We should have checked the media excesses at that time because it has gone further out of hand, especially in the social media. I am beginning to see more profane attacks on the current President, especially on issues of education, history or command of English language, all blown out of proportion. The ethics of journalism profession have been thrown out of the window because of the desire for pecuniary gains and politics of hatred.

With that said, it is important to really decipher whether our President is a Snail or rather a Sniper. Let us first look at the

We do not hear the gospel of change now because of hunger in the land

dictionary definition of both nouns (terms). A Snail is “any mollusk of the class Gastropoda, having a spirally coiled shell and a ventral muscular foot on which it slowly glides about” or “a slow or lazy person; sluggard.” The social media artist was referring to the second definition based on his perceived slowness of PMB. Since PMB is a military man (albeit retired), I prefer to use the pronoun “Sniper” as a counter to the Snail. Please note I am not holding brief for the presidential media term as I know he has very capable hands in the persons of Femi Adesina ( Special Adviser on media and Publicity) and Mallam Shehu Garba (Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity), and his social media team.

A sniper is “a rifleman who fires from a concealed place, esp. a military marksman who fires from cover usually at long ranges at individual enemy soldiers.” We are at war in Nigeria, both in terms of war against corruption and war against insurgency. The enemies are not just members of Boko Haram, but include corrupt politicians, civil servants, bank officials, oil thieves and international corporations that buy stolen crude oil. A sniper is usually very pensive and strategises using a precision approach to eliminate a target. The tactical approach the President is using to handle insurgency and corruption should be expected of a sniper soldier.

The President has stated that he may not appoint ministers until September because he does not want to make any mistake. It is understandable that some

usual politicians are anxious to get their hands on the national cake. There has been even insinuations of ethnocentrisms and nepotism in appointments, with complaints that the President’s few (scant) appointments to date are too lopsided towards the North. I will boldly say the President should ignore them for now.

The average Nigeria on the street will not care who occupies what position, as long as they deliver the dividends of democracy. A businessman who cannot feed his family and cannot bring a container worth of goods from overseas to sell in main market, or the industrialist that cannot situate an industry in his village because of corruption and the cost of materials and energy, will praise PMB if he makes all these possible, as opposed to his own brother who will make his condition worse.

Pastors are advised that a member of your congregation will have a difficult time hearing your message on an empty stomach. We do not hear the gospel of change now because of hunger in the land.

Feed Nigerians first with the food of dependable electricity, better roads, improved security and reduced corruption, even if the cooks have familial relationships with the President. Once we belle full, then we can start looking at the faces of those preparing and serving the food.

Only a fool will mistake a strategist or Sniper for a snail. *Rev. Atawa-Akpodiete, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Asaba, Delta State.

AUGUST 17, 2015

Falling crude price: Value of oil, gas firms down by N273.4bn T

he crash in the global price of crude oil has impacted negatively on the performance of the oil and gas sector in the nation's capital market for the half year 2015. As a result the value(market capitalisation) of oil companies' shares dropped by N273.44 billion or 25.83 per cent from the corresponding period of 2014. This implies that shareholders in these companies lost the said amount.

Financial Vanguard’s review of the performance of the oil and gas sector on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE shows that the sector recorded N786.56 billion in the six month period ended June 2015 as against N1.06 trillion in the first half of 2014.

Market capitalisation is the total value of companies quoted on the NSE and is determined by the performance of their share prices and issued share capital.

A cursory review of the oil and gas sector on the NSE shows that in the period under review, the NSE oil and gas index, another stock market gauge, dropped by 21.2 per cent to close at 368.54points from 468.24 points in the corresponding period of 2014. The drop in the NSE oil and gas index is a reflection of the fall in the prices of petroleum equities. The equities are Beco Petroleum Product Plc, Conoil Plc, Eterna Plc, Forte Oil PLC, Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc, MRS Oil Nigeria Plc, Total Nigeria Plc, Oando Plc and Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc. Further review also showed that the oil and gas sector accounted for 7.12 per cent of the equity market capitalisation for the first of half 2015 as against 7.56 per cent in the corresponding period of 2014. Oil companies listed on the NSE are facing challenges of low global price of crude oil which has made investors to either sell off their stocks or adopt a wait and see attitude. The down turn is affecting oil companies and producing countries across the globe.

Meanwhile, the global price of crude oil from January 2015 to August 10, 2015 C M Y K

NIGERIA CRUDE OIL EXPORT

By PETER EGWUATU & EDIRI EJOH

CRUDE OIL PRICE $

Data Source: CBN revealed steady decline. The prices for January was $48, February $54, March $52, April-$57, May $62, June $60, July $54, and August $48 Reacting to the decline in the global oil prices, Arthur Berman, in an interview with Oil Price. Com, said that the current situation with oil price is really very simple. “ Crude oil demand is down because of high price that stayed for too long. Supply is up because of U.S. shale oil and the return of Libya’s production and now Iran. Low

demand and increased supply has resulted in low price. The Saudis which is responsible for the continued low price are good at money and arithmetic.

Faced with the painful choice of losing money maintaining current production at $60/barrel or taking 2 million barrels per day off the market and losing much more money—it’s an easy choice: they took the path that is less painful. If there are secondary reasons like hurting U.S. tight oil producers or hurting Iran and Russia, that’s great, but it’s really just

about the money.”

Saudi Arabia had met with Russia before the November OPEC meeting and proposed that if Russia cut production, it would also cut and get Kuwait and the Emirates at least to cut along with it. Russia said, “No,” so Saudi Arabia said, “Fine, maybe you will change your mind in six months.” I think that Russia and maybe Iran, Venezuela, Nigeria and Angola will change their minds by the next OPEC meeting in June.

“We’ve seen several announcements

by U.S. companies that they will spend less money drilling tight oil in the Bakken and Eagle Ford Shale Plains and in the Permian Basin in 2015. That’s great but it will take a while before we see decreased production. In fact, it is more likely that production will increase before it decreases. That’s because it takes time to finish the drilling that’s started, do less drilling in 2015 and finally see a drop in production.

Eventually though, U.S. tight oil production will decrease. Perhaps near the end of 2015—world oil prices will recover somewhat due to OPEC and Russian cuts after June and increased demand because of lower oil price. Then, U.S. companies will drill more in 2016.

“Oil prices need to be around $90 to attract investment capital” he added. He however argues that prices have to be high and stay high for the plays to work.

Also drilling can never stop once it begins because decline rates are high. Finally, no matter how big the play is, only about 10-15% of it—the core or sweet spot— has any chance of being commercial. If you don’t know how to identify the core early on, the play will probably fail” Berman explained.

Another Economist, Mr. Horsnell, said: “Inventories are very much a second-quarter phenomenon, rather than something that carries on much beyond that. It will sort itself out, primarily because of seasonal increases in demand, but there will also be some falls in supply—the U.S. Energy Information Administration has recorded drops in U.S. crude-oil production and expects shale-oil output to fall heavily in May. “Demand tends to be at a maximum in the third quarter, particularly demand in power generation for air-conditioning in emerging markets.”

18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Cover

Vocation And Technical Education – A Key To Improving Nigeria’s Development. Part 3

A

•The rehabilitated rail loop line

Rail line rehabilitated with N1.6bn overgrown with bush

BY JONAH NWOKPOKU & EDIRI EJOH

T

HE Federal Government’s newly rehabilitated rail loop lines linking various oil tank farms at Apapa, Lagos have been overtaken by thick bush, eight months after rehabilitation, Financial Vanguard investigation has revealed.

The project which was handled by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, CCECC, has remained unused after it was completed.

The rail to tank farm project which involved laying of tracks into the farm yards, so that petroleum products can be hauled directly into rail tank wagons was completed in December, 2014 and cost the Federal Government N1.6 billion.

The tracks were upgraded from 60 to 85 pounds in order for the tracks to be able to withstand the expected increase in weight that will result from direct haulage of petroleum products by rail.

Recall that the Managing Director, Nigeria Railway Corporation, NRC Engr.

Adeseyi Sijuade who spoke through the Director, Mechanical/Electrical Signal and Telecommunications, Engr.

Fidet Okhira, told reporters during the inspection of the project last year that the rehabilitation had become imperative because, the tracks were worn out already as they have been there since the colonial days.

C M Y K

Oil companies captured in the project included: A-Z Petroleum, Oando Petroleum, Total Petroleum, Mobil, Eurafric Energy Ltd, and Forte Oil. However, when Vanguard visited the rail lines at Apapa, it was discovered that the newly rehabilitated tracks have disappeared into a thick bush, a sign that eight months after it was completed, the rail line has remained unused.

Also recall that in May, 2015 at the peak of the fuel crisis that gripped the country with the attendant gridlock along the Apapa-Oshodi expressway, the corporation had said it was in negotiations with Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN as well as the Petroleum Equalisation Fund, PEF, to begin lifting of petroleum products by rail through the rehabilitated rail lines.

Director of Operations, NRC, Mr. Niyi Alli, had told Vanguard at the time that the corporation had all the capacity to lift 1.8 million litres, an equivalent of 30 truckloads of PMS at once through rail, adding that once discussions were concluded and all safety concerns resolved, lifting would commence in earnest.

He had also noted at the time that the corporation, had “gone ahead to do all the sidings for the major oil marketers and have acquired wagons which are to be used for the movement across the country. We have also engaged the PEF to ensure that the price of PMS is maintained, in terms of the

PMS movement. For us, it is all about ensuring that all safety issues are resolved. This is because carrying PMS is not the same as carrying AGO. PMS is highly inflammable.

But the good news is that all stakeholders are sitting round the table to ensure that safety is not compromised.”

However two months after this engagement started, movement of PMS by the rail has yet to commence, a situation that has left industry watchers wondering what would become of the huge investment made in the rehabilitation of the loop lines for the sole purpose of evacuating petroleum products directly from the oil tank farms.

Analysis The rail to oil tank farms was conceptualised to ease movement of petroleum products from oil depots. The Nigeria railway has repeatedly said that it has the capacity to move 900,000 litres of PMS, an equivalent of 30 trucks, at once; as it has dedicated two big trains that can move 1.8 million litres of petroleum.

But to get the oil marketers on board had been a tug of war.

The issue at stake include safety measures and the cost of investment for oil marketers who hitherto moved their products by road.

On the safety side, the corporation said it had put in place modalities that when all stakeholders involved agree, could minimise any incidence of loss and that will determine Continues on Page 19

n entrepreneur is a person who makes plans for a business or a piece of work and gets it going. Anyanwuocha (2001) observes that the entrepreneur is the chief co-ordinator, controller and organizer of the production process. The entrepreneur combines other factors of production (land, capital and others) in such a way as to obtain maximum production of goods and services at minimum costs. In order to effectively enhance occupational skills in the present day, entrepreneurs need also to acquire information and communication technology knowledge and skills. Mkpozi (1996) observed that a country that is developing and manufacturing its own goods either from Hi-Tech or small/medium scale industries using indigenous skills and exports some of those goods to other countries is usually economically stable. This could be better achieved through the acquisition of entrepreneurial and occupational skills in technology and vocational education.

Individuals with technical and vocation skills and good knowledge of ICT are characterized by self-reliance, self-employment and fit properly into today’s technical, entrepreneurial and business world.

The entrepreneur should therefore possess technical skills, ideas and management skills which are necessary for the success of the venture.

One of such skills is information and communication technology which is characterized by employee empowerment and involves the making of unskilled and semiskilled workers to be skilful and functional in today’s world of work. It also involves the development of task oriented team of workers who no longer depend on individual managers for all their decisions to achieve targets. Technical process re-engineering are also required to redesign technical work processes, jobs, organizational structure, management system, and also in process designs using in manufacturing industries.

These components of ICT have great implications for the enhancement of entrepreneurship education in technology and vocational education field of work. According to Azuka, Nwosu, Kanu and Agomuo (2006), classroom behaviour must align with ICT- driven environment which is constantly shaping and re-shaping the work place and consequently, what is learnt and how learning takes place.

There are various numbers of opportunities for technology and vocational education graduates with entrepreneurship skills in ICT driven technical and vocational education environment. These

The ICT is entering fast in Nigeria both in education and in the job market but still in its infancy opportunities exist in various forms for the enhancing entrepreneurship skills. Nwabuona (2004) views entrepreneurship education as the identification of the general characteristics of entrepreneurs and how potential entrepreneurs can be trained in management techniques needed for effective performance of persons for long time survival of an organization after the acquisition of occupational skills. Therefore, the roles technology and vocational education in enhancement of entrepreneurship skills is to identify and equipped graduates with critical wealth of skills, technical knowledge, and a good measure of self-confidence using information and communication technology competence.

The entrepreneur should therefore possess entrepreneurial and management skills which are necessary for the success of the venture.

Ogalanya in Nwabuona (2004) identified entrepreneurial skills to include managerial or administrative skills, job/technical skills, human relations skills, innovative/enterprising skills, competitive skills, communication skills, conceptual/planning skills, supervisory/guidance skills, according skills, investigation/problem solving skills. Ohakwe (2003) observed entrepreneurial skills as banking transactions, internet concepts and skills, internet websites knowledge and skills. An adequate knowledge of these concepts, skills and internet competences certainly is an asset to technology and vocational education graduates in today’s ICT driven world.

Information Communication Technology The Information communication technology (ICT) is a fast growing new technological era. The ICT is entering fast in Nigeria both in education and in the job market but still in its infancy. The ICT has opened global job market where people with competence can do jobs sitting in their own house anywhere in the world without going to or attending the work place (Alam, 2009). ICT is very important and as rightly observed by UNDP Human Development Report 2001 (UNDP, 2001) Marketing New Technologies Work for Human Development, more information can be sent over a single cable in a second than in 1997 was sent over the entire internet in a month. They also observed that the cost of transmitting a trillion bits of information from Boston to Los Angeles has fallen from US$150,000 in1970 to 12 cents today.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 — 19

N

igerians' obsession and craze for dollar has eventually caught up with many especially politicians. The new CBN policy that mandated banks to reject foreign currency cash deposit has put many in a very tight corner. There are several Nigerians who have huge dollar cash the banks will not accept from them as cash deposit. To worsen the situation, bureaux de change are also rejecting foreign currency cash deposit. Unfortunately for this class of Nigerians the street traders in foreign currencies have also started taking their pound of flesh from shylock currency hoarders who stockpiled foreign currency while the game of trafficking in dollars lasted.

For Nigerians who are old enough to remember the currency change in 1984, what is happening now is similar, though different in nature and context. In 1984, the Nigerian military government of Muhammadu Buhari in an attempt to legitimize its interruption of the democratic process through a military coup d’état directed the CBN to cause a change in the colours of the Nigerian currency. The exercise was designed to render the money alleged to have been stolen by Nigerian political leaders useless in their hands. The argument then was that owing to the damaging effect of currency trafficking outside the Nigeria shores, the Buhari administration decided to change the colours of the currency notes in April 1984.

This change yielded the desired result as close to N5 billion cash outside the banking system was taken out of the system. The recent decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria to ask banks to reject cash deposit of foreign currencies has started having the desired effect of making the dollar in the hands of those who should be holding Naira ineffective. The banks have turned their backs on cash dollar deposits as well as bureaux de change. The mallams on the street are pricing foreign currency for sale at ridiculous exchange rate as there is nowhere to deposit cash dollars at the end of each business day for

Trapped dollars in Nigeria, money nobody wants safe keeping.

It is the same Buhari that changed the colour of the Naira to stem currency trafficking to render stolen money useless in the hands of politicians that has again made the bold attempt to make 'stolen dollars' of no use to those hoarding it.

These huge dollars in the hands of many, mostly rogue politicians, are trapped dollars that no body seems to want. Those in possession of this amount can not take them abroad as they will be charged for money laundering. The money cannot be transferred abroad as no bank will accept to do so. They may have to dig a hole in their bedrooms to bury the money for safe keeping. This has its own risk, as many may, for the sake of their lives, not trust their wives enough or any member of their families to let them know such money exists in their bedrooms. If they die suddenly, the money dies with them. This in itself is economic slavery and misery.

In the recent past and for many years, politicians and top government functionaries were busy dollarising the nation’s economy. Nearly every government functionary, from the presidency to governors, ministers, bank officials, oil company executives and top business managers, spend dollars in Nigeria unhindered as if it has become a legal tender. At

a point it became a status symbol to dole out dollars, even in social gatherings and wedding ceremonies, men who see themselves as having arrived sprayed dollars at such occasions. Nigeria as a country has not officially adopted the dollar as a legal tender, but, unofficially, it is used as a means of exchange in the payment for goods and services.

Those buying plots of land in Banana Island then and now Eko Atlantic paid in dollars.

House rents were priced in dollars.

While it lasted many politicians and privileged individuals opened cash domiciliary accounts where they deposited foreign

It is the same Buhari that changed the colour of the naira to stem currency trafficking to render stolen money useless in the hands of politicians that has again made the bold attempt to make stolen dollars of no use to those hoarding it

currencies while working in Nigeria. This flooded the economy with dollar cash.

Those who laundered money brought some in and deposited them freely in the banks.

In Nigeria today, many residents store their valuables in dollars, liquid assets are moved freely around with the dollar as preferred currency.

Those who offer bribes use the dollar. In the last general elections, several politicians went around buying votes with dollars. Traditional rulers were not left out; they got their own share of the dollar booty. All of these monies are in circulation in Nigeria. Those who thought the game will continue forever are caught in the web and cannot take the money to the bank. The lucky and smart ones were those who opened domiciliary accounts and paid in their fortune. In every economic policy, some gain, some are the losers.

The incidence of the use of dollar in Nigeria arose from the adoption of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) when the CBN officially encouraged the opening of domiciliary accounts, allow hotels to charge and accept dollars from foreigners. That was when Nigeria was in dire need of foreign exchange to foot the cost of accumulated foreign trade bills. This was followed by the high inflation rates which decreased the demand for Naira and raised

the demand for alternative assets, including foreign currency and assets denominated in dollars.

This phenomenon called the “flight from domestic money” resulted in a rapid and sizable process of dollarisation of the Nigerian economy. As it is in most countries with high inflation rates, the Naira was gradually being displaced by a more stable currency, the dollar. The store-of-value function of the Naira as legal tender in Nigeria was being replaced by the dollar. If this goes on unchecked, the unitof-account function of the naira will be displaced as many prices are being quoted in the local market in dollars.

Foreign exchange is supposedly a monetary instrument to facilitate international trade between one country and another.

The scenario playing out in the Nigerian market place shows that Nigerians have tied their livelihood to the dollar. Local production and imported products are now being priced with reference to the fortunes of the dollar.

Increasingly, the economy was dollarised with the monetary authorities unable to do anything about it. It suggested then that the CBN was dancing to the whims of the political class.

Now that the CBN has rolled out policies to tackle this pressure point by insisting that all local payments, purchases be made in Naira and refusing foreign exchange cash deposits in local banks, the Naira value may stabilize sooner than expected. Every Nigeria should support the CBN to gain back the value of the Naira as the legal tender in Nigeria.

Cover Continued from Page 18 the frequency of evacuation by rail which will in turn determine its impact in decongesting the road.

On the other hand, the oil marketers are sceptical of the arrangement since resorting to rail haulage may mean loss of investment on their hundreds of thousands of trucks on the road. It will further lead to loss of jobs on the part of tanker drivers.

It also means a renegotiation of the cost of petroleum products as lifting by rail would possibly drive down cost of haulage and have impact on the retail price.

Industry watchers believe

Rail line rehabilitated with N1.6bn overgrown with bush that to truly achieve this objective and get the marketers to come on board, the rail sector has to be liberalised. A Public Private Partnership initiative for instance, will provide room for the oil marketers to divest in trucks and invest in oil tank wagons. Unfortunately the new Railway Bill which could make this possible is still pending at the National Assembly.

Experts believe that until this happens, any attempt to get the marketers or other private operators involved will eventually lead to the federal government shouldering the cost of moving products by rail

on behalf of the marketers.

Already, the tank farms belonging to the major oil marketers captured in the rail to tank farm project bore no cost in the entire project yet they remain unwilling to move their products by rail.

Sijuade reacts When contacted on the development, Managing Director of NRC, Engr. Adeseyi Sijuade, told Vanguard that MOMAN, PEF and the railway management are still in talks on how to proceed with the project.

He said: “Not only did we meet with MOMAN; we also met with

the Executive Secretary of Petroleum Equalisation Fund, (Mrs. Asabe Asmau Ahmed).

We had a meeting with her and we have reached a stage where MOMAN has actually brought out their proposal about which cost element will need to be funded by PEF. PEF will then review that and once we get approval from them, we will be able to commence lifting.”

He added: “I think it’s just that if you are moving petroleum products all the way to Kano, you want to ensure that you are still selling at the same price.

So, just as we do with the road tankers, someone has to fund

that cost of transportation. The marketers want to be sure who will fund that just like they fund the road transportation. PEF is still evaluating the proposal which they were receptive of when it was presented to them.

We hope that before the end of this year, all that should have been resolved (so that we can start evacuation of petroleum products directly via the tank farms).

Efforts to get the reaction of some of the major oil marketers captured in the project proved unsuccessful as text messages and emails sent to them were not responded to.

C M Y K

20— Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Business & Economy

Lagos Assembly urges LGs, LCDAs to block revenue leakages

BY EBUN SESSOU

T

he Lagos State House of Assemblyhas urged all local councils in the state to block all leakages in their revenue generation. This is to conform with recommendation by its Adhoc Committee on Year 2015 Appropriation for Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas in the state.The Committee had been mandated to continue the job given to the House Committee on Economic Planning and Budget by the 7th Assembly to scrutinize the Year 2015 Budget of the LGs and LCDAs in the state as the committee could not complete its work before the dissolution of the House on Monday 1st, June, 2015.

The House directed the 6man committee, which was headed by the Chief Whip of the House, Hon. Rotimi Abiru during plenary on Thursday 18th June, 2015 to take over the assignment and submit its report on Tuesday, 23rd June, 2015.

The House subsequently approved varying sums of money running into millions and billions of naira as budget estimates for the LGs and LCDAs based on the report presented on the floor of the House on Thursday, July30 , 2015 by Hon. Abiru.

The House also agreed with the Committee that the LGs and LCDAs should give priority attention to capital expenditure to ensure physical development at the grassroots.

According to Hon. Abiru, who read the report during plenary, “The Lagos State House of Assembly should hold a session with the ministries of Economic Planning and Budget; Finance; Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas on a uniform template for budget preparation at the Local Government level.”

Speaking to the press on the matter, Abiru emphasized that part of what the committee recommended was that local governments should shore up their revenue and block all leakages due to the dwindling allocation of fund.

He added that the state has not been owing salaries, and that they didn’t want that to start with local governments despite the fact that salaries of local government staffers are deducted first line charge from the allocation to the local C M Y K

Local investment in agric rises to 70%

BY BABATUNDE JIMOH

A

bout 60-70% of the i n v e s t m e n t commitments made by the private sector in the past four years in agriculture in Nigeria came from domestic investors.

This was disclosed by the Arc Sonny Echono, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture at the first Annual General Meeting, AGM of Nigeria Agribusiness Group NABG, held in Lagos.

The NABG is a high powered organised private sector group comprising all value chain stakeholders, from farmer associations and farmer cooperatives to input suppliers to aggregators, food processors, logistics, packaging, and Commercial Banks among others.

Arc Sonny Echono disclosed that sixteen members of the NABG have promised to invest $1.8 billion ( N360 billion) into agriculture and agribusiness across 22 States of the country.

He said turning these commitments into real investments will undoubtedly help to create jobs for our teeming youth population and women and help to lift millions of farmers out of poverty. Arc Sonny Echono noted that the engine of growth of any economy is the private sector, “unfortunately, for decades agriculture was treated as a development program, with dominance of

government, in many cases crowding out the private sector.

“We have ended the dominance of government and I am optimistic that the private sector will lead Nigeria in restoring its past glory in agriculture. “ He continued “On this

ground, we are together inaugurating the Agribusiness Investment Inter-Ministerial (AIM) Working Group today as a show of our commitment in delivery on our promise to facilitate your investments from early stage and throughout the investment

life cycle.

“The AIM Working Group, our Project Delivery Team will help to facilitate your investments and help to turn your commitments into real investments.” The Agriculture Ministry ’s Permanent Secretary explained that the agricultural landscape in Nigeria has been transformed and well positioned to diversify the economy away from oil and gas towards a g r i c u l t u r a l industrialisation.

“At the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, we are treating agriculture as a business by attracting private sector investors to invest in Nigeria’s a g r i c u l t u r a l economy.” He added that their strategic partnership is gaining recognition across Africa, as they position Nigeria to lead Africa’s a g r i c u l t u r a l transformation.

Arc Sonny Echono said the government is working to remove the constraints identified to be hampering the growth of agriculture in the country like infrastructure, finance, g o v e r n m e n t regulations and land among others.

“We are leveraging C o m m e r c i a l Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) and Nigerian Incentive Based Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and Funds for Agricultural Financing in Nigeria (FAFIN) for financing.”

Report projects bright outlook for African power utility sector

P

ower utility companies and stakeholders across Africa anticipate a brighter and different outlook for the sector in the decade ahead, according to a new report from PwC. Fifty one senior power and utility sector executives from 15 African countries took part in PwC’s Africa power & utilities survey. They report continued concern about some of the immediate risks to the power system, but are also optimistic about the longer term prospects for electricity in Africa.

The PwC report said “Two thirds (67%) of those we interviewed cited ageing or badly maintained

infrastructure as a high or very high concern.

Encouragingly, many felt this situation would improve, with only 39 per cent predicting that it would be a similarly high or very high concern in five years’ time. And looking ahead to 2025, they anticipate definite step changes in a number of key issues: An overwhelming majority (96%) say there is a medium or high probability that load shedding will be the exception rather than the norm by 2025.

Indeed, nearly three quarters (72%) are confident enough to rate that scenario as a high probability.

94% say there is a medium or high probability that, by 2025, the challenge of finding

a market design that can balance investment, affordability and access issues will have been largely solved.

70% expect cross border electricity flows to be significant by 2025, accounting for a third or more of electricity generated.

Angeli Hoekstra, Africa Power & Utility Leader, PwC, said: “There is much to be optimistic about and the results point the way to improvements ahead. But security of electricity supply and cost reflective tariffs continue to be the number one challenges. Until they are resolved, power systems will remain stretched, as investments in the power sector will be limited.

Addressing cost reflective tariffs while ensuring social equity is a key challenge.”

The survey also highlights the energy transformation that is taking place, as the market vision for the future will be a mixture of large scale centralised generation and local mini grid and offgrid distributed generation according to the fast majority of survey participants (83%).

This is supported by that seventy per cent of the survey respondents believe there is a medium to high probability that advances and cost reductions in green renewable off-grid technology will deliver an exponential increase in rural electrification levels by 2025.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 — 21

Business & Economy

T

he National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) has said that export of cashew nuts from the 2015 planting season had contributed about N50 billion to the economy. The association’s spokesman, Mr Sotonye Anga, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the subsector hitherto, contributed about N24 billion in 2013 and 2014.

Anga said the significant growth was because farmers did not compromise on the quality of cashew nuts resulting in increased demand for the produce. “For 2015, because of the significant growth in pricing and increased demand for Nigeria’s cashew, what the cashew sector contributed to the Nigerian economy is about N50 billion.

“That is an improvement in the export of raw cashew. Whereas in 2013 and 2014, the subsector contributed about N24 billion. This year, having made the N50 billion mark, the global expectation for the next season is going to increase.

“This figure could be more but because of export through our porous borders we could not account for those ones,” he said.

The price of raw cashew nut per metric ton also recorded an increase, selling at N170, 000 during the 2015 season. The spokesman said that with the increase, farmers were ready to comply with high degree quality control procedure.

“With the increased pricing that farmers recorded during the 2015 season, they are right now more ready to comply with high degree quality control procedure.

“Farmers’ compliance level

Cashew nut export contributes N50bn to economy — NCAN has also increased. We want the market to remain sustainable, viable and strong,” he added.

Anga said that preparations were underway for the 2016 cashew season, noting that cashew tree pruning and training was in progress across all cashew producing states.

“The cashew sector is preparing for the next cashew season to commence within the next five months.

“What we are doing now is sensitising our members across the country on quality control to enable them to enhance their product quality.

“Pruning of cashew trees are ongoing. We hope that with all of these, we will be able to have an increased annual production by at least an additional 30 to 40 per cent.

“We are aggressively working nationwide to be able to have the best quality. Currently, we stand at 140 metric tons per annum,” he said.

Anga said that cashew seeds were presently doing very well and more cashew plantations were being commissioned, especially in Kuje area of Abuja.

He told NAN that buyers from India, Brazil, Vietnam and others were rest assured to have the best of cashew nut come next season.

According to him, Brazil is currently having huge crop shortages which means that Nigeria cannot compromise its cashew quality.

He said the association was calling on government to

S

eventeen ships laden with petrol, diesel, bulk gas, bulk rice, frozen fish and general cargo have arrived Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports in Lagos, waiting to berth.

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) stated this in its daily publication Shipping Position - made available to newsmen in Lagos.

It said that 42 other ships were expected in the ports from Aug. 13 to Aug. 30.

The contents of the expected ships are general cargo, buck wheat, frozen fish, bulk sugar and containers. According to the NPA, other ships are expected to sail in with petrol, kerosene, base oil, truck head, bulk gypsum, bulk fertiliser and diesel. 22 other ships were in the ports discharging buck wheat, bulk soya bean, soda ash, bulk pet coke, general cargo, containers, petrol and diesel.

Source: NBS

Source: NBS provide additional support, adding that it was expensive to train and revamp old plantations.

“We need more of government involvement, especially in subsidising jute bags to

maintain the quality and to eradicate the use of polythene bags and uphold the quality of our cashew. “So, together, we will be able to boost production across the 27 cashew producing states,” he said.

Stoppage of oil subsidy'll check corruption, says Sanusi T

he Emir of Kano, Malam Muhammadu Sanusi II, said that stopping oil subsidy would go a long way in stopping corruption in the country.

Sanusi said this at one-day Symposium on 2015 Budget of the Federal Government of Nigeria, organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Lagos. The programme had the theme “ Come Back Nigeria: The Nation’s Fiscal Challenges and Way Forward for the New Administration”.

He said that stopping subsidy was the first step to sanitising the country’s economy and ensuring structural reforms in all ramifications. Sanusi criticised government’s resort to huge external borrowing to finance budget deficits even when there was minimum impact in the lives of Nigerians. ‘’One of the major challenges of the country over the years, in spite of its abundant resources, has been

over-dependence on oil revenue and lack of structural reforms.

This is caused by irregular budget cycle, fiscal indiscipline, huge cost of governance, poor budgeting ethics, implementation processes and weak structures and these have continued to contribute to poor economic performance. ‘’We spend so much and generate little revenues. We can begin to restructure our economy by fixing the revenue chain and blocking the leakages. And one way of doing that is by stopping subsidy because it gives room for corruption in our country, ‘’ he said.

Sanusi urged state governments to be creative and strengthen their internal revenue generation drives to meet the demands of their people.

He also urged Nigerians to pray and support the present administration as it made tough decisions for the survival of the nation’s economy.

17 ships with petroleum products, foods arrive Lagos ports

‘’President Buhari is trying to cut down the number of ministries, parastatals and agencies, as well as reduce the cost of governance. It is not going to be easy, but we all need to make sacrifices because every positive change comes with a price, ‘’ he said.

Also speaking, Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State said the nation was going through a critical period that called for decisive reforms to reverse the direction in which the economy was heading.

Ambode, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr Idiat Adebule, said the ultimate objective of a budget was to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people.

According to him, a main yardstick for measuring a well designed and implemented budget is not its size but the improvement it has brought into people’s lives. ‘’It is evident that our budgets

have over the years fallen short of these expectations. This, no doubt, accounts in no small measure for the general state of our economy today. ‘’A situation where budgets do not get approved until about six months in the budget year and lack of budget discipline have constituted to the observed cycle of under-performance of our budgets. Another factor I consider very crucial is the structure of our budget, which has in most cases been in favour of recurrent at the expense of capital expenditure. ‘’It is in this light that the recent directive of President Buhari for a reduction of the recurrent estimate must be applauded, ‘’ he said.

Ambode called for the cooperation and support of stakeholders and Nigerians, to ensure that the present leadership made positive change for the development of the country.

Lenovo to cut 3,200 jobs as sales slide

C

hina’s Lenovo Group Ltd says it will lay off 10 per cent of white-collar staff (about 3,200 nonmanufacturing jobs) after sales of Motorola handsets fell by a third.

Beijing-based Lenovo said late last week that the restructuring would yield savings of about 1.35 billion dollars on an annual basis.

The Chief Executive, Yang Yuanqing, said the difficulty in selling handsets combined with a continuously shrinking global market for personal computers meant the firm was facing its “toughest market environment in recent years. I still believe mobile is a new business we must win.

“I still believe this acquisition (Motorola) was the right decision...except Apple and Samsung; there is no third strong (global) player and I believe that will be Lenovo.”

Yang said Lenovo’s ambition to rival Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co in smart phones remained undimmed. Shares in the world’s biggest maker of PCs slid nearly 9 pe rcent on after it said its quarterly net profit was halved as its mobile division lost nearly 300 million dollars.

22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Banking & Finance

GTBank reverses upward review of international spend limit on MasterCard

G

uaranty Trust Bank( GTBank) Plc has announced that it has reversed the international spend limit on its MasterCard.

In a statement to its customers, the bank stated “We are pleased to inform you that the temporary measure reducing the international spend limit on your Naira MasterCard has been reviewed, and we have increased the international spend limit on your Naira MasterCard to $10,000 monthly.”

Continuing it said “ This means that you can now spend up to $10,000 using your GTBank Naira MasterCard for international payments via POS and online, subject to a monthly limit of $10,000 and an annual limit of $50,000.

“In line with our commitment to ensuring that our customers are able to make payments easily and conveniently, we will continue to update you on every development regarding international spend limit on your Naira MasterCard.

We thank you for bearing with us and apologise again for every inconvenience the limit reduction might have caused.”

FG sells N80bn worth of 2020, 2034 bond

T

he Federal Government has sold a total of N80.20 billion in bonds maturing in February 2020 and August 2034 at an auction on Wednesday with mixed yields, Debt management Office (DMO) said.

Total bids stood at N153.48 billion, more than the N119.53 billion at the previous auction.

A total of N40 billion of the February 2020 bond was sold at the auction, while additional N10.20 billion of same tenor paper was allotted on non-competitive basis.

The 2020 paper fetched a yield of 15.38 percent, compared with 15.28 percent at the last auction.

The debt office sold N30 billion in the Aug 2034 debt at 15.19 percent versus the 15.29 percent the paper fetched at the last auction.

The 2020 debt closed at 15.41 percent at the secondary market on Wednesday, while the 2034 paper closed at 15.19 percent.

C M Y K

ATM cash withdrawal limit may stifle cash flow — Stakeholders Stories by PETER EGWUATU

S

takeholders in the financial sector and businessmen said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) limit on cash withdrawal via the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) may lead to a disruption of cash flow.

They spoke against the backdrop of the recent CBN policy which pegged the daily cash withdrawal from the ATM at 300 dollars (N60,000 from N150,000).

They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the policy was a contradiction of the cashless regime earlier espoused by the apex bank.

An economist, Dr Evans Osabuohien, said that the policy was a contradiction of the cashless policy of the CBN. Osabuohien, who lectures at the Department of Economics and Development, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun, added that the policy would have adverse effects on businessmen.

“The policy will lead to hardship in the economy and it will affect the confidence of businessmen in the banks,” Osabuohien said.

The don noted that the policy might force bank users to look for other ways of

SSO

Source: FMDQ OTC U

banking their money without undue restrictions.

“I think that this policy may force people to keep their monies in their houses with the attendant security risks,” the don said.

NAN reports that the policy was part of CBN measures to curb illicit financial flows out of the economy.

Another financial expert, Prof. Sheriffadeen Tella, believed that the policy was

only going to be a temporary measure.

According to him, the directive is not a major instrument for the strengthening of the naira.

Study reveals rise in attacks on mobile devices

BY EMEKA AGINAM

L

atest security study by Check Point Technologies Limited has revealed a rise in zero-day attacks on mobile devices and networks as the biggest threat to today’s enterprise.

The 2015 report is the company’s third annual report revealing the major security threats that impacted organizations across the world.

The security report, among other things provided insight into the major security events that occurred in organizations across the world and offers recommendations on how to protect against them.

The study also provided insight into the degree of infiltration and sophistication of new threats in the enterprise.

However, the report is based on collaborative research and in-depth analysis from security events found in more than 1,300 businesses from all industries around the globe, 1 million devices, and from events discovered through Check Point ThreatCloudTM, which is connected to security gateways of more than 16,000 organizations and from more than 3,000 gateways reporting to the Check Point Threat Emulation Cloud.

While organizations often forget about the security implications that arise when they lack the proper security implementations, the report further revealed the prevalence and growth of threats on enterprise networks, through information obtained over the course of 2014.

“Today’s cybercriminals are sophisticated and ruthless:

they prey on the weaknesses in a network, approaching any security layer as an open invitation to try to hack it. In order to protect themselves against attacks, security professionals and organizations alike must understand the nature of the latest exploits and how their networks are potentially impacted,” Amnon Bar-Lev, president of Check Point Software Technologies, said, adding that, “Only by arming themselves with a combination of knowledge and strong security solutions can organizations truly protect themselves against these evolving threats. By making that security a critical asset to your business, you can turn security into an enabler. And in doing so, you’re able to unlock innovation and foster an environment for high performance and productivity”.

While the year 2014 brought the rise of malware at alarming rates, this year’s report, according to Check Point revealed that 106 unknown malware hit an organization every hour: 48 times more than the 2.2 downloads per hour reported in 2013.

Unknown malware, according to the report will continue to threaten the enterprise in the future.

The report further revealed that cybercriminals are also continuing to use bots to amplify and accelerate the spread of malware. This is even as 83 percent of organizations studied were infected with bots in 2014, allowing constant communication and data sharing between these bots and their command and control servers. “Mobile devices are the weak links in the security chain, providing easier direct access to more valuable organizational assets than any other intrusion point.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 — 23

Banking & Finance

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

T

he major constraint to asset acquisition in Nigeria is means of financing the acquisition.

Most Nigerians are bogged by issues ranging from poor remuneration at their work place to inflationary pressure, which impacts the purchasing power of an average Nigerian. These, among other problems, explain the reason behind the rush for cheap second-hand materials, house-hold appliances, making the country a thriving market for all sorts of tokunbo articles from nearby countries, including cars.

Specifically, the major factor behind the attraction of second-hand cars in Nigeria, famously called Tokunbo cars, is not far-fetched in an economy where GDP per capital is nine percent of the global average. Only the well-heeled can afford new cars. The Tokunbo cars, despite the multiplicity of challenges they pose, are adjudged better than having no car at all. Afterall, a second-hand culture, in almost every facet of life, has taken deep root in the country.

Compelled to meander through many hours of traffic gridlock on largely uneven roads, notably in Nigeria’s commercial capital, the vehicles, some of which are possibly due for recycling in Europe and America, become derelict. Apart from the offensive sight, they often become due to exposed metals, broken glasses, holes and lack of maintenance, the risk of accidents is also very high. Notorious for causing traffic snarls due to frequent breakdowns, the pain inflicted on the owner is often traumatic, with almost similar ripple impact on the economy.

The need to plug this problem gave rise to the consummation of a threeparty partnership involving Stanbic IBTC Bank, Access Bank Plc and Coscharis Motors Limited to empower Nigerians socially and economically. Under the scheme, unveiled in Lagos, Stanbic IBTC Bank and Access Bank will provide financing for the acquisition of new cars by interested Nigerians, whether unit or fleet buyers, on concessionary terms, which include a competitive interest rate, instalment payment and flexible repayment period, simple documentation, speedy approvals and a minimum of 90 percent finance on the value of the vehicle. The scheme covers a wide range of brands under the Coscharis stable.

Coscharis Motors distributes brands such as Ford, BMW, Land Rover, Rolls Royce, Jaguar, MINI, Joylong and MG, among others.

The uniqueness of the financing scheme, which runs

8.5

March

8.2

January

8.05

T

8.4

February

8.1

8.15

8.2

8.25

8.3

8.35

8.4

8.45

8.5

Rate of Inflation

Source: CBN sOSURC

How banks boost consumer lending with asset acquisition for an initial period of 12 months and renewable for another year, is that the customer will contribute a minimum of 10 percent of the cost of the vehicle while the participating bank will provide the balance. The scheme thus frees the customer from the very difficult task of raising a lump

economic empowerment and self-actualization.

The enthusiasm displayed by the partners at the MOU signing ceremony in Lagos was not misplaced. With the potential to increase the number of new vehicles plying Nigerian roads, economic activities are expected to proceed more efficiently, with the attendant

The major factor behind the attraction of second-hand cars in Nigeria, famously called Tokunbo, is not far-fetched in an economy where GDP per capita is 9 percent of the global average sum, which may run into several millions of naira. In addition, the monthly repayment period is spread over four years, depending on the customer ’s preference, which not only eases the burden of repayment, but ultimately determines the actual amount for repayment monthly. The package also includes free vehicle registration, maintenance and service support as well as vehicle recovery and emergency assistance. For the vehicles financed, comprehensive insurance has been negotiated at a concession and payment made easy for the clients.

The common denominator in the partnership is its potential to accelerate

job and wealth creation.

This point was succinctly highlighted by the Coscharis Group Managing Director, Mr. Josiah Samuel, when he said: “The need for the collaboration was informed by some key factors: many corporate Nigerian workers, including the Small and Medium Enterprises, want new vehicles from Coscharis, but have inadequate financial capacity to effect outright payment; and most of the SMEs buy fairly used vehicles to run their businesses in order not to drain their working capital.”

Implementing the initiative alone, he stated, would have required considerable capital outlay by Coscharis as well as an extensive lead time. The

AGF allays fears of MDAs on Single Treasury Account

involvement of Access and Stanbic IBTC Banks to perform the financing role has solved the challenge.

The Coscharis boss added that the finance scheme, in offering Nigerians a competitive source of finance to buy new cars, would boost patronage of automobiles, enhance the social status and quality of life of Nigerians, create employment opportunities for many and drive economic development.

Describing the deal as a milestone, Executive Director, Personal and Business Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Obinnia Abajue, said it dovetails into the bank’s commitment to Nigeria’s economic development as well as building a sustainable environment for people and businesses. He said that the main motivation for the deal was to bring the acquisition of new cars within the reach of more Nigerians, with the multiplier effect on social status and economic wellbeing.

“This partnership is unique in being the first time two financial institutions will be partnering with a leading automobile company, Coscharis Motors, to empower people by making the acquisition of new vehicles of choice stress-free.

A dedicated team of experienced professionals from our Vehicle and Asset Finance unit is available round the clock to deliver to Coscharis Motors and its customers’ excellent service and professional advice, in line with the terms of the partnership,” said Abajue.

he Accountant General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris, has allayed fears being expressed in some agencies of government that the recent directive of President Muhammed Buhari on the establishment and operation of the Treasury Single Account, TSA, for the e-collection of Government Receipts for all the MDAs, will negatively affect the operations of some of the specialised agencies. He added that the reform will rather improve their efficiency and increase the rating of the nation’s economy.Alhaji Idris made this clarification in Abuja whilst receiving members of the Committee of Vice Chancellors of the Federal Universities led by their Secretary-General, Prof Michael Faboade, at the Treasur y House . The members were at the Treasury House to discuss issues bordering on the efficient operations of the universities.

LG dominates global home appliances market

F

ollowing the continuous innovations it injected into home appliances, LG was rated as the best washing machine in the highly competitive global market for the 8th consecutive year.

Addressing news men recently, the General Manager of West Africa operations, Hyunwoo Jung, stated: “LG has been able to dominate the global market through constant development of innovative washing machine technology and design, especially our 6 Motion Direct Drive motor and TurboWash technologies,” he added that: “Innovative features, has continue to be key selling points for LG premium appliances, and customers seem to agree.”He attributed the success of LG washers to innovative advances in washing technology,which, when attached directly to the washer, increases its performance and durability. The new technology has a touch as delicate as hand washing, helping to reduce wrinkles and damage to clothes.

24 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Corporate Finance

Auditors doubt Multiverse going concern status

A

uditors of Multiverse Resources Plc, Sola Oyetayo & Co, have expressed uncertainty over the ability of the company to continue as a going concern following existence of huge losses and liability in its 2014 audited account.

According to the auditors, the company ’s financial statement for the year ended December 31, 2014, which they qualified, gave a ‘true and fair view of its state of affairs’ during the period under review.

The result presented at the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, and obtained by Vanguard showed that it posted loss before tax of N580.014 million as against N612.733 million recorded in the same period in 2013.

Further breakdown showed that the company ended the year with a loss after tax of N552.408 million, which is higher than N49.169 million revenues achieved during the year. It had recorded N549.328 million loss after tax and N286.184 million revenue as at the year ended December 31, 2013.

Also, the company’s cost of sales rose to N140.654 million compared to N102.421 million in 2013, a 37.3 per cent increase, while the finance cost jumped to N243.653 million as against N174.207 million posted in December 2013, also indicating a 39.9 per cent increase.

Its total current liabilities stood at N1.832 billion, while the total current assets stood at N78.731 million at the review period.

The auditors said in their independent report to the members of the company, “In our opinion the accompanying financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at December 31, 2014 and its financial performance and cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and in the manner required by the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990, CAP C20 LFN 2004 and the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria Act, 2011.

“We, however, draw attention to Note 27 to the financial statements which indicates that the company incurred a net loss of N552,408,000 for the year ended 31 December 2014 (2013 : N549, 328,000) and, as at that date, the company ’s current liabilities exceeded its current assets by N 1,753,109,000 (2013 : N 1,133,970,000).

Source: NBS

Zenith Bank posts N72bn half-year gross profits *Recommends 25 kobo interim dividend Stories by NKIRUKA NNOROM

Z

enith Bank Plc has announced a profit before tax of N72 billion for the half year period ending June 30, 2015, representing 24 per cent increase over N58 billion posted in the same period in 2014.

The bank’s audited halfyear financial statement released on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, showed that its profit after tax rose to N53 billion from N47 billion reported in the same period in 2014.

Also, the gross earnings increased by 24 per cent from N184.4 billion in June 2014 to N229.08 billion in the review period, while its net interest income rose by 14 per cent to N112.6 billion from N98.6 billion in 2004.

Customers’ confidence in the bank increased during the period under review as deposits rose from N2.5 trillion to N2.6 trillion, just as total assets stood at N3.8 trillion in 2015 as against N3.7 trillion in 2014.

Gross loans and advances grew by 10.4 percent without compromising the asset quality as evidenced

by a best-in-class low cost rate of 0.8 percent, which is below industry average NonPerforming Loan (NPl) ratio of 1.44 percent.

Based on the result, the board of directors recommended an interim dividend of 25 kobo per share, the first in the history of the bank. The qualifying date for the dividend is August 21, 2015 while the register will close on August 24, 2015 to enable the bank’s registrar prepare for payment of the interim dividend.

Zenith Bank, the biggest in Nigeria by Tier-1 capital, recently adopted a new

financial reporting policy of publishing audited halfyearly results, a development hailed by market analysts as representing a major boost for the financial brand.

The bank’s outstanding service delivery has won numerous international endorsements and awards, including Best Bank in Corporate Governance in Nigeria by Global Banking and Finance (2015), Best Customer Service Bank in Nigeria by Global Banking and Finance (2014) and the Most Customer-Focused Bank in Nigeria by KPMG (2014).

The cardinal values of excellent customer service, highly professional and competent workforce, as well as the optimal use of technology continue to be the driving forces behind the outstanding performance.

The continued focus on customer service and deployment of innovative products has led to growth in the bank’s market share.

The bank only recently scored another first, becoming the first Nigerian institution to be awarded a triple ISO certification by the British Standards International (BSI): the ISO 22301, 27001 and 20000 standards.

The three standards, which require the bank to subscribe to internationally accepted principles/standards, according to the , will deepen customer experience through greater information security and IT management system that emphasize the protection of the customers and their investments in an increasingly unpredictable business environment.

SEC restructures, trims down workforce T

he Securities and E x c h a n g e Commission, SEC, has commenced restructuring of its organisational structure with major focus on trimming down its workforce and reducing the number of its zonal offices.

The commission in a public notice on its website said that already, 43 very senior staff retired as at the end of July, following a voluntary retirement scheme approved by the Board to incentivize top-level staff above the age of 45 who had served the commission for more than 10 years and are nearing their retirement.

The SEC stated that some of the top management staff that voluntarily retired had served the commission for more

than 20 years and had stagnated for up to 11 years on the same position due to the non-availability of vacancies.

In the same vein, the commission also announced the reduction of its zonal offices to three from initial seven. “As at January 2015, there were over 30 deputy directors, more than 40 assistant directors and upward of 80 senior managers. This issue had direct effect on staff morale as well as motivation because it inhibited career progression,” it noted.

According to the commission, the restructuring is aimed at boosting staff morale and improving service delivery to all stakeholders.

On reduction of its zonal offices, the commission

explained that under the previous organizational structure, it operated with a head office in Abuja and seven zonal offices in Kaduna, Kano, Ibadan, Lagos, Maiduguri, Onitsha and Port Harcourt. “In the new arrangement, SEC has decided to close down four of its zonal offices in Kaduna, Ibadan, Maiduguri and Onitsha in order to allocate both human and material resources to strengthen the remainingthreeinKano,Lagosand Port Harcourt.

“This decision became necessary after a careful review of the operations and performances of all the zonal offices. With the three zonal offices to be maintained, SEC willstillenjoyabalancedgeopolitical spread as the Lagos zonal office covers the entire southwest geopolitical zone, the Port Harcourt office will service the south-south

and southeast zone while the office inKanowillcatertoinvestorsacross the northern region.

“In essence, by closing the four zonal offices and strengthening the remaining three, SEC can do more at a lower cost, this will free up resources to be allocated to critical areas of the commission’s mandate like investor protection and investor education,” it added.

The commission added that it is also embarking on the process of auditing the industry information technology infrastructure.

This is to enable it ascertain the current status of automation in the market, articulate the appropriate level required, and invest in the required resources that will aid market automation.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 — 25

Corporate Finance

NSE All Share Index, capitalisation drop by 2.34% Stories by PETER EGWUATU

T

he Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE AllShare Index and market capitalization depreciated last week by 2.34 per cent to close on Friday at 30,705.62 and N10.524 trillion respectively. Similarly, all the indices finished lower during the week under review with the exception of the NSE Industrial Goods index that chalked up 0.11 per cent higher.

However, NSE ASeM Index closed flat.

Sixteen(16) equities appreciated in price during the week under review ,

lower than thirty-seven(37) equities of the preceding week.

Fifty-eight (58) equities depreciated in price, higher than twenty-nine (29) equities of the preceding week, while one hundred and sixteen (116) equities remained unchanged, lower than one hundred and twent-four (124) equities recorded in the preceding week.

A turnover of 1.357 billion shares worth N12.475 billion in 17,867 deals were traded last week by investors on the floor of the exchange in contrast to a total of 2.382 billion shares valued at N18.989 billion that exchanged hands last

penultimate week in 19,769 deals.The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 1.144 billion shares valued at N7.357 billion traded in 10,830 deals; thus contributing 84.34 per cent and 58.98 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Conglomerates Industry followed with a turnover of 53.776 million shares worth N218.675 million in 873 deals. The third place was occupied by the Consumer Goods Industry with 42.577 million shares worth N2.394 billion in 2,586 deals. Trading in the top

three equities namely – Standard Alliance Insurance Plc.; Access Bank Plc., and Zenith International Bank Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 566.664 million shares worth N3.393 billion in 2,767 deals, contributing 41.77 per cent and 27.20 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively

ETPs

Also traded during the week under review were a total of 55,201 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N2.905 million executed in 30 deals compared with a total of 6,639 units valued at N999,551.05 transacted last week in 22 deals.

BONDS A total of 11,000 units of Federal Government Bonds valued at N12.346 million were traded last week in 4 deals compared with a total of 14,473 units valued at N15.576 million transacted last week in 6 deals.

A total amount of N30 billion 7 years fixed rate 16.48 per cent subordinated unsecured bonds due 2022 issued

by Fidelity Bank Plc was admitted to trade at the exchange on 13th of August 2015.

Fidelity Bank's listing of N30bn bonds to boost liquidity

T

he listing of Fidelity Bank's N30 billion corporate bonds on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, is expected to boost liquidity in the Nigerian capital market.

Fidelity Bank Plc issued N30 billion 16.48per cent fixed rate domestic-currencydenominated bonds in May 2015. The bond issuance was fully underwritten and the basis of allotment was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June 2015.

These bonds have now been admitted into the Daily Official List of the NSE, signifying that trading can now be done on the bonds in the secondary market. All the investors/bondholders’ CSCS accounts have all been credited with the number of units of the bonds they invested in.

The Fidelity Bank’s local currency bond is a 7-year fixed rate subordinated unsecured debt instrument

due in 2022. The bonds are however callable, with a call protection period of 5 years.

The bonds which were issued at par qualify as securities in which Pension Fund Assets can be invested under the Pensions Reforms Act 2014. They also qualify as securities in which Trustees can invest under the Trustees Investments Act, Cap T22, LFN, 2004.

It will be recalled that the bank had after the endorsement of the shareholders for the offer at tits ’s yearly general meeting recently, received the approval of the Nigerian Stock Exchange for the offer.

The Chairman of the bank, Christopher Ezeh explained that the bonds’ proceeds would be used to finance business growth in the areas of retail infrastructure and Small and Medium Enterprise (SMES) lending.

Ezeh, who stated this during the bank’s completion board meeting in Lagos, added that the offer serves as Tier 11 capital, which is in line with

the Basel 11 requirements.

The Managing Director of the bank, Nnamdi Okonkwo, while fielding questions to journalists, explained that about 471,000 retail customers were added to the bank last year, adding that if the right retail infrastructure was provided, it would help the bank to ‘ weather the storm’ associated with uncertainties.

He pointed out that with the capital adequacy ratio of 23.2 per cent, which is already above regulatory requirement; the bank is well positioned for the emerging opportunities in the global financial space “The offer was fully subscribed, it is a measure of confidence that investors have for Fidelity Bank. We are in a journey to deliver better, improved and newer bank and this is one of the ways to travel there. That confidence which investors placed in us will not be misplaced. We will justify it.

It is a tough year but we believe we will get there” he assured.

The Managing Director of Planet Capital Limited, lead issuing house to the offer, Tony Anonyai, commended that bank for enhancing their capital and meeting regulatory requirement.

He explained that the step taken by the bank has enabled it become one of the banks to take initial steps ahead of other operators towards meeting regulatory requirements.

“We cannot down play the importance of SMEs to economic growth and entrepreneur would take advantage of this fund. The major problems of this sector are funding and this would go a long way to take acre of it. “We are confident that they would deploy resources to those who need it and the risk management frame work in the bank would mitigate all the risks associated with lending to this sector ” he added.

Diamond Bank tasks MSMEs to maintain financial discipline

D

iamond Bank Plc has urged entrepreneurs of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to internalise the values of financial discipline and strict corporate financial management in the running of their companies.

This is in order to sustain the rapid growth and development of the sector. The Bank stated this at the58th edition of the Diamond BusinessXpress Series held in Lagos,,noting that the only way MSMEs can scale the current economic headwinds and gain the confidence and active support of the financial services sub-sectoris to manage and grow their finances by adhering strictly to high corporate standards.

Aisha Ahmad, Head, Retail Directorate of the Bank, told MSME stakeholders at the event that financial stability and sustainable growth for entrepreneurs in MSME in the country is not achievable if standards of financial management are lowered.

She pointed out that most MSMEs are likely to have chronic financial problems when personal financial discipline is relegated. .

“The BusinessXpress Seminar is an initiative of Diamond Bank Plc which aims to cater for the business and financial wellbeing of our customers and indeed, interested players in the MSME sector of the economy.

Sustainable growth and development of the sector largely depends on financial discipline and proper business management practices. When standards are not followed, problems are bound to come up and stifle the growth of the business,” she said.

Drawing from their personal experiences, resource persons took turns to shedlight on the benefits of adhering to financial management principles and maintaining high standard of financial discipline.

The CEO of Slot Systems Limited, NnamdiEzeigbo, stated that building trust with target customers and business partners is a key factor in growing any business. According to him, adapting to the changing business environment and ensuring that the taste and demand of the customer is met, are very fundamental to sustainable business growth.

C M Y K

26 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Insurance

Cornerstone wins LCCI ‘Best Online Insurance Company of the Year’

Kari charges operators on repositioning insurance industry “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.

C

ornerstone Insurance Plc has been awarded the ‘Best Online Insurance Company’ of the year at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry Award.

In a statement, the company said that the award is in recognition of the company’s innovative stride in providing world class one stop vending point for online insurance solutions in Nigeria.

Addressing dignitaries and captains of industries present to honour the chambers, President of the Chambers; Alhaji Remi Bello stressed that the awards are to recognize, promote and celebrate private and public institutions operating in Nigeria for best business practices, growth through innovations, business sustainability and positive impact on the people and society at large. The Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry Awards prides itself as the most credible, competitive and inclusive award in the Nigerian private sector.

Cornerstone Insurance Plc has developed an end-toend insurance platform to provide a suitable alternative channel to the conventional outlets in the areas of online engagement, data collection and real time information dissemination.

The option cuts clients’ travel time, promotes green environment and reduces other attendant business cost. Additionally, the online portal provides insurance brokers easy access to deal and process insurance claims electronically using a customer friendly interface.

The evolution which began from selling 3rd party Auto Insurance policies in 2011 to what is now known as a “24hours Window” for all forms of insurance packages which cuts across general, life and takaful products.

Customers can get genuine insurance cover in 5 minutes by visiting www.cornerstone.com.ng.

In 2012, Cornerstone Insurance was recognized for “The Best Use of ICT in Insurance’ (2012), by The Nigerian Financial Technology Magazine” for its innovative contribution to insurance penetration in the country.

C M Y K

AWARD – From left: Mr. Kayode Akande, Executive Director Operations and Services; Mr Wilson Ideva, Managing Director; Mr. Adam Mele, Executive Director, Business Development and Investment and Mrs. Funmi Femi-Obalemo, Chief Compliance Officer, all of Premium Pension Limited, with the award for mass mobilisation of pension assets at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry 2015 Commerce and Industry Awards Stories by ROSEMARY ONUOHA

C

ommissioner for I n s u r a n c e / Chief Executive of the National Insurance Commission, Mr.

Mohammed Kari has said that current developments in the country obviously call for collaborative effort to reposition the profession and the insurance industry.

Kari, who spoke at the investiture ceremony of

Lady Isioma Chukwuma as the 47th President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, CIIN, said that operators should not be unmindful of the perception of the insurance profession by the public.

New CIIN President to focus on promoting insurance awareness

N

ew President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, CIIN, Lady Isioma Chukwuma has said that her administration will focus on promoting insurance awareness by increasing the visibility of insurance in national consciousness.

Giving her acceptance speech titled, “Consolidating the gains of the industry for national economic growth” at her investiture ceremony as the 47th president of the CIIN in Lagos, Chukwuma said that the theme is borne out of the conviction that they can achieve greater success for the Institute and the insurance industry as a whole if they consolidate on the gains the Institute has made in the last few years whilst leveraging on such gains of the industry for national economic growth.

Chukwuma said that she will also focus on promotion of the ideals of the Insurance

Industry Consultative Council, IICC, as the establishment of the lICC and its landmark success in enthroning insurance industry unity cannot be overemphasized.

She said that she will reinforce the huge potentials of the Centre for Insurance and Financial Management Studies as the Centre shall be given further prominence through sustained publicity geared at tapping fully into the opportunity for human capital development for the insurance industry.

Chukwuma said, “Situating the CIIN on the global stage: this will involve articulated efforts geared at enhancing the Institute’s certificate for global acceptability, especially by up-scaling’ the collaboration with the Chartered Insurance Institute (UK).

“Follow-up on the recognition of the CIIN

Certificate by the Head of Service of the Federation: we will ensure that all necessary approvals are obtained so that our certificate holders are appropriately placed in the Civil Service structure.

Further work on achieving wider coverage in the presentation and distribution of the Institute’s sponsored Insurance Textbook for Senior Secondary Schools; renewed pursuit of training for insurance teachers on a national scale; completion of the Institute’s examinations syllabus review; commencement of work on the Institute’s Victoria Island Property; pursuit of the expansion of the Institute’s examinations to countries in West, East and Central Africa sub-regions I.e. Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe etc; as well as promotion of CIIN members’ benefits, “Chukwuma said.

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.

“As the Professional arm of the industry, indiscipline and unethical practices by your members should be of grave concern to the institute.

Insurance practitioners and professionals should be seen to uphold the tenets of the profession both in their words and actions. It is not enough for the Institute to breed and certify insurance professionals only, but must also ensure that they are regularly updated through training and retraining to enable them measure up with current global trends.

“If we truly practice as professionals that we say we are, we should be mindful of our actions and how we carry ourselves. We should be seen as men and women of proven integrity, we should avoid unethical practices because it will not only send bad signals to the public, it will further erode the little respect left.”

Kari said that the Commission will continue to support the Institute especially in the areas of new program designs, development of new curriculum for adequate capacity building, and in the training and retraining of insurance practitioners.

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

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 — 27

Homes & Housing

NMRC to raise N29bn in fresh capital US mortgage debt dips 0.7%

O

utstanding U.S. mortgage debt slipped 0.7 percent in the second quarter to $8.12 trillion, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said last week. That is up slightly from a year ago and about the same level as three years ago when the housing market bottomed.

The decline occurred even as Americans took out more new mortgages, either to refinance old loans or purchase homes. New mortgages totalled $466 billion in the second quarter, the most in almost two years.

Those trends suggest Americans are paying down mortgage debt at roughly the same pace as new loans are made, evidence that homeowners remain wary of housing-related debt. Total mortgage debt peaked at $9.29 trillion in the third quarter of 2008. Overall, the New York Fed’s report indicates that there is little sign of a return to bubble-era excesses in mortgage financing, even as the housing market rebounds. Would-be buyers are bidding up prices on a scarce supply of available homes. Sales of existing houses climbed to an eight-year high in June. And home prices rose nearly 5 percent in May from a year earlier, according to the S&P/ Case-Shiller 20-city index.

Fewer UK homes repossessed he number of homes T repossessed in the UK fell again in the second

C M Y K

quarter of the year as fewer owners fell behind on mortgage repayments.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said that 2,500 homes were repossessed in April, May and June, down from 3,000 in the previous quarter. This was also a fall from 5,400 in the same quarter last year.

Lenders said low interest rates were keeping the numbers down but homeowners must prepare for a rate rise.

“This trend is very welcome. Low interest rates are acting as a significant support for homeowners in general, and are likely to be helping to stave off low level arrears for stretched households in particular. As ever, we urge borrowers to think ahead to when interest rates rise, and to contact their lender without delay if they are in difficulty. Prompt action helps to prevent problems worsening,” said CML director general Paul Smee.

By YINKA KOLAWOLE, with agency report

N

igeria Mortgage R e f i n a n c e Company (NMRC) has concluded arrangement to seek approval from members to raise additional equity capital of N28.5 billion via a shelf registration programme by the end of the month.

NMRC said in a notice that the debut general meeting will hold on August 31, to approve the capital plans. It added that further equity tranches will be approved by members. It set a price range of N4.50 to N7 per share for the first tranche of equity to be raised under the programme worth N6 billion. The company was set up with the aim of lowering mortgage lending rates in the country - currently around 20 percent for a 10-year loan or up to 30 percent for households with lower credit ratings. The company was incorporated on June 24, 2013 and obtained an Approval-in-principle from the CBN on June 20, 2013.

The company is driven by substantial private sector participation consisting of commercial banks, primary mortgage banks, insurance companies, private equity investors and international

Houses developed with burnt bricks

There are about 20,000 mortgages in Nigeria, none of which is tradable because of lack of liquidity

financial institutions through the Ministry of Finance. The purpose is for developing primary and secondary mortgage markets, raising long-term funds from both domestic capital market and foreign markets to provide accessible and affordable housing in Nigeria.

Nigeria obtained a concessional $300 million 40 year International Development Association

FG, FMBN deliver 524 housing units in Katsina

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

T

he Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development in conjunction with Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, FMBN, has delivered 524 housing units in Katsina State.

The project which is in line with the Ministry’s mandate of delivering 800,000 housing units annually was recently commissioned by the state governor, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. George Ossi, who was represented by the Managing Director/Chief Executive, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Gimba Kumo said the event, signified the successful delivery of the first phase of the nationwide housing project embarked upon by the Ministry. This is in addition to two other programs undertaken by FMBN in the State through Estate Development Loan (EDL) to Katsina Housing Authority, and the Ministerial Pilot Housing Scheme.

The FMBN, it was learnt, provided the institutional guarantee required by the developer to secure construction funding for the project. Apart from providing

unencumbered land for housing development, Katsina is known to be among the few consistent with its contributions to the National Housing Fund, NHF. Speaking in that light, Ossi said: ‘’It is gratifying to note that to its credit, Katsina State recorded the first ever completed Ministerial Pilot Housing Scheme Estate project commissioned in 2013. ‘’Apart from the 46 units delivered under the first phase of this project, it gives me great pleasure to inform you that FMBN has delivered an additional 524 housing units in Katsina State through loans advanced to the Katsina State Housing Authority for 272 housing units and to a private developer under the Ministerial Pilot Housing Scheme for 252 houses. ‘It is expected that when fully completed, this PPP Mass Housing Estate will deliver 130 housing units.”

He further said: ‘’To the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and in particular, its personnel who are predominant beneficiaries of this housing project. You are indeed witnesses of the

effectiveness of the NHF Scheme which is the most affordable home ownership vehicle for low and medium income earning Nigerians.’’

The Katsina outing was also an avenue for Ossi to highlight the contributions of the FMBN toward tackling the housing crisis in the country. Accordingly, he said: ‘’As institutions of the Federal Government, both the Ministry and FMBN have collaborated through various programs for the delivery of affordable housing to Nigerians. ‘These include the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Mass Housing Program and the Ministerial Pilot Housing Scheme, to mention a few.

Under the Ministerial Pilot Housing Scheme, the Ministry and FMBN will deliver over 4,000 housing units in 34 various estates at very affordable prices.’’

In addition, he added that: ‘’At the national level, FMBN is tirelessly working to deliver on its mandate. It has already delivered over 25,000 housing units and more than 15,000 mortgage loans to Nigerians. What the Bank requires is the cooperation of all Nigerians, especially contributions to the NHF Scheme.’’

(IDA) loan at 0.75 percent to facilitate the execution of the Housing Finance Programme in the country.

The aid money was put into a mortgage-backed guarantee last year in a bid to boost lending through the creation of a secondary housing market, which is virtually non-existent in the country. $250 million of the IDA loan would be disbursed in instalments to NMRC as Tier 2 Capital based on key performance indicators – it will be retained on NMRCs balance sheet to provide credit support for NMRC’s bond issuances. The balance of $50 million will be allocated to other components of the Housing Finance Programme - $25 million for the establishment of a Mortgage Guarantee Facility for lower income borrowers and $25 million to support the development and piloting of Housing Microfinance Products.

One of the roles of NMRC is to provide liquidity to financial institutions, allowing them to refinance illiquid mortgage assets. This allows a liquidity facility such as NMRC to make direct provision of long term funding into the mortgage market. In addition, given that the $250 million IDA loan is being used as Tier 2 capital, it allows NMRC to raise its own funds through the issuance of long term bonds to Nigerian institutional investors.

Mortgage lending is a small portion of the overall property market in Nigeria.

There are about 20,000 mortgages open in Nigeria, none of which is tradable because of a lack of liquidity.

It would be recalled that NMRC recently announced plan to refinance 577 mortgages with the sale of N10 billion bonds, while targeting 400,000 mortgages refinancing in the next five years.

28 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 — 29

C M Y K

30—Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 — 31

32 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 — 33

The famine this year - 1 “The time is a quarter to midnight.” Dr Walter Borlough, the father of the Green Revolution.

N

OTE: This column was written in 2013 when President Jonathan was persuaded by Dr Adesina, then Minister of Agriculture that we were almost selfsufficient in rice production. That lie exploded in everybody’s face as fraudulent waivers had to be granted to rice importers to hide the fact that the Jonathan administration’s rice policy was a failure and how it is going to worsen the food shortage in 2015 and 2016. PMB has a problem on his hands. Please read on.

One of the biggest problems Presidents and Prime Ministers face, virtually all the time, is who to believe among their Ministers and Advisers – especially those who are recruited from international organisations. President Ibrahim Babangida had nothing less than four Nigerian economists who had worked for the World Bank before coming on board to help midwife the Structural Adjustment Programme, SAP, which was later to give his administration the bad name it has failed to shed till today. SAP was introduced in 1986; and by 1987 claims about the gains of SAP were being made by all those who sold IBB that poison pill. But by 1990, a bewildered military President, who could see clearly that all was not well with the Nigerian economy; that the gains of SAP were becoming increasingly elusive; asked publicly. “Why is it that economic policies which work well elsewhere don’t work in Nigeria?” I was a Senior Lecturer/ Consultant at the Nigerian Institute of Management, NIM, not chartered at the time, and my answer to IBB in my Monday column in Vanguard, almost twenty four years ago, remains as valid today with regard to SURE-P, as well as the Rice Policy being pursued under Jonathan. Like IBB, Jonathan is not an economist. I don’t blame a President for anything outside his area of competence – except when he fails to listen to dissenting voices outside his administration.

By 1990, Nigeria was not the only country undergoing structural adjustment. The oil boom, which started after the 1973 Yum Kippur war between Israel and the Arab countries, resulting in oil embargo and skyrocketing crude prices, had substantially run its course. Most of the oil producing countries, like Nigeria, were not highly industrialised nations; so the windfall they made from escalating crude oil prices had led to global hyperinflation. The boomerang effect was the rapid rise in the prices of manufactured goods from the developed countries. On the eve of our own SAP, a Peugeot 504 S/R/AC, could be purchased officially for N15,000 and unofficially for not more than N17,000. I should know, I bought one six days from the announcement of SAP for N14,468. I sold it, ten years and 560,000 kilometres after for N99,000. And, the buyer considered it a gift because by then a new model was going for N2.7 million. The question is: how did we get there? The answer is: too many officials of governments, especially Ministers, were not telling the Head of Sate the truth.

Unfortunately for us, one of the lessons of history is that people never learn from history. People who lived among us; who, at one time, joined us in complaining that Presidents don’t listen to people outside their group of advisers, on reaching office, repeat exactly the same mistakes. It was not as if IBB had no dissenters to the introduction and execution of SAP, he just trusted his advisers totally – until it was too late.

Millions of lives were unnecessarily ruined on account of Nigeria’s brand of SAP. Why have I gone all the way back to IBB’s administration to draw the example?

Because, Babangida also introduced two food policies during his regime – the Sugar Policy and the Rice Policy – just as Jonathan had done. The first, we were told would C M Y K

make us self-sufficient in sugar production and the second in rice production by the year 2000. On account of the rice policy, I left the brewery and headed for Sokoto to engage in rice farming, buying, milling and marketing. One cardinal aspect of the rice policy, at the time, was the introduction of high tariff to discourage imports and the promise of incentives – including low interest loans, development of several varieties of rice which were best suited for our different ecological zones and assistance with human resources development. Then, as now, the entire policy programme was accompanied by unprecedented hype by some of the most gifted con men who ever wore designer suits to government office.

It did not take long before those of us who invested heavily in that government’s promise to realise we had been “robbed”.

First, the high tariff introduced did not stop a single bag of Thailand rice from entering Nigeria. A whole generation of Customs men and women became enormously rich by encouraging or undertaking rice smuggling themselves. On one night in December 1989, I watched helplessly as over fifty trailer loads of rice entered Nigeria through Ilela into the Sokoto and Kebbi markets.

As if that was not betrayal enough, the government soon “discovered” that Nigerian rice producers could not satisfy the aggregate demand in the country. So, an exclusive import licence was issued to one company – that launched one of the greatest personal fortunes in the world today because the same company soon received exclusive sugar import licence as well. So the dreams of self-sufficiency in rice and sugar production died in the hands of the government which started them.

Today, another experiment with selfsufficiency in rice production is underway.

Like its predecessors, it has been associated with more fiction than fact and like the farmer who planted fifty tubers of yam, while claiming to have sown two hundred, will, after eating fifty yams, eat lies for the rest of the year. Now, what are the truths being suppressed by official falsehood promoted by the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Adesina?

First, Nigeria does not now grow enough rice to be self-sufficient. In fact, we are so far from adequate supply, we still import close to 85 percent of our rice needs. The rest comes from imports and mostly, now, from smuggled rice. Neighbouring African countries are experiencing a boom in landing fees collected from ships laden with rice bound for Nigeria. Another generation of Customs staff is now becoming rich on account of official self-delusion. The options are very clear. If we stop smuggling (a mission impossible) large scale scarcity will result and famine will follow because we don’t produce enough of any substitute to fill the gap. If we fail to stop smuggling, the latest attempt will end like the first – after struggling and losing their shirts and underwear, the investors will close shop and we will be back to Thailand.

Incidentally, the development of several varieties of rice is a sword cutting two ways.

Positively, it increased the potential acreage which can be brought under cultivation nationwide. The problem comes with parboiling and milling. Most mills can handle, very well, one or two varieties of paddy rice and not at the same time for optimum results. Unfortunately, the aggregate national yield of any variety of rice is so small, millers are forced to mix varieties – a wasteful approach to milling rice. That is why local rice is more expensive than imported rice; even if the exporting countries are not subsidizing their farmers and millers.

With nationwide drought in 2014 a distinct possibility, production of food in general at anywhere near the levels of the past three years will pose a challenge. Food prices will climb and making rice more expensive will result in unintended consequences – widespread famine.

34 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

E-Commerce

PushCv, Uber partner to empower job seekers

P

ushCv have entered into a partnership with taxi hailing service, Uber to empower job seekers by providing them with suitable transportation means for job interviews.

PushCv is an online enterprise solution that aggregates talents to connect them with employers, The partnership seeks to provide affordable and comfortable means of transportation to an interview location on time and in comfort.

The partnership will see Uber offering N5, 000 worth of Uber credit to PushCV users in Lagos.

To be part of the offering, interested job seekers will have to download the Uber app on their mobile devices, register an account with a credit/debit card and select UberX or UberBLACK. To request a ride, they have to type in pick-up location and destination and use promo code: PUSHCV and get N5000 off first ride and a driver will be available in a few minutes.

In a statement, PushCv said it entered into the partnership because “Uber is classy, affordable and gets you where you need to go without stress. This provides us the opportunity to provide job candidates one less thing to worry about while embarking on the journey to getting a great job.”

Konga fetes 70 loyal customers with shopping vouchers

A

s part of activities to celebrate its third anniversary, Konga.com, has rewarded about 70 loyal customers across the country with free shopping vouchers through its Customer Appreciation Programme, CAP. The Customer Appreciation Programme celebrates individuals that have been loyal shoppers on Konga since it began operations in 2012.

According to Mayowa Adebayo, Konga’s Director leading the Customer Experience Team, “we know that our customers are a key contributor to our many successes as a business; we are truly grateful to all Nigerians that have embraced Konga and chosen us as their preferred online shopping mall.

To show our appreciation, 70 customers received free shopping vouchers from N5,000 to N20, 000 as part of the initiative.”

C M Y K

OPENING - From left: Managing Director Spectranet, David Venn; Director-General, National Sports Commission , Yakmut Al-Hassan and Head of Sales, Spectranet Abuja, Syed Zakir Hussain, at the opening of Spectranet Shop in Abuja.

How mobile commerce redefines online retail in Nigeria Stories by JONAH NWOKPOKU

M

obile commerce, a term used to d e s c r i b e transactions through mobile devices has become a dominant trend in ecommerce.

Mobile commerce started with consumers researching with their devices and then buying offline or through desktop computers but has since the last decade dominated both search and purchases through mobile, accounting for about 70 per cent of online purchases globally.

According to recent statistics, mobile commerce is worth $230 billion, about N46 trillion globally with Asia representing almost half of the market, and has been forecast to reach $700 billion in 2017.

According to BI Intelligence, in January 2013, 29 per cent of mobile users have now made a purchase with their phones.

Bank of America predicts $67.1 billion in purchases will be made from mobile devices by European and U.S. shoppers in 2015.

In Africa however, Nigeria is poised to become one of the most mobile-savvy countries in the world with an astounding 140 million mobile subscribers in 2015 according to recent Financial Times report, transforming the way companies do business in Nigeria and how they address the customer.

According to a report released recently by Nigeria’s online retailer, Jumia.com, this phenomenal evolution of the mobile industry in Nigeria is being driven by the

exponential growth of smartphone sales. Jumia noted in the report that it sold more smartphones in July 2015 than during the whole of 2013.

“It is estimated that there are 30 per cent of smartphone users among the 140 million mobile subscribers and this share will only get bigger with national smartphone sales in Nigeria expected to rocket to 12 million before the end of 2015,” noted the white paper which was made available to Vanguard.

According to the report, smartphone acquisition in Nigeria has been driven by three factors. These include: Entry of new smart smartphone retailers into the Nigerian market, which resulted to a substantial price crash, thereby making it more accessible to a larger segment of the population.

The average price of smartphones, the report said, using the online retailer ’s indices showed that there was a drastic reduction in the price of smartphone from about N55, 000 in 2013 to about N25, 000 by the first half of 2015.

The other factor is the competition which has multiplied significantly in this entry-level market with the introduction of smartphone retailers such as Infinix and InnJoo currently selling smartphones as cheap as N10, 000.

“Infinix and InnJoo both understood the need to target the entry-level market and to sell their phones through online platforms. InnJoo entered the Nigerian market exclusively through Jumia while Infinix has repeatedly

launched its smartphones in exclusivity with Jumia. This fierce competition is driven by Jumia who has been pressuring the smartphone retailers to bring their prices down since its creation in 2012. Such competition can only lead the way to even better offers for the smartphone-savvy user,” said the report.

The other driver of the mobile evolution is the youth population who the smartphone retailers in partnership with online retailers like Jumia strategically targeted with affordable smart devices.

The youth segment is an imperative for success in the Nigerian market as they represent 62.38 per cent of the population and are the most tech-savvy. According to an AT Kearney and Quartz Study released in 2014, Nigeria is 2nd after Brazil in the ultraconnected population ranking, as 66 per cent of Nigerians are online at least once every hour and 20 per cent use internet at least 10 times a day.

This is a trend that is

More than being userfriendly via computer; a website’s first imperative is to be completely mobile user friendly

redefining how most businesses approach their marketing strategies today and has been settling in rapidly into the Nigerian landscape.

As the Jumia report pointed out, 70 per cent of its users accessed the Jumia online shop via their phones.

This means that more than being user-friendly via computer; a website’s first imperative is to be completely mobile user friendly. This also shows that e-commerce in Nigeria has been mobile commerce all along, providing an optimized version of their website for mobile as well as applications.

Another significant trend in the mobile evolution is mobile applications. Everyday all over the world and in many tech hubs across Nigeria, mobile applications are developed to serve different purposes, creating more relevance for smarphones. These software applications are developed specifically for use on small devices such as smartphones or tablets and have recently become the favourite access to content on a smartphone.

The infographics of app download on the Jumia white paper showed that the online retailer had 255 per cent more app downloads on both iOS and Android in the first half of 2015 than through the entire 2014. The data showed that the number of downloads on Android per month grew by 90 per cent between January and June 2015, Android remaining the favourite operating system in Nigeria with a whopping 93 per cent of app downloads done through the Google play store.

Why app remain popular in Nigeria Mobile application has remained popular method of accessing the internet on smartphone because it provides an easier and facilitated access to content, facilitated access to the website is also provided by the ability to generate push notifications on smartphones, including the fact that applications consume less data as Jumia application studies show that mobile users using the Jumia app compared to the mobile version of the website spend 3 to 5 times less data for similar actions.

An illustrating infographics show that Jumia Nigeria App is the 8th most downloaded free app ranking on the Google play store, right after Instagram and is the first mobile retailer in the ranking.

A further analysis of the Jumia application usage, show that Nigerians seem to be much more comfortable and predisposed to navigating on the app than on the mobile version. They spend on average more time on the app.

Average duration of a session on the app between January and June 2015 is 9 minutes compared to 6 minutes on the mobile version of the website or the computer.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 — 35

Micro-Finance

BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

T

he Founder Exotique Cakes, Ms. Efua Olumide, is a graduate of accounting from the University of Benin (UNIBEN), who fell in love with cake making. A business she started with N250.00 20 years ago in a small shop has grown beyond just cake making to training institute.

In this interview, Efua explores issues bordering entrepreneurship in the country and how they are likely to survive the operating environment.

Background I am a graduate of accounting from the University of Benin with a passion for cooking. Before my university education, I went for one year catering and hotel management course at the Nigerian Hotels Catering School, Club Road, Ikoyi, where I fell in love with cakes, after one of the last classes we had in cake decorating.

After my graduation, I decided to start baking knowing full well that I couldn’t work for anybody about 20 years ago. I started with N250 and I didn’t have much support from my daddy unlike. My daddy is a chartered accountant who had his own accounting firm and he believed I should have joined the firm as an accountant, but I didn’t, to him then, cake making was nothing, it was as if you are that woman on the street frying Bean cake (Akara) by the roadside. I did not have much to invest in terms of buying half bag of flour but one thing I kept doing was that anytime they pay me, I use part of the money to buy second hand books, I kept reading and improving myself and that was how the cake business started.

Access to funding will aid women doing business — OLUMIDE, CEO Exotique Cakes

D

me, I kept on because it was my passion. I breathe and leave cakes every other day, doing design gives me joy, I kept on one day after the other doing the same thing but trying to improve myself better.

Health issues Everything is about moderation, you don’t seat and eat a whole cake, too much of everything is bad, cakes are deserts, you just take a slice and remove your eyes, but because it is sweet, we want to have the whole.

Cakes are not food you eat in moderation, I eat cake everyday because I must taste for quality and people expect me to be big but no. Unlike our forefathers, the problem

The name Exotique People keep asking me how I came up with the name, as at that time cake making was not too popular but I felt like cake making is indigenous in Nigeria, is foreign and when you hear the name exotique, it reminds me of a beautiful butterfly with different colours and with exotic looks, I said to myself, cakes are also exotic when you come up with beautiful design and they are foreign.

Challenges The first challenge was not money but friends, if I say pay me N1, 200 they will tell me it is too much, another challenge was people around who did not believe or support the business, I did not allow that to discourage C M Y K

Growth trend of C&I Leasing

•Ms. Efua Olumide

we have is that this days people eat and they don’t do exercise, we eat carbohydrate and go back to seat down.

Government support

If you don’t acquire knowledge, then you cannot be relevant to your industry So many entrepreneurs are handicapped by equipment to startup, if government can provide enough support for caterers it would help, because you must be equipped to have a good product.

Example: we have bread villages in 99 local governments just for bread makers where they are being given N1, 000, 000 worth of equipment.

If you equip women, you will be able to help equip their family and if women have more access to government funding it would be easier.

Words for u p c o m i n g entrepreneurs If you don’t have option and you want to better yourself, then you can, I had an option, my mum

and dad would have been feeding me while I seat down because they were capable but I wanted to be in charge, I want to be myself in my future, I didn’t want my future to be determined by my circumstances of no money.

Your cake reach Who haven’t we done cakes for, we have done cakes for the President, Governors, Ministers, Commissioners and just to mention but a few just by persevering and improving on what we have.

New trends and innovations Cake making in Nigeria have been evolving, engineers, electricians, sculptors, painters now work on cake and that is why you now find cakes that move, we have gotten to that level in cake making but desert making is lagging behind so I thought in myself that I want to apply that knowledge from the source. I went to Cordon Bleu pastry school in the UK and I found out that a lot of our technique that we have in Nigeria is very wrong, we don’t even have the basics. All the time I am on the internet, you have to keep yourself abreast of thing happening around, you must be innovative, if you don’t acquire knowledge, then you cannot be relevant to your industry.

Giving back The course I am determined to take now is the basics in cake making, raising the standards of techniques in cake making, allowing people to get that knowledge and applying it.

oing business in the country means you must continue to re-invent the wheel to remain relevant.

C & I Leasing Plc is a company incorporated in 1990 and known for finance leasing services, it has grown into a multidimensional ancillary and marine services company, whilst still holding strong in its primary business of leasing.

The company known for leasing services now do vehicles purchase and offshore support vessels to support several International Oil and Gas companies (IOC’s) in the oil and gas industry.

From tying up support service deals in Nigeria’s upstream sector, to acquiring shares in Leasafric Ghana, the Nigerian Stock Exchange, listed company is clearly one of Nigeria’s unsung corporate, providing specialised services, in marine, telecommunications, oil and gas, equipment rentals, manpower outsourcing and transportation.

Its profitability continued to show increases as gross earnings stood at N13.883 billion in 2014 from N12.299 billion in 2013, while Profit before Tax (PBT) rose to N412 million in 2014 from N305 million in 2013 and N180.62 million in 2012.

Profit after Tax (PAT) stood at N317 million in 2014 from N161.59 million in 2013.

The company ’s stake in Leasafric Ghana, which has witnessed some impressive growth, both in turnover and profit in the last few years, especially, 2010 and 2011, also gives the company a platform to exploit emerging opportunities in the growing Ghanaian economy.

Thus, while it has continued to be business as usual for some firms, others continue to consider repositioning their product and services in line with their company goals and changing market dynamics.

C&I stock presently trades 58kobo per share, which puts its price to book ratio at 0.23, the company in its 2014 Financial Year results posted a 69 percent increase in earnings per share to 19kobo.

As a follow up, the company proposed eight kobo dividend per share up 100 percent year on year.

Earlier in May, it also reported a 120 percent increase in pre-tax profits to N335million and a 93 percent increase in earnings per share of 13 kobo.

36 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Economy STORIES BY EMEKA ANAETO, ECONOMY EDITOR

L

ast week’s inflation report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) appeared to have unsettled several investment houses giving the impression that the rate should have been higher than what was reported.

NBS monthly inflation report had shown that the seven month steady rise in headline inflation, measured by the Year-on-Year (YoY) change in the All-items Consumer Price Index (CPI), had been tamed putting inflation rate for July 2015 at 9.2 per cent, same as in June. Headline inflation has been on steady rise since December 2014.

The inflation report did not only fault forecasts by economy analysts in the investment houses but also left a big question as to what the yearend figures will be in the light of negative developments in the economy.

Economists at FSDH Merchant Bank Research released their inflation forecast indicating a continued upswing in the inflation rate, contrary to NBS position.

It stated ‘’our model indicates that the price movements in the consumer goods and services in July 2015 would increase the Composite Consumer Price Index (CCPI) to 174.64 points, representing a month-onmonth (MoM) increase of 0.84 per cent. We estimate that the increase in the CCPI in July will produce an inflation rate (yearon-year) of 9.4 per cent higher than the figure recorded in the month of June”.

The analysts also forecast that the inflation rate for the month of August 2015 is expected to be higher than the July 2015 figure.

Though Afrinvest Group, another Lagos based investment house did not come up with clear forecast earlier but they expressed surprise at the steadied inflation rate reported by NBS. According to them “contrary to our expectations, Inflation

C M Y K

Investment Houses unsettled by inflation report

•Dr Yemi Kale DG, National Bureau of Statistics

rate steadied at 9.2 per cent following a reduction in the prices of raw Foods and other basic human amenities that muted the impact of higher prices of some processed food items”.

Afrinvest is however indicating that the July report would not negate its position that inflationary pressure would sustain upwards in the months ahead to 2015 year end. In their words while reacting to the NBS report they said ‘’given the macroeconomic conditions within the country, coupled with the apex bank’s (CBN) measures to check speculation on the Naira, resulting into a rigorous process of obtaining foreign exchange for importation, Nigeria remains an import dependent economy.

Hence we do not see the pressure on general prices abating in the interim”.

In its reactions to the inflation report WSTC Financial Services, a Lagos based investment house, stated ‘’we expect headline inflation to continue to be driven by cost push forces resulting largely

from high cost of credit, high overheads and protracted volatility in the foreign exchange market. Also, we expect the exclusion of

importers of 41 items by the Central Bank of Nigeria from the foreign exchange market to feed into the market prices of these commodities (a good number of which are necessities), thus, contributing to inflationary pressure in the remaining part of the year’’.

The investment house added ‘’we expect reduced system liquidity resulting from the tight monetary policy stance of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and shrinking consumer spending (an offshoot of dwindling public revenue and slowdown in economic activities) to constrain aggregate demand, and consequently, the rate of increase in demand pull inflation. However, we maintain our expectation of double digits inflation by December 2015'’.

NBS report for July showed a slower increase in price level

during the month in Food & Beverages; Utilities & Other Fuels; and Furnishings & Household Equipment Maintenance divisions.

Also, the report shows food inflation remained steady at 10.0 per cent in July, the same rate recorded in June.

According to the NBS, high imported food prices and demand from the Ramadan period contributed to the rise in prices in the sub-index, while slower increase in the prices of meats, fish, fruits, and tubers moderated the pace of the increase during the period.

However, core inflation which is the price of all items excluding the price of agricultural produce inched up further by 40 basis points to 8.8 per cent in July, from 8.4per cent in June. According to the NBS, the increase was contributed by the rise in prices in the Transportation, Education, and Miscellaneous Goods & Services divisions.

JSE perspectives on Nigeria’s economic issues

I

n its quest for a significant share of Nigerian investments through its partnership arrangement with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), South Africa may have articulated perspectives on key current issues in Nigerian economy.

JSE Director, Capital Markets, Donna Oosthuyse, told Vanguard that ‘’from the conversations we have had with people, the wish list we are hearing from the market is that firstly, he (President Mohammadu Buhari) should name his cabinet. That is the top of the list from what we have been hearing.

Second will be to integrate financial policies and exchange rate policy. We haven’t heard a lot on tackling corruption because there is the assumption that he is going to

do it’’.

The other issue, according to her, is integrating monetary policy / exchange rate policy and reappraisal of the capital controls Oosthuyse stated ‘’what investors are saying so clearly is that, “we don’t mind what the policy is, we just want to know what it is. So if you’re going to tell us to pay 20 percent more tax, that’s fine, but we want to know what the situation is. Unless investors know in the long term what is going on, it will be very difficult to make an investment decision’’.

In the area of foreign exchange market Oosthuyse said ‘’in a market economy, there is a price for something.

And if the official price for that thing is different from the parallel market price for that thing, then there has to be

some action that will equalize those markets. When investors see a unified price, they will feel more comfortable that is the true price of that object, which is the exchange rate’’.

She added ‘’if there are short term considerations, if you expect that there is going to be a devaluation, then you might expect that you can get a better price later after the devaluation. So you just wait’’.

Earlier Oosthuyse had told vanguard that the object of JSE consultation visits to Nigeria was to create a robust crossborder listing of and trade in equities of Nigerian companies. The investable funds’ pool in JSE is put at about US$800 billion (N160 trillion).

Top officials of the South African exchange were also mobilizing Nigerian companies for listing in the JSE, while also holding discussions with Nigerian fund managers and investors for the purposes of trading in JSE listed stocks.

Presently only Oando Plc, one of Nigeria’s leading oil marketing companies listed on NSE, has a cross-border listing at the JSE. Oosthuyse said the Nigerian based companies being focused are those with international and intra-African operations, where the JSE listing would provide them access to cheaper capital for their expansion program including acquisitions across national borders.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 — 37

Aviation

NCAA set to sanction defaulting airlines over TSC, CSC

By LAWANI MIKAIRU & DANIEL ETEGHE

T

he fourteen day ultimatum given by the regulatory authority to debtor airlines to pay up their debts expired on August 13.

Following the expiration, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has declared that it was determined to sanction all defaulting airlines who fail to pay up the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge, TSC, and Cargo Sales Charge, CSC, to the authority.

General Manager , Public Affairs, NCAA, Mr. Fan Ndubuoke who affirmed that the ultimatum was issued on July 30th in an interview, stressed that the authority would visit the full wrath of the law against all the debtor airlines.

Mr. Ndubuoke further noted that at the close of work on the date the ultimatum would expire the management of NCAA would sit down and strategize how to recover its debts from the airlines.

He however debunk claims by the airlines that NCAA charges were crippling their operations stressing that the authority was not placing additional charges on the airlines rather the charges was built into the Air Ticket of the airlines.

He said “We would have said that let the NCAA officials go and collect the money and you know that it will make the whole place rowdy and all that, so we said let it be built in the course of Air Ticket, it is not an additional fare but when some of the airlines said that their operations are been crippled because of NCAA charges, they lie, it is not their money, it is NCAA money”.

“We have always expected them to play by the rules, this is the first time that we are giving them ultimatum and if by tomorrow they fail, we will take the necessary action but for now we can’t pre-empt who are yielding to the ultimatum”.

Asked to know how many airlines have complied so far, Mr. Ndubuoke said “No, I will not be able to tell you that, if I tell you that somebody has not complied and by tomorrow he does or before the end of today he does, am I right, no I am not, so the best thing is to give everybody the benefit of doubt that some people are slow starters, we will give them till the time that we said that we are going to give them and after that we will know the next line of action. NCAA will not be making any further statement on that until the

deadline elapse. The airlines were written, I need to know what time the letters got to them and be sure that it is tomorrow that it is expiring so at the expiration of the deadline that we have given to them, we will do that which we said that we will do”.

It will be recalled that the NCAA General Manager, Public Affairs had said that erring airlines would be sanctioned at the expiration of the 14 days ultimatum,

stressing that failure to comply with the directive of remittance of the outstanding payments; the Authority would enforce the provisions of section 27(3) of the Civil Aviation Act. Ndubuoke said “NCAA would take all measures contained therein to enforce collection of the debts.”

According to him, the ultimatum was a final notice to all erring airline operators noting that at the expiration

of the ultimatum, names of the debtor airlines would be published in most of the national dailies if they refused to comply.

He added that “In addition, the names of the debtor airlines and amount owed shall be published in at least five national dailies. The names of the promoters of these airlines, directors and other related parties will be included in the publication upon the expiration of this ultimatum.”

INTERACTIVE SESSION - From left: Operations & Training Director, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Abdullahi Sidi, General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Fan Ndubuoke, Director-General, Capt. Murktar Usman and the civil authority consultant, HRM Oba Femi Ogunleye, during NCAA interactive session with public affairs managers of aviation organisations, held at NCAA office at International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

Nigeria airspace records 11,190 overflyers

By LAWANI MIKAIRU

N

IGERIA airspace has so far recorded 11,190 overflyers in 2015. This was disclosed by Nigerian Airspace Management Agency , NAMA. According to the agency, statistics have shown that 11, 190 aircraft have passed through the country’s airspace between January and April, 2015 growing from 10,291 the same period in 2014.

And this has been attributed to a number of reasons, including the safety of the Nigerian airspace, the confidence reposed on the airspace managers by these airlines as well as the time factor it tends to reduce.

NAMA said “There is confidence now and people are seeing that our navigational equipment have improved and this is leading to them going through here and that also cuts their time of travel and this is good for us and the airlines as well as it saves them time.”

“To digress a bit, normal flights to Abuja now have been cut by 10 minutes and this saves fuel for the airlines and time for the passengers and everyone is happy that the system is working, it may not be 100%yet but we may get there soon with everything we are putting in place.”

“Even the safe tower project which is not fully operational yet will bring a lot of benefits when it becomes fully operational. There is the possibility of further increase of overflyers

especially from this period down to September which people see as the peak period as more people will travel for holidays and other things.” “ It can only get better and we are hoping to maintain this base and move higher, because in truth more airlines flying through your airspaces simply means users have reposed some confidence in you to do so and it tells you your navigational equipment is in tip top shape or else people would avoid your airspace like a gravitational pull.”

Statistics from NAMA also showed a figure of 899 more overflyers as a direct comparison between 2014 and 2015. There were 298 airlines that flew through the nation’s airspace between January and April this year.

“Month-by-month analysis indicated that in January, the country’s airspace recorded 2,833 over flyers, February; 2,607, March 8,014 while April stood at 2, 736 overflyers. The data also shows that the Air France Group, recorded a total of 1,125 overflyers within the period, had 801 frequencies in January, 255 in February, 294 in March and 275 in April.”

“Other airlines with high frequencies are South African Airways with a total 914 flights. The breakdown indicated that the airline had 217 in January, same number of frequencies in February, 247 in March and 288 in April.

Also, Ethiopian Airlines Corporation came third with 816 frequencies with the breakdown as follows; 227in January, February had 108, March 248 while April had 288 frequencies.”

Crashed Bristow Helicopter black box , CVR recovered

By LAWANI MIKAIRU & DANIEL ETEGHE

T

HE Flight Data Recorder and Corkpit Voice Recorder, CVR, have been recovered by the Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB, after two days of frantic search for the two items that will aid and quicken investigation of the crashed helicopter.

Making this revelation , Head ,Public Affairs , AIB, Mr Tunji Oketunbi said “the Accident Investigation Bureau announced today(Friday) that the flight recorders, popularly known as black boxes, to the Sikosky 76 helicopter that crashed into the lagoon in Oworonshoki area of Lagos on Wednesday 12 August, 2015 have been recovered.”

Oketunbi added that “The Sikosky 76 helicopter marked 5N-BGD and operated by Bristow Helicopters was believed to have departed SEDCO oil platform offshore and crashed shortly before landing at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.”

Parking rules for tanker drivers at airports still in force — FAAN

By LAWANI MIKAIRU

T

he Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Engr Saleh Dunoma has said the rules banning indiscriminate parking of petrol tankers at Lagos and other airports are still in force and would be enforced in the event of any breach.

A statement by the General Manager, Corporate Affairs, FAAN, Mr Yakubu Dati said “The Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Engr Saleh Dunoma reiterated the resolution of the Authority to ensure absolute compliance of all tanker drivers to the rules of engagement, as far as parking and operating around the airport environment is concerned. “ According to Dati , Engr Dunoma noted that the notorious act of parking tankers along the airport road would no longer be tolerated as the act was capable of jeopardizing safety and security of the airport, which would adversely affect airport users.

C M Y K

38 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Tax Matters they are not the party suffering the VAT, but a mere agent of collection and remittance.

It is better to charge wrongly and remit to FIRS, than not to charge at all, because when the actual liability is established, it is owner of the business that would bear the entire burden.

T

he operation of the tax law is universally administered. Every person (corporate or individual) is a taxable entity no matter how, when and what method is used to conduct the business. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has adequate mechanisms to assess and bring all taxable entities into the tax net. Among these methods is cordial dialogues with stakeholders during enlightenment drives to achieve mutual understanding and promote voluntary compliance.

Registration by Taxable Persons Section 8(q) of the Federal Inland Revenue Service Establishment Act, 2007, directs the Service to issue a taxpayer identification number to every taxable person in Nigeria in collaboration with State Boards of Internal Revenue and the Local Government Revenue Boards. Section 8(1) of the Value Added Tax Act (VATA) Cap V1 LFN, 2004 as amended in 2007 also requires taxpayers (individuals, enterprises or corporates) to register for VAT. However, when the tax identification number (TIN) is generated, it suffices and covers all the tax types as no other registration number for any tax type will be required.

Reference to Section 8(1) of the VATA as amended, it is specifically stated that “A taxable person shall, within six months of the commencement of the Act or within six months of the commencement of business, whichever is earlier, register with the Board for the purpose of the tax (VAT).”

The phrase whichever is earlier, that specifies the time for registration, has caused a lot of pain for taxpayers in VAT administration. It is not practical to expect that a business just recently incorporated (say in 2011) to have registered in 1994 for the purpose of the tax. Hence, a business incorporated after 1994 is expected to register within six months of the commencement of business.

Therefore, penalties (and other sanctions) for late registration for VAT would start counting immediately after the six months of commencement of business if the taxpayer fails to register for VAT and not six months from the commencement of the VAT Act when the business was probably not in existence.

Historical Antecedents of VAT VAT was first introduced as

Value Added Tax (VAT) & Voluntary Compliance consumption tax in 1919 in Germany, France (1954), UK 1973 etc. Introduction was occasioned by the impacts of 1st and 2nd World Wars.

The adverse effects of direct taxation on the economy, individuals and businesses.

The introduction of consumption tax was later modernized into VAT. The high point of VAT is that it has no noticeable impact on the taxpayer because of its indirect nature.

Similarly, a taxable person who fails to collect tax is to pay 150% of the amount not collected plus 5% interest above the Central Bank of Nigeria rediscount rate.

VATable Income In arriving at what constitutes a VATable income, all income from sales, rentals, charges and fees relating to activities enjoyed by customers are VATable and should be charged with VAT. The law did not make provision for any activities or services that is non-VATable in the industry. First Schedule of the Act stated Goods and Services Exempt from VAT in Nigeria. The implication of the schedule is that any other business activity in the form of buying and selling or rendering of services or enjoying any rights which are not stated in the schedule are liable to VAT.

When the tax identification number (TIN) is generated, it suffices and covers all the tax types as no other registration number for any tax type will be required

Duration of Remittance All VAT charges should be remitted to an FIRS office within 21 days in arrears on a prescribed form 002. This is supported by Section 15 of the Act. Meanwhile, a taxable person who does not remit the tax within the time specified above, will be liable to 5% penalty and interest at commercial rate, added to the tax and the provision relating to collection and recovery of the unremitted tax, penalty and interest shall be employed.

Concept of Voluntary Compliance FIRS encourages voluntary compliance instead of the use of coercion. Tax compliance

relates to the degree to which a taxpayer complies (or fails to comply) with the tax rules of a country, for instance, by declaring income, filing returns and paying the tax due on or before the due date.

Voluntary tax compliance is a situation where a taxable person or entity files returns without the tax authority resorting to using the instruments of the law and force to ensure compliance. It is voluntary when a taxable person discharges the statutory obligation of tax payment on self-conviction and as a call to duty without

notice or reminder within the time line allowed by law.

FIRS’ Means of Enhancing Voluntary Compliance Through education and sensitization of operators.

Business owners should have open an mind and seek clearance from FIRS when in doubt and seek further legal advice when not satisfied.

Regular monitoring/audit visitations to check compliance and enlighten taxable entities on their roles and responsibilities. FIRS ensures that the principle of know your tax payer (KYTP) is adhered to, so that it would be easy for taxpayers to reach schedule officers for information and guidance/ assistance.

Regular provision of VAT forms 002 for monthly rendition of returns.

Encourage voluntary compliance to avoid infraction of the law.

Consistency and civil enforcement of the provisions of the tax law Imposition of interest and penalties and enforce compliance where default occurs.

Improvement in the work process of the tax office to make compliance easier.

Compliance with the Taxpayer Identification Number requirements by business owners.

Monthly rendition of returns and payments on or st before 21 of each month in arrears, to the nearest FIRS office.

Proper documentation and record keeping of VAT charges taken at source, returns and payments vi-a-vis correct profiling of income sources.

Businesses should note that

Consequences of NonCompliance Out of the entire VAT Act, of 47 sections, about one third of the provisions are on offences and penalties.

Statute based consequences are highlighted from section 25 to 37 of VAT Act Cap VI, 2004 as amended in 2007.

Some examples of offences and penalties are: failure to submit returns attract a fine of N5,000 for each month the failure continues.

Failure to collect tax attracts penalties of 150% of the amount not collected plus 5% interest above CBN rate. VAT evasion attracts N30,000 or twice the amount of tax evaded whichever is greater or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years.

Failure to keep proper records of accounts would attract N2,000 fine for every month the failure continues.

Failure to issue tax invoice attracts fine of 50% of the cost of goods and services for which an invoice was not issued. Offences by body corporate: Every officer, manager, secretary and other similar officer including partner in partnership shall be severely guilty of an offence under the act, etc.

Reputational Implication Second categories of consequences of noncompliance are reputational and reporting risks. Apart from reputational damage arising from actions by FIRS to enforce compliance via distrain, search and seizure, and litigation, amongst others.

Reporting risk involves the imposition of interest and penalties. All the interest and penalties imposed on any of the aforementioned offences would be enforced.

FIRS tries to avoid enforcing compliance because of the Service’s slogan, “Taxpayers are King” except on recalcitrant taxpayers. It is necessary to once again emphasize that nightclub and event center activities are not exempted from VAT. Consequently, taxpayers are encouraged to embrace voluntary compliance since the consequences of noncompliance are enormous; ranging from statute based sanctions to reputational damage/reporting risk.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 — 39

Advertising & Promotions

Dentsu expands to Ghana, acquires two agencies Stories by Princewill Ekwujuru

D

ENTSU Aegis Network, an agency that recently established its presence in Nigeria, has acquired two media buying and planning agencies in Ghana Adams media and Premier Media Company GH. Both media agencies will be rebranded as Carat and Vizeum respectively, thus will collectively form Dentsu Aegis Network to become the leading media agency in Ghana.

Dentsu’s investment into the African market will make the network majority stakeholder with balance equity owned by the local management.

The Sub-Sahara Africa CEO, Dawn Rowlands who refused to divulge the financial transaction involved in the acquisition, said the acquisition will cement Dentsu network as the number one agency network in Ghana.

Rowlands stated that with the acquisition, the agency will be taking over all staff of both acquired agencies and would be looking forward to grow its portfolio of network brands in the market to complement the existing Carat and Vizeum brands.

According to him, “Ghana is strategically an important market for Dentsu Aegis Network as it further cements our presence in the West African region, after the conclusion of the Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network deal in Nigeria in 2014.”

Also speaking, Andrew Ackah, will take the role of CEO

for Dentsu Aegis Network in Ghana with responsibility for growing Dentsu Aegis Network’s business and presence locally. Andrew will report into Dawn Rowlands, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network in South and Sub-Sahara Africa.

“This acquisition is another important step in expanding

our growth and breadth in Africa and with Andrew Ackah’s extensive experience and understanding of the media landscape in the market, we are confident that we will see significant expansion,” said Dawn Rowlands, CEO Dentsu Aegis Network SSA. “Both Adams Media and Premier Media’s services are aligned with our vision of innovating the way brands are built, and this acquisition strengthens our desire to significantly increase Dentsu Aegis Network’s contribution locally and regionally.”

VISIT-From Left: Jesse Soleil, Senior Vice President, Digital, Porter Novelli; Tomiwa Akande, Head, PR & Brand Management, Konga.com and Nn’emeka Maduegbuna, Chairman/CEO, C&F Porter Novelli at an interactive session with select bloggers organised by C&F Porter Novelli in Lagos.

Creativity, innovation give Oracle IMC laurels

I

N recognition of its creativity and innovation in the brand activation and experiential marketing industry in Nigeria and by extension Central West Africa, CWA, Oracle Experience Limited has won the Best Experiential Marketing Agency of the Year award – Gold and Most Innovation Driven Brand Activation Agency of the Year-Platinum categories in the 2015 Nigeria Brand Awards. The 5th edition of the awards took place in Lagos penultimate week.

Prior to these new honours, the global brand experience agency has won several laurels in the industry some of which are 2014 MarketingEdge’s Outstanding Experiential Agency, Brand Journalists Association of Nigeria’s Brand Activation influencer with its Nescafe Hot Air Balloon campaign, BJAN 2013 Best Effort in Innovation, 2013 Polaris Excellence Awards, and 2011 Institute of Direct Marketing of Nigeria’s West Africa World Class Experiential Marketing Service Consultant of the year amongst others.

The Nigeria Brand Award recognition is coming on the heels of Oracle Experience’s groundbreaking campaigns

Star beer world record breaking christmas bottle tree with 8000 bottles of star beer bottle used covering 2.7km stretch. Prior to this, the world record was 1,000 bottle achieved in China.

Another feat was the Gulder crate tunnel using over 3200 crates of Gulder beer to build the ultimate corridor that led to the place the new gulder bottle was launched.

Amstel show time a musical presentation which was first of its kind in Nigeria, Heineken

Green light party with extra ordinary video mapping experience and using the Heineken bottles to create Selfie wall., the star triple X experience centre , the hot air balloon activation for Nescafe including According to the organizers, Oracle Experience merited the awards because of its zeal and desire to promote excellence, creativity and innovation in the integrated marketing communication industry not

only in Nigeria but also in Africa.

Reiterating the credibility of the exercise, one of the panellists, CEO, BrandClock, a foremost brand specialist agency based in Atlanta, John Alexander said “the award has maintained the highest level of professionalism since inception. The calibre of individuals on the panel cannot afford to compromise standard for cheap financial gains.”

Osun Osogbo: Goldberg expresses commitment to consumer engagement

N

igerian Breweries Plc Goldberg lager beer has assured its consumers of a value oriented consumer engagement at the Osun Osogbo festival in Osogbo, Osun State.

The brand also stated that it will activate a 21day Goldberg beer village during the festival where the people of Osogbo and visitors will be treated to quality music, comedy, and the opportunity to cart away gifts courtesy of the brand.

Speaking during a stakeholder’s forum in Lagos which was organized to announce plans for the festival, Mr. Patrick Olowokere, Corporate Communications/Employee Engagement Manager, NB Plc, said the company is committed to supporting laudable initiatives that add value to society. Mr. Olowokere who represented Mr. Kufre Ekanem, Corporate Affairs Adviser, NB Plc at the forum, stated that the company will continue

to deliver top notch strategies which would deliver value to its customers by supporting and actively promoting their culture and tradition.

Olowokere who described Goldberg as the befitting beer said, “The brand has continued to keep its consumers actively engaged all year round through its exciting consumer engagement platforms. We launched the first Fuji music activation platform called Fuji T’o Bam to connect with consumers and engage them on a platform that shares their interest.

The brand also sponsors relevant community festivals that showcase and celebrate the rich traditions of the people. For the third time running, Goldberg will be part of the Osun Osogbo festival as the official beer sponsor in the beer category”.

Airtel returns with ‘Touching Lives’ season 2

A

FTER the first half of its Corporate social responsibility CSR initiative, Airtel Touching Lives, Airtel Nigeria, has kicked off the second edition of the initiative, which has been described by many as a ground-breaking approach to Corporate Social Investment.

The Airtel Touching Lives is focused on empowering, uplifting and creating lifechanging opportunities for underprivileged individuals, communities and groups in the Nigerian society.

Speaking at an event held on Wednesday (August 5th) in Ikoyi, Lagos, to mark the commencement of the second edition, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, said the telco is rolling out the second edition of the revolutionary programme based on the monumental successes recorded with the first edition.

Sharp expands frontier of visual communications

S

HARP Electronics has expanded frontiers of visual communication as it introduces a multifunctional printers meant to convey business messages to the target audience.

The target audience for the range of products are public facilities, hospitality industry, corporate offices, surveillance and control rooms, educational institutions, Ministries, a Departments and Agencies (MDAs), transportation facilities, financial institutions, medical institutions, entertainment centre amongst others.

Efritin.com hits online market place

I

N a bid to bridge the gap between buyers and sellers of used goods in Nigeria, Efritin.Com, an online platform, has launched its activities in the country.

The online platform which aims to create safe atmosphere for buying and selling of everything from used cars to mobile phones and computers, or search for property, jobs etc in Nigeria, also promise to render delivery services.

C M Y K

40 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 Email:lesleba@lesleba.com, lesleba@gmail.com Blog page:www.lesleba.com/blog2 Website: www.lesleba.com Tel:0805 220 1997

C

HAPTER Two of the 1999 constitution as amended, defines the “Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy ”; thus, this chapter crystallizes the inalienable duty of government to promote policies that would improve the quality of life of all Nigerians who are bound in this social contract. These objectives and directive principles are amplified in the following excerpts from the first four subsections of Chapter Two. Section 13: It shall be the duty and responsibility of all organs of government, and of all authorities and persons, exercising legislative, executive or judicial powers, to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of this Chapter of this Constitution.

Section 14-2b: It is hereby, accordingly, declared that- the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.

Section 16-1: The State shall, within the context of the ideals and objectives for which provisions are made in this Constitution(a) Harness the resources of the nation and promote national prosperity and an efficient, a dynamic and selfreliant economy; (b) Control the national economy in such manner as to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity; Section 16-2: The State shall direct its policy towards ensuring(a) The promotion of a planned and balanced economic development; (b) That the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good; (c) That the economic system is not operated in such a manner as to permit the concentration of wealth or the

Nigeria: Where prosperity is unconstitutional means of production and exchange in the hands of few individuals or of a group; and (d) That suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum living wage, old age care and pensions, and unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of the disabled are provided for all citizens.

Clearly, any sincere observer of the current Nigerian predicament may rightly conclude that the promotion of the noble objectives enunciated above were breached with impunity by successive administrations. It would be a hard sell to positively spin the reality that our resources have not been sensibly harnessed to promote national prosperity or an efficient, dynamic, or self reliant economy; clearly, the stress from severe poverty has sadly minimized our social welfare and happiness.

Ironically, despite our abundant natural resource endowment, Nigerians are now sadly listed amongst the world’s poorest nations. The Nigeria’s economic management has concentrated wealth in the hands of a few, thus the constitutional breaches of directive principles and objectives are probably weighty enough to warrant impeachment of all Presidents since 1999. Predictably, if the quality of governance is not urgently reformed, the accumulated failures of past administrations may just blow up in our face to further deepen poverty, and social injustice and induce insecurity nationwide.

Yet, any sincere observer of the structure of the Nigerian economy will recognize that the primary drivers of poverty are clearly, the near double digit inflation rates which erode purchasing power and reduce consumer demand.

Such deprivation restrains industrial capacity utilization and new investments, an outcome which inevitably instigates higher rates of unemployment. Furthermore, a vibrant real sector will also never emerge when cost of funds hover round 20%, while private sector driven economic revival will never materialize if government continues to accumulate huge idle loans with oppressive interest rates which are deliberately intended to crowd out the real sector from cheap credit.

Indeed, any promise of a successfully diversified economy will remain a hype so long as inflation and CBN’s monetary policy rate remain untamed above 3% respectively.

Furthermore, the Naira purchasing value will inevitably contract and induce weaker exchange rates for as long as these strategic monetary policy indices remain out of gear.

CBN appears insistent on cutting its nose to spite its face, as a payment reform that would facilitate the achievement of its core mandate for price stability is brazenly rejected as illegal

Incidentally, the CBN and the Monetary Policy Committee cannot hastily dismiss the above observations, as its policy instruments have evidently failed to tame the ‘invisible’ demons of eternally surplus cash in the economy; high inflation and interest rates, weaker Naira exchange rates are all demons unleashed by what is innocuously described as excess liquidity. Yet, the clearly plausible recommendation that would minimize the relentless scourge of excess cash supply and transform our economic fortunes is overtly scorned by the CBN as unconstitutional.

In August 2007, paradoxically, after over 5years denial, the CBN made a strategy somersault when it belatedly embraced the recommendation that allocations of crude export revenue should be made in the currency in which it was earned. The CBN belatedly recognized that this approach would successfully remove the poison of eternally surplus cash and rapidly bring down inflation and interest rates, while the Naira exchange rate would also improve and make total elimination of over N1Tn fuel subsidy possible. Thus, with this reform our economic and social welfare will become enhanced in consonance with the Objectives and Directive Principles enunciated in the constitution.

Unfortunately, despite the imminent transformation of our economy which dollar allocations will bring, Michael Aondoakaa, the incumbent Attorney General, inexplicably issued a directive which suspended the payment reform as unconstitutional. One may understand the fear that cash payments in dollars would facilitate the theft of our foreign exchange, but this would

certainly not be so if dollar certificates were adopted for revenue allocation; clearly, since dollar certificates are not legal tender, they can only be redeemed for Naira equivalent through the commercial banks at the market exchange rate, but the dollar values will remain domiciled in CBN vaults until the Apex Bank receives the instructions of respective banks to make direct payments from their separate domiciliary accounts for government’s authorized transactions!

This arrangement will certainly minimize round tripping and other malfeasance in the foreign exchange market and will also provide a transparent and accountable structure for minutely tracking and conserving our forex reserves.

Furthermore, this payments reform will significantly reduce inflation and cost of funds across the board and stimulate rapid investment, which will fast track the rate of employment. A robust economic environment would similarly provide a ready source of increasing government internally generated revenue, while also stemming the rising tide of public debt. Regrettably, this enabling reform that is clearly in consonance with the constitutional objectives has ironically been rejected on the ground that it is “unconstitutional”. Surely, for crying out loud, no one is suggesting that we should spend dollars instead of Naira; nonetheless, CBN appears insistent on cutting its nose to spite its face, as a payment reform that would facilitate the achievement of its core mandate for price stability is brazenly rejected as illegal.

SAVE THE NAIRA, SAVE NIGERIANS.

Business & Economy ‘Eco-Industrial Park to boost opportunities in modular refineries’

BY NAOMI UZOR

T

he Bayelsa State Government has said that the effective operation of the Eco-Industrial Park will lead to manufacturing opportunities in modular refineries, gas processing, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, nonmetallic mineral products, electrical and electronics, textile and leather, domestic and industrial plastics, wood and wood products.

Commissioner for Trade, Industry and Investment, Kemela Okara, said the

C M Y K

government seeks to build a scalable park which could in the future grow beyond the current 50-hectares and become a template for industrial development across Nigeria.

“The eco-park is the first phase in the state government’s policy to industrialise by creating a world class hub for manufacturing businesses to leverage on abundant raw materials and stable power generation which, itself, will leverage abundant gas deposits in the state. This master plan provides a clear view of the Bayelsa State of the

future and it is our delight to present a unique investment opportunity for project developers and financiers seeking to invest in the prosperous future we envisage”, Okara stated.

According to him, the Brass Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone City by the Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone Authority (OGFTZA) and the Agge deep sea port evokes an imaginative economic prosperity for the state and could attract the right investment from the private sector.

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

-

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

-

Media/Marketing E-Commerce Industry Micro Finance Graphics Department

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 — 41

C M Y K

42—Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 Send Opinions & Letters to: opinions1234@yahoo.com

Over documented and under governed

W

HEN you go for a Nigerian passport, you are finger printed, photographed and your signature, taken. Then you provide your full names, height, date of birth, place of birth, permanent home address, state of origin, Local Government, home town, e-mail, phone number, occupation, marital status, maiden name, colour of eyes and hair, special features, next- of- kin, the kin’s contact number and address.

This comprehensive amount of information is electronically stored and kept away. It belongs to the passport office and perhaps, its supervising Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is a stand alone in a world of networking.

It is practically useless to other agencies, who install their own data collection system and personnel, and take the Nigerian over similar field.

You go for a driver’s license, you are finger printed, photographed, your eyes tested and made to provide basically the same information as in the passport form. In the banks, you are made to provide similar information plus referees and, in some cases, a physical inspection of your home. Periodically, the banks make the customer undergo rounds of verification including the on-going Bank Verification Number (BVN)

which an estimated 56 million Nigerians are forced to participate.

There is the National Population Commission (NPC) a permanent bureaucracy which like the god of the stomach, requires daily offerings. In its traditionally, controversial census exercises, the Commission obtains an enormous amount of data that basically, would have been sufficient for all our needs for a decade. In the 2006 census, it claimed to have counted and taken full statics of 140,003,542 persons living in the country.

With its statistics underutilised and its information in no centrally controlled information bank that would have made procurement of other biometric data, virtually unnecessary, the Commission is asking for N273 Billion with a N10 Billion down payment, to conduct census in 2016.

At the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) where Nigerians are expected to be issued National Identity (E-ID) card, Nigerians undergo the same process of documentation. The NIMC has been particularly, a notorious drain pipe through which virtually every government that comes to power, siphons our national resources. In 2002 and 2003, the Commission seemed to have got its acts together as

there was a massive identification of Nigerians. The process of registration and collection seemed quite straight forward and easy. Then the magic started; people were asked to begin registration all over and ‘update’ their old cards.

New contracts were awarded, and one registration move, cancelled another. Then there was a new $214 Million contract awarded to the French company, Sagem, now rebranded as SAFRAN. For this, three serving and former Ministers of Internal Affairs and Labour were charged with seeking $2 Million bribes.

France also investigated the scandal, and the company was fined $500,000 for bribing Nigerian officials.

The circus show continues with periodic house cleaning

With a National Identity Card which authenticates the bearer as a Nigerian, and can be read by card readers, we would eliminate any need for voters registration or updating the voters list, and consign the challenges of foreigners, ghost and underage voting to the dustbin of history

Celebrating Ngige @ 63

By Justus Anyadiora

A

GING, they say is not lost youth, but a new stage of opportunity and strength. Age on the hand is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter. But to Dr. Chris Nwabueze Ngige (OON)’s friends, well-wishers, relations, and even enemies, it matters because he has just added another year, healthy, hearty, and wavering undeterred. There is no doubt that right from outset, the personality called Chris Ngige had always has a date with history one way or the other. As a growing young child, Ngige has always carved a niche for himself in all his endeavours.

Upon graduation, from the University of Nigeria Nsukka(UNN), in 1979,Ngige unlike many of his colleagues who travelled to overseas or picked jobs in multinational companies opted for a job at the Federal Ministry of Health where he worked for years, before leaving voluntarily in 1998 as Deputy Director of Hospital Services, Federal Medical Centres, and Teaching Hospitals.

While in the Federal Ministry of Health, he was instrumental to the establishment of permanent sites for most of the federal medical centres and teaching hospitals, especially in the South East zone. In continuation of his desire for public service, he ventured into politics as one of the founding fathers of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP). He was appointed the protem zonal publicity secretary of the party in the South East in C M Y K

1998, and later the assistant national/ zonal secretary of the party in the South East zone between 1999 and 2002. The same year he was conferred with the national honour of Order Of the Niger, OON. In 2003, Ngige has concluded plan to contest for Anambra Central senatorial seat before he was persuaded by the party stakeholders including then president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to contest Anambra governorship seat. This was at a time Anambra State and PDP were in dire need of a worthy governor following the abysmal performance of the then state governor Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju.

Within the short period of Ngige’s administration in the State, he redefined governance and provided a different kind of leadership that was unprecedented in the history of the state.

Till date, Ngige’s landmark achievements, especially in the area of infrastructural development that cut across the state, are obvious and verifiable. A feat his successors are battling to measure up with. Ngige’s demystification of the political godfathers in the state at the risk of his life will remain

At 63, you still have a lot to offer Nigerians in your burning desire to serve humanity selflessly

exercises, including massive layoffs, a promise to give cards to 70 Million Nigerians, and N121 Billion down the drainage.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is another centre where by acts of (the) commission or omission, the documentation of Nigerians are duplicated with attendant fund and time wastage and a chaos in the electoral system. In the 2015 elections, 68,833,476 voters were allegedly registered, then began the titanic battle to produce the Permanent Voters Card. The battle was almost lost with over 20 million voters unable to collect their cards and the elections itself, and by extension, the country’s very existence, threatened. This was one of two main reasons (the then opposition will call it excuses) given for the postponement of the elections.

The fact is that, but for the bungling of projects like the National identity scheme, INEC, which had a chunky budget of N92.904 Billion for the elections, should have no basis being burdened either with voters registration or updating such register. Such fatty substances which makes bodies like INEC, over bloated, could, and can be removed by a simple National Identity card.

With the identity card which should carry basic information of the bearer including photograph, thumb print and age, all the voter need do, is present it to the electoral officer.

With a National Identity Card which authenticates the bearer as a Nigerian, and can be read by card readers, we would eliminate any need for voters registration or updating the voters list, and consign the challenges of foreigners, ghost and underage voting to the dustbin of history.

We have the problem of multiple registration of Nigerians by all sorts of agencies, partly because of a mentality of

a case study for students of political science in the country. His survival of his political abduction on July 10, 2003 by his estranged godfather in connivance with security agents, was a clear manifestation that God was with him and he has not completed his good work for his people.

The judicial/ presidential conspiracy that led to his removal from office as a governor was known to Nigerians. It was obvious that his removal from office was not about winning the election, but his refusal to open the state treasury to the godfathers which was the tradition in the state before he assumed office.

Upon his removal from office, he was given a clean bill of health by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, led by its chairman then, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

Ngige as matter of principle left the PDP and co-founded the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, with the likes of Senator Bola Tinubu, former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and others. This was at a time nobody gave his new party any chance of making an in road into the South East zone, but Ngige proved the doubting Thomases wrong as the party has remained a force to reckon within the zone, especially in Anambra State, where the party won national and state assembly seats during the 2011 elections.

It was that year that Ngige defeated late Prof. Dora Akunyili of APGA in a keenly contested Anambra Senatorial seat election, despite Anambra State government’s support for Akunyili. While in the Senate, Ngige sponsored bills and contributed logically in debates. He awarded scholarship to many students in his zone and provided jobs for several

creating autonomous fiefdoms in government. What really is the difference between the NIMC and NPC? Governance is not all about budgets, appointments, promises, declarations and threats. It includes running the country in the most efficient and result-oriented manner, and the prudent and innovative management of resources, including human resource, for sustainable development.

With such over documentation, and various federal bodies having and managing individual data, why are we said to be a federation or have a central government in place?

Then President Goodluck Jonathan seemed to understand the issues when in August, 2014, he ordered the SGF, the Attorney General and the Central Bank Governor to harmonize not just the various biometric projects, but also other projects in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, with the E-Identity card scheme. On that occasion, he had declared “ The regime of duplication of biometric data bases, must now give way to harmonization and unification with the e-ID scheme, which shall be the primary base” But like many laudable pronouncements of Dr. Jonathan, it is not certain to what extent his directive was carried out or if this is contained in his handover note.

Now, President Muhammadu Buhari has made his own declaration. Speaking at a meeting with the NPC Chairman, Mr. Eze Duruiheoma, he ordered Government Agencies to harmonize the collection and usage of biometric data rather than replicating efforts. Whether this will be implemented and by whom, remains to be seen. But what I know is that Nigerians are subjected to many biometric registration with little governance.

others. Not left out in his largesse are several communities in the zone, he provided with borehole and electricity.

Ngige worked assiduously alongside others for the successful merger of the key opposition parties that metamorphosed into the All Progressives Congress, APC. Ngige served as the secretary of the first rancour-free national convention of the party that produced the present leadership of the party led by Mr. John Odie-Oyegun.

At the peak of the 2015 general elections, Ngige was among the few men of character who solidly stood for the presidential candidate of his party APC, Muhammadu Buhari, especially in the Southeast zone, where many were beclouded by financial gratifications and sentiment. True to Ngige’s belief and conviction, Buhari won the presidential election. This was despite the collective conspiracy by few disgruntled PDP elements in the zone to ensure that Ngige did not return to the Senate.

But in the face all these, your people have taken solace in the fact that the “Change” which you have clamoured and worked for has finally come for the good of Nigerians with the Buhari’s presidency.

This singular event has vindicated you as a man who saw tomorrow, when others are more concern about today, immediacy and lining of their personal pockets. There is no disputation that at 63, you still have a lot to offer Nigerians in your burning desire to serve humanity selflessly at all times.

•Dr. Anyadiora, a lecturer, wrote from Owerri, Imo State.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015—43

P

RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has been inching forward in his threepoint agenda: securing the nation from terrorists, declaring war on corruption and opening up the economy. After raising serial alarms both at home and abroad about the evil exploits of thieves and looters in our emaciated economy, PMB took the first step towards opening action against graft. He set up the Presidential Committee on AntiCorruption (PCAC), with renowned constitutional lawyer, respected social commentator and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Professor Itse Sagay, as the Chairman. It seems we are set to go. But the question is: what exactly are we moving into?

Are we merely reacting to the pinch of a lean purse, the gloom of oil glut and low prices of our primary export commodity, crude oil? Are we stampeding to recover looted public funds from the officials of the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration? If so, what about other big thieves who were not part of that administration? What of the big looters who blindly wrecked the treasuries of their states? What about the bigger thieves and looters further back, down the line who conducted the crooked sales of our public assets in the name of privatisation and used fronts to corner our commonwealth?

What about the infamous failed turnaround maintenance of our refineries which gulped billions of naira during the Olusegun Obasanjo regime? When that failed, we were forced to rely exclusively on imported and heavily subsidised petrol and diesel to run our autos, homes, offices and factories. What about the multi-billion dollar power projects that the Hon. Ndudi Elumelu House of Representatives Panel probed and indicted the Obasanjo administration but was swept under the carpet?

What about former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s six-year tenure as the Minister of Petroleum, during which happenings in the oil sector were not made transparent? Obasanjo, being the almighty president, was never invited even once by the Senate or House of Representatives to disclose how the industry was being run. Are we to overlook the need to know how much the Obasanjo administration raised and spent the proceeds of the increases in petrol prices from N22 in 1999 to N85 in 2007?

What explanation can justify the restriction of the probes to the Jonathan administration?

The probe we need must be comprehensive. We want to know how people, including former governors and

Buhari’s impending anti-graft war presidents, became multi-billionaires after their stints in public office. 1999 is a credible benchmark to start because it was not only the period that our renascent democracy dawned, it also signified the beginning of the second, and by far the most momentous of our oil booms. At the end of it, our commonwealth went into private pockets. Civil servants, state and federal government appointees and other classes of people with access to public funds built or bought up choice houses in the cities, especially Abuja and Lagos, became owners of brand new hotels in state capitals all over the federation and acquired exclusive real estate properties in foreign countries like Ghana, South Africa, UAE, UK, USA, Canada and what have you. People who laundered money for top public officeholders became owners of the hundreds of private jets that litter our airports without any credible economic activities to justify their fabulous wealth.

The anti-graft war we need will not only recover funds and properties whose owners cannot convincingly explain the legitimate means by which they acquired them, it must also send such people to jail as the law prescribes. Such a clean-up campaign will not look anybody in the

Stealing the people’s power to elect candidates of their choice is a bigger corruption than stealing public funds. You cannot be using one hand to recover looted funds while using the other to loot the people’s right to elect candidates of their choice

face to distinguish their tribe, state of origin, region, religion, political party or relationship to people in power.

For this to succeed, the Sagay panel must propose a comprehensive reform of the criminal law system that will ensure that once the anti-graft agencies raise queries against anyone to justify how they acquired their wealth, the said wealth will temporarily be forfeited to the government pending when the accused completes his or her exoneration in court. It should no longer be a question of the prosecution proving the guilt of the accused beyond all reasonable doubt.

That should be reserved for cases involving personal liberties and civil rights not stolen funds and illegally acquired property.

This effort should be aimed at returning Nigeria to reality and keeping its citizens to the simple diet of living within their legitimate means. When this succeeds, government will once again, have the resources to give the people light, water, good schools, functional hospitals, affordable housing, and our security agencies will be well provided for to protect us. We will no longer have to dig boreholes in every compound to tap water from the aquifer. We will no longer depend on our generators (with their deafening noises and polluting smoke) to live. We will no longer have to pay shylock school proprietors for the poor quality education our children are receiving. We will no longer have to lock ourselves behind high walls and employ our own security.

Anything short of restoring Nigeria to sanity and ensuring that public funds are henceforth strictly deployed for the good of the citizens will be a waste of time.

Corruption must be comprehensively defined. We should no longer leave it to individuals to define for us what they think corruption is (such as former President Jonathan’s view that stealing is not corruption). For me corruption is not just about stealing. Stealing is only the

sensational face of it. There are other facets that may be even more dangerous than stealing. Stealing, especially the looting of public funds, does not just take place in a vacuum. You have to create the conditions that will predispose a system to it. When you allow, ignore or condone the infringement of due process, you predispose the system to corruption and stealing.

It is in this dangerous terrain that the Buhari administration has been traipsing.

Obtaining a search warrant from a magistrate’s court and using it to invade and search the properties of former National Security Adviser (NSA), retired Col Sambo Dasuki and his father in three separate states was a wrong application of due process, but the regime got away with it.

Interfering in the affairs of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) instead of allowing departing Chairman, Attahiru Jega, to hand over to Ambassador Wali as Acting National Chairman, pending when the President would appoint a substantive National Chairman was an abuse of power and a dangerous illegality.

Worse still, appointing Hajiya Amina Zakari as “Acting” National Chairman and keeping her on that post even after her tenure had expired and not renewed is a disservice to our democracy. Putting someone close to the president in that office against the constitutional requirement that the occupant must be credible and independent puts the nation in danger of Buhari and his All Progressives Congress (APC) deciding the outcome of elections in Nigeria from now henceforth. Stealing the people’s power to elect candidates of their choice is a bigger corruption than stealing public funds. You cannot be using one hand to recover looted funds while using the other to loot the people’s right to elect candidates of their choice.

And you cannot use the Directorate of State Services (DSS) headed by your kinsman and party member to harass and intimidate INEC officials and judicial officers in Rivers and Akwa Ibom States in flagrant violation of the law and yet pretend to be fighting corruption.

The war on corruption must not be done in a way to make us a laughing stock. It should not be designed as self-help mechanism by the ruling party to harass, intimidate and diminish their political counterparts while shielding crooks within its own ranks.

Professor Sagay and his group have a tough job on their hands, and we hope they are man enough to do it without fear or favour.

OPINION Battle to sustain change

By Akonjie Idemudia

F

OR most Nigerian’s, 2015 began on a sour note, with little or nothing to cheer about. But for the hope for a better tomorrow, which has become the palliative of majority of the populace who bear the brunt of the disappointing run of successive governments; dying may have often times appeared to be a better option to living in the present uncertain state of the nation.

Aside of atrocities like the civil war, the June 12 election annulment and some isolated events in our chequered history, 2015 up to this point, presented the worst aggregation of negative experiences we have had to endure, as the prospect of our co-existence as a nation was put to test when the two leading parties, APC and PDP, engaged each other in a media slugfest, with accusations and counter accusations being levelled against their opposing Presidential candidates in the runup to the elections.

One can only now imagine that if concerned citizens like Rev. Chris Okotie, and Abuja Accord peace campaigners like Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, Koffi Annan, Amb. Emeka Anyaoku, Gen. (Rtd.) Abdulsalami Abubakar and the US Secretary of State, Sen. John Kerry, had not moved hurriedly to arrest the situation; the eventual peace that followed the polls may have eluded us.

January to March proved to be the worst months in our democratic cum political history as the political parties unleashed the mayhem of abrasive politicking, C M Y K

heating the polity with their campaigns of calumny, political intimidation and sometimes, attack on aspirants. It brought out the primal nature of our politicians creating an air of apprehension across the nation that resigned itself to possibilities of the worst.

In March to April, it became glaring to all and sundry that the fears that Nigeria; arguably one of the most endowed nation’s under heaven, and Africa’s largest economy was cash strapped; contrary to previous spirited denials by the former Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. (Mrs) OkonjoIweala. So bad was it that she could not but concede that the government had to borrow over N300 billion to fund its salary obligations across its parastatals.

April to May ushered in the worst dip in our electricity output in over four decades which thrust the entire nation into darkness for upwards of two weeks. Those months also saw our great nation set embarrassingly on the verge of economic collapse and virtual shutdown of all sectors, due to the worst spell of fuel shortage the nation ever witnessed. Even in the black market, petrol sold for as high as N400 per litre, N313 up from an One only prays official N87 pump price. that President These were trying times for Nigerians, which made Buhari is not the dread of a possible breakdown of law and being held order, and impending hostage by a doom a palpable reality.

After the elections were new cabal held, Nigerians had hoped

that with the new leadership on ground, June and beyond will offer Nigerians a reversal of fortunes from the mis-governance and a dereliction and abdication of responsibilities by the past government, now that a new government is in place. Sadly, what we are experiencing is not cheering at all.

Now Nigerians are asking Mr. Buhari and his APC team: When will the change start? It is quite unfortunate that the President’s apparent slow pace of governance has damaged the enthusiasm that greeted his election. He should not allow things to take this downturn. Questions are now being asked about APC’s ability to manage because of the disarray in the party over election of National Assembly officers. Under normal circumstances, this exercise should not have posed any problem because APC providentially has the majority in both Houses of the National Assembly.

Over the course of its 16 years in power, the former ruling party had several crisis of its own, which boiledover in the polity, bringing it to near implosion. But this shoddy management of this in-house election has exposed the incompetence of the APC chiefs in handling change. They need to prove us wrong. One only prays that President Buhari is not being held hostage by a new cabal.

The energies of this government should be directed at taking the nation beyond the economic, corruption, failed public services and security challenges which have hobbled it. These are the accomplishment that will make the gains attained by Rev. Okotie and the campaigners for peace a resounding success.

•Mr. Idemudia, Image manager, wrote from Lagos.

44 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

C M Y K

VANGUARD, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015—45

46—VANGUARD, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Ahead of his 74th birthday today, erstwhile military president, General Ibrahim Babangida had an interactive session with journalists in Minna, Niger State. In the revealing interview he opens up on his response to the coup plot led by Major Gideon Orkar in April 1990, the Dimka coup plot earlier in 1976, his assessment of the unfolding Muhammadu Buhari led administration and of his thoughts towards his one time friend, Chief Moshood Abiola among other things.

Excerpts

By Wole Mosadomi

S

IR, is it true that you are from Ogbomosho, a claim that is backed by assertion that your second name 'Badamasi' was coined from the Yoruba name Gbadamosi? Please can you clear the air?

I appreciate your concern. I had to answer the question way back in November 1962.

I answered the question during my final year in secondary school when I had to answer that question and 52 years later, I am glad I am answering the same question.

The truth is that I hail from here, Niger State. My parents were from between Wushishi and this town (Minna). My grandparents travelled to settle down here and I think that that says it all but there is nothing wrong in being from any part of the country.

The truth is that I hail from Niger State.

Indigene of Niger State My grandparents and great grandparents moved from somewhere to settle down in Niger State. There are some who still call us settlers in Niger State and that we are not indigenes of the state because our grandparents came from somewhere to settle here but having lived all my 74 years in Niger State, I think I am more than qualified to be called an indigene of Niger State.

What is your reaction to reported claims by U.S. officials that Nigerian troops were not properly trained to fight Boko Haram?

I must admit that a lot of us were trained in America, so it is not anything new to talk about training because they knew they had trained people.

I was trained in America, I was in a place called Portsmouth in Kentucky

How I escaped Orkar’s coup — IBB •Reacts to claims he is from Ogbomosho where I did my senior officers course, so you can see that a lot of us were trained in America. They are right but there is an old saying that says, no matter the sophisticated weapons we have, the man behind the weapon really matters. I appreciate what they are trying to do.

Are you satisfied by the Federal Government’s renewed fight against insurgents? ( cuts in sharply) Yea, they have to be fought.

I think the renewed effort and fight the Federal Government is doing is commendable.

But it was thought that the insurgents had been routed at the end of the Jonathan administration. So, what do

you think may have happened that gave them fire as President came on board?

I was trained in America, I was in a place called Portsmouth in Kentucky where I did my senior officers course, so you can see that a lot of us were trained in America

I think there is a general misunderstanding of the whole concept of insurgency.

You can call it anything, instability, terrorism. The fact is that we are not fighting a regular army where you can confront them with sheer use of force and weapons to overwhelm the enemy.

No, we have gotten a small trained army whose tactics is to inflict maximum casualty on his so-called enemy, inflict casualty on him when and where he least expects it. The army is not fighting a conventional war and that makes it exceptionally difficult. They blow out bridges, they go as far as blowing up barracks. This is an unconventional war. I

think the soldiers are trained for it and they know this is the sort of thing they do. I think the public should be educated about this unconventional war.

How do you feel celebrating your 74th birthday, given that several attempts were made against your life while you were in service?

I will continue to be grateful to God and it strengthens my belief that no matter what happens, if God doesn't will it, nothing will happen to me.

Gratitude to God So it is a matter of believing that no matter what happens, either good or bad, nothing happens without the approval of Allah.

I am grateful to God for sparing my life up to this time despite what we went through.

Those who participated in combat will say the same. God has kept Continues on page 47

VANGUARD, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015—47

How I escaped Orkar’s coup — IBB Continues from page 46 me and I remain grateful to Him and grateful to you all for your support.

Don’t you think that it is necessary to have a body of elder-statesmen to proffer advice to successive administrations especially given the situation Nigerians found themselves after the recent transition?

I think one of the most unique things in Nigeria is that this is one African country that is specially blessed. There are about seven of us (former leaders) alive today and every one of us has his experience in one way or the other but the other good thing is that there is a forum where we all meet the current leadership, chat with him, talk about the situation in the country discuss and offer solutions to any problem confronting us.

All of us are always free, we are very accessible to government, so we can either put across either in writing or talking.

In your opinion what are the key areas the present government should focus so that the country will move on?

I must commend the present leadership for identifying even before and after the election some of the problems facing this country. Number one has to do with security and the president talked about it extensively.

Security of the state The security of lives and property, the security of the state, the security of this environment called Nigeria has been identified.

And the second one has to do of course with the way we live, the way we walk and the way we behave which is corruption. The third one has to do with the economic development of the country.

We should support the President towards achieving these objectives.

Talking of corruption, what is your reaction to the President’s vow to recover stolen funds from the nation’s treasury?

During the tenure of my boss, President Obasanjo, he had a similar strategy and to be fair to him, he made a lot of recoveries, so we should

support this present Federal Government in trying to do the same to achieve the same objective. If that objective is pursued, I believe it will achieve some degree of nrecovery of stolen funds. You talk about oil theft, I am sure President Buhari is resolute to stamp out all those and to bring to book all those who have tampered in stealing our oil.

What is your reaction to the Federal Government’s assertion that it could negotiate with Boko Haram?

The President has got it right by saying he will talk to people who are credible who have been identified as some of the leaders of the insurgency but so far, apart from one or two names, we do not hear any other name.

democratic practices in the country. A lot of things must

Democratic practices I don't think the government will like to talk in a vacuum, to talk to people who are not worth talking to as far as these issues are concerned. So the government is right in being careful to identify and talk if there is anything to talk about.

How do you feel as a leader of a former leading party that you are now in the opposition and secondly, do you think the PDP can come out of the waters in 2019?

I think one of the good things we are experiencing in this country is that for 16 years there has been democracy and

•IBB on his 74th birthday

The President has got it right by saying he will talk to people who are credible and have been identified as some of the leaders of the insurgency

have gone wrong somewhere and the right judges are the people and the people have spoken. I think it is natural they needed a change after 16 years and they did what is right, they did not go wild, they did not fight anybody, they used their ballot papers to change the government. I think this is the beauty of what happened. I look forward to such practices in the next 50 years of democratic practice in this country. I hope they learn from their mistakes, what they did wrong, what they did right and what they can do now to re-launch their party.

One of the major challenges your administration faced was the Gideon Okar coup where people thought death had finally gotten you. How did you escape?

I can remember very well that I had some loyal officers who

were supposed to be my protectors and my body guard.

Initially they told me to leave but I told them no, I am not leaving anywhere but they remained steadfast and later I took my family outside Dodan Barracks and I joined my guards. So we went out of Dodan Barracks and we went to a safe house where we got in contact with loyal troops.

May God bless Sani Abacha.

Sani Abacha was the chief of army staff. He got in touch with me, I got in touch with him and we sat down and talked on what we were going to do. Abacha and I rallied the loyal troops and then I left my safe house and joined Abacha in his house. That was how I escaped.

How will you rate the role of the media in the just concluded general elections?

I think the media has been fair and that is my rating. Very unusual but you are fair. You didn’t show or play partisanship, you saw and said it the way it was. I have seen the media during a lot of other elections but this particular one you were very, very fair. And I hope that will be the trend.

What is your assessment about the performance of the present administration so far?

So far, I am confident that they are doing well.

Sound advice They have identified the problems and they look resolute in confronting these problems head-on and there are a lot of people in the society who are offering a lot of sound advice on what to do.

Are you missing your friend MKO Abiola?

Let me see, last week, I dug out one of the letters he wrote to me and I read it, so that shows that I still miss him.

What is your best food?

I eat everything legal that is not against my religion, I don’t eat pork meat. I eat cereals, carbohydrate, give me anything I will eat it.

Recently, your political god son was being drafted into the contest for the president of FIFA (cuts in sharply) I will vote for him.

(Prolonged laughter). No doubt, he made a very good outing, that is talking about his personal interest in sports especially football when he was a governor.

The Enyimba Football Club during his tenure as governor was brought into limelight. He was very much interested in soccer and if he is as such recognised in this country and outside, there is nothing wrong in trying his hand to be recognised in the world and that was why I said if I have a vote, I will cast it for him.

48 —Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Why PDP lost election, by ex-Kogi Gov, Idris

By Boluwaji Bohapo

L

OKOJA—FORMER governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, has said that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, lost the last election due to its pride and insincerity in treating issues.

The former governor, who stated this yesterday in Lokoja at the State PDP Elders Advisory Councils meeting which he chaired, however, said if the PDP changed its ways quickly, the party had all that was necessary to wrestle power from APC in 2019. He stressed that APC's nature

did not show enough coercion to stay in power more than one term.

Idris, however, said for PDP to get back to power, it must change its top hierarchy leaders to pave way for new blood who will inject better and new ideas for the party; away from its old parochial nature of doing things.

His words: “PDP lost the last election because we were too proud. We were doing things out of the normal norms and thinking that the party will still continue to win election as usual; but we

got punished for it.

“However, there is hope for us to regain power. But we must first change our leaders and give rooms for new blood who will inject fresh and better ideas into the party for us to make a lee way. We must embrace fairness, justice and truth.

“It's not out of place for PDP to win the presidency in 2019. It will happen. The nature of APC does not show any sign of coercion to retain power beyond this term; but we must work as a party and show sign of

remorse to get back into power.”

On the forthcoming election in the state, Idris said it will be the biggest mistake if APC took away Lugard House from the PDP. “It will be the biggest

mistake if any other party take over Kogi from PDP. I cannot imagine any other party taking away power from us. It will be the highest level of disgrace to us.

“Kogi is still a PDP state, nothing has

shaken us, we are not afraid of the opposition.

We (PDP) have all it takes to deal with the opposition.”

Idris, who said the PDP had demonstrated his strength in the House of Assembly election, where it won majority of the seat, said similar feat would be displayed at the November governorship poll.

Task force begins raid of Oshodi, other black spots in Lagos

L

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

AGOS—THE Lagos State Task force on Environmental and Special

Offences has concluded arrangement to embark on raid of Oshodi area and other black spots to dislodge hoodlums and curb their nefarious activities in the state.

It will be recalled that several criminal suspects had been arrested and prosecuted recently across the state over various criminal offences.

Chairman of the Taskforce, Superintendent of Police, SP, Olubukola Abe, who disclosed this, said the measure became necessary, following resurgence of hoodlums and other criminal activities in some identified areas, particularly, Oshodi.

The newly appointed

taskforce boss stated this yesterday, after a sensitisation tour of some identified black spots in the state.

Abe, who vowed to ensure that sanity was restored to affected areas, said activities of hoodlums, street and roadside traders, were constituting an eyesore and a nuisance to the environment.

He said: “I decided to take a sensitisation tour to indetified balck spots, in order to enlighten Lagosians, especially people in Oshodi axis that the taskforce will not allow anyone to seat on the law of the state as the taskforce is ready to enforce the law of the state to the letter."

Awoniyi mourns late Borno dep gov

L

By Demola Akinyemi

OKOJA—KOGI State Deputy Governor, Yomi Awoniyi, has described the death of his counterpart in Borno State, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha, as a loss to the nation.

Awoniyi in a statement, signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Abu Mike, also extended his heartfelt condolences to the people, government, immediate family and relatives of the late deputy governor.

Awoniyi, who described the death as tragic and unfortunate, he noted that the former deputy governor was a loyal and dedicated deputy governor. He urged the people and government of Borno State to take solace in the fact that the late deputy governor lived a good life and died in the service of his people.

The statement described the late deputy governor as a patriot who was selfless in service, noting that his death was a setback in the fight against insurgency.

Wada's wife assures women on empowerment

By Kingsley Fanwo

L

OKOJA—WIFE of Kogi State Governor, Hajia Halima Idris Wada has assured women in the state of the governor’s continued support to empower them through various programmes.

Hajia Wada disclosed this in an exclusive chat with Vanguard in Lokoja, Sunday, saying she had continued to see the womenfolk as people who must be empowered to strengthen the homes.

“Since the inception of Governor Wada’s administration, I have

C M Y K

made it a point of duty to put the welfare of our women on the front burners in order to strengthen their homes economically.

“As a woman, I am committed to working with the government and other Non-Governmental Organizations to ensure that our women in the state are wealth creators.

“Our No Woman is Left Behind Initiative is a compact programme which empowers women in all walks of life and we shall continue to use the program to achieve our aim of stamping out poverty among women."

VANGUARD, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015—49

Fashola and the enemy within

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

A

S a Muslim with a religious rebuff for pigs and its products, former Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State would have been so pained to equate the corruption allegations against him as tantamount to a duel with a pig.

“When you wrestle with a pig, the pig gets happy and you get dirty,” the former governor said in a statement issued last Thursday in his response to the allegations against him. Remarkably, he did not mention who the pig is or the quarter from where the allegations against him are coming from.

However, his assertion has rekindled the repeated claims of the internal political chasm between him and his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC and the camp of the political leader of the state, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Swirling allegations It is thus instructive that upon the sensitivity of the issues involved, that supporters of the two immediate former governors of Lagos State have pledged to remain quiet and speak off the records on the issue. The swirling allegations of corruption, moral ineptitude and political grandstanding have come at a particularly sensitive time for political stakeholders in Lagos State. As the former governor alleged in his rebuttal, he is not in search of a job, a claim that inevitably leads to insinuations that the allegations were being made to deny him what many consider as his deserved place in the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari.

•Tinubu...the pathfinder Remarkably, Fashola’s enemies it is believed, are especially found among his political household, the platform upon which he progressed through two terms of Nigeria’s most cosmopolitan state. Sources in the Fashola camp lay the charge at those within his political fold who attempted to stop his bid for a second term. At that time, his “brothers” came through the True Face of Lagos, a shadowy movement that sought to

You have not heard anything, this is not our battle because you have not heard the story of the burial of one million vests meant for the campaign of a former governorship aspirant

•Fashola...the navigator damage his political standing through allegations of corruption.

Party officials who like senior officials in the Tinubu and the Fashola camps understandably chose to speak off the records deny a party role in the unfolding crisis which they cite as an ego war within the party.

One associate of Fashola who spoke, yesterday, completely denied the involvement of the party in the crisis, which he, however, traced to the same forces he claimed were responsible for trying to deny their patron a second term.

“It is the same people and you know they wanted to deny him a second term, but they could not, and this time, they will not succeed.”

He noted that the Tinubu camp had recruited the incumbent governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, to push the battle against their man noting that the release of the information on the website contract could only have been divulged from within.

It is no secret among political partisans that Fashola was not

supportive of Ambode before the primary and he was believed to be inclined to Supo Sashore, who served as a commissioner in his first term.

Fashola, however, made up and took prime position after the primary and campaigned vigorously for Ambode.

However, the bad blood that was set before the primary, it is said, has not healed.

Remarkably, an associate of former Governor Tinubu also denied the role of the party and his political patron in the unfolding crisis which he told Vanguard, yesterday, was essentially an anti-corruption campaign being waged by a concerned civil society organisation.

In a comment laced with deeper warning of possible things to come, the source said yesterday: “You have not heard anything, this is not our battle because you have not heard the story of the burial of one million vests meant for the campaign of a former governorship aspirant, you have not heard the story of contract inflations, you have not heard many

PETITION: PDP has been vindicated — GANI, SPOKESMAN RESPONDING to insinuations that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was flaming the issue, the Publicity Secretary of the party in Lagos State, Mr Taofik Gani, said the party has been vindicated. He denied the party's involvement in the matter.

T

By Dapo Akinrefon

HAT can only be far from the truth, it is not true. Rather, it is a fact that the APC has always meddled in the internal issues of the PDP to cause acrimony in the system.

The only thing that the PDP has done and what it has always done is to expose, as an opposition party, any fraud and misgovernance in the state. The PDP has always been doing that since the time of Fashola.

So, if it is doing so now that Ambode is governor, it means that the opposition party, PDP, is doing what Lagosians want. So, that should not mean we are intervening in the affairs of the APC.

We don’t want to be blackmailed. It is a notorious fact that the former governor, Raji Fashola, went into so many projects, which are uncompleted. The projects remain uncompleted till now.

He also took huge loans, which he never paid. If by our findings, the incumbent governor is interested or the godfather governor is interested, that is not a disservice to the state.

Fashola should rather defend himself and stop being diversionary. We want to say unequivocally that the PDP is not in any way connected to the crisis the APC is having in the state as at now.

PETITION: No one is sponsoring us — Adeniran, CACOL boss •Page 51

•Gani: We don’t want to be blackmailed

things,” he said as he gave warning of the camp’s ownership of a dossier on the immediate former governor.

On the prospect of President Buhari damning the consequences and picking Fashola as a minister to represent Lagos, a source in the Tinubu camp said: “The person to be chosen must be acceptable to the people of Lagos and the ruling party. So if he (Fashola) is to be picked is it because he is acceptable to the party, or is it because he is a saint or what?

Political disadvantage The president can only pick him at his own peril,” he said noting that the former governor is only a political disadvantage. He noted that Fashola lost his ward and local government during the last local government election.

Fashola’s seeming political naivety is now the chorus of his political enemies who are alleging that Governor Ahmed Tinubu handed over to him a political structure that was in full control of the state.

According to them, the political family at the time of the TinubuFashola transition was in full control of the complement of elected officials in the National Assembly and the State House of Assembly.

Fashola they claim, however, handed over to his successor a divided political heritage given the ascendancy of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which won six House of Representatives positions and – seats in the House of Assembly.

The accusations against Fashola are, however, seriously vitiated by what critics claim as a heritage of performance in government, security.

50—Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Police nab 2 kidnappers, rescue female victim in Aba ....Also in Umuahia

By Anayo Okoli & Ugochukwu Alaribe

A

BA—THE Eziama Police Division, Aba, Abia State has arrested two kidnappers and rescued a victim, identified as Miss Rachael, in the city.

Miss Rachael, who lives in Port Harcourt Rivers State, was allegedly kidnapped by the two suspects; Chinonso Samuel and John Kingsley, who hails from Amaiyi Nvosi community in Isiala Ngwa South local government of Abia State.

According to the victim, one of the suspects who claimed to have missed his way approached her for direction on her way to Church on Sunday, 9th August, 2015, in Port Harcourt, Rivers state.

The first suspect was later joined by the second suspect who persuaded her to assist them find their location. When the victim told them that she did not know the direction and asked to be left alone as she was on her way to Church, she was allegedly charmed and was no longer conscious of her environment until her rescue by the Police in Aba. Police sources told Vanguard that a good samaritan who suspected the victim’s company with Samuel and Kingsley in Aba, alerted the Police who arrested the suspects when they could not explain how they met Rachael.

After she regained consciousness at the police station, the victim later told her story of how the suspects charmed her on her way to church in Port Harcourt and brought her to Aba. Police Public Relations Officer, Abia State Command, DSP Ezekiel Onyeke, who confirmed the incident, said the two suspects are now helping the Police in their investigation and will soon be charged to court.

Also yesterday, the timely intervention of the police led to the rescue of a kidnapped victim, Mr. Udo Nwachukwu, from the hands of his abductors in Umuahia.

Nwachukwu, from Umuana

Ndume Ibeku, Umuahia, and a driver attached to Chief of Staff to the Governor of Abia State, were kidnapped by three gunmen from Umezerolo village square Umuana Ndume, Umuahia, where he was washing a car.

The gunmen, who were said to have come in a green coloured Toyota Camry, took the victim in

their car while another member of the gang drove the victim's Toyota Hilux van with registration number 1 ABSG506.

Luck however ran out on the abductors when neighbours of the victim raised alarm and called the Police control room who immediately alerted all patrol cars.

The kidnappers were pursued by the Police patrol teams who mounted checks around Umuahia and surrounding towns which forced the kidnappers to abandon their victim and his vehicle at a location after the military check-point along Ikwuano road on realizing that the Police were closing in on them.

RECEPTION: From left, Chairman, Planning Committee, Mr. Ephraim Offia; Chief of Staff to Enugu State Governor, Mr. Victor Atuonwu; wife of the President of Colliery Old Boys Association, COBA, Mrs. Juliet Ude; President, COBA, Mr Max Ude; Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State; Secretary to Enugu State Government (SSG) Mr. Gabriel Ajah, and wife, Uzoamaka, at a reception in honour of the SSG by COBA, in Enugu, yesterday. Photo: NAN

NASS TRIBUNAL: Anxiety mounts in Enugu,

as trial on Nnamani’s petition begins today

By Francis Igata

E

NUGU—THE National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Enugu headed

by Justice M.O Adewara,will today,commence trial on the petition brought before it by candidate of Peoples Democratic Change,PDC,for Enugu-East senatorial district,former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani.

Nnamani is challenging the declaration by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of Senator Gil Nnaji of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP,as

winner in the election which had elicited widespread protest in Enugu metropolis.

Part of the petitioner ’s grievances is the alleged inflation of votes, in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area where PDP polled 16,202 votes against PDC’s 2,917.

Nnamani who won with wide margin in four Local Government Areas of Enugu-North,EnuguEast,Enugu-South and NkanuWest out of the six council areas that constitute the senatorial district according to result announced by INEC,further alleged collusion of INEC

officials in perpetration of irregularities at the polls.

However, Vanguard checks revealed that a palpable trepidation is rife in Senator Nnaji’s camp following Nnamani’s blistering popularity ahead of the poll which culminated to his victory in four, out of six council areas that make up Enugu-East senatorial district in contention.

The tribunal had however, indicated that parties in the suit have 14 days each to prove their case.

The life of petition elapses on October 13.

Ekwueme charges Diaspora group to build stronger Anambra State

By Emeka Aginam

F

ORMER VICE President of Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Alex Ekwueme has urged Aguata-Orumba community living in the United States of America, USA AOUUSA, not to relent in building a stronger union and a stronger Anambra State.

Ekwueme, who addressed the Diaspora group recently during its 8th bi-annual convention held in Seattle, Washington, with the theme, 'A grassroots need calling for Diaspora action,’ also urged the group to continually sustain the Igbo culture, customs, practices, traditions and values in C M Y K

Diaspora for the betterment of present generation and posterity in the southeastern Nigeria.

Accordingly, the convention was designed to sensitize, galvanize, and attract their members from all over the United States, including some visitors from the homeland to the Emerald City to contribute to socio-economic development of Old Aguata Local Government Area in particular, as well as Anambra State in general.

Earlier in his opening remarks, the National President of the group, Nze Emeka Ezeonwu, said that the convention theme was quite appropriate especially

for the current political situation in Nigeria.

He pleaded with members to rekindle their collective commitment to community

service. Interestingly, all members of the executives were returned unopposed, except for the post of PRO/Provost where Mr. Johnson Ezeoka was elected.

MINISTERIAL LIST: Senate'll

reconvene, Ekweremadu assures

By Francis Igata

E

N U G U — DEPUTY Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, yesterday, assured Nigerians of the Senate’s readiness to reconvene though on recess, if President Muhammadu Buhari, sends his ministerial list.

Ekweremadu spoke in Enugu when the Zonal Management of Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, paid him a courtesy visit.

According to the ECOWAS Parliament Speaker: ”Though we are on recess, most of us are very much around doing other legislative duties.

Therefore, if the need arises, we will quickly reconvene to give Nigerians the service we were elected to offer, especially if the ministerial list is sent by the President.”

He assured that the Senate will at all times put the interest of Nigerians first.

On the issue of pay cut of members of the National Assembly, Ekweremadu explained that they are prepared to make sacrifices in the interest of Nigerians, even as he revealed that the leadership did not consult their colleagues in the House of Representatives on the issue.

He, however, stated that the National Assembly had already cut its budget from N150 to N120 billion.

Reacting to the outcome of his visit to Nairobi, Kenya, the Deputy Senate President noted that insurgency is a continental issue that all African leaders and countries must join forces to weed out.

He stated that insurgency undermines the development of any nation while indicating that the Parliament had a big role to play in addressing the vice by setting up special tribunals that would deal with such issue.

Petroleum products diversion our greatest challenge, says Ebonyi govt

By Peter Okutu

A

BAKALIKI—EBONYI state government weekend expressed shock and disappointment over the rate of diversion of petroleum products meant for the state by some marketers to other states of the

federation.

The Special Adviser to Governor Dave Umahi on Petroleum and Oil, Mr. Onyibe Chima stated this in Abakaliki while briefing newsmen on some of the measures put in place by the present administration to checkmate the activities of

dubious marketers in the country.

Chima, who observed that the marketers involved in the diversion of the petroleum products do not have filling stations said that these products are often taken to Anambra, Imo, Abia and Kogi states against the wishes of Ebonyi people.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015—51

NEITI to help FG recover $7bn from oil companies

By Michael Eboh

T

HE Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, yesterday, promised to assist Federal Government recover the over $7 billion owed the country by oil and gas companies.

NEITI, in a statement by its

Director, Communications, Mr. Ogbonnaya Orji, also commended the recent appointments and restructuring in Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and the decision of Federal Government to set up the Presidential Advisory Committee on AntiCorruption.

He said they were important steps in bringing about the much-needed reforms in the country’s extractive industry.

Orji said the ongoing restructuring of NNPC was encouraging, as it inspires hope and confidence.

He added that NEITI was poised to assist the Professor Itse Sagayled committee to recover the indebtedness oil for Lagos State to come out of companies to and sponsor us, but as the country, long as they will not tie a string to the sponsorship. as contained What we will not do is to in its audit reports. blackmail people.

PETITION: No one is sponsoring us — Adeniran, CACOL boss MR Debo Adeniran is the chairman, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL). In this chat, he dismisses insinuations of being sponsored to smear the image of former governor of Lagos State, Mr Raji Babatunde Fashola.

By Dapo Akinrefon

W

HAT actually informed the petition is a small business we got from the Lagos State government in 2009.

Since 2009, we have been communicating to the Lagos State government over the suspicion that contracts could have been inflated and a number of malfeasances could have been going on within the procurement and award of contracts in Lagos State.

We sent our petition to the Lagos State House of Assembly; we also sent a copy to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Advocacy visit The House of Assembly set up a panel to look at the complaint but the Lagos State government went to court to stop the investigation.

They (Lagos State government) got an injuction to stop the House and the House wrote to us that they could not continue with the investigation. The EFCC said they had invited some directors and principal officers to give their explanation but they (EFCC) did not give us any feed back on the interrogation they did.

Since then, we have been reminding the EFCC. May this year, we paid them (EFCC) an advocacy visit but they did not have any cogent thing to tell us. We were not to be threatened nor intimidated.

When we got wind that Mr Fashola could be a member of the federal

•Adeniran: Petitioned EFCC

cabinet under President Muhammadu Buhari, we wrote to the President that Fashola has a lot of explaining to do regarding the contracts awarded when he was governor of Lagos State.

We decided to write to the President not to consider him and that he (Buhari) should ask the anti-graft agency to investigate the allegations leveled against him (Fashola) and prosecute him (Fashola) if found wanting.

Then talking about us being sponsored; if we are being sponsored by what we want to do, we would be glad to have such sponsors. We do not have sponsors, we are actually looking for sponsors so that we can dig deep into the affairs of Lagos State, to bring out more facts and figures that we can lay our hands on. The protest will not end until we are answered. We do not have resources that is why we are limiting it.

Nobody is sponsoring us.

We want people who are interested in the better life

He said: “One important issue that NEITI will be bringing to the table, if given the opportunity, is how the committee can assist the government to recover over $7 billion owned by oil companies.

“These disclosures are contained in NEITI audit reports as cases of underpayments and underassessment, arising from subjective interpretation of Memoranda of Understanding, MoU, and tax laws.

“We have no doubt that our contributions will add value to the work of the committee.”

Orji further called on President Muhammadu Buhari to extend reforms in the oil and gas sector to the mining and solid minerals sector, especially in view of the huge potentials of the sector.

According to him, from NEITI’s study and independent audit reports, this sector has the potential to yield more revenues for the country than oil, if given the attention it deserves.

He said: “One urgent step required is to immediately check the activities of illegal miners many of whom are foreigners that have taken over the solid minerals sector without authorisation.”

52 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Vanguard CLASSIFIED

OKORO—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Cynthia Akpofure Okoro, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Arike Aderinola Akpofure Sidiquat Junaid. All former documents remain valid where I work and general Public please take note.

DADA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Damilola Olabisi Dada, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Damilola Olabisi Lawal. All former documents remain valid. General Public please take note.

NNADI—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Lilian Chizoba Nnadi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Lilian Chizoba Nzekwe. All former documents remain valid. General Public please take note.

OSHIOBUGIE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Aminat Oshiobugie and Miss Aminat Jacynta Oshiobugie, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Aminat Jacynta Otomewo. Documents bearing my former names remain valid. Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara and general public please note.

OMHONRIA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Omhonria Mercy Dora, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ighodalo Mercy Dora. All former documents remain valid. General Public please take note.

OLUDARE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Olubunmi Abosede Oludare, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olubunmi Oludare Yusuf. All former documents remain valid. FRSC and general Public please take note.

IBEABUCHI—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ibeabuchi Anthonia Uzoamaka, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ihezie-Adindu Anthonia Uzoamaka.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ISELE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Isele Augustina Dumebi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Aikigbe Augustina Dumebi. Documents bearing my former names remain valid.

Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara and the general public please note.

OJEME—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ojeme Nneka Thelma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Avwioroko Nneka Thelma. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

E TA G H E N E — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Etaghene Ivie Christabel, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Inikori Ivie Christabel.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

NDIRIKA—I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Ndirika Amaka Peace, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Onyeukwu Amaka Peace. All former documents remain valid. ZARTECH LTD and general public please take note.

AGADA—I, formerly

ALAO—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Alao Yetunde Shakirat, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oyeniyi Yetunde Shakirat. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

GADIBIA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Gadibia Oghenetare Priscilla, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. A k p o n y o m a Oghenetare Priscilla.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OFOMA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Tochukwu Angela Ofoma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Tochukwu Angela Okongwu. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

A P U TA Z I E H — I , formerly known and Addressed as Miss Aputazieh Ogochukwu Lawrenta, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Okeh Ogochukwu Lawrenta. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

UBOSI—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ubosi Cynthia Chinyere, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Enyi Cynthia Chinyere. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CHIME—I, formerly known and addressed as Chime Chukwutem Doreen, now wish to be known and addressed as O n y e m e n a m Chukwutem Doreen.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OLUDE—I, formerly

AHMED—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ta n g n u m d a n z u m i Daniel Ahmed, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Tangnum Reuben Kwetishe. All formal documents remain valid. General public please take note.

UZOIGWE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Uzoigwe Lilian Chizoba, now wish to be known and addressed Mrs. Dike Lilian Chizoba. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

UMOH—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Helen Nsinan Umoh, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Helen Joseph Emmanuel. All former documents remain valid. National Poverty E r a d i c a t i o n Programme (NAPEP) and general public please take note.

known and addressed as Victor Ife Olude, now wish to be known and addressed as Victor Ife Philip. All documents remain valid. General public please take note.

known and addressed as Agada Abraham, now wish to be known and addressed as Onjewu Michael. All former

documents

remain valid. General public please take note.

FOR ENQUIRIES CALL ADVERT HOTLINE:

01- 4544821

YOU CAN BOOK YOUR ADVERT AT: TRINITY MALL, 79/81 OBAFEMI AWOLOWO WAY, IKEJA. CALL: 08028289689, 08035449960 MURPHÝ'S PLAZA 27, SANUSI FAFUNWA STREET, VICTORIA ISLAND. CALL: 08038092373, 08033163424

Sunshine Stars topple Enyimba

BY JOHN EGBOKHAN

T

HE excitements of the Nigeria Premier League continued yesterday as Sunshine Stars returned to the top of the table in sparkling style after a 4-0 thumping of Giwa FC at the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano.at home.

On a day that of big scoring victories for the likes of Kano Pillars and Akwa United, the Akure-based side now have 43 points from 23 matches, a point a more than Enyimba., who had jumped to the top after drawing 1-1 with Bayelsa United at the Oghara stadium in Delta State.

PrinceAggreh grabbed a hattrick to boost his confidence going into the Super Eagles training camp that opens today in Abuja, with Stephen Eze

also finding the back of the net at the Akure Twonship stadium.

Reigning champions Kano Pillars were also in devastating form yesterday after shooting down visiting Shooting Stars 4-0.. The win has now extended their unbeaten run to four matches under coach Mohammed Babaganaru replaced sacked Okey Emordi, after a string of poor results.

Pillarsnowhave37pointsfrom 23 games, just five points behind second-placed Enyimba , who they play in a titanic clash on Wednesday.

Meanwhile at the Nnamdi AzikweStadiuminEnugu,former Eagles assistant coach, Daniel Amokachi launched his coaching stint at IfeanyiUbah in flying form after leading his side to an hardfought 3-2 against Rangers .

City demolish Chelsea

M

ANCHESTER City deepened the gloom at Chelsea with a rousing 3-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday that took them five points clear of the Premier League champions.

Sergio Aguero opened the scoring in typically deft fashion in the 31st minute before late goals from captain Vincent Kompany — his second in two games — and Fernandinho signalled the end of a breathless, spiky contest. The result brought the curtain down on a bleak week for Chelsea manager Jose

Mourinho, caught in a storm over his demotion of team doctor Eva Carneiro and head physiotherapist Jon Fearn and who withdrew his skipper John Terry at half-time for the first time in 177 league games. But it was a day to savour for his City counterpart Manuel Pellegrini, whose side went top of the table as they marked the opening of a new 6,000seat tier in the South Stand with a performance that suggested they have dislodged Chelsea as the English top flight’s team to beat.

Oliseh Continues from B/P

home-based players invited to camp ahead of next month’s 2017 AFCON qualifier against Tanzania in Dar es Salaam.

And Oliseh, who will be in Lagos this afternoon to ring the closing bell alongside the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Pinnick Melvin Amaju, the first time a Nigerian coach would be performing such a ground-breaking feat in history, will be delighted to head to camp to meet the local players, some of whom are in a rich vein of form.

At the head of the pack is Warri Wolves’ striker forward Gbolahan Salami, who scored one of the goals when the Eagles opened the AFCON race with a 2-0 win over Chad in Kaduna in June. There are also regular faces like

Solomon Kwambe and Nelson Ogbonnaya.

Oliseh will be particularly delighted to meet Prince Aggreh of Sunshine Stars, who netted three goals in yesterday’s Premier League clash with Giwa at the Akure Township Stadium. With such a spectacular form, Aggreh will get more than a hug from the former Dortmund and Ajax defensive midfielder.

The likes of Olufemi Thomas, David Obiazor, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Orji Kalu; Idris Aloma, Chima Aka, Samson Gbadebo, Jamiu Alimi, Stephen Eze , Ifeanyi Mathew, Usman Mohammed, Azubuike Okechukwu, Lawson Ichul,; Kingsley Sokari and Etebo Oghenekaro.

Other players include Bassey, Bright Ejike, Tunde Adeniji and,Bright Onyedikachi

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 — 53

54—Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

W

HERE do I start? Football has become very exciting in the last couple of months that I start having the feeling that in my life time, we may just get near to where some of us have always dreamt to be.

Where do I start? Maybe from the last. I was in a place called Dolisie last week( Yes the cemetery of Pillars, Heartland and lately Warri Wolves. Don’t laugh) Coordinating a CAF Confederations Cup match between Leopards of Congo and Zamalek of Egypt when my assistant said he heard a Nigerian had declared interest in the FIFA Presidency and wanted me to confirm. I said it was not true, that though I had been out of the country for a week, I was still in touch. “ It is a joke” I concluded, hastily.

He came back to say the Nigerian was Orji Uzor Kalu. “ Orji Uzor Kalu?” I asked. He said yes and wanted to know who he was. I obliged him a brief history of Enyinba International Football Club. “ I see” he responded.

With due respect to all those involved in this and the letters of the statutes governing qualification to aspire to be FIFA President, I still see this as ill adviced.

I was in Congo when the President of Liberian Football Federation was invited to present his desire to be FIFA President to the executive Committee of CAF in Cairo. At the end of his submission, CAF thanked him but regretted that they were not going to support him, for reasons which could have been explained to him.

Let us for once believe that Chief Kalu wants to be FIFA President. Does any of his Supporters know about Electoral Regulations for the FIFA Presidency, specifically Article 13 that borders on Eligibility?

Have they studied a way round it, if possible? Was the leadership of the NFF taken into confidence even by way of information before they went to town? Did they reach out to the CAF president?

How many African countries can Chief Kalu get votes from independent of CAF? Asia?, Europe? South America………you see why I take this as a big joke that may end up embarrassing Chief Kalu if not Nigeria?

This is a man that has done so much for Nigerian football through Enyimba. How I wish that passion and drive were sustained outside Government house with the formation of a Football club that he would have run till date.

I was in a President Hayatou-led CAF entourage that ate at Government house when Chief Kalu was in power, and stopped over in his mother’s house for some drinks on the way to the stadium for a CAF Champions league final match.

But for rules and regulations and last minute intervention, a CAF Congress would have held in Chief Kalu’s family abode that same year. Yes that is how deep rooted his football connection was, then. Today, ten years after, let us be realistic. It will be near impossible for Chief Kalu to surmount the eligibility hurdle, criss cross the continents selling the campaign slogan “ I WANT TO BE THE FIRST BLACK FIFA PRESIDENT, I AM FROM NIGERIA, I FOUNDED ENYIMBA FC. VOTE FOR ME”……..Please.

So much has been written and said about Alhaji Dangote wanting to own Asenal and so on. No problem. I wish he can start showing some interest at home first.

Charity they call it. There was a time it was rumoured that the Government of the day had penciled him for NFF Presidency and he declined.

Let Alhaji Dangote float a club in Nigeria. Let his group of companies shirt sponsor clubs in this country.

I get so sick seeing our clubs play with jerseys that are “branded” with their names. Our league needs money to run and Dangote Group of companies are in a position to invest in this brand that will soon be worth in its equivalent in gold. After all, what we are asking for is not one tenth of what he has put aside to acquire Arsenal.

What Dangote has not done, is what Ifeanyi Ubah the oil magnate has done, set up a football club. Unfortunately though every day I get this sneaky feeling that those who persuaded him were not professional enough. If you ask me, there are too many consultants, advisers and what have you hanging around the man and the club that you begin to wonder what the ultimate aim of the club is, going forward.

I lived with Abiola Babes, Stationery Stores,Udoji United, Flash Flamingoes, Al yufsalam Rocks, and of C M Y K

Pinnick, Dikko, Ifeanyi Ubah, Dangote, Kalu and other Stories….. late, Giwa FC, Gabros and all those clubs established and run by individuals, clubs that went on to excel, only to struggle to survive and eventually die because they were not run professionally.

Ifeanyi Ubah has the opportunity of changing things around. Let him in the best practices possible, establish a veritable and accepted club structure, get a club house, staff it appropriately with all the necessary personnel and departments ( Relatives and friends should stay clear) and go around and run the club as a business…….Good luck Chief.

Mallam Shehu Dikko is the chairman of the LMC, the body that is receiving all the encomiums for running a league that is exemplary. That Akwa United is at the threshold of winning the Federation Cup today, is because the gains of the league have flowed into the Federation Cup especially in the area of commendable refereeing. Never in the history of the Challenge Cup, FA Cup and Federation cup have we witnessed the volume of upsets that we had this year.

A few days ago, Dikko went to the sportspro.ng/Bussiness School Workshop to repeat the gospel he preached at the World Leagues Inaugural Forum in London. He went with some of his staff and representatives of the clubs. Just last week, the clubs media officers benefited from a seminar that will help add value to their work. Commendable. For once we are seeing an intellectual dimension added to a league that many thought pedestrian for a long time.

Now the big fish, the President of the Nigeria Football Federation, the 44 year old called Amaju Melvin Pinnick……I have asked my friend Linus Mba who between the President of Nigeria and the President of NFF is most focused (and criticized) in the media. Mba

says NFF President with a laugh.

As a guest of the Delta State Football Association to the commissioning of her football house christened Patrick Okpomo House, I came back to write about the young man who at the helm of affairs had done so much for the development of the game in his state. The two storey football house complex as an example, was built without a kobo from the state government. Corporate organizations and individuals fall over themselves to sponsor the Delta State FA Cup final that is always beamed live by Super Sport. That is the man we have inherited today as the President of the NFF. The moment he got to the Glass House, he hit the ground running by embarking on human capacity building initiatives that started with the referees and coaches. The success of the Premier League today is hinged on that effort that he considers ongoing. Next was the desire to open up Nigeria’s football to the world and pronto he, his first vice President and his secretary General met with the FIFA President and his secretary Jerome Valcke in Zurich.

He has had to meet with parents of potential Nigerian stars in Europe, selling them the Victor Moses example ( with a Nations Cup medal in tow ) whereas European nations will not hesitate to use you and dump you. The Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria has come calling, Bain and Co, Price Waterhouse and Cooper, internationally recognized firms have been appointed to guarantee global best practices.

Amaju Pinnick dreams an NFF that is abreast with modern trends that are conversant with emerging technologies that “ ….will fast-track a sustainable football culture and development” Unfortunately for him he has to understand that unlike in Delta where he was more or less an emperor even as Chairman of the sports council, the NFF job is a different kettle of fish. He cannot just wake up with a brainwave, pick up his phone, call someone abroad and the next minute he is jumping into a plane to pursue a deal for his Federation. At such a speed, How does he expect some of us who are older than 50 to catch up?

In a recent discussion I had with him, I pointed out that no matter how well-meaning and progressive his intentions and plans are, if we do not get results on the field of play, he will not be appreciated.

Today the NFF is gaining back the confidence of the corporate world home and abroad. Today the NFF is looking for a foothold on a global platform, a long term initiative that may not be appreciated immediately. In saying so Pinnick and his team must try and open up their plans as much as they can without hurting their potential partners so that they do not run back every time to offer explanations after the media had stumbled on, or had been fed with half truths in a country where you still have the PDP on one side and the APC on the other. Don’t laugh See you next week.

Oscar to miss West Brom clash C HELSEA midfield er Oscar is expected to miss next weekend’s fixture against West Brom after being missing yesterday ’s Manchester City clash through injury.

The Brazilian was replaced by compatriot Ramires in the starting XI at the Etihad Stadium, although details of his problem have not been revealed.

“Oscar’s injury isn’t a big one but it stops him from playing today and probably next week,” Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho told Sky Sports.

•Oscar

Watford’s coach hails Ighalo, others

W

ATFORD manager Quique Sanchez Flores has taken heart from another encouraging performance from Watford, as the Premier

League newbies remained unbeaten since their return to the top flight. ”It was like a party for me for sure. I’m happy with the performance of my team."

Wenger proud of Arsenal’s response

A

RSENAL boss Ar sene Wenger hailed his side’s response from their West Ham setback as they beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park.

Wenger and his players came in for criticism after the 2-0 loss at the Emirates Stadium last weekend, but the Frenchman was happy to see a reaction at Selhurst Park.

“I’m very pleased with the three points,” he told Sky Sports. “If we had gone two games and zero points it would be absolutely difficult and we knew this would.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 — 55

C M Y K

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

‘’How many African countries can Chief Kalu get votes from independent of CAF? Asia?, Europe? South America………you see why I take this as a big joke that may end up embarrassing Chief Kalu if not Nigeria?’’ —Sports Bassey P.54

Sunshine Stars topple Enyimba — P.52

Oliseh gets busy as Eagles camp comes alive

BY JOHN EGBOKHAN

T

HE honeymoon seems over for newly appointed Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh who will tonight hit the Abuja camp of the team after ringing the closing bell of the Nigeria Stock Exchange in Lagos today.

The former Eagles captain, who signed a three-year deal with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on July 15 arrived Nigeria weekend and will get down to work today when he meets the 23 Continues on Page 52

RESULTS

TODAY'S PUZZLE

4 2 2 3 4 0 2 1

NPL Shooting Stars Ifeanyi Uba Heartland Sharks Giwa Wikki Taraba Dolphins

1 3 0 1 0 1 1 0

Man City Palace

3 1

EPL Chelsea Arsenal

0 2

BUNDESLIGA 2 Frakfurt 1 Cologne

1 3

FRENCH LIGUE 1 1 Marseille 1 SC Bastia

0 1

Wolfsburg Stuttgart

•Oliseh

City demolish Chelsea 3-0 Sergio Aguero celebrates scoring against Chelsea.

Kano Pillars Rangers Nasarawa Akwa Utd Sunshine Stars Kwara Utd Lobi Warri Wolves

Reims Lorient

Today’s Fixtures EPL Liverpool v

Bournemouth

8pm

Spanish Super Cup 2nd leg Barca v Athletic Bilaboa 9pm lead 4-0)

— P.52

(Bilbao

QUICK CROSSWORD

FRI DAY'S ANSWERS FRIDAY'S

ACROSS 2 View (5) 7 Therefore (4) 8 Lasso (6) 9 Frank (5) 11 Spoil (3) 13 Snip (3) 15 Paradise (4) 16 Weaken (3) 18 Liberate (4) 19 Train (7) 20 Creep (4) 22 Tack (4) 23 Ugly (7) 25 Watched (4) 27 Regret (3) 28 Grain (4) 30 Performed (3) 31 Mat (3) 33 Vapour (5) 36 Delight (6) 37 Absent (4) 38 Flourish (5)

DOWN 1 Loaf (5) 2 Weep (3) 3 Bird (3) 4 Sprite (3) 5 Snoop (3) 6 Obscure (5) 10 Stunt (4) 11 Deserved (7) 12 Attained (7) 13 Maker (7) 14 Effective (7) 16 Separate (5) 17 Annoyance (5) 18 Sport (3) 21 Concealed (3) 24 Expel (4) 26 Cede (5) 29 Rustic (5) 32 Wages (3) 33 Stitch (3) 34 Stretch (3) 35 Enthusiastic (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Glade 5, Wasted 8, Irate 10, Gateau 11, Arid 14, Roving 15, Gazette 18, Ten 19, Inn 21, Read 23, Motor 24, Rash 27, Net 29, Oak 31, Radiate 32, Stated 34, Kine 35, Loiter 38, Bread 39, Instructed 40, Revel.

DOWN: 2, Lea 3, Diesel 4, Era 5, Wear 6, Silver 7, Dogged 9, Auction 12, Rot 13. Dine 16, Aura 17, Enter 20, Notable 22, Abut 24, Resent 25, Soak 26, Hating 28, Divide 30, Ken 33, Debt 36, Oar 37, Eke.

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.

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. Advert Dept Hotline: 01-4544821.

Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024. E-mail: editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, letters@vanguardngr.com. Advert:advertproduction@yahoo.com Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

C M Y K