Crisis, as Audu, Kogi gov candidate dies

...towards a better life for the people

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VOL. 25: NO. 62633

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

N150

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

NLNG University Support Programme From left: Anthony Anwuka, Minister of State for Education; Mohammed Dewa, Chairman, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Governing Council; Babs Omotowa, MD, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd, (NLNG); Muhammad Bashir Saidu, representing Mallam Nasir ElRufai, Governor of Kaduna State; HM Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, Obi of Onitsha and Chancellor of ABU; with Vice Chancellor, ABU, Prof. Ibrahim Garba at the commissioning of the new NLNG funded N340m multi-user engineering laboratories at ABU, Zaria, weekend.

FUEL SCARCITY: Forex frustrates products importation ...as weekly sale to BDCs falls by $100m 8&9

Crisis, as Audu, Kogi gov candidate dies •Lawyers divided, as Constitutional crisis looms •Life and political struggles of Prince Abubakar Audu •AGF should head to Supreme Court — News Analysis •Tinubu leads APC chieftains to burial today Lagos robbery kingpin arrested at a party in Sapele

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor, Kingsley Fanwo & Boluwaji Obahopo

LATE ABUBAKAR AUDU L

OKOJA—THE wait for a new governor of Kogi State following last Saturday’s governorship election turned into a constitutional crisis, yesterday, after the leading candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu died after he had taken a

Continues on Page 4

Ooni-elect leaves Ilofi for crowning today 11 •Agbara bank robbery kingpin, Kelly Fotor (right) and venue of the wedding party where he was arrested in Sapele, Delta State (left). See story on Page 7.

N18,000 minimum wage:

Prepare

for war, NLC tells govs

8

How the military under developed the Police

COLUMNISTS:

The enemy within •P.19 C M Y K

• Late Abubakar Audu, APC Governorship candidate in the weekend election in Kogi State, who died, yesterday.

Buhari now going solo

•P.20

Under the military, the police gradually deteriorated. It became possible to cite them for the most heinous to the most trivial acts that violate the rights of the very citizens whose friend they purported to be. See pages 38 & 39 for the details in your soar away Vanguard today.

Mr & Mrs

2—Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23 , 2015

NOUN VC warns study centres on illegal fees

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HE Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN, Professor Vincent Ado Tenebe, has admonished directors of the various study centres across the country not to work against the goals of the institution, warning that severe consequences awaited those found to be charging illegal “administrative fees”, at variance with what is stipulated by the University authorities.

Professor Tenebe,who gave the warning at the 98th Meeting of the Senate of the University, in response to allegations by some students that they were being overburdened by “illegal” fees in various Study Centers, emphasized that “no Study Centre had the authority to charge and collect fees from students, as all charges must be paid into the authorized account of the University.”

The vice-chancellor said that everywhere in the world, “Open and Distance Learning programmers are expensive to run because of their enormous flexibility” but that the Federal Government had gone a long way in substantially subsidizing the various charges paid by students to ensure that the burden was not passed on them. And in spite of the high cost, NOUN has regularly upgraded the system for effectiveness, which has been sustained over the years.”

The vice-chancellor reiterated the University’s commitment to inculcate into Nigerians moral values over and above greed and the quest for material possession. In his worlds, “NOUN is conceived and designed to be a foundry for the production of expert thinkers - graduates who are intellectually trained to make a positive impact on their society.”

NOUN’s i-learn, eassessment and ecourseware technologies are indicative of the fact that in the next few years, the University will become a major centre of excellence in the world, and a pride to Nigeria. The management of NOUN in its quest to fight corruption, has made public the authentic fees as stipulated by the University and called on the students to check the website.

INAUGURAL FLIGHT: From left, Oba Kabiru Adelaja Agbabiaka, the Osolo of Isolo, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, MD/CEO, Med-View Airline; Oba Rilwan Akiolu, the Oba of Lagos and some other traditional rulers from Lagos State at a ceremony to celebrate Med-View Airlines inaugural flight from Lagos to London held at Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, Central London on Saturday. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele

Buhari assures on building of vibrant TV, media economy

By Benjamin Njoku

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RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has assured that his Administration will facilitate the building of a vibrant television and media economy to unleash the latent energy of the country’s key media and entertainment industry.

"As part of providing this requisite environment, this Administration will ensure a strict adherence to the plan to reach

Regulatory fines not good for investment image — LCCI

By Franklin Alli

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HE Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, yesterday, expressed concerns over the spate of regulatory sanctions by the Federal Government and its agencies, asserting that it was not good for the country’s investment image.

A statement signed by LCCI President, Remi Bello, said: “We note the recent sanctions of N1.4 trillion fine imposed on MTN by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, on account of non-registration of SIM cards; N1 billion administrative charge imposed on Guinness by NAFDAC; penalty on Skye Bank to the tune of N4 billion imposed by the CBN; penalty on First Bank of N1.9 billion imposed by the CBN and N2.9 billion imposed on UBA by the CBN.” LCCI said “Already, the perception and ranking of Nigeria as an investment destination is unsatisfactory. For instance, Nigeria ranks 169 out of 189 countries profiled in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Report for 2015. It also has a ranking of 124 out of 140 countries profiled in the global competitiveness report of the World Economic Forum.

100% digital TV penetration in Nigeria by 2016, up from 49% at the end of 2013. In other words, we pledge our commitment to building a vibrant TV and Media Economy for the benefit of all Nigerians," the President said at the 35th anniversary of Silverbird, the country’s foremost media and entertainment company, in Lagos on Saturday.

President Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said Nigeria planned to use the Digital Switch Over as an opportunity to diversify the provision of channels and content. "Silverbird, with its rich

history will have to play a key role in this evolution of television and entertainment to boost production, local content, employment of our ever increasing youth, contribute significantly to the nation’s GDP," he said.

President Buhari said subSaharan Africa will have 46.46 million primary Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) homes by 2020, that is 37.6 million Free To Air and 8.86 million pay TV, up from 9.27 million at the end of 2013 and 0.53 million at the end of 2010.

"Nigeria will be the largest DTT nation in Africa in 2020,

both for Free To Air - that is 9.07 million - and for pay, that is 3.59 million. As Silverbird seeks to deliver exceptional family entertainment to this important growth market, it will need to adjust its models to suit the market conditions to achieve the objective of maximizing the reach of the Silverbird Channel in the Nigerian market, and that it will have to do through a Free to Air model. The target markets for Free To Air are the 26-millionplus TV households, and the growth of DTT in Nigeria is accelerating much faster than the growth in the pay- V market," the President said.

94 capital market operators risk certificate cancellation

By Nkiruka Nnorom

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ECURITIES and Exchange Commission, SEC, is set to withdraw the licenses of about 94 capital market operators, CMOs, operating in different categories of the market for failing to render statutory returns and complying with the new minimum capital requirement.

While all the affected operators are inactive, 18 of them are under suspension for various infractions.

Two of them, Oceanic Trustee Limited and PHB Asset Management, are undergoing liquidation, while one, Unic Insurance Plc, has no information on its shareholders fund.

An operator in the capital market is adjudged to be inactive if it has not executed any transaction in the market for a period of six months.

Also, operators in the market are required to render quarterly returns to the Commission. In a notice on its website, tagged, “PreNotice on Cancellation of Certificates of Registration of Inactive Capital Market Operators”, SEC gave the affected

CMOs until December 4, 2015 to provide tangible reasons why they should retain their registrations as CMOs. The SEC said: “The 94 Capital Market Operators were registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission for various functions in the Nigerian Capital market.

However, these CMOs have consistently failed to render their statutory returns to the Commission and may have been unable to comply with the new minimum capital requirements before the deadline stipulated by the Commission, which expired on September 30, 2015.”

The affected operators are 2As Amao Consult, AIQ Venture Capital Fund Managers Ltd, Allbond Investment Ltd, Amalgamated capital Funds, Associated Investment Trust Co. Ltd, Bayhead Alpha Capital Ltd, Bluebird Capital Ltd, Seasons Trust & Investment Ltd, Securities Solutions Ltd, Securities Trading & Investment Ltd, Skylimit Investment Ltd, Slamad Securities, Stacoprime Capital,

Stock Investment Ltd, Synergy Inv. & SEC Ltd, Taricol Inv. Ltd, Treasureline Interlink Ltd, Truevine Global Asset Mgt Ltd, Unic Insurance Plc, UTB Trustee Ltd, Ventures & Trust Ltd, Vileo Capital & Asset Mgt, Visa Investment & SEC Ltd, West African Infrastructute Investment Managers Ltd, WizeTrade Capital & Asset Mgt Ltd, WT Securities Ltd and Zuma Securities Ltd. Others are Boston Capital Investment Ltd, Brickfield Road Associates Ltd, Capital Partners Ltd, Capital Structures Ltd, Circular Trust Ltd, Citi Asset Mgt Ltd, Citizens Inv. & SEC Ltd, City Investment Mgt Ltd, Consolidated Investment Ltd, Consult and Capital Ltd, Dakal Services Ltd, Deap Capital Mgt & Trust Ltd, De-Canon Investment Ltd, Development Business Co., Dolbic Finance Ltd, EazyTrdae Concept Ltd, Equinox Asset Mgt Ltd, Express Discount Ltd, Fisrt Alstate Securities Ltd and Gombe Securities Ltd, among others.

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 — 3

4—Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

POCKET CARTOON with Wada scoring 199, 514 votes.

He, however, declared the election inconclusive on the fact that no party could be declared the winner since the number of cancelled votes was more than the difference between the APC and the PDP.

Inconclusive election

BUHARI IN IRAN—President Muhammadu Buhari being welcomed by the Iranian Deputy President, Mr Shariat Madari; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyema; Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola and Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr Ibe Kachikwu at the Mehrabad Airport, Tehran ahead of the 3rd Summit of the Gas Exporting Country's Forum in Iran, yesterday.

Crisis, as Audu, Kogi gov candidate dies Continues from Page 1 commanding lead over the incumbent governor, Captain Idris Wada.

Audu contested the election on the banner of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and had won 240,827 votes to beat Wada who contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to second place. However, because of the irregularities that trailed the election, polling was cancelled in 59 polling units, a development that led to the declaration of the election as inconclusive. Audu's death is an unprecedented development not envisaged by the constitution and the Electoral Act. The circumstances of Audu’s death in his

country home in Ogbonicha were still cloudy, yesterday, but sources disclosed that it followed complaints of stomach ache that commenced about Thursday.

His ill-health Sources said the condition which was first noticed in Lokoja worsened in his country home in Ogbonicha but aides were able to manage the prince to vote in the election in which he was standing as a governorship candidate for the sixth time.

His condition, however, worsened late on Saturday and by yesterday morning he had died even before the result of the election could be declared. An

IT'S UP TO YOU

BY AYO ADIO IFE is tough but you are tougher, as long as you never give up, you will always rise above what life throws at you. It's up to you.

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TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

The art of listening is being consciously abreast with the needs of others— Take Heart Quotes

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OMETIMES we may feel inadequate thinking we are not doing enough, and our whole existence is not as meaningful as a famous person, or even some inventor. Each of us, have the power to inspire, guide, and bring entirely new insights to the lives of others. The way to do this effectively is through your life; your words and actions can either uplift or limit others? For instance, we are surrounded with loved ones, friends, neighbours and colleagues, people who just need someone to listen, not give advice.

SAYINGS OF OUR PEOPLE What you can control shouldn't control you.

eerie silence enveloped the country home as family members waited for the results of the election to be declared far away in Lokoja.

Sources disclosed that at least two doctors from the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja and other medical personnel had been attending to him in his residence for some time and were with him until he died yesterday morning.

However, it was not until about 2.30 p.m. that suspicion on the fate of the APC candidate emerged to the outside world. That was when an ambulance from the Federal Medical Centre arrived to carry the corpse, but the ambulance eventually left without the corpse of the late Audu.

Among the early arrivals at the Ogbonicha country home were his running mate, James Faleke, Senator Dino Melaye, a former minister, Abah Humphrey; senior officials of the Audu Campaign among others.

There were suggestions last night that Audu, a Muslim, could be buried as early as this morning.

APC chieftains led by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu are expected to witness the burial today.

Earlier yesterday, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had declared the election as inconclusive despite the commanding lead taken by Audu over Governor Wada, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The INEC, returning officer for the election, Prof. Emmanuel Kucha of Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, had announced Audu as having polled 240,827 votes to top the election

Though the election was peaceful across the three senatorial districts, the election was cancelled in 59 polling units across 18 Local Government areas of the state due to nonusage of the card reader, over voting, ballot snatching, violence and other irregularities.

Kucha said: “Since the number of cancelled votes was 49,953 while the difference between the votes scored by the APC and PDP candidates stood at 41,353, the election could not yet be declared as conclusive.

“Applying provision of INEC guideline, page 22 - 23 paragraph 4(m), the election will be reconducted in 59 polling units across 18 LGAs”.

The breakdown of the result declared so far shows that the late Audu won 16 out of the 21 Local Government Areas of the

state while Wada won five of the LGAs. The APC won in Yagba East, Yagba West, Kabba/ Bunu, Ijumu, Lokoja, Kogi, Okehi, Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ibaji, Ankpa, Igalamela/Odolu, Ofu, Olamaboro and Idah LGAs; while PDP won Mopamuro, Dekina, Okene, Ogori/Mangogo and Omala LGAs The result of the election shows that all the major gladiators won in their respective Local governments, with the late Audu winning his LG, Ofu; his Deputy, Faleke won Ijumu LG; while Governor Wada won his LG, Dekina; and his Deputy, Yomi Awoniyi won his LG, Mopamuro.

A further breakdown shows that the. Governor won only one local

government in the Western senatorial axis and two each from the Central and Eastern senatorial axis of the state.

INEC, before the news of Audu’s death, had promised to communicate a new date for the conduct of the rescheduled election in the affected polling units to the parties.

The following are the LGAs and numbers of cancelled votes: Adavi 2134, Ajaokuta 1406, Ankpa 6021, Bassa 742, Dekina 17,454, Ibaji 2665, Idah 310, Igalamela/ Odolu 1501, Ijumu 705, Kabba/Bunu 1767, Kogi 1689, Lokoja 2854, Ofu 4679, Okehi 403, Okene 676, Olamaboro 2046, Omala 2526 and Yagba West 375.

Life and political struggles of Prince Abubakar Audu

By Kingsley Fanwo

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OKOJA—PRINCE Abubakar Audu bestrode the political landscape of Kogi State from its creation in 1991 till his death yesterday when he was about to make it a triple as governor of the Confluence state.

Born 68 years ago into a royal family in Ogbonicha, Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, the late politician showed signs of greatness at a tender age. His late father, HRH Pa Audu Oyidi, Orego Attah of Igalaland was the paramount ruler of Ogbonicha-Alloma.

Prince Abubakar Audu was the first elected governor of Kogi State in 1992 on the platform of the defunct National Republican Convention.

He was responsible for the laying of the infrastructural foundation of the state.

He was responsible for the establishment of the Kogi State University, Kogi State Polytechnic, Kogi State Broadcasting Corporation and many

other institutions in the state. His first spell as governor ended with General Sani Abacha’s dismantling of the structures of the Third Republic on November 17, 1993.

In 1999, Audu contested and won the governorship election for the second time on the platform of the defunct All Peoples Party, APP having defeated the late Arc. Stephen Olorunfemi of the People’s Democratic Party. He was a politician cherished by the Igala people of Kogi State.

His bid for re-election was truncated in 2003 when he lost to PDP’s Alhaji Ibrahim Idris. The 2003 loss heralded a chain of loses in 2007, 2008 and 2011. He was cruising to victory in his sixth governorship contest conducted on Saturday, against the incumbent governor, Capt. Idris Wada. Audu was believed to have died yesterday morning before the election was declared inconclusive yesterday evening.

Prince Audu was a

charismatic and flamboyant leader who was never afraid of confronting authorities in his lifetime. For many years, he was the leader of opposition politics in Kogi State, sinking his resources into nurturing parties such as the National Republican Convention, the defunct APP, the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN and lately, the All Progressives Congress.

He will be sorely missed by the political community in the confluence state.

His socio-economic contribution in the state is to date a point of reference to the generality of the people and many aspiring leaders. Some of his major achievements during his first two stints in office include the establishment of three different housing schemes for public officers consisting of over 1,500 housing units in Lokoja, the transformation of Lokoja township with asphalt roads, street lights, Continues on Page 5

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015—5

LOGGING OUT—Late Audu arriving to cast his vote in the Kogi governorship election on Saturday. Photo: NAN.

KOGI: Constitutional crisis looms ....Lawyers divided over fresh polls or conclusion of exercise

By Clifford Ndujihe, Charles Kumolu, Gbenga Oke & Omezia Ajayi

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AGOS—DIVISION was the lot of lawyers, yesterday, over how the country could proceed with the Kogi State governorship election following the death of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu.

With results from the 21 local councils of the state, Audu with 240,867 votes was on his way to a historic third electoral victory after six attempts as his closest challenger, Governor Idris Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has 199,514 votes.

However, instead of being declared as the winner of the election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced yesterday afternoon that the election was inconclusive, saying that there would be re-run polls in 59 polling units

which have about 49,000 registered voters.

Audu died shortly after the announcement raising questions on how the exercise could be concluded because the the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act are silent on what should be done if a candidate dies while the election is on-going.

There should be fresh election – Braithwaite Speaking on the issue yesterday, Second Republic politician and legal icon, Dr Tunji Braithwaite said the demise of Prince Audu calls for a fresh governorship election in Kogi.

His words: First, it is sad that Audu died. Our thoughts are with his family at this time.

However, coming to mankind, life and activities must go on. If the front runner in an election drops dead, the next person with higher votes cannot automatically be declared winner.

Life and political struggles of Prince Abubakar Audu Continues from Page 4 aesthetic roundabouts, the construction of intertownship and rural roads, over 75 electrification schemes and 50 water projects.

Others include the founding of Kogi State Polytechnic, the establishment of a television station, radio station (both AM and FM), a state newspaper, the transformation of the colonial residence of

Lord Lugard into an U l t r a - M o d e r n Government House Complex, the construction of office blocks for ministries as the new state had no office accommodation, the construction of shopping arcade complex to enhance commercial activities, among others.

He was regarded as the father of development in Kogi State.

‘’The deceased according, to INEC scored higher votes. Audu’s death calls for another election. The incumbent, Capt Idris Wada will continue as governor until another election. There must be another election.’’

Just another election – Adegbuyi Dr Braithwaite’s views were shared by Barr Bisi Adegbuyi, a stalwart of the Afenifere Renewal group, ARG. ‘’There is nothing other holding another election.

APC should be allowed to present another candidate. Since the election has not been concluded, the deputy governorship candidate cannot take his place, he is not the candidate,’’ he said.

The re-run polls should be concluded – Basorun However, Chief Olorunfunmi Basorun, Second Republic politician and Secretary to the Lagos State Government under Governor Lateef Kayode Jakande, said the re-run polls in 59 polling units should be concluded and the winner declared by INEC. Reason: ‘’It is the party that matters. The party sponsored the candidates.

In 1999, when Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was nominated as Vice presidential candidate, although the Adamawa governorship election had been concluded, the deputy governorship-elect, Boni Haruna, stepped in. So, the INEC should conduct the election in the remaining polling units and declare the winner.’’

Audu’s running mate should step in – Quakers

In his reaction, Mr Norris Quakers, SAN, said since the Nigerian Constitution did not envisage what has happened, it makes it tricky and dicey.

He however said, “In my thinking, if you read sections 36, 39 and 40 of the Electoral Act as amended, I think the Independent Electoral Commission will have to conduct elections in those areas where they are inconclusive. What the party that was affected needs to do is to allow the deputy governorship candidate run as its governorship candidate while a new deputy governorship candidate is picked”.

Ticket belongs to APC – Ngige On his part, Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN, said: ‘’There is no lacuna. In Adamawa, after Obasanjo picked Atiku, who had already won the governorship election in the state to be his running mate, the opposition led

by Bala Takaya kicked against the decision to pick Haruna as a replacement for Audu.

The opposition went to the Federal High Court to stop it and the matter dragged to the Supreme Court that it was right for Haruna, who was Abubakar’s running mate to become the governor.

The opposition demanded for fresh election but that was rejected by the Supreme Court. ‘’However, this is a peculiar situation. What is happening now is a combination of a lot of issues.

In Rotimi Amaechi’s case the court ruled that it was the party that owned the ticket. It also said that the party owned the votes. So, such a scenario may play up this time again. The situation we have at hand is called a reccondite situation in law. And it will require a lot of interpretations. I foresee a very stormy and testing period for INEC. The judiciary will also be put on trial. ‘’In Amaechi’s case, he had no running mate but since the court had ruled that the party owned the ticket, Ikuru, who was Omehia’s deputy, became his deputy. In my opinion, I will say that the APC owns the ticket. INEC should go ahead with the elections and conclude it because the votes belong the the APC.’’ A source at the INEC headquarters in Abuja said yesterday: “Ordinarily, the commission would normally cancel the polls and fix another date for the election, but since an election has been conducted, INEC can give seven days to the party to announce another candidate before the conduct of the supplementary polls.”

KOGI SCENARIO:

AGF should head to Supreme Court News Analysis by

Innocent Anaba, Head, Judiciary, Law and Human Rights

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AGOS—THE death of the Kogi State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Abubakar Audu, weekend, has brought to fore the need for drafters of the country’s constitution and Electoral Act to be more forward looking in preparing those documents to ensure that all scenarios are captured in the documents.

Today, the Electoral Act only provides that in case a candidate dies before an election, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is mandatorily required to postpone the poll.

It stated in section 36 “(1): "If after the time for the delivery of nomination paper and before the commencement of the poll, a nominated candidate dies, the Chief National Electoral Commissioner or the Resident Electoral Commissioner shall, being satisfied of the fact of the death, countermand the poll in which the deceased candidate was to participate and the Commission shall appoint some other convenient date for the election within 14 days.”

But no provision was made for a situation, where a candidate dies during election like what has happened in Kogi State. The Electoral Act and constitution did not give the electoral body the power to pursue a specific line of action in this kind of situation, particularly where an election is inconclusive as it is in Kogi State today.

It will be recalled that INEC had declared the Kogi gubernatorial election inconclusive following the cancellation of the results of the poll in 59 polling units from 18 of the 21 local government areas of the state.

Announcing the decision on Sunday in Lokoja, the state capital, the Returning Officer for the election, Prof.

Emmanuel Kucha, said the cancellation of 49,453 votes in 18 local government areas.

The issues that arose from of the Kogi scenario include, should the electoral body substitute the governorship candidate with his deputy, who only emerged a deputy by being selected by the gubernatorial candidate?

It must be remembered that the deputy did not emerge the candidate of the party and his

ascending to the substantive position of governor is only when he has been sworn-in alongside the governor and death comes knocking or the governor is incapacitated, as provided by section 181 of the constitution, which provides: (1) If a person duly elected as Governor dies before taking and subscribing the Oath of Allegiance and oath of office, or is unable for any reason whatsoever to be sworn in, the person elected with him as Deputy governor shall be sworn in as governor and he shall nominate a new Deputy-Governor who shall be appointed by the Governor with the approval of a simple majority of the House of Assembly of the State.”

Interestingly, the Kogi election was declared inconclusive before Abubakar Audu’s death, as no winner was announced by INEC. So, what should INEC do?

The quickest and perhaps the most viable, which will placate any form of protest and to serve as a precedence is for the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, to approach the Supreme Court straight away with an application for the interpretation of the constitution, so that the apex court can clear the coast on what should be done in the immediate, whether a fresh election should be held in the state or the APC deputy candidate should stand in place for Abubakar Audu or proffer the way forward in the interim.

Then afterwards, the National Assembly should amend the Electoral Act on what should happen, since amending the constitution is far more problematic given the processes that must be followed.

Also, to ensure that all scenarios are captured in the Electoral Act, so that we are not left gasping again, when some other thing happens in the course of election, the Federal Government, should also propose an amendment of the Act, which can be presented as an executive bill to the National Assembly proposing the required amendments to the Act. The makers of our laws must start being broad and forward looking and make laws that will stand the test of time, so that we don’t repeat the Rotimi Amaechi’s case against Celestine Omahia, which the apex court after adjusting warned should not be cited as precedent.

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23 , 2015

Police kill 4 alleged kidnappers during gun battle in Rivers •Rescue kidnapped Poly registrar

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By Jimitota Onoyume

ORT HARCOURT—FOUR suspected kidnappers lost their lives weekend at Kaani in Khana local government area during a fierce gun battle with men of the Rivers State police command.

The state Police Commissioner, Mr Musa Kimo, who disclosed this in a press statement Saturday night, said his men stormed the hideout of the kidnappers of the Registrar, Ken Sarowiwa Polytechnic, Bori, Mrs Lilian Davies, for her rescue when the

hoodlums opened fire on them.

The Police chief said during the exchange of fire, his men gunned down four of the kidnappers and successfully rescued the hostage.

He said his men recovered a locally made pistol, one magazine, 25 rounds of 7.62 live

ammunition and five cartridges from the hoodlums.

The Registrar, Mrs Davies, was taken hostage last Wednesday along Yeghe-Bori road on her way from the office.

The state police boss appealed for support from the public to rid the state of miscreants and hoodlums.

Drug dealer stabs man to death in Imo O

By Chidi Nkwopara

WERRI—UMUELE— UMUELE, Umunakanu, in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State, has been thrown into deep mourning, following the alleged gruesome murder of a member of the community, Mr. Onyekaozuru Ezeji.

Vanguard gathered that troubled started when Ezeji, a bricklayer, went on a debt recovery drive to the home of his alleged killer, also a member of the community.

Although it was not clear at press time how much was owed the deceased bricklayer, Vanguard, however, gathered that the suspect, said to be an Indian hemp dealer, threatened to summarily deal with Ezeji if he did not leave his premises immediately.

“A scuffle ensued midway into their shouting match and the man brought out a sharp knife and stabbed Ezeji. He started bleeding profusely from the wound sites” a witness who pleaded anonymity recounted.

The eyewitness said the Indian Hemp dealer quickly invited a commercial motorcycle operator to assist him move the wounded man to a nearby hospital.

He also recalled that the victim collapsed and died before getting to the anticipated hospital, following which the duo dumped the lifeless body of Mr. Ezeji on the road side and fled.

“Officers and men of Ehime Mbano Police Division quickly rushed to the place as soon as they got a report about the incident, and moved Ezeji’s remains to an undisclosed hospital morgue,” the witness said.

Vanguard also gathered that two persons, including the younger brother of the fleeing suspect and the commercial motorcycle operator, have been arrested by the police, while the main suspect is still on the run at press time.

While confirming the incident to newsmen, the Vice Chairman of Umuele kindred, Mr. Ethel Ogu, also said the town union executives had severally advised the fleeing drug dealer to stop the illicit trade but he refused.

“We severally warned the suspect to stop the illicit drug trade, which fuelled influx of unknown faces into our kindred at odd times, but he never took the warning before this incident,”Ogu said.

When Vanguard visited the

palace of the traditional ruler of Umunakanu autonomous community, Eze Onyeji, his aides said that although he was not at home at the time, he quickly said he would not want to be drawn into the incident.

The mobile line of the Police Public

Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Andrew Enwerem, a deputy superintendent of police, could not be reached before press time, for his comment, but another police source claimed that Homicide Detectives had already started investigating the matter.

FUEL SCARCITY: Queues of jerry cans at NNPC Filling Station, along LASU-Isheri road, Isheri-Olofin, as fuel scarcity bites harder in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Bunmi Azeez.

Patient attacks medical personnel, others in Ogun

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By Daud Olatunji

BEOKUTA—A mild drama ensued midnight Saturday at State Hospital,Ijaiye, Abeokuta, Ogun State, as a patient went wild and beat up medical personnel and other patients.

Trouble started when the male patient (name withheld ), who was admitted in the Emergency Treatment Room,ETR, alongside other patients rose from his bed at 11:05pm and reportedly launched attacks on the people on sight and vandalised the ward.

Vanguard gathered that the attack launched by the patient, forced doctors, nurses and other medical personnel on duty to take cover, and bolted of from the ward.

The first victim of the attack by

the wild patient was his mother, who he allegedly beat up black before attacking other patients .

Some patients who were able to escape the wrath of the violent patient, sneaked out of the ward after pulling out infusion needle from their vein, while those who could not lift themselves got beaten by the patient.

However, some of the patients and relatives who spoke with Vanguard on anonymity, said the patient was admitted following head injuries he sustained during a face off with some unidentified security men who arrested him at an odd hour.

“We were told that he had a face off with some security on the street and sustained injuries on the head,and was brought to hospital and subsequently admitted and

given treatment. Just a few minutes after the doctors and nurses attended to him,and patients were asleep, he rose to launch attack on everything in sight. His mother was the first victim, who he beat mercilessly,’ a patient recalled When Vanguard visited the hospital yesterday, traces of bloodstain, which were a fallout of the attacks littered the ground,as some of the patients and relatives were seen recounting their experiences.

Meanwhile, the Medical Director of the Hospital, Kayode Oladeinde, when contacted, declined comment on the ugly development,saying,”I am a civil servant and have no authority to speak to the press, except I am permitted, so I cannot say anything on it.”

Lawyer arraigned over alleged impersonation, forgery

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By Onozure Dania

AGOS—THE police have charged a 30year-old lawyer, Stephen Anebere, before an Igbosere Magistrate’s court for alleged impersonation, forgery and stealing of £50,000.

The defendant, who resides at Dominion Court, Ado road, Ajah, Lagos, is standing trial on a ninecount charge bordering on conspiracy, impersonation, fraud, stealing, cheating, criminal breach of trust and forgery preferred against him by the police.

The prosecutor, Inspector Raji Akeem, told the court that the lawyer and one other still at large, committed the alleged offences between February 2013 and September 2015.

He said the incident took place at ESCC education at 16 Karimu Ikotun Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Akeem said the defendant falsely impersonated an officer of ESCC education, claiming to be the owner of the institution.

He also said the defendant fraudulently obtained the sum of £50,000 from students of Sunderland University of United Kingdom under the pretext of being the owner of ESCC Education UK in Nigeria.

The prosecutor also alleged that the defendant diverted the said money, property of ESCC Education, Nigeria, affiliated to Sunderland University of United Kingdom, to his personal use.

He further alleged that the defendant on September 3, 2015, at about 2.50pm at the same address above, forged an invoice to fraudulently obtain £870, which is equivalent to N240,000, from First Bank, Lekki branch.

When the charge was read to the defendant, he pleaded not guilty.

Magistrate M. Kusham granted the defendant bail in the sum of N 250,000, with two sureties, each in like sum.

The case has been adjourned till December 14 for mention.

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23 , 2015—7

Gunmen abduct clergyman, demand N6m as ransom in Rivers

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By Davies Iheanmachor

U M U J I — UNIDENTIFIED gunmen, last weekend, abducted a pastor at Rumuji in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The clergyman, Pastor Peter, who also deals in phone accessories, was accosted around 8pm last Friday and taken away to an unknown destination at gunpoint.

A source who related the incident to Vanguard, disclosed that the clergyman was just returning from his business when the strange visitors invaded and took him away.

The source said before the armed men kidnapped their victim, they harassed everyone around the residence and took all their phones.

It also disclosed that so far, the relatives of the victim had established contact with the kidnappers, disclosing that the kidnappers were demanding N6 million ransom to grant him freedom.

Meanwhile, the police have said they raided a suspected kidnappers’ hide out in Emohua Local Government Area.

The men of the police force stormed a tick forest at the boundary between Ndele and Rumuekpe communities based on intelligence gathering and raided the safe haven for criminal gangs.

Ndele of recent had been in the front burner of kidnap and criminal activities.

Recall that last month, five teachers were abducted from Rundele secondary school and are yet to be released.

A senior police officer in the area disclosed that they arrested a native doctor suspected to be the person who made charms for the boys that had been terrorizing the area.

It also said some charms already prepared were also confiscated during the operation that lasted about two hours.

NABBED: The suspects arrested over alleged murder of one Akeem Ajanaku at Enu-Owa/Ido Olowu area of Lagos Island.

LAGOS FRACAS: 8 in Police net for alleged murder

By Esther Onyegbula & Ufuoma Tiveruahor

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AGOS—LAGOS State police command, weekend, arrested eight persons for allegedly murdering one Akeem Ajanaku who was attacked at Enu-Owa/ Ido Olowu area of Lagos Island.

The suspects, identified as Animashaun Akeem, Qudus Atakoro, Abduramon Onisemo, Muritala Oyejobi, Tabiu Mujib, Iyaniwura Idris, Tayo Oladimeji, and Segun Adeyemi, were arrested by the police at the scene of the murder, while others escaped.

Vanguard learned that on November, 15, 2015, at about 1pm,

Ido-Olowa/Enu-owa on Lagos Island, was invaded by thugs armed with cutlasses, axes, guns and other dangerous weapons which they used to attack one Akeem Ajanaku.

According to Supol Segun Adebayo, who reported the case at Central Police Station, AdenijiAdele, Lagos, “the victim, Akeem Ajanaku, was rushed to Lagos Island General Hospital by the police and other sympathizers; unfortunately, he gave up the ghost.”

The case was later transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, Lagos State Police Command, for further

investigation.

Vanguard gathered that investigation is still on going to apprehend other members of the gang who are currently on the run.

Suspects account

One of the suspects, Tayo Oladimeji, explained his role: “I was at home sleeping on a Saturday morning when I heard my mum’s voice asking if I wont go to work. Reluctantly, I got up from my bed and headed towards the bathroom to take my bath when I was arrested.’’

Denying the allegation, Segun said: “I don’t know

anything. I was in my shop that Monday when policemen came to arrest me, saying I was involved in last Sunday’s fracas on Lagos Island. The only encounter that I had was when some unknown guys came to me at Oduduwa bus stop and collected my wristwatch. ‘’Immediately I was arrested, I called my parents but I couldn’t reach them and then police also seized my phone and brought me here (Lagos command)this morning. While I was in the police custody, I was told that Major and Paulo called my mobile phone. I don’t know the reason they were calling me.”

How drunken gang member shot dead 9 DSS officials at Arepo —Agbara robbery kingpin •Says gang made N28 million at Agbara robbery operation

By Ifeanyi Okolie

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AGOS—Leader of the dreaded gang of bank robbers which had been terrorising commercial banks in Lagos and Ogun states in military uniforms has disclosed that his gang never intended to kill nine officials of the Department of State Service, DSS, who went missing last September.

The suspect, identified as Kelly Fotor, an Ijaw native of Arugbo, Ondo State, was arrested last Saturday by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team, SIRT, at a wedding ceremony in Sapele, Delta State.

Gun battle with Police and arrest

Vanguard gathered that the suspect, who was at the ceremony with some armed men, had a gun duel with the operatives which led to the killing of one of the policemen, while Fotor and three of his colleagues, were arrested with bullet wounds.

It was gathered that the SIRT operatives, led by CSP, Abba Kyari, who had been on the trail of the

gang, trailed Fotor to the wedding ceremony after their last operation at Agbara area of Ogun State where they robbed a bank and left three persons, including a pregnant woman, dead.

Fotor, who sustained a bullet wound during the shootout, told Vanguard while he was being transported for treatment that he was the leader of the South South group of the gang.

He explained that the gang also had a Lagos leader who he identified as Ossy, adding that his gang was made up of 12 men, including himself, with bases in Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa and Ondo states.

Fotor also said his gang normally teamed up with their Lagos group for operations, disclosing to Vanguard that he and his gang were formerly into sea piracy before teaming up with Ossy.

According to him, Ossy is the leader of the pipeline vandals at Arepo and Ikorodu areas.

Lekki, Ikorodu, Festac and Agbara robbery operations

Fotor also said he and his men took part in the Lekki, Ikorodu, Festac and Agbra bank robberies,

adding that they made N28 million from Agbara bank robbery.

“I and my group got N14 million share from the Agbara operation, while, Ossy and his group got N14 million. I left Lagos by sea that day after that operation with my men back to Igbokoda, Ondo State, where we shared the money and everyone got his share of the loot. ‘’It was Ossy’s men who usually pick out our targets.

They were the ones who picked out all the targets, my job was to give support and my boat is very big and my boat boy is a professional and knows his way around the water very well,” he stated When Vanguard inquired who was the woman in the group, he explained that there was no woman in the gang.

He, however, said it was one of Ossy’s boys who normally dressed like a woman during operations.

How the DSS operatives were killed On how they killed the nine

DSS officials, Fotor told Vanguard that as commanders of the groups, he and Ossy never intended to kill the operatives when they were captured.

He explained that the operatives stormed their hideout wanting to rescue a woman who they abducted from Festac.

He explained further: “ One of our boys who was heavily drunk met us while we were interrogating the suspects after we captured them and he opened fire on them. ‘’I was at their camp at Ikorodu when the DSS operatives were captured and they brought them before me and Ossy and they knelt down and we interrogated them, but that guy, he was Ossy’s man. He was very drunk, walked in and without asking questions opened fire on all of them and killed them. Neither myself nor Ossy ordered their killing, we never wanted to kill them," he explained.

Meanwhile, Vanguard gathered that Fotor and three other suspects arrested along with him have been transferred to Abuja, while SIRT operatives are still combing the area for other members of the gang.

8—Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23 , 2015

COLLATION: From left: Resident Electoral Coommissioner (REC) for Kogi State, Alhaji Haliru Pai; Returning Officer for Kogi Governorship Election, Prof. Emmanuel Kucha and assistant to the Returning Officer, Mr Emmanuel Ayan, displaying INEC Form EC 8D, during the collation of Kogi governorship election results, in Lokoja, yesterday. Photo: NAN.

N18,000 minimum wage: Prepare for war, NLC tells govs •Plans to submit proposal for upward review

By Victor AhiumaYoung & Johnbosco Agbakwuru

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AGOS — THE Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, yesterday warned that attempts by the governors through the Governors’ Forum to renege on the N18,000 national minimum wage signed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan in March 2011, was an open declaration of war against the Nigerian workers.

Congress equally told President Muhammadu Buhari to prepare to receive the proposal for the review of the minimum wage as contained in the agreement, noting that the proposal was delayed because the NLC wanted to give the government time to settle down before coming up with the demand.

While insisting that the ability to pay even above the wage was not the problem of the economy, NLC recalled that the 2011 national minimum wage came into existence after almost two years of agitation and eventual negotiation by the tripartite of government (represented by the federal and state governments), the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, NECA, representing other employers (in the private sector) and organized Labour.

NLC, in a statement by its factional President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, told the governors to prepare for war and organised labour would have no alternative than to mobilize to respond appropriately to this act of aggression by the political class on workers’ welfare.

The statement read in part: "The Nigeria Labour Congress is

shocked by the statement credited to the chairman of the Governors Forum, Governor Abdulaziz Yari, that the N18,000 national minimum wage promulgated into law in 2011 was no longer sustainable because of the fall in the price of crude oil. The governor, who was speaking on behalf of his colleagues at the end of a meeting of the forum, also claimed that the national minimum wage was 'imposed'.

"We wish to make it abundantly clear that this attempt to reverse the national minimum wage is a declaration of war against the working people of this country, and we would have no alternative than to mobilize to respond to this act of aggression by the political class on our welfare.

“For us in the Nigeria Labour Congress, we know as a fact that ability to pay minimum wages is not the problem of the economy.

What is the problem for states and other tiers of government is the amount many political office holders and their unproductive aides take away as wages. For the private sector, the greed to accumulate more and more profit is also always a motivating factor to keep wages down.

"Similarly, we have been in the forefront of campaigning that the cost of governance at all levels needs to be drastically cut down, to free enough resources for development. The hundreds of billions of Naira our public office holders continue to filter away in the name of governance is what is not sustainable.

“For instance, the annual cost to the public purse of governors ‘security votes’ which is an unaccountable drain on the public resources, is worth several thousands of minimum wages per

state. Secondly, Nigerians who have the means to travel by air would recall that in the last 6-10 years, majority of, if not all our governors, no longer use commercial airline regular flights

as a means of transportation from one place to another. They now have ‘official’ aircrafts and helicopters, which they maintain at huge costs to the state treasury.

"Their less 'fortunate' counterparts charter aircrafts and helicopters at the cost of millions of Naira to tax payers to attend any manner of functions from marriages to child naming ceremonies.

"States are in the poor financial state they are in largely on the developmental choices they have made; largely on the basis of priorities they have chosen which has nothing to do with the public good. Workers salaries cannot be sacrificed on the altar of challenges of the economy which is not the making of workers. It has never happened in the history of our country, and it will not be said that it is during our leadership of the Nigerian labour movement that this calamity was allowed to happen to Nigerian workers.

“Governors and other political office holders were not elected and/or appointed to only go and share proceeds from crude oil and petroleum products sales monthly in Abuja. Any one putting himself or herself out to serve does so on the assumption that he or she have intellect above the average which would be leveraged to provide good and responsive governance to the rest of the populace.

"In the 60’s when Nigeria did not have oil as the main source

of our revenue, our fore bearers raised funds via efficient taxes, agricultural produce and other forms of internally generated revenue to provide development and pay living wages to the workers. Our current crop of leaders, who put themselves up for election to high government positions, must deliver by paying the working masses their due pay.

This is not negotiable.

“As early as May 2015, we gave notice that the N18,000 National Minimum Wage was due for review, and that we would be submitting a new proposal once the incoming government settled down. We have been patient and waited for the President Buhari government to appoint ministers and thus have full compliments of officers to run the government.

"With the recent devaluation of the Naira, and the attendant increase in inflation and cost of living, even without the last minimum wage Act reaching the mandatory five years when it is due for review, we would have been justified to request for review.

"Now the five years is here – we are at the end of 2015, and with the cost of living being so high, we will soon table our new minimum wage demand to the federal government. If the recent statement by the Governors Forum is intended to manoeuvre them away from addressing this imperative, then it is bound to fail as we are ready to do battle to raise the living standard of the Nigerian working people.”

BVN: Weekly FOREX sale to BDCs falls by $100m

By Bababjide Komolafe

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AGOS — THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that the introduction of the Biometric Verification Number (BVN) has led to reduction in the weekly sale of foreign exchange to bureaux de change by $100 million.

CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this weekend while speaking at the annual dinner of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

The CBN on October 22 directed that from November 1, 2015, the BVN will be used as criteria for foreign exchange transaction by BDCs and banks.

This made it illegal for BDCs and banks to sell foreign exchange to anybody without submission and verification of the BVN. Speaking on the impact of this policy on the weekly foreign exchange sales to BDCs, Emefiele said: "While it may be too soon to completely adjudicate on the merits of our policies, preliminary signs indicate that we are headed to the right direction as a people.

“For example, we have managed to attain stability in the exchange rate at about N197/$1 since February 2015, although some are not happy with us for that action.

Most speculators and rent-seekers

have been eliminated from the forex market.

“We have seen the number of BDC operators who purchase forex from the central bank every week drop from an average of about 2,886 to just below 1,200 BDCs, thereby giving the CBN forex savings of almost $100 million per week.

This policy seems to have chased away unscrupulous BDC operators and allow only genuine operators to remain in the market.

“CBN is mindful of the short term pain of some of its recent policy but pleads for the understanding of the public as the policies are in the overall interest of the country.

“The CBN would always act in good faith to pursue the goal of catalysing job creation as well as promoting job creation and inclusive growth.

Given the sharp fall in oil prices, federation allocation to states have dropped by an average of about N2 billion monthly for each. Similarly, average inflows of foreign exchange into the CBN has fallen to by about $1.3 billion per month.

“This has led to a sharp decline in our forex reserves

from as high as $37 billion as at June 2014, to $30 billion. This also resulted to speculative attack on the currency and round-tripping in the market. This incidence forced us to depreciate the naira by about 22 per cent, further leading to the gradual increase in inflation. All of these slowed down growth.

“In order to ensure transparency in the determination of the exchange rate and to eliminate the activities of speculators and rent-seekers, we closed the official central bank forex window in February and moved all transactions to the interbank market.

"Despite the significant reduction of forex inflows into the country, we continue to see the importation of items such as eggs, tomatoes, tomato purri, rice, fish, margarine and oil palm. But we know that Nigeria can produce some of these products if we set our eyes on doing so.

"Nigeria cannot continue on this path of importing everything and anything. Indeed, it is both unacceptable and unsustainable and that was the reason we decided at the central bank to prohibit items we can produce here from accessing forex from the central bank."

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23 , 2015—9

Siege to Dasuki’s home: AGF appears in court today

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

A GET-TOGETHER: From left: Mrs Kemi Akinyemi, Editor, The Elite; Mr Steve Ayorinde, Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy; Mr Bolaji Tunji, Executive Director, The Sun newspapers and Mrs Funke Egbemode, Managing Director, New Telegraph newspapers when Mr Ayorinde was hosted by friends and colleagues in Lagos, weekend. Photo: Shola Oyelese.

Fuel scarcity: FOREX frustrates products importation •Marketers urged to reschedule cargoes

By Clara Nwachukwu & Sebastine Obasi

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AGOS — THE inability of marketers to access foreign exchange from banks is said to be frustrating the importation of petroleum products, especially, premium motor spirit, PMS, or petrol, which is in very high demand in the county.

As a result, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has been called upon to look for ways and means to make foreign exchange available to marketers to ease the challenges.

This is just as the Federal Government has pleaded with marketers to reschedule their lay tan, to bring forward the period of arrival for their scheduled vessels.

Inadequate supply is contributing to the lingering fuel scarcity that set in since the past weeks despite concerted interventions by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and oil marketers to salvage the situation.

Furthermore, the fact that the N413 billion approved by the Federal Government as payment for outstanding fuel subsidy which has not been approved by the National Assembly, is not helping matters, even as consumers accuse marketers of hoarding the scarce commodity to maximise profit.

Speaking on the development, Chairman, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association, DAPPMA, Mr. Dapo Abiodun, told Vanguard on phone, yesterday, that the reason why the stakeholders’ intervention is not yielding much success is due to supply shortfall.

According to him, daily consumption is about 35 million litres despite claims to the contrary, and NNPC alone cannot meet this demand because NNPC is a supplier of last resort and not a major supplier.

“We consume more fuel in December alone; we consume a minimum of 35 million litres C M Y K

because it is a holiday period and there is a lot of movement in and out of the country. So it is not a time to play politics or to experiment with numbers because marketers normally prepare for December period.”

Non-payment of outstanding subsidy

Abiodun, however, noted that such preparations had been stalled due to the non-payment of outstanding subsidy claims and lack of access to foreign exchange.

He said: “Marketers have not been paid outstanding subsidy, although government has approved N413 billion, the highest amount approved by any government. But the National Assembly refused to approve, saying it was not part of the budget. So, it had to be included

in the supplementary budget, which is yet to be approved.

“But while we wait, the CBN must make available foreign exchange to marketers because there is no forex to pay our creditors, and we have been crying out loud on this for months but it has fallen on deaf ears. There are members who are willing to fund the import with their money, but where is the dollar equivalent for it? And even if we source the dollar from somewhere, the additional costs will be factored into the subsidy claims.”

Vessel rescheduling

Another marketer, who spoke in confidence with Vanguard on phone, disclosed that government had pleaded with three or four marketers, whose vessels were scheduled to arrive in December, to bring them forward this month.

He said: “Government told those with awaiting vessels for December, about three or four of them, to reschedule their lay tan and bring them forward to before the end of November.

He said the rescheduling of the lay tan is possible, as long as the vessels have been billed to arrive at a particular period,” adding that the supply shortages will ease once the cargoes come in.

Also speaking, a spokesman for the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, Mr. Lanre Oladele, said that sharp practices and the desire to sell the product above the official price of N87 by some marketers is responsible for the long queues being experienced in retail outlets.

Unemployment rate rises further •As agric sector dominates new job creation

By Emeka Anaeto, Economy Editor

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AGOS— Despite improvements in some key economic indices, unemployment rate has risen further in third quarter (Q3) 2015, making it the fourth consecutive rise in unemployment rate quarterly since Q3, 2014.

National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, labour reports released during the weekend showed that the number of unemployed persons in the labour force increased by 1,454,620 during the quarter, resulting in an increase in the nation’s unemployment rate to 9.9 per cent in Q3 2015 from 8.2 per cent in Q2 2015 and 7.5 per cent recorded in Q1 2015.

This came against a positive development in job creation as according to NBS Q3 job creation

report, about 427,000 new jobs were created within the same period.

However, the report indicates that the new jobs created was inadequate to match the over 1.9 million new entrants into the labour market within the period.

Further analysis of the labour report also shows that there were a total of 20.7 million persons in the labour force that were either unemployed or underemployed compared to 19.6 million in Q2 2015, and 17.7 million in Q1 2015.

Highlights of the unemployment and underemployment in Q3 2015 show a continuous rise in the economically active population or working age population (persons within ages 15- 64) increasing from 102.8 million in Q1 2015 to 103.5 million in Q2 2015 and 104.3 milion in Q3 2015.

In Q3 2015, the labour force population (those within the working age population willing,

able and actively looking for work) increased to 75.9 million from 74.0 million in Q2 2015, representing 2.6 per cent increase in the labour force.

The higher labour force population has doused the progress made in job creation where total number of new jobs recorded in the economy was 475,180, a significant increase of 42.5 per cent above 333,812 recorded in Q2 2015 and a huge 278 per cent leap against 125,837 jobs recorded in the corresponding period of 2014.

However, NBS said the increase in the number of jobs in Q3 2015 was driven mainly by informal sector jobs, which accounted for 90.2 percent of the total jobs created. It added that the informal jobs were predominantly in the agriculture sector which usually turn out heavy in the planting season of Q3.

BUJA — THE Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Malami Abubakar, SAN, will today, explain to the Federal High Court in Abuja, why the former National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), has remained under house arrest, despite a court order that permitted him to travel abroad for medical treatment.

The appearance of the AGF before the court was sequel to a summon issued on him by Justice Ademola Adeniyi.

Justice Ademola, who is presiding over the trial of the erstwhile NSA, maintained that the AGF must appear before him to explain why the court order, dated November 3, was flouted at the behest of the Federal Government.

The judge summoned the AGF after Dasuki’s lawyers, led by Mr. Joseph Daudu, SAN, informed the court that armed operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, had since November 4, barred their client from stepping out of his house.

Daudu told the court that the operatives have continued to lay siege to Dasuki’s residence at 13, John Kadiya Street, Asokoro District, Abuja, a development he said made it impossible for him to travel to the United Kingdom to keep an appointment with his doctor.

The action of the DSS came a day after the court granted Dasuki three weeks medical leave to travel abroad to take care of his budding cancer, and return to the country before November 26 for the continuation of his trial.

Dasuki is answering to a five-count criminal charge bordering on money laundering and his alleged illegal possession of firearms.

Meanwhile, the AGF, had at the press briefing in Abuja last Thursday, justified the siege to Dasuki’s home by DSS operatives, saying the action was in public interest.

The AGF said the action of the government against Dasuki was not in disobedience to any court order.

Stressing that under President Muhammadu Buhari, “there shall not be flouting of court orders," saying: “In some of these cases, some of these high profile culprits may be involved in multiple cases that might require investigation."

10—Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23 , 2015

Judge withdraws from NIMASA ex-boss suit

LFTZ tribunal: Community wants killer bullet subjected to test

By Monsuru Olowoopejo

By Innocent Anaba

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AGOS — A Federal High Court judge, sitting in Lagos, Justice Ofili Ajumogobia, has withdrawn from the fundamental human rights enforcement suit filed before the court by Mrs Beauty Akpobolokemi, wife of the embattled former Director General of Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dr Patrick Akpolobokemi against Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. When the case came up, Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia said: “For personal reasons, I am handing off this case.

Consequently, the case file will be returned to the Chief Judge for re-assignment.”

Other plaintiffs in the suit are Clement Akpobolokemi, Stephen Akpobolokemi, Julius Akpobolokemi and Victor Akpobolokemi who are biological brothers of the former NIMASA boss.

Their counsel, Dr Joseph Nwobike, in an affidavit in support of the suit, had averred that: “On July 31, 2015, fully armed operatives of EFCC, numbering about 25, stormed the residence of the former NIMASA boss at 6, Ondo Street,Banana Island, Lagos State, without any search warrant.

"The EFCC operatives harassed them and coerced Mrs Akpobolokemi to write incriminating statement against her husband on account of his stewardship at NIMASA and without the order of the court, blocked the woman’s account maintained at United Bank for Africa Plc while she was invited by the commission to report at their office on November, 5, 2015.

"They further averred that Mrs Akpobolokemi was never a staff of NIMASA and has never impeded the investigation of her husband.

"The four brothers also alleged that they have been under constant threats of arrest, intimidation and detention by EFCC on the account of being the brothers of Dr Akpobolokemi, while Julius Akpobolokemi's bank accounts domicile with Ecobak Plc and Diamond bank Plc had been frozen, Victor Akpolobokemi’s account maintained with FirstBank of Nigeria was also frozen by the commission."

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AGOS — A witness at the ongoing tribunal of inquiry into the October 12, 2015 civil disturbances that led to the death of Managing Director of Lekki Worldwide Investment Nigeria Limited, Mr. Tajudeen Disu, has demanded that the bullet removed from the deceased body be subjected to forensic test.

Counsel representing Idaso and other 12 communities, Mr. Bamidele Ogundele, made the demands before the six-man tribunal constituted by Governor

Akinwunmi Ambode, chaired by Justice Adesuyi OlateruOlagbegi (retd) in Ikeja.

Ogundele argued the bullet removed from the deceased should be “subjected to forensic test to ascertain whether it was the residents or the police attached to him that shot him. This is to ensure that there is a permanent solution to the lingering crisis.”

He noted that though the firearm cannot be easily identified but the bullet removed from the deceased is veritable evidence from the crime scene, arguing that the forensics experts have techniques to identify a bullet from a specific firearm.

The counsel to the community stated that the residents were not responsible for the death of the late managing director, adding that he must have been allegedly killed by the security officers who accompanied him to the scene.

His words: “The late Disu came to the community with 12 mobile policemen to oppress the residents; violating the residents' fundamental human rights.”

The late Disu was said to have been shot in the neck. And the bullet was removed at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Ikeja.

VISIT: From left: Senator Oluremi Tinubu; National Leader, All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari; and wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode during a courtesy visit by Mrs Buhari to Asiwaju Tinubu, at his Bourdillon residence, in Ikoyi, Lagos, weekend.

Lagos raises alarm over contaminated poultry products

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

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AGOS— THE Lagos State Government has warned residents not to buy or consume contaminated poultry products like chicken and turkey currently in circulation in the state.

On the dangers inherent in consuming such products, state Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Toyin Suarau, who disclosed this at the weekend, said imported contaminated poultry products were seized and buried by men of the Nigeria Custom Service in Badagry but were later exhumed by some unscrupulous individuals with the intent to sell same to some unsuspecting consumers.

While receiving officials of the National Orientation Agency, NOA, who came on the directive of the Federal Government to appeal for support on how to sensitize the teeming populace

in Lagos on the danger posed by this act, Suarau noted that the exhumed poultry produce were poisonous and could lead to death if consumed.

He said: “This visit by officials of National Orientation Agency was based on the circular received

by NOA about the recently exhumed contaminated poultry produce being destroyed by officials of the Nigeria Custom Service somewhere in Badagry.

The need for sensitization on the dangers associated with

consuming these exhumed poisonous poultry produce cannot be overemphasized especially in view of the havoc it poses to the public.”

In the same vein, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Food Security, M r.

Okanlawon Sanni, added that the state Ministry of Agriculture would assist in mobilizing and sensitizing its poultry farmers and members of the public to be their brothers’ keeper and be alert to happenings around them.

Aviation minister seeks seamless air connectivity

By Lawani Mikairu & Daniel Eteghe

L

AGOS — MINISTER of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has charged players and stakeholders in the aviation sector in Africa to explore the benefits of the “Yamoussoukro Decision” for greater air transport connectivity across the continent.

Sirika, who gave this charge in Accra, Ghana at the 10th African Air Transport Safety and Security Summit, weekend, noted that safe, secure and efficient customer focused air transport system remained the benefit of sound aviation.

Sirika said connectivity will play a critical role in the development of African economics which can be achieved by implementing the ideas of Abuja declaration that set a target for African airlines to reach world class safety levels by 2015.

According to the minister, “connectivity is vital for African growth and development, supporting about 6.9 million jobs and $80.5 billion in economic activity and hoped that it will closely knit relationship with seamless connectivity between Nigeria and Ghana in the near future.”

Senator Sirika, who was represented by the Director of Safety in the ministry, Captain Taba Alkali, traced the relationship between Ghana and Nigeria to over several decades which has led to the exchange of knowledge and friendship through many bilateral partnerships in the area of personnel training, expertise and information sharing.

He charged airlines to live up to their responsibility of ensuring travellers confidence in the sector though the service provided to the public.

LASUTH to promote maternal health through art

By Chioma Obinna

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AGOS — THE Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, and a NonGovernmental Organisation, Youth Orientation for Development, YOD, will today hold an art exhibition in Lagos to highlight the challenges

Nigerian women face during pregnancy and after delivery.

The art exhibition tagged: “Invitation to Health: A creative exploration into health on maternal and child health care/ mortality,” will showcase paintings depicting all aspects of pregnancy care,

ante-natal, delivery and post natal care.

Chief Medical Director of LASUTH, who was represented by the Director Clinical Services, and Training, Dr. Adeoye Adedokun, at the media briefing, described the number of Nigerian women that die as a result of child birth as "gory."

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015—11

Ooni-elect, Ogunwusi leaves Ilofi for crowning today

By Gbenga Olarinoye

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SOGBO—OONIELECT, Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, will today be installed Ooni, few hours after leaving Ilofi, Iremo, yesterday evening.

It would be recalled that the Ooni-elect began the traditional rites at Ilofi, a place of preparation for new Ooni, on October 30 and was expected to have left on November 19, after spending 21 days.

Informed sources, however, disclosed that a few more days were added to ensure that all the rites were completed before the coronation would take place.

It was also learned that the coronation of Ogunwusi will not be done in the open. A palace source told newsmen that the new Ooni will be installed in Ile Oodua, stressing that the new monarch will be entering the palace for the first time as an Oba today.

He added: “ In line with the demand of Ile Ife customs and traditions, his coronation will

hold behind closed doors.

Only the Isoros and Ife chiefs will be involved but I can confirm that it will be done inside the palace."

In a chat with newsmen, former Special Adviser on Youth and Sports to Osun State Governor, Mr. Biyi Odunlade, confirmed that the

FG partners World Bank on solid minerals devt

By Rotimi Ojomoyela

T

HE Federal Government has expressed its willingness to continue to partner the World Bank in the development of the solid minerals sector.

Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Kayode Fayemi, disclosed this when he received a team from the World Bank, led by its Country Director, Mr Rachid Benmessaoud, in his office, weekend.

Fayemi, together with the Minister of State for Solid Minerals, Abubakar Bwari, at the meeting, acknowledged the support of the financial institution to infrastructure development in the sector through the ministry.

Fayemi, who noted that the

ministry had a proper regulatory framework in place, however, said that there was need for additional work to be done in the area of data.

He also hinted on the need to strengthen the informal sector, while also seeking to attract foreign investment.

He said: “In order to ensure that the ministry is well positioned to be an enabler, a lot needs to be put in place.

Additional work needs to be done on data. We need to know the quantity and quality of the minerals we have.

“We need to also attract the big players. We need to know why they are not here,” adding that everything must be done to actualise President Muhammadu Buhari’s

Police in Ogun rescue 4-yr-old kidnapped boy in Enugu showed that the suspects the suspects are in

By Daud Olatunji

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B E O K U TA — OGUN State Police Command has rescued the four- year old boy, Steve Kanu who was kidnapped two weeks ago in Abeokuta, and has also arrested the suspects.

The suspected kidnappers had stormed the Laderin home of Dr and Mrs Mucipay Kanu in Abeokuta in a taxi and forcefully taken away the boy who was playing with the family's puppy in the compound.

It was gathered that the kidnappers put a telephone call across to the parents,threatening to kill the boy if they did not stop involving the media.

They reportedly demanded for ransom after allowing the boy to speak with his parents to let them know he was alive and in captivity.

H o w e v e r, n e m e s i s caught up with the kidnappers on Friday, as they were arrested by police operatives in a village in Enugu, a trip of over nine hours from the scene of the crime.

Vanguard gathered that the suspects have since been transferred to Ogun State Police Command in Abeokuta for further investigation.

Further findings

would be paraded during the week.

When contacted, Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the report.

He said the rescued boy is doing fine, while

custody as at the time of filing this report.

The father of the victim, Mucipal Kanu, confirmed to our correspondent yesterday that the boy has been reunited with them.

Three dead, several injured as rival cult groups clash in Osun

By Gbenga Olarinoye

O

new Ooni will be crowned today inside Ile Oodua but added that the event will not be open to the public.

SOGBO—THREE people were feared dead, while some others sustained varying degrees of injuries during separate clashes involving two rival cult groups in Osogbo, and two opposing gangs in Ile Ife, during the weekend.

Though the remote cause of the clashes could not be ascertained, security sources said two leading members of the rival cult groups started the fight that later led to the death of one of their members at a popular pub located along Iwo/Osogbo road last week Thursday.

A reliable source, who

witnessed the genesis of the clash at the said pub, explained that a member of a cult group that was believed to be holding the reign in Osogbo at the moment attacked a member of a rival cult group by beating him up, when he insisted on entering the pub against the advise of those in the premises.

“After managing to escape, he went to two neighbouring higher institutions to recruit more hands for the fight."

They later caught up with the man and during another clash in Ile Ife, two people were said to have been killed.

mandate to move the sector forward.

Earlier, Benmessaoud, who hailed the excellent relationship between the financial institution and the government of Ekiti State, during Fayemi’s tenure, said the team was delighted to work with the minister in his new assignment.

He stated that the bank was mindful of President Buhari’s emphasis on agriculture and solid minerals as two critical sectors that could boost revenue generation and create jobs for the citizens.

Benmessaoud, who lauded the administration’s plan to diversify the economy through solid minerals development, however, said that the expected revenue may not be

History'll vindicate Aregbesola —Osun APC

A

LL Progressives Congress in Osun State has asserted that history will vindicate its governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, regardless of what pessimists and critics may have to say about his tenure.

It said that knowledgeable people in the country who have seen through the quality and content of Aregbesola's programmes are already giving their thumps up, especially on education.

This was contained in a statement made available to the media in Osogbo yesterday by the party’s Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Barr. Kunle Oyatomi.

The party was responding to the award which the Nigerian Association of Primary Schools Headteachers presented to the governor last week in acknowledgment of the quality and content of the governor ’s policy in enhancing primary school education in Osun.

12—Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

35TH ANNIVERSARY OF SILVERBIRD GROUP IN LAGOS PHOTOS: KEHINDE GBADAMOSI

From left: Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information, representing President Muhammadu Buhari; Senator Bukola Saraki, Senate Prsident; Prof Ben Ayade, Governor of Cross River State and Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, Chairman Silverbird Group.

The Murray-Bruce family cutting the anniversary cake.

From left: Hon. Lynda Chuba Ikpeazu and Mrs. Yvonne Kogolo.

From left: Mr. Donald Duke, former governor of Cross River State and Mr Roy Bruce.

From left: Mr. Jonathan Murray-Bruce, Mrs. Leila Hargett and Mrs. Evelyn Murray-Bruce.

From left: Prince Adelusi Adeluyi, Mrs MurrayBruce, and Mrs. Helen Hunt.

C M Y K

From left: Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, with winner of MBGN, and Miss Guinea

From left: Mr Ladi Soyobe, Mr Bunmi Williams, and Mr Billy MurrayBruce.

From left: Senator Bassey, Senator Aliyu Sabi, Senator Rafiu Ibrahim and Hon Gbenga Makanjuola,

From left: Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, Chairman of Silverbird Group; Mr Haresh Santani, Group General Manager, Operations, Silverbird and Mr. Roy Bruce.

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015—13

Bayelsa poll: Dickson campaign c'ttee faults survey predicting Sylva’s victory

By Samuel Oyadongha

Y

ENAGOA—THE Restoration Campaign Organisation, RCO, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Governor Seriake Dickson, yesterday, described as “fake” and “anticipated fraud,” the result of a survey predicting victory for the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Timipre Sylva, in six out of the eight local government areas of Bayelsa State.

According to RCO, though preliminary investigation had shown that the survey done by a group known as Election Frontline and made up of APC card-carrying members led by one MacPepple Joshua, the purported outcome of the survey is made up of falsehood, propaganda and blackmail.

Election Frontline had, in a report, weekend, on a study conducted with a select sample of 1,000 residents across the eight councils said that 49.08 per cent of the population of study indicated their preference for the PDP while 45.51 per cent preferred APC. The report, issued by the group’s

Survey Administrator, Joshua, claimed that the December 5 election will not be won based on the strength of the political parties but based on the candidates.

Majority of the respondents, according to the report, prefers Chief Timipre Sylva of the APC to the incumbent, Seriake Dickson, based on the antecedents of the two in different areas.

But the Director of Media and Publicity for the Restoration Campaign outfit, Jonathan Obuebite, dismissed the report of the survey as being sponsored by the APC leadership.

He said: “The so-called Election Frontline simply sat in Lagos and wrote its report which unfortunately alluded that the APC governorship candidate, Timipre Sylva, will win the election. Ordinarily, this unfounded opinion poll should not merit a reaction from either the PDP or the Restoration Campaign Organisation of Governor Dickson, but we have decided to succinctly react to the

falsehood, propaganda and blackmail of the APC pollsters to set the record straight before Nigerians and the international community.

“It is instructive to note that these same survey experts had predicted that the same Sylva

HE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Bayelsa State, weekend, revisited the eligibility status of All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate in the December 5 governorship election, Chief Timipre Sylva, in reaction to the position of a concerned body, the Truth Movement of Nigeria.

In a statement by the state Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr Godspower Keku, the party contended that the inherent issues raised by the body were subsisting and had cogent foundation to render Sylva’s candidature null and void.

Truth Movement of Nigeria had said through its Publicity Secretary, Fred Amakom, that though Sylva had been nominated as the candidate of APC in the election but that he was ineligible on account of having been elected twice as governor in 2007 and 2008.

Citing constitutional and

C M Y K

legal precedent to back its argument, the body noted that Sylva having been elected twice was no longer eligible to contest as doing so would be at variance with provisions of Section 182 (1)

(b) of the 1999 Constitution as amended which states that “No person shall be qualified for election to the office of governor if he has been elected to such office at any two previous elections.”

Why Warri port channel can’t be dredged now— NPA

By Godfrey Bivbere

T

HE Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, has blamed the delay in the dredging of the channel leading to the port in Warri, Delta State, to the low level of the river which makes the siltation (rate of return of sand to the channel after dredging) level very high.

Managing Director of NPA, Habib Abdullahi, who disclosed this at a meeting with journalists, said that the Authority had commenced the process leading to the dredging of the channel by engaging the services of two firms to do the preliminary work.

Abdullahi, who was

the discredited Election Frontline.

“Majority of Bayelsans have spoken in clear terms that they will re-elect Governor Dickson to consolidate on peace, prosperity, development and security of Bayelsa State."

AWARD: From left: Vice President, Human Resources of Shell in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa, Mr. Olukayode Ogunleye; Development Manager, Offshore Assets, Mrs. Beatrice Spaine; General Manager, External Relations, Mr. Igo Weli and Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, Mr. Bayo Ojulari, at the Social Enterprise Report and Awards ceremony in Lagos, weekend.

....As PDP contests Sylva’s eligibility

T

who was Bayelsa East senatorial candidate of the APC in the 2015 general election would win but he lost woefully to Senator Ben Murray Bruce of the PDP and this is one of the reasons why people must disregard this latest survey by

represented at the meeting by the General Manager in charge of Public Affairs, Emmanuel Ebubuegu, said the two firms are Royal Ascony, which is looking at the break waters, and Ace Consulting that is working on the pre-dredging.

According to NPA boss, “The study of geography tells us that at the lower course of the river, the level of sedimentation is very high. Incidentally, the ports of Warri, Calaber and Port Harcourt are all situated at the lower course of river. If you do not do something to address the hindrance properly, you will always be fighting with nature."

14 —Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 — 15

16—Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

OlawepoHashim advocates single digit interest rate

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NERGY SECTOR Investor, Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has called for the lowering of interest rate in the banking sector from its current double digit figure to a single one to enable investors access finance at reasonable lending rate towards the much needed development.

Olawepo-Hashim, who was guest speaker at the 4th Imperial College, London, Nigerian Student Society Summit, weekend, regretted that the Nigerian manufacturer could hardly be competitive in the international market with the unacceptable high interest rate.

He said the prevailing interest rate, which stands at 22 per cent, lowered the competitive chances of the manufacturer in relation to what obtained in other countries, like in “South Africa, where it is 8.5 per cent, in Egypt 7.8 per cent, in China 3.4 per cent and US 2.33 per cent.”

The Chairman of Bresson AS Energy dismissed excuses on insecurity for the high interest rate, saying, “Egypt has its fair share of crisis like Nigeria, so insecurity cannot be a reason,” adding, “there has to be changes in lending policy to lighten the heavy burden on the manufacturer.”

According to him: “Government should also ensure that licensed Distribution Companies, DISCOs, are able to sign PPA with the Generating Companies, GENCOs, and IPPs for the supply of power without the undue meddlesomeness of the Nigeria Electricity Regulation Commission, NERC, amongst others.

He added that Nigeria "is a good destination for investment with a strong middle class, relatively high return on investment," regretting its infrastructure gap was still a challenge.

At the London event were former Managing Director and Chief Executive of Access Bank, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Managing Director of Sahara Energy, Mr. Tonye Patrick-Cole, Former Minister of Communication, Dr. Omobola Johnson, and Executive Director of Bresson AS Energy, Dr. Funmi Olawepo-Hashim, Educationist, amongst others.

BIAFRA: Leaders to meet Buhari on Igbo

marginalization •Eluomunoh's statement on Biafra personal —Ohanaeze Youth Council PG •You’re saboteurs, MASSOB tells Ohanaeze

By Emeka Mamah, Anayo Okoli, Francis Igata, Vincent Ujumadu, and Caleb Ayansina

E

NUGU—THE meeting of Igbo leaders summoned yesterday by the South East Governors’ Forum, SEGF, to discuss the security implications of the agitations by members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, and the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, ended in Enugu with the leaders resolving to set up a delegation of Igbo elders to meet President Muhammadu Buhari on the marginalisation of Igbo in the country.

They also agreed to dialogue with members of the MASSOB and IPOB groups with a view to ending the protests now rocking the old Eastern region.

The two factions of Ohanaeze were not however, part of the meeting as they were not invited as the governors had reasoned that inviting any of them would have meant legitimising such faction.

The Enwo Igariwey leadership of Ohanaeze had exhausted its tenure while the Ralph Obioha faction was not properly elected even as it was now the turn of Enugu State to produce the new chairman of the pan- Igbo group.

Both MASSOB and IPOB members have been agitating for the release of the Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, detained by security agents for running an illegal radio station.

A four-point communique read

by Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, at the end of the meeting on behalf of his colleagues read, “We agreed that south-east governors should set up a committee to immediately address the impasse on Ohanaeze leadership. After a compassionate review of the recent MASSOB/IPOB agitations in the country, it was resolved that a committee be set up to dialogue with MASSOB,IPOB as well as the Federal Government with a view to finding a lasting solution to the issue.

“The elders also examined other issues including poor state of infrastructural facilities in the south-east, marginalization in federal appointments and other socio-economic issues that impact on the economic development of the south-east and resolved to support the decision of south-east governors to set up an economic council and urged them to interface with the Federal Government on remedial measures. A delegation of elders of the south-east was mandated to meet with the President of the

DINNER: From left, former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Chief Joseph Sanusi; President/Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, CIBN, Otunba Debola Osibogun, and Mr. Jude Monye, Executive Director/Chief Risk Officer, Heritage Bank Ltd, sponsors of the event, during the 49th annual Bankers' Dinner, at Oriental Hotel, in Lagos, weekend.

Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Earlier in his welcome address, Governor Lawrence Ifeanyi Ugwanyi of Enugu State, said the meeting was a follow up to the earlier meeting of the South- East governors on November 17.

Ugwanyi said, “the meeting is a follow up to the meeting of the SEGF that we held last Tuesday, November 17, 2015, in this venue during which we reached the following resolutions on some issues affecting us as a zone; To appoint a high level Economic Advisory Committee to harness the economic potentials of the people of the South East working together. The governors are concerned about the poor state of the Federal Government roads in the zone namely the Enugu – Onitsha, Aba- Ikot Ekpene , Owerri – Port Harcourt, Enugu – Port Harcourt, among others which need urgent intervention by the Federal Government.

“On security, the issue of MASSOB/ IPOB, was discussed and they resolved to consult widely with Ohanaeze (Ndigbo), traditional rulers, development unions, clergy, and other stakeholders on how to ensure lasting peace in the zone. In furtherance to this, the South East Governors scheduled an emergency meeting of stakeholders on Sunday, November 22, 2015, (yesterday) at Enugu.

“Attendance to the emergency meeting includes all National Assembly members, all honourable ministers and other invited stakeholders from the zone. The governors advised MASSOB/IPOB to continue to toe the line of peace as this is the only way to ensure economic development of the zone. We are therefore, here to discuss matters arising from these resolutions and other issues that are of interest to the zone. We ask God to guide

and direct our thoughts as we go through this function and I wish us all, happy and fruitful deliberations.

“I warmly welcome my brother governors of the south east and indeed everyone present at this important meeting of southeast leaders and stakeholders.”

Roll call Governors in attendance at the meeting included Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, (Enugu), Dave Umuahi (Ebonyi), Dr. Nkem Okeke (Deputy Governor, Anambra State) and Rochas Okorocha of Imo State.

Others were the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, former Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State, former Minister of Power, Prof Barth Nnaji, former Minister of Information, Chief Nnaia Nwodo and former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara among others Parallel meeting However, as the stakeholders meeting was going on at the Government House Enugu, the Enwo Igariwey ’s faction of Ohanaeze Ndigbo was holding a parallel meeting at the residence of the Secretary General, Dr. Joe Nworgu.

Briefing newsmen at the end of the meeting, President SouthEast/South/South Body of Professionals, Mr. Emeka Ugwuoju said, “the leadership of Ohanaeze met with MASSOB, IPOB where we agreed to summon a meeting of the Imeobi (the highest decision body) of Ohanaeze. Ohanaeze Ndigbo urges MASSOB/IPOB to continue to be peaceful. Ohanaeze is the only channel to talk with MASSOB/IPOB on the agitation for Biafra. We condemn the rascality of Anambra State Chapter of Ohanaeze, Chris Eleumuno, on his recent attacks

on MASSOB, IPOB as he does not have the authority to speak for Ohanaeze Ndigbo.”

Ohanaeze Youths fault Eluomunoh President General, PG, of Ohanaeze Youth Council, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, has faulted statement credited to its Anambra State Chairman, Chief Chris Eluomunoh, over the ProBiafra agitators, saying Eluomunoh only expressed his personal view and not that of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

Recall that Eluomunoh had told journalists last week in Awka that Ohanaeze was not in support of the pro-Biafra groups, saying that Biafra died in 1970 with the surrender by General Philip Effiong, to the Nigerian troops.

Eluomunoh said no right thinking person would support what he called the madness by some youths, who were being deceived to engage in something they cannot finish.

According to him, “You will notice that Ohaneze has been very silent on the issue of Biafra insurgency, though the youth wing of Ohaneze has been speaking on it. Ohaneze, as the Igbo cultural group, cannot support Biafra and we dissociate ourselves from it totally”.

But Isiguzoro who claimed he was mandated by the Secretary General of Ohaneze, Chief Joe Nworgu, to speak on behalf of the Igbo apex body, said Eluomunoh did not have the mandate of Ohanaeze to speak on the issue.

According to him, “it is only the Ime-Obi Council that can empower the President or Secretary-General of Ohaneze to make public the official position of the Ohaneze Ndigbo on issues as this.”

Continues on Page 43

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 — 17

18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 Worrisome indications emerged in the past week that the Federal Government might have placed what was described as “prohibition by trade” on the importation of mini electricity generating sets, more popularly known as “I better pass my neighbour”.

Breaking this controversial news to reporters, the Comptroller, Federal Operations Unit Zone A of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) in Lagos, Mr Madugu Sani Jibrin, alleged that government took this step because the sets cause air pollution which has a harmful effect on the lungs and the respiratory system.

While pollution and risks to the respiratory system are dangers associated with all engines that use hydrocarbon energy to operate (including all classes of electricity generators) the extra risk of these tiny generators is evident in the fact that because of their popularity among the low income classes, they are used mainly in confined spaces.

FG’s ban on mini generator sets Due to the inability of successive governments to provide adequate and reliable public power supply, low income earners, such as traders and artisans, are forced to depend on these cheap generators in markets, shops and at home in the various congested slums and low cost urban housing areas. The amount of smoke these usually poorly maintained generators pump into the atmosphere indeed poses great dangers to health. It often leads to carbon monoxide-related deaths which sometimes involve whole fam-

ilies. It also sparks off fire outbreaks.

However, we view the ban on the importation of these gadgets without providing alternative means of power supply to the poor and vulnerable strata of our society as an act of insensitivity towards the needs of the downtrodden members of society.

If this policy is implemented, time might come when it will be difficult for the artisans and traders to survive at all. How would the ordinary people be able to survive the heat of the dry season which is upon us ear-

lier than usual this year? This policy is bound to be seen as unkindly targeting the poor.

Besides, it will make the smuggling of these generators become even more lucrative and fuel more corruption among Customs officials, especially at the borders.

We believe it is possible to solve this problem by encouraging Nigerians to form groups to own and operate bigger generators. It is also even better if government provides cleaner and renewable energy sources such as inverters and solar options in the markets and dwelling areas while greater efforts are made to find a per manent solution through the provision of adequate public power supply.

We deplore the knee-jerk, militaristic attitude of government to problems. Before the importation of the mini generators is banned, government must first of all provide alternative options to the lowincome citizenry.

OPINION Nigeria can still break up

By Godwin Etakibuebu

I

N the Holy Bible book, Matthew 26:41, Jesus Christ advised his disciples to “watch and pray” so that they would “not enter into temptation”. What God is saying in this quoted passage is the necessity for all His children to walk and tread in consciousness in all we do because one single mistake is more than enough to derail us, even in a well-planned journey. Nigerians need to pay more attention to this advice because forces of “darkness” still hover around us as a people and a Nation.

Some years ago, there was a major threat of this country [Nigeria] breaking up. That was the fact that confronted us when the Nigerian civil war broke out with the crack of the first bullet of that war coming from the Federal Government troops in a small village of Garkem, near Ogoja, on July 6, 1967.

That avoidable war that was fought for two years led to about two million lives being lost on both sides. Yet, we could not prevent it because we took too many things for granted.

Things that bordered on human arrogance, corruption, nepotism, promotion of tribal egotism, uncontrollable greed of some national leaders, total disrespect for rule of law and many other evils brought us to the point where the centre could not hold anymore. Sadlyenough, 45 years after the war ended, all the national maladies that led us to it are recklessly still at play, even at larger level. If this is true, then the fact remains that our inability to learn anything from the calamity of our past while we seemed to have forgotten all the lessons of the failures of yester-years, we are most likely to come face-to-face with the country

breaking up still. There are other indicators that we may want to evaluate.

Towards the last days of Olusegun Obasanjo's second tenure as president, the so-called “Police man” of the world, America and some European countries predicted that if care was not taken, Nigeria may “breakup before the end of 2015”. However, 2015 came and is almost gone without Nigeria breaking up, many thanks to former President Goodluck Jonathan's efforts at upholding democracy. This success must not blindfold us into believing that the so-called “doomsday conspiracy of the false prophets”, as some Nigerians would like to refer to the prediction, is over. No, as long as the indicators remain germane in our everyday national life, the nearer to the precipice the Nigerian Nation gets. This is where we need to combine prayer for Nigeria not breakingup to doing what is right for our prayers to be answered. The truth that needs to be told is that there is no way Nigeria will continue without falling apiece given the way we are being presently governed by these fraudulent dealers parading themselves as leaders. I need to cite some pointers and comments from a few notable God-fearing citizens.

Speaking at the 25th Anniversary of the Scriptures Union of Nigeria in Abuja on October 31, 2015, General Yakubu Gowon, former Military Head of State, warned of a looming danger to Nigeria. “We face great consequences, if we don’t follow the path of

We need to watch and pray for Nigeria not to break up

rectitude”, the most respected leader warned, adding that “if we do not arise to bring our youths into the path of rectitude, then their future will appear gloomy, and, therefore, we cannot build a virile nation of trust, integrity and good governance”. He mentioned many other calamities bedevilling the nation. What that man of peace who fought and brought peace and unity back to Nigeria by declaring “no victor, no vanquish” at the end of the Nigerian civil war, has just told us is that unless we watch and pray over most of our national behaviours as a people, we may soon come to that point of total disintegration.

In addition, l read with adorable respect, the book of another principal actor in the Nigerian civil war, Brigadier General Godwin Alabi-Isama, appropriately titled: THE TRAGEDY OF VICTORY. He gave good historical back-ground of both the circumstances that led to the first-ever military coup of 1966 and the Nigerian civil war, including an account of the military operation throughout the war, with particular reference to the exploits of the 3rd Marine Commando - first commanded by the late Brigadier General Benjamin Adekunle before General Olusegun Obasanjo took over. In his conclusion, he said that all the maladies like “corruption, tribalism, nepotism and other evils which led to the first military coup of January 1966, and eventually to the civil war, ”which ought to have been eliminated remain with us till today”, adding: ”This Is What I Called Tragedy Of Victory”.

My summary in this work is to warn that the Federal Government of Nigeria has a responsibility of showing good example in leadership to the remaining two tier of government – states and local authority. The incumbent Federal Government needs to show its sincerity, respect and total commitment to democratic ethos and ethics,

human rights and rule of law plus promotion of welfare of the Nigerian people. There must be paradigm shift from “languages of body movement” which can never be a replacement for sound and enduring economic policy, from uncharted navigational course on fight against corruption to a defined path of wealth creation that shows in the lives of the citizenry. A man [surrounded by a selected few of brain-washed sycophants] who is guided by myopic idiosyncrasy in running a country of 180 million people with two-third of this population being internationally proven egg-heads, can only push Nigeria to a precipice.

There is too much poverty in the land today.

The Nigerian people are daily being alienated from government’s security machinery which has failed to protect them, hence the emergence of tribal militias and cultists to “protect themselves”. This is the same way the ‘’Mafia and Mafioso” started in those hilly northern cities of Italy some decades ago. By the time these groups become well established, the “roads to Niger Delta militancy, Movement for the Restoration of Biafra, Arewa Defensive Front, Cattle Rustlers, Fulani Herdsmen, Odua People Congress and even Boko Haram would have been paved with gold”. These are the fastest groups that can quicken the break- up of any country. So we need to watch and pray for Nigeria not to break-up. Will PMB walk Nigeria into this grace? *Mr Etakibuebu, a commentator on current affairs, wrote from Lagos. *PLEASE NOTE that the opinion published on this page last Friday was written by Sam Ekpe and not Mr Mantu as wrongly stated in the foot note---Editor

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015—19 Send Opinions & Letters to: opinions1234@yahoo.com

The enemy within I

love Kano. It holds some of my best memories. It was the city that introduced me to trade unionism. I was a youth corper and had been rejected by some employers when the then Civil Service Technical Workers Union offered me a place for my primary assignment. My boss, Comrade Ibrahim Yusuf, taught me the ropes. Although a corper, the labour leaders in Kano did not hesitate offering me the position of Assistant Secretary of the Joint Action Committee, JAC, of Trade Unions in Kano State. The JAC carried out a prolonged strike against the Abubakar Rimi government over Minimum Wage in the state.

When I visited Kano in January 2012, it was a city under siege.

My host, Isah Yunusa Danguguwa, warned that Friday had become the favoured day for bombing by the Boko Haram terrorist sect. A few minutes later, he was called that the police station near his home had just been bombed. There was a rush to leave the city before jumat when the terrorists became more active.

I was happy returning to the

bustling city this September. I could not make out my old office in Gyadigyadi, off Zaria Road. I could also not identify the area I lived in Hausawa Zoo, off Zoo Road; everywhere has been built up. But I met some old friends.

I thought Kano had recovered well from the terror attacks. The renewed bombings last Wednesday which took 15 lives were therefore quite devastating to me. The attacks came a day after similar bombings in Yola which took 34 lives with 85 injured. These bombings are a stark reminder that we are at war, and must not lower our guards. The almost mute reaction of the international community which seems fully preoccupied with the November 13 terror attacks in Paris, reinforced my position; that we are on our own and should expect little support from the international community.

Although the Boko Haram are local terrorists, but they grew and were cultivated in the fertile soil of international terrorism. In the main international arena, it is partly a war between Sunnis led by a Saudi Arabia coalition with

ISIS as its most venomous tip, and a Shiite alliance led by Iran.

This war which is most pronounced in Syria, Iraq and Yemen has been simmering since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

The West laid the foundation for today’s terrorism with its Cold War creation of the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan, which gave birth to the Pakistani Taliban; its patronage of Osama Bin Laden, which led to the creation of alQeda; its creation of al-Nusra and ISIS, which have become monsters. Also, its destruction of the Saddam and Ghadaffi regimes in Iraq and Libya, and near-destruction of the al-Assad regime in Syria without much thought for their after effects, exacerbated the situation. The free flow of arms and battle-tested fighters in postGhadaffi Libya worsened the situation in Mali and Nigeria.

With the mighty forces of Europe and America unable to take

We need to let Nigerians know that we are in for a long drawn war; that terrorism is not an injury, it is a cancer that can spread and must therefore be stopped

Dickson as the real change Bayelsa needs

I

By Daniel Iworiso-Markson

DEALLY, political contest for power is premised on superior arguments and ideas which the people, as the heart of democracy, could relate with as capable of truly changing their socio-economic conditions in a just society where institutions of government work in harmony with the rule of law.

In an enlightened polity, such ideas are painstakingly evaluated by the electorate which informs their judgement and choices on the election day. And the ultimate objective would be to have a government which in the long run guarantees a social contract in the postulation of Rousseau or achieves Bentham’s utilitarian conception of the greatest happiness of the greatest number in the society.

These are the considerations which should agitate the minds of Bayelsans ahead of the December 5 governorship election which pitches the incumbent Governor Seriake Dickson with his closet rival, Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in a contest which the former, a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has dubbed as between “light and darkness”.

Beyond rhetoric, I think the understanding should be reinforcing by now that the crucial election is about the future of the state which is expected to dictate a conscious attention among the voters on the challenges they face and indeed the kind of leadership they deserve.

Thus, the destiny of Bayelsans is in their own hands to decide not just as mere civic duty on election day but much more about a collective action for sustaining a rebirth.

While Governor Dickson has been campaigning on his record of achievements, asking the people to key into his vision of restoration as witnessed in the record changes in the various sectors of the state economy, Sylva’s

has only been more of promises of “change”, regurgitating his party’s campaign mantra.

The former governor, curiously, isn’t making much reference to his past tenure as expected to, perhaps, corroborate and sell his convictions on the “change” he’s offering. This is unlike Dickson who is boldly and assertively telling his remarkable story of success in education, health, infrastructure, roads and bridges, job creation, ambitious diversification of the economy as well as impactful governance culture which underscores transparency and accountability. A leadership based on performance which has made it possible to revive education through comprehensive scholarship and allied programmes and policies. Added

I think the understanding should be that the crucial election is about the future of the state which is expected to dictate a conscious attention among the voters on the challenges they face and indeed the kind of leadership they deserve

out the estimated 30,000 ISIS and al-Nusra terrorists, and being edgy of the fight being taken to their doorsteps, it means that we cannot look up to them. Our salvation is not in their hands.

While the motives in the international terrorist wars are a bit clear, those of Boko Haram are blurred. They kill believers and non-believers; Christians, Muslims and traditional believers.

They bomb churches and mosques, kill pastors and mallams; bomb homes and markets; schools and recreational centres.

In their sowing death and destruction without discrimination, they appear convinced in their hearts and acts; but to the sane mind, these are manifestations of troubled or controlled minds.

How do you negotiate with people whose motives are unclear; demands, cannot be understood; whose objectives are nebulous; who are convinced in the righteousness of their position, and are ready to die?

Following the kidnap of the Chibok girls, we allowed in all sorts of foreign agencies and countries in the hope that they will help us rescue the girls. But at the end, they left; some would have also left behind their spies.

The West and America followed up by denying us assess to arms.

Even when we left the West to purchase arms from other countries, they used countries like Saudi Arabia to deny us flight across their skies. When out of frustration, we took cash to buy arms from direct suppliers in South Africa, our money was seized and we were ridiculed.

So we have to be self-reliant.

The military and security forces have made lots of sacrifices after

initially underestimating the terrorist and engaging them in conventional, rather than guerrilla warfare. Boko Haram is not a Kanuri or North East problem, it is Nigerian. So all Nigerians need be mobilised and put on a war footing. The insurgents are embedded in our populace. The bombers are likely to be sleeper cells in the very places they bomb.

We need to let Nigerians know that we are in for a long drawn war; that terrorism is not an injury, it is a cancer that can spread and must therefore be stopped. We have had the good fortune of early detection. The surest armour against terrorist attacks are the people against whom they are perpetrated. It is the people that can provide information, intelligence and strength for a successful war.

They need to be aware that it is they, not necessarily the security forces, that are on the frontline.

The populace need be mobilised to take necessary proactive actions. For instance, if a Nigerian has information or notices a suspicious movement, he should know what to do, who to contact or what phone numbers to call. Like President Muhammadu Buhari said in his reaction to the Yola and Kano bombings: “Vigilance is a potential life saver since security agents cannot be everywhere to deter every planned attack…Citizen’s vigilance will therefore help to reduce the frequency of such attacks”.

The enemy has external funding and support, it has backers, but essentially, it is within, and it is us, with the support of our neigbours and the willing, that can defeat terrorism.

to it is an impressive record of lifting Bayelsa translate into a landslide at the critical elecfrom being in the bottom of the ladder before tion in December. We are beginning to see this assuming office in 2012 to one of the best per- possibility as indicated in the widespread apforming in the country today. This is nothing proval and endorsements from core and strashort of an incremental record as it has since tegic nucleus of the entire stakeholders and 2013 achieved the sixth highest pass rates the generality of the people across the state, among Nigeria’s 36 states with 51 per cent turning PDP rallies and the various town hall pass rate. Among the several feats in infra- meetings into carnivals. If anyone is still in structure provision, the historic Nembe road, doubt, the rally in Brass, Timipre Sylva’s home against all odds, was constructed making it base, has proven it all, with open and possible to drive straight from Yenagoa to unrestrained, categorical endorsement of Nembe for the first time since the idea was Governor Dickson’s re-election by every conceived over 50 years ago. Just this week- influential leader, paramount rulers as well as end, while on campaign in Brass, Governor all strata of the Brass community who came Dickson gave assurance of his administration’s out in such a large crowd as widely reported in resolve to award the multi-billion Naira the media to express their total support for their Nembe/Brass Road during the first quarter of governor. It was clearly not about Dickson as 2016, if re-elected for a second term in office. it were but for the good work he has done The award of the contract as assured by the convincing them of the greater benefits his Governor is in addition to the on-going Ogbia/ second term will afford their community Nembe road project and other developmental compared with what their own son was able to projects sited in the area. do as governor of the state for almost five years.

These are the real change in my reckoning, That is the manifest change we are talking especially by making education a priority as about which can easily be recognised as a practhe basis for true development as against tical act of true leadership.

Sylva’s proposition of a vague “change” neither Sylva’s case is now worsened by the series of supported by his past nor can it be relied upon defection to PDP by APC members across the by his present characterised by inconsistencies. state following the massive defection of the The scenario is really scaring for Sylva to Forum of Authentic APC Delegates, Timi contemplate another sojourn into Government Alaibe’s core loyalists, ably led by Senator John House in the state considering his locust years Brambiafa and Chief Alex Ekiotenne. as governor. It is a sorry story the governor has The finish line is already discernible which been telling Bayelsans on his campaign trail is an inevitable victory for Governor Dickson, that he’s still paying N2 billion monthly even a worthy mandate for acceleration of the resin era of liquidity crisis. Now, is this the kind of toration agenda in key areas, including the “change” Bayelsans deserve, to further plunge Agge deep seaport, Brass LNG, slated investthe state into debt without concomitant devel- ments in power generation, completion of the opment to show for it? airport at Amassoma, now 60 per cent ready, These are the issues which informed on-going agricultural projects, the eco-indusGovernor Dickson’s repeated admonition to trial park at Gbaranmotu to create wealth for all and sundry that never again shall we have collective interest of all Bayelsans. This is the a profligate attitude to governance in the state real change we can always trust the Contriman and the message is fast sinking in to governor will deliver, the true change Bayelsa differentiate true change from a vague needs. “change”. Interestingly, government’s success on multiple fronts anchored on integrity has *Mr Iworiso-Markson, a political analyst, continued to garner much goodwill, attract- wrote from Yenagoa, Bayelsa State ing an incredible support base which will likely C M Y K

20—Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

I

N my articles during the presidential campaign, I had wondered aloud whether a President Muhammadu Buhari would share power with the touted National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I also answered the question by saying that knowing the professional and cultural background of Buhari, and against the precedents of our political history, he would gradually relegate Tinubu to his proper place as just one of the big men in the ruling party, on assuming power.

Those who were expecting Buhari to “share power” with him in line the merger that produced the APC, I warned, should be prepared for a different ball game if Buhari became president. I even referred to the proverb: “those who dress up a masquerade are usually the first to be flogged by it”. I prognosticated that as soon as Buhari assumed power, his hordes of Arewa kinsmen who were hiding in the shadows while Tinubu and Rotimi Amaechi were rebranding him, supplying him with the propaganda fuel and profusely providing his campaign with endless funds, would emerge into the spotlight and claim the place of pride in his government.

I also added that Buhari would gradually recreate the ruling party after his own image, and as we approach 2019, it will look more like the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, than the APC which Tinubu helped him to build into a winning political platform.

These are no “predictions” but merely the political punditry of a person who has monitored politics and power play in Nigeria for over two decades as a reporter, writer and columnist.

Six months after taking the reins of power, Buhari has already gone solo. Tinubu is not exactly “irrelevant” yet, but Buhari is no longer leaning on him for support. In fact, the President is already rebuilding the APC superstructure the way it will serve his political purposes come 2019. Yes, Buhari will run for a second term in 2019. Only death will stop that, and he does not look to me like the man that people like Governor Ayo Fayose and others were painting as teetering on the edges of a sepulcher eight months ago. Those who are doing their 2019 political calculations on the basis that Buhari would not run for a second term had better go back to the drawing board and start again.

The Buhari-Tinubu tag-team was still at work during the rebellion of the “new PDP” faction of the APC in the National Assembly.

Buhari now going solo Yakubu Dogara and Senator Bukola Saraki had trounced Buhari and Tinubu’s common desire to impose Tinubu’s lackey, Femi Gbajabiamila as Speaker of the House of Representatives and Buhari’s flunkey, Senator Ahmed Lawan as President of the Senate by allying themselves with former PDP colleagues to be elected to those respective offices. Eventually, Dogara sued for peace by allowing Gbajabiamila and other candidates of “the party” (Buhari and Tinubu) to occupy principal offices of the Green Chamber.

Saraki, who was determined to blindside “the party”, was however, forced to bow to Buhari when his assets declaration issue suddenly surfaced at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, with the Tribunal’s Chairman, Danladi Umar seeming determined to nail him. If not for Saraki’s case at the CCT, Buhari might have found it difficult to get

Buhari made a very powerful and emphatic statement with the appointment of Amaechi and Fashola as superministers; it is a bold pointer to the future of politics and governance within the APC and the nation at large; it was a major sidelining of Tinubu from the government “pie”

some of his prized ministerial nominees, especially Babatunde Fashola and Rotimi Amaechi, approved by the Senate as ministers.

Saraki became so eager to please the President that he not only beat a smooth path for the screening and approval of ALL the nominees, he also personally submitted the list to the President in an elaborate but brief ceremony at the Presidential Villa. Like magic, Saraki got a big, though temporary reprieve at the Supreme Court. Federal Government lawyers prosecuting him became less recalcitrant, which allowed the apex court to halt proceedings at the CCT to enable it look into Saraki’s appeal. Some even believe Saraki might be let off the hook if he continues to play ball as he did in the easy passage of Buhari’s ministers. However, that might prove to be a mere small battle in an overall big war.

Buhari made a very powerful and emphatic statement with the appointment of Amaechi and Fashola as super-ministers. It is a bold pointer to the future of politics and governance within the APC and the nation at large. It was a major sidelining of Tinubu from the government “pie”. Buhari controversially grabbed for himself the nation’s cash cow – the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. Ibe Kachikwu, the Minister of State will do the leg work as an obedient technocrat. Buhari will put another “trusted” Northerner in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, as GMD. With himself as the substantive Minister of Petroleum and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NNPC, Buhari will no longer depend on second or third parties (as he did in 2015) for the funding of his 2019 political projects.

With his appointment as Minister of

OPINION Are Nigerians politicising mass killings ?

By Emeka Anthony Odikpo

I

TURNED on my television set on a seemingly bright morning. The news was being read by an extra cheerful newscaster. He took out time to throw banters with the morning crew already on set. Then he cheerfully read out the news headlines. The first item was about another order by our President to arrest some alleged looters.

By the third item, he cheerfully informed us that a bomb attack happened at Yola yester-night and that the casualties are, wait for it, 32 certified dead and about 80 still hospitalised. This surreal news was immediately skipped as the news crew commenced discussions on Anambra debt issue. I flipped over to CNN and there they were still carefully analysing the attacks in France four days earlier and how to ensure that the tragedy does not repeat itself.

Next port of call for me was the daily newspapers. The front pages did not mention this mass murder of Nigerians living in Yola. Knowing Nigeria well, the real death toll may be closer to the death toll recorded in France, but the general opinion of our purveyors of news was that this gruesome mass murder was not headline worthy. Obviously there will not be any discussions by experts on how to prevent future attacks. Even the social media was not helpful at all.

Only one of my facebook friends posted the news with his usual blithe attack on the President. I then did a rudimentary check and discovered to my chagrin that no official statement was issued by the Governor of Adamawa State.

C M Y K

He did not address the press. He did not address his people.

He did not disclose his agenda to prevent future attacks and preserve the lives of people that he swore to preserve their lives. Furthermore, no statement was issued by the President and none credited to his aides. Indeed there was nothing. An eerie nothingness! It was reality check for me.

Like Wole Soyinka in the “Telephone Conversation” I had to step out of my cocoon. I checked the moving traffic from my window. Touched my head and legs and like Soyinka came to the same conclusion: It was real!

The poser then is: Has the basic humanity in Nigerians been so abused that we can not even grieve for at least 32 Nigerians that got massacred hours ago? Put in a different way, has our penchant for playing cheap and twisted politics with every issue under the sun so twisted our minds to the extent that we cannot start by grieving the loss of lives of fellow Nigerians and then proceed to discuss strategies for eliminating the scourge.

It takes mass Silence is never a strategy. It takes mass mobilisation and mobilisation to information to have a chance of fighting terrorism. have a chance Information that can lead to the elimination, arrest and of fighting conviction of the terrorists can terrorism only be found amongst the folks that live amongst these

Transport, which also now has Aviation merged into it, Amaechi will wield enough power and have access to enough wherewithal to bring the South-South fully on board for Buhari. Already, Buhari had started early enough to woo the Southern Minority zone with the second largest chunk of political appointments (both within and outside his kitchen cabinet) after the North.

With Amaechi, Buhari hopes to detach the South-South from the joint platform it formed with the South East for former President Jonathan. The old North and Southern Minority political connection will be restored.

With that, Buhari will not need the South East to win a second term in office.

In the South West, with Fashola as superminister in charge of Power, Works and Housing, he would wield enough power and influence in the South West and beyond for Buhari not to need the special grace of Bola Tinubu in 2019. Tinubu would be left to either reconcile himself with the new realities in the new APC that Buhari has put in place or please himself.

There is no knowing how far these scenarios will eventually play out in the future. Will the people of the South-South, who tend to see Amaechi as a “betrayer” who helped to push out former President Jonathan accept him as the man to take lead them to Buhari and thus, back to the North? Can they withstand the impending stick and carrot maneouvres, with those resisting it having their political hides burnt by state agents, while those who succumb could smell federal goodies?

What about the South West, Tinubu’s hardwon political kingdom – will Tinubu lie supine and allow his estranged godsons, Fashola, Fayemi and others run things as Buhari’s janissaries? Or are we likely to see another Obafemi Awolowo versus Samuel Akintola face-off and supremacy contest? Or, will Tinubu, somewhere along the line, swallow the bitter pill of Fashola and Fayemi’s “treachery” and wait for another opportunity for a payback?

For that matter, how secure is Buhari’s position in the North, with a number of interesting permutations coming into play as we exit the period of uncertainty in the formative stages of his government? What will Saraki, Atiku and others do as time goes on? And what can PDP still do in the North now that it has zoned its presidency to Arewa in 2019?

We are in for interesting times!

despicable men. If these common folks do not feel the angst in the populace, if they cannot see the blood these evil men spill, if they cannot see the lives that these terrorists destroy, they are unlikely to acquire the courage to come out and assist the security forces. If the common folks take these mass murders in their stride the way our government appears to be encouraging us to do, then there is absolutely no hope of their confronting these men of terror.

If the attacks on Paris had not happened four days earlier, I might not have observed how countries that have been attacked react to such issues. The French had to pull out the whole of their intelligence and security apparatus to go after the terrorists. Arrests are being made on hourly basis and the public are being informed of the arrests.

Men have been declared wanted and their pictures circulated across the entire cyber space. The President immediately declared a state of emergency and stated unequivocally that France is at war. The news media has been relentless. All shades of possibilities are being discussed. All narratives are being examined and reexamined.

We have to develop the ethic of divorcing politics from national security and real and imminent destruction of the lives of our people. We have to face up to reality and realise that we cannot wish Boko Haram away and that we have to collectively observe and examine the atrocities they are committing on a daily basis and ultimately collectively engage these scurrilous elements and hopefully eliminate them.

•Odikpo, a legal practitioner, wrote from Lagos.

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Shippers’ Council faults opposition against tracking note

By GODWIN ORITSE

N

COMMISSIONING - From left: Kayode Lawal, Executive Director; Bukola Awosanya, Group Head, Agric Finance; Yemi Adeola, MD/CEO and Abdulhadi Yau, Business Executive, North West, all of Sterling Bank Plc. at the commissioning of the Labana Rice Processing mill financed by the bank at Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.

RSAs: PenCom's guidelines to curb terror financing, money laundering Clears TUC misconception on withdrawal

By FAVOUR NNABUGWU

T

National Pension C o m m i s s i o n (PenCom) has disclosed that the draft guideline on the 2014 Pension Reform Act for withdrawals from Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) is meant to prevent the fund from being used to finance terrorism and money laundering.

PenCom which cleared the air on the misconstruing of the RSAs by the Rivers State Council of the Trade C M Y K

he

Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) in a statement, said that the voluntary contributions into RSAs are meant to boost contributors’ final pension and not a savings account that could be drawn at will.

According to PenCom, “The Guidelines will boost Government’s Fight Against Financial Terrorism and Money Laundering and nip in the bud the dangers that could arise should contributors decide to use their RSAs to launder dirty money.

“The guidelines were designed to

put in place measures that will allow contributors access a portion of their pension savings for payment of equity contributions in procuring first-time residential mortgages. Pursuant to the referenced Section 89 (2), the guidelines provide the framework for the implementation of the section. It seeks to provide the operational modalities for pension fund administrators.”

The Commission noted that the

Continues on page 22

igerian Shippers’ Council, NSC has faulted mounting opposition against the International cargo tracking note CTN, accusing the Shipping Association of Nigeria (SAN), the umbrella body for almost all shipping lines operating in Nigeria, of distorting facts regarding the International Cargo Tracking Note.

According to the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’Council, Mr. Hassan Bello, ICTN is a global advanced cargo information system on all imports and exports adding that Nigeria is one of the few countries that is yet to implement it even though Nigerian importers are unknowingly paying for it as shipping companies operating in Nigeria charge ICTN fees.

Bello said that the shipping agencies are only creating disaffection among stakeholders, especially the organised private sector by promoting falsehood that ICTN will add to the cost of doing business. He explained that before approving the ICTN, the Federal Government had seen the enormous revenue leakages that were going on, both in the importation of dry cargoes and the exportation of wet cargoes. Bello said apart from blocking revenue leakages, the ICTN is also needed for security reasons.

Countering the argument of SAN concerning who bears the administrative cost of ICTN, the Council boss said that the ICTN does not come with additional cost to importers or exporters, rather the administrative cost is to be paid by the shipping lines, whom he said had for long inputted the cost in the bills they give to consignees in Nigeria.

“The shipping lines have been billing

Continues on page 22

22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Cover

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT & ENTREPRENEURIAL REVOLUTION: Solution for a prosperous society, poverty eradication, wealth creation (3) Policy biases:

LECTURE - From left: Branch Controller, Central Bank of Nigeria, Lagos, Mr. OmebereIyari; Vice President, West African Bankers’ Association (WABA)/ED, EcobankNigeria Limited, Mr. Dele Alabi; Guest Speaker and Managing Director/CEO,Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane; President, WABA, Rev. Ifeanyichukwu Nwade and ManagingDirector/CEO, Financial Institutions Training Centre, Dr. (Mrs.) Lucy Newman, during the WABA anniversary lecture and Dinner in Lagos.

RSAs: PenCom's guidelines to curb terror financing, money laundering Continued from page 21 Guidelines on Unilateral Withdrawals from Voluntary Contribution from Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) by Contributors will help to determine the eligibility requirements, procedures and documentation required to enable RSA contributors to access and utilise part of their RSA balances.

“The Guidelines is still a draft, the Commission will expose it to stakeholders for their input in due course. The TUC Rivers State Council should harmonise its position on the issue and make useful input into the guidelines before it is finalised. Also, TUC is represented on the Board of PenCom, so workers could use this channel to address their grievances.”

“Section 89 (2) of the Pension Reform Act 2014 provides that a Pension Fund Administrator may, subject to guidelines issued by PenCom, apply for a percentage of pension fund assets in the RSA,” the Act states.

Section 4(3) states that “any employee to whom this Act applies may, in addition to the total contributions being made by him and his employer; make voluntary contributions to his retirement savings Account.” Section 10(3) provides that “ without prejudice to the previous provisions of sub-section (2) of this section, any income earned on any voluntary contribution made under Section 4(3) of this Act shall be subject to tax at the point of withdrawal.

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However, TUC, River State Council in a press statement, titled: “We will Shut Down if PenCom Changes Rules on Voluntary Contribution Withdrawal Unilaterally and without recourse to the National Assembly ’, threatened to embark on industrial action against the Commission.

In the statement signed by the State TUC Chairman, Comrade Hyginus Chika Onuegbu, the Congress argued that en-bloc withdrawal of the total Voluntary Contributions by an RSA holder is not permissible until retirement.

The Congress argued that “the above is not only a significant change to the current practice but clearly at variance with the spirit and intent of Section 10(4) of the 2014 Pension Reform Act which allows withdrawals at any time from the additional Voluntary contribution made under section 4(3) of the Pension Reform Act 2014.”

It also stated that the above provisions were at variance with what obtains in the industry now saying nonrestrictions on withdrawal formed the basis of Contributors’ decision to save more using their RSAs; as such changing the rules midway would be inimical to the interest of contributors.

“Subsequent withdrawals, after the above, shall be based only on additional contributions made into the RSA after the last withdrawal.

The balance of 80 per cent after the above shall not be accessed until retirement.

TUC Rivers State will commence the process of shutting down the economy of Rivers state (without any notice or ultimatum) if PenCom goes ahead with these illegal changes in the proposed guidelines without due engagement of the Trade Unions and the workers they represent, and without the due process of law in a constitutional democracy.”

Shippers’ Council faults opposition against tracking note Continued from page 21 importers and exporters for it, and they do not want to let go, they have been hiding such cost on the final bills given to Nigerian importers to pay,” he added.

SAN had last week issued a public notice in which it raised alarm that, the “implementation of International Cargo Tracking Note (ICTN) by the Nigerian Shippers Council will entail an

additional cost for importers in Nigeria.” But the Shippers’ Council reacted sharply by accusing SAN of deliberately deceiving Nigerians and mischievously pitching importers against the government. The ICTN, Bello said, is already part of payments that are already being made by importers to the shipping lines or the carrier.

Continues on page 23

I

n the European parliament for instance almost 2/3 of them are male, although this has increased 16% to 24% from 1997 to 2009, but nevertheless the female demographic is still notably under represented. In national governments, the situation is improving steadily with the share of women senior ministers in EU governments at 27%.

The European Commission counts nine women Commissioners (33%) and eighteen men (67%), the best gender balance yet – up from 5.6% in 1994/1995.

In the United States of America, only 2 per cent CEOs of the Fortune 500 companies are female. And in the OECD countries, women represent only 7 per cent of the director positions of leading and top companies. Similarly, there are no women on the boards of over 46 per cent of top companies in OECD countries and only 23 per cent companies have more than one woman on the company board. In United States of America, only 13 per cent of the board members are women, whereas in Canada this percentage is as low as 11 per cent. According to the statistics of European Commission, central banks of the countries in European Union only have male governors and women only represent about 17 per cent of the main decision making units within the companies of these countries.

A factor responsible for the pro-male bias of policies is that there are too few women in the policymaking arena. For example, according to the Nigerian Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, the latest Nigerian census revealed that women constitute 49.9% of the nation’s population but only 2% of the policymakers.

The underrepresentation of women in the nation’s development processes in finance, business and investment fronts renders 40% of the population inadequately positioned to contribute to the economic growth of the country.

Alongside, women who seek fair political representation face serious opposition and criticism

Sociocultural Biases To many people, it just seems natural that women are worse off, because of their smaller size or their capacity to bear children. Men comfort themselves with the thought that women need looking after. Hence, from the very beginning, women have been perceived as a weaker gender in all societies and were not provided with equal opportunities. Today, women are still not considered equal to men and are subjected to violence and abuse, and provided with less economic, educational, political, and health care opportunities.

Lingering nuclear family ideals, which many people are still conditioned to believe is “natural” may play a part in deterring women from pursuing economic sovereignty, but also perhaps deterring men from granting those opportunities to women. In the nuclear family, gender roles are thus defined: men are expected to be the primary breadwinners and women are expected to be nurturers that look after children and the family as a whole.

In the western world, females are legally of equal status to males; they have equal access to education, as well as all other services and amenities. But there are subtle and more discreet forms of discrimination and prejudice when it comes to granting more opportunities to women.

Males are still not only expected to be the primary breadwinner, but under pressure to make more money than their spouses or risk appearing inadequate or unable to provide. In other words, conventional nuclear family gender roles are still viewed to be the norm and they hurt women’s changes of economic mobility outside of the nuclear family. To state on the one hand that men are the primary breadwinners and on the other hand that women can go earn as much as they can, is confusing. And this confusion creates the continuing subordination of women’s economic goals and aspirations to society’s ideals of gender roles thus, the gender gap persists.

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 — 23

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very so often, the Nigerian nation is hard hit with petrol scarcity. This is because the nation has no refining capacity. Ironically, Nigeria is about the fourth largest exporter of crude and the largest importer of refined products. The nation's four refineries have long ceased to function making importation of petrol what the country cannot do without.

In a period of low foreign exchange earnings from oil, the country is expending its reserves in the importation of petroleum products. This aside, the fuel cartel is milking the country dry through fuel subsidy. Yet, the Nigerian armed forces, especially the Joint Task Force every so often breaks the news of the destruction of hundreds of illegal refineries in the NigerDelta region of the country.

The most recent is the report by the Central Naval Command last Wednesday when it said its operatives have destroyed eight illegal refineries and about 300 metric tons of products suspected to be Automated Gas Oil and Crude Oil at Akassa in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. Spokesman of the command, Lieutenant Commander E.D Yeibo said the raid was led by the Commanding Officer, Forward Operating Base (FOB) FORMOSO, Captain Musa Katagum following intelligence report on the activities of suspected oil thieves in the area.

The team, he said, was made up of personnel from Naval Base Brass and soldiers attached to Nigerian Agip Oil Company. Yeibo said: “A Akassa environs, commended total of eight refineries and the efforts of officers and about 300 metric tons of ratings of the Central Naval products suspected to be Command for keying into the Automated Gas Oil and Crude Zero- Tolerance Campaign of Oil were destroyed during the the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice raid. The destruction was in Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas against accordance with extant illegal oil bunkering, crude oil regulations of destroying in- theft and other oil- related situ when arrest was not criminalities in the Nigereffected. The perpetrators fled Delta region.”

He added that there will be the objective area before the arrival of the military no hiding place for oil thieves personnel. Other items in the Central Naval Area of destroyed include seven Command responsibility and warned oil surface tanks, 93 drums containing products thieves to desist from suspected to be Automated illegalities and get involved in meaningful businesses or face Gas Oil, amongst others.”

According to him, “the Flag the wrath of the law.

This certainly is not the best Officer Commanding Central of times for operators of Naval Command, Rear Admiral Apochi Suleiman who illegal refineries in Rivers arrived the scene of the State as men of the Nigerian destroyed illegal refinery at Navy Ship, Pathfinder, are already making good their

Is there nothing good at about the so called illegal refineries?

threat of putting them permanently out of business.

In fact, in the last two months, 78 illegal refineries have been smashed in various creeks in the state.

According to Commander Shuwa Abdulrahim Mohammed of the Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder in the state: “The heat is already on oil thieves and those running illegal refineries in the state.

The anti-oil theft war is on, no compromise”.

He said his men will not relent until all illegal refiners are flushed out. “We will smoke these oil thieves out of their hideouts. They will have no peace unless they change from this illicit act,” he told newsmen at the base.

His men have continued to comb all parts of the creeks for oil thieves. Last Saturday,

while the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas was at the Naval Ship Pathfinder, Commander Mohammed’s men were at Oloma community smashing illegal crude oil refineries.

Yes, the nation has been battling with oil thieves without success, yet the Federal Government has not thought of creative ways of ending the menace. If there are operators in the informal sector of the Nigerian economy that have developed indigenous ways of refining petroleum products, would it not pay the nation more to investigate the technology used and adopt it for local refining? Nigeria will be better for it if it employs local skills to develop the oil sector. Modular refineries are being used globally. Nigeria

could research into this local technology and use it to empower the citizenry. If these local refiners are embraced, the government could work with them and sell crude to them for refining.

This strategic engagement could end crude oil theft. By legalising their operations, they will add to the stream of petroleum products available in the country.

Many of these refiners could, on the long run employ some of the unemployed youths in the country thus creating jobs and reducing the level of unemployment in the country. This administration prides itself as a government whose economic policy is to elevate Nigerians and alleviate poverty.

Nigeria has the habit of missing out on great opportunities. During the civil war, Biafra used the same technology to sustain its struggle for three years. The technology employed by the rebels to prosecute the war was dumped and Nigeria lost out of the gains it would have had at the end of the war.

Here again is a trying moment for the nation and opportunity like this springs up, all the nation's leaders and law enforcement agents are seeing is the wrong side of the coin. They are not asking how far the technology can go in relieving the nation of the perennial fuel crisis if it is developed. No, they are criminals, they should be shot. Nigerian leaders need to put on a thinking cap and think out of the box to save the nation the pains of endless queues at filling stations every so often.

Cover Shippers’ Council faults opposition against tracking note Continued from page 22 According to the Council, “Whether the Shippers’ Council introduces cargo tracking note or not, shipping companies will continue to collect this taxation, the $25 per container and all the other listings are expected to come from the already existing freight taxation collected by the shipping lines on Nigerian freight. The ICTN comes with payments that are already collected or payable per C M Y K

consignment, it is already included as part of the consignee’s payments.” He accused the shipping lines of forming a cartel and taking advantage of many West and Central African nations.

"They are trying to truncate the ICTN because they are the same shipping companies dealing with all the 18 countries in West and Central Africa implementing cargo tracking note,” he added.

According to the Shippers’ Council boss, the

administrative cost of implementing the ICTN in Nigeria is very low compared to what is paid in other West and Central African countries.

He disclosed that, in some West and Central African nation, they collect as much as 65Euro per TEU, while the lowest cost is 35Euros.

“The ICTN in Nigeria is different from those being implemented in West and Central Africa, ours is Advanced Cargo Declaration that gives you a column where

you must put the BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor) CAF (Currency Adjustment Factor) you must tell us what the surcharge is -whether it is GRI (General Rate Increase) which shipping companies do from time to time and they hide it, when you go for a shipping invoice they will give you a lump sum, it doesn’t tell you what the GRI or what the basic freight is.

“Here in Nigeria, we are charging $25 per TEU, which is less than a quarter of the

65Euros charged by other countries, but they are not worried about that because they know that Nigeria controls 75 per cent of the cargoes,” he stated.

According to the Council, under the ICTN, containers attract a fee of $25 per unit, Roro vehicles, $10 per unit, break bulk cargoes attract $0.2 per unit, while conventional/ groupage cargo attracts a fee of $1 per freight ton. Similarly, while crude oil export attracts $0.1 per ton, both empty containers and non-crude oil exports attract no fee.

24— Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Business & Economy

BY EBELE ORAKPO

ICA urges CBN to amend directive on publishing bank debtors

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he Institute of Credit Administration (ICA), hasappealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to amend its directive to commercial banks on the publication of debtors' names in the national newspapers as a debt recovery tool.

The President of ICA, Mr Adetunji Oyebanji, made the appeal at the institute’s 3rd Nigeria Credit Industry Awards on Wednesday in Lagos. The CBN had in April directed commercial banks to publish the names of debtors quarterly in order to recover “bad debts”. He said that the plea to the CBN to amend the directive should not be seen as the institute trying to hold brief for the banks. Oyebanji, also the institute’s Council Chairman, said the body viewed the CBN’s directive and its subsequent implementation by banks as standing opposite the ethics in credit management.

Group commends Customs for tackling smugglers in South East

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group, AnambraTraders Association has commended the Federal Operations Unit, (FOU) of the Nigeria Customs Service, (NCS),for reducing the menace of smuggling in the South East.

In a statement, Publicity Secretary of the group, Mr. Dede Uzor, said that the FOU in Owerri has been fearless in its fight against smuggling.

Chairman of Campaign for Democracy(CD) of South East Zone and Publicity Secretary of Anambra Traders have commended operatives of Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit, Owerri for its fearless feats in fighting smuggling.

Uzor described the customs fight against smuggling as a duty in the interest of the people that should be supported by all well meaning Nigerians.

Speaking during an exclusive telephone interview, he described the impact of customs work in the South East and South South regions as not only protecting the economy, but also preventing loss of lives.

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lthough Nigeria is the largest producer of shea nuts in Africa, accounting for about 40 per cent of the 600,000 MT of shea nut in West Africa annually, accounting for almost 60 per cent of world’s supply of shea butter and allied derivatives valued at about $3.8 billion every year according to Global Shea Alliance, yet, the country is not benefiting from the huge shea market because of low quality of the butter and nuts.

To reverse the trend, the National Shea Product Association of Nigeria, NASPAN, is working to improve the overall capacity of the shea industry in Nigeria. Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, the Vice-President, NASPAN, Mrs Mobola Sagoe said despite Nigeria's great potential in the shea industry, it is currently lagging its less endowed neighbours in the optimal harnessing of this resource as an export commodity.

Sagoe said: “The Shea industry is growing. We are working on how to improve the quality of shea in Nigeria because that has been holding us back. We have started training the women. Over 15 million women across West Africa participate directly in the Shea industry."

She stressed the need for government to be part of the Shea industry as Nigeria seeks to diversify her economy.

On the areas the government could come in, Sagoe said government should invest in warehouses, border control to stop smuggling, processing centres and mechanised techniques.

“The Nigerian Export Promotion Council has been helpful and it is in the interest of Nigeria that the quality of the butter is grade A. "Shea is found in 21 states in Nigeria but we can only identify four states - Niger, Kebbi, Oyo and Kwara - that produce quality shea that can be exported. If we are not able to export, then we cannot

COMMISSIONING - From left: Chief Olatunji Oyefuga, Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibril,Onirolu of Irolu-Remo, Oba Sikiru Adeyiga; and Programme Analyst, (Europe, Arab States and Africa), Montreal Protocol Unit, UNDP, Mr.Etienne Gonin, during the commissioning of Hydrocarbon Refrigerants Plant in Irolu-Remo, Ogun State.

NASPAN set to grow GDP ..as Nigeria loses $2.2b to shea smuggling change the economy. Even the local market is big enough now because the cosmetics industry is growing so fast. If they can all use shea, you will be amazed at how that alone will change the economy before we talk of exporting. If we get the government on our side to improve the quality, train more women in the rural areas, we will achieve much."

In some of these villages, there are no television sets so the women are cut off, meanwhile they are the ones putting food on a lot of people’s table.

Government needs to help us strategize on how to help the women in health and safety. Most times they get raped, bitten by snakes etc.

Women go into the bush at about 5.00am to pick the nuts. There is also a process for picking shea nuts. It is all natural; nobody planted

shea tree. It is a gift from God and because of that, every single process of shea is natural. The picking, boiling, processing are all natural.

Shea nuts are not plucked from the tree, they are allowed to drop by themselves.

If they are plucked from the tree, you get low quality butter. Taking them to a processing centre is another issue entirely. The women are willing to pick because they know they will get good money but they can only pick good nuts and get good nuts to the centre if it is package well so packaging was an issue. Shea nuts must be put in jute bags.

So we are putting standards in place.

“We are working on empowering women because without the women, there is no shea. Without the shea trees, we won’t have shea to produce. We are also working on securing shea trees. For

years, shea trees have been cut down by farmers and charcoal merchants and we are trying to stop that. It takes a shea tree about 30 years to start producing but now, NIFOR has come up with a variety that can produce in five – seven years.

The advancement of the Shea industry in Nigeria is being promoted by Shea Origin, USAID/Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport (NEXTI) project, Bank of Industry (BOI) and NASPAN. A 2010 USAID study showed that for every $1,000 of Shea nuts sold at the farm gate level, US$1,580 in additional household income is generated in the local economy.

Shea is needed all over the world at the moment as a substitute for cocoa, it is a product that if it is used in any skin care product, you see the immediate result.

Guiness restates commitment to quality products, laments misrepresentation always maintained and upheld

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uinness Nigeria Plc has again restated its commitment to continuously deliver quality products through the application of the highest standards of good manufacturing practice.

The company apparently is reacting to what, it said, were misrepresentations by some scholars of the facts in the issue relating to the alleged infractions in its rented off-site warehouse.

The matter is between Guinness and the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), which had written it on the alleged infractions.

NAFDAC had reportedly communicated to Guinness the infractions and fined it N1 billion, a fact the company had admitted. A statement by the Corporate Relations Director, Mr Sesan Sobowale, said that the alleged infractions were related to a rented off-site warehouse where raw materials are stored.

“The said raw materials store is not a production facility or a factory and the quality of Guinness Nigeria products was never in issue. NAFDAC insists that its authorisation is required before we can carry out the destruction of expired raw materials or indeed in the

process of approval of new best before date by the manufacturers of these raw materials.

“And we were in the process of engaging NAFDAC for clarifications and resolution of the issues before the private correspondence from NAFDAC to Guinness Nigeria was clandestinely passed to a journalist,” it said. The statement added: “Secondly, there was nowhere in the correspondence from NAFDAC to Guinness Nigeria where it was stated that “during inspection they found rodents in the factory.

“This is a false claim and an erroneous misrepresentation.

Besides, Guinness Nigeria has

best manufacturing standards and practices in all its operations. This is attested to by the numerous compliant practices certifications the company has received over the years, including from NAFDAC as recently as on Dec. 5, 2014. Then, NAFDAC awarded the company with the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Certificate for all of its products,” the statement said, putting the records straight.

“Thirdly, it is also patently false and misleading that ‘the problem is on finished products that were expired and Guinness were revalidating and recycling the product to the market’.

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 — 25

Economy

Can a New Buharinomics Save Nigeria?

By Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR African Heritage Institution (AfriHeritage), Enugu

Being text of a paper delivered at the 3rd Anniversary lecture of the RealNews magazine: Oriental Hotel, Lagos: Introduction.

I gave my commitment to the management of RealNews magazine since late May to deliver this third anniversary lecture, and we agreed that given my tight schedule, I could just speak ex tempore or from speaking notes. However, I decided to write down my thoughts a few days ago for the avoidance of doubt. My apologies if you find this a bit tardy. I have taken liberty to slightly modify the topic to reflect my central message.

The timing of this lecture is auspicious—coming in the 6th month after the inauguration of a new administration, and also with a new federal cabinet now in place. Before the government rolls out its full agenda, this is a good time to begin our citizen duty of joining the ever continuous discourse on the economy.

Our focus for now shall be pre-emptive and provocative— to challenge the Buhari/APC regime not only to demonstrate that it can manage the economy better than the PDP but also that it can lay the foundation for sustainably shared prosperity in a post-oil economy.

Let me make three quick points to provide some context to our discourse.

First, I supported President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) over Jonathan not because I was convinced about the credibility of the APC manifesto (and I said so in my article in January this year) but for three reasons. I was convinced that the last economic team was bankrupting the economy and had no clue as to how to fix it. Second, PMB is the first president of Nigeria under a democracy to have seriously desired the job and struggled for it for over 12 years. To me therefore, he must have a few points to prove, and I was willing to bet on a man who purposefully wanted the job than otherwise. Third, I was convinced that it would be in the enlightened selfinterest of the APC, once in power to do their utmost to keep power by delivering on the economy unlike the PDP which had taken power for granted. I am still confident that PMB can deliver change (although as I had indicated in my article in January, I didn’t believe that any of the two parties could deliver on their manifesto) but he and his team now need to run at the speed of a 1000 km per hour. We must support them to succeed by contributing when we can, and criticising when we must—tough love! I am enjoying my status as ‘an independent’ (I don’t belong to APC or PDP) and I therefore have the liberty to say it as I see it from the balcony!

Second, I am happy that the ministers are now in place, and I believe the president has assembled

•Soludo a team of eminently qualified and experienced Nigerians. A more important point is that it is a team of ‘believers’—who share in the mission and vision of APC. So now that a strong team of ‘believers’ is in place, there can be no excuses!

Furthermore, I read in the media that the Vice-President, Prof. Osinbajo indicated that he is “responsible for the economy”, and I believe President Buhari deserves great commendation for this fundamental delegation. No question, the buck stops on Mr. President’s table. However, as I argued in my article published January this year – “Buhari vs Jonathan: Beyond the Election” (which Vanguard newspaper still posts on their website under a section captioned ‘The Soludo Debate’), I believe the intention of our constitution is that the VP should be the ‘coordinating minister of the economy’. Besides being the chair of the national economic council (NEC), our laws make the VP chair of major economic institutions of the federal government. Thus, once a president selects his VP, we should begin to have some ideas about the possible direction of economic policy akin to a party in the UK naming its Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ours is a peculiar institutional design but to the best of my knowledge, these provisions have been undermined in the past (I have thoughts on possible amendment to the constitution so that VPs are not automatic successors to the President in case of ‘accident’ and to shield the office from the distractions of day to day politics to focus on the economy and no more). President Buhari has repeatedly stated his focus on “rebuilding” our institutions, and where else to begin the process of systematic dialogue on the economy than the strengthening of institutions for doing so within government? There are other institutional structures it must create/strengthen to consolidate and sharpen what Nigeria desperately needs now: a War Room on the Economy.

•President Buhari The rest of the paper is organized as follows: In section II, we summarize a caricature of the baseline statistics on the economy that PDP bequeathed but which APC/PMB must improve upon. Section III shows that the ‘old’ Buharinomics of command and control is a tried and failed policy and won’t work now. In Section IV, we hint at a few issues the new Buharinomics must take cognizance of if it hopes to build a sustainable, shared prosperity for Nigeria. We conclude in Section V. Baseline Statistics: What is the APC/Buhari Government trying to

Since it is the practice to blame the PDP for every ill that befell our country in the last 16 years (and there are many of them) it is also fair to credit the party with the positive ones ‘Change’?

Every team serious about ‘change’ starts with a clear identification of the baseline from which it measures deviations/progress. Nigeria has had 16 uninterrupted years of democracy with the PDP controlling the federal government as well as majority of the states. APC is now in charge at both the centre and majority of the states.

A minimum standard for measuring ‘change’ is the extent to which APC government beats the record of the PDP in measurable terms. As the

saying goes, if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve/change it.

Government must strengthen the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and preserve its independence to produce and publish credible national statistics. It needs serious funding. I really wish our policymakers can be a little less careless or casual about the use of official statistics. I criticised the last government for relying on ‘estimates’ by World Bank staff instead of the NBS statistics. When I hear the narrative so far in the media by the new government regarding the economy, I take it largely as the kind of ‘usual propaganda’ new officials deploy to show that their predecessors “did nothing” and therefore lay the ground for claiming that they are “doing everything for the first time in our history”. Fortunately also, there are many people as well taking a hard look at the numbers and recording scores. At AfriHeritage, we are developing a template for measuring government performance. As Nigeria has largely evolved into a two party state in a democracy, I prefer to frame the discourse on the baseline as ‘PDP’s legacy and the APC’s challenge’.

Since it is the practice to blame the PDP for every ill that befell our country in the last 16 years (and there are many of them) it is also fair to credit them with the positive ones. According to data from NBS, one outstanding legacy of the PDP is that in 16 years it held sway, it more than doubled the GDP of Nigeria (indeed with average year-on-year GDP growth rate in excess of 6% over the past 12 years, the GDP actually doubled within the last 12 years. It met average annual growth rate of about 2% and raised it to 6-7%, led by the non-oil sector. Yes, non- oil sector, and the “diversification” reported in the recently re-based GDP happened within the last 16 years. Will the economy more than double in the next 12 years under the APC? For me, if only the APC can double the size of GDP from about $550 billion to $1.1 trillion in 12 -16 years, and further half the poverty index, Nigeria will indeed be on course to be one of the largest 10 economies in the world by the end of this century.

As at 1999 when PDP came to power, Nigeria was largely a pariah state still lucky to have survived as one indivisible sovereign, especially in the context of the struggle by NADECO and restiveness in many parts of the country. On corruption, Transparency International scored it 1.6 out of 10 and ranked 98 out of 99 countries in 1999. Nigeria was listed among four countries that were non-compliant on the anti-money laundering rules by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

We could not service our external debt and relied on stressful rescheduling, with all the intrusive donor conditionalities. Poverty was estimated at 70%, and unemployment at nearly 20%. The 1990s will go down in our economic history as the decade of stagnation: when per capita income

Continues on page 26

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26 — Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Economy

Can a New Buharinomics Save Nigeria?

Continued from page 25 growth was zero. Average oil price in May 1999 when President Obasanjo took over was $15.24 while stock of reserves was about $5 billion.

After 16 years, several challenges remain and some have even worsened (especially insecurity). Although President Jonathan’s regime had the worst economic management relative to the resources at its disposal, it must be stressed that tremendous progress was made in the aggregate 16 years of PDP government. Yes, it should have left more than $100 billion in reserves but left only $30 billion (still about six times of what it met). We also wish that Jonathan’s team did not leave Nigeria with unprecedented rate of debt accumulation. But, according to statistics from NBS, the PDP handed over a $550 billion economy (largest th in Africa and 26 in the world), with 7.5% unemployment rate (better than European Union, France, Sweden, Belgium, etc although the underemployment figure is much higher); 32%?? poverty rate (as claimed by the former Finance Minister, or 61%??: NBS needs to clarify this claim); a stock of reserves of $30 billion; GDP growth rate averaging 6% over last 12 years; a relatively more diversified economy, with ICT penetration from 0.2% to over 60%, and a new contributory pension scheme now with trillions of Naira in pension fund. Our external debt is down although total debt stock is escalating. Our Gini coefficient (degree of inequality) is not different from China’s. Nigeria has consolidated and stronger banking system that currently finances both government debt and the private sector, with a relatively vibrant capital market. The capitalization of the Nigerian Stock Exchange grew from less than N1 trillion to N12 trillion as at handover.

For the first time, Nigerian economy is now rated by credit rating agencies (Fitch, and Standard and Poor’s). Even on corruption perception, Nigeria is far better today than in 1999, and PDP created the two major anti-corruption agencies— ICPC and EFCC, and as at 2014 TI scored Nigeria 2.7 and ranked 136 out of 175 countries. PDP secured debt relief for Nigeria, thereby relieving Nigeria from the stranglehold of the IMF/World Bank policy conditionalities. APC does not have to negotiate with Washington on many economic policies. The list is long. The point therefore is that despite the fall in oil price, APC is starting from a much stronger base than PDP did in 1999 and the challenge now is to do far better. In the coming years, Nigerians will be asking APC to show us their figures!

Avoiding the Mistakes of the “Old” Buharinomics Nigeria desperately needs the moral force/Spartan discipline and leadership of PMB at this time to fight corruption, terrorism, and hopefully begin to reconstruct the values of a people gone astray. On the economy, it is not going to be an easy transition for PMB. Igbos have a proverb that one does not learn to use the left hand C M Y K

at old age, but my prayer is that for the sake of Nigeria, he would have to do so and quickly too. Many great world leaders have had to undergo this personal transformation to adapt and exploit the levers provided by how the real world economy actually works in order to prosper their people. The former socialist/communist regimes of China and Russia are making tremendous progress on the move to competitive market economies. Many of us started off differently, and I actually made a career (with several books and articles) as an unrepentant critic of the IMF/World Bank’s structural adjustment programmes (SAP) in Africa even while doing my hard core economics work. But we have remained pragmatic intellectuals!

When PMB first came to power in 1984-85, the nation was as well in crisis. He did so much within the short time especially on anti-corruption and restoration of national discipline. He inherited a command and control economic policy regime and deepened it (capital, exchange, and price controls; import licensing; indiscriminate ban on imports, rationing of essential commodities; government ownership and control of so-called ‘commanding heights of the economy ’—banks and insurance, telecommunications, airline, refineries, roads and transport, even manufacturing companies, etc). I recall that it was something like a criminal offence then to be in possession of foreign currency. Exchange rate, interest rate, petrol price and several other prices were largely fixed. In the face of continuing shocks especially the fall in oil prices (in the face of huge debt service payments), relative prices were not allowed to adjust to restore internal and external balances. Rather, even more controls were imposed with all the gargantuan distortions in the economy (and industrial capacity utilization was largely below 20%) and as government could not pay salaries, massive retrenchment of workers was undertaken, but the economic crisis

Third, the treasury single account (TSA) is a great initiative, and I congratulate PMB for that.

However, we don’t have to return to the past of having every penny of government largely redundant in the central bank.

•Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Fnance worsened and Nigeria was on the brink of bankruptcy. The economy imploded big time. Unemployment and poverty worsened. It did not work.

The successor government faced little choice but to liberalize the economy under the structural adjustment programme (SAP) and Nigeria began the journey to a modern market economy. Of course, the journey has been chequered, and naturally is still a work in progress.

Since 1986, Nigerian economy has changed a lot and my reading is that there is a broad consensus on continuing progress towards a competitive (probably also compassionate) market economy framework. From the snippets of policy since the new government came, there is a growing perception of nostalgia, reminiscing of the ‘old good days’ pre-1986. There seems to be a growing tension between a tendency to return to the past versus a progressive match to the future. I am not sure how the new wine will fit into the old bottle. T Let me illustrate with a few examples. First, there is this sense of ambivalence as to whether to remove petrol subsidy or not; and whether government is going to run refineries in competition with the private sector under a subsidy regime or deregulated pricing. I am convinced that PMB has the moral authority and legitimacy to quickly remove the subsidy and privatize the refineries.

The fundamental case against subsidy removal is not economic: it is the fact that the citizens do not trust government to optimize the use of the proceeds for their welfare. If PMB does not deal with these issues NOW, I wonder when, if ever. Now that private refineries are coming up, it is time to privatize public ones. It should have been done years ago. The huge benefits are not only economic, but also an anti-corruption move. Let government produce a credible agenda of reforms for the sector and let us have another focused public

debate on this subject. You may be amazed that even the so-called ‘man in the street’ now understands that it no longer makes sense. The fiscal cost of keeping it is unjustifiable and unsustainable.

Second, one hopes that the report in the media about plans to resuscitate the moribund Nigerian Airways is not true. One thing the economy cannot afford at this time of crisis is to invest scarce resources on prestige or white elephant projects when most federal highways are not motorable (certainly none in the South East is motorable) or when we need to be investing tens of billions of dollars per annum on critical infrastructure. Third, the treasury single account (TSA) is a great initiative, and I congratulate PMB for that. However, we don’t have to return to the past of having every penny of government largely redundant in the central bank. For an economy desperately in need of stimulation, piling up idle cash at the CBN is not sound economics. We should deploy technology and transparent rules to implement a hub and spoke model of TSA whereby CBN is the hub while the commercial banks remain the spoke. Of course there are some benefits of keeping it at CBN, including possible anti-corruption outcome but as a proverb says, you don’t set your house ablaze because of the irritation of a rat in the house.

We can rid the system of corruption and realize all the benefits of TSA but still not starve the economy of the necessary liquidity.

Another minor point relates to communication and body language that jolts the market and undermines confidence in the monetary and financial system. When it was widely publicized on two different occasions within three months that “presidency directs central bank to …..”, it got many players in the economy seriously worried. For sure, Central Bank is not a government unto itself, and despite the statutory ‘autonomy’ or ‘independence’ of the Bank, it must work closely with the Presidency and economic agencies to coordinate macroeconomic policy. Everyone knows that the central bank or INEC cannot survive without the support and active collaboration with the presidency but no one wants to hear that the president has directed INEC on how to conduct an election. There is a reason the APC promised in its manifesto to ensure CBN independence. A central reason is to give the market confidence that the CBN will always act professionally and independently to ensure price and financial stability. It is to avoid the Africa’s Idi Amin phenomenon whereby the government of the day may ‘direct’ the central bank to ‘print’ money or to take other steps injurious to the economy because it wants to retain power. When the market knows or believes that the central bank is merely an extension of the presidency and takes daily ‘directives’ from there, the Bank loses credibility and its monetary policy committee meetings become meaningless. My fear is the precedence: we can never imagine how far future presidents can go in ‘directing’ the central bank on what to do with our commonwealth.

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015— 27

Banking & Finance

Forex: Banking on the ‘Anchor Borrowers Programme’

By BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

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he launching of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers Programme in far away Kebbi state last week represents the latest effort to tackle one of the greatest challenges to Nigeria’s foreign reserves and the value of the naira, which is the huge amount of foreign exchange spent on food importation.

For example, in the first half of 2014, the country spent $2.66 billion or N524 billion to import various food products.

This represents 8.1 percent of total foreign exchange spent on importation of visible goods during the period.

Furthermore, the country spent about $5 billion or N985 billion to import food in 2014.

Meanwhile, the huge food import bill is dominated by importation of rice, wheat and other commodities, which the country has the capacity to produce enough quantity to meet local demand.

While several policy measures have been introduced to address this problem, the trend has persisted. But faced with the challenge of declining external reserves due to sharp drop in foreign exchange earnings from crude oil, leading to devaluation of the naira twice within six months, the CBN decided to confront the problem headlong with radical policy measures.

The most recent and notable of these measures is the restriction of the importation of 41 items from the nation’s foreign exchange market. The list includes food items like rice, palm oil products, vegetable oils, tomatoes, vegetables and processed vegetable products, poultry and tinned fish. The purpose of the policy, according to the apex bank, is to encourage local production of these products. “The implementation of this policy will help conserve foreign reserves as well as resuscitate domestic industries and improve employment generation”, it stated.

The Anchor Borrowers Programme Realising that restricting the importation of food products from accessing foreign exchange will not automatically translate to their local production, the CBN decided to complement the policy with a programme aimed at boosting local production of rice and wheat, two of the four products that dominates the country’s food import bill. This C M Y K

is the rationale behind the introduction of the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP).

Speaking at the launching of the Programme, CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele said, “Nigeria’s food import bill is both exceptionally and unsustainably high. The top four import commodities, which include rice and wheat, consume over N1.0 trillion in foreign exchange annually.

Furthermore, relying heavily on food importation fuels domestic inflation, depletes our foreign reserves, displaces local production and creates unemployment in the country. Indeed, import dependency especially on commodities of comparative advantage is not acceptable and sustainable fiscally or economically.

“The Anchor Borrowers’ Programme would be a decisive model that will transform Nigeria from one of the world’s highest importers of rice into a net exporter of the commodity in the shortto medium-term. It will undoubtedly complement the

•Emefiele, Governor, CBN system of production and inadequate funding for the establishment and development of nucleus farms and small farmers out-grower schemes. The CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme is designed to address these challenges.

The Programme is designed to create economic linkages between farmers and processors, not

Smallholder farmers shall under the scheme be entitled to loans ranging from N150,000 to N250,000 to assist them in procuring necessary agricultural inputs Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) and advance the status of many subsistence GES small-holder farmers to commercial or large contract growers with attendant increase in agricultural productivity and farm income.

The ABP is aimed at addressing the various problems militating against large scale production of food crops in the country. For example, in the rice industry, despite the huge investment with the setting up of almost 40 integrated rice mills, the industry continues to suffer as a result of low yield rice varieties, poor farm practices and lack of good quality farm inputs. Other challenges facing the industry include non-utilization of available cultivable lands, manual

only to ensure increased agricultural output of rice and wheat but also close the gap between production and consumption by ramping up capacity utilization in the nation’s integrated mills.

Details of the Programme Under the programme, the CBN will set aside the sum of N40.0 billion out of the N220 billion Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) to be availed to farmers at single digit interest rate of 9.0 percent per annum.

Smallholder farmers shall under the scheme be entitled to loans ranging from N150, 000 to N250,000 to assist them in procuring necessary agricultural inputs such as seedlings, fertilizers,

pesticides and other important inputs to help b o o s t agricultural outputs and productivity.

T h e Programme is expected to link over 200,000 rice and wheat farmers with reputable millers for off-take of every grain of p a d d y produced. The m i l l i n g companies have a d e q u a t e capacity to meet Nigeria’s rice requirements, backed by installed state of the art processing equipment.

Ultimately, the quantum of funds to be channelled and the number of farmers to benefit from this programme will increase as we extend the Programme to other commodities.

The implementation plan of the Programme involves a three-pronged approach including: Anchor Outgrower Support; Value Chain Training for stakeholders; and Risk Mitigation.

This approach was adopted to ensure that major stakeholders in the industry work closely with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, NIRSAL, insurance companies, CBN and other financial institutions to create the needed linkages and transparent ambience required to sustainably grow the identified commodities.

Objectives of the Programme The Anchor Borrower ’s Programme is expected to deliver some key outcomes in five years. The expected outcomes are: An increase in the ratio of agricultural lending from 3.72 percent of total bank lending in 2014 to 7.0 percent; An increase in capacity utilization of rice mills from the current level of less than 50 percent to not less than 80 percent; Empower at least 1 million farmers in each of the selected produce under the programme; Create at least 2,000,000 direct and indirect jobs in the processing segment of the above value chains; and Reduce Nigeria’s import bill on the identified commodities by at least 30 percent annually over the specified period.

FirstBank unveils new SME campaign

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irst Bank of Nigeria Limited has unveiled its new SME Campaign which is specially designed to help SMEs grow their business with diverse product and service offerings.

According to the FirstBank’s spokesperson, Folake Ani-Mumuney, businesses require more than loans, and the Bank makes available non- financial services to its customers such as access to administrative assistance, translation services, conferences, seminars, forums and other business support services.

“We are determined to partner with businesses and pass on our own expertise and knowledge to small businesses across several sectors in Nigeria. Our experience in business spans several industries and segments. We understand the position most of our SME’s are in because we used to be in their situation and can provide valuable solutions for their business needs. We care about the path to success for our customers, we have walked this path and have developed solutions to ensure that the road to success is as stable as can be for our customers”, she further enthused.

Sterling Bank secures $40m facility from Turkey EXIM Bank

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n recognition of its commitment to international trade finance and investment among individuals and institutions across the world, Sterling Bank has secured a $40million facility from the Turkey EXIM Bank.

The facility was granted by Turkey EXIM Bank following the conclusion of a due diligence on the Bank which confirmed it as a reputable financial institution with capacity to meet its obligations and a worthy partner through which funds could be brought into the country for trade finance leading to the development of the country.

This further lays credence to the rating of the Bank by Moody’s, a leading global rating agency which assigned a first-time local and foreign currency issuer and deposit ratings of B2 with a stable outlook to Sterling Bank Plc.

28— Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Corporate Finance

Stanbic IBTC delights customers for their loyalty

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ith the holiday season around the corner, Stanbic IBTC Bank has launched a two-month nationwide loyalty campaign in which both existing and prospective customers are offered a new world of opportunities, while also delighting them with valuable gifts for their patronage.

Executive Director, Personal and Business Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Obinnia Abajue, said the initiative, the third in the series, themed ‘Never Stop Moving Forward’, is designed to encourage Nigerians to freely express the traditional African hospitality in the festive season by showering gifts and love on one another. The list of such gifts, he said, should not be limited to conventional items but should include financial gifts.

“Besides showcasing the essentials of the festive season, the highpoint being the sharing of gifts, the promotion fits into Stanbic IBTC Bank’s purpose of making progress real to deepen financial inclusion in Nigeria by making financial services and products easily accessible to even a greater number of people, wherever they may be.

Firm to launch platform for resource mobilisation

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he Centre for Health Sciences Training, Research and Development (CHESTRAD) International, a Pan-African not-for-profit development institution, will next month (December) formally present ‘I Will Give’, an innovative platform for the mobilisation of resources for social development in specific areas to the Nigerians.

‘I Will Give’ platform, is a unique solution to expand domestic financing through organised private giving in support of social development and key activities in education, health, youth development and women’s empowerment.

Speaking on the goals of ‘I Will Give’, the President of CHESTRAD International, Dr Lola Dare, said the platform would help address the issue of inequalities in access to education, health and other productive inputs through its crowd-funding strategy of mobilising from the capacities that exist in the middle class for social-giving and harnessing them for the purpose of African social development.

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Ethical stocks deliver better returns

by Asset Managers

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BY NKIRUKA NNOROM

nvesting in ethical stocks is more attractive as they deliver more returns to investors compared to other asset classes.

This was the position of asset managers at Capita Assets Limited, in a data provided by the company that tracked percentage returns of various investment options available in the Nigerian capital market.

According to information extracted from the data, average return by the common benchmark index of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) over a seven-year period stood at 3.71 per cent, while that of ethical funds during the same period was 19.27 per cent.

The data, which covered the period between 2009 and November 6, 2015, analysed year-on-year returns by the NSE’s All Share Index (ASI) and the NSE Lotus Islamic Index (NSE LII). The NSE LII is a weighted index that tracks stocks that comply with the Islamic rules on equity investments.

In an accompanying note to the data, Head, assets management, Capital Assets Limited, Mr. Azeez Adenle, said ethical investors could have the better of two worlds by earning good returns on their investments and still keeping to their beliefs, whether social, political, economic or religious beliefs.

“The amount of finance designated as being ethically invested in the United Kingdom currently exceeds £1 billion. In the United States of America, over 20 times this amount is invested ethically, including finance which is invested in environmentally friendly projects and companies which are screened using moral criteria. Major ethical investment stock market indices include Calvert Social Index, Dow Jones Islamic Market Index, Dow Jones Sustainability Index, FTSE KLD 400 Social Index, FTSE 4 Good Index and NSE Lotus Islamic Index,” Adenle noted.

According to him, contrary to assumption that insisting on ethics and beliefs might jeopardize returns on investments, ethical investors actively invest in the stock market and make better returns than other average investors.

He, however, noted that due to the intricacies in equity

portfolio management and the specialized nature of ethical investment management, investors should seek advice from or engage professional assets managers who possess the know-how to handle the investor’s portfolio profitably without compromising his instructions.

According to him, investors can also have a range of choices when constructing an investment portfolio that is based on their beliefs and religious leanings, including investments in unit trusts, mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), investment companies, private placements and public issues.

He pointed out that while ethical investments are usually identified with Islamic rules, ethical investments can also reflect other religious beliefs as well as social, political and economic opinions of the investors, especially activists in some specified areas.

He added ethical investments could be in Muslim businesses and in conventional institutions and businesses which undertake to deploy funding from investors on ethical basis.

He outlined two broad strategies for ethical investment to include positive and negative strategies,

VISIT - Managing Director, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Mr. Roy Naaman presenting a gift to the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode during a courtesy visit by the Cadbury Nigeria leadership team to the governor in Lagos. saying that under positive strategy, investors support investment in companies which are particularly

approved of in terms of their products, activities or business methods.

Fidelity Bank splashes N7m, duplex on Save4 Shelter promo winners

BY RICHARD UDOFIA

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idelity Bank Plc has given out a whooping sum of N7 million, a duplex in Abuja and other consolation prizes to winners that emerged in the second draw of its on-going Save4 Shelter promo.

The winners were drawn from the six geo-political zones of the country and include customers that hold various categories of Savings account with the bank. Some of the recipients of the generator sets, refrigerators among others thanked the bank and called on others to tow the same line of rewarding their customers.

Speaking at the event, the Executive Director, corporate banking, Mr Adeyeye Adepegba, said having carried out a research on the needs of its customers discovered that shelter took the centre list on

their pressing needs, adding that as a way of rewarding its loyal customers and to encourage savings culture, the bank took it as a responsibility to make housing funds available for its customers.

“Having given out one duplex in Abuja, we have two more duplexes to give out.

The three houses are valued at over N100 million, and N35 million cash and other consolation items valued over millions of naira, would be given to customers across the nation as rent support grants”, he said.

“As a strategy of financial inclusion as promoted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), we are encouraging our customers and the general public to save because there is a relationship between saving and development,” he added.

Mr. Olisa Ozobialu, a staff of the National Lottery Rotary

Regulatory Commission (NLRC) who was present at the draw said the process is very transparent and gives every customer an equal chance of being chosen, which is in line with the commission regulations.

Ozobialu called on other stakeholders to emulate the bank so that more Nigerians can boast of adequate accommodation in the country.

To qualify for the bi-monthly draw and be legible to win one of the duplexes, the customer is expected to open a savings account and grow the balance to N50, 000 or top up existing savings account with N50, 000. Qualification for the monthly draws that entitle customers to win any of N2 million, N1 million or N500,000, requires a customer to also open a savings account and grow the balance to N20,000 or top up an existing account with N10,000.

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 — 29

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30— Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Homes & Housing

Strong Structural Steel set to elevate Nigeria’s construction standards

BY NAOMI UZOR

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igeria’s built industry has received a big boost as Strong Structural Steel, a new entrant in the industry, promises to raise the country ’s construction standards.

The first phase of the investment is expected to bring foreign direct investment of $36 million to the nation’s economy. The operation will set up a stateof-the-art technology and proprietary building systems and will be the foundation for an innovative construction/ public works project that will result in meeting the growing construction needs of Nigeria.

The company is targeting to develop a market of quality construction, building materials, and public works project, eliminating the need to import steel products and specialised labour, which has characterised the country for decades.

Strong Structural Steel, a United States steel fabricator specialising in the fabrication and erection of Class A Structural Steel, Miscellaneous Steel and Pre Engineered Metal Buildings, will immediately hire 300 local Nigerian employees.

The facility will provide products and supervise labour intensive affiliated construction projects; projects that will engage thousands of Nigerians and consequently help to reduce the crime rate.

The project is facilitated and developed by Samano S.A. DE C.V Nigeria Limited.

Jose Salazar Tinajero, President/CEO of Samano S.A. DE C.V. Nigeria Limited, said, “The Company intends to establish privatepublic ventures that will benefit the government’s vision of economic growth and the communities’ life quality.

The company seeks to establish and ramp up the operations as soon as possible. It plans to dominate the technical aspect of operation with the Strong Structural Steel employee training program in the short term of 18 Months,” he said.

According to Tinajero, the investment is projected as a joint ventures/partnership/ affiliation with the Nigerian government or designated entity to establish a beneficial ownership and operational structure.

C M Y K

Necessary legal consideration when buying property Stories by YINKA KOLAWOLE

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UE to the highly complex nature of legal framework in real estate in Nigeria, it is very difficult to buy property without a horde of “experts” attempting to sway you with their advice. In Lagos state, in particular, the steps taken when purchasing property depends on whether you are buying empty land, an uncompleted building or a completed building, according to RE/MAX, a leading global real estate franchise company.

The firm here offers some advice on legal matters to consider when buying property in the country.

Empty land On the purchase of land, the company’s advice is twofold Registered Title and Unregistered title. Under Registered title, you have at least two options: Registration after a private transfer i.e. in the instance of a sublease, deed of assignment, etc.; Registration by virtue of a direct allocation by the Government i.e. In the case of sublease or a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O). Under Unregistered title – There are about six options: Sale by a private person who purchased from a registered owner but has himself not registered his title; Sale by a private person who purchased from an unregistered owner and had not registered his/her title; Sale by the Omo Oniles (Landowners) who have the title of a land that has been allocated to them by the government via Gazette or C of O, but have not processed their C of O; Sale by the Omo Onile- who are selling land not yet allocated to them under the circumstances mentioned above. The land has not been excised and is still technically under government acquisition; Sale by the Omo Onile under acquisition but not under commitment and; Sale by the Omo Onile of land under acquisition and which has also been committed.

Land covered by C of O To purchase a land covered by a Certificate of Occupancy or other registered titles, you must undertake the following steps: Sight the original registered document; Conduct a search at the

COMMISSIONING - Paul Garba, Deputy commissioner of Police, Nassarawa State, cutting the tape, assisted by Engr. Emmanuel Mbaka, MD/CEO, Platinum Mortgage Bank, at the commissioning of Becky Gardens Estate Police Station in Karu, Nassarawa State, donated by the bank. land/property relevant lands registry to the ascertain if it is the allottee purchased. The law says that Immediately who is disposing of the possession is 90 percent of take physical property, how many years ownership. The next step is are outstanding on the life of to register your title or possession of the property (out of the 99 interest over the property at the property appropriate land years usual life span), if the the purchased. The property is encumbered i.e. registry. mortgage, prior sale, long law says that Registered land lease, outstanding taxes or possession is When you are offered a land rents, or revocation. If your lawyer is satisfied with the by a person who has bought 90 percent of search and physical and has registered his/her ownership inspection of the Land title, you are to sight the registered conforms to the details on original the title documents, and then documents, which in that also essential. If there are it is time to draw up legal case, will comprise of a Deed building plan approvals and documentation of exchange of Assignment, sublease etc. land/soil tests, the results of the title and payments. Conduct a search at the lands must also be handed over at Upon this exchange, it is registry at which the said land final exchange. important that your title is was registered. Take all the Prior to the exchange, and registered at the relevant steps relating to the if you have not done so yet, purchase of land covered by lands registry. a physical visit to the land is Among the documents for a C of O. very important. Once an In addition to the above, and exchange, evidence that no exchange has been made tax encumbrances exists over most importantly, you should and payment for the original the land must be presented. get the survey plan attached titles, conveying documents Clearance from the to the Deed of Assignment, and documents listed above government agencies that all subjected to a chart. The are completed, then you land charges and other technical reasons for this can should immediately take demands have been made is only be revealed on a more over physical possession of detailed consultancy.

Platinum Mortgage Bank donates Police station P latinum Mortgage Bank Limited (PMBL) has donated a modern police station with state- of –the- art facilities and a Hillux patrol van in Karu, Nassarawa State, to support the police shore up protection of lives and property in the state.

At the commissioning ceremony of Becky Gardens Estate Police Station, financed by the bank, its Managing Director, Emmanuel Mbaka, reiterated the PMBL’s policy

of making security a priority in their housing development.

According to him, the mortgage bank has so far donated six police stations to the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja, Owerri and Abia State.

He called on the Nigeria Police not to relent in its fight against crime and in the protection of lives and property.

Commissioner of Police, Nassarawa State, Sani Mohammed, who was represented by the Deputy

Commissioner of Police, Paul Garba, appreciated the management of PMBL for handing over a modern edifice to the police to support its activities.

He promised that officers that will be deployed to the police station will ensure the safety of occupants of Becky Estate and its environs. He also called on all well meaning Nigerians and organisations to emulate the gesture by Platinum Mortgage Bank.

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 — 31

Insurance Stories by ROSEMARY ONUOHA

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remium Pension Limited, a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) in the country has been certified with the Information Security Management System certification, (ISO27001:2013.), a first in the pension industry.

The certificate was officially presented to the company by the British High Commissioner at its corporate head office in Abuja last week.

Managing Director/CEO of Premium Pension, Mr. Wilson Ideva said that the certification is a self-imposed duty by the company in ensuring that its information security management system meets with the expectation of its stakeholders especially it’s highly valued Retirement Savings Account, RSA, holders and legacy pension funds owners that have entrusted their funds to the management.

Ideva said that the certification further demonstrate the company’s zeal in ensuring the safety of legacy funds owners, while as for the board and management the certification is another indication of first and a measure of its strong corporate governance anchored on global best practices.

Chairman of the company, Mr. Aliyu Dikko said that the achievement of the ISO27001:2013 certification is a visible proof of the company’s

LASACO donates ICT equipment to college

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CERTIFICATION - From left: Deputy High Commissioner, British High Commission, Simon Shercliff; Chairman, Board of Directors, Premium Pension Limited, Mr. Aliyu Dikko; Managing Director, Mr. Wilson Ideva; Business Development Manager, British Standards Institute, East and Africa, Vladimir Chenry and Professor Mohammed Kaoje Abubakar, Commissioner Inspectorate of PenCom during the ISO 27001:2013 Certificate Presentation to Premium Pension Limited in Abuja.

Premium Pension gets ISO certification commitment to meet internationally- accepted data security standards.

According to him, being the first PFA in the country to achieve the certification was attained through the foresight, hard work and dedication of the board, management and staff of the company who are seasoned professionals in the pension

industry.

Dikko said that the certification is to demonstrate that the company has placed information security as a priority, while assuring stakeholders that a best practice security system is in place with strong compliance with National Pension Commission, PenCom, IT Standard.

IEI Anchor Pensions pays out N709.8bn to retirees

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EI Anchor Pension Managers Limited has paid out N709,782,279.54 to retirees under its management in the financial year ended 31st December 2014, its Chairman Board of Directors, Sen. Jonathan Zwingina, said.

Zwingina gave the figures while addressing shareholders of the company at its third annual general meeting held in Abuja last week.

He also said IEI Anchor Pension now manages pension assets in excess N39 billion from over 74,902 contributors.

“Our company has continued to grow stronger in the last ten years, albeit slowly but stronger nevertheless. It now has N32.3 billion assets under management in 2013 to N39.03 billion assets under management showcasing a 20.84 percent growth between 2013 and 2014. Our clientele base rose from 63,574 in 2013 to 74,902 in 2014. The sum of N709,782,279.54 was paid to retirees during the period under review” he said.

He noted that the return on investment for pension industry has been quite commendable on a risk adjusted basis.

“We further reinforced our basis through continued portfolio management, reviewing the performance of our various funds and what instruments are necessary to deliver growth. We also made choices on where to invest, where to improve and where to divest.

This was all with a view to delivering on C M Y K

sustained financial performance on the long term” Zwingina said.

According to the Chairman, “The introduction of the Pension Reform Act (2014) has given a new lease of life to operators and the industry as a whole.

However, much is yet to be done on enlightening the public on the scheme and its many advantages as the enrolment of a meager 6.4 million employees out of an estimated 70 million working population in the country leaves much more to be done.”

He however lamented the poor state of adoption of the scheme by the states and local governments.

Also addressing the shareholders, Mr. Glory Etaduovie, acting Managing Director/CEO said “The business world is now customer-centric. We are too. We are driving this with renewed zeal and zest. Our customers are happy with us as our present size ensures great service delivery.

“We are benchmarking global standards and our special purpose vehicle to achieve this is developing and growing the quality of our personnel and human resources. To achieve our dream of new heights in growing our market share, income and profits, quality of personnel is not negotiable with present competition.

Motivation, staff development and training is heightened” he noted.

Dikko said that the certification will enhance the confidence of RSA holders, retirees, regulators and stakeholders that its system and processes are among the best in the industry.

Speaking at the event, Director General of PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, represented by its Commissioner Inspectorate, Professor Mohammed Kaoje Abubakar said that the award is well deserved following positive contributions of the company to the Contributory Pension Scheme in the past 11 years.

She said that the award has placed the company on a higher and better ground in the industry and urging the company to sustain the momentum and ensure that it continue to play its expected role in the pension industry.

Also, Managing Director/ CEO, Digital Jewels Limited, Mrs. Adedoyin Odunfa said that ISO-27001:2013 is aimed at instilling a continuous improvement culture which focuses at securing and protecting the information assets of the company and compliance to global best practice standard. The coverage of the standard extends across physical, technical and administration security.

She said the company has successfully passed through the first and second technical assessment stages as required by the British Standard Institute (BSI) as a prerequisite for the award of certification.

asaco Assurance Plc has donated ultra modern information and communications technology equipment worth millions of naira to the Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy, Enugu.

Making the presentation in Enugu recently, Group Managing Director of Lasaco Assurance Mr. Olusola Ladipo-Ajayi, stated that as a risk management organisation it behoves on it to insure the country against ignorance by partnering with the government to fund education. According to him, as a pragmatic company, our definition of insurance goes beyond the orthodox of insuring life, goods, and other assets, to us supporting education is another fund of insurance with good dividend for the society at large. Ladipo-Ajayi pointed out that education is too germane for the common good and therefore its funding should not be left to government alone, stating that the ability of any nation to make giant strides is tied to sound and quality education of its citizenry.

He stated that the socioeconomic life of the country stand to gain tremendously when government and the business world collaborate in funding and supporting education, and urged other corporate organisations to follow suit.

According to him, when corporate organisations invest in education, it also stand to benefit in form of good research findings that can be turned to marketable product, and access to pool of quality human assets that can drive its operations for good market success.

“We are motivated to donate ICT equipment because of our believe in what it can do. Our successes as a company in the recent times received great inputs from application of technology to our operations”, he pointed out.

Receiving the donation which includes 50 units of desktop computers, central processing units (CPUs) and uninterruptible power supply (UPS), the Rector of the institution, Dr. (Mrs.) K.B. Sofoluwe, thanked Lasaco Assurance management for its kind response to the school’s clarion call for assistance, particularly in replacing the school’s obsolete ICT equipment.

32 — Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

E-Commerce

Ecobank unveils online marketplace, Mymall Nigeria Travelbeta raises $2m seed fund

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ravelbeta.com, Nigeria’s newest online travel agency has raised a $2 million seed fund barely six weeks after its website went live on the 1st of October, 2015.

Travelbeta & Tours Limited, the controlling company of the flight booking platform, began operating as a physical agency in July, 2015 before switching online in October 2015 and has generated $522,000 in revenues since.

Speaking on the investment, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Travelbeta.com, Onyeka Akumah said: “We have raised a seed fund of $2,000,000 from a group of Nigerian Investors led by Altheus Limited who believe we can dominate the Nigerian Travel Industry in the next 3 years based on our unique business model, the capability of the team leading this vision and the potential of the market size in Nigeria. We are also in further talks with an increasing number of interested investors outside the country who are beginning to take African and in particular Nigerian travel numbers seriously.”

Konga rewards customers with N2m

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a bid to show appreciation to its teeming customers, Nigeria’s online mall, Konga.com has rewarded 10 of its customers across the country with shopping vouchers worth N200,000 each.

The lucky winners, who were selected randomly as part of Konga’s periodic customer reward program are: Akinbolarinwa Awujoola, Joan Jemilusi, Iranade Akinbolaji, Lucky Iwuobe Dele, Ngoma Emeka, Olamilekan Musbau, Martin Ayomide, Bamidele Sunday, Adewale Adelanwa and Zwalde Nanpak from across Lagos, Edo, Port Harcourt, Abuja and other states across Nigeria.

Konga’s Head of Public Relations and Brand Management, Olatomiwa Akande remarked on the surprise reward program saying, "At konga, we delight in bringing happiness to our valued customers across the country. We value the unique opportunity we have to interphase with hundreds of thousands of Nigerians."

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STORIES BY JONAH NWOKPOKU

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cobank Nigeria has unveiled an online marketplace, w w w. m y m a l l . c o m . n g targeted at driving the growth of the small and medium enterprises sector in Nigeria.

Speaking to journalists at the sideline of the unveiling in Lagos, Head, SME Business for Ecobank Nigeria, Sunkanmi Olowo, said: “Mymall Nigeria is an online platform where our customers can open a shop online. We have developed a site where they can rent a shop and then be able to sell to the whole world. Today you hear of Jumia and Konga, that is the kind of thing we want to do for our customers so that SMEs who do not have the money to build an ecommerce platform, by virtue of belonging to Ecobank SME club, they can have a shop which the bank has developed for them through a partner and run their shops and sell to the whole world. By doing that, they are able to expand their businesses instead of just opening brick and mortar shops, which are more expensive, with this platform; they can do a lot more.”

To trade on the online mall, he said: “First, you have to belong to an Ecobank SME club. This requires the customer to have an SME account with Ecobank. If you have any of our SME accounts, you are qualified to join our SME Club online mall. But even if you do not have an Ecobank SME

account, all it takes is for you to approach an Ecobank or go to the website and then apply.”

Also speaking, Deputy Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Tony Okpanachi said: “Mymall Nigeria is a website where customers can post their goods and services online and sell. It is a way of giving access to our SME customers to be able to reach more of their customers across Nigeria. We are creating a platform for our customers who necessarily do not have to have their own websites like Jumia and

all about easy access to be able to do your transactions.

The days when people go into the physical malls and offices to do transactions are almost over, people want to sit in their offices and homes and be able to do their transactions. Given that, we know that e-commerce is now the way to go because people have their electronic devices that they want to transact easily with and still get the same kind of experience and satisfaction that they would have derived if they had done it offline. That is the trend that is taking over the world."

OPENING - From left: Yetunde Faulkner, Head, Commercial, Renmoney; Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chairman, Board of Directors; Graham Lee, CEO and Ojoma Okotie, Head, Sales at the opening of Renmoney new retail branch at Ikota, Lagos.

InnJoo2 with fingerprint technology debuts in Nigeria

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martphone marker, InnJoo has introduced a new flagship device, the InnJoo2 embedded with fingerprint technology.

The device which was

Merck enters Nigeria, introduces technology to tackle HIV/Aids

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Konga. They can rely on the malls we have provided for them. We also provide payment platform and logistics for them so that they do not have to invest in having their own infrastructure before they trade. We also know that as a bank, our outreach is so wide, so we make it possible for them to reach more markets and enhance their businesses.”

On what motivated Ecobank to venture into e-commerce, Okpanachi said: “Every customer these days wants convenience. Convenience is

erck, a German science and technology company has announced the opening of its office in Lagos, Nigeria. It’s the company’s first in the country and part of its strategy to grow its market share in the West African region.

This is also as it launches one of its products, the Muse Auto CD4/CD4% System, a compact and easy to use HIV/AIDS Diagnostic Kit, which is able to monitor the progression of HIV/AIDS virus in patients Speaking at the unveiling in Lagos, Merck’s Chief Executive Officer elect, Stefan Oschmann, said: “Nigeria is an evident choice for us. With a population that is known for its entrepreneurial spirit and innovative ideas, this is a perfect match with Merck.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, has one of the fastest growing economies in the world and we believe that through our high quality and innovative healthcare and Life Science specialty products and services we can contribute to that growth.”

Also speaking, General Manager, Nigeria for Biopharma, Charles Ajibo said: “Nigeria is a very important market for us and this will only increase in the coming years. We plan to expand our current portfolio in a steady pace and introduce many more products that are targeted to the unmet medical needs of Nigerian patients and help them improve their daily lives.”

unveiled at a press conference in Lagos, is equipped with Fingerprint 2.0 technology which is with the latest module of fingerprint detector and recognition algorithm and with a speed of 508PPI finger print resolution, it’s easier and quicker to recognize and record the users’ finger print.

This new technology enhances security for the user.

InnJoo2 also sports a dual 13-megapixel camera, a well advanced camera. Both cameras are adopted with Samsung CMOS Sensor, f/2.2 aperture, 88 degrees shooting range, 5P lens, and Blue Glass IR filter, which can produce sharp detailed photos and full HD videos with full-sided zero-delay shutters.

Speaking about the new device, Co-founder/CEO of InnJoo, Tim Chen said: “We are dedicated to bringing the new technology to the market,with an affordable price and premium quality the market is looking forward to. We think as a normal user while designing our products, which defines the

new functions and the way we apply the new technology to our devices. As we see the increasing demands for privacy and security for every personal product, the fingerprint technology helps to satisfy those desires completely.”

He added: “InnJoo2 is designed in 2.5D full metal frame, 7.3mm thickness and 126g weights. Adopted the world’s strongest Dragontrail glass touch panel, it has 8 times of hardness than its rivals and displays a stunning visual effects with 5.0inch screen.

The new device is alsoequipped with a powerful Octa-core processor and running the Android Lollipop operating system, 2GB RAM and 16GB flash memory which can be further expanded to 64GB via microSD card. With the builtin 3200mAh battery with fast charge technology, i t ensures a longer batteryusage. It is based on the Android 5.1 lighter Lollipop OS, InnOS allows a better user experience for browsing the Internet, playing games, watching and videos, listening to music."

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 — 33

Economy

STORIES BY EMEKA ANAETO, Economy Editor

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espite seeming iron clad position of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, backed by both the presidency and the newly inaugurated minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, the short and medium term outlook of the foreign exchange, forex, market points to significant decline in the value of Naira.

Vanguard investigations last week show that most Forex Forward Contracts at the over-the-counter, OTC, market segment puts US Dollar to Naira rate at steady depreciation.

Forex or currency forward contract is a binding contract in the foreign exchange market that locks in the exchange rate for the purchase or sale of a currency on a future date. It is essentially a hedging tool that does not involve any upfront payment.

In the One month forward contract last weekend one US Dollar was quoted at N202.20, down from N201.57 while three month contract was N212.10, down from N208.58. The six month contract depreciated week-onweek to N222.18, down from N216.94 while 12 month contract showed a depreciation to N230.11, down from N228.76.

The depreciation recorded in the forward contract was coming even at the backdrop of a slight appreciation in the value of Naira against US Dollar in the CBN-managed currency market segment closing the week at N198.53/ USD1.00 as against N198.76/ USD1.00 in the previous week. CBN clearing rate and interbank rate closed stable at N197/USD and N199.10/USD respectively.

Financial analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited, a Lagos based financial investment house, who corroborated this development linked it to the

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Naira faces tougher pricing in forward contracts fallout of the strict enforcement of the requirements of Bank Verification Number, BVN, in transactions at the bureau de changes, BDCs. In their research report on the market they stated “this week, we expect the Naira to continue to slide against the dollar at the parallel market segment due to supply shortage occassioned by the implementation of BVN”.

Also another financial sector investment house, Afrinvest Group, last weekend indicated that Naira value would be facing significant bashing in the weeks ahead.

According to them “analysis of activities in the forwards market shows traders are pricing the Naira within the range of N225.00 and N230.00 (1-year forward) as Naira is still believed not to be trading at its true value” apparently referring to the CBN-managed valuation in the official market segment.

At the parallel market last Friday, Naira continued to depreciate against the dollar, trading for as high as N232.00/USD1.00.

Concluding on its forex market report for last week Afrinvest said, “the increasing activity in the parallel market has been attributed to the full execution of the BVN requirement for financial transactions.

“Operators at the BDC have complained to the apex bank that the requirement for the provision of a customer ’s BVN before executing a forex transaction has driven a lot of customers to the parallel market due to fears of their accounts being used for malicious activities.

“The reduction in activity at the BDC has left the operators with large volumes of unsold

foreign currencies.

“The BDC operators have called on the apex Bank to extend the already passed deadline for the compliance on the use of the BVN. We do not expect the CBN to reverse its stance on the use of BVN for FX transactions and expect the currency to trend at current level next week”.

Reacting to the alleged fears in using BVN at the BDCs Director, Corporate Communications Department of CBN, Alhaji Ibrahim M u a z u wondered why anybody should be afraid of submitting BVN for transactions, adding that there was no threat in giving BVN for foreign exchange transactions.

Muazu had told Vanguard previous week that “this probably has to do with people with illicit flows, and not for fear of the BVN itself.

And for people with illicit

•Emefiele, Governor, CBN flows, they are avoiding documentation, the way they avoid the banks.

“To us, if not for the likely impact on the black market, it is a good development because it means the foreign exchange market is now demand driven. For example, if you go to the banks for ‘Form A’ foreign exchange

transactions, it requires more than the BVN. Submitting BVN for transactions is not a security threat. The BDCs cannot access the account details of their customers; they would just have the BVN for reporting purposes.

“The BVN is just an identity; the BDC cannot see your account details. It is just like asking you to submit your passport photograph. And the purpose is to make sure that people don’t buy foreign exchange above the limit allowed by the law.

There is a limit of $4,000 per individual per quarter. If one person buys $4,000 from one BDC, and another $4,000 from another BDC, there is no way anybody can verify it is the same person. All these things are supposed to be controlled by the BVN. All we want to clarify is that there is no threat in giving your BVN, it is an identity, in as much as you can give your passport photograph or even utility bills, as required for operation of dormant account.

Investment bankers outline economic blueprint for new Finance minister

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he

new finance m i n i s t e r, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, may have hit the ground running but industry analysts believe her success would be predicated on certain deliverables considered key to good performance of the economy.

Following her confirmation by the Senate Nairametrics, a Lagos based economic information outfit sounded out some operators in the investment banking world to identify the key performance parameters.

Against the backdrop of domestic and international

controversy over the management of Nigeria’s foreign exchange market, Dolapo Oni, Oil and Gas analyst at Ecobank Capital expects Adeosun to provide clear and concise information on the country ’s exchange rate regime and how it should be managed going forward, including the tools and likely policy direction.

Oni also expects her to seek ways to reduce the risk factor in the Nigerian lending environment, adding that the recently established Bank Verification Number, BVN, is only one step as people need to have credit records and ratings before they are allowed to b o r r o w.

This, he said, will h e l p reduce the r i s k involved in lending a n d contribute to lower lending r a t e s , noting that the prime driver of lending rates will remain the cost of government borrowing

but with adequate system liquidity.

Financing Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs, and agriculture, according to Oni, are key but have been done mostly the wrong way.

The finance minister, he stated, needs to find more creative ways for agriculture to be financed adding that banks have to be enabled to lend to the sector.

He also canvassed for tax benefits for companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, as a way to boost listings in the Nigerian bourse.

On the tax matters another investment banker, Dayo Oduwole, former mergers and acquisitions analyst at JP Morgan said efficiency in tax collection and the education of the tax base are key measures along with getting rid of multiple tax problems.

He also advised that there could be reduction in tax rates to boost sectors requiring relief and encouragement.

Other key deliverables for Adeosun according to Oduwole include adequate transparency in government spending, down to a granular level as well as improved budgeting and actual monitoring and benchmark implementation of budgets and fiscal policies.

Oduwole also urged the finance minister to set agenda for inflation targets.

34 — Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

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OTE: The first part of this series might create the impression that this is political commentary.

Even the Editor was alarmed enough to call me about it. Readers need to understand the reason for the historical summary. Every promise involves two elements, the promise and the entity making the promise. Nigerian political history has demonstrated that political alliances don’t last; and the promises made are never fulfilled. APC is another coalition whose sustainability will determine the fate of the promises made to us. Please read on.

“The wife of the President, Her Excellency Aisha Buhari, has appealed to the ruling All Progressives Congress not to renege on its campaign promise of paying N5000 to 25 million unemployed Nigerians and giving school children one free meal a day.” PUNCH, November 11, 2015, p 3.

We will return to the statement credited to Mrs Buhari later because it gives sufficient cause for concern about the promise and the possibility that the ruling party is already rethinking its promise. All is certainly not well – politically and especially financially.

Meanwhile, there is an urgent problem – which might be related to the disunity of purpose among APC leaders. It can be summarized in the question: what exactly did APC promise Nigerians?

And who promised it. President Buhari was the beneficiary of the promises Nigerians thought were made to them. He would also be the victim if the exact promises he endorsed are not made known to Nigerians and fulfilled.

Two “promises” have suddenly become controversial; and they need not be. The two concern feeding of school children, and N5,000 to be paid monthly to unemployed Nigerians. A credibility gap

What exactly did APC promise Nigerians? (2)

is developing calling for the President to state clearly what his government intends to do about the two. It is likely there are other promises, hastily tossed out during the campaigns. Even if the APC and most Nigerians forget, the PDP will remind us. That is the beauty of democracy; an active opposition party should hold the government to their promises.

Let me quickly summarise my position on these issues.

Those who persuaded Buhari that Nigeria could offer free meals to over 20 million pupils daily and pay N5,000 to over 25 million jobless people are condemnable liars. I think I know them. Those promises cannot be fulfilled in 20152019. Nigeria will not be rich enough for that.

“There is no such thing as a free lunch.”

American Economics Professor, September 1964.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo started the movement for “free” public services when he launched the “Free Education” Programme in the old Western Region in the 1950s. That misbranding of a laudable idea had since created a lot of problems for us in Nigeria – including the two under discussion at the moment. We

now have “free pilgrimages” to Jerusalem and Mecca; as well as free rides on Expressways.

When Obasanjo ordered that toll gates be dismantled he took Nigeria back to the nineteenth century. Where else in the civilized world can one drive free on expressways usually built by raising bonds which had to be repaid from the tolls collected? Governments, at all levels, have been deprived of trillions of naira which should have been collected from tolls and used to maintain the roads in good condition. In most countries, governments don’t build roads. A PublicPrivate-Partnership, PPP, undertakes the construction and maintenance without touching the public purse – except by paying taxes to the nation.

The gimmick involved in calling Public Education “Free Education” was pardonable when very few Nigerians had read economics or were literate.

The Progressives should discard it. Nothing is free; not lunch for school children and not N5000 for unemployed Nigerians. Since the public is going to pay for it, the public must be told and shown in

writing what studies were undertaken and who conducted the survey to determine that Nigeria could afford to feed 20 million school children a meal per day and provide N5000 per month to 25 million adults.

A major and exhaustive study was carried out before Awolowo launched the “Free Primary Education” Programme. My eldest brother, late Chief Sanu Sobowale, former Attorney General Lagos State under Jakande, was Private Secretary to Alhaji Adegbenro, Minister of Lands and Labour in the old Western Region. Our family house at Inalende Street, was directly opposite that of Hohourable Lanlehin. I can recollect the bulky document which both brought home to read before the programme was launched. It was detailed in every respect and the Head of Service, late Simeon Adebo, a consummate public administrator, made valuable inputs before the programme was launched. The population of school children then could not have been up to two million and they were all concentrated in the region.

That document would show that “free education” was funded by a special levy imposed on adults –

irrespective of whether they had school age kids or not. In other words, those without kids were subsidizing those with kids in schools. That was what made the mantra “Free education” a lie. It was a subsidy programme. Now, we have over 45 million people (kids and jobless adults) located in all states and Local Government Councils of Nigeria. It is a mind-boggling undertaking.

Nigerians therefore expect that those who persuaded Buhari to promise one “free” meal per day to school children should immediately publish the study they undertook before deciding it is feasible without imposing additional levies on adults.

Similarly, they should immediately make available the study undertaken to determine that N5000 per month can be paid to 25 million unemployed Nigerians and how they suggest that the programme can be funded. We are leaving untouched such questions as: how was it decided it should be N5000 per day and not N10,000 or N20,000? How was the figure 25 million derived given that the number of unemployed Nigerians could be closer to 50 million?

Those who handed Buhari those two “hot potatoes” have done the President a disservice as the next segment will show….

Micro-Finance

Firm canvases support for SMEs Stories BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

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he Managing Director of Sumptuous Africa Restaurant, Mr. Boniface Imo-owo, has called on the federal government to provide all the necessary supports to the small and medium enterprises, especially those in the food sector, by removal of double taxation.

He made the call while reacting on the recent award, 2015 Best of Inglewood Award in the African Restaurants category by the Inglewood Award Programme, won by his company.

He said that there is need for the government to set standards, licence and carry out effective regulation in the sector to ensure the safety of customers that patronise and eat food in public places.

Speaking on the award, he said: “the award came to us as a great surprise, C M Y K

considering the fact that our restaurant is just a year old here in California, but we are grateful to God. We see this award as a great honour and an encouragement to continue to do what we are doing right and to go the extra mile to do more.

Indeed, there are other restaurants, but we made a choice to consistently focus on

giving our customers quality service and mouth- watering dishes. Our strategy has always been to keep working to meet the taste of our esteemed customers.

Our plan is to make Sumptuous a household name both here and abroad.

We are also expanding our menu to suit our clients’ taste buds”.

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he Oxford Business Group(OBG), a global publishing, research and consulting firm has stated that despite the overhaul of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data after its rebasing last year, Nigeria requires significant private and foreign investment to attain its economic and human development goals.

The firm noted that though the nation is on track to become one of the world’s 20

Women entrepreneurs plan exhibition in Ogun

By JOSEPHINE AGBONKHESE

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igerian women entrepreneurs under the aegis of NACCIMA Business Women Group, NAWORG, have concluded plans to hold the largest exhibition of products, goods and services ever at an event billed to take place in December in Ogun State.

The exhibition tagged ‘Promoting Women Entrepreneurs Through Networking’ will focus on

synchronizing women’s economic potentials as tools for societal change and growth in Nigeria. Briefing journalists at a pre-event conference held at the MKO Abiola Trade Fair Complex in Abeokuta, where the exhibition is expected to take place, Chairperson, NAWORG/National Deputy President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA, Iyalode Alaba Lawson, said the event will create a platform for networking and business

transaction, as well as learning about each other ’s products and services, thereby leading to business expansion and subsequent growth of the Nigerian economy.

“The Nigerian Women Entrepreneurs Exhibition, NIWEX 2015, is being put together in collaboration with the ECOWAS Federation of Business Women Entrepreneurs, FEBWE, and Uplift Development Foundation, an initiative of the First Lady of Ogun State, Chief(Mrs)Olufunso Amosun.

OBG highlights path to country’s economic growth largest economies by 2020, with average yearly growth of seven per cent in the past decade, sustained investments in key major areas of services, manufacturing, agriculture and banking, would aid the nation’s sustainable growth.

Its latest publication on the country ’s economy, “The Report: Nigeria 2015” and new infographic entitled “Nigeria: a post oil economy”, the OBG puts a guide to the many facets of the country, including its macroeconomics, infrastructure, banking and other sectoral developments.

OBG’s infographic is an essential, at-a-glance tool that provides investors with a facts-and-figures summary of Nigeria’s latest economic development. Brief and to the point, it complements the indepth, sector-by-sector coverage.

It revealed that with Nigeria

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 — 35

Media & Advertising

Nigeria internet market to hit N1.1trn by 2017— Alcatel Regional Director Nick Imudia, Regional Director, Nigeria and Central Africa, Alcatel Onetouch, spoke to Princewill Ekwujuru on the re-entry of Alcatel into the Nigerian market, its propositions, global position and new phone trends and other sundry issues.

Excerpt.

Market positioning and Nigerians expectation lcatel OneTouch is unexpected, down to earth, irreverent and colourful. We believe that what makes technology smart is what you can do with it rather than what it can do.

Alcatel Onetouch is a global brand which has redefined the mobile mass market by making the latest mobile technologies accessible to everyone. It is the first to recognize the mass market’s needs and has since brought choice, variety and flexibility to customers – from operators to consumers. By combining its understanding of local insights and control of the end-to-end manufacturing process, Alcatel OneTouch delivers the best user experience with innovative, feature-rich and high performance mobile devices designed with simplicity in Alcatel OneTouch views the device as a hub, meaning that we consider complete home connectivity when we are designing and producing every product. We are a global base with more than 100 offices in excess of 160 countries, seven Research and Development, R&D centres and carrier relationships in all regions around the world.

Alcatel OneTouch is a brand within TCL Communication, an international multicultural company which designs, develops, and markets globally a growing range of mobile and Internet devices.

TCL Communication is a public company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (2618.HK) and part of TCL Corporation one of the largest consumer electronics companies in the world.

Alcatel Onetouch produces everything from feature handsets to smartphones, modems and tablets, providing solutions to all your mobile communication needs.

It is the third Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s company to partner with Google in developing the Android Operating System and one of the first to produce

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handsets that runs the Mozilla Firefox Operating System.

The Nigerian market entry As the smartphone and tablet markets have grown, especially here in Nigeria we want to bring to the Nigerian market affordable, yet attractive and feature-rich devices in order to meet the needs of our customers. We recognise that every mobile user needs and deserves a device that offers good performance, beautiful aesthetics and rich functionality. As such, we’ll strive to offer choice, variety and flexibility to consumers irrespective of their budget.

We also wanted to ensure that we had the correct infrastructure in place in order to get these devices into the hands of our customers.

We believe that we now have the correct mix to grow the brand and make an impact in the Nigerian market.

Nigeria is a middle income, mixed economy and emerging market, with expanding financial, service, communications, technology and entertainment sectors: In tech/internet connectivity in Nigeria has 38 percent population online, which is approximately 67.3million, 94 percent mobile phone penetration, 27 percent smartphone penetration.

Not only will the internet be the fastest growth area for expenditure, but it will also be the largest market that will worth US$5.6 billion in 2017, ahead of TV (US$1.1 billion) and sports (US$722 million).

It will be great opportunity for Nigerian market to migrate from feature phone to

OneTouch will embark on an Abov-the-Line, ATL campaign to build awareness with the consumer.

Imudia smartphone and get access to the internet.

Marketing plans and communications We have put down fundamental elements in place when launching new products into the market place. This includes a focus on training of staff, a solid instore presence with live/ dummy devices, point of sale, promoters and the appointment of a field marketing team as well as a competent Advertising, PR and Social Media agency.

This will ensure a good customer experience at store level.

Furthermore we have introduced an online purchasing arm which ties into the strategy that sees a large focus on online purchasing and a strong digital approach.

Once this solid foundation has been built, Alcatel

Global overview Alcatel Onetouch ,one of the world’s fastest-growing smartphone manufacturersis a global brand which has redefined the mobile mass market by making the latest mobile technologies accessible to everyone. It is the first to recognize the mass market’s needs and has since brought choice, variety and flexibility to customers – from operators to consumers. By combining its understanding of local insights and control of the end-to-end manufacturing process, Alcatel OneTouch delivers the best user experience with innovative, feature-rich and high performance mobile devices designed with simplicity in Alcatel OneTouch views the device as a hub, meaning that we consider complete home connectivity when we are designing and producing every product. We are a global base with more than 100 offices in more than 160 countries, 7 R&D centers and carrier relationships in all regions around the world.

Alcatel OneTouch is a brand within TCL Communication, an international multicultural company which designs, develops, and markets globally a growing range of mobile and Internet devices.

TCL Communication is a public company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (2618.HK) and part of TCL Corporation one of the largest consumer electronics companies in the world.

‘Juice ball’ & effective communication in brand building

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ince brands get recognition through the experiences they are associated with, it is important to ensure that their communications are developed to draw attention to positive emotions. A communication campaign that has done this well in the past few weeks and which has generated talkability is the Chivita 100% ‘Juice ball’ commercial. Currently running on multiple communication platforms, the commercial has endeared more consumers to the brand from market indications.

According to Emeka Nwosu, a marketing communications consultant with Wings Concepts notes that “the brand presence and growth of Chivita 100% juice from the house of CHI Limited has of recent been exceptional with the deployment of the ‘Juiceball’ commercial that is now on every broadcast station, social media space, billboards as well as sustained media articles exposure in print publications” For Olamide Ajayi, a sports content

marketing executive, said, “the Chivita 100% campaign has in recent times attracted the attention of communication experts for its adherence to the principles of great advertising. It is necessary to separate good advertising from great advertising because when certain basic fundamentals are adhered to, great commercials are capable of arousing the emotion in a way that deepens the interest of the target audience and brings about a lasting relationship and that is what Chi limited has done with this commercial” According to Chi Limited’s Head of Marketing, Mr. Probal Bhattacharya, “the success of the Juice ball commercial in raising awareness on the amazing quality and benefits of Chivita 100% is not surprising because the whole campaign has been designed and executed based on clear consumer insight with the objective of reaching consumers at the relevant touch points”

LG awards scholarship to 10 UNILAG students

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n line with its drive to immensely contribute to raising the standard of education in Nigeria, LG Electronics recently opened a Commercial Air Conditioning Academy as well as awarding scholarships to 10 meritorious students of the faculty of Engineering of the University of Lagos (UNILAG). Quintessentially aimed at enabling students gain the most up-to-date skills and training in CAC (Commercial Air Conditioning) - an evolving aspect of air conditioning, the training Academy is positioned to provide Engineering students of the University of Lagos with necessary skills and training in Commercial Air Conditioning.

The scholarship scheme which is in its third year is conducted annually by LG as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities with the sole aim of empowering young people as well as developing the educational sector, ensuring that youths who are the future leaders are adequately empowered with the required funds and assistance to enable them achieve their dreams and aspirations.

Bournvita, Indomie partner for ‘Celebration Campaign’

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everage brand, Bournvita, from the stables of Cadbury Nigeria Plc, is squaring up with noodles brand, Indomie, for the Bournvita Celebration Campaign.

The partnership according tothe collaborators aligns with Bournvita’s commitment to providing consumers with more value and nutrition.

The Bournvita Celebration campaign is billed to last for 3 months; October till December. The campaign will see the introduction of specially designed Bournvita – Indomie celebration packs in the market. The coming together of both brands for this innovation is a remarkable development in Nigeria’s food and beverage sector.

Speaking at the launch of the campaign at Cadbury’s office, Ikeja Lagos, Managing Director, Cadbury West Africa, Mr Roy Naaman, said both Cadbury and Tolaram group, parent company of Indomie have the same vision of providing nutritional vitality to families through their brands.

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 — 37

38—Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

By Adekunle Adekoya, General Editor HE nation’s current insecurity conundrum, epitomised by insurgency on one hand, and escalation in incidences of crimes like armed robbery, kidnapping, and assassinations leave everyone wondering just what has happened to the martial arm of society.

Nigerians, 30 years old or less may never know that the country once had a Police Force that citizens feared and respected.

Those were the days when truculent children giving their parents a hard time recoiled when threatened with the refrain: “Police is coming!”

Then, law and order ruled everything in Nigeria. Compared with what obtains now,

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PROLOGUE Trials, travails of society’s martial arm traffic was orderly, while people went about their businesses with the fear of the law.

In fact, whenever commercial drivers heard that men of a section of the Police, the Highway Patrol unit was on patrol somewhere, sanity prevailed on the roads while those whose vehicle papers were not in order took cover. If two people had a quarrel that was about to degenerate into a fight, they reined themselves in if there’s a threat to

call the Police. The beauty of Nigeria in the 60s, 70s, and up till the 80s was that you could go anywhere at anytime, unmolested. Our urban centres, especially Lagos and Port Harcourt had vibrant night lives; people moved from one party or club to another throughout the night without let or hindrance, while petrol stations were open all the time, running a 24-hour service. Sure, there were crimes, and there were

uprisings, but the Police was up to the task.

Just two examples will suffice.

The Agbekoya Uprising: The famed Agbekoya farmers’revolt took place about November 1968 to September 1969. It started as a revolt against taxes levied by the government of the defunct Western State, then under Brigadier-General Adeyinka Adebayo as military governor. The farmers, who grew the cash crop, cocoa, had their income slashed from about £120 per ton in 1965/66 season to just £65. Then, government raised taxes, levying £3.50 per adult. Faced with dwindling income from the sale of cocoa, the farmers insisted they’ll pay just 30 shillings. Coupled with political unrest which had led to a military coup Continues on Page 39 to cut the Force down to size, relegating it in the process to the servile role of only enforcing the law in the breach. This demeaning of the Force continued in successive military regimes such that the police was eventually forced to evolve a process of its own survival in the face of institutionalised neglect.

For instance, former Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Coomassie, in April 1998 berated the military because “men and women of the (police) force have been serving under a harsh political environment, torn between military authoritarianism and civil society so much so that they have lost their civil traditions”.

Civil taditions Policemen at a checkpoint

How military under-developed the Police From the mid-1980s while the nation was under military rule, the fortunes of the Police began to nose-dive through systemic incapacitation

By Mike Ebonugwo & Bose Adelaja

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T is not exactly known when fortunes of the Nigeria Police as a crime-fighting force nosedived, but there is palpable agreement that things took a turn for the worse in the Force following termination of the Second Republic, and summary retirement of then Inspector-General, Chief Sunday Adewusi. Adewusi was succeeded by Adamu Suleiman, who in turn was succeeded by Etim Inyang.

Armed robbery was rife, and a notorious robber, Lawrence Anini, a.k.a. Ovigbo The Law, ruled the underworld, terrorizing Nigerians in daredevil banditry and escapades. As Inspector-General, Inyang was embarrassed by former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, when, at the end of a meeting of the Armed Forces Ruling Council, the presC M Y K

ident turned around as he led other officers out of the meeting venue at Dodan Barracks and asked Inyang: "My friend, where is Anini?"

By then, morale in the force had plummeted to an all-time low, in the aftermath of the travails of former Force PRO, Alozie Ogugbuaja, whose experience became iconic of the Police's travails. However, a Divisional Traffic Officer, DTO, who pleaded anonymity lamented poor treatment of the Nigeria Police which has persisted over the years. According to her: ‘’I was happy to join the Police in the early 1980s. But I became sad from the 1990s over the predicament policemen were continually exposed to in the course of their job. It was then I swore and prayed that no member of my family, if I can help it, will ever go through such a bastardised system. In those years, we were kit-

ted up quarterly at government’s expense but because of corruption in the system, many policemen today cannot help but appear dirty and unkempt as government no longer meets its responsibilities as regards our uniform. Many policemen cannot afford to own two or more uniforms at a time”.

As regards working tools, some

Sometimes the resulting killings are blamed on accidental discharge by the police men involved.

Other times, the police find reason to justify such killings

of the policemen who spoke with Vanguard said in spite of the fact that some philanthropists donate regularly to support the police, the unfortunate irony of it is that the government does not provide fund to fuel or maintain the vehicles donated to the police. ‘’How do we combat crime in this regard? Do we fund investigations with our personal money”?

Indeed, it has been argued in several quarters that the NPF is a product of the flawed Nigerian system and a victim of the processes that gave birth to it. The Force was established to ensure internal security, especially the protection of lives and properties of the citizens. This, it succeeded to some extent in doing until 1983 when it seemingly lost its relevance following the military coup d’etat that overthrew the Second Republic civilian government of President Shehu Shagari. The military authorities who were visibly irked by the overbearing presence of the MOPOL unit of the police simply went out of their way

In the same vein Benjamin Okereke Brownson, quoting Clement Nwankwo et al in his research report, “The Role of Nigeria Police Force in the Administration of Justice: Issues and Challenges”, averred thus: “Under the military, the police gradually deteriorated. It became possible to cite them for the most heinous to the most trivial acts that violate the rights of the very citizens whose friend they purported to be”.

And thus was born the process which led to the police becoming a highly corrupt institution with its officers not only commercialising the process of law enforcement but also taking pride in doing so, and in fact often defiantly making a public show of extorting money from those perceived as having fallen foul of the law.

It soon emerged that the Police which was supposed to enforce the law began increasingly to operate outside the confines of the law, thus building and promoting legacies of inefficiency, illegality and decadence.

Police barracks Another pointer to how poorly the police as a key security institution is treated is the usually run-down state of where most policemen and their families live: the Police Barracks. A visit round to some police barracks in Lagos Continues on Page 39

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015—39

•Mobile policemen during one of their training sessions

Trials, travails of society’s martial arm Continues from Page 38 in 1966, with Chief Ladoke Akintola killed, and Chief Obafemi Awolowo in prison, the atmosphere in the region was charged, but it seemed the government was impervious to it. The farmers organized themselves to resist payment of the tax, and descended on tax officials who mounted raids against tax evasion.

To manage the situation, government used force to pacify the farmers and arrested some of their leaders. In anger, the farmers, now organized into a fearful militia attacked government structures, and as a result, many officials were killed. Court houses and government buildings were attacked, prisons stormed, while setting free thousands of prisoners alongside their jailed members in the process. The Police was managing the situation as the Federal Government had its hands full with the civil war. A female detective went underground, infiltrated the Agbekoya leadership, and in time, became a paramour of the group’s main leader. The information she gathered in the process led to the routing of the Agbekoya leadership and put paid to the uprising. The farmers’leaders arrested included Adegoke Akekuejo, Tafa Adeoye, Folarin Idowu, Mudasiru Adeniran and Tafa Popoola. That was the Nigeria Police!

The Ejigbadero (Jimoh Ishola) Case Another case in which the Police discharged itself splendidly was the murder case involving a Lagos socialite and land speculator, Jimoh Ishola, alias Ejigbadero, in 1975. A man, one Raji Oba was shot dead in a tussle over a parcel of land in Alimosho area of Lagos on August 22, 1975.

The wife of the man told the Police that Ejigbadero was the culprit. But Ejigbadero had what could be called a cast-iron alibi.

August 22, 1975, in the evening, when Raji Oba was killed, Ejigbadero was hosting guests at a party, celebrating the naming of a child born a week earlier. He was as connected as any could be then, with friends in high plac-

es both in the military and the Police and in high society, but was nevertheless arrested for the murder. The Police cut through his alibi, thoroughly investigated the case, and charged Ejigbadero to court. A verdict of guilty was returned, and he was sentenced to death. He appealed his conviction up to the Supreme Court, which upheld the conviction in 1978. He was eventually executed in March 1979. If the Ejigbadero saga happened now, the odds are that Raji Oba’s death would probably not be thoroughly investigated while Ejigbadero would have gone scot free.

Nigerians thus wonder what had gone wrong with their Police Force whose officers and men solved cases with just their wits then, compared with now. With GSM, internet, Police trust funds, Rapid Response Squads, and more, files of unsolved cases are getting bulkier by the day. We still ask, and will continue to ask: Who killed Dele Giwa, Bola Ige, Olagbaju Odunayo, Suliat Adedeji, Marshall Harry, Bagauda Kaltho, Jerry Agbeyegbe; Funsho Williams, Godwin Agbroko, Bayo Ohu, and many more others?

Oldest state institution The Police is the oldest institution of state in the country; its origins date back to 1861 when the Colony and Protectorate of Lagos was proclaimed by the British.

Needing a martial instrument to back up the administration, a 30man constabulary was established. 18 years later, in 1879, the Hausa Constabulary, with 1,200 men was formed. 35 years after establishment of the Lagos Constabulary, the Lagos Police was established in 1896. Before that, the Niger Coast Constabulary was formed in Calabar in 1894 under the newly proclaimed Niger Coast Protectorate. In the north, Sir George Taubman Goldie’s Royal Niger Company set up a constabulary for itself in 1888, with headquarters at Lokoja. When the protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria were amalgamated in 1914, part of the Royal Niger Company Constabulary became the Northern Nigeria Po-

lice, and part of the Niger Coast Constabulary became the Southern Nigeria Police. The two Police forces were not merged until 1930, when the Nigeria Police Force was formed, with headquarters in Lagos.

Abdication: However, as Nigeria marched forth as a state, its Police Force seemed to have been abdicating its responsibilities while the state accommodated the abdication by creating parallel institutions, instead of excising the tumours of ineffectiveness and strengthening the force. Over the years, basic Police functions have been taken over by other organizations created solely for that purpose. Along the line, for instance, the Highway Patrol Unit and the Motor Traffic Division of the Police got weakened through underfunding, personnel shortage, and poor morale. The road transport sector became riotous, while civilized use of the roads took the back bench. Motor accidents, with concomitant losses of precious lives became the order of the day.

As a result, concerned citizens advocated ameliorative measures, principally aimed at restoring sanity on the roads. Thus, the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, was born to perform what used to be a routine police function, managed by officers and men of the Highway Patrol and MTD. In like manner, the Special Fraud Unit of the Police, which still exists, now has its functions duplicated with the setting up of the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. This

If the Ejigbadero saga happened now, the odds are that Raji Oba’s death would probably not be thoroughly investigated while Ejigbadero would have gone scot free

is also not to forget the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA. Its duties used to be that of the Narcotics Division of the Police.

Somebody mused recently that if the state continues with its Police in this fashion, very soon, there might have to be different bodies to handle homicides, armed robberies, and other crimes!

Restoration time for Police: The Police as an institution is in dire straits and the nation must wake up to this reality by moving to re-invigorate the force.

Relative to the population, there are not enough Policemen. For a population of about 160 million, 305,000 policemen, of which only about 260,000 are deployed, according to the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, are inadequate to secure the environment. Some towns and cities, be-

cause of their population, will need more policemen than others. Lagos, for instance, has 33,000 policemen deployed for a population of 20 million. That averages one policeman to about 600 people. By comparison, New York City, in the USA has a population of 8.06 million, but has 34,000 uniformed officers deployed, supported by 17,000 other employees in the New York Police Department — 51,000 workers in all.

That averages one policeman to 235 persons, and if the technology and infrastructure of the US is factored, effective policing is assured. Thus, the nation needs more policemen.

Having more policemen will not be enough; they must be educated, well-trained, and well-paid.

They must also be well-kitted and well-equipped. Today, it is difficult to see two policemen dressed exactly alike; regulation dressing has receded in the Police in recent times. Further, Police stations should be computerized, and equipped with the latest ICT gadgets to enable them gather, store, and retrieve information on any person or place, real time. All Police stations nationwide should be hooked to a central database connecting divisions, area commands, state commands, zonal commands, and the central IGP secretariat.

How military under-developed Police Continues from Page 38 revealed that they are nothing short of ghettos or slums. Indeed, life inside the barracks approximates the Hobbesian description as being nasty, brutish and short.

In summary, the average police barracks is not a place worthy of human habitation. But because they have little or no choice, policemen are virtually compelled to live in such degrading places.

A visit to a Police barrack behind the Customs office, Ikeja, revealed how wastes from the septic tank find their way into living homes. The reporter noticed some of the structures were dilapidated, coupled with the filthy environment.

Humiliating situation Some of the officers who spoke with Vanguard said their welfare is nothing to write home about.

For example, as soon as an officer is posted to a new station, his belongings are thrown out within two weeks in order to create space for the one taking over from him. This humiliating situation is said to be responsible for the younger policemen desperately seeking money through all means to be able to afford befitting accommodation.

Vanguard also visited some Police barracks at Ajeromi Ifelodun, Keffi, Obalende, including Queen’s Barracks Apapa. Findings revealed that the accommodation for the men varies from executive to low-cost, and this depends on rank and to some extent, godfatherism.

An average policeman prays never to fall ill or sustain injuries as existing medical centres in the barracks leave much to be desired because they are poorly run and

maintained. ‘’Anyone rushed to the police hospital stand little or no chance of survival because the health centre is nothing but a white elephant project,” said some of the policemen. Indeed many observers are of the view that the prevailing plight of the police, especially the dearth of their operational equipment and poor welfare can be traced to their poor performance or inability to discharge their duties creditably.

Education and literacy in the Force: Another important factor is the educational status of members of the Force presently believed to be embarrassingly poor.

Investigations reveal that many police men are barely literate, a reason why they have limited grasp of what their duties entail.

According to the leadership of International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety): “The Nigeria Police Force (peopled by over 370,000 officers), going by modern policing technology, is no longer haunted by lack of manpower but lack of machine power and its competent handlers.

For instance, it is an indisputable fact that up to 95% of the Force personnel, particularly from constables to Inspectors, are not computer literate. Also, most of the socalled Investigating Police Officers in over 6,500 field formations in the country including state CID operatives fear computers and their hardware and software methodologies.

The Nigeria Police Force as the country’s general overseer of internal security must be re-focused, socially re-engineered and reconstructed to enable her face competently the mounting internal security challenges such as internal terrorism; violent, cyber and administrative crimes.”

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40—Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Having identified the superlative roles and performances of Amaechi and Fashola would you have been disappointed if the local politics in their states had deprived them of the roles that they now have?

I had occasion one time to make a statement to express my disappointment and unhappiness about the destructive actions and damaging and destructive moves weaved by spin doctors.

I will call them so, as their aim was to destroy the image and personalities of Fashola and Amaechi. I wasn’t happy about it. Fashola has displayed courage.

The law of this country says nobody should be judged guilty until he is found guilty and the person is innocent. I wasn’t happy that they were branding Fashola as corrupt with award of N78 million website contract, which he himself, might not even know anything about. At that level, that kind of contract would probably be handled by some lower level officers.

In the case of Amaechi having got through all that he went through in facing the might of •Osoba the Federal Government, in facing former President Jonathan and in facing the wife, Patience Jonathan, who is also from Rivers State, I was amused by Nyesom Wike now going for the jugular and by that I mean that Wike did not learn from history by setting up a kangaroo commission of enquiry.

•Afenifere made a big mistake supporting Jonathan If the governor of Rivers State, •I’m happy I didn’t venture to PDP but SDP Nyesom Wike, is a student of history, he could have known ELDER statesman, veteran journalist and political leader, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, was that former President Olusegun appointed in 1984 by then Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari as Managing Obasanjo also set up such kangaroo commission of enquiry Director of Daily Times Limited. Following his stint in journalism, Osoba entered the overnight and found former Vice political fray and served twice as governor of Ogun State, 1992 to 1993 and 1999 to 2003.

President Abubakar Atiku guilty In this interview, the leave as is intrepid reporter dissects the composition of the federal and the white paper came out a cabinet, asserting that in most cases round pegs are in round holes. Excerpts: day after. Turaki (Atiku) went to court and the Supreme Court

By Bashir Adefaka the merger committee, and there were ruled that commission of enquiry is not enough divergent views. At the time that we were nearly to disqualify anybody from holding public office, HAT is your perspective on the allocation breaking forth, Fashola was mandated by his that only a court of competent jurisdiction can of portfolios to ministers by the fellow governors to come and address us. After convict a person and will now bar him from president? he addressed us, we unanimously agreed holding public office.

The President has, through this allocation of immediately to adopt the broom. I give that as portfolios, answered the questions and just an example of his involvement and Commission allegations levelled against him as northernising influence in the making of the APC. Rotimi his government. My feeling is that we now have Amaechi, I can say, was also the face of the of enquiry a highly balanced distribution of governmental party (APC) in the Niger Delta.

His commission of enquiry therefore was of functions by the president.

I know his involvement, I salute his courage, Given the assumption that most of the I know the hell that he went through and I no value.

I know people who got to be governors but ministers were the president’s direct nominees, thank God the APC won because, Professor who were banned from holding public offices. do you envisage the ministers ever being Wole Soyinka, who is very close to Rotimi Adamu Mu’azu was once banned from holding disloyal to him?

Amaechi said the then Federal Government I would say that the President has picked (of Goodluck Jonathan) sent a message to public office. Former Governor Kwankwaso of people he has observed over time or those Amaechi about his engagement and the might Kano State, now a senator, was once banned whose track records he looked into and believe of the Federal Government but that he never from holding public office.

We have had all those mushroom commissions that they are people with pedigree for the delivered the message to him. of enquiry and people in future should learn delivery of government activities and And he didn’t mention what the message from history. You don’t just set up or spin performance. For example, Babatunde Raji was….? damaging and destructive information just Fashola was the face of ACN (Action Congress I don’t know the message, but it must have because you want to destroy somebody. At this of Nigeria) that we used him as a brand in 2011 been a very difficult, dangerous and deadly to regain our lost ground in the Southwest. message. I thank God for Amaechi that APC point, Ebenezer Obey’s song applies, where Besides his performance as governor, he was won. And for what President Buhari has done, he sang that no matter what you do that people fully involved in the presidential campaigns, the combination of two of them as strong party may feel is good, they will never be satisfied. and he headed many committees. Take for men with remarkable ministries is a signal of And the Bible says, “Judge not so that you shall instance the first meeting of the governors to the President’s respect for the party, for not be judged.” With what you measure, it shall fashion out a merger of ACN governors, CPC performance and for those who delivered and be measured unto you too. governors and Governor Rochas Okorocha risked everything for the party to win the Continues on page 41 coming from APGA was held in Lagos. I was in presidency.

Babatunde Raji Fashola was the face of ACN (Action Congress of Nigeria) that we used as a brand in 2011 to regain our lost ground in the Southwest

CABINET: Buhari has challenged the Yoruba to perform — Osoba

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As one of the leaders of Yoruba Land and as an elder statesman of Yoruba extraction, I will say that President Buhari has thrown a big challenge, a gargantuan one, to the Yoruba Nation by the challenge given to our ministers, and I don’t want to be sectional

VANGUARD, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015—41

CABINET: Buhari has challenged the Yoruba to perform Continues from page 40 Do you consider the leadership of the PDP to be unpatriotic given the spate of claims by the PDP against the new administration?

That is the function of opposition, to arouse the government…. ...But is this opposition constructive?

They will continue to make noise. They are drowning and when somebody is drowning, he will be struggling and holding to anything that is available (laughs). That is the problem with them (PDP). President Buhari has displayed a highly thick skin in his behaviour so far. He hasn’t allowed himself to be stampeded in any form. They called him ‘Baba go slow,’ he said thank you. He took his measured step to arrive at what he wanted to do.

Can we see your foray into the SDP as a sabbatical?

I don’t want to talk politics. I just talk governance. The President is in office and we should all face governance, bear with him and cooperate with his administration to take Nigeria out of the unfortunate situation that we are now. That should be our focus.

However, perhaps it is important to let you into what exactly you want to know by this tactical question trying to extract what my aims were for joining SDP in the last general election. I had series of meetings with Papa Ayo Adebanjo and Chief Adeniwun Ajayi in the first part and I was part of the team that worked towards MKO Abiola’s mandate, which was one of the reasons I became governor in 1992.

I found it convenient therefore to join the SDP than to go to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and I am happy that I didn’t venture to join the PDP otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to survive the kind of political mudslinging that happened within the party over the issue of Jonathan’s money. Imagine the type of altercations between some politicians over the issue of sharing money that they collected from Jonathan? If I had been part of that scam, my name would have been tarnished even more.

Accusing fingers But like I said earlier, this is not the time to start pointing accusing fingers but to bury our differences and work to protect the interest of Yoruba as a race and Nigeria as a whole. As an individual, I am ready to play a serious supporting role in rescuing the Yoruba race from the position that we find ourselves now.

We need somebody we can all rally round as a leader, whoever the person is.

The role of Afenifere prior to the 2015 general elections suggested the group was supportive of the PDP. Sir, also given that the leader of the SDP, Chief Olu Falae is a major leader of Afenifere, do you find yourself caught in a trap?

I am not an officer in Afenifere. You have to talk to somebody who is probably part of the Afenifere executive.

I became involved in the Social Democratic Party (SDP) at the late hour during the 2015 elections but what I observed is that tactical and strategic errors were made by the organization during the last general election.

Most of our elders, who have been trying to showcase the philosophy and ideology of Chief Awolowo ought not to have supported former President Goodluck Jonathan in the last general elections without doing some serious discussions and consultations. The SDP is a party promoted by Afenifere but up C M Y K

till today the chairman of the party, Chief Olu Falae and I have never sat down to discuss the affairs of SDP. And I’m serious about this, that since I got involved in the SDP before the last general elections, Chief Falae and myself have never sat down to discuss the affairs of the party. I’m telling you.

The organization turned itself into a spare part by going to support Jonathan in the last elections. There was no concrete agreement between the leadership of the party and the former president in the first instance…

What does the ceding of key portfolios to South West

by President Buhari mean?

As one of the leaders of Yoruba Land and as an elder

The SDP is a party promoted by Afenifere but up till today the chairman of the party, Chief Olu Falae and I have never sat down to discuss the affairs of SDP

•Osoba

statesman of Yoruba extraction, I will say that President Buhari has thrown a big challenge, a gargantuan one, to the Yoruba Nation by the challenge given to our ministers, and I don’t want to be sectional. I will only analyze those who are party members. The success of Fashola will be a measure of the future of South West and Yoruba in the politics of this nation. I believe that we must all, therefore, rally round party members who are now in the cabinet especially from the South West of the country. This is so because it is big challenge that Buhari has thrown to us and the onus lies on us to perform.

Where is the place of constituency projects usually embarked upon by the National Assembly……?

(Cuts in) I hope the President will discourage this idea of constituency projects where you allocate boreholes, solar energy to members of the National Assembly. The main function of National Assembly members is to legislate and they should now be confined to spending more time on making laws for governance of the country and leave the President and his team to execute projects.

If Fashola and Amaechi can collaborate and be able to revive Warri Port, a very extensive Port but totally empty now and underutilized, that will relieve Tin Can Island and Apapa.

Onne and Port Harcourt are underutilized.

There is no reason goods going towards the Eastern part of the country should not berth in Onne, Port Harcourt, Calabar or Warri, all of them with high-quality facilities to handle cargoes to decongest Lagos and the nonsense that is happening in Apapa will stop.

Industrial hub of Nigeria I trust Fashola. We Yoruba have no choice now than to rally around him. Because the party members in South West that have been given major challenges are Fashola, Fayemi, Shittu and by extension Rotimi Amaechi in the South South. We must go all round to support them to succeed. Yoruba people always don’t want crumbs. They want nets to fish themselves. Yoruba was the industrial hub of Nigeria in the old Western Region. What they want is the ability for the industrialists in this part of the country to deliver.

What did we have in 1999? We had Yomi Edu as Minister of Environment, Mrs Adelaja as Minister of State for Defence (Navy) and another man from Oyo State as Minister of Communications. Later we had Martins Kuye as Minster of Commerce and Industry. They

were mostly ministers of state. Now we have key ministries where performance is going to be measured…

(Cuts in) You said the South West now has key ministries where performance will be measured and, earlier, you said Fashola has the key. Now, what are the keys?

They have to be focused. From my own experience with President Buhari, he appointed me the Managing Director of Daily Times in June 1984, 31 years ago.

Political connections

At that time, Daily Times was virtually dead because the Shagari government of NPN, National Party of Nigeria politicized everything in the country and young people who had political connections were the ones in control.

When I was appointed the Managing Director and Prince Tony Momoh was appointed General Manager of the Times Publication Division, the Head of State at that time, Buhari, displayed total delegation of all our functions. Throughout the period that he was Head of State, he never for once day invited me to discuss what I was doing in Daily Times. There were those who were complaining about the massive reorganisation that Prince Tony Momoh carried out in the publication division and we had to weed out all those tainted with political leanings.

And they were power centres but Prince Tony Momoh closed his eyes, did surgical operation, cleaned the place off. All those who were writing petitions to the Office of the Head of State and so on, both Buhari and Idiagbon were throwing the petitions into the dustbin. So, within one year, I was able to take Daily Times from loss and balance the accounts in the first year. By the second year, we were back to profitability because we were given total freehand. What I have noticed of the President now is that he has the ability to delegate as long as he has confidence in you and he has displayed confidence in young party people who are in the cabinet now like Rotimi Amaechi, Fayemi, Shittu and Fashola.

Would you say it is the same confidence that he displayed in the young lady from your state of Ogun, who is entrusted with the highly challenging Ministry of Finance?

I don’t know her enough. That is why I talked about party people. I have never had any direct dealing with her. In the case of finance, I hope now that budget has been taken out of the Ministry of Finance, the President will now have to do a delicate balancing to ensure that Senator Udo Udo Udoma and Mrs Kemi Adeosun will work as a team to ensure successful performance.

Imagine the type of altercations between some politicians over the issue of sharing money that they collected from Jonathan? If I had been part of that scam, my name would have been tarnished even more

42 —Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015—43

Ogbe to chair CBAAC Int’l lecture in Nsukka

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INISTER OF Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe, will tomorrow, chair the 2015 edition of Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization, CBAAC, International Distinguished Public Lecture.

The lecture will hold at the Princess Alexandria Auditorium of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, UNN, Nsukka Campus, Enugu State.

The lecture entitled, 'Reconstruction, Transformation and African Unity in the 21st Century,', would be delivered by Professor Horace Campbell, an Emeritus Professor of African American Studies and Political Science and the Director of Pan African Studies at the Syracuse University, New York, United States.

Meanwhile, the DirectorGeneral of CBAAC, Dr..

Ferdinand Anikwe is billed to Chair the 1st Meeting of the Bureau of the 4th Pan African Cultural Congress (PACC4) to be held in Harare, Zimbabwe from November 26 - 28, 2015.

BIAFRA: Igbo leaders to meet Buhari Continued from Page 16 You’re a saboteur, MASSOB tells Ohanaeze MEANWHILE MASSSOB, has taken a swipe at Ohanaeze Ndigbo, over its decision to disown pro-Biafra group, describing Ohanaeze as a saboteur.

Ohanaeze, through its chairman of Presidents in the seven Igbo – speaking states, Dr. Chris Eluomunoh, had last week described the Biafra agitation by some youths as madness.

Reacting, the National Director of Information of a faction of MASSOB, Mr. Uchenna Madu, described the utterances against Biafra agitation as selfish and irresponsible.

Madu said: “The wide acceptance and consciousness of Biafra can never be thwarted or dislocated by disgruntled Igbo.

How can a self -acclaimed Igbo leader openly and shamefully disown and condemn Biafra, which is the living symbol of Igbo survival? MASSOB still believes that Ohanaeze Ndigbo cannot disown Biafra because the national leadership is still silent on this issue. But if finally it does, the Igbo nation will also disown and expel them from Igboland.”

We are not in support of any violence – Anglican Church

Meantime, The Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, yesterday, said it would never supportd any call or agitation that sought to jeopardize the oneness of the country, saying it was not in support of the ongoing agitation.

The Primate, Church of Nigeria, (Anglican Communion), the Most Revd Nicholas Okoh, believed that this and other agitations could be addressed with good leadership, urging people to be grateful to God for the gift of life.

Okoh, who spoke in an interview with Journalists at the 2015 Adult Harvest Thanksgiving Service with the theme; ‘How Can I Repay The Lord For All His Goodness To Me’, at the Cathedral Church of the Advent, Life Camp, Abuja.

Okoh contended that lack of unity threw up different challenges at the nation.

He said; “This also called for unity, which is much lacking in our country, there is no unity in our country. So, we call for love, for oneness and we pray to experience it in our country for us to actually develop and move forward. Showing gratitude to God also means relating to human beings gratefully.”

Unemployment, frustration

Similarly, the Archbishop of Ecclesiastical Province of Enugu and Bishop of Enugu Diocese Anglican Communion, the Most Revd Emmanuel Chukwuma said the church would not support any form of violence, blaming the protest on the failure of elders.

He said most of the elders had lost their integrity and moral standing to mentor the young ones, arguing that until the frustration of the youth was addressed through employment, this kind of agitation might not cease.

According to him, “Biafra agitation that you are seeing in the South East is a complete reflection of the failure of leadership of the elders. Elders

in the South East must wake up to know that the young ones cannot be overriding the authority of the elders, and that calls for caution, unity and good example by the elders. Most of the elders have lost their integrity; they have lost their authority and stance.

This is the time, we should begin to think on how we can gather the youths, give them that confidence and be able to lead them aright.

“I think most of these children did not see Biafra, they are frustrated. So we should think and address their unemployment to address their frustration and also address their indiscipline.

Glo Slide ‘n’ Bounce artistes thrill Makurdi residents

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O B I L E TELECOMMUNICATION network, Globacom, weekend held its musical concert, Glo Slide ‘n’ Bounce, in Makurdi, Benue State, treating the city’s residents to a rare night of unprecedented entertainment.

Artistes lined up for the show by Globacom included Afro hip hop star Burna Boy, alternative soul singer Bez Idakula and the duo of

Marvin Records sensational singers, Di’Ja and Reekado Banks. They lived up to the billing, entertaining the huge crowd at the Royal Choice Inn Hotels, venue of the show.

The compere of the show was Enugu-based fast-rising comedian, 2CanTalk with music supplied by DJ XGee. The show was described by residents of the city as the biggest entertainment event in the city in the last four years.

44 —Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

46—Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

BENUE GOV TUSSLE:

Tarzoor heads to Supreme Court

By Peter Duru

M

AKURDI— DISSATISFIED by last week’s dismissal of his suit challenging the victory of Governor Samuel Ortom at the Court of Appeal, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in Benue State in the last general elections, Dr. Terhemen Tarzoor, has said he would approach the Supreme Court for final arbitration on the matter.

In a statement issued yesterday in Makurdi by his Press Secretary, Mr. Terhemen Hwande, the governorship candidate expressed displeasure at what he described as the ‘questionable ground’ upon which his appeal was dismissed.

Tarzoor was quoted as stating that his decision to resort to the judiciary for legal interpretation as to who was constitutionally qualified by law to be a candidate of a political party in an election was in the best interest of the country ’s democratic experience and promised not to compromise his position for any reason.

New VC for Federal Varsity, Dutse emerges

By Aliyu Dangida

D

UTSE—THE ProChancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of Federal University Dutse, Jigawa State, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, has announced the appointment of Prof.

Abubakar Musa Kundiri as the new Vice Chancellor.

He is to succeed the incumbent vice chancellor whose tenure will expire in February, 2016.

Professor Adedoja said Kundiri scored 91.1 per cent to come first, ahead of Professor Salisu Abdullahi Kazaure who scored 81.4 per cent and Prof. Zakari Muahmmed of ABU Zaria, who scored 70 per cent to emerge third in the contest.

Adedoja explained that 24 professors applied for the VC’s job, adding that 11 were short listed by the council, while three were recommended by selection board after a rigorous interview.

FUEL HOARDING: Drama as DPR uncovers 2 petrol stations ...gives product free to motorists, motorcyclists

I

By Demola Akinyemi

LORIN—THE Department of Petroleum Resources in Kwara State yesterday, wielded its big stick when it dispensed fuel to motorists and motorcyclists on long queues free of charge at two filling stations caught hoarding the product in Ilorin.

The federal agency had before now, severely warned petrol stations across the state to desist from hoarding the products and sell to the people in order to alleviate the transportation sufferings until nemesis caught up with two petrol stations yesterday.

Recall that residents in Ilorin have in the past two weeks been facing acute shortage of the products, resulting in long queues at a few petrol stations dispensing the product, particularly NNPC, while many others closed,forcing many people to embark on trekking long distances to their destinations.

One of the errant stations, Alkad and Sons Nigeria Limited, situated on Olorunsogo, Ilorin, was caught hoarding a total of 2,300 litres of fuel, also known as Premium Motor Spirit, PMS. In the same vein, Nasmut Nigeria Limited, located at Otte in Asa Local Government Area of the state, a suburb of Ilorin, was also found to be hoarding a large volume of petrol, after which the DPR operation controller ordered that the commodity be sold to members of the public free.

Vanguard reliably gathered that the surveillance team of the department swooped on the stations, following a tip off by concerned citizens that management of the station was hoarding the commodity.

Acting on the intelligence, the team, led by Operation Controller of DPR, Mr Salvation Philip, dug up the station’s stock and uncovered 2300 litres of fuel in AlKAD and Sons Nigeria limited, while the station had allegedly told distraught buyers that it had exhausted the stock.

El Rufai to publish names of persons allocated school land

By Luka Binniyat

K

A D U N A — G O V E R N O R Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State has vowed to publish names of persons allocated school lands which he had started recovering through demolition of property on the allotted lands in Zaria and Kaduna metropolis.

Spokesperson of the state governor, Samuel Aruwan, who disclosed at a press conference in Kaduna yesterday, said the ongoing recovery was now being implemented in Rimi College, Kaduna.

He said: “Rimi College was founded in 1941 as Saint John’s College. The school occupies 24.387 hectares of prime land.

“Previous governments eventually excised a total of 3.19 hectares, which they gave to private individuals. ‘’The school also lost its students’ hostels which were converted to offices for some state and federal agencies.”

On when government will make public names of those allocated lands in the school, the spokesperson, who did not give a tentative date, said: “The promise will be fulfilled, it is in the interest of transparency, and the government considers it prudent to publish the names of the individuals."

“The government is aware that some of the 38 beneficiaries of the allocations took no steps to develop their plots because they had reservations about building on school property.

“Government hopes that our elite would subscribe to a consensus that preserves and respects the integrity of social assets like schools and hospitals.

Take it from me that the public will get to know everything and nothing will be hidden.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015—47

Bayelsa: Dickson tasks FG, security agencies on credible poll

By Samuel Oyadongha

Y

E N A G O A — GOVERNOR Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has called on the Federal Government and the international community to prevail on all institutions that have a role to play in the conduct of the forthcoming election in the state, including security agencies, to be above board in the discharge of their duties.

Dickson, at the inauguration of the Advisory Council of the Restoration Campaign Organisation chaired by Senator Nimi Barigha-Amange in Yenagoa, weekend, said the call became imperative in view of the alleged brazen manner members of All Progressives Congress, APC, have been boasting to use federal might to rig the election.

He said such utterances and show of impunity by the opposition have clearly shown that they were not only unprepared for the election but envious of the achievements of his administration and were, therefore, bent on plunging the state back to its infamous past of insecurity and violence.

“Members of the opposition party, APC, with their conducts are hell-bent on igniting crisis in the state, knowing full well that they cannot win the forthcoming governorship election. They have perfected their rigging plans and that is why we are calling on the

Federal Government and the international community to prevail on all institutions that have a role to play in the conduct of the election to be above aboard.

“The PDP is known for peace and that is the message we are preaching in all the communities in the state,” he said.

He said that the PDP would

ARRI—A nongovernmental organisation, Niger Delta Care Incorporated, Hearing and Vision Charity, facilitated by Delta-born United States- based audiologist, Dr. John Oyiborhoro, has offered free medicare to over 500 patients in Bayelsa State.

The free medicare, which held at Covenant Faith Proof Ministries, City of Truth, Yenagoa, witnessed a huge turnout of people from Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Imo, Abia, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and other neighbouring states.

Leader of Niger Delta Care Incorporated and organizer of the programme, Dr. Oyiborhoro, noted that the programme turned out to be the best since it began many years ago.

Oyiborhoro stated that he was delighted that the programme reached out to the needy in the society, disclosing that in 2016 his organisation will bring more medical experts from the United States with a view to reaching out to more underprivileged persons with health challenges.

He commended Starkey Foundation based in the United States of America and owned by Bill Austin, for always donating the

Dickson explained that the advisory council would have been inaugurated earlier but for the untimely death of Chief Deipreye Alamieyeseigha, who was billed to be its chairman.

He, however, said the council would continue to function even after the election as a foremost caucus to provide policy direction to the PDP and its government.

Edo 2016: Oshiomhole assures on APC's victory

By Simon Ebegbulem

B

ENIN—GOVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has said that the 2016 governorship election in the state would be the easiest for his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, noting that he will hand over to another APC governor who has passion for the state.

Oshiomhole, in an interview with Vanguard, said: “I am very confident that the person that will emerge after my tenure will be one that has passion for the state, who has managerial competence to drive and ensure that the state witnesses more growth and development than during my time, because what we have done over the years is to rediscover this state and give our people confidence that Edo is viable.

“Today, the Edo man has regained confidence. There is no

US-based audiologist provides free medicare to 500 in Bayelsa

W

continue to enjoy popular support from Bayelsans for a long time because of its wellstructured grassroots-oriented policies and programmes.

Such policies, he noted, had helped in alleviating the sufferings of the people as being testified by the rural dwellers who trooped out to identify with his campaigns in all nooks and crannies of the state.

hearing aids used for the programme, just as he acknowledged the challenges encountered in transportation and personnel in the bid to ensure that the 2015 programme met the target audience.

question now that the state is capable of developing and that we can do something about the problem of infrastructure, flooding, restoring integrity to public schools and public health care system. The challenge before the next governor now is to work on some feeder roads we have not done. The next governor will not need to work on Airport Road, or Akpakpava Road but he can connect all the adjoining streets.

“With the roads we have done in the last seven years, if the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, did half of that number in 10 years, then we would have added those ones to the ones we have done.

The problem we are having in Edo today is that PDP cannot show you one clean road with street lights and drainages they did that is still there. The only ones you can see are those Ogbemudia did. If the PDP had laid some foundations, we would have gone far today.

Delta doles out N324.1m lifeline to traders, farmers

By Festus Ahon

A

SABA—IN line with its resolve to minimize poverty among its citizens, Delta State Government, has disbursed N324.1 million as loan to over 200 cluster groups made up of traders and farmers across the 25 local government areas of the state.

Disbursing the interest free loan, through the State Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, DSMSMEDA, Executive Secretary of the agency, Mrs Shimite Bello, said the gesture was part of efforts towards driving the prosperity agenda of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s administration.

Disclosing that the money was part of the N2 billion Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, MSME fund, she said: “We have been able to give people money across the 25 councils of the state. This is not the end because Governor Okowa is passionately committed to the wellbeing of all Deltans."

“I am confident that the next governor will come from APC because the PDP has neither the messenger nor a credible message."

I know that we are living in a world of so called born again but like I said during the 7th anniversary, when a woman is found guilty of serial adultery in the community and 10 years later she says I have repented, I am now a Pastor, I shall commit no more adultery, can you entrust your wife to such person?

“I know Edo people will answer that question in a resounding manner. Nobody can return Edo to Egypt and PDP cannot be the answer.

Lawmakers task Ndokwa youths on security fund

T

HE Deputy Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Mr. Friday Osanebi, and Mr. Azuka Azaka, representing Ndokwa East and West, have called on youths in Ndokwaland to be active members of their communities so that security funds could be properly appropriated to ensure peace in the communities and safety of government’s installations.

Osanebi gave the charge, yesterday, when he met with youth leaders, community vigilante group leadership and anti-cult volunteer corps leaders in his office in Asaba, the state capital.

He told the youth leaders that the Operation Feed Your Neighbour Fund, to be released by the state government, was to ensure security of pipeline installations, support the education of the lessprivileged, empower youths to check vices and criminal activities within the communities and boost the effectiveness of the vigilante and anti-cult groups.

48—Vanguard, MONDAY , NOVEMBER 23, 2015

FG bans importation of gen sets Nelson Ilevbare HIS is scandalous! How can they do that? Nothing has been put in place yet the whole country is still in darkness.

If that’s the case, let them ban anything called generator or plant from the lowest KVA to the highest KVA in Nigeria. Then the rich and the poor will feel it together.

Emmanuel Ejere Indeed it’s a capital madness. It’s only the low income Nigerians can afford “I better pass my neighbour”. When will our so- call government stand by the lower class Nigerians? Buhari should stop playing games with people. Ban all forms of generator importation from the lowest KVA to the highest KVA. Kendo White Even in advanced countries where electricity supply is regular and available to all, that type of generator is still being used. The ban doesn’t make any sense.

Samuel Okafor What any reasonable FG should do is to place a ban on the importation of the goods that can be produced locally and not on the goods we can’t produce. Placing a ban on small generator that we can’t produce is a sign of wickedness and selfishness.

Abel David

T

This is a very inconsiderate move by the FG, the height of political insensitivity, an ignoble response to national poverty. Why is the government always eager to ban those products widely used by poor people? They ban ‘OK products’, they ban used cars, now they are banning ‘I pass my neighbour’? And they are using health hazard as a valid reason.

What a ludicrous and prepostrous excuse! Meanwhile, the minimum wage is not up to 20k. What nonsense! So poor people should sleep and sweat in darkness. How can Buhari be this wicked?

I’m interested in change but not at the expense of the poor! Take down the policy!

Chijioke Orgu Funny and insensitive Government banning small generator because its causes air pollution and affects the lungs.

So all the big Lister generators that use water as coolant and the rest are palatable to the air and repair lungs abi? Visionless govt! putting the cart before the horse.

Stablise power and see all brands of generator business become bad business and you see them no more in the market, instead of wasting govt time and energy pursuing generator importers.

Wind of revolt in S-East: Why Biafra must rise gain -Protesters Deboy his must be the most articulated, audacious and inspiring report on the Biafran movement in any independent paper in Nigeria so far. It’s clear everyone with eyes to see and ears to hear is now well attuned to Biafra and the restoration of its freedom. With the current events all over the world, it’s left for Biafrans to march on and let every part of the world and people of conscience be continuously and more elaborately educated on why this is the time for Biafra to leave Nigeria. We must speak aloud of our differences in the Nigerian contraption and the atrocities, indignities, and genocide we have faced and endured and will continue to face as members of the British contraption. Thank you Nnamdi Kanu for being the light of not only Biafrans, but all lovers of freedom and indeed the shackled black race.

T

Oche Biafra is a land- locked country with no access to the sea So interesting to see how the smaller tribes that were included in the Biafra map are just watching from a distance. Now, it is certain that whatever you do to someone today, someday it will turn back at you, you will pay the price at the long- run.

If Biafra succeeds in gaining independence from Naija. what will happen when these smaller tribes included in the Biafra map start protesting dominance of the Igbo as the case with Igbo and Hausa now, and strive to gain their own freedom from Biafra. Would the Igbos allow them to go?

We all know the mind of a typical Igbo man, the romance with the South South will not work because the Igbo man is good in domineering other tribes smaller than

them. Just as the Igbos are scared of Yoruba and Hausa dominance in Naija, that is how the Calabar, Akwa Ibom, Ijaw, Urhobo, Itsekiri, Benin, Kalabari, Opobo will be scared of the Igbo domination in Biafra land if they succeed in gaining independence from Naija. We are watching the drama as it is unfolding.

$2.9bn arms deal: My story, by Dasuki Onu Samuel asuki is joking. Instead of begging u the yaun. Buhari Muhammed Buhari will teach you lesson.

Kwuame It seems the judicial system in Nigeria is dying, if not how can a President be ordering the arrest of someone. The other time, he said he will follow due process of the law and now he is giving orders as if we are in a military era. For those supporting this impunity, you are encouraging evil and evil you will get. The man is already in court, why not amend the charges to reflect the new allegations or do the president think he can court marshal people in a democratic dispensation?

One question that keeps coming up is why the emergency in Dasuki’s case?

Justice they say, is slow but steady. When did Mr. president study the report given to him before concluding to order arrest?

He was given a report on Tuesday and while receiving the report, ordered arrest.

This can only be described as dictatorship.

When Amaechi was indicted, he was compensated with a ministerial post without any further investigation, now Dasuki is indicted, his arrest was ordered.

Nigeria who is fooling who?

D

We can no longer pay N18,000 minimum wage, Govs cry out Jumpingbrook Prince 76 18,000 ( lesa than $100)as a salary for four weeks for an adult of workable age is disheartening and worse than slavery... Now, the slave masters want it reduced. I cry for Nigerian masses!

N

Let me ask, if they ca no longer pay N18,000 minimum wage, where on earth will APC/Baba Buhari bring the N5,000 daily for the unemployed plus feeding allowance for school children, Hmmmmmm, this CHANGE go turn CHAIN soon.

Judiciary and forgotten cases of looting

T

HE court is where justice is ex pected to be served, but not here in Nigeria. Many of our judges are very corrupt. Rather than bring these high profile corrupt people to book, they allow them walk freely by granting them bail and interlocutory injunctions that inevitably foreclose their arrest. As things stand today, the situation will remain with us for a long time to come.

Chukwuma Dioka. Owerri 2347054911808

Single tenure of five years

The word democracy according to Fela Ransome Kuti means “ Demonstration of Craze”. Nigerians will agree with me that truly our political environment is becoming crazy and the spirit of corruption has eaten deeply into the lives of our leaders and they are trying to inflict the coming generation with such negative characters.

Many greedy leaders have forgotten that only God can rule forever. A single tenure of five years is good so that the craze for first, second and third tenure will be over. National Assembly should please do something about tenure elongation.

Steadfast Foundation 08121945298

Nigeria @ 55

Nigeria is 55 years and we are still grappling with the problems of bad roads, lack of job opportunities, corruption, kidnapping, assassinations, delay in payment of pension/ gratuity, flooding, terrorism and a host of other vices. These are clear indications that our past leaders have not done enough to meet the yearnings of the common man. Despite the abundant natural resources bestowed upon us by the creator, the sad truth is that most Nigerians are still living in abject poverty. This ought not be. The transformation of Nigeria should be geared towards meeting the immediate needs of the common man and not about lofty ideas that do not make much meaning to them. What is governance if the needs of the majority are not promptly attended to?

Anonymous 08153089490

Edo cult crisis

I dont see why any sane human should be a member of an anti- social cult which derives pleasure from causing mayhem in the society. It shows the extent to which our society has degenerated Emmanuel writes in from Edo State

Police brutality and harassment

The menace of police brutality and harassment in Lagos State has reached an alarming level.

This negates the avowed zero tolerance for road blocks throughout the nation by the current Inspector General of Police,( Solomon Arase ). It is common to see police officers extorting money from motorist.

The surprising aspect is the shooting of innocent citizens under little provocation. The police usually claim that the person wanted to disarm them or what ever. Journalists are not left out in these brutality by policemen. I appeal to the Inspector General of Police to kindly do something urgently to stop this naked reign of terror.

Kola Olawuni, writes in from Apapa, Lagos State.

Still on police brutality

The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase should please look into police brutality in this country. The killing of innocent citizens by the police is unacceptable. The Inspector General of Police promised to dismiss any officer found wanting in the killing innocent citizens or accidental discharge which is usually used as cover for killing innocent persons.

A soul for a soul, such police officers should be killed also for shooting a defenceless citizen to death. Police Service Commission , IGP and President Buhari should take note Anonymous +2348063897516

Fraud in Nigerian banks

Banks must put measures in place to fraustrate any attempts to fraud by insiders who have tricks up their sleeves. They must be proactive rather than allowing loopholes that can be easily exploited by greedy staff.

K.C. 07035010016

Power supply and energy development With a population of 170million and a flunctuating mega watts of 4200, there is no miracle for ‘stable’ power supply! With Nigeria’s population, experts emphasise that the nation needs70000mega watts which is a long way to go in the energy sector.

Why can’t each state generate up to 360mega watts, in two years? There won’t be development if the country lacks stable power supply.

Tony Ogun-Amahwe +2348051112924

SAYINGS OF OUR ELDERS I have sown a riga without a neck. Let him who cuts a neck for it put it on.

- Hausa proverb

Send us your Sayings of Our Elders. They must be African sayings or proverbs. Biblical or English proverbs are unacceptable. Address your sayings to: editor@vanguardngr.com

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 — 49

50 —Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

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Confirmation of Name This is to confirm that the name Erili Azuka Clifford, refers to one and the same person as Iyaberno Azuka Clifford. But now wish to be known and addressed as Erili Azuka Clifford. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OKON—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Mary Imeh Okon, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Mary Umana Usoh. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

DIO—I, formerly known and addressed as Dio Ebime-Ere Marian, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Cajotan Dio EbimieEre Marian. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

EZEONWUNEME—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ifeoma Justina Ezeonwuneme, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ifeoma Justina E. Onyenma. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ENOBAKHARE—I, formerly known and addressed as E n o b a k h a r e Osabomwen, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. C h i n o n y e Osabomwen.

All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

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A S O G WA — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Asogwa Hope Uchenna, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ugwu Hope Uchenna.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Confirmation of Name

OBODO—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Obodo Oghenefejiro Evelyn, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ugute Oghenefejiro Evelyn. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ARIGBE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Deborah Arigbe.now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Deborah Gegere. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

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General public please take note.

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ENEH—I, formerly known and addressed as Eneh Phina Nkechinyere Cynthia, now wish to be known and addressed as Ohaegbulam Phina Nkechinyere Cynthia.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ADOJUTELEGAN—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Oluwaseun Jemimah Adojutelegan, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oluwaseun Jemimah Shodiya. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ZIGBEYE—I, formerly known and addressed as Zigbeye Bainmene now wish to be known and addressed forthwith as Jigbeye Telaite. All documents bearing my former names, Zigbeye Bainmene remain valid.

Zenith Bank, other banking institutions and the general public should please take note and for record purposes.

SANDRA—I, formerly known and addressed as Chichi Sandra Nwaire, now wish to be known and addressed as Chichi Ngozi Nwaire. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

This is to certify that Awhibi Okeoghene Godstime, Awhibi Okeoghene, Awhibi Oke and Efeobare Okeoghene is the same and one person, but now wish to be known and addressed as Awhibi Oke. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

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Reps ask FRSC to regulate use of trailers Wants FCT to expand major roads to ease traffic

By Emman Ovuakporie and Johnbosco Agbakwuru

A

BUJA-MEMBERS of the House of Representatives, Thursday, tasked the Federal Roads Safety Commission, FRSC, to be proactive in managing the use of roads by heavy duty vehicles as well as performing the functions of a professional road safety organisation.

This resolution followed a motion entitled “need to address the menace of container - carrying trailers on Nigerian roads” sponsored by Rep. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, PDP, Abia.

In her submission, the lawmaker noted that the safety of lives and property of Nigerians has been a matter of discourse following numerous accidents around the country involving trailers conveying containers.

“A recent accident where a container laden trailer skidded off the Ojuelegba bridge in Lagos and landed on two vehicles, killing more than 10 persons instantly is a major example. It triggered multiple accidents with fleeing motorists and commuters sustaining varying degrees of injuries, “she said.

According to

Onyejeocha, the ongoing operation code named “operation scorpion” which aims at arresting trailers with un latched containers has not yielded desired results for commuters.

Also, the House urged the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Administration to expand major roads in the city to easy incessant gridlock often experienced by residents and visitors.

The resolution was sequel to a motion entitled “urgent need for expansion and re opening of roads in the Federal Capital Territory to ease the incessant gridlock and hardship to residents” sponsored Rep Ahmed Yarima. The House, which called for the re-opening of roads within the metropolis that were closed to insurgency also demanded for the completion of Waru, Wusa, Karishi road to give alternative route to the city.

Moving the motion on the floor, Yerima noted that difficulties faced by residents of the city were further compounded by the closure of some of the roads because of the fight against insurgency.

He said that the continued closure of the roads was a distortion of the Abuja master plan and compounded the traffic situation within the city.

MPC mee ts ttoda oda meets odayy •TSA, CRR, Dom. Accounts on the cards

By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

T

HE Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, will hold its 247th Meeting in Abuja between today and tomorrow to review effects of the Single Treasury Account policy on banks, among other policy measures.

Sources said the committee is expected to come out with far-reaching policy decisions on the Cash Reserve Ratio, CRR, which was reduced from 31 per cent to 25 per cent in September.

The CBN had also in September announced 30 per cent and 13 per cent for Liquidity Ratio and the Monetary Policy Rate , MPR, respectively, when it assured that the TSA had no negative effects on banks. Since then, the implementation of the TSA

had taken tolls on cash available to banks such that some are now reportedly struggling to remain afloat, a situation that could force the MPC to act quickly on how to bring some respite to the sector.

The fall in the prices of crude oil in the international market has left the nation’s economy struggling, with fears that many banks with large exposures to the oil sector could suffer large-scale non-performing loans in the short to medium terms.

Another issue that would likely come under review is the domiciliary accounts policy where much foreign currencies are said to have been trapped. It was gathered that the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has come under immense pressure to lift the ban on the operation of domicilary accounts.

52 — Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Akwa Utd players get cars for Fed Cup win A

KWA United players and officials will be rewarded with car gifts by the state government for winning their first Federation Cup. The Promise Keepers won a historic first Federation Cup yesterday at the Teslim Balogun Stadium edging out Lobi Stars 2-1 in the final.

A club source also said that Micheal Eddidiong, a member of the Golden Eaglets squad that came tops at the last FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, who is an indigene of the state, will also benefit from the gesture.

“Each player will get a car for their effort in winning the Federation Cup. Also Micheal, the Golden Eaglet player who made the squad to Chile, will also be rewarded by the state government.

"The players were aware of this before they came down to Lagos for the final and I believe it really motivated them to give their best.”

...Akwa Utd’s Awakan, Ubong win MVP, Golden Boot Awards

A

KWA United midfielder, Abdulafeez Awakan, has been voted the Most Valuable player of the 2015 Federation Cup. The talented star who scored the second goal as the Promise Keepers beat Lobi Stars to win their first title was rewarded for his impressive performance in the competition.

His teammate, Friday Ubong, also picked the top scorer’s award.

The forward scored six goals in the competition.

Akwa United beat Lobi Stars 2-1 to win the competition at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos yesterday.

Continues from BP

•HAIL THE CHAMPIONS... Victorious Akwa United FC players celebrate with the Federation Cup trophy after beating Lobi Stars 2-1 yesterday in Lagos.

Enyimba pocket N30m E

NYIMBA have pocketed the sum of 30 million Naira (about $150,000) for winning this year ’s Nigeria league. Enyimba skipper Chinedu Udoji was at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos yesterday to receive a dummy cheque of the prize money from Nigeria league boss Shehu Dikko.

It is the highest amount

•Udoji, Enyimba skipper

FCT backs Onyedinma for second term

BY JUDE OPARA, Abuja

T

HE Board of the Federal Capital Territory Football Association (FCTFA) says it is throwing its support for the ambition of the Chairperson of the Nigeria Women Football League Chief (Mrs.) Dilichukwu Onyedinma to retain her position in

Oliseh

game and playing champagne football.

“The truth is the total opposite though as we only recorded one victory in five games, including a home defeat to Uganda, and were absent from the 2015 Afcon.

“Moses Simon, Sylvester Igboun, Chima Akas, Paul Onobie, Shehu Abdullahi, Carl Ikeme, Odion Ighalo and Austin Obaroakpo among others are new players that now star for

ever paid a Nigeria league champion.

Enyimba topped the 20-team championship after they recorded 70 points from 38 matches.

They will represent Nigeria in next year ’s CAF Champions League alongside runners-up Warri Wolves, who finished their campaign four points behind Enyimba.

the Super Eagles. That were not the case in the recent past and it is refreshing to see and be part of their team buildup.

“I am quite optimistic about the progression of the Super Eagles and just as we welcome the applause that have been showered on the team by the fans, we also welcome constructive criticisms towards the team that simultaneously offer suggestions at how it could be done better.”

the forth- coming elections into the board of the league.

Chairman of the Association, Alhaji Musa Saeed Talle, told journalists in Abuja over the weekend that the board arrived at this decision after properly reviewing the achievements of Mrs. Onyedinma in the last four years.

“The board of the FCT FA during its meeting held at the weekend , took a critical look at the performance of the Nigeria Women Football League vis-a vis the Chairperson of the Board in last four years, and we came to the resolution that she had performed excellently well, considering the achievements recorded by the various national women teams within the period under review.

“Not minding the harsh environment she found herself in the last dispensation, it takes the doggedness of peo-

ple with great passion, and determination to achieve the feat the board recorded. We have no option than to endorse her for the second term in the office.

Benitez Continues from BP

strained relationship with the team’s senior players, including Cristiano Ronaldo.

Benitez replaced Carlo Ancelotti in June, with President Florentino Perez claiming the managerial change would breed “momentum” in the squad.

However, both the trainer and patron were subjected to resignation chants by their own fans, who also waved white handkerchiefs, during the Clasico. Castilla boss and club legend Zinedine Zidane and training director Victor Fernandez – the latter of whom has plenty of coaching experience in La Liga – have been touted as early frontrunners to replace Benitez.

Imo Gov hosts victorious Eaglets I

MO State Governor Rochas Okorocha will host coach Emmanuel Amuneke and four of the victorious Golden Eaglets who hail from Imo State in Owerri today.

The Eaglets are Ikwu Ejike, Udochukwu Anumudu, Kelechi Nwakali and Christian Ebere.

Earlier this month, Nigeria won a fifth U17 World Cup in Chile when they defeated fellow Africans Mali 2-0 in the final. Skipper Nwakali was named the MVP of the World Cup. Amuneke then assist-

•Amuneke ant coach was also received by Rochas when the Eaglets won the 2013 U17 World Cup in Abu Dhabi.

Akwa Utd

Continues from BP

was Abdulafeez Awakan who doubled Akwa‘s lead in the 70th minute when he powered home a shot beyond the goalkeeper from the top of the 18-yard box.

Substitute Barnabas Imengar Junior pulled a goal back for Lobi in stoppage time from a brilliantly struck free kick.

Incidentally, both teams clashed on the final day of the Nigeria league season a week ago with Akwa also winning 1-0 to stay up in the Nigeria premier league.

Sunshine Queens won the Women’s version of the Federation Cup after they defeated Bayelsa Queens 3-1 on penalties after full time scores stood at 1-1.

Last year, Sunshine Queens lost to Rivers Angels in the cup final.

CHAN

Continues from BP now a priority competition for Nigeria as it is considered a full international tournament and a team’s performance there will count in the FIFA rankings, which will be one of the yardsticks to use to seed teams for the final round of the qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup. Nigeria occupy a disappointing 59th place in the FIFA rankings and will need to garner some good wins to enjoy a better rating and invariably a more favourable draw for the World Cup qualifiers.

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 — 53

Ighalo: We didn’t deserve to lose to Man U

Van Gaal: Yes, Man U want Ronaldo back

N

L

IGERIA striker Odion Ighalo has said his EPL club Watford deserved at least a draw against Manchester United on Saturday. Watford fell 21 to United.

Ighalo was brought down for a penalty in the 86th minute which was converted as the equaliser by Troy Deeney, but he was denied a goal by Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea in the added time of the game when his goal-bound volley was saved.

Skipper Deeney then conceded a last-gasp own goal for Watford to go down.

The former Granada striker, who has netted

seven times in the EPL this season, said though the team did not start well, they recovered well enough and deserved at least a point from the game.

“We didn’t deserve to lose the game to Manchester United.

Though we didn’t play so good in the first half, we did much better in second half and deserve at least a point in the game,” he lamented.

“The result didn’t reflect the play, but we still thank God. Manchester United are a big team and teams not as big as them tend to have some problems playing them at the start, but we were much composed and played better in the second half.”

OUIS van Gaal has confirmed for the first time that Manchester United want to re-sign Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Yes, we are looking at all players, not just Ronaldo,” he told BBC Sport after United’s 2-1 win at Watford on Saturday.

“But these players are mostly ungettable. With Ronaldo, let’s wait and hope.”

Ronaldo spent six years at Old Trafford between 2003 and 2009, scoring 118 goals in 292 appearances and winning three

CONTEST: Odion Ighalo of Watford battles with Chris Smalling of Manchester United at Vicarage Road on November 21, 2015 in Watford. Man U won 2-1.

L

Madrid are one of the best teams in the world, but we took advantage of their mistakes.

“Leo [Messi] is more than happy to wear the club’s jersey again, for the game and victory that the team earned.

“There were opportunities [for me] to score [a third] goal, but I didn’t have any special interest in scoring our fifth goal. “[On whether Madrid are out of the title race], no. We’re six points clear, but the season’s very long and Madrid are a great team.”

Allegri C M Y K

AX Allegri admits Juventus “did not have a good performance, but we were solid”to beat Milan 1-0.

“It was a very complicated match because Milan defended well and caused us problems.

At the same time, we should’ve moved the ball better between the lines and it was not a good performance, but a solid one. The important

City were ‘clumsy’ against Liverpool — Delph ABIAN Delph b e l i e v e s Manchester City were ‘clumsy ’ in their 4-1 home defeat to Liverpool.

“Fair play to Liverpool for the way they came out but we looked too clumsy,” Delph told City TV. “Obviously the new manager they’ve got has implemented a system to press high. We expected that and we knew what they were going to come with.

“We were off in the first 45 minutes; then the performance in the second-half was a bit more positive - a bit more direct.”

Delph

Enrique: Barca were far superior to Madrid

L

UIS Enrique says he is revelling in “divine glory ” after witnessing his Barcelona

Suarez

Allegri: ‘Juve not great’

M

consecutive Premier League titles, plus a Champions League in 2008.

F

Suarez: We didn’t expect to beat Madrid 4-0 UIS Suarez has insisted that Barcelona’s 4-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Clasico on Saturday “ was a cluster of many coincidences”.

“We didn’t expect to win 4-0,” he said.

“We always said it would be a tough game, but we did a very thorough job from the first minute. “[On whether the result reflected the gap between the two sides], no.

“It was a cluster of many coincidences.

Gaal

thing was to win and go ahead of Milan in the Serie A table. We’ve got

to improve in terms of decision-making and not rushing the final ball.It might not have been a good game, but it was important to be solid."

Terry urges Chelsea to climb up the table

J

OHN Terry hopes Chelsea’s win over Norwich can kick-start their season.

“We’re delighted to win,” Terry told Chelsea TV. “Relieved as well. Picking up three points has been a

really good feeling. Good performance to top it off as well. Hopefully we can put ourselves on a good run of games now and climb up this table. We can build on this now and hopefully get another win on Tuesday.”

Enrique

side defeat Real Madrid 4-0 in the Clasico on Saturday.

“The win tastes like divine glory. It was a memorable match against our eternal rivals. We both have the same objectives, but they knew we were far superior. We did what we wanted to do.

“I didn’t see [Madrid surrender]. What happened was that we were at a higher level and superior in many areas of the pitch.

“We carried on creating chances after we scored our first goal. It was a very, very complete first half.”

54 —Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 — 55

Vanguard, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Oliseh: Eagles‘re making progress

S

Benitez faces Madrid sack R

AFA Benitez will re portedly be sacked

by Real Madrid either now or in June after losing the confidence of the club’s board.

According to Marca, the Coach no longer has the backing of Los Blancos following their 4-0 Clasico defeat to Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu.

In addition, the board are reportedly of the opinion that the side lack

*Benitez

an identity and are deteriorating with each

Van Gaal: Man U —P.53 want Ronaldo back

game, with successive losses cancelling out their statistically-impressive start to the season.

Consequently, Madrid are now believed to be considering Benitez’s position, the only issue being whether to pull the plug now or at the end of the season.

There have also been suggestions that the former Valencia and Liverpool boss has a Continues on Page 52

•Ronaldo

T OD AY'S PUZZLE ODA

The Eagles have played eight games, with four wins, three draws and one loss, scoring nine goals and conceding two under Oliseh.

He argued that there wasn’t any special achievement of late, the Super Eagles will want to emulate, but the team is growing steadily.

“One would think prior to taking charge of the Super Eagles, Nigeria were winning every Continues on Page 52

Enyimba —Page 52 pocket N30m

*Oliseh

Akwa Utd players get cars for Fed Cup win —P.52

Akwa Utd shock Lobi, win Fed Cup A

Terry urges Chelsea to climb up the table —P.53

*Terry

UPER Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh in reviewing his five months in charge of the national team, submitted that the Eagles are making progress under his watch.

The former defensive midfielder revealed in an article on his website that it has been challenging coaching a nation with 170m people who are football analysts and coaches, but the results have been promising.

*Federation Cup

KWA United up staged favourites Lobi Stars 2-1 yesterday to win this year’s Nigeria Federation Cup. Akwa United, who appeared in their first-ever cup final, will represent Nigeria in next year ’s CAF Confederation Cup on account of this historic cup triumph.

Nomso Edo put Awa United with a well-taken free kick after 36 minutes after Friday Ubong was brought down on top of the Lobi box.

Lobi, cup winners in 2003, chased the game after the interval, but it Continues on Page 52

CHAN Eagles resume training in Abuja N IGERIA home-based Super Eagles will resume training for next year ’s CHAN in Abuja in the first week of December, officials have announced.

The 2015 CHAN will be hosted by Rwanda from January 16 and Nigeria have been drawn alongside Niger, Tunisia and Guinea in the group phase of the biennial tournament reserved for players playing in their home leagues.

An official informed: “The players will regroup by the first week of next month and will break for Christmas before they reconvene for a training camp overseas.”

Dubai and a country close to Rwanda are being considered for this training camp. The CHAN is Continues on Page 52

QUICK CROSSWORD

FRI DAY'S ANS WERS FRID ANSWERS

ACROSS 1 Restraint (6) 5 Church (5) 9 Supple (5) 10 Guard (6) 11 Ascended (6) 12 Lukewarm (5) 14 Grumble (4) 17 And not (3) 18 Speed (4) 20 Giant (5) 22 Sickened (5) 23 Sunbathing (7) 24 Precipitation (5) 26 Weary (5) 29 Guide (4) 30 Couch (3) 32 Appointment (4) 33 Senior (5) 35 Deceive (6) 36 Front (6) 37 Keen (5) 38 Stretch (6) 39 Modern (6)

DOWN 1 Boil down (6) 2 Reiterate (6) 3 Aperture (4) 4 Temptress (5) 5 Seat (5) 6 Crowd (4) 7 Mail (6) 8 Itched (6) 13 Aimed (7) 15 Firearm (5) 18 Inflexible (5) 19 Principle (5) 21 Fruit (3) 22 Insect (3) 24 Toboggan (6) 25 Bird (6) 27 Devastate (6) 28 Proper (6) 30 Whine (5) 31 Postpone (5) 33 Paradise (4) 34 Unusual (4)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 4, Satan 7, Hymnal 9, Pod 10, Rid 12, Night 13, Scum 15, Dirge 17, Repose 19, Used 20, Scene 22, Tap 24, Deluded 27, Pev 28, Seedy 31, Area 33, Abated 35, Water 37, Pull 38, Scrap 39, Din 41, Key 42, Delete 43, Glued.

DOWN: 1, Thesis 2, Impure 3, War 4, Song 5, Adieu 6, Achieved 8, Lido 11, Disturbed 14, Mend 16, Read 18, Peep 21, Clerical 23, Pest 25, Leaf 26, Deep 29, Educed 30, Yelled 32, Awake 34, Arid 36, Aped 40, Net.

How to Play Sudoku

P

lace a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. Advert Dept Hotline: 014544821. Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024. E-mail: editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, letters@vanguardngr.com. Advert:advertproduction@yahoo.com Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

C M Y K