Showdown in Ekiti

...towards a better life for the people

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VOL. 25: NO. 62387

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

N150

MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS: Nigeria counts losses 8

Mark, Ekweremadu, Wogu, Etiebet, others mourn as Chukwumerije dies at 75 55

Showdown in Ekiti •Fayose mobilises Okada riders, NURTW •The gov is using uniformed men to stop us —APC lawmakers •Urge him to stop inciting Ekiti people •Transport unions order members to occupy Assembly

By Leke Adeseri, South West Regional Editor & Gbenga Ariyibi

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DO EKITI — THERE appears to be no end in sight to the current face-off between

Continues on Page 5

COLUMNISTS:

APC: To each according to his contribution •P.19

Abia’s pathetic election conundrum

•P.20

Mr & Mrs BOAT REGATTA:

Boats display during this year's Lagos water regatta, yesterday. Photos: Kehinde Gbadamosi, AFP.

APC NEC to ratify zoning, transition c'ttee Wednesday For APC, getting the Naira/Dollar ATM cards and inexplicable transition right •P.48 •P.44 means all profligacy

9

104 arrested for election offences in Rivers 8

2 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

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4 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

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POCKET CARTOON Transport Workers Association of Nigeria and Clement Adekola, Chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers.

Stop inciting Ekiti people, APC lawmakers tell Fayose

SPECIAL PRAYER: Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State (middle); the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu (5th left); the Olori Ebi of the Fashola Family, Engr. Mohammed Fashola (7th right); Baba Adinni of Lagos, Alhaji Afeez Abou (6th right) and other Muslim clerics during a special prayer to commemorate the Governor's almost eight years in office at the Central Mosque, Lagos, on Saturday.

Showdown in Ekiti Continues from Page 1

the 19 All Progressives Congress, APC, lawmakers in the Ekiti State House of Assembly and Governor Ayo Fayose.

Some 20 minutes after leaving a church service where the clergyman advised the governor to embrace peace by reconciling with APC lawmakers, Gov. Fayose made a live broadcast on the Ekiti State Radio and Television, ESRT, where he told Ekiti people to defend their mandate from the APC lawmakers, who he claimed were coming to invade the state to impeach him today.

But the lawmakers are insisting on going ahead with Fayose and his deputy, Dr Kolapo Olusola’s removal.

This is coming barely 48 hours after Fayose promised to dialogue with the aggrieved lawmakers.

To ensure that the APC lawmakers would not achieve their motive, the

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Okada riders association and the commercial transport workers operating in the state are toeing the path of the governor by telling their members to converge on the premises of the state House of Assembly today at 6 a.m and defend the mandate freely given to Fayose and his deputy during the June 21, 2014 governorship election.

During the governor’s live broadcast on the ESRT, he told the people to defend their mandate from the invading APC lawmakers and defend him against the alleged impeachment.

He urged drivers and Okada riders in particular to move out en-masse to defend his mandate, saying: “My mandate is your mandate and you must defend it.”

Okada riders, NURTW mobilise members

Barely 10 minutes after, two statements emerged on

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

OU are essentially who you create yourself to be and all that occurs in your life is the result of your own making— Stephen Richards

We can learn to trust ourselves and make decisions with clarity. But this is not a switch you turn on and off, it’s a practice, a nurturing. It’s not easy to hear our inner voice through all the doubt and confusion circulating around in our head. To access it, think of when you’re helping someone you cherish with a problem. You see them struggling, you want to fix it all for them, you want to heal every aspect of their pain, you see nothing but their potential, you offer nothing but helpful solutions.

That place of love you’re approaching them from is often straight from your inner voice. When your attention is directed outwards towards helping someone else, your blocks are often released, allowing you to approach their problem with purity and clarity.

Find that voice. That egoless voice born of pure compassion and respect. Find that voice and practice using it on yourself. This is a practice you must do every day until your voice is the loudest one you hear. And being grateful for life’s experiences, allows more light, success and love into your life.

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the state radio as public announcements that were being broadcast intermittently.

Below are the transcripts of the two statements from the drivers union and Okada riders association.

“All Okada riders in Ekiti State are enjoined to be on the look-out for strange faces in the state from tomorrow. This is because it has been gathered that APC lawmakers working with Dr Adewale Omirin are planning to truncate the peace of the state by invading the state with armed thugs.

“All Okada riders in the state should be mobilised to the House of Assembly by 6 a.m tomorrow. Governor Fayose’s mandate is the mandate of Okada riders.

We must defend it with the last drop of our blood.”

Signed: Niyi Dahunsi, Chairman, Okada Riders Association.

In another announcement, the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, through its chairman, Clement Adekola said: “Information available to us is that the APC lawmakers are planning to invade the state with lorry-loads of thugs recruited from Lagos and Osun states tomorrow.

“The APC lawmakers have vowed to kill anyone that stands on their way to achieving the plot of impeaching Governor Fayose and his Deputy, Dr Kolapo Olusola.

“We, therefore, alert all members of our union to be on the look-out from tomorrow. All drivers unions members should be prepared to defend the mandate freely given to Governor Fayose.

“Our members should monitor movement of vehicles into Ekiti State from today so as to prevent invasion of thugs whose only intention is to kill our people. We gave our mandate to Fayose and we must be prepared to defend it.”

It was signed by Samuel Agbede, Chairman, Road

The 19 APC lawmakers in the Ekiti State House of Assembly in a reaction to yesterday’s broadcast by Governor Fayose, said the governor was never committed to peace.

A statement by Special Adviser on Media to Speaker Adewale Omirin, Wole Olujobi said the governor had in his broadcast demonstrated that he was never committed to the peace he preached barely 24 hours before his inciting broadcast.

The statement said: “How do you reconcile this inciting broadcast with a plea he made for peace not quite 24 hours earlier which Ekiti people and indeed Nigerians thought was a good move by the governor to thaw the frozen relationship between him and the lawmakers? This is a confirmation of what Omirin said in his Sunday Punch interview that the governor can’t be trusted in any peace move.”

Olujobi expressed regrets over failure of the governor to embrace the homily by the clergyman in his thanksgiving service where he was admonished to embrace peace with APC lawmakers by paying their entitlements and seek genuine reconciliation to move the state forward.

According to the statement, “it is shocking that the governor, who refused to make any remark or commitment during the church service after the man of God appealed to him to embrace peace, could go on air few minutes after the service to start inciting workers, traders, Okada riders and artisans to defend him with their last drop of blood.

“As if his live broadcast was not enough, Ekiti people were shocked when a public service announcement started running intermittently on the state media urging Okada riders to look out for strange faces across the state and attack them because they are thugs that are being imported by APC lawmakers.

"They are also to converge on the House of Assembly as early as 6 a.m today to prevent the lawmakers from performing their legal duties.”

Stressing that they were not planning any invasion of the state with thugs, the lawmakers called the attention of Nigerians to the unlawful acts of the governor in his desperate move to ensure that the lawmakers are rendered

ineffective in the discharge of their lawful duties.

“We have said for the umpteenth time that the governor would be given a fair hearing. He has nothing to fear. He should continue to have faith in the Nigerian constitution. He had just won a constitutional matter at the Supreme Court. We will apply the same law that the court used to give him victory. He is an Ekiti man.

We don’t hope to punish him unjustly,” the statement added.

It stressed that Fayose could not benefit from the law and at the same time prevent other elected representatives of the people from enjoying the same benefit.

“The best he and his deputy can do is to appear before the panel to be set up by the CJ and defend themselves. This is the rule of law which he has benefited from and there should not be an exception to this,” the statement added.

Fayose not inciting anyone —Aide

Meantime, the Special Assistant to the Ekiti State Governor on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, has described as false, claim by the factional Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Dr Adewale Omirin, that Fayose was inciting the people against the APC lawmakers.

He said: “The reality in Ekiti State today is that the people are rising up to defend their mandate and if Omirin and his APC lawmakers are not working against the people’s mandate, they have nothing to fear.”

Olayinka said the APC should rather ask themselves what they have done to offend the people to the extent that none of the lawmakers, who sought re-election was re-elected at the April 11 election.

He asked whether it was Fayose that incited the people against the APC on March 28 and April 11 when the people openly rejected the party with their votes.

The governor’s aide, who reiterated Governor Fayose’s commitment to

peaceful resolution of the crisis in the state House of Assembly, added: “The governor cannot stop the people who voted for him from protecting their mandate.

“Some of these people who called themselves elite were in the comfort of their bedrooms in Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja and abroad when Okada riders, traders, drivers, workers, artisans, students and all the common people of Ekiti stayed in the sun and rain to cast their votes for Fayose.

“Because Fayose wants peace and he is committed to it, those who gave him the mandate to govern them for four years should not defend their mandate if it is being threatened by a few people who they have rejected with their votes?

“Instead of making noise in the media, the APC lawmakers, including Omirin and those deceiving him with the prophesy of him becoming acting governor of Ekiti State should face the reality of their total rejection by Ekiti people and stop running from Idanre to Lagos, Osogbo and Abuja trying to uproot the tree planted by the people of Ekiti.”

Uniform men storm Ado-Ekiti — APC

Spokesman for Dr Adewale Omirin, Wole Olujobi late last night alleged that scores of soldiers in about 12 vehicles stormed AdoEkiti, Ekiti State capital, in what looked like a covert operation in aid of Governor Fayose who squealed early in the day alleging possible invasion of the state by APC lawmakers today.

It’s a lie —Fayose’s aide

But the governor ’s Special Assistant on new media, Lere Olayinka responded saying: "I am in Ado Ekiti as I write. In fact, I am along Ijigbo area of Ado Ekiti. I have not noticed the presence of any soldier."

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

7 die in Enugu-Onitsha expressway auto crash

By Francis Igata

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NUGU— NO fewer than seven persons have been confirmed dead in an auto crash that occurred along Oji-RiverOnitsha expressway, weekend, at about 6.15pm.

An eyewitness revealed that the accident involved a heavy

duty truck which collided headon with a commercial bus, attributing it to over speeding.

Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, DSP, confirmed the accident, saying it involved a tipper with number plate NKE 121 XA and a commercial bus with number plate JRV 245

XA. “The two vehicles collided which left occupants of the bus unconscious. They were, however, rushed to Amaku Teaching Hospital, Awka, Anambra State for attention where three male and four female passengers were confirmed dead, while others

are in critical condition.

“Meanwhile, the bus and tipper drivers are receiving treatment at the teaching hospital, while the corpses were deposited at the hospital mortuary by the traffic operatives of Oji-River Division of the Nigeria Police, Enugu command.”

Fire razes 300 shops at Ogbe-Ijoh market

By Emma Amaize

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ARRI— OVER 300 shops were razed, Saturday evening, as Ogbe-Ijoh market in Warri, Delta State, went up in flames again.

The cause of the fire, which started at about 8.30 pm, was unknown, but clothing and building materials shops were among those razed.

Traders were seen crying on Sunday morning at the market, lamenting their losses.

There had been several fire out-breaks in Ogbe-Ijoh market in the last few years and on each occasion, government intervened by sending relief materials to the victims, but clearly, the reason for the frequent outbreak has not been tackled.

The burnt Ogbe-Ijoh Market in Warri, yesterday. Photo: Akpokona Omafuaire.

Ondo govt suspects ethanol poisoning for death of 20 at Irele

By Dayo Johnson

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KURE — THE Ondo State government said it suspected ethanol poisoning for the death of over 20 persons at Irele area of the state last week.

It dismissed insinuation that the alleged strange disease was contagious and put death toll at 18.

Conflicting reports emanated from the remote community last week over the outbreak of a strange disease which killed the victims.

While the natives in the community alleged that some unknown persons committed sacrilege by breaking into the Malokun Shrine and stole sacred objects, government insisted such was unknown to science.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Dayo Adeyanju, speaking in Akure, said: “Findings from post-mortem carried out on the victims and other laboratory tests revealed that the disease was neither epidemic nor contagious.

"Preliminary report shows that ethanol poison was found in the systems of all the victims. Our investigations have also revealed that the victims, who, interestingly,

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were all Okada riders, gathered at some local joints to consume alcoholic substance mixed with roots and some other local herbs on the eve of the outbreak of the disease.

“I can assure you that the disease is in no way contagious. The fact that none of the caregivers has contracted the disease has greatly underscored this point.

“Therefore, the fear of spread does not arise and should be discouraged. We strongly suspect ethanol poison, and in view of this, we have ordered for another toxicology test for surviving victims.”

The commissioner, who said there had been no report of new cases in the last three days, said 23 people were affected in all, of which 18 had lost their lives.

Dr Adeyanju pointed out that the cases of five other survivors who had gone blind, had been referred to the University Teaching Hospital, UCH, Ibadan for further examination and monitoring.

The commissioner declined joining issues with traditionalists who believed that the outbreak of the

disease was a result of the atrocity of some youths who broke into the shrine and stole artifacts which angered the gods of the community Dr Adeyanju pointed out that his job “goes beyond explaining the god’s action as he was expected to back up his claims with available evidence.’’

The commissioner, however, said the dead persons would be buried in body bags to curtail the spread of the

disease.

Meanwhile, The Chief Priest of Malokun Shrine, High Chief Lemo in an interview, said the breaking into the shrine by unknown person was a sacrilege hence the casualties recorded in the community.

Lemo noted that such ugly incident was the first in the history of the community.

According to him, the gods have been appeased otherwise the death toll would have been alarming.

Army arrests 2 for impersonating Commanding Officers

By Perez Brisibe

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GHELLI — MEN of the 222 Battalion, Agbarha- Otor, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, weekend, handed over to the police, two suspects arrested for impersonating the Commanding Officer, CO, of the 3 Battalion, Warri and 222 Battalion, Agbarha-Otor.

The suspects are Enguru Marvellous and Omowhovo Efe. Handing over the suspects to the officer in charge of crime at Ughelli Area Command, DSP Raphael Wetjack, the Commanding Officer of 222 Battalion, Lt. Col. Mathew Oyekola, said the suspects while impersonating to be COs of the 3 Battalion, Warri and 222 Battalion, Agbarha-Otor, collected various sums of money from unsuspecting members of the public with a promise to assist them get recruitment into the Nigerian Army.

Warning the general public to be wary of persons claiming to assist them into the army, Oyekola stated that recruitment into the army was open to the public, following the writing of a recruitment examination.

He added that the recruitment didn’t require payments as claimed by the impersonators.

Receiving the suspects on behalf of Ughelli Area Command, DSP Wetjack stated that the suspects would face the full wrath of the law.

Six-month-old boy, four others burnt to death in Lagos

By Evelyn Usman

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AGOS — FIVE persons, including a six-month-old baby, lost their lives in separate fire, weekend, in Lagos.

One of the incidents which claimed four lives occurred after a commercial bus went up in flames at Costain. The vehicle was said to be on high speed when it lost control and in a bid to control it, the driver veered off its lane and the vehicle hit a pavement before going up in flames.

Five passengers who managed to escape from the

vehicle reportedly sustained varying degree of burns.

The other incident where a six-month-old baby lost his life occurred after fire razed a building on Shagari Estate, Mosan Okunola area of Ipaja.

The fire was said to have been caused by a lit candle in one of the rooms on house 52.

Time was 9.30pm.

The mother of the child with an undisclosed identity reportedly laid him on the bed, leaving a lit candle in the room while she was outside taking fresh air.

Residents were said to have been attracted by smoke

emanating from the building and consequently raised alarm. But before help could reach the baby, the fire had reportedly engulfed the mattress he laid on, burning him in the process.

Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Mr Rasak Fadipe, who described the incident as unfortunate, advised parents to desist from locking their children inside when they are not around. He also advised that candle sticks be avoided if possible or kept on a stand that is far from any thing that could spark up fire, should it fall.

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8 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

By Jimitota Onoyume & Davies Iheamnachor

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ORT HARCOURT—104 persons have been arrested at different locations in Port Harcourt for alleged electoral related offences.

The command spokesman, DSP Ahmad Muhammad, said 41 of them were being investigated and would. be arraigned in court soon.

He said permanent voters cards, electoral materials and offensive weapons were among items recovered from those arrested.

“The Rivers State police command wishes to inform the general public that it has, while living up to its constitutional mandate of policing the recently concluded 2015 elections in the state, arrested some suspects for various alleged offences. ‘’Accordingly, the Command is discreetly investigating 41 different cases involving 104 suspects arrested on the election days from different parts of the state. The suspects were arrested for alleged offences against the Electoral Act 2010 or other extant laws of the nation. Items recovered from the suspects include multiple permanent voter cards, PVC,

Police arrest 104 for electoral offences in Rivers offensive weapons and electoral materials, including ballot papers and boxes. ‘’The suspects will soon be arraigned before the court of law immediately investigations are concluded”, he said.

Meanwhile, a youth group in Rivers State has warned the All Progressives Congress, APC, not to challenge the outcome of the April 11th governorship and state House of Assembly elections in the state, saying that the victory of Nyesom Wike was the will of the people of the state.

The group, under the auspices of Rivers State Restoration Awareness (RSRA) gave this warning, yesterday, while reacting to the alleged electoral malpractice that was said to have truncated the electoral process.

The group said the claim by APC that the result of the election was manipulated had no basis and should be disregarded, advising the

VISIT: From left; Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Osagie Okunbor; Chairmanl, Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mr. Folusho Phillips; Director General, NESG, Mr. 'Laoye Jayeola; and former MD, SPDC, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, during a visit to the NESG by Shell leadership.

APC candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside to concede defeat.

The leader of the group, Hon. Isa Mohammed said the result of the election reflects

the will of the Rivers people, stressing that APC should not play god by challenging the result of the credible election at the election tribunal.

Mohammed threatened that youths of Rivers State will take to the street of Port Harcourt if the result of the election is nullified at the tribunal.

XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS: Nigeria counts losses

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OLLOWING xenophobic attacks by South Africans against foreigners, particularly those of African descent, Nigerians have been counting their losses with the Nigerian Consul-General, Ambassador Uche Ajulu-Okeke saying the loss by Nigerians included looted shops, burnt shops, two burnt mechanic workshops, 11 burnt cars and two stolen cars, among others.

Speaking with News Agency of Nigeria, NAN on phone, Ambassador Ajulu-Okeke said “Nigerians have compiled damages to their property and it is totalling about 1.2 million Rand or N21 million, which will be sent to the Federal Government for further action” She said that in Durban, two of the three Nigerians who were wounded during attacks had been treated and discharged from the hospital.

The consul-general said that she would go back to Durban to assess the situation on ground and meet with the provincial authority on security of Nigerians in that Province.

“The Nigerian mission in South Africa is on top of the situation.

We are working hard to protect Nigerians in South Africa.

“Though, the task has not been easy, we are trying our best. In one of the hot spots at Jeppe, near Johannesburg, the mission assisted about 50 stranded Nigerians to re-settle.

“I have also visited the site of the attacks in Johannesburg to assess the damage and it was C M Y K

enormous,” she said.

She said the Nigerian mission would meet with all Nigerian Union chapters in the nine provinces of South Africa to find strategies on how to check the attacks.

“I am bringing all Nigerians together so that we work out a vigilance and alert mechanism; they will also tell me what their challenges and issues are,” she said.

Okeke said the mission and the Nigerian Union had been working cordially to meet the challenges caused by the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians.

SAFA moves against xenophobia, plan football matches

Meanwhile, alarmed by the attacks, South African Football Association, SAFA, Chief Executive Officer, Dennis Mumble said the country’s national team will play two international friendly matches against neighbouring countries in a bid to sensitise the public on the evils of xenophobia.

“We want to use the two high-profile international friendly matches as an instrument to unite this continent. What has been happening in the past few days have really left most people in a shock and dismayed,”he said According to him, “Nelson Mandela spoke of the power of sport in uniting people from different walks of life and we

want to use the power of football to unite this continent and kick out this scourge within certain malcontents in our society. We are one continent, one Africa, we are all Africans and we say no to xenophobia,” Mumble added.

South Africa has in recent days witnessed a spate of some of the most violent xenophobic attacks with at least seven people killed in Durban and Johannesburg.

NLC, COSATUU condemn attacks

Reacting to the attacks, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in a statement signed by its Deputy President, Isaa Aremu said it joined its counterpart Federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATUU) “to condemn the reckless violent attacks on African working people and nationals in South Africa with unacceptable resultant avoidable destruction of lives and properties”.

According to the statement, “the latest round of attacks was reportedly instigated by the Zulu King in the Kwazulunatal region in South Africa. It has since spread to other commercial cities like Durban and Johannesburg. Kindly note that similar attacks in January this year claimed several lives.

In January, looters burned businesses owned by foreigners. In 2008, Seven years ago, in Johannesburg, anti-immigrant violence

claimed many innocent lives.

Most of the victims were Zimbabweans who had fled repression and dire economic circumstances. As many as 200 people were arrested on various charges, including rape, murder, robbery and theft.

These serial xenophobic attacks on innocent African workers are grossly unwarranted, condemnable and unacceptable.

“We believe that African workers have a right to seek legitimate work anywhere in the continent based on the dream and ideals set by the founding fathers such as Kwame Nkruma, Julius Nyerere, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nelson Mandela among others.

“The xenophobic attacks in South Africa is a reflection of the crisis of governance in Africa as reflected by the worsening poverty and unemployment rate in the continent”.

“We therefore call on the African Union to prevail on the South African authorities to take immediate measures to protect and safeguard the lives and properties of migrants and indeed all nationals resident in South Africa and ensure that real compensations are paid to the families of all who lost their family members and relations and also for the loss of properties.

“It is time that Governments on the continent are compelled by their citizens to work for the common good of the people. In

this direction, we will liaise with our counterpart in South Africa to join in the struggle to ensure that migrant workers do not suffer irresponsible losses anymore”.

Multichoice reacts

Also reacting, MultiChoice Africa, the continent’s premier pay-TV company, has described as appalling the violence being visited on foreigners in South Africa. MultiChoice Africa in a statement said “those affected by the wave of anti-foreigner violence happen to be brothers and sisters to their assailants which is abominable and strongly condemnable”.

It urged Africans to see themselves as one irrespective of differences in nationalities, traditions and religions. “As a multicultural African organisation, we respect and embrace diversity, and all the different traditions and religions across the continent. This is demonstrated through our multinational staff complement, rich African programming and channels on both our DStv and GOtv platforms,” the statement said.

It will be recalled that the South African Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Lulu Mnguli, on Saturday promised that the interest of Nigeria would not be hurt by criminals’ activities in South Africa.

Mnguli said that since Nigeria played a key role in helping South Africa to get freedom, it would be wrong for Nigerians to be attacked in that country by any group of persons.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 9

Presidency denies spending N2trn on 2015 election

By Ben Agande

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BUJA—SPECIAL Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati has dismissed as “mischievous, false and embarrassing”, a report in a national daily, (not Vanguard) that the Presidency spent N2 trillion on the 2015 General elections.

Reacting to the story yesterday, Dr Abati equally denied the allegation that a Committee of Five has been set up by President Jonathan to conduct an audit of how the funds were disbursed by party members and state officials.

According to Dr Abati, rather than striving to reduce the president before Nigerians and the international community, critics should applaud the president for deepening democracy.

The statement reads: “The front-page story alleging that the Presidency spent a whopping N2 trillion on the 2015 General elections, and that a Committee of Five has been set up

by President Jonathan to conduct an audit of how the funds were disbursed by party members and state officials is mischievous, false and embarrassing.

“The President has not set up any committee as alleged in that story. It is also not true that the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party used state funds, or spent N2 trillion during the campaigns. The innuendoes are wrong-headed; the motives behind the story are suspicious.

“The story alleges, for example, that the Presidency spent N2trillion on elections and embarked on a money-sharing spree to party members, support groups and state officials. The authors of the story and their self-appointed megaphones further insinuate that public funds were deployed in this regard. Their allegation of a theft of public funds is extremely malicious.

“How much is the budget of the Federal Government of Nigeria? The annual budget of the Federal Government is a little over N4 trillion. The story is practically suggesting that half of the federal budget was spent on elections. This kind of reckless insinuation is meant to incite the public and instigate national crisis.

“With FAAC having to do everything possible every month

to ensure disbursements and with the Federal Government heavily committed to the war against terror in the North East, where is the alleged N2 trillion from the Federal purse? President Jonathan and the People’s Democratic Party conducted the 2015 elections in strict accordance with the rule of law. The

suggestion of any unlawful conduct cannot be sustained under any circumstances.

“President Jonathan has done his best to protect and strengthen democracy and promote peace.

He justly deserves all the accolades that he has received from both Nigerians and the international community for this.

Certain persons and interest groups may not be happy that his profile has further risen and that his legacy is assured; but they do their country gross disservice when they act so unpatriotically.

“Anyone who is engaged in imposing a crisis on the country by any means is not being fair to Nigeria. We can only appeal to the public to be wary of such reckless tactics now on display, which form the substance of an odd, malicious campaign after the elections.''

SEMINAR: From left; Anambra State Chapter President, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Mr. Chinedu Anyaso; Regional Director, South-East 2, Skye Bank Plc, Dr. Cliff Agbaeze; Duruiheoma V, Obi of Otulu, Imo State, HRH Eze, Festus Ifeanyichukwu Orji; and Head, Small Business Group, Skye Bank Plc, Mrs. Ayo Olojede; during the maiden edition of the Skye Bank Business Seminar series, tagged “Nurturing Businesses for Growth, at Onitsha.

APC NEC to ratify zoning, transition committee on Wednesday

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

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BUJA—LEADERS of the All Progressives Congress, APC will on Wednesday ratify the zoning of principal offices of the National Assembly and the composition of the Transition Technical Committee that is to interface with the transition committee established by President Goodluck Jonathan. The meeting of the National Executive Committee, NEC of the party follows two meetings of the National Working Committee, NWC of the party last week.

The NWC Vanguard learnt yesterday was not able to reach an agreement on the names of the chairman and members of the transition committee.

It will be recalled that the national publicity secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed after the meeting told journalists that a committee had been set up to interface with the federal government for a smooth hand over of power.

He said “We have set up our own transition committee also which will interface with the Federal Government.”

Mohammad however he was not privy to the names of the members of the committee.

But a source at the national C M Y K

secretariat of APC who confided in Vanguard said that the meeting was inconclusive.

Consequently, he said that a leadership meeting of the party would hold on Wednesday to finally conclude talks on the issue.

It is also expected that the chairman and members of the committee would be unveiled on that day.

“We have not taken a final decision on that. There will be a leadership meeting on Wednesday to decide.

Probably, the chairman and members of the committee would be made public”, the source who craved anonymity said.

The NEC is also expected to ratify the recommendations of the NWC on the zoning of principal offices of the National Assembly. The NWC Vanguard learnt had recommended that the Senate President be zoned to NorthCentral Speaker of the House of Representatives to the Southwest.

The Southwest, Vanguard learnt is also to get the office of Senate Leader.

Meanwhile, Vanguard has learnt that the president-elect, Mohamadu Buhari would be arriving Abuja today.

He, it was learnt, gave the Buhari had been away in Daura, his home town in directive to APC leadership Katsina State since the April last week to set up a technical committee after the federal 11 governorship elections.

government had set up its counter-part committee and also reached out to APC on same for the transition on May 29.

Politicians should learn from Boko Haram insurgency — BADEH

By Kingsley Omonobi

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BUJA—AHEAD of the May date given by the military authorities for the final liberation of the vast Sambisa Forest and communities within from the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists, Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh has urged politicians to learn from the experience of the insurgency noting that it is a form of revolt against neglect and abandonment.

“As our democracy grows, I believe our political leaders, particularly at the state level will see that it is better you take care of the needs of people, otherwise, they could revolt against you; and what has happened with the Boko Haram insurgency is a kind of revolution, driven by hopelessness,” he said.

The CDS who was speaking weekend when the Support

Our Troops Foundation presented 3,000 books to the Defence Headquarters for distribution to the libraries of military schools, maintained that the Nigerian Troops were very much on course in the war against terrorism in the north east and called for continued public support.

“Terrorism is a product of hopelessness, when people feel that life does not worth living.

They now throw all sense of decency and caution to the wind” he said.

His words, “Very soon, what is happening in the north east will be overcome. But we can’t say it will be the last in history. Yes we will overcome all the major challenges and drive terrorism out. What will be left are those who will resort to criminality.

“Once insurgency starts in any country, you live with it. It happened in many countries and resulted in domestic terrorism. In America for instance, a young

man will just carry a gun and start killing people; that is terrorism. We should be vigilant at all times” Badeh commended the foundation “for keeping exploits and dedication of the armed forces in the psych of Nigerians, and reminded them that Nigeria is better secured when the troops are motivated and when they are supported to do their work.

He appealed to leaders at all levels and Politicians to develop programmes and policies that would improve the lives of their people noting that it was either they improve the lot of the people or the same people they neglected to amass wealth would turn against them.

He said, “Nigerian troops are very brave soldiers, we have seen it all, all over the world.

We had issues last year which have been overcome; and we have promised that not again will we allow those things to happen in Nigeria, and we are going to keep our words.”

10 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

UNREMITTED PENSION FUNDS: Lagos indicts parastatal bosses of short-changing staff

By Olasunkanmi Akoni & Monsur Olowoopejo

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AGOS—LAGOS State Government has accused the management of the stateowned parastatals of nonremittance of 15 per cent Contributory Pension Funds into the Retirement Savings Account, RSA of staff, being managed by the Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs in the state.

It was gathered that at least 11 unnamed parastatals were involved in the act of shortchanging staff by not remitting the 7.5 percent deducted from staff’s monthly salary and the 7.5 percent counterpart funding into the RSA managed by the PFAs. Commissioner for Establishment, training and Pension, Mrs. Florence Oguntuase disclosed this during the annual ministerial press briefing in Alausa, Ikeja.

Oguntuase said the state government made the discovery during an investigation to uncover the cause of the pension fund crisis that had rocked some of the state-owned parastatals for several months.

The commissioner lamented, “Many of these parastatals failed to adhere to the terms and

By Dapo Akinrefon

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PARTNERSHIP SIGNING CEREMONY: Executive Director, Personal and Business Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr. Obinnia Abajue; Deputy Group Managing Director, Coscharis Group, Mr. Okey Nwuke; and Executive Director, Personal Banking, Access Bank, Mr. Victor Etuokwu, at the partnership signing ceremony for the Coscharis Motors auto finance scheme in Lagos. condition of the new pension scheme tagged; Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS. They only make paper allocation as against remitting the cash into RSA managed by the PFAs.” She noted that the government was yet to complete its investigation,

saying, “Since the issue was brought to the attention of the state government, we have started collating the number of the parastatals that were unable to meet their pension obligations.

“Our decision is that we will treat each of the parastatals on

2015 POLLS: Tinubu fits into Awolowo’s shoes, says Alaafin’s aide

By Ola Ajayi

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BADAN–FOLLOWING the political ingenuity of the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu which resulted in the victory of the party at the recently concluded general elections, the Royal Ambassador to the Alaafin of Oyo, Aare Ayandotun

Ayanlakin has said he (Tinubu) had attained towering political heights similar to that of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

He insisted that with the enviable pedigree of Tinubu, there is no living Yoruba leader today that can match his record.

Aare Ayanlakin said this yesterday while addressing newsmen in Ibadan.

He further stated that just like

19 dead in separate incidents in Lagos, Osun summer salted which led to a

By Evelyn Usman & Bose Adelaja

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O fewer than 19 people were reportedly killed while five others were injured, weekend, during three separate incidents which occurred in Lagos and Oshun States.

While that of Lagos claimed five lives, the Osun incident claimed 14 lives between the hours of 8 and 9am respectively.

In Lagos, four passengers were roasted to death during an inferno involving a yellow bus with nine passengers on board.

The incident was said to have occured when the yellow bus heading for Costain from Victoria Island allegedly lost control and hit the culvert and eventually C M Y K

Lagos PDP seeks use of card reader for council polls

serious inferno trapping the passengers out of which five of them were rescued while others were roasted to death.

Also at CA street, house 52 Shagari Estate, Mosan Okunola Ipaja, a six-month-old baby was said to be roasted to death.

The baby was said to be sleeping in the room when the mother allegedly lit a candle which was put on the wardrobe while she was engaged outside her two bedrooms apartment.

In Osun State, 14 passengers including those in a wedding train were killed when two buses collided near Ago Babalola Seminary.

One of the vehicles, from Akure with a wedding train had a headon collission with another from Ilesa leaving 14 dead on the spot.

his prediction a year ago that Governor Abiola Ajimobi would win the election, he said that the governor would become the VicePresident of the country sooner or later.

He said, “I agree that there is a saying that the people of Oyo State don’t serve one governor twice. But the saying arose because those who had been governing Oyo State, especially during the current republic, until Ajimobi came on board, had not been serving the people.

“They have been serving themselves rather than serving the people. The reverse is the case with Ajimobi. He has been serving the people and that is why the people of Oyo State gathered together and gave him a second term.”

Ayanlakin said, “Since Ajimobi assumed office, the masses have witnessed tremendous change and that is why Ajimobi broke the age-long second term jinx because he is an outstanding governor, who has made land mark achievements and the electorate will vote for him on that basis.

“He has transformed almost all sectors. He has built roads, transformed the health sector, turned around education and agriculture, created a peaceful and conducive atmosphere and improved the welfare package of workers.”

its merit because we are aware that some of them are having challenges as it concern funds.

“So while we are still finding a common solution to resolve the issues of unremitted pension funds, we will work to ensure that the issue doesn’t grow bigger.”

Oguntuase said in order to curb it “The decision of the state government now is that before they collect their subventions, some funds will be deducted from it to offset their pension debt.

“From now on, we have directed that each of the parastatals should make sure that they back whatever deductions they make with cash,” she added.

The commissioner however, noted that the state government paid about N2 billion as pension and gratuity to retired civil servants especially those under the old scheme tagged Pay-AsYou-Go, PAYG. Oguntuase explained that the state government has 14, 981 pensioners under the old scheme consisting of 9,200 for mainstream civil servants, 32 judiciary and 5,749 for post-primary teaching service.

The commissioner stated that while 71 pensioners were reinstated into the old pension scheme after returning into the country, 47 staff file were processed for prompt payment of the terminal benefit.

N5,000 hazard allowance for emergency responders

Oguntuase disclosed that the state government has approved the fund to motivate the emergency responders in their daily activities.

The commissioner however emphasised that the money isn’t a replacement for their insurance package, saying “this money has nothing to do with their insurance package. This is just a token from the government to appreciate their efforts.”

AGOS—THE Lagos state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has advocated the use of Smart Card Readers for the state’s local council elections just as it decried the delay in the conduct of the polls.

In a statement by its State Publicity Secretary, Mr Taofik Gani, the PDP also lampooned the state government for failing to conduct the council polls long after the expiration of the tenure of the last elected council officials.

According to the PDP, the composition and existence of the councils as they presently stand is illegal, unconstitutional and democracy.

The party argued that “the administrators appointed by the state government for the council’s are not recognised nor accommodated in any of our governing laws.

Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution as amended states that only democratically elected local government council is guaranteed.”

“It is thus unexpected that a state like Lagos that says it progressive and democratic can continually disregard this constitutional provision and allow illegal, unconstitutional councils since October 2014 when the tenure of the last councils terminated”, the party stated.

The PDP however called on the Lagos House of Assembly to make necessary amendments enable to the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission, LASIEC, accommodate the use of PVC and Card Reader to conduct the council polls.

“We shall mobilise our votes and stand to protect it. We have no doubt that our soaring influence in lagos state will cut across at least 35 LCDAs and 250 Wards during the polls”, the party stated.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 11

Obasanjo plotting to abduct me to US – KASHAMU

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

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BUJA—CHIEFTAIN of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Senator-elect for the Ogun East Senatorial District, Prince Buruji Kashamu, has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of instigating foreign security agencies to apprehend him in Nigeria and extradite him to the United States of America, USA, to answer to drugrelated charges.

Consequently, he has sent a Save-My-Soul, SMS, letter to the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, insisting that the subterranean plot to ‘capture’ him has thickened.

Kashamu begged the Commission not to stand by and watch his fundamental human rights trampled upon at the behest of former President Obasanjo.

It will be recalled that it was Kashamu that persuaded Justice Valentine Ashi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting at Apo to order security agencies in Nigeria to confiscate Obasanjo’s autobiography entitled “My Watch”.

It took the former President to get the high court to vacate that confiscation order which had even prohibited both vendors and libraries in the country from as much as touching the autobiography.

Kashamu had insisted that portions of the book dwelt on his alleged involvement in drug pushing and an allegation that he is a wanted fugitive in America, a subject matter he said had already been surrendered to a competent court of jurisdiction.

Meantime, in his petition to the NHRC, Kashamu urged the commission to investigate the alleged move to abduct him and forcibly take him to the US to answer to charges bothering on drugrelated offences.

The petition, dated April 15th, 2015 was written on his behalf by his lawyer, Mr Ajibode Oluyede and entitled: “Prince Buruji Kashamu: Abduction Plans By United States of America Agents in

Collaboration with Law Enforcement Agencies in Nigeria.”

The lawyer in the petition which was addressed to the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Professor Bem Angwe, stated: “Kashamu has instructed that we bring certain important facts and records to your attention with regard to the illegality of this plan and the malicious and unpatriotic motives of those behind it and seek your urgent intervention in accordance with the jurisdiction expressly given to your

commission by the National Human Rights Act 1995 as amended to carry out and inquiry into the matter in order to establish the culpability and compromise of certain institution in this despicable plan and to protect our client’s fundamental human right to liberty, life and dignity of the person.”

Kashamu told the Commission that regardless of several decisions both in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, which exonerated him from the alleged offences, desperate politicians had been putting pressure on the Attorney General of the Federation to resuscitate the US indictment against him in Nigeria and to instigate an extradition process against him on the accusations.

SUMMIT: From left; Dr Lesley Drake, Executive Director, Partnership for Child Development, Imperial College London; Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President-Elect and Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State at the London School of Economics Africa Summit.

‘How incoming govt'll be judged'

By Dayo Johnson

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K U R E – T H E competence, credibility and popularity of the incoming administration will be judged by how it grapples with the lingering insecurity, corruption and the economy .

National Coordinator, State Peer Review Mechanism, Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat, Afeikhena Jerome said this during the 2015 Iju Public Affairs Forum organised

by World Bank Consultant, Prof

Ladipo Adamolekun.

Jerome who delivered the paper entitled “Sub-National Governments and the Development Process in Nigeria'', in Iju, Akure North area of Ondo State pointed out that elected officials both at the federal and state level will be confronted with “ a perfect storm in the area of the economy.

According to him “The mismatch

between needs and financial resources, some of which have been promised during political campaigns will present a major conundrum for both the federal and state governments.

“The foreign exchange reserve is on the downward trend, the excess crude account has dwindled from $17 billion in 2009 to $6 billion in 2014 to $2 billion in February 2015.''

By Daud Olatunji

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BEOKUTA—THE Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigerian, Mosimi, Ogun State has said that it would be too difficult for the President-elect, Gen. Muhamadu Buhari to reduce the petroleum pump price to N40 per litre.

The association said the situation in the industry could not allow such reversion, saying, it could however, be reversed to N87 per litre if the Federal Government builds refineries in some parts of the country.

The Chairman of IPMAN, in the state, Adeleke Bada stated this shortly after the assiciation’s Annual General Meeting held in Abeokuta.

Bada, who was flanked by other members of the executive of the assiciation, reacted to the advice given by former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Tam David West to the President-elect to reduce the pump price to N40, said the price is not realistic.

He said “That is not possible, if you look at the nature of the market, that isn’t realistic. Do we have the refineries?

“The only reason that can be possible is when we have our own refineries and we do not export our crude oil for processing. If the processing is done in Nigeria, then it can be sold at the rate of N40 but not until all the refineries are fixed,” he queried.

He however, blamed the non-compliance of sale of Premium Motor Spirit at the N87 stipulated price on the expenses incurred by the marketers while trying to get the fuel available for the use of the masses.

Air Traffic Controllers suspend planned strike

By Lawani Mikairu

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AGOS—THE National Air Traffic Controllers Association, NATCA, yesterday announced the suspension of its planned total shut down of Nigeria airspace by Monday, (today), due to the amicable resolution of its grievances by the Federal government.

The Air Traffic Controllers have been agitating for harmonization of professional allowances with other professional groups in NAMA. Confirming the suspension, the national president of Air Traffic Senior Staff Association of C M Y K

He maintained that the current plan to abduct him was an admission by the US authorities that there is no case against him.

He insisted that it is Obasanjo that is spreading a new witch-hunt net over him as a form of revenge against him for the comprehensive political defeat he (Obasanjo) suffered because of Kashamu in the PDP. Kashamu told the commission that the pressure on the AGF failed, a situation he said was owing to the absence of any document showing he was indicted in the US, nor any evidence that he was ever declared wanted both any authority in the US as required by the Extradition treaty in the US and the Nigerian Extradition law.

Why petrol price can’t go to N40 now — IPMAN

Nigeria, ATSSAN, Comrade Benjamin Okewu explained that the Federal government has approved the “payment of differentials in wages and allowances to the Air Traffic Controllers” It will be recalled that the Air Traffic Controllers embarked on Six Hours warning strike last Thursday which led to the closure of Nigeria airspace and made passengers to be stranded at airports across the country.

Vanguard was at the various terminals of the Lagos airport where the stranded passengers were seen loitering around the airport terminals as they were

told they would not fly because of the strike.

Reacting to this development yesterday, the Acting General Manager , Public Affairs, Nigerian Airspace Management Authority, NAMA, Mrs Olajumoke Adetona , said “Management of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) hereby wishes to inform the public that there would be no disruption in the provision of air traffic services on Monday, 20th April 2015 in line with the agency’s mandate to provide safe, economic, efficient and expeditious air navigation services.”

12—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

Grant presidential pardon to Ibori, Ijaw group urges Jonathan

By Emma Amaize

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ARRI—AN Ijaw group, the Ijaw People’s Development Initiative, IPDI, in Delta State, weekend, called on President Godluck Jonathan to grant presidential pardon to the former governor of the state, Chief James Ibori, before his exit from Aso Villa, next month.

National President the group, Mr. Austin Ozobo, in interactive with newsmen, said: “Chief Ibori has suffered enough and there is no justification for not granting him clemency, as had been done to others.”

Ozobo said Ibori was not the only corrupt leader in the country, but unfortunately, he has undergone indescribable hardship more than others.

“Ibori should be freed.

Hundreds of persons, who looted heavily from government coffers are walking freely in the streets.

The continuous incarceration of one corrupt man among a million other corrupt citizens cannot change the menace of high level corruption in the country. ‘’Ibori's imprisonment could be seen as a witch-hunt and

such is highly barbaric and provocative and the Nigerian government must quickly do something about his matter. ‘’Despite the ordeals Ibori is passing through, Deltans hold

him in high esteem and his great achievements while in office cannot be discountenanceded. ‘’There should be no sacred cow among political office

holders. Ibori’s case is not different, he is a victim of circumstances. Release him and let him breathe fresh air and let other corrupt public office holders be tried as well.”

INAUGURATION: From left: Prelate, Methodist Church Nigeria, Archbishop Samuel Uche; Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State and wife, Unoma, Sir Etekamba Umoren and wife, Gloria, during the inauguration of Methodist Church Nigeria, Ukana Ikot Ideh in Essien Udim Local Government Area.

Chidi Lloyd's admission confirms that elections took place in Rivers —OBUAH

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HAIRMAN of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Rivers State, Mr Felix Obuah, yesterday, said that the admission by Chidi Lloyd, a member representing Emohua in the state House of Assembly, that the Assembly candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, were leading in results declared in the six constituencies where elections were declared inconclusive, has further exposed as untrue, allegations launched against the elections by Governor Rotimi Amaechi that no elections held in the state.

Lloyd had, while calling for the boycott of the rescheduled elections in Ahoada East 1, Ahoada East 11, Emohua, Etche 1, Etche 11 and Opobo/ Nkoro state constituencies held on Saturday, said: “The APC Assembly candidates were leading in the results of the Assembly election in those constituencies," adding that elections held and were credible, free and fair.

Obuah, in a statement by his media aide, said the party was not perturbed by the APC’s boycott of the rescheduled election in the affected constituencies in the state.

“The PDP and other political

parties participated in the rescheduled election. The APC cannot win elections in Rivers State, realizing that they would lose, they have no other option, than to pull out of the elections.

Therefore, boycotting the rescheduled elections, makes no meaning.

It did not affect the conduct, outcome and credibility of the results,” he said.

He commended the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,

and security agencies for the peaceful conduct of the rescheduled state House of Assembly election.

He also congratulated candidates of the party for winning the election and Rivers people for massively voting for the PDP. “Chidi Lloyd’s position has indeed vindicated the position of the PDP and Rivers people and also corroborated reports of the local and international observers that elections were

held creditably in Rivers State and the PDP won overwhelmingly.

“The position of Chidi Lloyd, an APC House of Assembly candidate, who lost the rescheduled election, that they participated in the election on April 11, 2015, voted and they were leading in results so far declared, has further exposed Amaechi and Dakuku Peterside as liars, when they said no elections held in Rivers State."

Protest votes give APGA victory in Bayelsa rescheduled Assembly poll

By Samuel Oyadongha

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ENAGOA—PROTEST votes against the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Saturday's rescheduled Bayelsa State House of Assembly election led to the emergence of the candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Ebiye Tarabina, in Kolokuma/ Opokuma constituency II. Tarabina, according to the result declared Saturday night by the Returning Officer, Dr. E. Roselyn, defeated the PDP candidate, Ongore Ebikeme

with 3,962 votes. Ongore of the PDP scored 3,182 votes.

PDP loyalists had in an earlier statement claimed that the party was already cruising to victory in the rescheduled House of Assembly polls in Sagbama, Southern Ijaw and Kolokuma-Opokuma constituencies.

According to PDP agents, the APGA candidates were allegedly sponsored by First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan and Waripamowei Dudafa and were roundly defeated at the polls despite their undue

interference and manipulation of the process.

One of the aides of the accused Dudafa, Bebetimi Dasuo, dismissed the allegation of manipulation as false.

He said: “We are all out to vote for the person not the party. The people of constituency II believed strongly in the victorious candidate and used their votes to protest against imposition.

My boss stayed away because he does not want to be accused of manipulation.”

PDP commends conduct of governorship, Assembly polls in Delta

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By Festus Ahon

S A B A — D E LT A State Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has commended the conduct of the governorship and state House of Assembly elections in the state by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, describing protests by those complaining over the exercise as the cries of drowning persons.

The state chairman of the party, Chief Edwin Uzor, who addressed newmen in Asaba, said the victory of the PDP at the elections was as a result of hard-work.

Uzor said the party presented to Deltans the best candidate for the governorship election and commended the people for their confidence on Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.

He said that it was also gratifying to see the party win the majority of the seats in the state House of Assembly.

Group faults Wike's allegation against Abe

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HE Magnus Abe C a m p a i g n Organisation, has said that it was aware of plots to malign the character of Senator Abe, warning that such plan will fail because it was anchored on falsehood.

The organisation in reaction to comments made by the Rivers State governor-elect, Mr Nyesom Wike on a live Television programme monitored in Port Harcourt, alleging that Sen. Abe orchestrated the attack on a house in Bera, Gokana Local Government Area of the state, said it would have ignored such comment, but for the misleading impact it would create on the public.

“We are aware of gangup against our Senator with a view to assassinating his hard earned reputation, but, such enterprise will fail because it is based on falsehood,” it said.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015—13

Gunmen invade Jonathan's aide's home in Bayelsa

By Samuel Oyadongha

police security operatives in Dudafa residence.

“They ordered me to open the gate. I opened a small gate and saw about 10 of them. They pushed me and they gained entry into the premises. They hit my head. They tied my hands, my legs, covered my mouth and eyes with celotape. They went for my room at the security gate and asked me to show them the apartments of police security in the building.

“They also asked for Oga’s (Dudafa) house keys. I told them I did not know where they were

Y

since I was not the person keeping them. They said they would kill me if they eventually find the keys in my place. I kept quiet.”

Adamu disclosed that the armed men ransacked his room and found a bag where they found a bunch of keys which they used to gain access to the main house.

He said one of his brothers, Ibrahim, who went out came back and was taken by the gunmen to the boys quarters to access a room where a nephew of Dudafa, Preye Okoru, was sleeping.

He said he could not ascertain

what they took from the house but he heard them dragging a big bag towards the gate when they were going.

It was learned that the Bayelsa State Police command when informed of the incident dispatched a patrol van of the Operation Doo Akpor and a crack team of Police detectives to the house.

Contacted the state police command spokesman, Mr. Asinim Butswat confirmed the incident. He said the information at his disposal was that the invaders were clad in military

ENAGOA—THE Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, private residence of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Domestic Matters, Dr. Waripamowei Dudafa, was weekend invaded by gunmen clad in mobile police uniform, carting away unspecified items.

The building is located behind the low density Tower Hotel area of Ekeki suburb.

Vanguard learned that the invaders, 10 in number, stormed the residence at 8p.m.

The gunmen, according to eyewitness account, repeatedly demanded to know the whereabouts of the policemen guarding the house and when told they were not on duty, they ransacked the whole house and destroyed the safe close to Dudafa’s room.

They were said to have gained entry into the premises after telling the security men (civilians) that they were policemen from police headquarters Abuja.

On gaining entry, the invaders were said to have bound the chief gateman, one Adamu, tying his legs, his hands, covering his eyes and gagging him.

Adamu said the suspects came in two black Sport Utility Vehicles.

He said they came and banged on the door, asking “where is the security man, where is the security COMMISSIONING: From left: Chairman, Uvwie LGA, the Ovie of Uvwie, Ovie of Uvwie, man? I told them I was coming.

When I asked who they were, Emmanuel Sideso; Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State; his Deputy, Prof. Amos they replied they were policemen. Utuama, during the commissioning of the Effurun, Uvwie Flyover Bridge in Warri, weekend.

They asked the whereabouts of the Photo: Henry Unini.

N-Delta ex-militants pledge support for Buhari

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By Samuel Oyadongha

ENAGOA—NIGER Delta ex-militant leaders have pledged to cooperate with the incoming administration of the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd).

The ex-agitators, under the aegis of Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative, LPCDI, added that said their support for Buhari will be based on the sustenance of the amnesty programme.

National President, LPCDI, Pastor Reuben Wilson, hailed Buhari on his victory at the poll, but begged him not to abandon the amnesty programme of the Federal Government.

He, however, alleged that Jonathan’s defeat at the poll was a conspiracy of the South/West and the North against the South/ South and the South/East.

Wilson, in a statement in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, called on all freedom fighters to support the incoming administration to enable it fulfill its campaign promises to Nigerians.

Describing the amnesty

programme as the only panacea to peace and security in the Niger Delta region, he said it should not be toyed with by the incoming government.

He warned that there will be no peace in the region if the Presidential

Amnesty Programme was neglected or abandoned.

According to him, if the Niger Delta was neglected as it was in the past, the ex-militants will use every resource at their disposal to stop crude oil production in the region.

How I fought Edo political god-fathers,

by Oshiomhole

By Simon Ebegbulem Party, PDP- led Federal

G

O V E R N O R A d a m s Oshiomhole of Edo State, weekend, expressed his excitement in presiding over what he described as the political funeral of people he described as political godfathers in Edo State.

He confessed that it was not an easy battle because the godfathers were allegedly being shielded by the Peoples Democratic

Government, but that with the emergence of the All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal Government, come May 29, “it is all over with the godfathers in Edo State.”

The governor in a chat with members of the Correspondence Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, in Edo State, said “If you recall where we are coming from in this state, you will appreciate how I feel.

When I came in as governor, every councillor in this state, local government chairmen, House of Assembly members, the governor and of course you have the Presidency, all PDP members. Now to imagine that from ground zero we came in to challenge this order and of course we must not forget that when they talk about god fatherism in Nigeria politics, it is a small, powerful, unaccountable, un-elected group."

Anioma leaders urge support for Okowa

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HE Asagba of Asaba, HRM Obi Chike Edozien and leaders of the Anioma nation have canvassed continuous support for Delta State governor-elect, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, whom they urged to focus on security, creation of jobs and development of enduring infrastructure across the state during his tenure.

The Asagba, who met with Dr. Okowa in his palace in Asaba, called on Anioma sons and daughters to show support and understanding for Okowa, who has been mandated to govern the entire state on the basis of fairness.

The monarch, while congratulating Dr. Okowa, charged him to run an allinclusive administration based on fairness with emphasis on human and infrastructural development to bring prosperity to all Deltans.

In a statement the Secretary-General of Anioma Congress, Chief Dan Okenyi, said: “We expect that Asaba, as the state capital, should be given a facelift. We are also looking forward to a carefully planned infrastructural development programme across the state."

14 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

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Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015—15

Imo govt, APC accuse state REC of partisanship

By Chidi Nkwopara & Chinonso Alozie

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W E R R I — T H E leadership of All Progressives Congress, APC, and Imo State Government have accused the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in the state, Dr. Gabriel Adah, of partisanship.

While the APC said it had lost confidence in the ability of the REC to remain impartial during the forthcoming supplementary election in the state, Governor Rochas Okorocha’s administration accused him of being a card carrying member of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Addressing a press conference on behalf of the APC in Owerri, the Director General of Rochas Campaign Organization, Mr. Iheukwumere Alaribe, said: “For the integrity of the electoral system to be protected ahead of Imo governorship and House of Assembly supplementary elections, the Resident Electoral Commissioner should be removed for being biased.”

He said the REC inflated the figures where the supplementary elections would be held in order to justify the need for a supplementary election.

“The REC is the major challenge facing the party. He is the obstacle towards the victory of APC in the state,’’ he said.

The state government on its part said: “Dr. Adah was never

qualified for the position he is now occupying because he is a card-carrying member of the PDP.” The government’s position, which was signed by Okorocha’s media aide, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, also disclosed that Dr. Adah was former speaker of Cross River State House of Assembly and was sent to Imo State to do a hatchet job for the PDP. “We had this information on Dr. Adah even before the election, but

on our part, we had believed that even when he was sent to work for a particular candidate and party, he could also be guided by wisdom to do the right things. ‘’But we have discovered that he has failed or refused to exercise the wisdom that mostly goes with age and experiences in life,” Onwuemeodo said.

Okorocha’s media aide alleged that the Returning Officer for Ezinihitte Mbaise doctored the result of the election in INEC

Office, Owerri, by allocating 48,844 votes to the PDP, adding that it took the alarm raised by the APC agents to force the REC to order for the result sheets of the LGA to be looked at again.

The government called on INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, to investigate the activities and conduct of Dr. Adah as the REC in the state and look into the allegations against him for necessary actions by the commission.

AWARD: Managing Director, Microsoft Nigeria, Mr Kabelo Makwane presenting the Top 25 CEO Awards to Operations Director, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Mr Abiola Adebayo (left) during the BusinessDay top 25 CEO Awards held in Lagos.

ANAMBRA SENATE POLL: Umeh files petition at tribunal

By Vincent Ujumadu

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WKA—THE national chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, and the party ’s senatorial candidate for Anambra Central in the March 28, National Assembly election, Chief Victor Umeh, has filed a petition at the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Awka, challenging the declaration of Mrs. Uche Ekwunife of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as winner of the election.

The documents were received by the secretary to the tribunal, Josephine Ekperobe, and her support staff at the High Court complex in Awka at about 6pm on Saturday.

Umeh said though he was not desperate to become a senator, he decided to challenge the outcome of the polls to defend Nigerian democracy and in order not to disappoint voters in Anambra Central who overwhelmingly cast their votes for APGA. He said he had been inundated with calls by all cadres of people, most of who cried while discussing the

election with him and assured that he would prove at the tribunal that Anambra was not a place where fraudulent people could force themselves into elective positions.

He said: “This issue is not about Umeh. It is about protecting the system and with the filing of this petition, I have

done what I always do when things go wrong in the electoral process.

“From the Certified True Copies of Form EC8A1 from all the polling units, I won the election convincingly and we have challenged all the manipulations done during the exercise.

“I believe that if the judiciary rises to the occasion, the right thing will be done ultimately.

Those who know me can testify that I am not somebody who is afraid of following judicial process because for the past 12 years, I have been fighting electoral fraud against out party."

Outrage trails Enugu's debt profile

By Francis Igata

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NUGU—ANGRY reactions have trailed the revelation,weekend, that Enugu State is among top 10 indebted states and most indebted in the South-East geopolitical zone.

Figures from the Debt Management Office, DMO, show that Enugu is indebted to the tune of N13.786 billion without domestic debts, to emerge the most indebted state in the South-East region.

This is apart from the N11

billion loan request which Governor Sullivan Chime had sought approval for from the Enugu State House of Assembly which the House hurriedly threw away last week, following protests from the people.

Fuming with anger, Enugu State chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr. Ben Nwoye, said: “The governor simply has mortgaged the future of Enugu State. Is this the price his successor has to pay?

“The governor has shown fiscal irresponsibility from the day he took office. He is

leaving the state worse off financially than he met it.

Chime's administration’s penchant for borrowing without approval will drown whatever efforts that is geared towards developing the state.

“His successor will end up borrowing to service these loans, especially now that there is a decline in oil revenue.

“The last minute efforts by the House to question his financial recklessness, though belated, is worthy. We will rise against this impunity from May 29 when his immunity must have ceased to exist.”

Aba NBA chair condemns killing of Ughelli branch counterpart

By Felix Ogbonna

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HAIRMAN of Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Aba branch, Mr. Chidozie Ogunji, has condemned the killing of his Ughelli branch counterpart, Mr. Austin Icheghe and two other lawyers in Warri, Delta State.

Icheghe was reportedly killed in front of his home by yet to be identified gunmen while Eguno Daiaghor and Samuel Ekuwangi were killed on March 27 on their way to court, a situation Ogunji said has made lawyers endangered species.

Ogunji in a telephone interview in Aba said if the situation was not addressed and culprits brought to book, lawyers would continue to lose their lives in the hands of people who do not mean well for the society.

Youths allege plot to scuttle Abia re-run polls

By Caleb Ayansina

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BUJA—AHEAD of the re-run elections in Abia State, the Nigerian Youth Congress, yesterday, raised an alarm over alleged plans by some top military brass to deploy personnel for the conduct of the elections, contrary to an Abuja High Court order restraining the military from participating in the 2015 polls.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had declared April 11 governorship election in the state inconclusive, due to some irregularities and announced April 24 for the polls.

Speaking in an interview with newsmen, in Abuja, the President, Nigerian Youth Congress, Comrade Yakubu Shendam, said the heavy presence of the military in Abia during the April 11 elections was alarming.

16—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

Enugu Water Corporation boss fired for disobeying gov’s order

By Austin Ogwuda

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NUGU—THE Managing Director of Enugu Water Corporation, Mr. Chibuzo Aka, has been sacked by Governor Sullivan Chime for allegedly failing to heed executive order directing him to hand over to officials of AG God Trust Limited, the private firm the corporation was given in concession for 25 years.

Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly, Mr. Lawrence Agbo, disclosed this while briefing the press in Enugu yesterday over the controversial water concession arrangement that brought the House in collision course with the executive and such other issues as the outright rejection of the N11 billion loan request.

He said: “Is it not appalling despite the House’s resolution suspending the water concession issue, the executive went ahead to continue with it.

Instead what they did was to direct, as a matter of fact, for the MD Water Corporation to hand over disregarding the resolution of the House.

“When the MD Water

Corporation got the resolution of the House and of course he insisted that he was not going to hand over then he was fired and one of the directors was appointed in his place. The House of Assembly in course of it deliberations felt that

concession of water is not in the best interest of Enugu State .

“The Chief Press Secretary contradicted himself. He denied the concession and then agreed that it was PPP and came back to say that the concession agreement was

executed. Beyond that the House has correspondences between the commissioner for Water Resources and Chairman House Committee on Water Resources and of course the Clerk of the House showing that the intention was to concession water in Enugu for 25 years."

MOTHER'S DAY: Parish Administrator, Rev. (Fr.) Jude Nwigwe, with the President, Catholic Women Organization, Ms. Pauline Otu with the Chairperson of the event, Mrs. Eugenia Toby (2nd right) and other women as he blesses the gift items meant to be donated to two orphanages during events organised to mark the 2015 Mother's Day in Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida.

Parties call for cancellation of Abia gov poll

By Anayo Okoli

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MUAHIA—FIVE political parties that participated in the April 11 governorship and House of Assembly elections in Abia State have called for total cancellation of the election.

They also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct a re-run of the election.

“There were no elections in Abia State on April 11, 2015, as the people of Abia State were not allowed to exercise their franchise on the election day

and we call on all well meaning Nigerians to add their voice to the call for total cancellation and a re-run in the state,” the parties alleged.

The protesting parties are APC, UPP, NCP, PDC and Labour Party Addressing journalists in Umuahia weekend, some governorship and House of Assembly candidates of the parties commended the people of the state for resisting the alleged massive rigging.

Their spokesman and governorship candidate of UPP, Chief Mgbeahurukwe-Dike Ogbuehi, said: “Abia embraced the change blowing in Abia, and

indeed Nigeria”, and resisted the usual rigging of elections in the state.

“We wish to remind the Government in power that it is no longer business as usual, where you just churn out results the way you like and ask your co-contestants to go to court.

“We commend the INEC for the introduction of the Card Reader as it has gone a long way in reducing electoral malpractices in the system.

“We demand that all those involved in the electoral malpractices in Abia State be part of the re-run and should be prosecuted according to the law of the land.”

Ika youths laud Onuesoke for supporting Okowa

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HE Ika Youth Council in Delta North senatorial district of Delta State, yesterday, thanked Chief Sunny Onuesoke, former governorship aspirant in 2007 under the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for standing by Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, the state governor-elect before, during and after the election.

In a statement at the end of a crucial meeting by Joshua Okoh, Chairman, of Ika youths, said they were astonished at the performance of Chief Onuesoke in ensuring that Senate Okowa emerged as the state’s governor elect.

“We are impressed by the performance of Onuesoke, who stood firm to defend and fully support our brother, governorelect, Okowa. He was the first Urhobo man to stick to the Okowa boat right from the governor-elect's aspiration to when he gained victory at the just concluded governorship election in Delta State. We therefore, urge Okowa to take Onuesoke as his right hand man because his steadfastness shows that he (Onuesoke) could be trusted and should not be neglected in the new government.”

Ekwunife slams Anambra govt over security

By Chimaobi Nwaiwu

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N E W I — S E N AT O R ELECT for Anambra Central senatorial zone and sitting member of House of Representatives, Mrs Uche Ekwunife, yesterday at Nri, Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, described as a sham the security being provided by the state government.

She alleged that what Anambra State government was doing was chasing away one violent criminal and letting in 100 others , adding that the level of thuggery

going on in the state was unprecedented.

Reminded that the present government in the state has not recorded robbery and kidnapping in the last eight months, Ekwunife said: “This government chased away one armed robber and allowed in 100.

You chase one out and you bring 100 to replace that one, is that fighting crime, what is the meaning of that?”

She also said that the rescheduled Anambra State House of Assembly election in some local government areas was

marred state sponsored thuggery that had never been seen since the creation of the state.

However, the police arrested 10 young men said to be smoking Indian hemp during the last election and PVCs were alleged to have been found on them, at Regal Secondary School, a popular polling center at Nri. Ekwunife, while reacting to the arrest, accused Anambra State government of bringing the boys to disrupt and rig election for the ruling All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 17

C M Y K

18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2014 NIGERIANS and their democracy are unique.

If elsewhere people delight in the capacities of their government to deepen their liberties, broaden opportunities, our democracy is delivered as structures, visible and tangible. We call them dividends of democracy.

The lure of dividends - a throw back to the days when the economy supported companies making returns to shareholders - has created an array of expectations. People expect democracy to translate to instant wellbeing. Politicians egg them on in the desires for a better life, which they paint in rosy strokes during campaigns, but often do not deliver.

Where people expect employment, health services, rural development, security, education, governments point to peace and unity (currently eluding many parts) as dividends of democracy.

Dividends of democracy manifest in renovated schools, repainted hospitals, more vehicles for the judiciary and security agencies. They are celebrated as if their impacts would in a wave wipe out the deep-seated issues distracting the country.

One of them is the tendency to deny the people their rights to choose, especially their leaders.

Our Unique Democracy Choice as a foundation of democracy is reflected in the importance and regularity of elections. The decisions about leaders should be made in fairer setting and in ways that produce leaders whose acceptability derives from the processes, at every level, across the country.

Equating physical developments with gains of democracy could result in dissipating the more important aspects of democracy and by extension accepting any form of rule, as long as it builds better roads and bridges. Democracy is deeper.

The liberties of democratic rule since 1999 are reminders of the possibilities of democratic governance.

Democracy awards us vast liberties which our Constitution enunciates. We must expand our peoples’ rights to life, to ownership of property, to participation in the economy and most importantly, their participation in politics. The rights to security of lives and property are facing challenges; they should be tackled more decisively.

Rights have prospered or withered in various measures in the past 16 years. Nigerians like to be heard, they have been talking. Is anyone listening? More people are agitating for more States or local governments. Others want restructuring, to award the States more powers.

Would Nigerians be free to live in any part of Nigeria? Democracy should induce more economic competition among Nigeria’s federating units and improve lives.

Democracy is about the people. The consistent exclusion of the people in decisions about them is undemocratic. It is at the centre of the agitations that question the relevance of democracy and minimises people’s stake in Nigeria. Our democracy can be saved from being a ritual when governments are about the people and for the people.

OPINION Abia guber race: Between winning and rigging

By Emelogu Martins

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HE mass protests, negative public reactions, inconclusive results processing, etc that have trailed the March 28th and April 11 national and governorship elections in Abia State constitute food for thought for followers of Abia politics, particularly those genuinely committed to the struggle for change. The real winners of that election are not essentially the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) candidates who are temporarily robbed of their victories, but Abians who voted in defiance of weather condition, hunger occasioned by several months of backlog of unpaid salaries, proven harassments, occasional molestations by agents of the outgoing administration in the State. We witnessed a most desperate attempt to keep whitewashing glaring failure, near total lack of governance and incompetence of the last eight years of the exiting administration in the state.

There is no doubt that Abians have made up their minds to vote against any stooge planted by a government that has turned her eyes the other way while several pensioners and retired public servants languish to death as a result of unsettlement of due benefits, a government that has stashed the State funds away for the purpose of muscling out opposition through selective payments.

Abians are not fooled by all these. These profligate acts could have been uncalled for C M Y K

if the PDP administration in the state had endeared itself to the hearts of Abians through noticeable performances.

Abians are prepared to give the PDP administration in the State its score card. As another election approaches because of the inconclusiveness of the governorship election, it is important to urge Abians to continue to vote for change notwithstanding the egregious manipulations and provocations. We must remain vigilant in these few days preceding this decisive election. After all, eternal vigilance is said to be the price of freedom. This is one way through which the Abians can stand on their way as they prepare to execute their evil machinations on the day the INEC is yet to decide.

A few days to the conduct of the Governorship and House of Assembly Elections, the PDP in Abia State was in a frantic move to circumvent the processes h laid down by the INEC for the conduct of the elections. As transparent as the REC in the state has been acknowledged to be, it is important to re-emphasise that she must not sit and fold her arms while the PDP script is being acted by her immediate subordinates.

It is important to stress at this time how the prayers, fasting, and steadfastness of

We must not give any of these officials room to perpetrate their nefarious acts to our detriment.

Nigerians were attended to by God himself to avert the catastrophic predictions of the concluded national elections. We do not expect that any second tier leader would want to create a cataclysmic environment of violence for his subjects in a bid to win in a do die means. The attempts to thwart the will of the people through a rancorous manipulation of the electoral process as being planned by the PDP in Abia State is to say the least condemnable. The national elections were successful because INEC strictly adhered to the provisions and guidelines for the conduct of the elections.

One is at lost while the PDP is opposed to the use of Card Readers for the next elections.

The scheming to abandon the Card Readers in collusion with the suspected Principal elements in the Commission points to a glaring electoral malpractice which the REC should have by now been concerned about.

If she had had no inkling, Abians are drawing her attention to this worrisome developments within the INEC in the State.

The resort to mass production of incident forms beyond what has been sent to the state is an ominous signal for impending rigging.

It is important to allow Abians to freely and willingly decide what manner of Abia State they want. Whether they want an Abia with the continuation of the pervasive rot, controlled by a nest of mindless and unconscientized cohorts who carry on by deceit and perpetual falsification of truism or an Abia driven by an independent minded achiever and technocrat who has the

pedigree and potentials to reposition the state within the comity of states in the country.

Whether they want a man who has made committed pronouncements to the future of Abia children and youths or a leader who will sustain the promotion of the culture of touting and reward for brigandeous behaviours.

The plan to cause the abandonment of the use of the Electronic Card Readers which is one of the innovations by INEC to guarantee the integrity of the voting process and enhance the belief and commitment of our people to the democratic evolution must be resisted. Anything that did not follow the planned pattern as specified by INEC must be challenged. Abians must also question the late arrival of materials and officials to polling units, as this has been uncovered to be deliberate in order to drag the voting and collation processes into the night to wear voters out who may be determined to wait to protect their votes. This is further intended to cause psychological provocation, and facilitate their planned mass rigging. Abians must also resolve to challenge overzealous security men, some of whom may be fake in their brazen attempts to keep the voters away from polling and collation centres. We must be united n our resolve to ensure that the huge sums of the public funds which have been deployed to buy over the electoral officials in the state are rendered ineffective.

We must not give any of these officials room to perpetrate their nefarious acts to our detriment.

•Mr. Martins, a lawyer, wrote from Abuja.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 —19 Send Opinions & Letters to: opinions1234@yahoo.com

APC : To each according to his contribution

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HE out-going Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the in-coming ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) have the same DNA. They are siblings of the same parentage. When party politics was re-introduced by the departing military regime in 1998, the bulk of politicians decided to establish a mega party, the PDP. Shortly after, there was a migration by a dissatisfied group, and the All Peoples Party (APP) was founded. It is claimed that the bulk of the brains, like Chief Bola Ige, that produced the PDP founding documents, moved to the new party, did the same donkey work, and then found themselves do same for a third party; the Alliance for Democracy (AD).

Almost all the major political leaders today, can trace their ancestry or political family tree to this threesome. In the 1999 general elections, an alliance resembling the APC was formed when the predominantly Northern APP and its Western counterpart, the AD presented a joint Presidential candidate, Chief Olu Falae against PDP’s Chief Olu segun

Obasanjo.

The APP first transformed into ANPP with General Muhammadu Buhari as its 2003 Presidential candidate, then a part moved out to create the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) with Buhari as candidate. The CPC then went into an alliance to emerge as APC. On the other hand, the AD metamorphosed into the Action Congress Party (ACN) before going into the APC alliance.

The APC is, ACN plus CPC, and ANPP with a faction of APGA. Nigerians having to choose between APC and PDP in the 2015 general elections was similar to a monarchy with two dominant ruling houses. In a monarchy, while the tussle for the throne can be intense, even acrimonious and bloody, at the end, whoever emerges the new king, is unlikely to endanger the system. That is not to say that kings do not defer from one another; but it could come down to a matter of style such as that between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan or Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

With the elections generally over,

jingles ended, the observers turning to other jobs; after the victory songs and dances, the back slapping and feast, the APC will now undergo a filtering process with the sediments settling at the bottom and the top becoming clearer. The time for governance has come. At its moment of victory, the APC in comparative terms, is not as cohesive a force as the PDP. It is a coalition with the twin objectives of electorally defeating the ruling party and taking over state power. Having achieved both, part of the glue holding it together may no longer be strong.

A challenge the APC faces, is how to distribute public offices amongst its coalition partners and

The task for the APC is not made easier with an elder like Prof.

Tam David-West promising Nigerians that under Buhari, a litre of fuel will come down to N40

ARSO president’s forum, bridgehead to greater inter-African trade

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By Chimeziri Franklin

RADE is the very life of the economy.

It is in trade that one accesses the value that the other party provides. It is trade that allows wealth creation to take place. It is trade that distributes wealth among the nations and continents of the world. In the records of trade, leaders can see where economic threats and business opportunities lie. It is the job of economic managers (and brand managers) to monitor trade and prescribe measures that will correct unfavourable situations. Sadly, Africa’s trade situation betrays an alarming neglect by those who ought to have watched over it.

The continent’s share of world trade is an insignificant five percent. Hardly has the black man’s continent got something to offer other than raw materials and that makes the people the poorest in the world. Cocoa, rubber, shea butter , petroleum, iron ore and other commodities go cheap from Africa and once the other continent has processed them into secondary or tertiary products like beverages, pharmaceuticals, shoes and machines, Africans buy them at a huge cost since (let’s say, the European) personnel who added the value have to be handsomely paid; likewise, other European inputs such as land, capital and shipping have to be profit-centres too.

Africa’s manufacturing sector is still emerging. Only South Africa is an industrialized nation. Almost totally dependent on other continents for their supplies of manufactured products, African nations have little trading between them; their trade interest is mostly the industrialised countries of Asia, Europe and America that need raw materials to feed their production. A single African country commands 75 per cent of inter-African trade C M Y K

leaving the rest of the 54 nations in the continent to share 25 per cent…industrialised South Africa. But it is so discernible that standardisation is a major force determining each continent’s trade-power. Nevertheless, this force works for the continent’s economy only when the countries have standards in common; when the countries collectively uphold the standards. Where only lip service is paid to the prescribed harmonisation of standards, not so much can be achieved.

The importance of standardisation to Africa’s fortunes was not lost on the founding fathers of the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO). An intergovernmental body, ARSO was founded by the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) {which is now known as the African Union (AU)} and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in 1977.

With its secretariat in Nairobi, Kenya, the organisation has its roots in the African independence heroes’ desire for interAfrican trade as key to the continent’s prosperity and their understanding that

As a country pursuing economic diversification, Nigeria will need a larger market for its increasing products and what continent is better placed to receive Nigeria’s products than its own continent

still retain its coherence. Will the distribution be ‘to each according to his contributions’ or needs?

Would the contributions be measured in terms of votes secured, financial contributions or bearing the brunt of battle? In a federation, would it include ‘a fair share’ for the East and South-South that voted overwhelmingly for the PDP or be confined to those who produced the recipe, brought the ingredients and cooked the dishes?

In filling positions, would there be an emphasis on technocrats, or rewarding the party faithful?

Perhaps the hardest part for the APC is what change it would bring in the lives of Nigerians.

Having studied the party manifesto and followed its campaigns, I am not really sure what to expect. For instance, the party promised to create three million jobs annually, but there are no clear details how this will be done. What is however unsettling to me is the party’s promise to implement the Orasanye Report which involves the reduction or merger of federal ministries, departments and agencies. To assume that this will not lead to massive lay-offs is to promise that a major surgery will not involve loss of blood. How does the party hope to balance mass job creation and massive job lay-offs?

Fifty eight million Nigerians are said to be currently under the poverty line, the APC promises to place twenty five million of them on some stipend to alleviate their poverty status. Yet the party has promised to end fuel subsidy, a major means of alleviating poverty given the multiplier effects of increases in prices of petroleum products. So how does the party intend to make Life More Abundant (LMA) if it removes the subsidy on a life line of Nigerians?

standardisation is the strategy for achieving it. Accordingly, the organisation is mandated to harmonise national and subregional standards as African standards. It is also mandated to promote and facilitate exchange of experts, information and cooperation in training of personnel in standardisation activities. Another objective of ARSO is to coordinate the views of its members at the ISO, IEC, OIML, Codex and other organisations that engage in standardisation activities.

Despite this inspiring mandate, ARSO has so far not succeeded in rallying the whole of the continent to one regime of standardisation. The organisation has a lot to achieve in the area of harmonisation of standards which is the key to the desired fortune. It is short of achievements in this area due to the non-commitment of many African countries (even those that have ratified the ARSO constitution) to the success of the body. Many of them do not pay their dues and do not participate in ARSO's activities. Worse still, many of them do not even have a national standards body; their standardisation activities are carried out by an ordinary directorate within a ministry.

It is against this background that the organisation’s current president and the director general of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Joseph Ikem Odumodu is hosting the ARSO President’s Forum – a special convocation bringing the heads of standards authorities from all over Africa together in Abuja on June 22-24, 2015 to brainstorm on how to engineer free flow of goods, services and technology across the continent and improve the people’s lives. Put simply, the ARSO President’s Forum is aimed at activating the collective efforts in standardisation that will break the barriers to trade for the continent to prosper.

Analysts are convinced that the Forum can really yield the expected fruits. For example, Jack Jose, a writer on branding and standardisation, says that “once all the bosses in charge of standardisation meet

The task for the APC is not made easier with an elder like Prof. Tam David-West promising Nigerians that under Buhari, a litre of fuel will come down to N40. This is possible, but it requires a patriotic economic system, not the surrender to the imaginary market forces to which the APC has pledged itself.

The party has promised to end the Boko Haram nightmare, but it has not posited a different strategy from the existing one. Yes, it has promised to recruit 100,000 additional police officers, but the insurgency is not what can be tackled by police action. It is good that it intends to effect a pay rise for the military and security forces.

At best, this will raise morale, but it cannot effectively tackle the insurgency nor will the establishment of a Federal AntiTerrorism command structure. We should not put too much store in bringing back the Americans to train our military. The truth is that the American military has not fared well in tackling insurgency whether in the Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia of the 1960s and 70s or more recently in Afghanistan and Iraq. When tragically, the Chibok girls were abducted one year ago, Nigeria, despite the security implications, opened its doors and borders to all manner of foreign security services and troops. But nothing concrete came out of this.

It is good that the President-elect has moved to reduce expectations; we should not expect miracles. The reality is that the insurgency and insecurity may be with us for some time.

Not haven being in government before, I may not know how it runs.

But I assume that it is easier being in opposition than running government.

and get immersed in the good news and excitement of standardisation as a proven strategy for both the individual countries and the continent, their interest in and commitment to ARSO will increase and that will make the body stronger. Then those of them that have no national standards body will, under the influence of those that already have, begin to strive to have theirs. Those who are not building up their national quality infrastructure will also learn from those who are. As the quality infrastructure improves across the continent, better African products will emerge, winning more buyers from within Africa and even beyond, and making increased inter-African trade and increased African share of world trade a big reality.”

On what Nigeria especially has to gain from this Forum, Jack Jose has this to say: “As a country pursuing economic diversification, Nigeria will need a larger market for its increasing products - and what continent is better placed to receive Nigeria’s products than its own continent!

Of course, it’s like a sacrifice for Nigeria to host this big conference, but being the continent’s largest economy, it’s potentially the biggest beneficiary”.

Indeed, upon his election as ARSO president in Yaounde, Cameroun two years ago, Dr. Odumodu urged a stronger ARSO and massive investment in quality infrastructure on both national and continental levels. He promised that if all heads of government and heads of standards authorities in Africa heeded the call, the quality of goods and services from the continent would improve and attract more buyers (more income for investors and workers) and more employment for the youth and help the continent transit to an industrialised economy whose products would be globally acceptable! Dr. Odumodu also instituted the African Standards Day to help draw the continent’s attention to the benefits of international standards.

•Mr. Franklin, a business historian, wrote from Lagos.

20—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

I

PARTICIPATED in the coverage of the Presidential and National Assembly Elections in Lagos on March 28th 2015. The election was an unqualified success because everything the Federal Government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) put in place worked according to plan. INEC officials played their roles according to the rules.

The Smart Card Readers (SCR’s) and the Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVC’s) were fully deployed. They were the sole sources of discerning the people’s electoral choice.

The law enforcement agents, especially the Police, watched over the process with professional detachment, while some patrol gangs moved from one polling district to another to maintain law and order. In particular, the Army (and its sister security agencies), which the opposition parties had feared might be used to rig the election for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan, did no such thing. When the results were announced, they were not disputed.

Though Jonathan lost his re-election bid, he congratulated the winner, President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari. Also, the Lagos governorship poll later produced a loser who congratulated the winner. Even in areas around the country where there were reports of rigging through the use of the controversial incident forms, the outcome reflected the wishes of the generality of the electorate. Fear of violence vanished from the polity. Today, we have peace, and the whole world is applauding us.

That was because no one made any attempt to subvert or thwart the wishes of the majority of the electorate in most parts of the country.

For the Governorship and State Assembly polls, I relocated to my native Abia State to observe the proceedings.

What happened there is no longer a secret. Proceedings in Abia and her sisterly neighbour, Imo, were dramatically different from what took place in other parts of the country. The Chairman of the INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, had promised that the Commission would use the two weeks between the national and state elections to correct whatever observed lapses that took place on March 28. But it is now obvious that Jega abandoned Abia and Imo States for the political gladiators to help themselves.

Abia’s pathetic election conundrum Results from electoral jungle: The polls in Abia and Imo States produced nothing but results from the electoral jungle, which INEC described, rather hypocritically, as “inconclusive”. How can you say an election is inconclusive when your officials allowed politicians to alter the results with figures that flew in the face of trends established by results recorded in areas where the Card Reader and PVC were used in line with INEC’s directives? Why call an election “inconclusive” when there were clear evidences that the rules were violently subverted by politicians in cahoots with INEC officials and security personnel deployed to safeguard the polls and the electorate? The polls in Abia and Imo were not inconclusive; they failed woefully.

On Sunday, 12th April 2015, the collation of the results at the INEC centre in Umuahia was in full swing.

When the results from Obingwa, Isiala Ngwa North, Osisioma and a few other areas were brought in for collation, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)

Nothing short of the total re-run of the Abia election will suffice. Those results from the three Ngwa LGAs already added were fraudulently obtained. Let there be a new election, where the eyes of the whole world will monitor the process and defeat the antics of desperate politicians

polling agent, Mr. Ahamdi Nweke, hotly raised objections. He said there were no elections in those areas. According to him, the results were simply written. He even submitted a report signed by the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Habila Joshak, confirming that electoral materials were discovered in the bush in Osisioma. Joshak was present when Nweke was making his loud complaint, and he did not controvert it. Both local and foreign observers confirmed massive irregularities in those areas.

At first, the Electoral Officer in charge, Prof. Ozumba agreed to cancel the elections in those areas. In any case, the results looked very phoney compared to those from parts where the Card Readers and PVCs were used and allowed to stand. In those areas, the results showed keen competition between the two major political parties – the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its main challenger, the APGA. Real shocker: The real shocker came when some politicians stormed the collation centre , after a moment of behind-closed-door parley, in which the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Selina Oko was present, the august visitors departed and Ozumba came out to announce the reversal of his earlier decision to cancel the elections. APGA’s governorship candidate, Dr. Alex Otti, described the visit as “abuse of power” aimed at subverting the wishes of the people.

Questions have been raised as to whether the governor and his team had the right, under the rules of engagement, to be at the collation centre in a manner suggestive of influencing the work of INEC. More curious was that the two esteemed professors not only allowed them into their offices but also knuckled under their partisan pressure to reverse an earlier decision. Prof. Ozumba said they brought “new information”. What

“new information” could they have brought which the INEC staff in the field and electoral monitors and observers did not report to the Electoral Officer and the REC? It is shocking that these distinguished professors needed politicians to come and push them around with “new information”, which has now put the expressed will of the Abia electorate in danger of being subverted.

Nothing short of the total re-run of the Abia election will suffice. Those results from the three Ngwa LGA’s already added were fraudulently obtained. Let there be a new election, where the eyes of the whole world will monitor the process and defeat the antics of desperate politicians. The Smart Card Reader and Permanent Voters Cards brought a revolution to our elections in other parts of the country.

Change and continuity The Abia electorate have the right to be allowed to choose between change and continuity. Those who want continuity will vote for Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, the candidate of the PDP personally handpicked by the departing Governor TA Orji (Ochendo). Those who enjoyed Ochendo’s stewardship in his eight years in power will like to transfer their admiration to his chosen successor to extend the rule of PDP to a possible 24 years.

But those who want change; a clean departure from the Orjis’ dispensation will give their votes to Dr. Otti. During the campaigns, it was obvious where the minds of Abia people pointed to. Abia should not be abandoned to a situation where the electorate will be overpowered by the might of the party in power. The Smart Card Reader and PVC revolution, which has swept through the Nigerian political landscape, must also make its landfall in Abia State. Whoever wins in a free and fair election must govern the people.

Otherwise, the new regime will have to depend on the same force and wastage of public funds with which it stole the mandate of the people to govern them oppressively, knowing they did not, and cannot win a free and fair election. Attahiru Jega’s INEC must resolve the Abia election conundrum – through the Card Reader and PVC – just as they did in other parts of the country.

OPINION Nigeria's business sector and the change chant

By Omosebi Oluwakemi

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IGERIA has been known to have the largest economy in Africa (based on figures announced in April 2014) and the country is still striving to become one of the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020. In past decades, there have been mismanagement, corruption, failed attempts at economic reforms among various impediments to Nigeria’s growth, stifling its march towards attaining its full economic potentials.

Economic growth is the most important means of raising people’s income and reducing poverty in the developing world.

It creates jobs and opportunities for poor people to support their families and build more stable future. Nigeria has been faced with weak institutions, poor infrastructure, and lack of financial propriety and oftentimes legislation that had resulted to poor growth and reduced foreign direct investment in the economy.

Past governments had, however, attempted to build a diversified economy, provide jobs and improve welfare for Nigerians but the nation appears stagnant and still associated with declining welfare and socialinstability.What with nearly non-existent public electricity which has crippled the Real Sector, causing exit or fold up of many industrial and manufacturing C M Y K

concerns. From National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), through Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to splinter independent power stations and power generating companies, the situation of public electricity remains an albatross for various past administrations and a daunting challenge for the incoming “Change” administration of President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari.

The Nigeria economy is expected to undergo radical change as the country looks up to Buhari’s mounting of the saddle at the centre of governance. Gen. Buhari, a former Head of State, and an avowed disciplinarian, is expected to have a better administrative focus and leadership prowess thereby raising public optimism for restoring confidence, discipline, sanity, peace and tranquility, security, etc. to the business sector and the country as a whole.

A more focused leadership will make the economy more active and ensure political stability. It will also encourage A more focused offshore investors and they can be rest assured that they leadership will can repatriate their honest make the profits to their home countries without fear of policy economy more reversals. It is expected that active

there should also be a change in the procedure of managing importation and exportation of goods and services, improvement in electricity, revitalisation and improvement of infrastructure, turn around maintenance of refineries, payment of sustainable salaries for public and private sector employees which will gear them to pay their tax always, enhancement of youth entrepreneurshipand stabilization of the exchange rate of the national currency(the Naira).

Gen. Buhari will do Nigerians including himself and Africa as a whole good if he can reshape and find possible solutions to the issues in Nigeria economy especially as he works assiduously with his team to reposition the business and economy sector and normalise political situation throughout the country thereby creating more opportunity for foreign and local investments to thrive.It may be meaningful to explore and exploit local technology and expertise in putting our refineries and allied industries on a better footing, instead of spending whoppingsums of money importing experts to come andmaintain our gigantic foreign refineries that appear to defy our collective hopes and wellbeing.

As the nation awaits the change of baton on 29th May, the business and industrial sector also wait with bated breath for monumental pronouncements and marching action for a better deal. *Ms. Omosebi, a student, wrote from Kwara State University, Malete, Kwara State.

APRIL 20, 2015

Nigeria shuns World Bank-backed zero gas flaring summit

BY OMOH GABRIEL

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hief executives from major oil companies joined senior government officials from several oil-producing countries in Washington to commit, for the first time, to ending the practice of routine gas flaring at oil production sites by 2030 at the latest. The commitment was made on the sideline of the IMF/World Group Spring Meetings in Washington.

On the list of participating countries, Nigeria was absent. Those who endorsed the move are Norway, Cameroon, Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Gabon, Uzbekistan. Others are Republic of Congo, Angola and France.

The “Zero Routine Flaring by 2030” initiative – already endorsed by nine countries, 10 oil companies and six development institutions – was launched by United Nations SecretaryGeneral, Ban Ki-moon and World Bank Group President, Jim Yong Kim. They were joined by Royal Dutch Shell Chairman, Jorma Ollila; Statoil CEO, Eldar Sætre; Norwegian Foreign Minister, Børge Brende; Gabonese Minister of Petroleum, Etienne Dieudonne Ngoubou; and several other senior government and corporate officials and representatives of international development banks.

The endorsers collectively represent more than 40 per cent of global gas flaring. Every year, around 140 billion cubic meters of natural gas produced together with oil is wastefully burned or “flared” at thousands of oil fields around the world. This results in more than 300 million tons of carbondioxide being emitted into the atmosphere – equivalent to emissions from approximately 77 million cars.

If this amount of associated gas were used for power generation, it could provide more electricity (750bn kWh) than the entire African continent is

consuming today. But currently, the gas is flared for a variety of technical, regulatory and economic reasons, or because its use is not given high priority.

“Gas flaring is a visual reminder that we are wastefully sending carbondioxide into the atmosphere,” said World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim. “We can do something about this.

Together, we can take concrete action to end flaring and to use this valuable natural resource to light the darkness for those without electricity.”

By endorsing the initiative, governments, oil companies and development institutions recognise that routine gas flaring is unsustainable from a resource management and environmental perspective and agree to

cooperate to eliminate ongoing routine flaring as soon as possible and no later than 2030. They will publicly report their flaring and progress towards the target on an annual basis. Furthermore, routine flaring will not take place in new oil fields developments. Governments will provide an operating environment conducive to investments and to the development of functioning energy markets.

“As we head towards the adoption of a meaningful new international climate agreement in Paris in December, these countries and companies are demonstrating real climate action,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

“Reducing gas flaring can make a significant contribution towards

mitigating climate change. I appeal to all oil-producing countries and companies to join this important initiative.”

The World Bank has been active on this issue for 15 years, as a founding member of the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership (GGFR). The Bank works with its partners in GGFR and the United Nations' Sustainable Energy for All initiative (SE4All) to increase the use of associated gas by helping remove the technical and regulatory barriers to flaring reduction.

Oil companies and governments that have yet to endorse the initiative are currently undertaking comprehensive reviews of their gas flaring. Many are expected to join the Initiative in the coming months.

The following have endorsed the “Zero Routine Flaring by 2030” initiative (in order of date of endorsement received).

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22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

Economy Nations hit by Ebola need $8 billion for economic recovery

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BRIEFING - From left: Dr Babatunde Fowler, Executive Chairman, Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue, Mr. Abimbola Shodipo, Special Adviser on Taxation and Mr. Remi Ibirogba, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, during the 2015 Ministerial Press briefing by Lagos State Internal Revenue Service in commemoration of Governor Babatunde Fashola's eight years in office, held at Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos. Photo: Bunmi Azeez

How pirate attacks cripple fish trawling business in Nigeria

BY GODFREY BIVBERE

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oreigners have been accused of deliberately collapsing the local fish trawling business and illegally taking over the business.

Some operators who spoke with Vanguard explained that the fish trawling business was huge and responsible for the employment of thousands of Nigerian youths as well as contributing to the economy of the nation in the early 80’s up till early 2000’s.

They observed that this trend changed when foreigners became interested in that sector of the economy and began to sponsor attacks on local fish trawlers operating in the country with the intetion to hijack the business.

Local operators blame the attacks on pirates who take over their ships, steal valuable properties and harvest by the crew after weeks at sea.

A source in one of the fish trawling companies, who spoke on condition of anonymity told Vanguard that the attacks were carried out by paid mercenaries who made it difficult for local fish trawling companies to operate.

The source explained that in some cases, the attackers inflict serious injuries on the crew to discourage them from sailing. This, the source pointed out, resulted in many seafarers on board fish C M Y K

trawlers abandoning sailing career.

Reacting to the above, immediate past President of the Nigerian Trawler Owners Association, NITOA, Margaret Orakwusi, told Vanguard that she did not think that the attacks are orchestrated by foreigners because the attacks occurred sporadically to different operators both Nigerians and foreigners alike.

She, however, noted that the accusation cannot be entirely ruled out because a situation where strange vessels come into the nation’s territorial waters to poach fish illegally should serve as a pointer to the above claim.

According to her, “I do not think it is possible because it will be wrong to say that attacks are planned to see

However, the fact that we have strange vessels that come in and poach in our waters gives room for suspicion and such vessels should be arrested

Nigerians out of the business because the attacks happened indiscriminately to both Nigerians and nonNigerians alike. I think that it is a maritime security issue. That is how I see it.

“However, the fact that we have strange vessels that come in and poach in our waters gives room for suspicion and such vessels should be arrested. I will agree with you because there has been an increase in the number of vessels committing such crimes, it is against our laws to have people coming here to fish indiscriminately and steal our natural resources.”

On the effect of piracy on fish trawling business, the former President of NITOA said that continued pirate attacks have forced a lot of indigenous operators out of the business. She noted that the number of companies operating in the sector in 2005/06 was about 39 but the number has drastically reduced to nine by 2014.

According to her, “Fish trawling is a capitalintensive project and it also brings the much needed foreign exchange. There was a time the industry ranked second to the oil industry in foreign exchange earnings; I will like to see us go back to that period.

“In 2005/06, we had about 250 trawlers, by year 2014, we had 124.

When we were really Continues on page 23

he three nations hardest hit by Ebola in West Africa need $8 billion to rebuild their economies as part of a plan styled on the Marshall Plan.

Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea can’t wait for commitments from donors before a conference in June, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said Friday in Washington.

The Marshall plan was an aid program after World War II used to rebuild the economies of Europe. “The Marshall Plan was a consequence of war,” Guinean

President Alpha Conde said.

Ebola is like a war in our countries.”

The worst outbreak of the illness has killed more than 10,000 people since December 2013 and pushed the three economies to recession. Before the outbreak, Sierra Leone was the second-fastest growing nation in sub-Saharan Africa because of the development of iron-ore deposits. Decades of violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia had devasted infrastructure and left the health industry underdeveloped. The three nations, with a combined gross domestic product of $13 billion, had fewer than 500 doctors to treat about 20 million people.

Emirates signs Rolls for A380 engines in $9.2 bn deal

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mirates picked Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc to supply engines valued at $9.2 billion for its next Airbus A380s and said the U.K. company is in pole position to power a more fuel-efficient variant of the super jumbo if the plan goes ahead. Dubaibased Emirates will buy 217 of Rolls’s Trent 900 turbines for a batch of 50 four-engine A380s ordered in 2013, ditching the rival General Electric Co.Pratt & Whitney model that was chosen to power its first 90 doubledeckers.

Emirates President Tim Clark said at a press conference in London that engines for some of the 50 jets could be converted to more efficient neo types for new engine option if Airbus Group NV opts to proceed with an

upgrade of the A380. The revamped plane would most probably use an improved version of Rolls’s XWB engine designed for the new A350, he said.

“As far as the neo is concerned we’ll await the deliberations from Toulouse,” Clark said, referring to Airbus’s headquarters in France. “I don’t want to suggest that the current aeroplane is not a really good machine.”

The world’s largest international airline has said it could order at least 100 more A380s if Airbus commits to a neo equipped with engines that consume less fuel, something it has so far failed to do amid a dearth of order interest. The plane would need to deliver efficiency gains of between 10 percent and 13 percent, Clark said today, adding in an interview that while Rolls is leading the way, an order for 200 planes which Emirates might ultimately require might be big enough to bring its U.S. rival’s back into the fray.

NSE moves 315.67m shares worth N3.49bn

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nvestors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday transacted 315.67 million shares worth N3.49 billion in 4,920 deals. The volume of shares traded dropped by 56.14 per cent compared with 719.74 million shares valued at N3.86 billion traded in 4,494 deals on Thursday. First Bank of Nigeria Holdings was investors’ delight, accounting for 38.61 million shares worth N374.05 million.

Fidelity Bank came second with a total of

N34.52 million shares valued at N73.97million, while United Bank for Africa sold 33.74 million shares worth N165.77 million.

Zenith Bank trailed with 28.44 million shares valued at N650.75 million and Transcorp exchanged 27.51 million shares worth N87.15 million. However, the All-Share Index reversed the three-consecutive day loss improving by 172.80 points or 0.49 per cent to close at 35,005.42 against 34,832.62 achieved on Thursday. Also, the market capitalisation rose by N59 billion or 0.49 per cent to close at N11.928 trillion compared with N11.869 trillion posted on Thursday.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 23

Here are some of the reactions to the above from our numerous readers.

Ngozi

M

r Omoh Gabriel, thank you for your article. It has helped my state of sanity. Corruption in NNPC is not child’s play. This is where the act of corruption has been perfected that even KPMG cannot but say that no money is missing. But my question is, how can two eminent scholars, first class economists, who have served as CBN about.

Governors, be telling lies?

The names Aluko and Sanusi and Soludo are not just Omokora are Nigerians; and anybody; they are there is nothing wrong in distinguished people in the selling the Shell interest or the world of Financial NNPC interest to Nigerians Management. I think that rather than to foreigners, more when they speak, we should so at a profit ratio that even listen. My humble instinct favours the Nigerian tells me that because many of Government. our past and present leaders, Moreover, the interests of both military and civilian, may foreign companies like all have skeletons in their Texaco, Mobil, AGIP, ELF, etc, cupboards having benefited should also be terminated and from the corruption in NNPC, sold to other Nigerians. I am it will be difficult to effectively yet to see a single Nigerian or get the type of audit we need. Nigerian company hold any As Mr Omoh said, the missing business interest in any of the money has been so carefully western countries since this crafted into inflated contracts world began. Hardly does any awarded without due process, blackman in North America swap deals and kerosene or Europe even own a simple subsidy scams etc. The retail shop much more solution is for us to forget the mineral exploitation business should be arrested and tried past, vote in a government that like crude oil. for false alarm. is committed to transparency So, Mr. Omoh Gabriel, we Oliver Onyenwe Nwafor and due process, a Nigerians are not imbeciles, Dubai, United Arab Emirates: government that is committed neither are Sanusi and "If you read through the to preserving our Soludo. information given; the entire commonwealth and using it $20 billion is missing from accusation is built on for the country ’s the Federation Account that assumption. development." should have accrued from the We all are aware that there Afam6nr NNPC activities. That money are a lot of financial loopholes "The sponsored agent of is still missing and it’s still in in the Nigerian financial Jonathan and Iweala/ Private Pockets, and must be system. Sanusi and co should Madueke Government are accounted for. Period." have cleared the air from onset now in town to use the six Ama Udu Works at that the suspicion is built on weeks of the forced Ministry of Health, Ebonyi assumption since according Presidential election State: to them, it is beyond the postponement to divert the "What Buhari must do, is that finding capability of audit attention of Nigerians by Sanusi and Soludo must be panels and from what they inventing twists in the missing called to a Panel made up of have put together - they are $20 billion. As if we do not credible citizens, televised for leakages seen in a corrupt know the meaning of “A the public view for most of us system."

Doctored Forensic Report.” to know where this money is Garba G Mohammed $20 billion is still missing and lodged. The way these two Bridgeport, Connecticut: unaccounted for by the NNPC. have been talking about the "Missing funds, we Nigerians Nigerians want a Forensic money is evident they know are not naive. That the simple Audit later, when a new where it is. Now GEJ is out of explanation of independent Government is sworn-in. The the way, they should come audit should explain the missing $20 billion is not part clean. I believe they did not whereabout of this missing of the leakage the sponsored get their share and that is why fund simply, not to say this agent of the PDP/Jonathan they were talking. If at the firm is incompetent of such Government has been end, the money they quoted task. But that if a thief steals instructed to frame and write was not missing, then they

Sanusi/Soludo: Where to find the unaccounted billions If at the end, the money they quoted was not missing, then they should be arrested and tried for false alarm

such a huge amount, you will do any thing to cook the book to reconcile your actions because you know an audit will come up one day. And in a country like ours that has a long history of corrupt practices in such large scale, they have perfected ways to account for those billions before hand. Nigerian leaders are the biggest yahoo, yahoo boys parading around. But we common people have been robbed for so long. We are almost getting used to it. And you know what, we are not crying over spilled milk any more. Whatever is done in the dark shall come to light soon, it’s the law of nature."

Simon Achadu Sylvester Administrator & legal aide at Nigeria Police Force: "The devil you know is better than the angel you do not know. Both GEJ & GMB are forcing themselves on the nation. Nigeria, as it is now, does not need them; although we have no option than to try new ideas, I mean someone who has not been in government before. Bad luck to people and good luck to itself, I repeat, to itself. That is totally unacceptable to a man of good-conscience and to justice and equity. Public interest and the people’s yarning should always come first in governance, especially in a democratic setting like ours, to avoid anarchy."

Cletus Udoh, Lutheran High School, Obot Idim Ibesikpo:

"I had a friend who lamented to me how he opened provision store and hired a young boy to man it. These items were to be sold wholesale. Every time he visited the shop to look at the shelves, count cartons and the boy will tell him there were no sales. One day, the young man left and my friend said he went to check the store and all the cartons were intact not knowing that they were empty."

Dauda Sule, Federal Polytechnic, Bida: "All we want is a pro-active leader that can put an end to, or eliminate corruption."

Concerned Nigerian "Considering what this writer has said, would it not have been better to say things as they are instead of what has been fed to the media as money in some account which someone is keeping? While I believe Jonathan could have done more to curb this waste, those shouting at the roof top today helped to create the problems and when their cronies started losing, they came up with everything possible to distract the president, including Boko Haram. Today, they are claiming they will fight terrorism with zeal.

Unfortunately, we are caught between a president who hasn’t done enough and someone who even in recent time, has shown his penchant for sectionalism and almost certainly to take us to the dark ages."

Economy How pirate attacks cripple fish trawling business in Nigeria Continues from page 22 booming, we had about 35 companies operating in the sector but over the years, it has reduced to just nine.

“It’s just like the sea pirate attacks; most of the attacks are not being reported. Probably out of frustration by the owners of the vessels. You know when you continuously report and nothing is happening and the victims are not helped, nobody comes to their aid either financially or otherwise and you look at it and you say

well, if you can keep up with the whole situation, you remain in the business or you just get out.

“That is why the number of trawlers has drastically reduced and they are still reducing but then, that is why some of us are happy about what is happening to the price of oil, there must be diversification.

“The fishing industry is not just one industry that feeds our people with quality and rich protein products but it is

an industry that can offer employment to a lot of people.

It is an industry that can also assist in the growth of auxiliary industries that we use their services,” she concluded.

Recently, some vessels belonging to Mid Atlantic Nigeria Ltd were arrested for illegal fishing activities. The arrest was carried out by Nigerian Navy under the supervision of the Federal Department of Fisheries, FDF, in Lagos.

Speaking during the inspection of the arrested vessels, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, warned illegal fishing trawlers operating on Nigeria’s waters to stop their activities.

The seizure of the vessels, belonging to Mid Atlantic Nigeria Ltd., was ordered by the Minister at Brawa Ports because the company had not

renewed its licence to fish in 2014.

“Every vessel in the Nigerian waters must carry along its valid licence to fish in the sea.

“It is such companies as Mid Atlantic that drive away our fishermen from our waters and create unemployment.

“You must comply with the law because the days of illegal business in our waters are over,” Adesina said.

C M Y K

24 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

Business & Economy

Mobile technology has potential to expand financial inclusion

3

4% of adults now have an account, an increase from 24% in 2011. 12% of adults in the region have a mobile money account compared to just 2% globally.

Kenya leads with mobile money account ownership at 58%, while Tanzania and Uganda have rates of about 35%. 13 countries in the region have mobile money account penetration of 10% or more. In Cote d’Ivoire, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, more adults have a mobile money account than an account at a financial institution. In Kenya more than half of adults who pay utility bills use a mobile phone to do so. And in Tanzania, almost a quarter of those receiving payments for the sale of agricultural products do so into a mobile account. 48% of adults in SubSaharan Africa send or receive domestic remittances: Shifting domestic remittance payments from over-thecounter money transfer operators to accounts could double account ownership in Senegal, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Republic of Congo.

Aviation eexper xper xpertt seeks FG's increased commitment to aviation sector

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n aviation expert, Mr Kolawole Olayinka, in Lagos said the Nigerian aviation sector impact on the economy was not being adequately maximised.

Olayinka, who is the British Airways, West Africa Regional Commercial Manager, made the assertion in a lecture titled “Aviation in Nigeria: Opportunities and Challenges”. In the lecture organised by the NigerianBritish Chamber of Commerce, Olayinka said the impact of the nation’s aviation industry contributed in new employments, increased investment opportunities, tourism and hospitality development. He remarked that under the the Billing Settlement Plan (BSP) the revenue generated from IATA- Licenced Travelling Agents from sale of tickets for 38 airlines in 2014 was 1.32 billion dollars.

“The aviation industry is a

C M Y K

‘Trillions of dollars needed in fresh bid to end poverty by 2030’

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ORLD leaders have drawn up ambitious goals to end extreme poverty by 2030 and promote development over the next 15 years, but now they have to figure out how to pay the bill.

Trillions of dollars would be required to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that the United Nations is expected to adopt in September, global experts said.

The goals address a wide range of issues from healthcare for all, to education, water, energy and protecting the environment.

But in an era of budget austerity, Western governments have made it clear, ahead of a development finance summit in Addis Ababa in July, that foreign aid will be insufficient to do the job. Total official development aid (ODA) currently runs at about $131 billion a year.

Heads of state must embrace a new financing framework, one that mobilises ODA, private investment and higher levels of government revenues, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday.

"Much more is needed. We need to shift the conversation from billions (of dollars) to trillions," Ban told a World Bank panel on development finance.

Improving tax collection in developing countries was high on the agenda at several meetings held this week during the World Bank/International Monetary Fund(IMF)spring meetings to discuss new models for increasing development finance.

Better tax systems would bolster budgets and give governments more funds to invest in social programmes. In many low-income countries, tax as a percent of GDP is under 15 percent against at least 24 percent in advanced economies, IMF data show. Finance ministers asked for more technical help.

But equally pressing is the need to crack down on illicit finance, tax evasion by multinational corporations and unjust mining and energy contracts that rob countries of their natural resource wealth, said Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Multinational corporations have immense expertise on how to exploit tax loopholes, financial knowledge that developing countries lack rendering them unable to capture corporate taxes on profits earned

in their countries, she said.

"We are losing a lot of money," Okonjo-Iweala said. "ODA matters but generating our own resources matters even more."

A U.N. panel led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki has estimated that Africa loses $50 billion a year to illict finance, double the amount of official development aid that flows into the region, and that multinationals account for 60 percent of the lost revenues.

World Bank Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati singled out fighting tax evasion and illicit finance, including the offshore hubs and shell compa-

nies used to transfer money, as important elements for addressing the shortfall in development finance.

One U.N. study estimated that $250-300 billion a year in development finance is lost through the outflow of potential revenues that can be taxed.

Indrawati said sophisticated financial centers act as "quasienablers," assisting corrupt individuals and legitimate companies in diverting money from the poor.

"For the schoolchild in Haiti, the new mother in Malawi or the farmer in Bangladesh, these losses have real impact. They

result in classrooms that are overcrowded, health clinics that are never built and water that is never delivered," she said.

The G20 leaders of advanced and major developing countries have drawn up proposals for sharing tax information and improving corporate tax fairness, and they have vowed to set up registries on who owns assets stashed in opaque corporate structures.

But Indrawati said more action is needed, calling it an urgent issue for achieving the new development goals.

VISIT - Hon. Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, in a pose after an interactive session with representatives of various civil society and youth groups, who visited his office in Abuja. Right of the minister is the leader of the group, Amb. Splendour Agbonkpolor, President of Coalition of Niger Delta Youth Organisation, flanked by other representatives of the groups.

Insecurity: Nigerian traders rule out compensation for dead members ..call on incoming govt to tackle insurgency

BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU

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he

National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS) has discarded any form of compensation for its members that lost their lives to Boko Haram bomb explosions across the country.

Also, the traders nationwide set an eight-point road map for the President-Elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari come May 29, 2015 when his administration would take over the ruling of this country.

NANTS National President, Mr. Ken Ukaoha at an Exco meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, addressed a press conference said that no amount of compensation

could equate the lives of each of its members that died in the various explosions.

“As trader, we are not going to task the incoming administration on compensation. How much will the government pay that would assuage the trauma of the families of the dead ones, he asked rhetorically.

“What we want to do is to join hands with the government to fight insurgency. We categorise insurgency as a natural disaster which must not repeat itself ”.

In all of that, he said, Nigerian traders have leant lessons from the explosion and have become more security conscious with introduction of CCTv,

barricades, gates installed in all the markets to secure traders.

On whom to blame for the insurgency, Ukaoha said , “We don’t want to blame the incumbent president for the insurgency.”

Driving home the association’s point, NANTS boss said, “Many markets across the country have become theatres of horrendous bomb explosions which have exterminated many traders and destroyed several billions of Naira worth of goods and properties.”

Their consolation, he noted, would be for the PresidentElect to wipe out insurgency and other form of insecurity as he had promised to.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 25

Business & Economy

PRESENTATION - From Left:Mr Boma Tai-Osagbemi, Brand Manager, Consumer Segments, Verve, Mr Segun Arinze, Nollywood Veteran and AMVCA 2015 Best Supporting Actor Nominee, Ms Enyioma Anaba, Consumer Segments Marketing Manager, Verve, and Mr Blossom Chukwujekwu, Winner, Best Supporting Actor, AMVCA 2015, at the Verve card presentation which held at BlackHouse Media Office in Lagos.

Navy foils pirates’ attempt to hijack ship in Lagos

BY GODWIN ORITSE

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BOUT ten suspected pirates who attempted to hijack a foreign vessel, MT IMAS was at the weekend foiled by the Nigerian Navy (NN) on Lagos waterways.

The operation, which was carried out by officers of the Western Naval Command (WNC) who were on preelection patrol, led to the arrest of one of the suspects identified as Shola Sama.

It was learnt that the other nine who had successfully boarded the distressed vessel opened fire upon sighting the naval officials but later bowed to their superior force.

Sama, 31 and father of three, however denied being a

pirate, claiming he was a businessman going about his lawful duty, adding that he was nabbed while trying to rescue his younger brother who fell into the water after his boat capsided.

He claimed that he sells food and other things such as recharge cards to ships with his passenger ship, in exchange of petrol.

He said that he usually bought the items for about N2000 and would sell for as much as N4500 and went as much as thrice a day.

He said: “I went to sea to collect my product with a 50kg jerrican. I was with my younger brother, Gbenga and I had N400 thousand with me.

That is how we usually drive around and I am not the only

one in the business.

“After filling the keg, the wave came and there was a vessel that was pumping sand when it passed, the wave hit my boat and it capsided with my younger brother so I was trying to rescue him, it pushed me away. “I was swimming and shouting to ship that was coming. A man said they should throw rope for me.

They threw rope and I was begging them to allow me come into their ship that I used to buy market from them.

“He said they were coming.

They called a white man and they said I should wait. The next minute, they brought a lifebouy and I went to the boat. They asked what I was doing I explained. The next place I found myself was Navy

base.”

But explaining how the suspect was caught, Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), WNC, Rear Admiral Jonathan Ango said the distressed vessel radioed the NN that she was under attack by pirates.

He explained that NN boat was deployed and after exchange of gun fire with the pirates who had two boats, some of them sustained injuries and were dislodged, while Sama was nabbed.

Ango said: “As part of our preparations and actions for the just conducted election, we deployed our ships to cover the inland waterways and also to protect the ships and patrol the territorial water.

Fortunately for us, one of the ships, MT IMAS, raised the alarm around 01:20 that she was under attack by pirates and one of our patrol boats that was close by went immediately to her rescue and in the process, saw two boats loaded with pirates and there was an exchange of fire. “We managed to dislodge the pirates from the attack. We injured a few of them and we also captured one of them whom we brought here for proper investigation .

“Their intention was to board the vessel and either kidnap the foreigners on board or steal the product. Or take the ship as ransom and go and sell the product somewhere. But the alarm raised through the distress channel which we all have, foiled their attempt.

“This is part of the measures we are taking to assure Lagosians especially and Nigerians in general that the NN is very much ready for the security of the water ways “And if there are miscreants or hoodlums who think they can use the waterways to cause any harm or damage, we want to let them know the NN is very much ready and up to the task to prevent them from doing that.”

Promasidor set to host 2015 Quill Awards

BY ROSEMARY ONUOHA

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he 2015 edition of the Quill Awards sponsored

by Promasidor Nigeria Limited has taken off with the company calling for participation from journalists in the country.

The Quill Awards is a platform to reward journalists who have distinguished themselves through dedicated news reportage all year round.

Head, Legal/Public Relations of Promasidor, Mr. Andrew Enahoro who led a team of the company’s Management on sensitization visit to Vanguard Head office in Lagos, urged journalists to take advantage of the opportunity and submit entries for the award.

Enahoro said that there is need for journalists to show physical attendance at the award ceremony by coming out in large number to support their colleagues.

Managing Director of TPT International (Promasidor’s PR Agency), Mr. Charles Igbinidu listed

the award categories to include, Industry, CSR, Brand, education, children; photo story, nutrition and future writer category.

He explained that these categories were deliberately chosen because of the focus of Promasidor.

“We have different category of prizes; the prize for overall winner is one month training at Thomson Reuters Foundation and one week attachment in a major media house in UK. The last overall winner last year did it at BBC. For the photojournalists the winner goes home with a high-end camera worth N1 million.

Since the awards started, I have been very jealous of the photo journalists for what they take home. The price is really high.

“The first edition of the awards was held in May 2013 and the stage is now set to host the 2015 edition. th Entry opens on 29 January 2015 and qualifying entry st runs from 1 may 2014 to 30th April 2015,” he disclosed.

Agbakoba urges President-elect to review banks’ lending policy

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r Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), a maritime lawyer and rights activist, on Thursday urged the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, to review the lending policy of banks. Agbakoba made the plea in an interview in Lagos.

“The heartbeat of any economy is the financial services sector, but because the financial services sector is pursuing the wrong agenda, it is not growing. The financial services sector namely banks, lend money to big men but banks are known to lend money to the average Nigerian. The lending policy of banks is something the Nigerian President must correct. It is not enough to identify two or three billionaires and one bank gives all the money.The country cannot grow that way.

It will just simply make one man rich, but when lending is done on a consumer basis, what we call consumer banking, then, 175 million Nigerians potentially can be borrowing and that is the only way that the banks can really, truly grow and become giant.

This is the model that banks follow abroad.

FedEx may take over TNT for $4.8bn

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edEx Corp may take over TNT Express in a $4.8 billion deal if the acquisition arrangement between both logistic companies is successful.

If the deal comes through it then means that United Parcel Service, UPS, and Deutsche Post in Europe, may be in for a challenge in Europe.

European regulators in 2013 blocked a takeover of TNT by UPS due to concerns it would stifle competition, but analysts and executives said on Tuesday FedEx, with its strong air fleet, would complement TNT’s sizeable European road network.

“Europe, despite the fact that there has been low growth, is still an enormous market both for import and export,” FedEx Corp. Chief Executive Fred Smith told analysts.

TNT gives FedEx access to pan-European service and the domestic UK and French markets, areas where it is not yet a big player, Smith said, while TNT customers will get access to FedEx’s global distribution platform.

26 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

Corporate Finance

By PETER EGWUATU

Learn Africa declares 12k dividend, links drop in turnover to insurgency

BY PETER EGWUATU

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earn Africa Plc has proposed a dividend of 12 kobo per share to its shareholders for the financial year ended December 31, 2014, even as it attributed the marginal drop in turnover to the insurgency in the northern part of the country.

The company posted a turnover of N2.21 billion for the year ended December 2014, as against N2.27 billion that was achieved in 2013, which reflects a marginal fall of 2.9 per cent (N66.7million). The Profit After Tax, PAT, however halved from N100.13 million to N58.68 million.

Speaking on company ’s 2014 financial results, the Managing Director/ CEO, Learn Africa Plc, Mr. Segun Oladipo said “ However, we were able to grow open market sales to schools and booksellers by 27 per cent during the period under review. This is in line with one of our corporate objectives, which is to reduce dependence on patronage by ministries, departments and agencies. As a matter of fact, the marginal decrease in sales figure was due to the security challenges in the Northern parts of our country. The insurgency prevented us from securing bulk orders from states in the region, which are now preoccupied with spending huge sums on the maintenance of law and order. It has also hindered us from pushing our products widely as our sales and marketing team was confined to the safe areas of the region only.” “ Despite all the challenges that we encountered in 2014, our company was able to declare a profit after tax of N58.6m and has proposed a dividend of 12k on ordinary share of 50k for approval of the shareholders at the next Annual General Meeting” he explained Oladipo said “Besides, the outbreak of Ebola epidemic adversely affected our operations, especially because of the closure of schools for several weeks, which coincided with the sales season, when we usually get orders from bookshops and schools.

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fricInvest Capital Partners is in the process of acquiring a minority equity interest in Elephant Group as it has entered a deal with Elephant Group Limited for an equity investment.

Information made available to Vanguard revealed that AfricInvest Fund III will acquire a minority equity interest in Elephant Group via an issue of new shares.

Meanwhile, Standard Chartered Bank (“SCB”) acted as sole financial advisor to Elephant Group on the transaction. Yemisi DejiBejide Head, Mergers & Acquisition, West Africa commented that “Standard Chartered is delighted to have worked with Elephant Group in achieving its strategic objectives and remains committed to assisting businesses in Africa attract growth capital.”’

Vanguard gathered that the funds raised will be used to boost Elephant Group’s market share in agricultural commodities trading and to deepen penetration of agricultural commodities exports across selected markets in Africa. The Group will also continue to strengthen its backward integration initiatives in the rice, crude palm oil and fertilizer value chain.

Tunji Owoeye, Founder and Group Managing Director of Elephant Group, said, “We are excited to partner with an Africa-focused investor with experience in the agricultural sector. The investment will enable the Company to benefit further from government’s drive to promote agricultural productivity in Nigeria. The investment will also allow Elephant Group to transform from an indigenous agricultural commodities company in Nigeria to a vertically integrated PanAfrican player.

This transaction will be the first ever private equity investment in the Nigerian agricultural commodities sector, and we view it a strong vote of confidence in the Company” Abiola Ojo-Osagie, Senior Partner & Managing Director of AfricInvest in Nigeria, commenting on the transaction, said: “We have identified a Company led by entrepreneurs and a management team with a good knowledge of the domestic market. Through our partnership with the Elephant Group, AfricInvest is taking advantage of an opportunity to capitalize on

SIGNING - From left : Perfection Nominees Chief Executive Officer, Reverend Samuel Olayemi, President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, (CIS) Mr Albert Okumagba and Registrar/Chief Executive, CIS, Mr Adedeji Ajadi at the signing of MOU between CIS and Perfection Nominees on CIS Professioanl Diploma in Securities and Investment in Lagos.

AfricInvest acquires minority interest in Elephant Group

*Standard Chartered acts as financial advisor

Nigeria’s agricultural transformation agenda to build an enduring institution with a clear potential for growth and regional expansion”.

Elephant Group was founded in 1994, and it is the largest and fastest growing

indigenous agri commodities company in Nigeria, where it imports, exports, markets and distributes rice, fertiliser and other agri commodities. The Company is currently ranked #4 in rice and fertiliser marketing with market share of 8% and 10% respectively.

Elephant Group owns

extensive distribution and logistics infrastructure in Nigeria and is a critical link in the supply of main staple foods in Africa’s largest and fastest growing consumer market. The Company also has presence in Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal, Niger and Cote d’Ivoire.

First Quarter: GTBank records 17% growth in gross earnings

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uaranty Trust Bank , GTBank Plc has recorded a 17 per cent growth in gross earnings for the unaudited financial results for the first quarter, Q1 ended March 31, 2015.

It recorded N79.02 billion gross earnings for the period under review , as against N67.58 billion recorded in the comparative period of 2014, underpinned by strong growth in interest income and effective management of operating expenses and cost of risk.

A review of the first quarter , Q1 2015 results shows that the bank continued on a strong growth trajectory, re-affirming its position as one of the most profitable and well managed financial institutions in Nigeria.

Profit Before Tax, PBT was N32.65 Billion, an increase of 17% from N28.01 Billion reported in Q1 2014. The Bank reported a Q1 2015 Profit After Tax of N26.56 Billion an increase of 15% over the N23.11 Billion reported in Q1 2014.

The bank closed first quarter 2015 with Total Assets and Contingents of N3.15 trillion, customer deposits of N1.69 Trillion and Shareholders’ Funds of N357.59 billion. The Bank’s non-performing loans improved to 3.06 per cent from 3.40 per

cent in the comparative period of Q1 2014 whilst the loan book grew by 28 per cent to close at N1.30 trillion in Q1 2015, from N1.02 Trillion in Q1 2014. The Bank also reported a post-tax ROAE of 29.03 per cent and ROAA of 4.39 per cent respectively.

Commenting on the financial results, Segun Agbaje, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank plc stated that “a major focus for the Bank this year is to strengthen market positions with distinctive customer propositions in chosen segments in order to deliver long-term sustainable and efficient growth as well as strong shareholder returns”.

As a financial institution with a bias for industry leadership, exceptional service delivery and innovation, Guaranty Trust Bank plc has experienced tremendous growth since its inception in Nigeria in 1990 with business outlays spanning Anglophone and Francophone countries of West Africa, East African and the United Kingdom. The Bank presently employs over 10,000 peoples in Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Uganda and the United Kingdom.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 27

Corporate Finance

Shareholders should use advocacy power to influence policies —Osunkeye

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

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he chairman of Lafarge Africa, Mr. Olusegun Osunkeye, has urged shareholder associations to use their power of advocacy to change policies of government that will be inimical to the growth and success of their companies.

Speaking at a seminar organized by Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, ISAN, in collaboration with PR Plus in Lagos, Osunkeye charged shareholders to engage in active consultation with relevant authorities that could promulgate policies that could affect their investments negatively.

He noted that if some of the regulations emanating from regulators like the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, FRCN, and the Supervising Ministry are strictly enforced, some businesses may fold up or sell their assets to pay the hefty penalties, citing an instance of the guidelines/ regulation issued by FRC as published in the official gazette No.90 vol.101 issued October 6, 2014 as an example.

He also said that some rules and regulations, for instance, the rules governing transactions with related parties or interested parties as issued by the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, and

approved by Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, which states that an interested person such as core investors should abstain from voting on resolutions approving the transaction brought before the general meeting for shareholders approval could give rise to unintended consequence.

This, he said, is because the core shareholders, who are in few numbers but have substantial holdings and voting power can out-vote the retail shareholders who are large in numbers but relatively small in voting power.

He stated that this is where shareholders associations can ameliorate the seeming

FORUM - From left: Head, Information Security, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mrs. Favour Femi-Oyewole; Executive Director, Market Operations & Technology, NSE, Mr. Ade Bajomo; Executive Director, Business Development, NSE, Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri and Head, Corporate Services Division, Mr. Bola Adeeko at the Nigerian Capital Market Information Security Forum (NCMISF) held at the Exchange.

lack of voting power. “This is an occasion where shareholders associations, in order to optimize the value of their investments should engage in active conversations with the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and the Supervising Ministry and if necessary, extend the dialogue to the National Assembly. They have to prepare, know their subject on the issues they care about and engage in dialogue and management of companies,” he observed.

Osunkeye said that shareholders through their associations should have the goal of improving their companies, adding that shareholders activism should be channeled towards ensuring the viability and sustainability of the public companies they own and in the process, seek to influence board and management through collaboration rather than antagonizing board members.

The Lafarge boss also noted that shareholders as owners of the company, hold considerable power and the management of the company has the task of meeting shareholders needs by ensuring profitability and at the same time providing shareholders with information on company performance and plans.

“The board/management will benefit in masking effort to cultivate a knowledgeable pool of shareholders who are informed about the company activities and goals, who will support management decisions and who have realistic expectation of the company ’s potential,” he said.

Transcorp assures improved financial performance in 2015

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ransnational Corporation of Nigeria, Transcorp Plc, has assured its stakeholders of improved financial performance in 2015 given the results achieved by the company in the 2014 financial year.

According to the president/ CEO, Mr. Emmanuel Nnorom, shareholders should expect even better performance across all the business focus areas, including the anticipated implementation of Transitional Electricity Market ,TEM, and an increasing stability in the economy and tourist environment.

The company had recorded N41.3 billion revenue in its

audited full year financial results for period ended December 31, 2014, representing 120 percent growth over N18.8 billion posted in the corresponding period in 2013.

According to the company in a statement, the revenue growth was particularly impacted by strong contributions by its power business (Transcorp Ughelli Power Limited) and hospitality subsidiary (Transcorp Hotels Plc).

Highlights of the 2014 results released on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, showed that its gross profit increased by 92 percent to N27.6 billion as

against N14.4 billion recorded in 2013.

Also, the group operating profit rose to N13.6 billion, an increase of 33 percent over the figure posted in 2013, while the total assets for the group grew by 14 percent from N149.6 billion in 2013 to N170.8 billion during the period. The group net finance cost at N7.8 billion, represents 208 percent increase compared to N2.5 billion reported in the same period in 2013, principally from foreign exchange losses and full year of debt service on acquisition finance loan for Transcorp Ughelli Power Limited.

However, profit before tax

declined by 14 percent to N7.7 billion in 2014 from N9.0 billion in 2013.

Commenting on the results, the CEO said, ‘We are delighted to record an impressive performance, despite the challenges we experienced within our operating environment. We achieved significant growth in our top line and maintained our margins within acceptable limits despite the delayed implementation of the Transitional Electricity Market (TEM), exchange rate movement and reduced occupancy arriving from security challenges and the viral epidemic in West Africa.

Wall St edges lower as investors look for profit growth

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.S. stocks edged lower on Thursday as corporate results showed little organic growth even as they largely beat profit expectations.

While Netflix surged following blockbuster results, curbing the decline on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, shares of SanDisk slumped following a weak revenue outlook that added to concerns about the pace of top-line improvement.

Of the 51 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported thus far, 76.5 percent exceeded profit expectations, well above the long-term average of 63 percent. Only 47.1 percent have beaten on revenue, however, below the historical average of 61 percent. That suggests companies are boosting their bottom lines with cost cuts rather than through business expansion.

“This is a pricy market. It needs earnings to sustain it, and the earnings need to be sustained by strong demand.

Right now, I’m not thrilled with the level of revenue growth we’re seeing,” said Uri Landesman, president of Platinum Partners in New York.

European stocks fall on Greek crisis; Wall Street turns higher

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uropean stocks declined nearly 1 percent on Thursday, pressured by Greece’s worsening financial predicament, and euro zone government borrowing costs hit new lows.

U.S. stocks edged higher on another flurry of betterthan-expected profit reports, including ones from Netflix and Goldman Sachs.

German government bond yields fell to record lows after the Financial Times reported that the International Monetary Fund rebuffed an informal request by Greek officials to delay loan repayments.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told Reuters on Thursday he was “firmly optimistic” his government would reach an agreement with foreign creditors.

28 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

Homes & Housing

Professionals demand taxfree building materials

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igerians would continue to pay more for accommodation in major cities until the cost of building materials was subsidised through tax holiday.

Executive Secretary of Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), Mr. Ayo Adejumo, citing instability in the price of building materials, said high taxes are responsible for the high cost of accommodation in major cities in the country.

He urged the Federal Government to provide tax relief for local manufacturers and importers of building materials in order to reduce the high cost of accommodation in major cities.

According to him, if the government can grant tax holidays to producers of building materials, it will go a long way in reducing the cost of building houses in the country.

Adejumo also urged government to provide enabling environment for private estate developers to strive by providing them with proper incentives, credits and mortgages. He attributed the ugly trend in the housing sector to lack of effective legislation guiding activities in the housing sector.

High-value UK mortgage demand drops

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emand for mortgages fell sharply in the first quarter of the year in the UK, according to research for the Bank of England.

Lenders reported that this was the third successive quarter of falling demand, the bank’s Credit Conditions Survey found. Mortgages for high-value property saw the biggest fall in demand since the third quarter of 2008.

Demand was expected to bounce back in the second quarter. Some lenders attributed the fall in demand over recent quarters to a combination of changes in regulatory policy and concerns about housing affordability, as well as uncertainty about the outlook for the housing market.

Nigeria’s real estate sector growth projected at 10% annually Stories by YINKA KOLAWOLE, with agency report

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igerian real estate sector has been projected to grow at an average rate of 10 percent over the next few years, according to a report by Nigeria Real Estate Guide, a publication of Detail Commercial Solicitors, a Lagos-based commercial law firm with an active real estate and construction practice.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) currently values the sector at $40.9 billion (about N8.06 trillion), which is about 8.01 percent of Nigeria’s $510 billion total rebased GDP. According to NBS, the sector grew by 4.95 percent in 2014.

The Real Estate Guide 2015 publication predicated the 10 percent projected growth on “the steady and consistent growth of the real estate sector over the last four years, making it one of the greatest contributors to the Nation’s rebased GDP from the nonoil sector - having contributed 8.03 percent and 11 percent in 2013 and 2014 respectively.”

The report noted that major growth drivers in the sector include: an increased inflow of foreign investment (especially from South Africa, MEA and the United States); increased institutional investment from local companies including PFAs and Mutual Funds; the growing population of high net worth individuals; and the targeted intervention of the Federal Government in the housing finance sector.

The trend of real estate foreign direct investments indicates a total investment of $71.091 million in six years $4.214 million in 2007, $36.134 million in 2008; $7.978 million in 2009; $14.080 million in 2010; $4.543 million in 2011; and $4.142 million in 2012.

Some of the notable projects that boosted the real estate sector include: the World Trade Centre, a N156 billion 37-storey structure being developed by the Churchgate Group in Abuja, expected to house luxury apartments, an A-Grade Office Tower, the Capital Mall and a five star hotel; $180 million The Wing Tower, a state of the art office complex in Lagos being funded through equity

Compact: Functional housing

The trend of real estate foreign direct investments indicates a total investment of $71.091 million in six years

contributions by Oando Plc and RMB Westport and debt financing by Stanbic IBTC

Ltd.; and the multi-billion dollar Eko Atlantic City project, sited on 10 square miles of land reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean on the Lagos coast, comprising high rise condominiums, schools, commercial properties, a centralized conference center, a U-shaped office tower and the ‘Great Wall of Lagos’ which will be a 7 km long wall of bricks to shield the city, as well as Victoria Island, from the waves of the Atlantic. There is also the $120 million Jabi Lake Mall sitting on 5 hectares of land, as part of the 35 hectare master-planned Actis West Africa and Duval Properties

joint venture Jabi Lake development in Abuja which includes a hotel, residential apartments, and offices spaces.

Other drivers of growth in the sector include financing and regulatory interventions such as the establishment of the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (Lagos HOMS), the launching of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) aimed at providing cheaper long term funds to mortgage lenders which would enable them originate more mortgages at lower interest rates and for longer tenors, as is the case in other developed markets.

UK lenders fight to cut mortgage rates

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he battle between lenders to cut down the mortgage rates on offer has intensified, with a company unveiling a new five-year deal with a record low rate of less than 2 percent.

On Monday, HSBC said it will launch a five-year fixed-rate mortgage with a rate of 1.99 percent. Experts said this is the lowest rate deal of its type that they have ever seen on the market. However, borrowers must have a 40 percent deposit to take out the deal, which also comes with a

booking fee of £1,499.

Charlotte Nelson, a spokeswoman for financial information website Moneyfacts, whose records go back to 1988, said: “This 1.99 percent deal is the first five-year fixed-rate mortgage to be launched below 2 percent and is the lowest on record that Moneyfacts.co.uk has seen.”

According to Moneyfacts’ records, the average rate on a five-year fixed rate mortgage lenders are offering across all deposit sizes is now 3.55

percent, having fallen from 4.04 percent a year ago. Five years ago, the average fiveyear fix came with a rate of 5.87 percent.

Nelson continued: “The competition to be the lowest in the mortgage market shows no signs of stopping and is great news for borrowers.

Moneyfacts.co.uk has seen 15 providers cut rates across their ranges in the past seven days alone. Lenders want to appear in the ‘best buys’ so they are constantly reducing rates to remain competitive.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 29

C M Y K

30 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

Insurance

Premium Pension gets new independent director

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rs. Mosun BeloOlusoga has been appointed as an independent director of Premium Pension Limited to replace Mr. Paul Usoro (SAN) who formally retired from the board after completing two consecutive terms totaling six years. The appointment has been approved by the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

Belo-Olusoga is Chartered Accountant; a distinguished Fellow of both Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN). She began her career as a Trainee Accountant with Coopers and Lybrand (Chartered Accountants) where she qualified as a chartered accountant before joining the then Continental Merchant Bank (CMB) Limited.

As a thoroughbred professional, Mrs. BeloOlusoga was specially chosen as a team member who worked with Accenture to develop the Continental Merchant Bank’s strategic plan.

She was a pioneer management staff of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) and team leader in the Corporate Banking Division. She also worked in some other departments of the bank before retiring as Executive Director and Head of the Bank’s South- West division saddled with the responsibility of all marketing operations within the region.

In the course of her illustrious banking career spanning nearly three decades, she attended several prestigious international training programs and business schools across the globe including, IMD International Lausanne, Switzerland; Harvard Business School Massachusetts; INSEAD, Fontainebleau France; Kellogg Business School, Chicago Illinois, Phillips Consulting, Johannesburg and host of others.

She is expected to bring to bear her extensive experience and broad range of competences acquired in banking and financial industry.

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VISIT - From left: Hasina Andria; Paul Atiom; Wale Onaolapo, MD/CEO Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc; Adewale Adewusi and Olaotan Soyinka, GM, Technical, Sovereign Trust, during a courtesy visit to Sovereign Trust by managers of Africa Reinsurance Energy and Applied Insurance Pool of Nigeria (EAIPN).

Germanwings crash: Aviation insurance to rise globally Stories by ROSEMARY ONUOHA

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he cost of insurance for aviation companies globally may rise if the directorate general of civil

aviation goes ahead with its plans to make it mandatory for pilots to undergo psychiatric test before takeoff as any failure to clear the test could lead to flight cancellations and claims.

This might be just another burden for an industry already facing higher cost of insurance after a Malaysian Airlines flight vanished over South China Sea with 239 people aboard last year and

due to accidents in the aviation industry. Airlines in India, mostly loss-making, may be squeezed further if the DGCA implements the plan.

Insurance companies are yet to ascertain the liabilities of such an event since there is no available model to factor in such risks into a policy.

“Initially, there will be loading, but based on experience in the first two years, there will be better understanding of the risk,” said TR Ramalingam, head of underwriting at Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.

Insurers are waiting for the final word on the mandatory test, which the DGCA is contemplating following the crash of the Germanwings aircraft in the French Alps last month, which killed at least 150 people. The accident was supposedly due to the mental sickness of the pilot who seemed to have deliberately crashed the flight.

But the tests could also result in lowering of premium rates if the insurance industry believes such tests could reduce the risk of a mentally instable person piloting an aircraft, which though may be rare given that not many such incidents have come to light.

“There will be an increase in premium for pilot’s loss of licence cover but reinsurance companies could look at it positively and reduce reinsurance rates,” said Yogesh.

Evolution of reinsurance market offers challenges

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espite the current market environment being generally positive for primary insurers, the evolution of the reinsurance market highlights several challenges this can create for firms, according to analysts at Moody’s.

Ratings agency Moody ’s Investor Services, in its latest report, “Reinsurance Monitor ” said, “We are spending more time discussing reinsurance usage and strategy as part of our meetings with primary insurance companies globally,” explained Karambelas, stressing that this trend mirrors the idea that “insurers’ use of reinsurance continues to evolve.

With a wealth of traditional and alternative reinsurance capital readily available, insurers can continue to benefit from a wide source of attractively priced capital.

However, should this persist for a prolonged period the abundance of capital, albeit cheap, is likely to create fierce competition among primary

insurers.

Competition has been a consistent theme of the global reinsurance sector in recent months, leading to a host of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, most recently with Endurance’s announced takeover of Montpelier Re. Expanding on the impact of sustained, cheaper reinsurance that is accessible to insurers, Moody’s analyst Kevin Lee added; “Falling reinsurance prices have encouraged insurers to cut commercial property insurance rates but have had less influence on casualty insurance prices where low interest rates have encouraged underwriting discipline.”

Karambelas advised that generally, in today’s world, insurers are well capitalized, which in turn results in less dependency on reinsurance.

Primary insurers are also “increasingly sophisticated in their evaluation of reinsurance needs.”

And the constant supply of cheap, traditional and alternative reinsurance

Reinsurance Monitor” said, “We are spending more time discussing reinsurance usage and strategy as part of our meetings with primary insurance companies globally capital also reflects that insurers “are generally applying savings from lower reinsurance pricing to expand or optimize their reinsurance programs,” noted Karambelas.

Beyond competition, another issue facing global primary insurers resulting

from the abundance of reinsurance capacity, and in particular when this capital is combined with broader terms, warns Moody ’s, is the temptation for insurers to write more and more business, “incrementally pressuring primary rates and/ or altering the insurers’ risk profiles.”

This raises a valid and interesting point, as simply writing more business because it’s cheap and available could lead to companies being dangerously overexposed, resulting in negative stances from ratings agencies and in the worst instances lead to a fatal blow for the company in question.

That being said, should primary insurers make the most of the ample capital in the sector, by being prudent with the business they write and maintaining disciplined underwriting practices, it can also add welcomed geographical and product diversification to their portfolio.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 31

C M Y K

32 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

Interview

BY OMOH GABRIEL

The realities of fighting

At the just concluded Spring Meetings of the IMF/World Bank Group, Dr. Jim Yong Kim fielded questions from journalists. Excerpts:

D

r. Kim, when you said this isn’t about spending billions of dollars, this is spending trillions of dollars. Now you’re talking about trillions, you’re talking about the private sector, the profit-seeking private sector. Governments usually know how to work with the non-profit sector, but they don’t really know how to work effectively with the profitseeking. What are your thoughts about how you’re doing to establish this partnership?

If you just look at the numbers, you know official development assistance, foreign aid, was about $130 billion last year, so all of us, the multilateral development banks, were part of that world. And if you add up every dollar that multilateral development banks can provide, it is somewhere in the order of $180-200 billion plus. But we’re talking about $1-1.5 trillion in just the developing countries.

So there’s no way to get there without the private sector. Now it’s a very difficult time and capital now is, without question, beginning to move out of the emerging markets. And in order to be able to reach this goal, we’re going to have to be much more clever about how we utilize the extremely valuable grant-based development assistance that countries provide and link it to the kinds of investments that we know will be the creator of jobs and our path to ending poverty.

So if you look at all the different sources; and you start really with improved domestic resource mobilization. We’ve got to help countries collect taxes in a more fair and reasonable way. That’s got to be on the table. And you know I was in London literally paying tribute to the U.K. Government and Prime Minister Cameron for sticking with his pledge of providing 0.7 percent of gross national income to development. But there are a lot of criticisms inside the U.K., it is really remarkable that they stood up under this criticism and kept going. One of them was, why should we taxpayers, provide aid to countries that themselves don’t collect taxes, especially from the rich.

This is the question that was put on the table. But one of the things we’re learning is that synergy between the public and private sector are part of the great hope going forward. And for us, we focus specifically on providing the small and medium enterprises in developing countries that will create the kind of jobs that will lift people out of poverty. It’s tricky; it is a very complicated business getting that right. Even within our own organisation we have people who are very focused on the public sector and people who are very focused on the private sector and they’re now talking to each other much more, but it is relatively new.

My own sense is that we have now got to bring the private sector into the conversation on development, like people like Paul Polman from Unilever C M Y K

who have been extremely dedicated to getting into the development conversation from the beginning. For the millennium development goals, the private sector was never part of the conversation, and we basically asked them to make donations after everything was decided. This time in Addis, for the first time the private sector will be at the table talking to us about how we can reach those goals.

It is not about going after the private sector for making profits, if we can channel them in a way where they can do well in the world. You’re pushing this.

We really believe that there are many, many win-win-win situations out there. The bottom line is that unless we create bankable projects, projects in which there will be returns, we’re not going to get the infrastructure built. So we focus so much on doing this, we’ve created something called the global infrastructure facility. And specifically it’s focused on using all of our literally 50 years of experience in doing this kind of thing and bringing it to the table so that we can prepare the projects.

Now a sovereign wealth fund doesn’t have a whole staff of people that are used to putting projects for bridges in Africa, but we do. So what we’re hoping is that we’ll put those projects together, we’ll bring our safeguards and our preparement standards and everything for the table. We’ll prepare those projects and then the decisions will be then whether to invest. We feel we’ll be able to create a very clear picture of risk and reward. And a lot of these people especially at the pension funds and sovereign wealth funds have all these ideas about these projects being too risky. We think that by bringing our experience to the table, they’ll understand that the risk to reward ratio is very favorable and they’ll begin to invest.

What is the World Bank doing in a situation regarding having to build in

—World Bank Presi

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim...Now a sovereign wealth fund doesn’t have a to putting projects for bridges in Africa, but we do

developing countries’ social safety or social security or a situation of a tax system? If you as World Bank Group actually engage these developing countries in these aspects, Let me take what I think I understand your question to be. On the one hand, if there is one thing that I think has changed most dramatically about the World Bank Group, it’s the extent to which we engage our clients in discussions about what the right thing to do is. In the early 1990s, I was part of a group called Fifty Years is Enough.

We were on the streets trying to argue for the closing of the World Bank Group. We lost that argument, and very good, because I have this job now.

I have to tell you, I have not seen any institution that is as open as the World Bank in taking criticism and also changing its practice over time. Now, the World Bank Group works very closely with countries to try to figure out what is it they want in terms of their own development path, and secondly, we are now aggressively moving forward so that every single project will have beneficiary feedback. In other words, that people that are actually

The bottom line is that unless we create bankable projects, projects in which there will be returns, we’re not going to get the infrastructure built. So we focus so much on doing this, we’ve created something called the global infrastructure facility

benefiting from the program, we are going to get feedback directly from them.

We have also worked on programs that increase the accountability by just, for instance, very simple things, like putting posters on the outside of schools saying to the community the hours that the teacher is supposed to be there, and giving them a number to call if they don’t show up.

Working with countries, accountability, working with the citizens themselves is extremely important. A critical part of it and one of the things I mentioned is building institutions is extremely important. We are working very hard to build institutions.

Some of the problems are inability to collect taxes. There are countries, extremely poor countries, where the top 1,500 wage earners are exempted from paying taxes. We have to call that what it is. This is not acceptable.

We want to bring about fair tax systems, and we think what we will find is that often the collecting of higher taxes or doing other things, like removing fuel subsidies, which are basically the most aggressive tax system you can imagine, those kinds of things bringing more money into the public budget will allow countries to be able to provide the kind of social support mechanisms, like cash transfers, that we know to be effective.

The strategy that I laid out grows, invest, and insure, it was not always the strategy of the World Bank Group. For a long time, we focused a lot on growth of GDP. This particular formulation is new, that putting growth investment in people and insuring

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 33

Interview

poverty

ident

a whole staff of people that are used

the poor against plunging into poverty, this is something new for us. We want to help every country, especially in Africa, get there. A huge part of our focus is going to be on Africa. That’s where I think some of the most difficult challenges exist, but it is also the place where we have the highest ambition.

I wonder if you would comment then on The World Bank’s decision to withdraw core funding from the CGIR centers of international agricultural research and seeming withdrawal of World Bank leadership from those very important institutions.

So we haven’t withdrawn funding from CGIR. We recognize the importance of agricultural research and we’re simply in the process of finding how we can support it over time. Our focus on agriculture research, getting better seeds, the expansion of extension services, this is all very real, and it’s just simply, what we did, is there was a part of the budget that had been without review, simply renewing different grants to different groups over a very long period of time.

We’re simply moving that up into the light of day, and finding the right way to support through other

parts of the budget, these particular efforts.

You’ve said almost nothing about the institutional foundations and requirements of the strategy articulated. I’m thinking particularly about land tenure, civil society and democracy.

It’s a twenty minute speech. (laughter).

But those issues are critical, right? So the involvement of civil society the reference to it was on accountability. And we’ve been working very closely with civil society organizations to increase accountability and there are many ways that we’ve been doing it. For example, in Afghanistan, where travel is so difficult, we actually have brought villages and members of civil society into the project itself by giving them cell phone cameras so they have cell phones and cameras and they actually take pictures of the projects. They also have a function where they can get rid of all the pictures if there are ever questions so they don’t get in trouble, but that level of involvement with civil society just wasn’t happening 20 years ago. And it’s part of the tremendous change in The World Bank group. Also land tenure is a critical issue. Land tenure is one that sorting out land tenure issues is often one of the most difficult things to do. In a country I know well, Haiti this has just been a constant problem. But we work on it and you’re right, it’s extremely important, especially in Agriculture.

You talked about violence and how it increases chances for poverty could you elaborate on any World Bank initiatives or plans to encounter the poverty emanating from these hot spots?

So you know, when I meet with leaders of governments in the area, especially the new leaders, sometimes they ask us for support for arms, and we can’t do that. We don’t do that. We don’t supply funding for arms. But it’s a constant conversation that I’ve been having with the great thinkers and leaders in that particular region. To what extent is the problem ideological? And to what extent is the problem economic? And so I get a surprising variety of answers. And they span the entire range, from people who say you cannot approach this from an economic

development perspective, it’s an ideological problem to those who say it’s very much an economic problem.

So my guess is it’s somewhere in the middle. And right now, what we’re really really focusing on is to try to do everything we can to at least eliminate the potential recruits that are there because they can’t get a job and they don’t have an education. So what are the major things that we’re trying to do?

One of the things that I’ve agreed with Dr. Ali, the revered President of the Islamic Development Bank, the thing that we’ve agreed on is that we’re going to work together on a major education initiative. So what we know is that even though the GDP per capita of some of the countries in that region have gone sky high, educational outcomes are still very low. And so I think that something fundamentally different has happened in the prospects for quickly improving educational outcomes. So the Bridge International Academy I’ve told you about it they essentially take learning modules from the Khan Academy, and any of you who have children who have done the Khan Academy I’ve done the Khan Academy myself.

Sal Khan is an amazing teacher.

And there are fantastic teachers out there in every language and what they do is essentially put very simple but effective lessons into a very simple format on software. So what Bridge Academy does is essentially put very low cost tablets and tablets are as inexpensive as $25 to make, and they put them in the classrooms and as the students learn, the great secret is the teachers are learning too. And that rather than waiting 25 or 30 years to improve the quality of teachers, you bring great teachers into the classroom right away.

And for six dollars per student per month, they’re able to do that and then what the teachers do is walk around

We’re not naïve in thinking that measures that are focused on economic development will stop all conflict.

But we now are convinced that we’ve got to try and we’ve got to be aggressive about it

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim

and help the students who need the most help. And you know, the great news about the Middle East is that there’s a shared language, there’s a shared literature, there’s a way that we think we could take to scale a new kind of educational program. We focus on the areas that are weakest math, the STEM disciplines Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

And will that make a huge difference?

I’m not sure, but we know this is a huge issue and we know that we can have a region wide discussion on education.

And then take on others and another huge issue of course is water. We’re not naïve in thinking that measures that are focused on economic development will stop all conflict. But we now are convinced that we’ve got to try and we’ve got to be aggressive about it. We’ve got to think anew about the kinds of interventions that we may be able to take to scale that might have an effect on the conversation.

Given the fact that the Soviet’s and the Chinese Systems are so different, both economically, politically and ideologically from those in the West, Is it really possible to work with them, to help end extreme poverty, and particularly are they seriously interested in doing that?

Did you say you are from the State Department?

State Department, I’ve taken (inaudible).

Okay, All right. Because you used the term Soviet, and I was wondering if that’s still, but I know — Oh, sorry. I should — I guess that happened, I’m too old to change.

You know, one of the lessons that I know that the leaders of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the New Development Bank are going to learn, is that multilateralism is really hard. It’s always been really hard, it continues to be really hard, and the reason it’s really hard is that for us, anyway at The World Bank Group, the reason I have to run back is that our Board lives with us. Our Board is right in the building, you know, and all of the conflicts that exist in the world are present on that Board.

But one of the great things about having a Board that lives with us is that the people who are on the Board get to know each other, and what happens is that they find ways of getting past difficulties that they wouldn’t, I don’t think, if they only came a few times a year.

So, is China serious about reducing poverty? Oh, my, God. I mean, the Chinese have lifted more people out of extreme poverty than any country in the world, by far, probably 600 million people, and they did it through a very aggressive strategy, focused on growth. And it was growth that happened to great extent in the manufacturing sector, but also in agriculture.

So, are they serious about it?

Absolutely! You know, are the Russians serious about us? Well, you know, they are also a member in very good standing of course of The World Bank Group, and endorsed fully our goal of any extreme poverty.

34 —Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

Economy

BY JOE ANATUNE

T

he Director General, S t a n d a r d s Organization of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Joseph Ikem Odumodu, entered his second year in February 2012 and started talking something quite different from his administration’s Six-point Agenda: a National Quality Policy which he said is vital and urgent for Nigeria to take solid stand on global trade. In his estimation, it is policy that sets the template for officials, players and fans; in this case the regulators, standards accreditation bodies, facilities and skills for effective standards regime and ultimately, the consumers. In order words, the national quality policy will give the scope and set the boundaries for the regulators, stakeholders, products and services that businesses and society get in the final analysis in terms of quality predicated on management systems, operating environment and human resources development as well the institutions that drive best standard practices and growth.

Essentially, a National Quality Policy is an official national document adopted in agreement with the public and private sector operators and which sets objectives on quality and technical regulations. Lack of National Quality Policy means everyone acting according to the whims which has been the bane of the Nigerian society by and large and suspected to be responsible for the poor state of business performance and National Quality Infrastructure, weak regulations and imbalanced international trade relations currently dogging the nation.

In fact, a National Quality Policy is vital to good governance because it is the foundation of quality of life of citizens.

The Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment through the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) set to work on the processes to establishing a National Quality Policy and to this end, on September 26, 2013, the National Steering Committee to formulate the National Quality Policy was inaugurated in Abuja; basically as an interministerial committee to streamline regulatory frameworks and design infrastructure development models for the nation’s quality concept & practices that would form the basis of standards in both the public and private sectors.

The broad-based interministerial committee, C M Y K

LAUNCH - From left: Business Development Director, Information Technology and Mobile, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr. Daesong Ra; Head, Business Development, Technology and Mobile, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr. Olumide Ojo; Managing Director, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr. Brovo Kim; Director, Information Technology and Mobile, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr. Emmanouil Revmatas; Head, Product Marketing, Information Technology and Mobile, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Ms Olajumoke Okikiolu and Samsung Electronics Brand Ambassador, Banky W at the official launch of the Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphones. headed by Industry, Trade and Investment Minister, Dr. Olusegun Aganga and having the SON DG, Dr. Odumodu as the secretary was to review and harmonize existing quality policies in Nigeria and prepare Draft National Quality Policy that would be acceptable to the stakeholders in readiness for legislation and due implementation as the policy working document.

The NQP aims to help define the objective principles and results to be achieved, as well the necessary resources to be mobilized in the field of quality. An important outcome is that the NQP will facilitate the establishment of functional National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) and thereby catalyzing Nigeria’s entry into international trade in line with global best practices – hence enabling competitiveness of locally made products at the world market.

At this juncture, we commend the European Union (EU), and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), for joining hands with Nigeria to deliver the project. Special appreciation must also go to the Honorable Minister, Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Aganga and the SON DG Dr Odumodu who particularly must have feared privately that the project could misfire if the committee members did not redouble their efforts. To forestall this, Odumodu caused SON to commit huge financial and human resources

After National Quality Policy draft, what next? as the technical committee was largely drawn from SON experienced staff.

With the EU support and UNIDO facilitation, the NSC comprising representatives of both the private and public sectors got marching orders from the minister on the following terms: To review and harmonise existing Quality policies in Nigeria To prepare a Draft National Quality Policy that is acceptable to all stakeholders, and To support the approval and implementation of the National Quality policy.

The committee was grouped into seven units with members from both the public and private sectors bearing on each member ’s area of specialization and comparative advantage towards facilitating their work. In addition, technical officers were drawn from SON to serve in the sub-committees as follows: Standards, Metrology, Accreditation, Conformity Assessment/Test laboratory, Communication, National technical Regulation and Budget and planning.

It is heartwarming that the Draft National Quality Policy has been produced and presented to Dr. Aganga with implementation schedule built into it so that it is not abstract

but tangible with deliverable values and measureable parameters. The draft document was the result of consultations and inputs from stakeholders across the geopolitical zones.

However, a national quality policy does not exist in isolation. An NQP needs to integrate with the regional, continental and global standards. To this extent, the coming National Quality Policy of Nigeria needs integrate the West African Industrial Policy (WAPIC) which main objectives are “to maintain a solid industrial structure which is globally competitive, environment

A National Quality Policy is an official national document adopted in agreement with the public and private sector operators and which sets objectives on quality and technical regulations

friendly and capable of significantly improving the living standards of the people.” Again, the thrust: Manufacturing industries contribution to regional GDP from 7% to 20%; intra community trade from 12% to 40%, and export of ECOWAS manufactured goods to the global market from 0.1% to 1%.

The draft policy also stressed the driving forces behind it: the desire to efficiently and effectively manage regulatory responsibilities to achieve the primary mandates of protecting the society and environment; the need for stakeholders to deal with a transparent and reliable state regulatory system without having to battle with bureaucratic vagaries, and the need for stakeholders to give industries supportive standards, metrology, accreditation and conformity assessment schemes that are affordable and accepted globally.

And the question follows: Now that Nigeria has a draft National Quality Policy, where do we go from here or, now that we have gotten to the bridge that separated us from quality system societies, are we to move with dispatch or tarry awhile before we launch out with renewed courage?

Anatune, a brand strategist wrote from Lagos.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 35

E-Commerce

Kidnap: The ugly side of internet penetration STORIES BY JONAH NWOKPOKU

These terms and conditions absolve OLX of any liability in the event of any loss or injury while transacting on the platform

L

ast week, the incident of kidnapping involving the Orekoya children at Surulere area of Lagos, brought into focus the issue of regulation of online classifieds.

The children were reported to have been kidnapped by a maid, (Funmilayo Adeyemi) who was hired through a classified advertisement placed on an online classified platform, OLX.com.ng.

This has raised some questions about the culpability of the operators of the platform and whether they can be held accountable for the crime and other fraudulent activities prevalent on the platform.

What is OLX? OLX is an acronym for Online Exchange. It operates as a national online classified marketplace for used goods.

Just about anything can be sold or bought on OLX. These days, criminals and persons who pretend to be what they are not can also be hired unknowingly through the platform. This is because it is accessible through the internet. OLX has a presence in over 106 countries but only present in five African countries including Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Angola and Kenya.

Operations in Nigeria OLX launched in Nigeria in 2012 after its sister venture, Kalahari.com.ng closed shop in the country citing payment challenges. Since then, the company has latched onto the excitement about anything internet in Nigeria, promoting OLX as the new golden black market. It has especially made huge success since it provides opportunities for people to declutter their homes by selling their used items which did not have a market up until now.

However it was not long, fraudsters also latched onto the platform, luring and scamming unsuspecting users through spurious listings.

Fraud incidents Many fraud incidents from use of the platform have been reported. Just by googling the words, 'fraud, OLX' will generate results of OLX related fraud stories all over the world.

For example, Kunle was scammed in 2014 through a spurious car deal posted on OLX. He was lucky he lost only N10, 000 which he paid C M Y K

Lola Masha - OLX Country Manager, Nigeria as deposit for logistics to bring the car for inspection.

Ahmed (not real name) was robbed at gunpoint when he went to meet a buyer.

“It was in a public place but the whole thing happened so fast. That was how I lost my iPhone 5s. It was shocking,” he said.

“Right now, fraudsters crawl all over the platform looking for unsuspecting sellers and buyers to defraud. There are few genuine deals there. I wish the operators can do something about it,” he added.

However, with the recent incident where a maid hired through the platform kidnapped three children for a N15 million ransom, some people are calling for OLX to be held accountable.

Why OLX cannot be held accountable While the whole kidnapping

You acknowledge and agree that you are responsible for and must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any content

incident lasted, OLX stayed silent. However, when they eventually made a statement, OLX Country Manager in Nigeria, Lola Masha, said that: “OLX is just an online classified site that brings buyers and sellers together to promote trade,” noting: “We take steps to moderate and review all adverts, but we do not participate in the negotiations between buyers and sellers.”

“Transactions are performed directly between both parties.

In all our marketing campaign, we continuously urge our users to take necessary precautionary checks when using OLX,” she added.

What this means is that while OLX regrets the incident, there is nothing they can do to protet their users even in the future. After all, they warned users that any transaction undertaken on the platform is at the user's risks."

This position is corroborated by OLX's terms of use of service which makes it crystal clear that users should only use the service if they agree that OLX shall bear no liability resulting from any transactions.

Available on the OLX website for user's to read before signing up to use the service, the terms and conditions read thus in part: “OLX is the next generation of free online classifieds. We act as a venue to allow our users who comply with these Terms to offer, sell, and buy products and services listed on the Website. Although you

may be able to conduct payment and other transactions through the Website, using third-party vendors such as PayPal, OLX is not in any way in involved in such transactions. As a result, and as discussed in more detail in these Terms, you hereby acknowledge and agree that OLX is not a party to such transactions, has no control over any element of such transactions, and shall have no liability to any party in connection with such transactions. You use the Service and the Website at your own risk.”

It further read: “You understand that OLX does not control, and is not responsible for ads, directory information, business listings/information, messages between users, including without limitation emails outside OLX’s e-mail system or other means of electronic communication.

“You acknowledge and agree that you are responsible for and must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any content, that you may not rely on said content, and that under no circumstances will OLX be liable in any way for the content or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any content listed, e-mailed or otherwise made available via the Service.”

These terms and conditions absolve OLX of any responsibilities in the event of any loss or injury while transacting on the platform.

With the foregoing, analysts believe that until the operators of the platform decide to take improved measures to protect their users or the Nigerian parliament passes legislation on electronic business to protect online consumers, Nigerians will continue to navigate the murky world of online classifieds at their own risks.”

Pearl Dream selected for Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur Programme 2015

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earl Dream, a platform for folktale and crowd-sourced African stories, have announced their selection to participate in this year’s Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme.

The Pearl Dream said in a statement that “it is honoured to be amongst other African Entrepreneurs who are also a part of the programme, where they will participate in the learning experience while sharing what they have learned as well as spreading the word of their latest development and mobile application, DreamAfrica.

Chief Operations Officer, The Pearl Dream, Brian Asingia said: “TEEP1000 is a true testament that it is time for Africans to solve Africa’s problems with Africa inspired solutions that have a global potential. As a co-founder of The Pearl Dream and creator of our DreamAfrica app, I am humbled to be part of the inaugural TEEP1000 class of 2015 and look forward to connecting and learning from mentors and entrepreneurs alike as we connect African content creators to a global audience, one story at a time.”

The Tony Elumelu F o u n d a t i o n Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) is the flagship entrepreneurship programme of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, founded by the entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist, Tony O. Elumelu.

The programme was inspired among other things, to drive inclusive economic philosophy of Africapitalism, based on the belief that a vibrant African-led private sector is the key to unlocking Africa’s economic and social potential.

C M Y

36 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 37

38 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

“Unsold Nigeria crude grows as buyer interest falls”. PUNCH, Thursday, April 9, 2015, p 41.

T

he story by Femi Asu, went on to state that “Weak buying from Asia and other regular buyers of Nigerian crude oil has left a large overhang of March, April and May cargoes, it was learnt”. For those who might not fully understand the implications of that report, it is necessary to spell them out.

The first casualty, and it has been in that position since last year, is the 2015 budget which is now nothing more than an academic exercise. With crude oil prices hovering between US$45 and US$60 per barrel, the budget which out-going Finance Minister first based on $78 per barrel crude oil price, had by February been dropped in the dust bin. Now, with volume supplied imperiled by weak demand from our traditional customers, it is obvious that the Age of Crude is surely over in Nigeria – at least for a while.

Incidentally, this is not the first time this will be announced on these pages.

In an article published in December last year, titled THE AGE OF OIL IS OVER FOR NIGERIA, the point had been made that the forces which had driven the global price of crude oil to the low levels it reached then and also reduced the demand for Nigerian crude are not only long-term in nature, but they were then just gathering momentum. The news report above only points to the major economic crisis facing the nation – starting immediately. By the time President Jonathan hands over the leadership of Nigeria to Buhari, the country would have once again been classified as a near bankrupt economy. Our earnings from crude oil will just about be

Nigeria without oil is now a reality sufficient to pay for all the foreign loans taken by the Federal and state governments.

For Buhari and Nigeria, lightening has struck twice in a life time. By the time he was propelled to the Head of the military junta in December 1983, Second Republic politicians, at Federal and state levels had frittered away the first crude oil bonanza and left Nigeria with a huge debt which later became our debt trap. By October 1985, President Babangida, who toppled Buhari, was already lamenting that, “It is true that we have run through one of the greatest financial bonanzas that ever happened to a nation in need; so fast and so recklessly that we may wonder if ever happened at all!”

The harsh measures which Buhari took, which should have produced salutary effect, were denounced by the same Nigerians who had been impoverished. Today, as we approach a democratic change of government, we can surely repeat what Babagida said about the bonanza which Second Republic politicians wasted. From 1999 till date, politicians representing all the political parties have once again run through another bonanza more recklessly than in the 1980s. Buhari, once again is fated to inherit a national purse totally depleted by sixteen years of Obasanjo, Yar ’Adua and Jonathan, at the centre. State governors, especially those newly elected, will also find themselves wishing they never ran for office. Even those who are continuing in office face

The harsh measures which Buhari took, which should have produced salutary effect, were denounced by the same Nigerians who had been impoverished

a massive revolt of public servants and the Nigerian populace as they will increasingly fail to fulfill their election promises.

So, the second casualties of the impending economic doom are the public servants. Even states which struggled to pay salaries before the elections will now start defaulting in payments. Governors going on May 29, 2015, will simply abscond from their states and leave their successors to face the outrage of public servants.

Unpaid contractors constitute the third set of victims of the change in the fortunes of Nigeria. It is almost certain that any contractor, still unpaid by any government — Federal, State or Local – and who is not wellconnected with the President, Governor or Chairman, can forget about being paid for a long time to come. The in-coming governments,

cash strapped meet current obligations, and having failed to receive the kick-backs from overinflated contracts will not be in a hurry to pay past debts. The great wave of defections from PDP to APC is partly a reflection of the desperation of contractors whose money is trapped as their former benefactors leave office. Hundreds of thousands of contractors face personal bankruptcy; and, their banks also risk being savaged by the consequences of both crude oil calamity and the change of governments nationwide. Abandoned projects will proliferate.

Every economic catastrophe invariably manifests itself in the banking sector – which had actually placed itself in harms way by financing the buy-out of International Oil Companies, IOCs, by local investors.

The rush for the gates by the IOCs should have served as a warning to Nigerians who had more money than sense, and their bankers, that something must be wrong, if so many multi-nationals are leaving. Even IOCs who had taken the position of “ wait and see” in the past are no longer waiting – because they have seen enough. And, what they see is a nation whose oil exploration is no longer attractive.

Finally, PIB is dead. Twice the Jonathan administration presented the bill to the National Assembly, NASS, and, twice government lacked the WILL to see it through. The PIB which would have benefited the oilproducing areas immensely will now be buried in the graveyard of procrastination and presidential inertia. Decades from now people from the Niger Delta will continue to shake their heads that one of their sons allowed this opportunity to pass. For the folly of leaders; people perish.

Micro-Finance Stories by PROVIDENCE OBUH

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agos State wing of National Association of Micro finance Banks (NAMB) has called on the Governor elect, Akinwunmi Ambode to ensure loans are made available for entrepreneurs through the sub sector.

Make loans available through MfBs, Lagos NAMB urges Ambode The association made the call through its Chairperson, Mrs. Clara Oloniniyi, in a congratulatory statement, where she said that adequate loans be made available for the growth of entrepreneurs,

especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MEMEs’) operators in the state.

According to her, “Don’t forget those in micro finance banking industry who have

been working relentlessly on poverty reduction in the country and it will be good to have a mayor in office who has made our industry a priority.”

She added that it is

Bajaj Auto rewards Nigeria mechanics to enhance skill

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ajaj Auto Limited, manufacturers of twoand three- wheelers, has rewarded some Nigerian Mechanics for outstanding performances in its maiden “Speed to Lead Contest” on fastest person to disassemble and assemble the Bajaj RE4s Engine and responding to series of questions.

The winners Mr. Fatai

Amusan of Oregun M e c h a n i c s Association, emerged as the winner with 15 minutes, 41 seconds, Mr Ose Sylvester, Ikosi Ketu Mechanics Association, 16 minutes, 25 seconds and Mr William Olushola, Oregun Mechanics Association, 17 minutes and 7 seconds.

Speaking at the Bajaj Speed to Lead Mechanics Contest in Lagos, Regional Sales Manager, Bajaj Auto, Mr. Veeramani Munuswamy, said that the competition allows technicians to demonstrate their skills and knowledge through a variety of speed drills and problem-solving skills test, saying, “Those that

are most proficient earn valuable prizes.

He added that the contest was launched to recognize the skills of the expert technicians in servicing and repairing Bajaj RE4s Keke and give them the opportunity to enhance their talent, having better opportunities in their career.

pertinent for Ambode’s administration to assist micro finance banks in the provision of needed infrastructure in the state, especially in the area of interest rate .

She said, “If the loans are given out at four per cent per month, how much do you think it will amount to in a month that the bank will realise enough profit to meet all the various expenses associated with the loan.?

“We should all know that that the best panacea to realising objectives for establishing MfBs is an aggressive advocacy for entrepreneurship spirit. But this spirit can only be gingered if those at the windows of powers are friendly to the banks.

“The era of finishing from school and the next step is for young graduates to be looking for a job should be over,” she said.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 39

Economy Stories By EMEKA ANAETO, Economy Editor

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total of 1, 219, 052 jobs were created in the Nigerian economy by both public and private sectors in the year 2014. The figures as contained in the latest estimate of jobs creation report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows a marginal increase of 4.5 per cent against the total 1,163, 766 jobs created in 2013.

These estimates are the results of the Quarterly Job Creation Survey commissioned by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in collaboration with the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President, National Planning Commission and the Federal Ministry of Labour & Productivity. Employment generation being one of the pillars of the present administration’s Transformation Agenda.

The objective of the quarterly survey, according to NBS, is to track the number of jobs being created in the economy within a given period of time, provide multisectoral and policy relevant data on the employmentgenerating sectors, seasonality in employment and the labour market.

The findings are categorized into Formal sector jobs, Informal sector and Public sector jobs. Formal jobs refer to employment generated in establishments that employ 10 persons and above, or formal professional services that employ less than 10 persons.

The Informal jobs are those generated by individuals or businesses employing less that 10 or those businesses operating with little or no structures e.g. those in Agriculture and Wholesale and Retail Trade. While The Public Institutions are the Government Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs), Government Parastatals, Academic and Research Institutions at Federal, State and Local government levels.

Senator Joe Danlami Ikenya

Job creation records marginal growth The findings shows that the Informal sector is the main driver, with over 60 per cent contribution to the overall new employment profile while the Public Sector contributes marginally (less than 2 per

cent) to the employment generation capacity of the economy. The formal sector where big corporations including multinationals belong contributed approximately 37 per cent.

In the period under review the Informal sector created 759,896 jobs showing a significant 11 per cent rise over 628,845 it generated in the preceding year. However a negative trend of steady decline was recorded from

Q2.

During the year under review the formal sector employed a total of 438,263 persons a marginal rise of less than one per cent from 432,720 employed in the previous year. The significant feature of the quarterly report for the formal sector is a two- quarter consecutive decline with a massive decline from 145, 464 recorded in Q2 to 78,755 in Q3 followed by a further decline to 76,081 in Q4 2014 in that sector. In 2013 there was a steady rise in Q3 and Q4. No reason was given for this trend by the authorities.

Public Sector recorded a very abysmal performance in job creation in 2014 with just 20,893 jobs created, showing a massive decline against 102,201 it created in 2013.

The Quarterly Job Creation survey is a nationwide survey, covering all 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). A sample of 5000 establishments was taken across the country covering all sectors of the economy.

This round of the survey, for which estimates are being reported, according NBS, achieved a response rate of 82.1percent from the establishments selected in the sample, which is very high by global standard.

State Govts intensify internally generated revenue drive

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here are indications that State Governments are intensifying their revenue generating ability, probably to reduce over reliance on the federal allocation which began a downward trend, month-on-month in the past six months.

Early reports from five states of the federation for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014 also shows some of the states posting over 100 per cent rise in their internally generated revenue (IGR) profile over the five year period (2010-2014) under review.

The key revenue heads reported are Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Direct Assessment, Road taxes and sources categorised as ‘’Others’’.

Amongst the five states that

have so far concluded audit of their IGR Oyo State tops the list in terms of absolute size with N16.3 billion raised in 2014 alone bringing the total IGR for the five-year period to N65.6 billion. The 2014 figure also shows eight per cent rise over previous year’s record while showing a five year rise of nearly 60 per cent. The figures has been on steady rise year-on-year during the five year period.

In the five year summary Bayelsa State raised a total of N11 billion in 2014 alone bringing its five-year total IGR to N41.7 billion. Taking the base year figure of N4.7 billion in 2010, the State achieved over a 100 per cent rise in its IGR capacity during the five year period under review.

Sokoto State has reported a total N5.6 billion in IGR for the year ended December 31, 2014 bringing its total IGR for the five year period to N23.5 billion. The 2014 figure shows a marginal increase of two per cent against previous year but it shows about 42 per cent rise over the five year period, rising marginally every year.

Nasarawa State reported a N4.1 billion IGR for the year ended December 31, 2014 bringing the five-year total to N18.2 billion. The 2014 figure shows a marginal increase of 2.5 per cent over 2013, while recording over a 100 per cent jump from the 2010 base year figure of N1.9 billion.

Ekiti State, though the smallest volume but like Nasarawa and Bayelsa, also shows over 100 per cent jump

in its IGR increases by the 2014 report. The State’s IGR in 2014 was N3.5 billion showing about 60 per cent rise against previous year’s figure and over 110 per cent rise against the 2010 base figure of N1.6 billion. for the five year period.

Public Finance analysts believe all states will eventually report higher figures by the time all the states release their financial reports for the year 2014.

They also expected even more aggressiveness in IGR performance in the face of dwindling federal revenue allocation occasioned by the sharp drops in oil revenue month-on-month since last year.

40 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

People in Business

PZ Wilmar set to make Nigeria global leader in oil palm production

BY EBELE ORAKPO & NAOMI UZOR

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Santosh Pillai is t h e Managing Director, West Africa, PZWilmar Limited. In this chat with Financial Vanguard at the company’s factory in Lagos during the recent ISO 22000:2005 certificate presentation to the company by Bureau Veritas.

He spoke on the company’s backward integration programme, saying that although Nigeria was once the world’s biggest exporter if palm oil, she currently imports over 350,000 tonnes of palm oil yearly.

Excerpts: Backward integration: According to Pillai, the goal of PZ Wilmar, the joint venture between PZ Cussons and Wilmar International, is to take Nigeria back to her glorious days as a world leader in palm oil production.

“When we started this palm oil refinery, we simultaneously started our backward integration process. That means we started to grow oil palm in Nigeria. Nigeria was the world’s leader in oil palm in the 1960s and 1970s and Malaysia and Indonesia took the know-how from Nigeria and over the last 30, 40 years, they have perfected it and have now become world leaders in oil palm production. So the intention of PZ Wilmar is to restore Nigeria to its former position

as world leader in oil palm production, therefore, we are not only putting up a refinery here, which has a capacity of 1,000 tons per day, but we are also interested in growing oil palm. We, therefore, set out on a journey to set up 50,000

Government should ensure that every investor in the country is treated fairly and equally

hectares of oil palm plantation in Cross River State. If you visit Cross River State today, we have already acquired 26,500 hectares of land and we are growing the oil palm at Calaro Oil Palm Estate; Ibiae Oil Palm Estate and an estate in Biase. Apart from these, we also acquired the 12,800-hectare oil palm plantation from Obasanjo Farms. The ex-president has his own plantations in Cross

PRESENTATION: Mr. Santosh Pillai, Managing Director, West Africa, PZ Wilmar, receiving the ISO 22000:2005 Food Safety Management System Certificate from Mrs Adenike Akinbote, Systems Certification Manager, Bureau Veritas (2nd left), at the company's Ikorodu factory last week while others watch.

River State and we acquired the plantations in 2012.

Our goal: "Subject to more land availability, our intention is to grow 50,000 hectares of oil palm. If there is more land available, this joint venture will continue to grow more and more oil palm, our single objective being that we need to grow oil palm in this country because Nigeria has competitive as well as comparative advantage to grow oil palm and to be a global leader also. " So we want to set up a fully integrated project; we will grow palm in this country, we will mill the crude palm oil in

*Oil palm

Cross River State and transport the crude palm oil to our refinery here in Lagos, we will refine it, refractionate it and package it into worldclass brands – Mamador and Devon Kings and we will ensure that through the processes, the consumers in Nigeria will have access to world-class quality edible oil.

"That is our intention. This company is not only in the business of creating a fully integrated oil palm project but also in the business of creating very high quality products and brands."

Challenges: Speaking on the challenges faced by the company, Mr. Pillai who sees challenges as necessary said: "If there were no challenges, there would be no fun running businesses in any country."

Reeling out the major challenges, he said they could be as common as inadequate power supply, infrastructure problems such as roads, availability of fuel etc. "These are common challenges which businesses have to overcome."

Govt policies: "The most important challenge we as an organisation face, is government's policy on imports and duties structure in Nigeria. As a very serious and long-term investor in this country, what we expect from government is to ensure there is a levelplaying field; that every investor in the country is

treated fairly and equally and there are no benefits being given to one single company which will bring down the whole industry. That is our only request and we will continue to seek and engage the government and regulatory authorities to ensure there is always a levelplaying field for investors like us," he said.

Choice of Cross River: On why the company chose to site its oil palm plantations in Cross River State, Pillai said: "Oil palm can grow anywhere but does well in only select belts of the equator - five degrees north and five degrees south - that is where oil palm grows very well. Cross River and Rivers states come under that oil palm belt. We chose Cross River State because during our entire due diligence process, we went there and we saw that when Nigeria was the world leader in oil palm production, Cross River State was one of the states with a lot of oil palm. Akwa Ibom also has but we have to go to a place where we can do a very big project.

"We don’t want to do small projects everywhere. But in the course of time, when we develop more and more, we will definitely select a lot more states.

"But right now, we want to concentrate in one place where we can start and do a very good job and then we start to replicate that in other places."

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Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 41

Aviation

By LAWANI MIKAIRU & DANIEL ETEGHE

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he Nigerian A i r s p a c e Management Agency, NAMA, has commenced the calibration of its navigational aids at airports and en-route stations across the country in a bid to further enhance seamless air navigation.

According to the Acting General Manager, Public Affairs of NAMA, Mrs Olajumoke Adetona “ the routine calibration exercise was intended to determine the precision and accuracy of

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NAMA commences calibration of navigational aids at airports these navigational aids”.

She further revealed that the exercise is being handled

by ASECNA of Senegal in collaboration with NAMA Engineers and is expected to last for about two weeks. She added that the exercise would involve the calibration of the agency ’s “Instrument Landing Systems (ILS), Very High Omni-Directional Radio Range (VOR), Distance Measuring

Equipment (DME), Path Approach Precision Indicators (PAPI) and Air Field Lighting Systems.”Other facilities to be calibrated include the Communication Radio Coverage across the nation.

In his remarks at the commencement of the calibration exercise in Lagos, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Engr. Ibrahim

Abdulsalam, noted that the operation was “targeted at putting all the navigational

aids at the nation’s airports and en-route stations in optimal capacity in line with ICAO standards to continue to generate precise and accurate signals to guarantee the safety of air navigation in Nigeria.”

Med-View Airline partners First Bank to acquire Boeing 737-400 Classic

By LAWANI MIKAIRU

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ed-View Airline has acquired a Boeing 737-400 Classic aircraft, with a capacity for 150 passengers in business and economy classes.

This acquisition was financed by First Bank who has a business partnership with the airline.

The additional aircraft is part of the airline’s expansion plans to boost its operations. And the company ’s fleet has increased to five Boeing aircraft.

Speaking with Aviation reporters during the official unveiling of the new Boeing 737-400 Classic at the domestic wing of Muritala Muhammed Airport , Lagos, the Managing Director of the airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, said the aircraft had undergone necessary inspection and certification by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority ’s, NCAA, inspectors before it was flew into the country from Thailand.

He added that the introduction of the aircraft was an integral part of the airline’s long term business plan, adding that the aircraft would immediately be deployed to Yola route.

Bankole further explained that another Boeing 767 aircraft would join the airline’s fleet very soon, saying that the expected aircraft would be deployed to Jeddah and Dubai, which it hoped to commence by the last week in June.

According to Bankole, “We are as usual poised to give our customers the best of service and with the introduction of our additional new baby, we will definitely expand our fleet and operations.

The aircraft you are seeing today has undergone significant internal enhancements to ensure that our customers enjoy the unique and outstanding onboard experience they have come to expect from the airline.”

42 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

Tax Matter

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t takes more than just paying your taxes to be a good taxpayer, you must ensure you pay on or before your tax liability is due; if every taxpayer decides to pay their taxes only when they feel like, or when it is convenient for them, then they probably may not pay at all since there may never be such a time that is ‘convenient’ to pay. For this reason, the tax laws are drafted in such ways as to ensure that taxes for a particular period are not carried over to other periods.

The statutory date required for a particular tax type to be remitted or filed is called “due date”.

Any taxpayer who remits or files returns after the statutory due date is considered late and this attracts certain penalties. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that taxpayers remit and file their taxes as and when due, and also enforce penalties where there is lateness. The lax laws are actually considerate as they give adequate time to allow taxpayers prepare to make payment for each tax type.

TAX TYPES AND THEIR STATUTORY DUE DATES 1.

Pay-As-You-Ear n (PAYE): PAYE is expected to be remitted by the employer on behalf Samuel Ogungbesan, Ag. Chairman, FIRS of the employee after deducting the appropriate amount of tax from the employee’s monthly salary. The deducted tax is expected to be remitted not later than 10 days after the end of the month for which the tax was deducted or duty to th deduct arose, i.e. 10 of the month after the month deduction was made (Operation of the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) Scheme Regulations Section 7(1)). Annual returns must however be filed with the relevant tax authority, not later than 30 days after the end of the year of assessment – this is usually taken as 31 st January of the deduction attracts a penalty of 10% of company however, returns is expected succeeding year (Operation of the Pay- the amount of tax to be deducted in to be filed within eighteen (18) As-You-Ear n (PAYE) Scheme addition to the amount itself plus months after the company was Regulations Section 10(1)). Failure of interest at prevailing rate (PITA incorporated or not later than six (6) months after the end of its first the employer to deduct or having Section 74(1) as amended). accounting period; whichever is deducted (failure) to pay to the 4.

Company Income Tax (CIT) earlier. A company can apply in relevant tax authority within the stipulated time from the day the & Education Tax (EDT): CITA Section writing for an extension of the date amount was deducted or the time the 55(3)(a & b) explains that any for filing their returns for a particular duty to deduct arose, amounts to an company that has been in existence year, provided the application is made offence under the Act. Section 94(1) for more than eighteen (18) months is before the statutory due date and that of PITA (as amended) stipulates a required to file returns every year not the company shows a good cause for penalty of N5,000.00 on conviction, later than six (6) months after the end the inability to meet the statutory due plus N100 for every day in which the of its accounting year. For a new date. The penalty for late filing of CIT failure continues in addition to the principal amount to be remitted.

Section 81 (3) of PITA stipulates a penalty of N500,000.00 for corporate bodies and N50,000.00 for individuals for late filing of annual returns upon conviction.

Arbitrators encourage people to tap into the M aritime 2.

Personal Income Tax (PIT): Association of Nigeria arbitration dispute mechanism.

Due date for filing PIT is 90 days after “There is still a lot of information (MAAN) says vibrant national the end of the year, this is usually dissemination we need to do to st maritime arbitration system will taken as 31 March of the following attract quality investors to the encourage people and to let them know year (PITA Section 41(3). The penalty industry and fast-track its that these are the things we do and how for late filing of PIT is the same as that they can benefit from it in the maritime development. of PAYE as prescribed in the PIT Act industry.

Dr Omogbai Omo-Eboh, the in Section 82.

So, towards that advocacy and 3.

Value Added Tax (VAT) & President of the association, said this Withholding Tax (WHT): FIRS in an interview with the News Agency enlightenment campaign, we usually Information Circular 9304 on VAT organise an annual seminar called the of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos. prescribes that returns should be ‘Practical Maritime Dispute Resolution’ Omo-Eboh said that the association st rendered on or before the 21 day of adopted the strategy, as arbitration Seminar. In addition to that, every year the Month following that in which the offered desired solutions and as well, we always organise a maritime sales/supply was made. A taxable confidentiality in maritime disputes arbitration workshop as part of objectives person who fails to submit VAT returns to enlighten the public and to for parties in dispute. as stipulated is liable to a fine of demonstrate the practical aspect of how According to him, maritime N5,000 for every month in which maritime arbitration works. One of the regulators and operators need a lot failure continues (VAT Act Section 35). major attractions of arbitration and what of enlightenment and advocacy to The same date applies to the WHT. Failure to deduct or to remit after

Planning to file your returns? Do it before the due dates!

as spelt out in the Section 55 (3) a & b of CITA LFN 2004 (as amended) is N25,000.00 in the first month of failure and N5,000.00 for each subsequent month.

5.

Petroleum Profits Tax (PPT): This is peculiar to companies involved in petroleum operations. PPTA Section 30(1) prescribes that an estimated returns should be filed not later than two (2) months after the commencement of the accounting year (this is different from others that are filed at the end of the accounting year). Section 30(2) further states that “if, at any time during any such accounting period, the company having made a return as provided for in sub-section 1 is aware that the estimate in such returns requires revision, then it shall submit a further return containing its revised estimated tax for such period”. In a case where a company has a good reason (satisfactory to FIRS) for which it cannot meet up with the timeframe stipulated in Section 30 - 33 of the PPTA, such company can write to request for an extension in the time which the Board (FIRS) may grant after necessary consideration.

At the end of the accounting year, a final tax returns is expected to be filed as stipulated by Section 30(2) of the PPTA not later than five (5) months after the accounting year end.

Section 51(1) stipulates an initial penalty of N10, 000 for failure to file returns within the period stated in the Act plus N2,000 for every day the failure continues.

6.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT): This is the tax imposed on the gains made from the disposal of an asset such as a house, vehicle, machinery etc. It is charged at 10%. The due date for filing CGT according to the CGTA Section 17(3) is the last day in that year of assessment. It should however be noted that individuals will file CGT returns with the relevant State Board of Internal Revenue while companies will file with the FIRS.

Vibrant arbitration system in maritime sector will is central and cardinal to arbitration is attract quality, says MAAN

that it is confidential.

“When you go to the court, you bring your disputes into the public domain, into public glare. Whereas with arbitration, it is very confidential, it is between the parties, their counsel or representatives, and the arbitrator or the arbitrators.”

According to Omo-Eboh, a workable dispute settlement mechanism will increase the confidence level in the industry. He said that numerous investors consider industrial dispute resolution seriously, as it engendered confidence and protection of investments.

Omo-Eboh stated that the association was working to ensure that more people utilise the facilities available for arbitration.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 43

Advertising & Promotions Stories by PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

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anufacturers want their brands loved, preferred and upgraded. None want its brand (s) rejected, hated or downgraded, therefore brand owners across the globe have long realized that positioning themselves from within their economic jurisdiction has become a necessary means of winning and sustaining attention in the market writes Princewill Ekwujuru.

Even without consciously articulating marketing positioning strategies, lots of brand owners have as far back as history could record, been making statements about their individual characteristics, endowments and peculiarities. Even in this era where majority of dairies are sourced from Italy, China, Kenya, European and Asian countries.

Holland as the case may be, remains known as home to finest dairy products that still stand the test of time. Think of the phrase, ‘’Holland home of finest dairy.’’ All over the world, this phrase has shown how Holland is perceived. Or is it Peak milk that is driving this perception for Holland.?

From France sells easily in Nigerian stores just for the fact that it is from France.? No. This is because of years of associating the country with romance and personal care.

Check out all the perfumes and deodorants worn by users.

They derive their names from French imageries and constructs; Cheri L’amour, Blackberry Pour homme, Hummer Eau de toilette.

Even the global winery business struggle to relate to France. Is it any wonder that virtually all brandies call themselves ‘’French brandy’’ or ‘’original French cognac.?’’

A positive national brand image confers strong advantages on products from these countries. It also affords them the luxury of price leadership in the market.

However, things are changing. Although Nigeria neither has an improved national image despite years of effort at nation branding or marketing nor has as yet, any real brand of significant export potential, rather than what Promasidor Nigeria Limited is doing in the milk market.

No wonder in 1993 when Promasidor segmented the milk market, that afforded low income earners the opportunity to drink quality milk. Before then, the milk market was elitist in nature.

The success recorded by sachet milk in the market led other brands to toe the line of the new order, and are today enjoying the revolution and evolution propelled by Promasidor.

Today however,

AAAN urges President-elect to review national communication architecture

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BRIEFING - From Left: Head, Events and Sponsorship, Etisalat Nigeria, Modupe Thani; Director and Founder, Hear Word, Ifeoma Fafunwa; Nigerian Actress, Joke Silva; and Manager, Public Relations, Etisalat Nigeria, Chineze Amanfo at the press briefing of the second edition of the Etisalat-Sponsored theatre production ‘Hear Word’ at Goethe Institute, Lagos.

Private sector metrics for Nigeria’s dairy industry —-The Promasidor approach segmentation has creped into all segments of the product market; butter, detergent, spirit, biscuit, tea markets to mention a few.

The increasing reversal of brand credibility conferment from the previous nationproduct flow to product (s) nation paradigm has potential to change the look-and- feel of Nigeria before the world as advocated by the brand image of Promasidor milk brands.

And again some examples will suffice. In 2010 Top global brands rankings, China was ranked 56, from 48 in 2009.

But China is easily the destination for most of the products consumed in the world today, especially Africa and Asia. Like manner, Combell, Miksi, Loya milk and Cowbell Choco has become products consumed in parts of Africa. But if what the brands are doing in terms of social responsibility’ in education; NASMAC, provision of portable water, sports; disable soccer is anything to go by then Promasidor ’s second position in the Nigeria diary market, will eventually be giving it a global out look then.

Check out the payoff, “Combell our milk” it resonates with the target market, it makes the consumers believe the milk is for them. The taste, number of minerals and vitamins contained in the products gives the company the leverage to be able to compete with global brands.

What this says is that sustained good manufacturing practice and aggressive

industrialization and marketing can assist in reshaping the perception index and improve national image.

The key thing for Nigerian companies is toe the line of quality as well as develop core competence in given areas just like Promasidor’s milk brands.

Over time, it is been noticed that the positive image of a given industry has a way of robbing off on other industries and then the national image.

For example, Indian companies are presumed to be good for outsourcing Information Technology, IT, but not for high stake strategic consulting. It is known that India, on account of its IT industry is beginning to sell consulting services to the world.

In the same way, ‘Kenya coffee, shoe polish, Kiwi’ implies high quality and not high quality aircraft. The key

driver of change is consistency. At first, a country trying to occupy a perception space will meet cynicism and even outright rejection in the market. Humans are known for adventure and will eventually “try” the product after some time. This trial leads to repeat patronage and then acceptance.

Some consumers spoken to on acceptance of the Promasidor milk brands, Peju Ajuwon, said their brands have considerably acceptance as a result of its pricing, vitamins and mineral.

For Moses Effiong, the brands taste the same, it is difficult to differentiate them, the brands are doing well he stated. The price is right compare to that of competing brands in the same category.

“To drive global acceptance therefore, Nigeria companies need to learn from Promasidor,” Mojidi Kolawole advised.

ADVAN, others midwife new research for marketing challenges in Africa

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t a recently concluded Global Marketing Week 2015 in Marrakech, Morocco, organised by World Federation of Advertisers and co-hosted by the Moroccan Association of Advertisers, GAM. Advertisers Association of Nigeria, ADVAN alongside other trade associations in Africa released new research into the state of marketing expertise and opportunity.

President of ADVAN, Kola Oyeyemi, Executive Member,

Kachi Onubogu and Executive Secretary, Ediri Ose-Ediale led ADVAN to the global marketers’ conference.

According to Oyeyemi, the new document which seeks to unravel Africa’s marketing challenge was in co-operation with Millward Brown and national advertiser associations in Cameroon (CMA), Kenya (MSK), Morocco (GAM), Nigeria (ADVAN), South Africa (MASA) and Zimbabwe (MAZ).

he Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) has advised the President-Elect, General Muhammadu Buhari to review the current national communication architecture as part of his efforts to re-ignite the Nigeria spirit and positively project brand Nigeria.

The Association’s President, Mr. Kelechi Nwosu while congratulating the winner of the 2015 presidential election, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) and also commending President Goodluck Jonathan for his statesmanship for honourably conceding the elections in a manner that doused tensions across the country and boosted confidence in the future of democracy in Nigeria among global observers, noted that as a neutral but patriotic body, the AAAN had actively promoted a professional agenda for issue based, ethical, smear free campaigning among the political parties.

StarTimes bouquets now 20% up

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ith 20 percent increase across its bouquet, Pay-TV platform, StarTimes, says subscribers are obliged to view channels on its network.

The company said this is coming up on the premise that it has an additional five channels available to viewers.

The channel the company said are: The new offerings include, Iroko Play, Iroko Plus, AMC Series, Star Zone and Star Sport Focus. Star Sport Focus came live in March, other channels will be viewed by subscribers from May 1. Public Relations Manager, StarTimes, NTA StarTV network, Mr. Israel Bolaji, made the disclosure that the increase is necessary because of the new developments and content borne out of the company ’s desire and commitment to offer value by enhancing access, improving content and by further breaking barriers between the people and the platform and deepening digital TV penetration in Nigeria.

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44 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 Email:lesleba@lesleba.com, lesleba@gmail.com Blog page:www.lesleba.com/blog2 Website: www.lesleba.com Tel:0805 220 1997

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ne cannot be certain whether Nigerians would celebrate or decry the recent Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to reduce the existing limit on the usage abroad of Naira denominated cards from $150,000 to $50,000 per annum, per person.

Nonetheless, the directive to banks in CBN’s circular of April 13,2015, may mean nothing to possibly over 98% of our country men, who have never seen the inside of an aeroplane. So why would the CBN enfranchise barely 2% of Nigeria’s 170m population with such privilege, when, every citizen, presumably, has an equal stake in our communal dollar reserves, which, inexplicably fund the consumption habits of a tiny minority of Nigerians when they travel abroad.

I suppose one could argue that CBN does not actually exclude any Nigerian from enjoying the luxury of foreign travel with such an extensive capacity to spend foreign exchange on demand, so long as surplus Naira exists in their bank accounts, back home, to fund such spending ; such argument, however, maybe akin to suggesting that high profile Rolls Royce automobiles are also available to all and sundry, so long as your pocket is deep enough!

Clearly, by reason of abject poverty because of corruption and deliberate economic mismanagement, over 150 million Nigerians are excluded from liberal personal spending from our common Treasury’s depleting pool of dollar reserves.

Nonetheless, it is intriguing that the CBN actually set the earlier limit for convertible Naira ATM cards at $150,000; pray, how many Nigerians earn over N25m per annum, and is it conceivable that such people would carelessly spend their total income on overseas travel expenses without regard to other social

Naira/Dollar ATM cards and inexplicable profligacy and economic needs back home? Consequently, it is probably more plausible to conclude that the CBN management consciously and deliberately left the door open with such a high withdrawal limit to induce and facilitate forex round tripping and capital flight and thereby support those substantial financial leakages, which

CBN’s circular of April 13,2015, may mean nothing to possibly over 98% of our country men, who have never seen the inside of an aeroplane

serve the interest of the rentier class and a tiny business elite.

It is no secret that in order to circumvent banking regulatory guidelines, several Nigerians have multiple accounts with different banks and may therefore also have a plethora of ATM cards.

Thus, before last week’s reduced limits, a ‘business man’ with say ten ATM cards could transfer about $1.5m or almost N300m in one week’s trip abroad. Furthermore, nothing stops this “business man” on return to Nigeria from obtaining a new set of

ATM cards to repeat such cash movements over and over again every year. Ultimately, if each dollar so transferred, were re-priced in the black market with a N10 premium, our smart Alec would be over N15m richer with every trip.

Regretably, the proceeds of such transactions may also be used to fund the smuggling of those contraband consumer goods that jeopardise the operations of local industries; worse still, the dollar exchange values may also inadvertently be used, ultimately, to fund the activities of terrorists and other miscreants who seek to destabilize our nation.

Indeed, with the prevailing climate of financial impropriety in our country, it is inconceivable that our Monetary authorities failed to foresee the possibility of such extensive misapplication of the Naira convertible ATM cards. However, Mr Emeka Emuwa, The Managing Director/CEO of Union Bank, labored to explain at a recent press briefing that “we did find that in a number of cases, people were using the cards in a manner that they were not expected to use them, and there have been cases of arbitrage (forex round tripping)”; so in order to sustain stability, the bankers’ committee agreed that “the limit for the use of the Naira debit cards abroad should be reduced”. You may note that, Emuwa, made no mention of any arrest or sanctions for those found culpable of gross misuse of the Naira ATM

Business & Economy CBN reminds banks of consequence of of any product or service dollarisation of economy (Visible or Invisible) in any

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday reminded all banks of the consequences of the rising trend of currency substitution and dollarisation of the economy. The CBN, in a circular issued by its Banking Supervision Department, warned all banks to desist from collecting and using dollars for transactions. It reiterated that the Naira currency remained the only legal tender in the country.

The apex bank reminded the banks that Section 15 of the CBN Act 2007 provided that the unit of currency in Nigeria C M Y K

introduction of the ‘laissez faire’ Naira convertible debit card and forex sales that required no documentation, it ironically became much easier to transfer $150,000 for no legitimate genuine purpose while a whole ‘trunk’ of papers and several follow ups to the bank would be required to obtain forex allocation for school fees and other living expenses for Nigerian students abroad.

Thus, in the face of our rapidly depleting reserves and the clear evidence of the misapplication of the convertible ATM facility, it would certainly be more proactive to reduce the limit of such travel allowances to not more than $10,000 per annum, per person. There is no reason why separate applications cannot be submitted to banks, as in the past, with supporting documents for any legitimate, additional genuine forex requirements above this sum.

Curiously, the earlier Naira convertible ATM card limit of $150,000, was, an attempt according to CBN circular of th 26 September 2013, to address the impact of the high volume of dollars imported by Nigerian banks, so as to prevent money laundering; paradoxically, the existing limit for Naira ATM cards abroad before 26/9/13 was just $40,000 per person, per annum, it is surprising therefore that CBN’s strategy against capital flight and money laundering was an authorization for banks to sell $250,000 weekly, to each of the almost 2,000 registered Bureau de change scattered throughout Nigeria. It is not clear how the CBN expected that this arrangement could restrain money laundering or redeem the Naira exchange rate.

shall be the Naira. The circular said, ‘``Section 20 (1) of the same Act provides that the currency notes issued by the Bank shall be legal tender in Nigeria, at their face value, for the payment of any amount.

“Section 20 (5) further provides that a person who refuses to accept the Naira as a means of payment is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine or 6 months imprisonment. Based on the above provision, the general public is hereby warned that it is illegal to price or denominate the cost

foreign currency in Nigeria.

“And no business offer or acceptance should be consummated in Nigeria in any currency other than the Naira. Consequently, deposit money banks operating in Nigeria are advised to desist from the collection of foreign currencies for payment of domestic transactions, on behalf of their customers.”

It, however, said that the warning was without prejudice to foreigners, visitors and tourists, who are encouraged to use their cards for payments or exchange their foreign currency for local currency.

cards abroad!

Nonetheless, the Bankers’ Committee’s observation was obviously belated as the situation was already so bad, according to the Union Bank CEO, that the practice had become “a threat to the exchange rate stability of the Naira”. Nevertheless, in view of the several serious economic distortions caused by the convertible Naira ATM facility, the recently reduced limit of $50,000 may be seen as a halfhearted attempt to eliminate its evident adverse consequences. Once again, therefore, one may ask, how many Nigerians earn N10m annually, and whether or not it is feasible that such people would also choose to spend their gross annual salary package on overseas travel expenses and shopping.

Surely, developing countries with persistent foreign exchange challenges, such as ours, would be expected to be more judicious in the management and application of the available ‘scarce’ foreign reserves, to the greater good of more Nigerians.

Besides, what happened to the discipline and control associated with earlier business or holiday travel allowances, which were available on application through banks to genuine travellers for values between $5,000 $10,000.

Furthermore, the preceeding practice also provided for the remittance of school fees and related expenses for Nigerian students abroad after the submission of relevant supporting authentic documentation to respective banks. However, as from September 2013, with the

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Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015—45

A-Ibom: Lingering tension over violence, killings on election day

By Chioma Onuegbu, Uyo

A

KWA Ibom was one of the states that featured prominently in the news for the wrong reasons bordering on violence, destruction and death during and after the governorship and state assembly polls. Indeed there were widespread reports and speculations of killings occasioned by eruption of violence in the different parts of the state and the tension generated by this development is yet to die down.

According to Vanguard Metro, VM, investigation three persons, all males, lost their lives during the election in different local government areas of Ibiono Ibom, Ini and Uyo. Our investigation showed that one of the victims Gabriel Udo Udoh (27) from Mbiabet Ikot Udo Uba village in Ini local government area, was a party agent for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, while Etim Edem Essien of Ifa Atai village in Mbiabong along Oron road Uyo, and Idongesit Effiong Ekanem from Ibiono Ibom local government, were members of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Death of the victims VM could conform during a visit to Ibiono Ibom and Ini local government areas that violent clash between the two rival political parties (APC and PDP) led to the death of the victims, while many others sustained either machete cuts or bullet wounds.

The story was no different in Etim Ekpo, Abak, Uknafun, Nsit Ubium, Uruan and Ikot Ekpene local government areas where scores suffered bullet wounds, beatings and machete cuts during bloody clashes between rival political thugs.

Indeed, it was an emotional scene at Gabriel Udoh’s family compound in Mbiabet as the father, Elder Udoh Nnana and the mother, Helen Udo Udoh, were still in shock and therefore were unable to speak or even express their feelings over the untimely death of their son.

But one Mr. Abraham Effiong Inyang, an uncle to the late Udoh who spoke on behalf of the family, disclosed that the deceased was a wood sawyer and the only son and breadwinner of the family and also married with C M Y K

Gabriel ‘s parents, Elder Nnana and Helen Udoh

•The late Gabriel Udoh and his wife two children.

Inyang accused an APC member who also escorted the vehicle from the distribution centre of carrying out the shooting. He said: “This incident happened about 11 am when he went to receive the election materials because he has been a key PDP agent in this area. It happened that on the way those in the vehicle carrying the election materials, including some policemen and soldiers, suddenly veered off to a track road.

“Udoh as PDP party agent and those with him demanded to know why they refused to move the vehicle to the designated polling units so that the materials will be distributed to all the wards. What followed was a heated argument because it

In Etim Ekpo, Abak, Uknafun, Nsit Ubium, Uruan and Ikot Ekpene local government areas scores suffered bullet wounds, beatings and machete cuts during bloody clashes between rival political thugs

appeared that a certain APC man who is also from Mbiabet ward 1, bribed them to divert the materials for the purpose of rigging the election.

“And when Udoh came out, one of the APC people from Idot Ikpe, said to him: ‘you are the one I am looking out for’; then he pulled out a gun and shot him(Udoh) dead. And because of this incident there were no materials supplied here and there was no voting because what happened scared people away from going out again to vote”.

Passionate appeal He also expressed the belief that the policeman and electoral officers escorting the vehicle were compromised because they did not do anything when the incident happened.

Inyang who said he has already made a statement at the police headquarters, however, made a passionate appeal to the police to consider the poor condition of the family members and stop demanding for transport money to fuel their vehicle in order to take them to the command headquarters at Ikot Akpan-Abia in Uyo over the murder case.

A youth of the area, however, confided in VM that the deceased was shot dead while attempting to hijack the election materials meant for the whole Ward 1 which happened to be a strong hold of the APC.

“From the news we got that same day, the PDP agents tried to divert the election materials. A fight soon ensued between them and the APC agents who also tried to stop them. That is why so many other people were wounded in the fight.

Some have been taken to the hospital. We even heard that some of the PDP people disappeared into the bush with the materials and because of that there was nothing like election here. Mbiabet ward 1 has about 14 units and is controlled by APC,” he said

Distribution points Another victim and APC member, Etim Edem Essien of Ifa Atai Etoi village of Mbiabong in Uyo local government area was killed in the morning hours on the day of the election, according to investigation.

The APC alleged that Essien was killed by PDP thugs hired to hijack the election materials after they were released from distribution points (centres). His wife, Esther Edem Essien, a nursing mother, said she remembered that her husband left the house that morning for his normal transportation business, only for people to come to tell her that her husband has been shot by PDP thugs few hours later.

“I did not believe it until his body was brought home. I was told he was killed by PDP thugs. I was not there when it happened but all I know is that he was only an APC supporter, he was not a party agent. He uses his bus for transport business. But they told me he was killed inside the bus,” she said.

The Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Samuel Udobong, disclosed that Essien was one of the bus operators hired by INEC from different parks across the 31 local government areas in the state to convey materials to the various wards.

Respected Akwa Ibom citizens and residents have, however,

expressed serious concern over the development, saying something needed to be done to stop the spate of violence that has become a trend in the state every election period.

A former governor, Obong Victor Attah, advised that people, particularly politicians, should see election only as an aspect of democracy.

Condemning the violence and deaths in the state Attah said: “We have come a long way to improving on our electoral processes. But we have to deal with this issue of thuggery, which is criminality. People coming in and carrying away ballot boxes, electoral materials, must be punished; unless and until we begin to punish it, it will continue to be a problem”.

He, however, said that to strengthen Nigeria’s internal democracy where people are allowed to choose their leaders and political party, the major institutions, ranging from the political parties, INEC, Police, the judiciary especially, must be involved.

Control of the result sheets “INEC has control of the result sheets; they have control of collation of results. If they want to do an honest election, they will do an honest election.

“And then of course you got the police. I have witnessed people in police uniform carrying away ballot boxes; if we cannot stop that institution from assisting this kind of impunity, then we are in trouble,” he said.

Chairman, Akwa Ibom State chapter of Civil Liberties Organisations, Clifford Thomas, said: “We went out to monitor the election and we condemn the violence that characterised the elections not only in Akwa but Nigeria as a whole. We believe that if things continue like this our democracy cannot grow. We blame politicians for encouraging the killings and the police should come out with credible investigation on the killings and whoever is culpable should be prosecuted”.

When contacted, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Gabriel Achong, confirmed the three deaths, while disclosing that the police has all the names of the killers who are currently being investigated.

“I told Channels(TV) few days ago that there were three killings in the state in the process of the elections. None of them died in the polling units. We have the names of the killers who are still at large. But the police is doing everything possible to see that we get all of them soon,” Achong said.

46 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

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Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 47

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48—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

APC’s quest for Speaker: The Catch - 22

By Abdulrahman Hassan

For APC, getting the transition right means all

By Garba Shehu

F

OR more than a week since the out-going Jonathan administration named its own Transition Committee, curiosity has acquired a new meaning all over Nigeria. There is not a day that passes without speculative reporting, 100 percent of it based on falsehood on what the in-coming government’s team will look like, who is heading its committees, and so forth. Some have even been reporting imaginary fights over this or that office. For the country’s new governing party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, a transition committee is not only to serve the purpose of diagnosis. A good transition committee must also draw up a plan of action. This alone makes these first early steps to be be challenging. They must be handled with extreme care. If not so handled, the transition may turn into a flashpoint and an unnecessary distraction. In last few days, there appear to be indications that both the APC and the newly elected President, General Muhammadu Buhari have found a common ground on the Transition Committee.

That should help to move the country from its current standstill.

Addressing correspondents at a news conference at his country home in Daura, Katsina State last week, the in-coming President announced that “I will make sure that it is not too big because if it is big, they will start thinking of how they will make the choice of ministers either for themselves or those they want to be ministers.

Experienced technocrats But, my hope and my idea is to get knowledgeable and experienced technocrats that are really patriotic and to study the handing over notes by ministries and make recommendations.”

In an interview with The Nation in its edition of Friday, April, 17, the National Chairman of the Party, Chief Odigie-Oyegun spoke loud and long on the same issues, stating that “we will raise a transition committee to crosscheck whatever papers or records they are handing over to us. In our case, we need a lot of more consultations and be sure that the right caliber of people are there. We will study the handover note and make sure that all issues are put in proper perspective for the new government. If there are grey areas which experts will have to put us through, we will not hesitate to seek their help.”

From the foregoing, it is very clear that General Buhari’s priorities fit perfectly together with those of the party. It is important that the incoming administration gets this one right because everything will depend on it. It may not be right at this point to question the goodness of the faith of the out-going administration. The President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has earned an incredibly high amount of goodwill following his acceptance of the C M Y K

outcome of the election, which itself confer a sense of already-beinghad the effect of de-escalating there on many a politician. They will tensions not just among Nigerians see themselves as the natural but all over the continent. But the successors of the outgoing President’s committee on transition administration. Some among them and hand-over looks to be a trickish already have a sense of victory, a one. It seems to be like one drawn sense of indictment and a sense of to “massage” the numbers and entitlement.

Technocrats will on the other hand ensure safety for “team Jonathan”.

Some names on that list have come in from a detached and certainly made the eyes pop out of hopefully, unbiased standpoint. their sockets. In the President’s list, Without preconceived ideas or you have men and women who mindset, a well-chosen set of reflect the worst of our prejudices; technocrats may help unravel the men and women who have made themselves the mouthpieces for everything regressive.

This is one reason why President Buhari and his party cannot be too careful on choosing who they will give their part of the assignment to.

There is no Gen. Buhari, president elect room for complacency in doing this either. rot that has eaten deep into the oil Nothing that puts the new and maritime sectors, two money government at a risk should be spinners, yet hemorrhaging allowed to happen. What is required government departments that are of the job is a diagnostic and a adequately represented in Dr. forensic understanding of the Jonathan’s transition team. handover notes. I have my respect Although these are only matters of for politicians. After all, they are the perception, it is not at all surprising ones who led the party to this that they have raised serious overwhelming mandate. But if they questions about the sincerity of are given this job, they won’t be as government in regard to this aspect. incisive as is needful. Let us not Of course, it is not all politicians underrate or under-estimate the who have a hemmed attitude to amount of damage that has been these things. For this reason, a fair done to national institutions, the chance should go to them even if to economy and politics by the 16-year give them a benefit of the doubt. mismanagement of the country by But the technocrats should form the the PDP. It is the combined effect of bulk. The committees must be their unseriousness, shortcomings constituted with people with a and their mistakes that have reduced background in government. When the once dominant ruling party to a they know the inside workings of paltry minority stakeholder in the government, they will know what states and the National Assembly to look for, what to vouch for, what following these elections. to accept and what not to accept on As General Buhari has himself its face value. mentioned, politicians will come What will work for the incoming with natural expectations when administration and for the best given this job. In a manner of interest of the nation is a strong set speaking, they may compromise the of committees, drawing heavily ability of the incoming government from experts in the several fields to get a full understanding of the and a set of good, independent issues, in other words a good auditors. In formulating their action snapshot of the nation, its systems plans, no one involved in this and institutions at the time of this should lose sight of the fact that the handover. A membership of the poor are at the center of the new transition committee will naturally government’s policies. Buhari’s emergence as President has already unleashed an upsurge of patriotic zealotry and strong sense of probity and accountability that is flaring and sharpening with each day.It is, therefore, important for the country that both General Buhari and the party have agreed that a good step to the successful take-off The committees of the new administration is one that is defined by the quality of its must be constituted handover team, itself driven by with people with a knowledge and experience and certainly not by patronage. background in

government

•Shehu is the Director, Media and Communications, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Abuja

O

RDINARILY, APC is endowed with intelligent, courageous and fair-minded leaders who would not fall for the temptation of egotism. But these are not ordinary times and the vibes from within the palaces of the movers and shakers in APC portend imminent danger to a stable all-inclusive government based on the federal character principle enunciated in section 14(3) of the Nigerian Constitution.

The knotty issue that will test APC’s abhorrence of impunity, which was one of the major reasons Nigerians voted for the Party, is the zoning of leadership offices in the National Assembly. To be sure the APC as the majority party has the conventional privilege to zone the offices of Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. It reserves the right to choose the Leader, Deputy Leader, Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip of both Houses in Nigeria’s bicameral Federal Legislature. Here lies the albatross that is threatening to expose the underbelly of the party and may set its government on a controversial foundation, unless men of courage insist on fairness and manifest inclusiveness as much as possible.

Geopolitical zone structure My apprehension is fueled by the media report that a section of the leadership may have decided to zone Speaker and Deputy Speaker to the South West (Lagos) and North West (Kano) respectively. Without bothering with other issues, it is patently unfair and insensitive to contemplate that the two zones that have produced incoming President and Vice President should also produce the Speaker and Deputy in a six geopolitical zone structure.

To be fair, there are extenuating circumstances that may hamper the even spread of Legislative Offices enumerated above to all the six zones in Nigeria. For instance, the South East has no APC senator at all and has not produced any ranking APC Member of the House of Representatives.

The South South has one Senator who is a fresher and does not meet the ranking criterion. But the South South has four members-elect for the House of Representatives two of whom are ranking, with one of them reportedly parading impeccable credentials and

legislative leadership experience.

Another factor that is implicated in the egotistic temptation may have arisen from the acrimonious campaign which accused a highly respected leader of the APC of denying the South West of Speakership in the outgoing 7th Assembly.

Now that APC has won, unless higher consideration of national interest prevails, it is quite human to want to have a last laugh no matter the expense, by insisting on Speakership from the South West.

I am one of those who wish APC well enough to point out the danger in deliberately shutting out the South South from the Speakership of the House of Representatives for the following reasons. That zone lost the Presidency and if APC fails to be magnanimous in victory but embarks on vendetta by denying the zone the opportunity to produce Speaker, the government may unwittingly start on a controversial way in the minds of discerning Nigerians. Nigeria just witnessed a very divisive campaign and the scars need quick healing and if APC brazenly fails to use the opportunity presented by the Representatives from the South South to build bridges that may very well help to ultimately bring the South South and even South East into the fold, there will be negative perception with far reaching consequences.

Section 14 (3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides that “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty,thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few States or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies.” Flouting this provision of the constitution will be viewed by many Nigerians as an act of impunity which APC promised to change and for which Nigerians gave the party the mandate to govern. For the love of country APC must endeavour to start well and aim to finish well.

VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015—49

The fatal presidential mistakes •How Jonathan lost it all An exhaustive probe of the key flip-flops that led to President Goodluck Jonathan’s defeat and how the President lost the goodwill that earned him victory in 2011.

By Charles Kumolu

ONLY unrealistic optimists were surprised that President Goodluck Jonathan lost Nigeria’s keenly contested poll.

The pointers to what was imminent for the Peoples Democratic Party ,PDP, were so discernible in the build up, that the President in the days leading to the poll admitted the surging popularity of the opposition meant that his party would not secure a landslide in the presidential, parliamentary and governorship contests.

Though he explicitly affirmed that he was not losing sleep over the development, the preelection electoral map was such that rubbished every optimism he may have had.

Vague public perception The president may have redeemed his public image with his graceful acceptance of defeat. His effort suddenly turned him into a hero in defeat.

But beyond that, when the books are written, certain issues would some aspects of the defeat are likely to be attributed to the President’s tolerance of some issues and persons that combined to suppress his onetime electoral invincibility.

Among the key issues were the :Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, crisis, Chibok girls saga, alleged missing Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, funds, mismanaged relationships, withdrawal of Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal’s aides, fallout of PDP primaries and poor presidential campaign strategy/communication.

NGF crisis In the reckoning of the presidency, the NGF became more of a trade union with irritating activism. It was this notion that remotely birthed the leadership crisis that trailed the NGF chairmanship election.

With Governor Chibuke Amaechi, who then was regarded as an antagonist of the President, defeating Jonathan’s candidate, Governor Jonah Jang, with 19

votes to 16, observers had expected the President to beckon on Jang to drop his claims to the group’s leadership.

To the chagrin of the nation, the body language of the presidency was such that confirmed suspicions that it created the script Jang was acting upon.

The recognition of the Jang faction by the President not minding the fact that the latter lost the election, was a move that to some extent, questioned the presidency ’s moral integrity.

A direct consequence of that, led to the implosion of the ruling PDP which manifested through the defection of Governors Aliyu Wammako, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Murtala Nyako, Abdulfatah Ahmed, and Amaechi.

Apart from Rivers State where the president had substantial votes, he lost in the domains of the defected governors.

Chibok girls saga The abduction of over 200 girls from Government Secondary School, Chibok, further exposed the fault lines inherent in the Federal Government’s approach to the insurgency in the Northeast geo political zone.

It was a shock to a bewildered world when Governor Kassim Shettima of Borno State said the President waited until after two weeks before he spoke to him on the matter.

Trailing that was the First

It was a shock to a bewildered world when Governor Kassim Shettima of Borno State said the President waited until after two weeks before he spoke to him on the matter

•Jonathan •NGF Crisis: To the consternation of many Nigerians, President Jonathan and his associates claimed that 16 votes scored by Jang (below, left) were more than the 19 votes scored by Amaechi (below, right)

Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan’s encounter with officials of the state over the issue and turned herself into a global comic on the issue.

Mrs. Jonathan’s supposed concern further incensed many, who found the treatment meted out to the state delegation which included the principal of the school as condemnable.

Indeed, the two incidents and related developments showed a government that was out of touch with the security of the citizenry.

The President later attributed his silence to his desire not to compromise the details of security efforts to rescue the girls, his general approach largely blighted his re-election chances.

Alleged missing oil money/ Lamido Sanusi At a time when the mood of the country suggested that the war against institutionalized corruption had ebbed under

Jonathan’s watch, the official response to allegations of missing oil money at the NNPC was considered unsatisfactory.

The failure of the government to investigate those accused and the suspension of the then Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi, who blew the whistle further angered many.

In the reckoning of most Nigerians, who had long desired a probe of the oil sector, the President was being protective of his appointees at the expense of public probity.

Redefinition of corruption Whether semantics or not, the implication of the President’s statement to the effect that ‘’stealing is not corruption’’ was damaging.

Speaking on nationwide television during a media chat, he had said ‘’Over 70 percent of what are called corruption cases, even by the EFCC and other anti-

corruption agencies, is not corruption, but common stealing, ‘’ he stated, adding that corruption claims were ‘’politically motivated.’’

For a populace embittered by the fact that despite allegations of corruption against public officials, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, did not record any high profile conviction under Jonathan, the presidential pronouncement was seen as provoking.

Failure to call Dokubo, Clark to order The threats of fire and brimstone should the President lose the poll by his kinsmen, notably Chief Edwin Clark, Chief Government Ekpemupolo and Alhaji Mujahid Asari Dokubo, were likened to drums of war, informing calls on the President to disassociate

Continues on page 26

50—VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

The Chief of Army Staff, General Ken neth Tobias Minimah in an interview with Vanguard responds to issues concerning the army’s preparations for the 2015 general elections, the recent pounding of the Islamist Boko Haram terrorist group, the court martial of some officers and men among others.

The COAS spoke following a visit by a delegation of statesmen led by former head of state, General Abdusalami Abubakar who came on the aegis of the National Peace Committee.

By Kingsley Omonobi ABUJA

H

OW would you describe this unprecedented visit of such revered Nigerians?

We are filled with humility that the committee has been watching and observing what we have been doing. I think it is a highly pleasant commendation just as it is a surprise to us, that they want to come and thank us and commend us for what we have done. . We are humbled that we are commended by a committee of this level; I think it is also a reflection of the feeling of the senior citizens and a good percentage of the elites in the country, that we did our best in the election.

People went to court saying military should not be used to do this and that, but at the end of the day, a winner emerged and the army was not in any way blacklisted for any acts of impropriety. Troops had to be deployed to ensure that there is security and there is no violence; that a good atmosphere is provided for the ordinary citizen to come out and vote without fear for his life without fear for intimidation, without fear of his environment and family which we did and I’m sure everybody came out and voted well.

Democratic process Most of us here today are products of this same democracy, I have always believed and with my colleagues too, that the Nigerian military is better off, under a democratic government because our needs are more and enormously addressed than in a military government. In that direction we believe strongly that our military would be able to sustain more in observance of its constitutional roles in a democratic process.

Would you say your soldiers did well or were there any hitches?

I think if you ask me to score myself, I will score myself 100 percent because for our state of political development, we cannot expect to see our elections hold as it is done in the most advanced nations. We are still bogged down by little prejudices of inter party

•Minimah: The military is better under democratic rule

The strategies we used to rout Boko Haram – Minimah, Army Chief wrangling where we always have issues about thuggery, violence, ballot box snatching and confusion around the arena of polling units and so forth which has to do with our level of political development.

For now I don’t think we can say that this will stop easily. I believe the more the democratic process and electioneering process strengthens and develops, then people will learn over time that thuggery cannot change results; and if you go hire a thug he will tell you why he would not be available. But for now there are several reasons why he would be available.

So what did the soldiers do right on election deployment?

Honestly I will speak from my own perspective which is that we have a responsibility to ensure peace, no violence. We have the responsibility to ensure that the country is stable though others have their interpretations. From our own perspective, what we went out for, we achieved. Because we deployed in the possible flash points, flash areas where violence always erupt, where violence starts, where people converge to hatch ideas order than positive feelings.

We were deployed all over those places, drawing from the experience of the post election

violence of 2011 where those unfortunate skirmishes emerged from. We deployed in all those areas, and hooligans, vandals and thugs did not have freedom of action, so everybody is in retrospect believing that it worked. Of course there will be people who for whatever reason will never accept defeat and would never agree they lost, they would keep shouting either wolf or foul or whatever, that they have lost. But majority of law abiding citizen believe that the deployment of soldiers calmed everywhere, and enabled them to come out and they voted and there was no violence.

The North East was the excuse or reason for shifting of the election from February to March.

What miracle did the army use to secure it for election in six weeks?

I’m sure you know that before the postponement, the atmosphere in the Northeast was still charged with the activities and violence of the Boko Haram sect. They still had a handful of local governments across the three states, and inclusive of the fourth state, Gombe State. They had also threatened that they would disrupt elections and the elections will not hold.

There are also those who had fears that the army or the Nigerian military did not have visible

capacity, to doing much between the time frame of reducing the menace and invincibility of the terrorists.

Anyone could have as well believed it that it was not going to be possible. Alas today the reality on ground has vindicated the armed forces of Nigeria because so much has been done that as at today we are moving already into

I have always believed and with my colleagues too, that the Nigerian military is better off, under a democratic government because our needs are more and enormously addressed than in a military government

Sambisa forest and hopefully very, very soon the military action will be rested in the Northeast.

At the last Council of State meeting before the shift, most of the speakers disagreed and wondered what could be done by the military if in the last five years they couldn’t do anything. Is it a miracle or how is it that they would achieve this? Of course I convinced them that it was very much achievable, more so that our neighbours, who had been lukewarm, all of a sudden decided to join the battle.

They realized in their own right that if Nigeria eventually defeats this terrorism, they (terrorists) will empty into their own territories if they do not join the war. Of course Chad was suffering economic blockade and had to join the war for economic reasons to reopen the routes vis a vis Maiduguri, Malam Fatori, Pulka, from Cameroon side to Chad was blocked by these elements.

The Nigerian side was blocked by them and as far as much of their goods and services were coming from Cameron and Nigeria, they had no choice but to join the war.

Niger also saw the genuine reason to join in the war because they knew their country was like a traffic for both Boko Haram the arms and ammunition, and sometimes for recruitment of individuals who they used as war machines and so forth and indoctrinate them.

Boko Haram in Cameroon They too decided to join the war, because they saw it lately that we were going to turn this thing and if we turned it, that these elements would run into their countries.

Prior to this time, these countries had always been sanctuaries to Boko Haram terrorists; they moved in freely and came out freely.

Cameroon did not show much enthusiasm, not until they moved in en-mass into Cameroon and started causing destruction, killing, kidnapping and so forth; they now realized they also had to fight the Boko Haram terrorists.

I tried to explain it to that august body that with our contiguous neighbours showing greater enthusiasm to participating in the war, that the end is near, because all we needed now is to push them up. They cannot run into any of those countries; once they all block their borders, we are good to go and of course it was reluctantly agreed but today we are witnesses to what has become of it. So it’s a feat that was never thought of but we have achieved it.

How do you react to the allegation that the six weeks emergency operation in the Northeast was politically motivated and that Nigerian troops were reluctant to take over territories captured by foreign troops?

Continues on page 51

VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015—51

Presidential Poll: Nigerian Army did well Continues from page 50 Who will say his or her mother’s soup, is not sweet; everybody eulogizes his own bearing, his own person or his community.

I am sorry to say, it is the Nigerian media that fail to eulogize the Nigerian armed forces but I will not speak on that. Let me rather address the one I know. You see it is plebeian, it is plebeian fury.

It is common knowledge that the Nigerian army had been demanding equipment from the government; it is common knowledge too that part of the teething problems of the war against the insurgency has been requisite modern equipment for the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian armed forces.

Common knowledge It is common knowledge too, the equipment the Nigerian army had, were old, aging, obsolete equipment and that we were doing local repairs to maintaining them. It is common knowledge too that Nigerian troops were running from battle.

It is also common knowledge that the government was doing everything it could to buy equipment for the army. At one point this equipment came in, and with my personal effort of ensuring that officers and soldiers were court-martialed and dismissed for running in the face of adversaries; for abandoning the equipment we had and running away and so forth, the psyche of the Nigerian soldier changed. The equipment that arrived changed the battle dynamics; changed the battle platform, everything reversed.

The terrorists started running, and we changed the battle, that is what happened.

So I will say the personality of the Chief of Army staff; utility of the equipment that arrived; changing the dynamics; and

changing the commitment of the individual soldiers, that is what did. So for the man who does not understand, let him have his rights to free speech, he can interpret it any way he wishes, but for you who knows, you know that certainly no body was keeping war, to see his soldiers dying and losing colleagues everyday because he hopes he was going to win at the end. What if victory does not come at the end?

Any regrets convening the court martial?

One million times, I will do it again. Mind you, the courts are still on.

In spite of the public outcry?

Is it the public that is fighting the battle? Is it not the public now that is saying that why did they not do this thing earlier; why are they doing it now? The public has its say, but war has to be fought and in fighting war, there must be sanctions for people who breach the process of war or for people who ran away from battle.

Now, where do you draw the balance between what you just said that soldiers ran away from battle because there were no equipment?

Okay, what you did not know, is that the

The terrorists started running, and we changed the battle, that is what happened. So I will say the personality of the Chief of Army staff; utility of the equipment that arrived

•Minimah: Flays soldiers who fled from Boko Haram battle had been turned before the equipment arrived; because the average officer realized that now, if he runs, he would be court martialed.

The soldier knew that if he runs away he will be dismissed, so everybody was prepared to stand and fight and die. Because if you run back there is nothing to gain. And because they stopped running, stood and fought, the Boko Haram was surprised, he turned and ran and started saying, these people (soldiers) are not Nigerians; because before when they come and we fired….everybody runs away.

Now people were standing to fight back, and in the sustained fire fight of two hours or three hours they said no, we don’t understand these people and they (Boko

The fatal presidential mistakes Continues from page 49 himself from the duo.

Interestingly, the nation was united in this call, as the Nigerian Labour Congress, clergy, traditional rulers spoke in unison.

Though the PDP asked the trio to be mindful of what they said at that period of time, President Jonathan was not known to have publicly reprimanded them.

Fallout of party primaries The outcome of PDP primaries into various offices left nothing to be desired by aggrieved party members.

In its familiar intra-party political culture, the resentment arising from the contests across the country, were treated in a manner that threatened internal cohesion in the party.

Irked by the situation, some party chieftains with electoral values, defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC, making the PDP electorally vulnerable.

In states like Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Ebonyi, Cross River, where the outcome of governorship primaries factionalized the party, a profound presidential comfort or intervention would have assuaged aggrieved members.

Another undoing was the president’s tolerance of the hijacking of the PDP party structures by the state governors, which directly led to so much impunity at the state chapters.

However, whether the President played some trouble shooting roles, is a matter of debate between his admirers and critics.

Mismanaged relationships Another fatal error was the mismanagement of some political alliances at the expense of the President’s electoral value.

Names like Amaechi, Bukola Saraki, Olusegun Obasanjo easily come to mind in this regard, as these men variously played decisive

roles at some points in Jonathan’s political trajectory.

Poor campaign strategies/ communication Even the most loyal admirers of the President had no issue conceding that he hardly brought anything new to the table during the presidential campaigns.

From the PDP flag-off in Lagos to the grand finale in Abuja, observers found his message empty and literally full of noise.

Specifically, the language was more of attacks on the APC, its presidential candidate and past leaders.

So concerned were analysts over the content of the campaign statements that some were alarmed that the President spent close to an hour delivering his speech at the PDP flag-off campaign without being able to explain what he had done in the last six years or what he would do if re-elected.

Haram) now ran away; that’s how it started.

In Konduga I, Konduga II, Konduga III attacks, we held our ground.

When that fellow, the other Mr Shekau; I don’t know the number he is now, was killed, it was the old equipment we used and it was the soldiers themselves that said no way we are not running anywhere because when you run back, that ‘madman’ (Minimah) is waiting for you.

He will court martial you, he will dismiss you, he will jail you; so they remain there and fought; and that was when the ‘ice’ broke that this people (Boko Haram) are not invincible. Since then the thing picked up before the equipment arrived just six weeks ago.

Captured territories It is the soldier that fights not the equipment. If I had set up the court martial as soon as I came on board, we wouldn’t have lost all those territories; because at one point they would have realized it that they had to stand and fight.

How can it become fashionable that soldiers are running, and while they are running, soldiers are telling civilians in Mubi,BokoHaramarecoming;BokoHaram are coming; they are running, and now you want me to listen to some persons who ask why didn’t we do it earlier.

With all this successes in routing the terrorists, is there any lead to the rescue of the captured Chibok girls?

By the time we capture Sambisa forest completely, we will be able to find out where the Chibok girls are, because as it is now, anybody you ask in the captured territories so far, they say they did not see them. That they are not there.

When we capture Sambisa forest we will be able to know where they are and government will take it up from there and in the next six months I’m sure that Nigerians would have forgotten that Boko Haram existed and terrorized a region, I believe so.

52 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 —53

Nigeria moves towards polio eradication A

S the world marked 60 years of the discovery of the Inactivated Polio Vaccine, IPV, by Jonas Salk, on April 12, enabling children to be protected against polio for the first time, Nigeria continued its clean slate of zero case of the wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases were reported at the end of April 15, 2015.

Data from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, GPEI, revealed that the country’s total WPV1 case count for 2014 remains six and with no cases reported in 2015, the most recent case had onset of paralysis on 24 July, 2014 in Sumaila Local Government Area in southern Kano state.

Trivalent oral polio Also, no new type 2 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2) have been reported in 2015. No cases were reported in the week under review.

The most recent case had onset of paralysis on 16 November, 2014 in Barde Local Governmental Area of Yobe state.

The total number of cVDPV2 cases for 2014 in Nigeria remains 30.

Meanwhile, the next round of National Immunisation Days, NIDs scheduled from 25 - 28 April, 2015, will be held utilizing the trivalent oral polio vaccine (OPV) in most of the country, and bivalent OPV in the south-west and IPV in some areas of the north, the GPEI noted.

• No circulating wild polio viruses have been detected in Nigeria in 2015.

Also, no new type 2 circulating vaccinederived poliovirus (cVDPV2) has been reported in 2015. No cases were reported in the week under review

In Afghanistan, one of the two remaining countries where the polio virus is circulating, no new cases of wild poliovirus type 1 have been reported in the past week.

The most recent case, the GPEI noted, had onset of paralysis on 21 January 2015 in Reg district of Hilmand province.

The total number of WPV1 cases for 2014 remains 28, and 1 for 2015. Most of the cases from 2014 were linked to cross-

border transmission with neighbouring Pakistan.

Subnational Immunization Days, SNIDs, are planned in high risk areas of the south and east on 19 – 21 April using bivalent OPV. NIDs are scheduled for 10 – 12 May, also using bivalent OPV. In Pakistan, no new WPV1 cases were reported in the past week. The most recent case had onset of paralysis on 17 March in Peshawar district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2015 remains 21 (and remains 306 for 2014).

No new type 2 circulating vaccinederived poliovirus (cVDPV2) cases were reported in the past week. The most recent case had onset of paralysis on 13 December. The number of cVDPV cases reported in 2014 remains 21. No cases have been reported in 2015.

Efforts are ongoing to strengthen the implementation of the ‘low season’ emergency operations plan. Strong, functional Emergency Operations Centres, EOCs, are now operational at the federal and provincial levels.

Further, strategies are focusing on clearly identifying reasons for missed children, and putting in place areaspecific mechanisms to overcome areaspecific challenges. Also, independent monitoring is being strengthened and rolled out across wider geographic areas to provide a clearer assessment of quality and associated gaps.

Lab services: Experts lament unfriendly policies, obsolete equipment

By Chioma Obinna

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ITH growing concerns for patient care and safety, experts have blamed the menace of misdiagnosis in the country on faulty and obsolete equipment as well as unfriendly policies which has greatly affected the importation of modern and state of the art laboratory equipment for advanced services.

Meanwhile, laboratory services in the country last week received a boost with the media unveiling of Afriglobal Medicare laboratory facility in Lagos.

In the views of a Consultant Pathologist, Dr Martins Momoh the identifiable and noticeable gaps in the diagnostic services have made many patients to pay for what he described as disastrous sacrifice.

"There have been cases of misdiagnosis which often times the personnel may not be responsible, but could be as a result of faulty and obsolete machines coupled with the challenges of maintenance and repairs. Most operators of diagnostic services make do with what they have. And the idea of I must release results at all times made them churn out deficiency results and ultimately it is a disastrous sacrifice that is paid by the patience."

Momoh who is also the Chief Medical Director of Afriglobal Medicare Limited, Lagos while noting that high quality accurate and timely diagnostics was the basic for clinical treatment decision making regretted that government policies on importation of laboratory equipment have not helped the situation.

C M Y K

He noted that because of economic challenges most laboratory machines used in Nigeria is either refurbished or transfer from one hand to the other just to ensure that diagnostics services is run.

Assuring Nigerians that Afriglobal has eliminated such barriers, he expressed hope that new political situation in the country would probably usher in good economic policies that are friendly to the health sector in terms of importation of equipment .

"We are hoping that the new government will be enact laws and policies that will be able to scale down import duties and waivers on importation of medical equipment. Lamenting lots of capital flight, he said the management of Afriglobal is committed to rendering high class international diagnostic services in the country.

Diagnostic services

• L- R: Mr. Moses Osagele, Marketing Manager, Mr Nathalian Oburonbi, Head of Admin and Human Resources, Dr Martins Momoh, Chief Medical Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Anil Grover all of Afriglobal Medicare Diagnostics, during the media launch of the facility in Lagos.

Speaking on the Afriglobal facility shortly before the media tour of the facility, Momoh explained that the facility is committed to improving healthcare in Africa through quality and affordable diagnostics. "Our aim is to create a benchmark for diagnostics services in Nigeria, where patients care comes first.

AML offers comprehensive wellness and health check programmes for preventive healthcare and is targeting to be among the top three integrated chain of diagnostics centres by 2020.

Speaking, the CEO, AML, Mr. Anil Grover noted that appropriate testing

was key to saving lives and pledged his companies determination to reduce incidences of misdiagnosis in the country with its state of the art equipment.

"Nigerians need not to go abroad before they get better services. All our staff are qualified Nigerians in their various fields of specialisations. Nigerians deserve more than they are getting. We have invested in the state of the art testing facility with highly trained staff to offer quality and affordable testing to set a new standard for the industry."

Conducting journalists around the facility, a Laboratory Scientist, Mr. Kenechi Ekwonwa who took time to

explain each departments and the equipment said, its integrated Abbot system in its Clinical Chemistry room has the capacity for 900 tests in one hour and can take 25 samples of emergencies.

"We have three biomedical engineers and two support engineers from Abbot to maintain the equipment.

For immunology tests, our machine can take 84 samples in an hour; urinary analysis machines takes 120 samples in an hour.

We have a CT scan, in the wellness department all equipment for testing and in all the departments we maintain patient's confidentiality."

54—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

FG building National Peace Policy

AWARD : Dr. Eugene Juwah, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, (left)) and Mr. Samuel Solomon, Speaker, Pan-African Students Union Parliament, ASUP, during the presentation of PanAfrican Servant Leadership Award to Dr. Juwah in Abuja.

F

OLLOWING the peaceful conduct of the 2015 general election, a draft framework for managing conflicts and building peace will soon be submitted to the Federal Executive Council, FEC, for consideration.

The National Peace Policy, NPP, is being sponsored by stakeholder agencies, including the Institute for Conflict Resolution, the National Orientation Agency, NOA, the National Stabilization Programme of the British Council and partner NGOs. According to the Director General of NOA, Mike Omeri, the successful handling of the election and the structures put in place during the period needed to be institutionalized to serve as template for peace building in Nigeria.

A statement by NOA’s Assistant Director, Press, Mr. Paul Odenyi, said: “The draft peace policy, which is expected to be ratified by the Federal Executive Council, FEC, before the handover date, is part of the legacies of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

“Details of the draft will be harmonized at a stakeholders’ forum tomorrow with the Civil Society Legislative Action Committee, CISLAC, leading the third sector input into the final document.”

Omeri said government was desirous of putting in place an enduring framework for managing conflict situations, especially in a diverse society such as Nigeria.

The draft policy will update the 2012 document, which was never approved by government.

Omeri said the new policy would include design for handling insurgency and terrorrelated situation as had been developed in the North-East.

C M Y K

Senate Presidency slot sparks off intense lobby

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

A

BUJA— AS the leadership of All Progressives Congress, APC, plans to meet to take final decision on the zoning of offices among the six geopolitical zones, the North Central caucus of the party has asked the party to zone the position of the Senate presidency to the zone.

Meanwhile, the contest for the position of Senate Leader in which the North-West, that had produced the highest number of Senators, seems to be considered by APC, looks narrowed down to between the former governor of Zamfara State, Senator Ahmed Sani fondly known as Yerima, and Senator Kabiru Gaya.

The APC caucus in the North Central, in a communique by the Zonal Chairman the party, Mr. Zakari Ede, and the six states chairmen in region, said it was clear that APC will form the majority in the forthcoming eight Assembly based on the results of the general elections.

Their demand, as stated, was hinged on the fact that the zone performed well in the election by giving adequate support to the party, adding that ceding the seat of Senate President to it will be a reward for their performance.

Insisting that the success in the North Central, being a vulnerable zone, should not be taken for granted, they said it would only be just and

equitable for the position of the Senate President to be allotted to the North Central.

The communique read: “Following our party ’s overwhelming victory at the National Assembly polls, it is clear that our party will form the majority in the forthcoming eight Assembly.

“We need to emphasize here that North Central is a vulnerable zone and our success and victory should not be taken for granted.

“On the basis of the above reasoning, we therefore came to the conclusion and we humbly wish ýto state that, it would only be just and equitable for the position of the Senate President to be allotted to the North Central Zone and we hereby demand for same.”

Meanwhile, ranking Senators from the North-West geo-political zone have commenced consultations and lobby for the post of Senate Leader, which sources from APC said will likely be zoned to the area.

However, Senator Ahmed Sani appears to be favoured, among other Senators from the zone, which has produced the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(retd).

Of the 20 Senators from the North-West, eight are ranking, having been elected more than twice, while some are coming from the House of Representatives, where they are also considered as ranking members in the chamber.

With the ranking rule, which gives preference to Senators who have been elected more than once into the chamber, top contenders for the Senate Leader position are Senators Sani, Marafa, Gaya and Adamu Aliero.

However, it was gathered that in addition to the ranking rule, having been elected into the Senate three times in a row, Senator Sani appears to have the most legislative experience from the zone.

Even as ranking Senators from the North-Central and NorthEast battle over the senate presiding officers’ positions, some of the new Senators have started making moves to scuttle the issue of ranking in the composition of the Senate leadership of the eight Senate.

APC making promises, threatening our members—PDP

By Henry Umoru

A

B U J A — N AT I O N A L leadership of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, raised alarm that All Progressives Congress, APC, was plotting to impose a oneparty system on Nigeria by approaching senior members of its party with phantom promises.

According to PDP, the move is a threat designed to destabilize it.

The party, in a statement yesterday by National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said APC was plunging the country into a one-party state.

The statement read: “We are aware that as part of the plot, APC in the past few weeks, has been luring and encouraging some of our members to issue derogatory statements against the leadership of our party.

“While some of their accomplices have openly decamped, we know that others have been instructed to stay back and cause crisis within our ranks.

“Even in states where they lost, APC has engaged in violence and instigating crisis all in the bid to impose a one-party system in the country.

“Alhaji Mohammed, in his

usual ill-mannered and condemnable approach, left the issues and dwelt on insults, disdainful comments and personal attacks. ”Is Alhaji Mohammed feigning ignorance of the various recent open and nocturnal meetings of his party with highly-respected members of PDP? “Furthermore, PDP National Publicity Secretary does not need Alhaji Mohammed’s so-called six weeks crash course in party publicity.

“He does not need a course on how to insult and denigrate the office and person of the President of our country. PDP will do no such thing, but only focus on constructive criticism.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015—55

Mark, Ekweremadu, Wogu, Etiebet, others mourn as Chukwumerije dies at 75

By Emmanuel Aziken, Clifford Ndujihe & Gbenga Oke

L

ESS than seven months to his 76th birthday, former Information Minister and Chairman, Senate Committee on Education, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, yesterday, passed on after a long combat with lung cancer.

Announcing his demise, yesterday, his son, Chidi Chukwumerije, in a four-paragraph statement said his family has lost an inspirational icon.

The statement entitled: "The Passing of An Inspirational Icon,'' read: "On the evening of Sunday, April 19, 2015, surrounded by his family, Comrade Uche Chukwumerije passed into the open arms of history, and of our Lord Jesus Christ, after a long but gallant battle with lung cancer. His life is many volumes, which can only be told with care and time, of dedication and focus, integrity and discipline, and an unbroken

Senator Uche Chukwumerije love for the highest ideals of our shared humanity. Details of burial arrangements will be announced in due course. We ask only for your prayers and good wishes.’’

Rumoured to have died last

The curious contradictions of Chukwumerije NEWS ANALYSIS

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

S

ENATOR Uche Chukwumerije was a rallying point at some of the country’s most poignant political periods. In the civil war, when the country almost broke in two, Chukwumerije’s voice was an echo that helped to rouse demoralised Biafran soldiers and compatriots. Subsequently, in 1993 as political passions seemed to boil over after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chukwumerije arrived the scene as the chief propagandist of the military regime’s controversial decision.

Controversial decision His defence of the annulment and hard tackles of the opponents of the annulment put him as a divisive political leader in the opinion of his traducers.

Following his service as minister of information, Chukwumerije seemed to fade from the political mainstream until 13 years later when he won election as senator on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to represent Abia North Senatorial Constituency.

The National Assembly helped to open up the real Chukwumerije to the nation.

Organised, meticulous and tactful. He had about the most organised office in the Senate building with no space for idle hands. Every staff in Senator Chukwumerije’s office was

almost at all times engaged in one activity or the other quite unlike many other senators whose offices were almost wholly occupied with idle hands.

His defining moment, however, was in the period between late 2005 and 2006 when the plot to enact a third term for the president and governors reached the National Assembly.

Chukwumerije and his ideological partner, Senator Ben Obi were the first to rouse the nation to the third term plot in a joint press statement on December 18, 2005.

Chukwumerije became the ideological rallying point for the anti-third term coalition as he defied party and geography to marshal opposition to the third term plot. Nigerians who had in the past regarded him as an obtrusive clog to the free flow of democracy now saw him in another light as an angel of freedom.

His unflinching opposition to the third term amendment and his organisation of the coalition won him plaudits from far and near and he easily won re-election to the Senate in 2007 on the platform of the Progressive Peoples Alliance, PPA. He, however, returned to the PDP before the 2011 elections and won a third term to the Senate during which he served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Education. He vied to go for a fourth term in the Senate but at the time of the PDP primary contest he had already been ravaged by complications of the lung cancer that eventually killed him yesterday.

December, which he refuted as the handiwork of “a few ungodly and irresponsible individuals,” Chukwumerije’s death threw the Igbo community and some leaders into mourning.

Ohanaeze will miss his robust contributions – Nwaorgu Mourning the three-time senator, Dr Joe Nwaorgu, the secretary general of apex Igbo sociocultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said: "It is a big loss to Ndigbo. Chukwumerije was an enormous resource person. We will miss him a lot. He was a very active member of Ohanaeze, we will miss his participation and deliberation on issues. At 75, it is not such a long life. We expected to him to live longer.’’

Senate has lost one of its brightest minds – Mark Speaking on Chukwumerije’s death, Senate President David Mark said Chukwumerije was one of the brightest and fertile minds in the Senate. "He radiated intelligence, exemplary conduct in both public and private life. He was a team player who brought meaning to hard work.

He was focused and determined

to make positive difference.” Senator Mark added that in the Senate, Senator Chukwumerije was a shinning light and a pathfinder. His words: “We shall miss him.

No doubt he left a vacuum that would too hard to fill. He was a consummate and passionate Nigerian who believed in the sanctity of the peace and unity of the nation.”

We have lost a perfect gentleman, intellectual gem –Etiebet, Maeba In his reaction, former Minister of Petroleum, Chief Don Etiebet, said Nigeria has lost an intellectual gem. His words: “We never heard he was sick. Nigeria has lost an intellectual and expert at whatever he was doing.

We will miss him greatly especially his contribution to education enhancement as the Senate Education Committee Chairman.

I pray Almighty God to give his family the grace to bear the irreparable loss.’’

Also, Senator Lee Maeba described Chukwumerije as a perfect gentleman. “He was a perfect gentleman and I pray May his gentle soul rest in peace.”

His battles will never be in vain –Ikokwu In like manner, Second Republic Politician, Chief Guy Ikokwu, described the late senator as a man of justice, who fought for the emancipation of the downtrodden. Ikokwu recalled the late senator’s role during the Nigeria-Biafra civil war and said: He did his best for his people and he will never be forgotten. With very little resources, he fought for the survival of his people and those things he fought for will never be forgotten."

It is the exit of a Lion Senator — Ekweremadu The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has expressed shock and sadness over Chukwumerije’s death, describing him as a fearless politician who fought for the interest

of the common man and his people. He also described him as “a patriot who gave his best towards the peace, unity and development of Nigeria”. In a statement, Ekweremadu said: “I am most saddened by the news of the passing on of distinguished Senator Chukwumerije. It is the exit of a lion Senator, brother, friend, brave comrade, seasoned journalist, credible mobiliser, social critic, pro-poor politician, and a legislator per excellence.

He said Senator Chukwumerije would be sorely missed by the Senate and the entire nation and prayed for the peaceful repose of his soul and inner strength for his family and the entire nation to bear the irreparable loss.

It is a big loss –Wogu Immediate past Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu said: “It is a big loss to the country and to the Igbo nation. Chukwumerije was a reference point politically right from the civil war days and then the post civil war era. He is a voice that will be missed in the Senate and I pray that God will grant him eternal peace.”

PDP mourns The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Adamu Muazu on behalf of the National Executive Committee and the PDP family nation wide mourned and eulogised the late politician."We are indeed deeply saddened by the loss of this great Nigerian, a highly respected statesman who has made immense contributions to the development of our dear nation.

Senator Chukuwumerije lived a patriotic Nigerian and a brilliant lawmaker who gave his all and discharged his responsibilities with unequalled forthrightness, loyalty and commitment to the service of our dear fatherland. He was a democratic icon and an outstanding party-man who remained committed to the ideology of the PDP and the visions of the founding fathers. We will greatly miss him. Our hearts and thoughts go out to his family as we pray God to give them the fortitude to bear this great loss,’’ he said.

L-r: The chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Kaduna State Council, Mr Yusuf Idris with the APC senator-elect for Kaduna Central, Comrade Shehu Sani and Comrade Sule Usman at a press conference at the NUJ secretariat, Kaduna. Photo: Olu Ajayi.

56 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 20 , 2015

Yemeni troops pledge backing for exiled leader

Iran accuses US of creating myth of nuclear weapons I

RAN’S Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told military commanders yesterday that the United States had created the “myth” of nuclear weapons to portray Iran as a threat, hardening his rhetoric before nuclear negotiations resume this week.

Khamenei, the highest authority in Iran, has supported the nuclear talks but continues to express deep mistrust of the United States.

“They created the myth of nuclear weapons so they could say the Islamic Republic is a source of threat. No, the source of threat is America itself, with its unrestrained, destabilizing interventions,” Khamenei said in a televised address to a hall of several hundred military commanders.

“The other side is methodically and shamelessly threatening us militarily ... even if they did not make these overt threats, we would have to be prepared,” he said.

Political leaders in Iran and the United States have to contend with do-

•Obama mestic constituencies skeptical about the outcome of the talks.

Khamenei’s comments did not appear to suggest he has withdrawn his cautious support for the diplomatic process.

Iran and six world powers including the United States reached a frame-

former intelligence officer for the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was the mastermind behind Islamic State’s takeover of northern Syria, according to a report by Der Spiegel that is based on documents uncovered by the German magazine.

Spiegel, in a lengthy story published at the weekend and entitled “Secret Files Reveal the Structure of Islamic State”, says it gained access to 31 pages of handwritten charts, lists and schedules which amount to a blueprint for the establishment of a caliphate in Syria.

The documents were the work of a man identified by the magazine as Samir Abd Muhammad al-Khlifawi, a former colonel in the intelligence service of Saddam Hussein’s air defense force, who went by the pseudonym Haji Bakr.

Spiegel says the files suggest that the takeover of northern Syria was part of a meticulous plan overseen by Haji Bakr using techniques — including surveillance, espionage, murder and kidnapping — honed in the

work accord on Iran’s disputed nuclear program this month and will resume negotiations in Vienna this week, aiming to reach a final deal by the end of June.

The framework accord is a step towards a settlement that would allay Western fears that Iran

could build an atomic bomb, with economic sanctions on Tehran being lifted in return.

Despite significant progress, the two sides still disagree on several issues, including how quickly international sanctions would be lifted under a final deal.

ISIS militant bomber on motorbike kills 33 at bank in Afghanistan

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suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up in front of the Kabul Bank in Jalalabad early Saturday, a local

Iraqi officer under Saddam masterminded rise of Islamic State

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•Khamenei

security apparatus of Saddam Hussein.

The Iraqi national was reportedly killed in a firefight with Syrian rebels in January 2014, but not before he had helped secure swathes of Syria, which in turn strengthened Islamic State’s position in neighbouring Iraq.

“What Bakr put on paper, page by page, with carefully outlined boxes for individual responsibilities, was nothing less than a blueprint for a takeover,” the story by Spiegel reporter Christoph Reuter says.

government spokesman said.

The ISIS terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack. The explosion killed at least 33 people and injured more than 100 others, public health spokesman Najibullah Kamawal said.

The claim appears to be the first in Afghanistan

by ISIS, CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh said. It was made by an offshoot called ISIS Wilayat Khorasan.

In a statement, the

group said the bomber was named Abu Mohammad and he belonged to their ranks.

He was targeting government workers collecting their pay at the bank, the terrorists said.

He detonated his charge at the peak of rush hour on the first day of the week, when the bank would be expected to be crowded.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, in a text message to journalists, distanced his group from the attack.

•ISIS militants

US companies violated Iran sanctions

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OUR companies and five people have been charged with violating U.S. sanctions on Iran just as American officials are working to use those sanctions to persuade Iran to renounce any ambition to develop nuclear arms.

A 24-count indictment unsealed this week charges that the companies and people involved facilitated the illegal export to Iran of technology that is commonly

used in military systems.

They include high-tech microelectronics, uninterruptible power supplies and other goods in violation of U.S. law.

Negotiators set June 30 deadline At the beginning of April, six world powers, the U.S. among them, agreed with Iran on the framework for a deal, under which the country would allay international concerns that it was developing nuclear

weapons. The incentive for Iran — elimination of the crippling sanctions imposed on it by the international community, including the U.S. Negotiators have set themselves a deadline of June 30 for reaching a final agreement. The other countries involved in the talks are Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany.

Companies named from Houston, L.A., Taiwan, Turkey and Iran.

T

HE Yemeni com mander of a vast military district covering half the country’s border with Saudi Arabia pledged support yesterday to exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, local officials said.

The announcement puts at least 15,000 troops in the desert and mountain border area on the same side as Saudi Arabia, which backs Hadi and has waged an inconclusive three-week bombing campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen who are allied with Iran.

“Brigadier General Abdulrahman al-Halily of

the First Military District announced today his support for constitutional legitimacy as represented by President Hadi,” one of the officials told Reuters.

The declaration was also broadcast on official radio in the city of Seiyun, the main city of the Hadramawt valley area where the district’s main military base is located.

Most of Yemen’s military is loyal to powerful ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose forces are fighting alongside the Shi’ite Muslim Houthi militia in battles stretching across Yemen’s south and east.

Australian teens held after ‘ISIS-inspired’ plot foiled

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IVE young men were arrested at the weekend in Melbourne, Australia, in what police called a major counterterrorism operation.

Three of the teens, all of them either 18 or 19, have since been released “pending further enquiries,” Australia’s Federal Police said, but two remain in custody.

Sevdet Besim, 18, has been charged with conspiring to commit a terrorist act, and was denied bail Saturday.

The other suspect, a 19year-old, has not yet appeared in court.

“Some evidence that we have collected at a couple of the scenes and some other information we have leads us to believe that this particular matter was ISIS-inspired,” said Neil Gaughan, acting deputy commissioner of the Australian Federal Police.

The suspects planned to attack during a major national commemoration in a week, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Saturday. “The act that we believe was in preparation involved attacks against police officers,” he said.

Finland elections: Polls open amid economic concerns

F

INNISH voters are going to the polls, amid hopes that a new government will pull the country out of its threeyear economic slump.

Prime Minister Alexander Stubb and his conservative National Coalition Party face a strong challenge from former businessman Juha Sipila and his centre-right Centre Party.

Mr Sipila has pledged create more than 200,000 jobs in the next 10 years.

Finland’s economy has been the main issue during the election campaign.

A year of stagnation in

2014 was preceded by two years of recession and unemployment now stands at 9.2%.

The governing coalition has struggled to push through reforms, leading to a reduction in support for Mr Stubb ahead of polling day.

A poll published on Thursday by public broadcaster YLE put support for the National Coalition at 16.9%, behind the Centre Party at 24%.

Mr Sipila, an IT millionaire, was relatively unknown in Finland until he became leader of the Centre Party three years ago.

Australian ex-model, DJ, killed fighting for ISIS in Syria

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former model and DJ from Melbourne, described by his former agency as having a promising future, is the latest Australian believed to have been killed while fighting alongside ISIS militants in Syria.

The parents of Sharky Jama, 25, were informed of their son’s death via a text message and phone call Monday, said Hussein Harakow, president

of the Somali Australian Council of Victoria.

“They’re very shocked and very disappointed,” said Harakow, who knows the Jama family.

He said Jama had disappeared along with another Somali-Australian, named in Australian media reports as former business student Yusuf Yusuf, in August of last year.

VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 57

700 feared dead after migrant boat sinks off Libya •28 people rescued, 24 bodies recovered •EU leaders to hold meeting today

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crowded fishing boat that one survivor said carried 700 migrants capsized north of Libya overnight, and only a few dozen people were rescued yesterday , raising fears that it could become the Mediterranean’s deadliest known migrant sea disaster.

Meanwhile, top officials in Europe, whose recently-downsized border protection program has been criticized by international aid groups, said urgent action was needed. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said foreign ministers would discuss the issue at a meeting in Luxembourg today.

It would be recalled that only last week, around 400 migrants were reported to have died attempting to reach Italy from Libya when their boat capsized.

Already, twenty eight people were rescued and 24 bodies recovered yesterday from the 20 meter-long vessel, which sank around 70 miles from the Libyan coast, south of the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, the Italian coast guard said.

The capsizing prompted more dismay among exasperated Italian officials, refugee aid officials agencies and Pope Francis, all of whom were demanding more European or international action to stop a deadly tide of migration.

Migrants have aimed for Europe’s shores for many years, fleeing war, persecution and conflict in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. But the turmoil and warfare in Libya has made it easier for smugglers to take to the sea.

Rescuers yesterday were “checking who is alive and who is dead” among the bodies floating on the surface, said Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, whose tiny Mediterranean nation joined the rescue operations.

He called it the “biggest human tragedy of the last few years.”The 20-meter (66-foot) vessel may have overturned because migrants rushed to one side of the craft late Saturday night when they saw an approaching Portugueseflagged container ship, the King Jacob, which the Italian Coast Guard had dispatched to help them.

The Coast Guard said at least 28 survivors had been rescued by yesterC M Y K

day morning. Muscat put the number of survivors at 50, and International Organization for Migration spokesman Joel Millman said 49 survived.

“Since the waters of the Mediterranean Sea are not too cold at the moment, the authorities hope to find more survivors,” a statement from Millman said.

A spokesmen for the ship said that Twentytwo people were pulled to safety” and transferred yesterday to Italian coast guard vessels, that statement said.

A United Nations refugee agency spokeswoman Carlotta Sami tweeted that according to one survivor, the boat had set out with 700 migrants aboard.

Italian Premier Matteo Renzi summoned his top ministers to a strategy session in Rome Sunday evening, saying that the numbers of dead are still provisional but “are destined to rise.’

“How can it be that we daily are witnessing a tragedy?” Renzi asked.

The smugglers are capitalizing on the migrants’ desperation and taking advantage of chaos and violence in Libya, where rival militias, tribal factions and other political forces have destabilized the country since bloody end of the long dictatorship of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

In Italy’s Parliament, the leaders of foreign affairs and defense commissions pushed for the EU and the UN to prepare a naval blockade of Libya’s coast to stop the human trafficking.

If confirmed, the death toll would bring to 1,500 the total number of dead since the beginning of the year resulting from the flow of migrants seeking to flee insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said later that around 50 people had been rescued of the 700 reported to be on board.

French President Francois Hollande said the EU had to do more, telling Canal+ television that rescue and disaster prevention efforts needed “more boats, more over flights and a much more intense battle against people trafficking.”

•Rescued migrants line up after disembarking at the southern Italian port of Corigliano, Italy.

•A boat transporting migrants arrives in the port of Messina after a rescue operation.

Xenophobic attacks spread to Johannesburg, 307 arrested over violence As the violence spread

•Govt vows to crack down against anti-immigrant attacks

S

OUTH African police fired rubber bullets at the weekend to disperse crowds setting immigrant businesses ablaze as attacks against foreigners spread to Johannesburg.

Meanwhile, the South African government has South Africa has vowed to hunt down those behind a wave of attacks targeting immigrants, saying 307 people had been arrested over violence that has left at least seven people dead.

Chanting and singing, machete-armed residents burned down shops

owned by foreigners, including a Nigerian dealership in the nation’s largest city.

Immigrants carrying bricks accused police of not doing enough to protect them as businesses smoldered.

Six people killed Violence targeting immigrant shops started recently in the port city of Durban, where two foreigners and three South Africans were killed. Residents have accused African immigrants of taking their jobs and committing crimes. The unemployment rate in South Africa

•South African President Jacob Zuma displays a cheque that he donated to the foreign nationals at a temporary refugee camp in Chatsworth, south of Durban on April 18, 2015

is 25%, according to government figures.

A sixth death occurred Wednesday. The body of a 58-year-old foreign national was found in Verulam town, where a mob attacked the man at his home. He fled and died of his injuries near his home, South African police said.

At least 112 people have been arrested throughout KwaZulu-Natal Province for various offenses related to the violence, police said.

Social and economic issues President Jacob Zuma said his government is addressing social and economic issues brought up by citizens. He said immigrants contribute to the nation’s economy while others bring scarce skills.

“While some foreign nationals have been arrested for various crimes, it is misleading and wrong to label or regard all foreign nationals as being involved in crime in the country,” Zuma said.

to other cities, terrified immigrants sought a resolution. Others fled, taking refuge at police stations in major cities.

“They are using this as scapegoats,” said JeanPierre Lukamba, an immigrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“Every day, migrants are living in this fire. It’s not just attacks. It’s institutionalized xenophobia.

The government must do something. Those people aren’t just mad for no reason. They want electricity, they want jobs, they want water.”’They don’t understand the history of Africa’ Lukamba said he’s part of an organization trying to negotiate between the two sides.

“They don’t understand the history of Africa; if they do, they would know each of us, we are one,” he said.

Thousands fled to temporary shelters, with aid group Gift of the Givers saying about 8,500 people are hiding in refugee centers or police stations this week because of the violence. The number did not include those who have moved in with

58—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

Vanguard CLASSIFIED

Akpabio seeks overhaul of nation's security

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people were known as peace loving people until 2011 election when certain people sought to take command of the State.

“We had never had the level of violence we had in 2011 all occasioned by those who came to take command in Akwa Ibom State. A hitherto peaceful people, we are now cowed and intimidated. The only person that was arrested in this State with seven units in his house was an APC chieftain and that AIG thought he was PDP man.

The man who contested election has gone on air to denounce that elder and all the materials in that man’s possession were thump printed for APC.” The Governor-elect of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Gabriel Emmanuel described the event as a milestone in the process of deepening national democratic process in Nigeria, adding that the last elections would go down in the history as one of the most keenly contested elections in Nigeria conducted by the INEC. Mr. Udom commended President Goodluck Jonathan for entrenching democracy in Nigeria by conceding defeat even before the final election was announced and called on others to follow same.

Earlier, the National E l e c t o r a l Commissioner incharge of Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Rivers States, Mrs. Thelma Iremiren had on behalf of the INEC congratulated the From left: Mr Wole Adedeji, Senior Brand Manager, Maltina, Comedian A.Y and Phoebe Larry-Izamoje, Assistant Brand elected officers on their Manager, Maltina, at the Special Easter Edition of A.Y Live well-deserved victory at the polls.

2015 held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos KWA IBOM State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, weekend, harped on the need for the correction of certain flaws in the security system in the country to prevent electoral violence.

Akpabio, who stated this while receiving his certificate of return from INEC in Uyo, blamed some members of the Nigerian Police Force for allowing themselves to be used by the opposition to foment violence on April 11 governorship and State Assembly polls in the State.

He said, “The Police brought AIG to Akwa Ibom who came with commissioners of Police.

The instruction was that the command has changed at the centre and that anybody who wants promotion must support APC and at the end they went from house to house searching the house of my commissioners. In Ibiono Ibom, they ransacked the house of Ignatius Edet. In Ibesikpo Asutan, they ransacked the House of anybody related to the government.

They were instructed not to take instructions from

anybody related to Government, that Government has changed hand at the centre.”

The Governor described as the attitude of the security agency as antidemocratic saying “that kind of attitude from the security services cannot augur well for democracy in this country. In future, how will you encourage a President who has lost election to congratulate the winner and step down peacefully when his people will be humiliated and hounded?

“The same policemen went to Ibesikpo Asutan and opened fire on an innocent child and the person is in the hospital today. They went to Essien Udim and opened fire in the air. The idea was to leave the impression that there was no election in Akwa Ibom or there was violence.

When they came back the army arrested seven of them and before the AIG left Akwa Ibom, he released those seven policemen and they were from the Divisional Headquarters here.”

The State Chief Executive explained that Akwa Ibom

Mamman Kontagora fire outbreak: No major document lost—FMBN

By Emmanuel Elebeke

T

HE Federal Mort gage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), has said that a risk assessment is being carried out to ascertain the extent of the damage caused by the fire incident that engulfed part of its office at Mamman Kontagora House in Lagos.

The Managing Director of FCMB, Gimba Ya’u Kumo, who disclosed this said he had earlier held a stakeholders’ meeting together with LASEMA in Lagos with a view to expedite action in conducting integrity test on the building so that skeletal service can resume by all tenants.

In a statement made available by the Mortgage

Bank in Abuja, the bank explained that the outcome would be communicated to the press in due time.

Meanwhile, the FMBN henchman extended the appreciation of the bank to Nigerians who showed concern and sympathy during and after the incident. He explained that the inferno, which started around 9am on Wednesday, was caused by a surge from a generator on the third floor, adding that there was no loss of life or damage to sensitive materials.

He words: “We don’t have any report to give presently, but the preliminary information we gathered tells us that the fire outbreak is from the gen-

erator room. We have spoken with the facility manager and we have been informed that they tried to service the generator yesterday. We leave this to the state fire service and the experts coming to do the risk assessment. Everything is going to be done professionally and you will be informed of the development. No major document from our side is lost.

The management of FMBN wishes to thank Lagos State Fire Service, Federal Fire Service, Nigeria Police, Julius Berger, Nigeria Ports Authority, UBA Plc, LASEMA, and the Union Bank Plc for their unrelenting effort in putting out the fire."

AFOLABI—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ayobami Ololade Afolabi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ayobami Ololade Dazumi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

EMMANUEL—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Queen Ruth Emmanuel, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Omayeka Queen. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

PUPU—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Pupu Adelia Ufuoma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ohwevwo Adelia Ufuoma. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I N E TA N B O R — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Inetanbor Esther, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Egbene Esther. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

EKUTU—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ejiata Ekutu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ejiata Ekutu Akpomofune. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

UKUEDOGHO—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Juliet Amaju Ukuedogho, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Juliet Amaju Bafor.

All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

OLLEY—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Rose Ajemituojesinmi Olley, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Rose Ajemituojesinmi Utomudo. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

N I K AT S E K P E — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Nikatsekpe Olire Favour, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Abala Olire Favour.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

N WA G B A R A — I , formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Teresa Ogochukwu Nwagbara, now wish to be known and addressed as Miss Teresa Ogochukwu Chiedu. All former documents remain valid. S.P.D.C Port-Harcourt & general public please take note.

UMUKORO—I, formerly known and addressed as U m u k o r o Ogheneyole, now wish to be known and addressed as Johnson Ogheneyole.

All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

Confirmation of name This is to confirm that the name Otikpere Esimimaje and Oghoritse Esimimaje is same and one as Oghoritse Esimimaje, now wish to be known and addressed as Oghoritse Esimimaje.

All former documents remain valid. ECOBANK and general public please take note.

Addition of name C H U C K S — I , formerly known and addressed as Chinaka Nzubechi, now wish to be known and addressed as Chinaka Nzubechi Chucks. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

EKOKOTU—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ekokotu Okeoghene Mary, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Okorie Okeoghene Mary. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I K E A N Y I — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Faith Nkechi Ikeanyi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Faith Nkechi Elijah. All former documents remain valid.

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and general public please take note.

EFFIONG—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Offiong Effiong Ben, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Offiong John. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

NWORIE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Nworie Modesta Ifeoma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ifeoma M. Dandy Eruogu. All documents bearing former names remain valid. NYSC, EBSU and general public please take note.

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IKEJA OFFICE: TRINITY MALL, 79/81 OBAFEMI AWOLOWO WAY, BETWEEN ZENITH & DIAMOND BANKS, IKEJA. CALL 08035449960, 07031322957

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 59

Egypt court sentences 11 football fans to death A

N Egyptian court on Sunday sentenced 11 football fans to death after a retrial over a 2012 stadium riot in the canal city of Port Said that left 74 people dead.

An appeals court had ordered the retrial of 73 defendants in February last year after rejecting a lower court verdict sentencing 21 people to death for being involved in the incident.

The riot erupted in February 2012 when fans of home team Al-Masry and Cairo’s Al-Ahly clashed after a match between the two clubs.

Sunday’s death sentences against 11 football fans have been referred to Egypt’s grand mufti. The court will make a final decision on their fates, as well as those of the other defendants, on May 30.

The 73 defendants include nine police officers and three officials from Al-Masry club, while the rest were fans of the two clubs.

None of the families of the victims or defendants attended Sunday’s court session. The court held its sessions in Cairo for security reasons.

Sunday’s verdict can be appealed.

The 2012 Port Said riots are the deadliest sport-related riots in Egypt, where fans regularly clash among themselves or with security forces.

AYC Continues from Back Page

Federation of Nigeria (AFN).

Team Nigeria won the maiden edition in Warri two years ago with 13 gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze medals leaving Egypt Kenya and Ethiopian to struggle for the second, third and fourth positions.

After completing the selection trials to pick the country’s representatives at the Yaba College of Technology in Lagos mid last week, the athletes and their coaches were expected to go C M Y K

Egyptian police arrest a protester.

BY JUDE OPARA, Abuja

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PPARENTLY jolt ed by the presidential directive that all ministries and departmental heads should prepare their handover notes ahead of the change of government next month, creditors over the weekend took over the National Sports Commission (NSC) demanding the payment of their outstanding debts.

Contractors, hotels, travel agencies as well as other categories of creditors began arriving the National Stadium which also houses the headquarters of the commission as early as 8 am ready to receive their money.

Checks by Sports Van-

Creditors besiege NSC over unpaid debts guard revealed that the debts were from services rendered by the contractors and service providers over the years including those incurred during the failed bid for the hosting of the 2014 Commonwealth Games which eventually went to Glasgow Scotland.

According to one of the contractors who pleaded anonymity, they decided to take action now because of the fear that the incoming government of the All Progressives

Congress (APC) led by Gen. Muhammad Buhari may not want to honour the debts.

He also revealed that he has a very strong evidence that the federal government last year released the N4.3 billion which was budgeted for the Glasgow Games and wondered why the NSC has refused to settle the contractors.

Pinnick: NFF not dribbling Keshi P

RESIDENT of Ni geria Football Federation, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick has called a lie on insinuations that the Federation is deceiving out of contract Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi with a new contract that would never be signed.

“I am shocked at these

insinuations because the NFF Executive Committee gave the go-ahead for a new contract with Keshi at its meeting in Uyo last month, and Keshi and his lawyers have looked at the contract agreement and are satisfied with every word in the final draft.

“As a Federation, we have gone ahead to arrange some refresher programmes for Keshi, at nobody’s prodding, and which are meant to enhance Keshi’s knowledge and improve the man’s capacity as a world-class strategist.

We would not be doing

that if we are not ready to work with him. No one is forcing Keshi on us. We have sat down with him and he has agreed to all terms that we put down and he is ready to work to lift the Super Eagles back to glorious days.”

*Danagogo

Okpekpe: New prize money for Edo indigenes

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*Pinnick

RGANISERS of the third Okpekpe 10km road race scheduled for next month in Okpekpe have announced a quantum increase in the prize money for the first nine Edo-state born finishers in the men and women race.

The respective male and female winners will go home with N500,000

into camping immediately but that got stalled due to lack of money.

AFN sources revealed at the weekend that all efforts to get the National Sports Commission (NSC) to release the approved money for the trip has proved abortive.

“As I speak with you now, we don’t even know what has happened to the file for the trip at the NSC. All that we are hearing is that there is no money. You can imagine that Nigeria as defending champion of the African Youth Championship will not be there when the event starts. Is that not an em-

barrassment for the country,” observed the track & field coach.

Team Nigeria’s contingent is billed to travel out tomorrow to be able to reach Mauritius and loosen up before the start of competition.

“If the team fails to travel by Tuesday, I cannot guarantee if jet-lag will not affect their performance,” reasoned the coach.

All attempts to speak with the AFN scribe, Olumide Bamiduro, failed as he was said to be at the NSC pursuing how to get the needed funds to enable the team travel out.

each ,an increase of N400,000 while the first and second runners-up will get N300,000 and N250,000 respectively.

The ninth-placed runner will get N50,000 while the eighth, seventh, sixth, fifth and fourth-placed finishers will go home with N75,000,N100,000,N150,000 and N200,000 respectively. Yusuf Ali,a member of the organising committee and former Africa, Commonwealth and World Universities Games long jump champion explained that the

committee arrived at the decision to increase the prize money for the locals because of the need to encourage them and make them more com-

petitive. ‘The committee feels there is the need to make Edo-state indigenes up their game and make them more competitive.

Pillars

the game, the goal scorer Ubong Ekpai’s header off Samuel Tswanya’s long throw-in was well gathered by Enyimba goalkeeper Ocheje.

Kamal Sikiru’s 28th minutes effort at goal for Enyimba went over the bar. Ten minutes later, Kingsley Sokari’s long range effort went off target.

S/Africa

“What has been happening in the past few days have really left most people in a shock and dismayed,” said SAFA CEO Dennis Mumble.

He said Nelson Mandela spoke of the power of sport in uniting people from different walks of life “and we want to use the power of football to unite this continent and kick out this scourge within certain malcontents in our society ”.

Continues from Back Page

foreigners, particularly those of African descent has badly dented the image of the country in recent days, the South African Football Association (SAFA) announced on Sunday.

“We want to use the two high-profile international friendly matches as an instrument to unite this continent.

Continues from Back Page

effort beat Moses Ocheje in goal for Enyimba to break the deadlock.

With five minutes to end the explosive encounter, Enyimba captain Chinedu Udoji was sent off after a second booking.

In the fourth minute of

Details of the two international friendly matches will be announced by SAFA shortly.

South Africa has in recent days witnessed a spate of some of the most violent xenophobic attacks with at least seven people killed in Durban and Johannesburg.

“We are one continent, one Africa, we are all Africans and we say no to xenophobia,” Mumble added.

60 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

I

The Awoniyi debate

,

take time out, quite often to relive and relish the four years I spent as member of the NFF Technical and Development committee in the Aminu Maigari administration.

I carry with me an enviable credential laced with successes in all facets of our national teams, from the Super Eagles to the Golden Eaglets…..Nations Cup triumph, World cup qualification, Falcons and Falconets, U17 World Cup etc…..

It was a team that gave it’s all and was ready to sacrifice personal benefits for the success of the country. That team had Chris Green, Felix Anyansi, Deji Tinubu, Adegboye Onigbinde, Christian Chukwu, Barrister Elumelu, Jay Jay Okocha, Garba Lawal, Victor Ikpeba, Garbah Ilah, Dr Ikpeme……a team laced with uncanny football knowledge and years of experience on and off the field.

With Ikpeba, I shared a language advantage.

Whenever there was a heated argument, it was customary to whisper to Ikpeba in French and together we agreed on a position before rejoining the debate.

Before now, our youth and women teams had always been on hand to console us whenever the seniors tottered. That is not the case today as the U17 failed to get even a bronze in Niger, the Falcons drew away to Mali, while the U23 could not beat Zambia in Abuja.

Let me use this opportunity to congratulate and thank coaches Siasia and Okon for redeeming our pride by overcoming a shaky start that set us thinking. The case of the Dream Team was rather dramatic as they had to go away to do the impossible.

In the words of Siasia, not many believed he could do it. I did not and I told the NFF General Secretary so while congratulating them for a job well done.

However, that feat in Lusaka had the name of a certain Awoniyi written all over it. While preparing for the return leg war which he said again and again that he was going to win, Coach Siasia (Don’t know where he got his confidence from!) drafted some U20 players into his squad and one of them, Taiwo Awoniyi, proved the messiah scoring the brace that gave us victory.

Like David of old, his name was on every one’s lips. “Awoniyi, give us Awoniyi”. Coming at a time that the Super Eagles are stuttering and groping in the dark, “ Awoniyi for Super Eagles” ran another refrain.

Quickly Victor Ikpeba has jumped into the ring, calling for caution. Awoniyi he said is not ready for the Super Eagles he argued, urging Nigerians not to rush him, that he is yet young.

By FIFA records, Awoniyi was born on August 12 1997 and will be 18 this year!

Lionel Messi signed professional papers for Barcelona at age 13 and made his debut at age 16

Back to history, recent history.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the captain of the Portuguese National team is 30, with over ten years of international experience to his credit. At age 18 he joined Manchester United, at age 22 he was nominated for the Ballon d’Or and FIFA Footballer of the year, both of which he won at age 23 in 2008.

Wayne Rooney is captain of Manchester United and England. He made his debut for England on February 2003 at age 17 and has so far played in three World Cups. Today, 230 goals for club, 43 for country, he has been capped 103 times.

Lionel Messi signed professional papers for Barcelona at age 13 and made his debut at age 16 .

He got his first cap for National team when he was just 18 and at age 21 was nominated for Ballon d’Or and FIFA footballer of the year which he won the next year, and has emerged the best player in the world a record four times.

At 19, he became the youngest Argentine to score in a FIFA World Cup and at age 24 he had emerged Argentina’s all time goalscorer.

Maradona was able to play in four World Cups (1982, 1986, 1990 and 1994 ) because he started

Enyeama eyes Vivien Foe award again

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•Enyeama C M Y K

UPER Eagles’ captain and Lille shot stopper, Vincent Enyeama has ably earned his mention among the equally deserving 10 shortlists for the Marc Vivien Foe award celebrating the best African player in the French Ligue 1 over the season.

The commemorative award introduced in 2009 is named after the late Cameroonian midfielder, Marc Vivien Foe and is voted for by sport journalists selected by French media RFI and France 24. Foe collapsed and died on June 26, 2003 in Indomitable Lions’ semifinals clash against Colombia in the FIFA Confederations Cup at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon, France.

Last year Enyeama may have surprised himself but not the rest of the world based on his

,

spectacular form when he won the award by a mile ahead of Ivorian defender, Serge Aurier of Toulouse FC (now in PSG) and Cameroonian player Henri Bedimo of Olympique Lyonnais to win the 2014 edition of the award.

This time around though he faces a very stiff challenge. Players like the Ghanaian duo, Jordan and Andre Ayew are flexing muscles and the older Ayew is considered the top dog by many.

Alongside challenging Enyeama will be MaxAlain Gradel of the Ivory Coast, Aymen Abdennour of Tunisia, Nabil Dirar of Morocco, Idrissa Gueye of Senegal, Aissa Mandi of Algeria and Cameroon duo, Benjamin Moukandjo and Clinton N’Jie.

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HE fourth Greensprings Kanu Football Camp has come and gone but the memory during the one-week clinic would remain with the visiting British Coaches, who believe some of the participants who become stars in years to come.

Also for emerging as the best player at the camp, 12 year-old Similoluwa Gbenla has been awarded scholarship throughout his secondary education by the management of the Greensprings School.

The camp which concluded it fourth edition at the Lekki campus of Greensprings in Lagos has over 100 participants drawn from Lagos, Ogun, Abuja, Rivers among others taking part in the one-week exercise.

The camp was handled

by British Coaches from English Premier League side, West Bromwich Albion.

According to Richard Holmes, the talents displayed by the students

early. He made his World Cup debut at 22 and turned professional on October 20 1976 when he was just 16.

Maybe I should write about Edson Arantes do Nascimento, the great Pele who joined Santos at age 15 and was capped for Brazil at the tender age of 16.

As a 17 year old prodigy Pele was the star of the Brazil team to the 1958 World Cup team in Sweden.

In the semi final against France he scored a hat trick and netted a brace in the 5-2 demolition of Sweden in the final.

Lets get nearer home. Dede Ayew is second son of the African football great Abedi Pele. When he was just 14 years old he signed for Nania football club in Ghana and two years later in 2005 was on his way to Marseille in the French Ligue Un, becoming a regular player two years later. Dede made his debut for the National team the Black Stars of Ghana on August 21, 2007 against Senegal when he was just 18.

Four years later, in 2011 he was voted BBC Africa footballer of the year and Ghana Footballer of the year.

Back to the NFF Technical Committee. One of our greatest achievements was the 2013 U17 World Cup winning side coached by Coaches Manu Garba, Emmanuel Amuneke, Nduka Ugbade and Emena Amadi. It was a meticulous process, patiently and professionally executed , so much that when we were beaten in the African final in Morocco, we were close to tears because we knew we had a team that was capable of ruling the world.

I was one of the 20,000 spectators that sat proudly in the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, November 8 2013 as the Eaglets romped to an emphatic 3-0 rout of Mexico creating history in the process as the first country to win the competition four times.

For us, this was the veritable “dream team”, the future of our football, one that had to be jealously guarded, tracked and protected. Every member of that team was a potential star. Attackers defended brilliantly, defenders scored goals effortlessly…..Nwakali, Awoniyi, Alampasu, Iheanacho, Obasi, Salihu, Alfa, Okon, Idowu, Isaac, Abubakar, Mohammed, Ezeh…….the Iheanacho explosion in Manchester, the Awoniyi feat in Lusaka are confirmations of our expectations and projections.

The Eagles as presently constituted need a breadth of fresh air. At 18, it is high time we blooded them, introduced them to the Super Eagles, thanks to their natural and innate talent. The sooner the better.

See you next week.

Greensprings Kanu Football Camp excites British coaches •12 year-old Gbenle gets scholarship

•Kanu were exceptional while efforts must continue to nurture them to stardom.

“The footballers are great and they are very keen.

Even when we finish coaching them, they still carry on playing all day.

We train them four hours a day, so for them to carry on is brilliant. They are very good players, the

equipment and facilities is great and everybody here is fantastic and it has been really good,” Holmes said.

On the uniqueness of the camp, the coach said: “The most unique thing is definitely the players. It is brilliant to see coaches listening to what we’ve got say and wanting to learn because as a coach, you never know everything."

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 61

Aguero steers City back on track D

AVID Silva’s head injury overshadowed Manchester City’s comfortable 2-0 Premier League win over West Ham as the hosts eased the pressure on Manuel Pellegrini.

Pellegrini admitted ahead of the game at the Etihad Stadium that he could be sacked if City fail to finish in the top four, with the reigning champions having lost four of their previous six top-flight matches.

Despite the absence of the likes of Vincent Kompany and James Milner through injury, City were able to see off an ineffective West Ham side and move seven points clear of fifthplaced Liverpool, who do have a game in hand.

A bizarre 18th-minute own goal from James

Collins put City ahead before Sergio Aguero doubled the lead with his 20th league goal of the campaign.

West Ham never threatened a fightback, but a routine victory was soured when Silva was caught by an elbow from Cheikhou Kouyate midway through the second half, with the Senegalese earning a booking.

The former Valencia midfielder received lengthy treatment from the City medical team before being taken off on a stretcher.

City had the better of the opening stages as West Ham struggled to retain possession and, after Alexander Kolarov had gone close with a curling free-kick, the hosts took the lead through a huge stroke of fortune after 18 minutes.

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ORUSSIA Dortmund have announced that it has reached an agreement with Thomas Tuchel to replace Jurgen Klopp, who gave up on his ambition of taking the 2013 Bundesliga champions forward. Klopp, who joined Dortmund in 2008 revealed last week that he would be leaving Dortmund at the end of the season, saying he no longer felt he was the right man to take them forward.

The 48-year old has performed below standard, ranking 8th on the Bundesliga table, with the team that finished the league 2nd last year, and also reached the final of the champions league in 2013.

The 41-year-old Thomas Tuchel will receive a three-year contract.

Meanwhile, Tuchel, who will be replacing Klopp at the end of this season also took charge of Mainz a year after Klopp left the club to join Dortmund in 2008.

Delph ends Gerrard's hopes of dream farewell

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TEVEN Gerrard’s hopes of a dream Liverpool farewell have been ended after Fabian Delph secured a 2-1 win for Aston Villa at Wembley on Sunday to earn a place in the FA Cup final.

All the talk had been of whether Gerrard could finish his Liverpool career by lifting the FA Cup next month on his birthday in his final game before joining LA Galaxy, but there will no fairytale end for the long-serving captain.

Philippe Coutinho put the Merseyside club in

front after half an hour to put them on course for a clash against Arsenal on May 30, but Villa fought back to reach their first FA Cup final for 15 years.

Christian Benteke equalised shortly after Coutinho’s strike, continuing his incredible run of form with a ninth goal in seven matches.

Tim Sherwood’s men continued to impress after the break and took the lead through a Delph goal with 54 minutes on the clock, forcing Liverpool to play more expansively.

*Jesus Navas (right), who provided the assist for Aguero, congratulates his team-mate as Manchester City celebrated going 2-0 up at the Etihad

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*Thomas Tuchel

Newcastle’s losing streak continues amid fan boycott

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*WALKING ALONE: Gerrard

Dortmund announce Klopp’s replacement

EWCASTLE Unit ed failed to halt their dismal run of Premier League form yesterday as they were beaten 3-1 by Tottenham at a sparse St James’ Park.

Some supporters boycotted the game in protest at the running of the club and a perceived lack of ambition from the board.

And for those who were in attendance, there was little cause for cheer as goals from Nacer Chadli, Christian

Eriksen and Harry Kane eclipsed Jack Colback’s effort to inflict a sixth consecutive defeat on the hosts.

Chadli gave Mauricio Pochettino’s side a halftime lead with a longrange strike 29 minutes in, though Tim Krul might have been able to do more to keep it out.

However, as in the reverse fixture, Newcastle equalised early in the second half - Colback restoring parity 18 seconds after the restart.

*ON TARGET: Harry Kane drives home one of the Tottenham's goals

62 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

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Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 — 63

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Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015

Nigeria’s AYC title defence in jeopardy N

IGERIA may not be able to defend the African Athletics Youth Championship title in Mauritius when

hostilities begin later this week following the dire straight financial position of the Athletics Continues on Page 59

S/Africa to host antixenophobia football matches, says SAFA

*Jordan: SAFA boss.

TODAY'S

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OUTH Africa’s a tional team will play two international friendly matches against neighbouring countries in a bid to sensitise the public on the evils of xenophobia.

Xenophobic attacks by South Africans Continues onagainst Page 59 n

PUZZLE

Pillars pip Enyimba 1-0

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ANO Pillars piped title rivals Enyimba 1-0 in a Week 4 match of the Nigeria Professional Football League on Sunday in Kano.

Kano Pillars now have six points from two games, while Enyimba have five points from four games.

The only goal of the game was scored in the 44th minute by Nigeria U23 striker Ubong Ekpai, whose long-range

*ECSTACY: Fabian Delph, with team-mate Ashley Westwood, ensured Aston Villa progressed to the FA Cup final by scoring the winning goal to beat Liverpool 2-1.

Continues on Page 59

FRI DAY'S ANSWERS FRIDAY'S

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 3 Enquired (5) 9 Encourage (6) 10 Puzzle (6) 11 Tendency (5) 12 Thought (4) 15 Pleasant (4) 17 Seance (7) 20 Child (3) 21 Magnificent (5)

23 Cheese (4) 25 26 28 30 33 35 36 38 39 40

Trampled (5) Rescuer (5) Serpent (3) Despair (7) Thrash (4) Always (4) Marsupial (5) Trifles (6) Die (6) Commerce (5)

DOWN: 1 Sponsorship (5) 2 Pane (5) 3 Skill (3) 4 Cord (6) 5 Sea-eagle (4) 6 Performed (3) 7 Confess (5) 8 Cap (5) 13 Varied (7) 14 Map-book (5) 16 Forgive (7) 18 Avarice (5) 19 Insect (3) 22 Curtain (5) 24 Rug (3) 27 Staggered (6) 28 Diminish (5) 29 Confusion (5) 31 Egg-shaped (5) 32 Parched (5) 34 Fly (4) 36 Equipment (3) 37 Hatchet (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Heated 5, Stable 9, Wafer 10, Rafter 11, Earned 12, Reedy 14, Said 17, Dry 18, Here 20, Shrew 22, Jaded 23, Pirated 24, Baton 26, Tenet 29, Edit 30, Fit 32, Site 33, Vicar 35, Regain 36, Puppet 37, Ceded 38, Reeked 39, Render.

DOWN: 1, Harass 2, Affair 3, Ewer 4, Dared 5, Seedy 6, Tray 7, Banned 8, Endued 13, Erratic 15, Ahead 16, Depot 18, Hades 19, Reset 21, Win 22, Jet 24, Bearer 25, Tingle 27, Nipped 28, Tester 30, Fined 31, Taper 33, Vice 34, Rude.

How to Play Sudoku

P

lace a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

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