Economy in trouble, as oil price crashes

...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 62477

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ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

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MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

How rot in the Army started, by Ishola Williams •Pages 44-46

Economy in trouble, as oil price crashes •Massive crash puts 2015 budget in disarray •Experts, stakeholders predict future of oil market

•Energy companies owe banks N3.7trn

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By Emeka Anaeto, Economy Editor & Clara Nwachukwu

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A G O S — N I G E R I A’ S economy may be heading for trouble, as oil price crashed even lower at the weekend, thereby threatening the 2015 budget and fiscal plan.

The international price of crude hit a six-year low below USD40 per barrel with West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures as low as Continues on Page 5

UN pledges to assist Nigeria confront challenges 15

Mr & Mrs UN SCRIBE—From left: Ambassador of South Korea to Nigeria, Noh Kyu-Duk and UN Country Representative in Nigeria, Mr Daouda Toure, welcoming the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon on his arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, yesterday, for the 4th Anniversary of the UN building bombing by Boko Haram. Photo: NAN.

COLUMNISTS:

Blessed are the propagandists •P.42

C M Y K

High expectation for TSA •P.40

Indolent NASS and dictatorial •P.41 rule

Don't frustrate course of justice, Buhari tells lawyers 49

2 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

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Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015—3

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4 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

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Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24 , 2015 —5

POCKET CARTOON

PILGRIMS—Intending Muslim pilgrims boarding at the Kaduna Airport, yesterday. Photo: NAN.

Economy in trouble, as oil price crashes Continues from Page 1

USD39.89, while Brent crude declined further to USD45.10 from previous week’s level of USD48.87 per barrel. Nigeria’s sweet crude is similar to the Brent.

It is envisaged that prices will crash even further once Iran begins to enjoy its international pardon by pumping more oil into the already saturated market.

This will spell more doom for Nigeria, which is producing less than its projected 2 million barrels daily, thereby increasing the cash crunch and liquidity flow in the economy, with many states still unable to pay salaries.

The steep decline in oil

prices had in March this year forced the National Assembly to settle for USD53 per barrel as the oil benchmark price for 2015 budget, down from USD65 earlier proposed by the Federal Executive Council under expresident Goodluck Jonathan.

The government had earlier in the year effected downward review of the budget benchmark twice in response to sliding oil price from USD78 to USD73 and later to USD65. It even said it had planned for possible price fall scenarios of up to $50/barrel.

With this development, economists are expecting further downwards adjustments in the budgetary benchmark, revenue projections and ultimately expenditure

IT'S UP TO YOU

BY AYO ADIO ALENT in itself takes you nowhere but the solution the talent proffers. Whatever it is you call your talent, make sure it is making a difference in the life of someone. It’s up to you.

T

TAKE HEART

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

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HINK of a role that would be your dreams come true. Do you wish you were a genius? A more beautiful persona perhaps. News flash: Most of us believe that our favorite role identities would allow us to finally feel worthy, deserving, good enough. If you’ve actually managed to attain your favorite role identity, thinking about it really may give you a spike of satisfaction. But there’s a catch: No matter how positive a role identity may seem, it comes with a price. Any kind of label, good or bad, is inherently limiting if you believe it encompasses your personality to the exclusion of all else. Of course you want to be more of everything uplifting! You are made for more. Dream bigger.

provisions. Also, they expect further pressure on the value of Naira as the development has wiped off any accretion to the country ’s Excess Crude Account.

According to the Global Chief Economist, Renaissance Capital, Mr. Charles Robertson, lower oil price will be painful for the budget. It means less money is available for much-needed investment in infrastructure.

Budget projections The 2015 budget had envisaged federal government’s share to be about N3.6 trillion of total oil component revenue at USD65 per barrel, with estimated production output of 2million barrels per day.

At current oil price, the component accruable to the federal government would drop massively to less than N2.5 trillion, putting the entire budget in disarray. Evidently all the projected expenditure, Vanguard learnt, are already being curtailed in the recurrent expenditure provisions in the budget, while capital expenditure of N634 billion is completely dropped.

An economist with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) told Vanguard that federal government may have abandoned the 2015 budget entirely and is now focusing on

ordering the economy for 2016 budget and fiscal policy. He added, however, that in the interim, the apex bank would be battling with the external reserves and exchange rate pressures as a result of this development in the international oil market.

Analysing the current pressures on CBN over the external reserves and plunging oil revenue, economists at FSDH Merchant Bank, said: "Although the CBN may keep to its current exchange rate position, we believe that with the huge demand pressure in the foreign exchange market in the face of the declining oil price and unsold oil production, we are inclined to maintain our forecast exchange rates,” which is about N216/ USD1.00 in the official CBN window by next month.

The oil revenue situation appears more compounded as Nigeria’s ability to produce and availability of buyers have been on the negative since this year. According to OPEC, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) cut its July official selling price for Bonny light and Qua Ibo to 10-year lows relative to North Sea Brent, as an overhang of 15mb July cargoes were unsold.

The OPEC added that loading delays also hurt certain Nigerian grades as refiners looked for more reliable

alternatives.

Moreover, West African crudes were undermined by excess supply and relatively high freight rates for their cargoes making cheap North Sea and Mediterranean grades more attractive to some European buyers.

Market glut The Managing Director, International Energy Services, Dr. Diran Fawibe, noted that the US market and parts of Europe are no longer Nigeria’s prime markets since the advent of the Shale oil, while the Arab producers have a better comparative advantage over Nigeria because of their nearness to the market.

He noted that what is happening at the international oil market is beyond government’s control, which is further exacerbated by the refusal of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, to which Nigeria also belongs, to cut down its production quota.

OPEC is unwilling to cut back production as it would have done in the past to shore up prices because of shale oil, thus resulting to the current glut in the market and continuous price falls.

Agreeing that Iran’s entry has again changed the market dynamic, the Chief Executive Officer, Oildata Energy Group, Mr. Emeka Ene, said offering discounts will compound Nigeria’s problems, since it is a mono-product oil economy.

Instead, he urged government to initiate longer term strategies such as the formation of alliances with other producer nations, like Venezuela.

He said: “We (Nigeria) need to think out of the box, and if we plan well,

we can blend Nigeria’s light crude with Venezuela’s heavy crude to make it more friendly to the refineries.”

According to him, the reason government is finding the price falls very challenging is because oil has over the years been seen as an export commodity, rather than an investment product.

“The time to invest in higher field activities is when oil prices are down not when they are high. But we are unable to this because there is no money for such investments,” he added.

The slide toward USD40 per barrel gained momentum earlier last week after the US Energy I n f o r m a t i o n Administration reported a larger-than-expected build in crude inventories previous week.

This added to signs that the oil market remains oversupplied, with unequal demand, as the 12-member OPEC continues to pump at an unrelenting pace. The group’s latest monthly report showed that its output surged to a three-year high in July, boosted by Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Angola, and Iran. More Iranian oil is expected on the market with lifting of economic sanctions.

Oil is now headed for its longest weekly losing streak since 1986, according to Bloomberg. Oil is in a bear market, and prices are down nearly 35% from recent highs.

Friday ’s drop comes amid a bigger sell-off in global markets. The major averages are seeing their sharpest weekly loss of the year, and the Dow lost more than 350 points during Friday’s session.

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

2 die in Bauchi auto crash; 3 injured

By Suzan Edeh

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AUCHI—NO fewer than two persons, Saturday, lost their lives, while three others sustained injuries at Nabordo area, along Bauchi-Jos Road, when two commercial vehicles had a head-on collision.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Haruna Mohammed, who confirmed the accident, said the crash, which took place at 8.50p.m., involved a white Toyota Counter with number plates FS 276 LND, driven by one Mamuda Lawal, male, 45, of Nabordo town; and a Red Sharon vehicle with number plates XA 913 MAG, driven by a yet to be identified person from Borno State, heading to Jos. He said:”Both drivers were confirmed dead. The injured, Amaele Chibuike, attached to Special Force Batallion, Markurdi, on special duty in Maiduguri, Borno State; Abdullsalam Ibrahim, 50, of Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State and Mercy Gabriel, an NYSC member and her two kids, all of Jos, Plateau State, are responding to treatment.”

Ogun police to charge land grabbers for robbery, murder

By Daud Olatunji

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BEOKUTA—OGUN State Police Command has threatened to charge any land grabber for armed robbery, murder or kidnapping, saying it had declared war on land speculators and grabbers whose activities had been on the rise within the state.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state said in a statement that the Commissioner of Police, Abdulmajid Ali, had given a directive that any hoodlums caught fomenting trouble over land matters should be arrested and charged for armed robbery, murder or kidnapping.

He said the public can reach the police boss through his mobile line (08055885588/SMS only) in case they encountered any land grabber or speculator anywhere in Ogun State.

Man set ablaze for stealing pot of soup in Calabar

By Emma Una

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ALABAR—A mob in Calabar, Cross River State capital, yesterday, butchered a young man and set the remains on fire beside Atu Secondary School fence along Goldie Street, for allegedly robbing a woman of a pot of soup. His two accomplices escaped.

The hoodlum, in the company of two others, were alleged to have attacked the woman at Mayne Avenue Extension in

Calabar South. They were allegedly attracted by the aroma of the soup the woman was warming for her family ’s breakfast before heading for early morning mass at nearby St. Bernard’s Catholic Church.

A young man, who lives in the same premises with the lady, said as the robbers were about to get out of the compound with the pot of soup, the woman raised alarm, prompting neighbours to go after them. They caught up with

the one carrying the pot of soup and dealt him several machete cuts before setting him ablaze.

An eyewitness said: “It was almost dawn when the boys attacked the woman and carried away her pot of soup. When they were about getting out of the compound, she raised alarm and people came out, pursued and caught up with one.”

He said the boy was not able to run as fast as his accomplices because of the pot of soup he refused to drop.

The eyewitness said: “This is not the first time they have come to our compound to steal. Last week, they removed the car battery of one of our neighbours and once night falls, they waylay people, especially ladies, around Goldie by Atu and snatch their handbags and phones.”

At press time, there was no sign of security agents in the area, while the burnt body was still lying by Atu Secondary School fence.

THE BETTER BRIDGE: Using a functional bridge constructed by villagers near Kala village, beside the failed bridge linking Hong to Mararaba, Mubi, Michika, Gulak and Madagali towns, destroyed eight months ago by Boko Haram insurgents, in Hong Local Government Area, Adamawa State. NAN PHOTO.

Landlord’s daughter bites off tenant’s ear over electricity bill

By Simon Ebegbulem

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ENIN—THERE was pandemonium, weekend, at Oba Market Benin, as a 23year-old hair dresser, Miss Faith Idehen, had her left ear bitten off in an attack by the daughter of her landlord, identified as Vivian, over electricity bill.

It was learned that trouble started when Vivian, a single mother of two, demanded for N1,500, being monthly payment for electricity bill from Faith.

The tenant’s plea that she did not have up to that amount, but deposited N1,000 with a promise to pay the balance of N500 later in the day, fell on deaf ears.

The victim was said to have left the compound and boarded a commercial bus to her place of work at Oba Market. Vivian allegedly trailed and caught up with her at the popular Yanga Fish Market and pounced on her. A fight started.

Faith was reported to have fainted as she bled profusely

from her left ear before passersby and onlookers rescued her from the grip of her attacker, who threatened to deal with her entire family.

The assailant was eventually arrested by men of Oba Market Police Station after a 24-hour siege was laid to her residence by the police.

The victim recounted her

ordeal: “I did not know that I was being trailed, even after I pleaded that I will pay the balance of N500 when I returned from work.

“The moment I alighted from the bus, I heard someone calling my name repeatedly. I turned and behold it was Vivian. She grabbed my hair and started beating me.

“Before I knew what was happening, I saw my ear dangling with blood gushing out. I was later rescued and rushed to the Central Hospital where it was later stitched back on.”

A Police source at Oba Market Division said the suspect would be charged to court for alleged assault and attempted murder.

2 cousins killed in fresh Plateau attack We suspect Fulani herdsmen—POLICE

By Marie-Therese Nanlong

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OS—TWO persons, said to be cousins, travelling along Jos-Barkin Ladi Road, Plateau State, were ambushed and killed on Saturday evening.

The victims, identified as Ibrahim Nyiam and Jimmy Pam, were said to have been killed by unknown gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.

Vanguard gathered that the deceased were shot and left in a pool of their blood and excessive loss of blood led to their deaths.

A source told Vanguard that by the time residents of the area discovered the deceased, it was too late to save their lives.

Plateau State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Emmanuel Abuh, confirmed that the deceased were ambushed and allegedly killed

by Fulani herdsmen.

He said the bodies had been deposited in the mortuary, adding that security personnel were working to safeguard the lives and property of residents of the state.

Despite the existing dusk-todawn curfew imposed on Riyom and Barkin Ladi Local Government areas by Plateau State government, isolated attacks and killings still persist in the areas.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015—7

NAFDAC/NSCDC: Mr. Francis Ononiwu, Assistant Director, Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, National Agency for Food and Drug Administartion and Control, NAFDAC, (left) and Mr. Gabriel Abafi, Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, Lagos, speaking to newsmen during the parade of suspected dealers in fake bottled wine and juices in Lagos.

My late father’s friend raped me twice, says 8-yr-old girl

By Evelyn Usman & Ola Ajayi

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OLICEMEN attached to Area ‘B’ Command, Apapa, Lagos, have arrested a 54-yearold man for allegedly raping an eight-year-old girl in Ajegunle area of Lagos.

This came as a 42-year-old man, identified as Bala, was arrested by police in Oyo State for allegedly raping an eightyear-old girl in Ibadan.

On the Ajegunle incident, the victim (names withheld ) told policemen that the suspect, who is her late father’s friend, had had carnal knowledge of her twice.

The little girl gave a graphic description of how her late father’s friend, whose identity was given simply as Ayela, had carnal knowledge of her in his apartment located on Mission Street.

She disclosed that the suspect had on both occasions called her into his apartment while she was running errands for her grandmother and that at the end of the assault, gave her N50.

The bubble burst weekend, after a curious woman, who sighted the little girl coming out of the suspect’s apartment, reportedly asked her what happened behind closed door.

Her revelation, it was gathered, led to the invitation of policemen and subsequent arrest of the suspect.

However, the suspect denied the allegation, but admitted to have offered the girl money each time he saw her because of the relationship he had with her late father.

He said: “How can I rape my late friend’s daughter? They live on Ayorinde Street, while I live at Mission Street.

“Any time I see her passing by, I usually gave her money.

Sometimes she comes to say

I only assisted her financially—54-yr-old suspect

As man, 42, defiles 8-yr-old in Ibadan hello. On this day, she just opened my door without knocking. I swear I did not rape her.”

Girl’s story

The girl interrupted him, saying: “He is lying. He did it sometime ago. This is not the first time. It is the second time.”

The girl, according to police sources, had been taken to the hospital for examination. The outcome of the result, which is expected to be out today, police sources hinted, would inform the next line of action on the matter.

The Ibadan incident happened at Ago Tapa, Mokola

area of the metropolis.

Vanguard gathered that the suspect allegedly lured the girl into his room and forced himself on her.

According to sources, Bala enticed the naive girl with N100.

The girl’s mother was said to have noticed blood stains on her dress, which prompted her to question her. The victim told her mother how the suspect deceived her into his one room apartment and raped her.

Sensing that the bubble had burst, the suspect was said to have escaped when he heard the voice of the enraged victim’s mother, who was

heading towards his room.

Arrested

The incident was later reported at Mokola Police Station and the suspect was arrested last Thursday.

Vanguard was further informed that the latest rape case was not the first by the suspect. The man, father of two girls and a boy, was said to be fond of defiling minors in the area.

The source said earlier in the year, he defiled a six-year-old girl, but with persistent plea by the suspect and his wife as well as payment of N30,000 for his victim's treatment, the matter was swept under the carpet.

Gunmen abduct Ondo monarch’s mother-in-law

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GBOTAKO (ONDO STATE)—MRS Omogbene Adeborile, 65, mother-in-law to Oba Fredrick ObateruAkinruntan, Olugbo of Ugboland, has been abducted by gunmen in Igbotako in Ondo State.

Adeborile was abducted on Saturday at her residence in Igbotako, Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State, at about 10p.m.

Adeborile is the wife of Chief Babatunde Adeborile, Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Igbotako Ward II. One of the residents, who preferred anonymity, said: “I was in my house when I heard gunshots. I thought they were armed robbers; I scampered for safety and started praying.

“I later learned that eight gunmen took Mama into a

waiting vehicle and escaped before the police came.”

Efforts to get a member of the Adeborile family to comment on the incident proved abortive.

Chief Solomon Bitire, the Caretaker Chairman, Okititipupa Local Government Area, confirmed the incident, saying that he would meet the Commissioner of Police on the matter.

Bitire said: “The incident is true. The Commissioner of Police is aware of the matter. I will be meeting him over the matter.”

Mr. Isaac Eke, the Commissioner of Police, also confirmed the story. He said investigation was going on to unravel those behind the abduction.

“We received a report on the matter and we are on top of the situation,” Eke said.

4 arrested for attempted robbery, illegal arm possession

By Esther Onyegbula

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AGOS—OPERATIVES of the Special AntiRobbery Squad, SARS, Ikeja, Lagos, are currently investigating four men over allegation of armed robbery and illegal possession of arms.

The suspects, identified as William Essien, dismissed soldier, 38; Adah Ojoo, commercial motorcyclist; Victor Etim, who claimed to be an official of Man O’ War and Monday Eguoaje, were arrested over alleged attempt to rob a man driving a Toyota Rav 4 vehicle around Iyana-Ipaja area of Lagos State, after they allegedly trailed him victim from Sango area of Ogun State.

Vanguard gathered that street urchins at the scene descended on the suspects when they attempted to snatch the car.

It was further gathered that the commotion at the scene attracted mobile policemen stationed under the Iyana-Ipaja Bridge, who arrested the suspects and took them to Elere Police Station in the area.

Narrating how they were arrested one of the suspects, Ojoo, said the alleged victim hit their car and smashed the rear light.

He said they pursued him to Iyana-Ipaja, blocked his car, dragged him out and were beating him when the touts descended on them. He said police later came and arrested them, arguing that it was all a misunderstanding.

On how they got the gun found on them, he said: “It was Monday that asked me to get the gun for him. I bought it from a hunter for N15,000.

“Monday said he wanted to use the gun for his job as a security man with the Nigerian Legion.”

FIDA vows to prosecute spiritualist for rape

By Wole Mosadomi

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INNA—International Federation of Female Lawyers, FIDA, Niger State Chairperson, Fati Suleiman Takuma, has vowed to prosecute the spiritualist (names withheld) who

allegedly drugged and raped Janila Ibrahim, a 33-year-old woman, in Kaduna under the pretext of delivering her from spiritual problems.

The spiritualist, who was said to have come from Jikin Katangan in Kaduna State, mixed some local drugs with

water and gave the woman to drink for spiritual cleansing.

However, the woman, who is resident in Minna, Niger State, was said to have slept off, while the man had intercourse with her, which resulted in pregnancy. She gave birth to a baby last week.

8—Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

We are ready for salary cut —REPS Declare

support for anti-graft war

By Clifford Ndujihe

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AGOS— IN support of the move to reduce the high cost of governance and to boost the war against corruption, the House of Representatives has declared its readiness to take salary cut and back President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-graft measures.

Making these disclosures, yesterday, in Lagos, Chairman, Ad-hoc Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Mohammed Sani Zorro, said all members of the House of Representatives irrespective of party affiliations are on the same page with the President on the change agenda and ready to give him the necessary legislative backing to actualize the agenda.

Zorro, who represents Gumel/ Gagarawa/Mai Gatari/Sule Tankarkar Federal Constituency of Jigawa State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said the need to streamline the funding of the House’s activities in line with best practices across the world and Nigeria’s economic fortunes was the reason the Reps set up the Dr Clement Nwankwo Committee.

Promising Nigerians a new wave of transparency in the conduct of affairs in the House, Zorro, a former national chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), said the lawmakers will abide by whatever recommendations the Nwankwo committee makes as regards oversight function allowance, sitting allowance, constituency allowance and all aspects of funding of the House of Representatives.

We'll lead by example

On whether the lawmakers can take salary cut, Zorro, who commended President Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and some governors, who have elected to have their salaries cut by 50 per cent, said they are willing to toe the same path because "we are conscious of our integrity. We want to live by example."

He said that the decision of the House to review the funding of its activities was in submission to the wishes of Nigerians.

He said: “I am here to reveal to you that as a result of the consistent outcry by Nigerians, who have been taking critical exception to the funding of the National Assembly, the House has decided to review the holistic funding of its activities.

"This review will also result in right sizing the funding of the various aspects of our activities.

We have already put a mechanism in motion to achieve that. It may also result in the drastic cut of our finances be they salaries, allowances and running cost. We are conscious of our integrity; we will lead by example.

“What I can assure you is that we are submitting to the will of the people as a responsive and responsible legislative institution. We can no longer ignore the popular wishes of the Nigerian people who elected us in the first place. Even if the measures that we will consider will inconvenience us, we will rather make that sacrifice and respect the views of the Nigerian people once and for all.”

Declare support for anti-graft war

On the anti-graft war, he said: “We are ready to support unconditionally the war being waged against corruption as spearheaded by the executive arm of government under President Muhammadu Buhari.

"I can tell you this on behalf of the House. Whoever is averse to the war against corruption in Nigeria is not a patriot. All patriotic people, whether in the

National Assembly or outside of it, must support this war because of the implication of the degenerative level of our own corruption, which has compromised everything that Nigeria used to be. We are ready to assist in the building of a strong and strategic Nigeria. This cannot come about with all these reports in the newspapers of pervasive corruption. So, unconditionally, the House will support the war against corruption.”

On call that the scope of the anti-corruption probe should be

widened and extended to 1999, Zorro said it is the prerogative of the executive arm of government, which has control over the security and intelligence agencies, to decide “but what the parliament does is to check the excesses, if any, of whatever process that the executive implements.

"Once the National Assembly discovers that this anti-corruption pursuit is tilted unfairly, may be against a person or group of persons, they will query it. But as of now, we are not entertaining any fear. We will support it, even if that corruption probe will involve the National Assembly. We just have to clean up this country because corruption actually reduces our humanity to the barest level."

PDP to strip govs of control of party Shifts Edo congresses until completion of e-registration

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By Henry Umoru

BUJA — THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is to strip its governors of their grip on the running of the party, it emerged yesterday.

The party in a major policy reversal said it would revive the e-registration system and by it allow ordinary Nigerians to take control of the former ruling party.

“The NWC reaffirms its irrevocable commitment towards ensuring that the control of the party is returned to the people, in line with the ideals of the founding fathers, while urging all members to remain focused and continue to work together in furthering the rebuilding effort,” party spokesman, Chief Olisa Metuh, said in a statement issued in Abuja, yesterday.

In line with that direction, the party said it had decided to suspend the planned congresses in Edo State where a new state executive was expected to be elected.

The online registration system was conceived by erstwhile national chairman, Chief Okwesileze Nwodo, during the Goodluck Jonathan administration as a way of drawing the party from the control of governors and giving party members a direct say in the running of the party.

However, though the president flagged off the project in August 2010 at the PDP national secretariat when he was registered, the project was subsequently derailed after the PDP governors teamed up to frustrate the project. Not long after, Nwodo was eased out of office as national chairman partly on account of his alleged contrivance with other forces to limit the influence of the governors.

A subsequent effort by Dr. Bamanga Tukur to foist the online registration system on the party was also stoutly resisted by the governors who fought Tukur till he was eventually forced to step down in January 2014.

Through the e-registration, the

DINNER: From left, Mr. Tony Akiotu of Daar Communications; Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State and General Manager/Editor-in-Chief, Vanguard newspapers, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye during a dinner organised in honour of Mr Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, and Mallam Shehu Garba, Senior Special Assistant on Media to the President by the Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE in Abuja, weekend. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida party aims to open the party to all members who would contribute financially at the ward level towards supporting the party and through their financial contribution take ownership of the party unlike the present situation where the governors fund the party and dictate the tune.

The decision to commence the online registration in Edo State where there is no incumbent PDP governor was, yesterday, being interpreted as a safe bet for the party which is aiming to launch itself back to reckoning after its 16 year hold on the Federal Government was broken during the last election.

E-registration project

Metuh giving vent to the decision of the NWC said yesterday: “The National Working Committee (NWC),

after very wide consultations with critical stakeholders, and in line with the wishes and aspirations of our teeming supporters across the country, has approved the resuscitation of the e-registration project.

“This project, which was initially presented in the 52nd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of our great party on August 12, 2010, is aimed, among other things, at harmonizing our membership data, returning ownership of the party to the people and strengthening our various structures at all levels across the country.

“The NWC believes that the e-registration is indeed a decisive step towards enthroning internal democracy and giving every member a voice in the party.

Shifts Edo congresses “While details of the process will be transmitted to our various structures across the nation, the NWC announces that Edo State would be used as a pilot for the exercise. Consequently, the earlier scheduled Edo State congresses are by this announcement, deferred until the completion of the pilot eregistration exercise in the state.

“The national leadership, by this, charges all members in Edo State to make themselves available for the e-registration as well as work hard to win new members and more supporters for the party in the state.

“Finally, the NWC reaffirms its irrevocable commitment towards ensuring that the control of the party is returned to the people, in line with the ideals of the founding fathers, while urging all members to remain focused and continue to work together in furthering the rebuilding effort.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015—9

Presidency summons NDDC mgt over contract-splitting Buhari furious over attempt to divert N3.8bn allocation

Contract splitting

By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor

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BUJA — WORRIED by alleged mismanagement of funds of the commission running into billions of Naira, the Presidency has summoned the management of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, to answer questions on the true financial status of the agency.

Competent sources confirmed to Vanguard that the President would meet the management team of the NDDC and take them up on many issues relating to the management of the resources of the commission since the new board came on board in December 2013.

Buhari, according to sources close to his office, is furious that the management has allowed influential politicians to hijack the agency and made away with billions of Naira under the guise of executing contracts with little or no result on the ground to show for such money.

It was learnt that the President would seek answers to why the commission refused to adhere to due process in the award of major contracts valued at billions of Naira, preferring instead to split them in violation of the Public Procurement Act. The President is reported to have been furious that the commission went ahead to award multi-billion naira contracts, paid and backdated them to last year to cover the financial misdeed even after the board had been sacked with a specific mandate to the managing director to take over the place.

Attempt to divert N3.8bn allocation

The struggle for the control of the finances of the commission is said to have reached its most embarrassing point about two months ago when two directors of the commission connived and withdrew N3.8 billion from the NDDC account in the Central Bank of Nigeria and paid the money to their favoured contractors drawn from their own states, leaving the managing director in the dark.

It was learnt that the managing director, who had accused the CBN of withholding the money was shocked on reaching the CBN to discover that two of his directors had secretly signed and collected the huge amount and paid to their ‘contractorfriends’ without his

CONFERENCE: President Muhammadu Buhari (right); Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State (left); Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (2nd right) and President, Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Augustine Alegeh during the opening ceremony of the 55th National Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association at the African Hall, International Conference Centre, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida. knowledge.

It was also learnt that the meeting, which is to take place at the Presidential Villa this week, is to enable President Muhammadu Buhari to get first brief from the Managing Director, Mr. Dan Abia and the two executive directors of Finance and Projects, Henry Ogiri and Engr. Tuoyo Omatsuli on what they have been doing to move the troubled region forward since they were appointed to office in December 2013 by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The briefing by the three key

officials will also determine the next line by Buhari regarding their continued stay in office given the gamut of petitions of wrongdoing against them by Niger Delta stakeholders, individuals and groups.

Diversion of N2.7bn

In one case and with documents made available to Vanguard, N12.5 billion was split by the commission and paid to 12 companies said to be sponsored by top politicians close to the commssion for the ‘supply of security vehicles’ for the Nigeria Police Force to

called intelligence gathering was ever carried out but it was just a trick by some highlyplaced persons to divert the money,” an official of the commission confessed.

patrol the Niger Delta states only for the same commission to award another N2.7 billion ‘contract to individuals and groups’ to supply the commission with ‘intelligence gathering/management’.

A top source in the commission said that aggrieved staff and stakeholders have already raised the alarm that the socalled amount claimed to have been ‘paid’ to the intelligencegathering contractors was simply diverted for political purposes.

“The truth is that no project

The contract bazaar by the commission also saw another N1.6 billion being carefully split among 85 companies for the ‘procurement, transportation and delivery’ of waste disposal trucks to the commission. It could not be ascertained if the trucks had arrived Port Harcourt as at last night.

But the most embarrassing, according to new documents released to Vanguard, is the award of another set of contracts to influential politicians worth billions of Naira under the subhead of “Women Empowerment Programme” of the NDDC for the supply and delivery of tricycles to the commission which was also backdated to last year to cover the misdeed as the amount involved was far beyond the approval limit o the commission.

Findings showed that the President decided to invite the management to explain their actions to him after receiving series of briefings on the troubled board by officials of the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, which supervises the NDDC. But a director in the commission, who did not want to be quoted told Vanguard in Port Harcourt that the meeting with PMB was not as a result of the adverse audit report but a deliberate effort by the commission to brief the president on the activities of the agency.

Energy companies owe banks N3.7trn

By Michael Eboh

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BUJA— ENERGY companies in Nigeria owe commercial banks in the country N3.673 trillion, according to data produced by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. This was in spite of several warnings by the CBN and other economic analysts, against the backdrop of declining fortune of crude oil in the international market.

CBN, in its Statistical Bulletin for the First Quarter of 2015, revealed that the aggregate credit to the energy sector as at March 2015 stood at N3.673 trillion, dropping by N182 billion from N3.855 trillion recorded in February 2015.

Giving a breakdown of the figures, the CBN stated that in the industrial segment, oil and gas firms’ aggregate credit stood at N2.153 trillion

as at March 2015, compared to N2.3 trillion in February 2015 and N2.047 trillion as at December 2014. The oil and gas firms in this segment comprise downstream, natural gas and crude oil refining.

Aggregate credit of the power and energy sector, comprising Independent Power Project (IPP) and power generating companies, stood at N282.7 billion, compared to aggregate credit of N294.085 billion recorded in February 2015.

In the services segment, the CBN noted that the aggregate credit of upstream oil and gas services sector in the month of March stood at N1.073 trillion, down from N1.096 trillion, while power transmission and distribution companies’ aggregate credit stood at N163.93 billion, compared to N172.44 billion in February 2015.

Generally, the CBN stated

that aggregate credit to the domestic economy (net) stood at N17.15 trillion in March, representing a decrease of N54.2 billion or 0.3 per cent below the level recorded a month earlier, but an increase of N716.5 billion or 4.4 per cent when compared with the level at end-December, 2014.

“Net claims on the central government stood at N3.455 trillion, representing an increase of N76.7 billion or 2.3 per cent above the level recorded in the preceding month. At N13.11 trillion, total credit to the private sector was N166.8 billion or 1.3 per cent below the level achieved in the preceding month,” the CBN stated.

Further analysis showed that oil and gas, manufacturing and mining and quarrying sub-sectors secured 47.5, 41.4 and 4.9 per cent of the credit to

industry sector.

“Similarly, other sub-sectors under service sector, oil and gas, finance, insurance and capital market and real estate had 53.2, 18.7, 13.2 and 10.7 per cent of total credit to service sector,” the apex bank noted.

The CBN further noted that the total assets/liabilities of commercial banks in March 2015 (provisional) stood at N28.711 trillion, showing increases of N123.8 billion or 0.4 per cent and N1.185 trillion or 4.3 per cent above the levels recorded in February 2015 and at endDecember 2014, respectively.

The CBN said: “Analysis of foreign exchange utilisation by sectors revealed that $8,428.05 million was spent on the importation of various items into the country in first quarter 2015, representing 59.5 per cent of the total foreign exchange disbursed during the period."

10 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

Police to charge land grabbers for robbery, murder

By Daud Olatunji

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BEOKUTA—THE Ogun State Police Command has threatened to charge anyone caught as a land grabber for armed robbery, murder or kidnapping.

The command said it has declared war on land speculators and grabbers whose activities have been on the increase within the state.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state in a statement said the Commissioner of Police Abdulmajid Ali, has given a directive that any hoodlums caught fomenting trouble over land matters should be arrested and charged for armed robbery, murder or kidnapping.

The PPRO said, “The Commissioner of Police vowed to deal decisively with any land grabbers, particularly in Otta, Ifo, Mowe, Ibafo and Ogijo areas or other part of Ogun State who may want to truncate the security arrangement being enjoyed in present Ogun State.

“The Commissioner of Police, has however assured the people of Ogun State to be calm and go about their lawful businesses as all structures have been put in place to checkmate any illegal acts or undesirable individuals who engage in creating crises in the state.

Ambode wades into LASU crisis

By Monsuru Olowoopejo

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AGOS—GOVERNOR Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has waded into the crisis rocking the 31-year-old, State University, LASU, Ojo, which made the unions drive the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. John Obafunwa out of his office in March.

Vanguard reliably gathered that the decision to wade into the crisis was reached last Thursday, at about 6:00 pm between the governor represented by his deputy, Dr. Oluranti Adebule and the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS as conditions for the reopening LASU gates shut earlier in the day.

The students on that day paralyzed activities in the institution, following the HAJJ AIRLIFT: First batch of 2015 pilgrims from Ogun State boarding Medview Airline to Medina protracted crisis.

Sources said that the deputy for the Hajj at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja,yesterday. Photo Lamidi Bamidele. governor, who used to teach in the institution before her appointment as the Secretary to the State Government, SSG under ex-governor, Babatunde Fashola in 2011, promised to invite the warring parties on how

By Innocent Anaba contained in this order, you will Alabi in his suit had prayed the to resolve the crisis. be guilty of contempt of court and court to declare that only a court of Public Relation officer of LASU AGOS—A lawyer, Mr Tope will be liable to be committed to competent jurisdiction can Student Union, Mr. Fatai Alabi, has initiated contempt prison.” pronounce a person guilty under Adebanjo said that the state proceedings against the Federal Justice Tsoho had held that Section 10 (4) and 28 (2) of the government, through Adebule Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Chief FRSC cannot turn itself into a FRSC (Establishment Act) 2007 promised to invite the unions for Executive, Mr Boboye Oyeyemi for court of law by punishing those and Regulation 143 of the Nigerian discussions to resolve the crisis. allegedly disobeying a court order that commit traffic offences.

Roads Traffic Regulation, 2011.

Confirming the ongoing stopping the corps from imposing meeting between the union and fines on motorists in the country. the state government, the Justice John Tsoho of a Federal Chairman of Senior Staff High Court sitting in Lagos, had Association of nigerian on September 26, 2014, nullified Universities, SSANU, LASU FRSC’s powers to fine motorists for branch, Mr. Oseni Saheed violating traffic rules. when contacted said “I do not some concerned individuals and

By Ola Ajayi Justice Tsoho held that only a want to comment on any issue groups who had come up with court of law can pronounce a concerning the Institution BADAN—THE decision pieces of advice considered motorist or driver guilty of violating now. We are negotiating with of Governor Abiola inevitable for the state to jerk up traffic rules and order them to pay the state government.”

Ajimobi of Oyo State to stop its internally generated revenue a fine.

The court in a judgment, in a suit payment of West African at all cost but the governor, out

by Alabi, held that FRSC was not Examination Council fees for of his love for the masses, empowered to impose fines under final year students in public declined to accept most of the sections 10 (4) and 28 (2) of the secondary schools has suggestions made as he was of FRSC (Establishment) Act 2007 pitched him against his the opinion that such would political opponents in Accord aggravate the suffering of the because it is not a court.

According to the court, FRSC can and the Peoples Democratic common man. around the market.

“We recall that the state He further said that most of arrest motorists for traffic offences, Party.

The governor, who is a government had earlier taken the suspected miscreants were but it must take them to mobile or arrested between 2 and 4am other courts which have the powers chieftain of the All Progressives major measures in that direction Congress, APC, in the state said and these include; reduction of on the Oshodi bridge between to punish traffic offenders.

Alabi in the committal he stopped the payment of fees cost of governance which Anthony and Charity bus proceedings initiated against temporarily as one of the brought about the pruning of stops.

Abe explained that “Among Oyeyemi is contending that FRSC measures to ease the state of its ministries from 23 to 13, stoppage of daily feeding of those arrested were nine officials have not complied with the present economic challenges.

The opposition parties had fasting residents at Government children, 189 adults and five judgment which he noted was yet women. But of utmost concern to be set aside by the Court of frowned at the decision House and distribution of food describing it as anti-people items to the needy during is the case of the children who Appeal.

Ramadan fast, postponement of According to him. FRSC did not measure. were out on the roads at that But, defending the governor, all political appointments, apply for nor obtain any stay of ungodly hour.” his party, through Mr. Wale turning down of sponsorship He therefore, urged parents execution of the judgment.

In the form 48 and 49, Notice of Shadare, the Director of requests from many partners and and guardians to take better care of their children to prevent them consequences of disobedience to Publicity, said the decision to n o n - g o v e r n m e n t a l being used as tools by criminals. order of court, dated August 20, the suspend payment of the fees as organizations. ''Interestingly, all of these On the removal of shanties and Corps Marshal Oyeyemi is warned well as the sponsorship of extensions, the chairman said the of being held liable for contempt if people on holy pilgrimages to had little or no direct negative state government had no choice his men continue to violate the Saudi Arabia and Israel were effect on the common and it but to enforce the “zero tolerance” order by arresting and imposing necessary in view of current was when further measures were needed to be for street trading rules since the fines on erring motorists without economic challenges.

The party said; ‘’The governor introduced that the governor traders had remained recalcitrant taking them to court.

The notice read, “Take notice that deserves accolades for resisting considered the options of WAEC and we will not fold our arms unless you obey the directions the temptation to agree with fees and pilgrimage stuff.’’ while such illegality continues.

Lagos task-force arrests 223 suspected miscreants at Oshodi

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

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AGOS—IN a fresh operation, Lagos State Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences Enforcement Unit, yesterday, raided some black spots at the popular Oshodi area of the state arresting at least 223 suspected miscreants in the process.

The taskforce, also demolished illegal structures erected by street hawkers and roadside traders who had earlier been served notices to vacate the area.

The chairman of the unit, Superintendent of Police, SP Olubukola Abe, who led the operation said it was a follow up to the sensitisation visit officials of the taskforce to the market a week ago as well as the stakeholders meeting organised by the unit on the need to relocate and desist from carrying out their illegal activities

Lawyer moves to commit FRSC boss to prison

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WAEC FEES STOPPAGE: Opposition tackles Ajimobi

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Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 — 11

Afenifere condemns Buhari’s style of governance

By Dayo Johnson

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KURE—AFENIFERE, a socio-political group weekend condemned President Muhammadu Buhari’s style of administration saying he is behaving like a dictator.

The group’s Chairman, Pa Reuben Fasoranti said this in Akure while assessing the President’s actions so far.

“President Buhari is running a one-man show. Let him appoint his cabinet and start serious business,’’ he said.

Fasoranti also added that it will be a disaster if the report of the National Confab organised by the immediate past administration is dumped by the president.

According to him; ”I think the President should sit down and have a package. What people are saying is very correct that he is just picking people here and there.

“He seems not to have settled down to governance yet and time is flying.

“Let him constitute the cabinet and start working. As it is now,

Buhari is still behaving like a military dictator. Just picking on people, he should sit down to work. He is running a one man show now.

Speaking on the report of the National Conference, the Afenifere boss said the group will continue to engage the

decisions of the National Conference. The present government is not working towards that and when the time comes, we shall speak.’’

Speaking on Ooni, he said; ‘’His death is a sad loss, very heavy loss. Ooni was a quintessential monarch ,very humble, friendly and broad minded. He towered above other monarchs.''

administration on the implementation of the report for the betterment of the country.

On the possibility of dumping the report, he said; “We will wait until then, because at that time we will still want to express our opinion. When we are convinced, we will say it.

“The reason we supported Jonathan of course was because he agreed to carry out the

RECEPTION FOR ADESINA: Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State (2nd right); Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, (2nd left), his wife, Adenike (left) and Apetumodu of Ipetumodu, Oba James Akunraledoye, during a thanksgiving reception organized in celebration of Adesina’s new appointment, at Ipetumodu Township Hall, Ife-North Local Government,Osun State, on Saturday.

Stop shielding Fayemi from EFCC, Ekiti PDP tells APC ...As APC says Fayose is doomed

By Charles Kumolu

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KITI State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called on the All Progressives Party, APC, in the state to stop what it described as the shielding of former governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi from being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for alleged financial recklessness.

The party, in a statement by its State Publicity Secretary, Mr Jackson Adebayo also accused Fayemi of distracting the commission’s investigation through his recent utterances in the media.

This came as the APC described the allegation against Fayemi as a pack of lies, noting that the state governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose

On its part, the APC in statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Taiwo Olatunbosun, said: ‘’Instead of regaling in the destruction of Fayemi’s legacies, which presented the best opportunities for Ekiti State to grow, Fayose is not only destroying himself, but also mortgaging the future of Ekiti people through stomach infrastructure that provides a kilogramme of rice and three-month-old chicken at every Christmas. ''Fayemi’s projects presented

misrepresented the latter’s view.

The PDP said: ‘’Why is he coming out almost a year after he was voted out of government by the Ekiti people, when he knows well that some security agencies are after him if not because he want to mislead and coerce them to believe that he was prudent. ‘’We still insist that the leadership of the APC is hell-bent on protecting Dr. Kayode Fayemi from the searchlight of the EFCC and other security agencies because they know that he ran Ekiti government aground before he was booted out by the popular vote, which has been judged to be the most peaceful, freest and fairest in the recent time. ‘’Anybody or person found OVERNOR Rauf wanting of mismanagement of Aregbesola of Osun has the state resources must be attributed the negative focus on brought to book.’’ the state by a section of the media over unpaid salary to the role he and the state played in defeating the PDP-led Federal Government in the last general elections.

Aregbesola gave this hint in Ipetumodu at a reception in honour of the S p e c i a l Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr. F e m i Adesina.

T h e governor said even though it was not

the best opportunities for the state to grow, but Fayose has been hiding under non-existent debts to deny Ekiti people needed development. ‘’Fayose said that Fayemi bought N50 million bed even when there is no N1 million bed in Government House. He said Fayemi built the new Government House with N3.5bn while in truth the building cost N2.1bn and is the cheapest of such in the country, the same way he said that Ekiti bond was taken to plant flowers.”

UNPAID SALARIES: Attacks due to anti-Jonathan stance – Aregbesola

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only Osun that was caught in the salary crisis, yet some disgruntled opposition elements orchestrated unnecessary media campaigns against the state due to the role its government played in contributing to their electoral failure at both states and national level by exposing the several financial recklessness, abuse of power and other poor leadership qualities of the ousted PDP government.

Describing it as campaigns of hatred and bitterness, he noted that those who are sponsoring disparaging news on Osun are doing it to retaliate against his government for the defeat suffered by their leaders, which led to eventual loss of power by the PDP.

Yorubas in Cuba commiserate over Ooni

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Cuban Association comprising of Yoruba people, named: Asociación Yoruba de Cuba has commiserated with the Yoruba race and the Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State on the transition to glory of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijade.

The Association in a condolence letter sent to the governor joined other Yoruba world over to mourn the transition of a worthy ambassador and a pride of the Yoruba race with deep sorrow.

The letter signed by its President, Sir. Awo. José Manuel Pérez Andino, noted that the organisation and her people in Cuba share in the pain and sorrow of other Yoruba people, praying that God will console the family over the loss of the late monarch.

The letter read, “With deep sorrow for the passing away of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Yoruba traditional leader and friend of Cuba, we join wholeheartedly the pain of the Yoruba People and his family for the loss of such a dear friend.”

Obasanjo eulogises FUNAAB’s ex- VC

By Daud Olatunji

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B E O K U TA — FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo,has eulogised the immediate past Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB),Prof.

Olufemi Balogun for repositioning the University.

Obasanjo who described the former Vice Chancellor as a great scholar, said he did not leave anything to chance in all his years in the academic world.

The former President, who was a special guest at the thanksgiving ceremony for the retirement of Balogun, at a church service, held at the Chapel of Christ The Glorious King, an arm of Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library Complex, described the celebrant as a worthy ambassador.

He said Balogun had demonstrated the quality of success in which Egba sons and daughters are known for in all his years in service.

At the ceremony, the Vice Chancellor of FUNNAB, Professor Olusola Oyewole, was represented by Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Phillips Salako.

12—Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

Rivers APC dismisses corruption allegation against Amaechi Rubbishes reports on foreign accounts, slams saboteurs

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By Jimitota Onoyume

ORT HARCOURT— RIVERS State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday, dismissed the corruption allegations against immediate past Governor of the State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.

The party in a statement in Port Harcourt by its state Chairman, Dr. Davies Ikanya, said the latest allegation by Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Wike's camp that Amaechi, had foreign bank accounts lacked substance.

“These stories flooding the Internet and Social Media about former Governor Amaechi are mere fabrications intended to ridicule him and poison the mind of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is expected to make Amaechi a key member of his cabinet.

"For the avoidance of doubt, Amaechi has no account with a Bank in Minnesota, USA, as alleged by these devious rumour mongers. It is also not true that CNN’s Christiane Amanpour accused Amaechi of corruption, as being claimed by his detractors.

Besides, at no time did Amaechi write to Bancorp or any bank in Switzerland, stating that he

deposited any funds in error.

These are wicked lies concocted by evil-minded persons desperate to pull down Amaechi.

But they are bound to fail,” Rivers APC said.

The party expressed regret that some saboteurs within the party had made themselves available

for use by Wike in tarnishing Amaechi’s reputation just because of pecuniary benefits.

“We wish to warn these saboteurs to stop playing Judas and return Wike’s money to him or be prepared to face the consequences with their new-found master whose wrongful occupation of the Rivers

State Government House will soon be ended by the State Governorship Election Tribunal,” Rivers APC said.

It assured Amaechi of the party’s unflinching support, saying that he would be vindicated at the end of the day.

INSPECTION: Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike (middle), Senator George Sekibo and Senator Olaka Nwogu, during the inspection of ongoing projects in the state by the governor.

Oil firms prefer war to peace in N-Delta —REP Emma Amaize, Egufe Yafugborhi & Akpokona Omafuaire

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ARRI—IT was a hot session, weekend, in Effurun, near Warri, Delta State, as the Member representing Burutu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Julius Pondi, said oil companies operating in the Niger Delta favoured war to peace from the natives.

He spoke at a communication empowerment programme organized by the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria, ACSPN. Oil companies invited for the seminar boycotted the event, which further infuriated oil communities and other stakeholders.

Pondi cited an instance with Ogulagha, an Ijaw community in Warri South-West local government, where there had been no power failure in the last 20 years, saying the people only started enjoying electricity after a serious protest against an oil company in the area.

He disclosed that the agitation was bloody and claimed many lives.

The lawmaker said the submission by the guest lecturer and university don, Dr. Victor Ayedun, for effective communication strategies between oil communities and oil

multinationals was a mere “Utopia, “ that had no place in the current relationship manual of the oil producing communities and oil multinationals.

According to him; “Whenever communities dialogue with the corporate organizations, they get

little but when confrontational force is applied, they get more.”

He berated the oil companies for refusing to adopt the communication strategies needed for the peace and development of their host communities.

However, Pondi advised

stakeholders and communities to keep hoping to see if the corporations operating within their domains would live up to their responsibilities, as espoused in the training programme.

Okowa urges cooperation in fight against crime would go a long way in addressing between the states and the

By Festus Ahon

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SABA—DELTA State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has called for cooperation and intelligence sharing among states in combating crimes and insecurity in the country.

Okowa spoke weekend during 2015 South-East/Delta State Security Summit held in Awka, Anambra State.

He noted that cooperation and intelligence sharing among states

security issues bedevilling the society.

The governor said: “Until state governments are able to provide peace and ensure that the people are secured they will not get the right atmosphere for desired investments that are needed for the creation of employment. I want to thank Governor Willie Obaino of Anambra State for putting us together at the Summit and I believe that the cooperation

people of the various states would help a lot in trying to combat crime.”

The Summit which has the theme, “ Security: Bedrock of Governance” was attended by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Willie Obaino (Anambra), Director-General,DepartmentofState Services, Lawan Musa Daura among others.

Families sue Delta poly over alleged illegal acquisition of farmland Lawrence Okiemute in suit

By Ochuko Akuopha LEH—OWNERS of the

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land where Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro, is sited, have instituted a N5 billion suit against the institution seeking for compensation over alleged illegal acquisition of 500 acres of their farmland.The owners who dragged the polytechnic to the

High Court sitting in Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government Area of the state, accused the institution of violating their fundamental rights to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria as guaranteed by section 43 of the 1999 Constitution.The landlords; Mr. Pius Akpoyibo, Mr. Obaro Ugweh, Mr. Vincent Imiko and Mr.

number HCZ/M/9/2015, also prayed the court to order a perpetual injunction restraining the respondent “from further illegal and unconstitutional acts of violation of fundamental rights of the applicants as guaranteed and protected by section 43 and 44 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Ikimi counsels Lori-Ogbebor against court action over DESOPADEC

By Emma Amaize

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A R R I — EXECUTIVE Director of the Centre for the Vulnerable and Underprivileged, Warri, Delta State, Mr. Oghenejabor Ikimi, weekend, advised Niger Delta activist, Chief Rita Lori-Ogbebor, to abandon her plan to drag the Delta State Government, to court over the newly signed Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, law, saying it would be a futile exercise.

Ikimi, also an activist, said Lori-Ogbebor’s observation on host communities being owners of the 13 per cent derivation fund was unquestionable, but Section 162 (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), was silent on the way the funds should be managed.

Lori-Ogbebor had, last Wednesday, given the state government a seven-day ultimatum to repeal the law or she would head for the court.

NAFDAC declares bread in Rivers safe

By Chioma Obinna

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ORT HARCOURT— AFTER campaign and comprehensive on-thespot- assessment of loaves of bread in Rivers State, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has declared bread in the state free from potassium bromate.

Giving the assurance in the state capital, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, Rivers State Coordinator, Mrs. Mercy Ndukwe, said that the state achieved 100 per cent success in the annual bread monitoring exercise due to effective regulation and enlightenment campaign by the agency over the years on the harmful effect of using potassium bromate in bread baking.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015—13

Why I'm against Wike's probe panel —AMAECHI P

ORT HARCOURT— IMMEDIATE past governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has again explained why he wants to stop the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by his successor, Nyesom Wike, to probe some selected government transactions, while Amaechi was governor.

In a statement by the former governor ’s media office yesterday, Amaechi insisted that he was not afraid of a fair and decent probe or investigation or inquiry of his administration; and would cooperate and support such inquiry in as much as it was done within the ambits of the nation’s laws.

According to the statement; “However, what Wike has set out to do is anything but a fair probe.

The commission will not be fair to Amaechi because it was set up to indict him. Wike had repeatedly held that Amaechi, the person to be investigated, acted illegally in the disbursement of public funds and that Amaechi ran a corrupt government.

Clearly, Wike has prejudged the matter and shown his bias that Amaechi is guilty even before investigations. This means Wike, with his prejudiced, made up mind has taken a position of a guilty verdict even before the outcome is known or established.The same Wike who had adjudged the yet-to-be-

....Ex-Agric commissioner to appear before Wike's robe panel

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By Jimitota Onoyume

ORT HARCOURT— FORMER Commissioner of Agriculture, Mr Emma Chinda, is expected to appear before the Rivers State Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the state government today.

He is the first member of the cabinet of former Governor Chibuike Amaechi to be invited by the commission and is expected to speak on how his office managed about four billion naira agricultural loan secured by the past government.

C M Y K

investigated conduct of Amaechi as illegal and Amaechi as corrupt, is the same person that has gone ahead to set up a commission of inquiry and will have the final say on the findings of the commission.

“This bias and pre-determined agenda to indict Amaechi is obvious even in the terms of reference of the commission. In one of the defective terms of reference, Wike said the Commission should investigate

the circumstances that led to the ‘sale of the state Hotel Olympia.’

With a fair and decent probe, the Inquiry should have been ‘to examine (or investigate) the transaction concerning Hotel Olympia.’ The difference is so clear: In the former, jaundiced Wike’s Term of Reference, it has been prejudiced and concluded that the Hotel was sold, while in the latter, the Inquiry is open and fair, and may lead to a finding of a sale or a lease or even a gift or

even a pledge. Now, having so concluded that Hotel Olympia was sold, would Wike be decent and humble enough to reverse himself if documents showed it was never sold but concessioned or leased? This is one of the dangers of Wike’s commission that harbours a predetermined outcome in the name of an Inquiry and Amaechi will not subject himself to Wike’s deceit and shenanigans."

VISIT: From left: Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, Vice Chancellor, University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun Prof. Akaehomen Akii Ibhadode, and the Registrar, Mr. Ejike Ichendu, during a courtesy call on the governor in Asaba. Photo: Nath Onojake

WORLD BANK TO STATES: Build strong institutions

like Lagos, Edo, benefit from our loans

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By Simon Ebegbulem

ENIN CITY—THE World Bank has assured other states in Nigeria that they can enjoy the loan facility granted to Lagos and Edo states if they embark on reforms that will build strong and lasting institutions that will endure successive governments.

The World Bank through the bank’s Country Director for Nigeria, Marie Francoise MarieNelly, who stated this in a statement backing the 75 million dollars World Bank loan to Edo State which was approved on April 29, 2015, said: “We expect that this budget support to Edo, like that granted to Lagos State earlier, will have a positive demonstration effect on other states in Nigeria by inspiring them to take on important reforms to build strong systems and institutions that will endure over successive governments”.

While urging the states to work hard in the area of transparency and accountability to enjoy loan facility, the bank pointed out that “ Edo state is strengthening its financial management information system for budget management, strengthening the alignment of the state’s annual budget to the strategic priorities of the government as well as improving financial accountability through timely audits and publication of the state government’s audited financial accounts.

“The programme will also ensure professionalization of the state’s procurement function to improve the management of public procurement in the state.

In the area of education, one key reform undertaken by Edo state is the strengthening of governance at the basic education level through the involvement of

the established school-Based Management Committees in the monitoring of teacher and pupil attendance at schools” it stated.

Oil producing communities urge Buhari to legalise ‘local' refineris

W

ARRI—OIL Producing Area Association of Nigeria, OPAAN, has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari, to halt the destruction of “illegal” refineries in the creeks, but legalise their operations to boost local refining capacity and the economy.

OPAAN contended that it is sad that while Nigeria cannot meet up with the internal consumption of petroleum products, it engages in the destruction of local refineries at the creeks simply because there is no legal frame work for such production in the country.

In a statement titled, “The Need to Legalise Local refineries in Nigeria”, by the President of the association, Chief Obiuwevbi Ominimini, the group said if legal framework was put in place through which Nigerians could incorporate business outfits for the production of diesel and other petroleum products with mini refineries, it would create job opportunities for Nigerian teeming youths, increase the country gross domestic products, GDP, reduce criminality and crude oil theft in the country.

Gov Emmanuel lauds firm over shopping mall

U

YO—AKWA Ibom State Governor Mr Udom Emmanuel, has commended the decision of Resilient Africa, a shopping conglomerate in establishing a Shopping Mall, Shoprite in the State, saying the initiative underscores the avowed determination of his administration to place the state among comity of industrialised Nations.

Governor Emmanuel spoke during the ground breaking ceremony of S h o p r i t e Shopping Mall at Ibom Tropicana Complex, Uyo. The governor said the ground b r e a k i n g ceremonies performed in recent times across the

state, had been complimented with training of youths to imbue in them requisite skills that would make them fit into the companies when operational.

He observed that the company had built a fantastic profile for itself in countries where they operated and enjoined them to maintain the standards they were known for.

Governor Emmanuel expressed delight on the proposed use of eighty percent local content in human and material resources and charged them to complete the project in a record time.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Investment, Commerce and Industry, Mr. Emmanuel Enoidem, noted that Shoprite Shopping Mall would be located at the Tropicana Complex and that the project would stimulate commercial activities as well as create employment for the youths.

14—Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

NIMASA assures Niger Republic of seamless cargo transit

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HE ACTING Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Mr. Haruna Jauro has restated the agency’s commitment to remove all barriers to seamless facilitation of transit cargo to the Republic of Niger through Nigeria’s sea ports.

The DG, who gave this assurance when the Nigerian/Nigerien Joint Commission on Transit Cargo led by the Director General of the Shippers Council of the Republic of Niger, Mr. Oumarou Issoufou, paid a courtesy visit to the Agency in Lagos recently, also noted that Nigeria and Niger could work together without barriers to ensure smooth passage of goods between both countries.

NIMASA boss also expressed satisfaction with the activities of the Commission, in the area of trade relations between Nigeria and Niger, saying "both countries have a lot to benefit from each other on issues concerning trade.

“We will continue to share ideas on how to make the relationship better and remove all barriers to successful transit of cargo between the two countries using global best practices.”

Earlier in his address, the Director General of Niger Republic Shippers’ Council, who spoke through an interpreter, commended the agency’s efforts in ensuring safety and security in the nation’s ports and also pledged the readiness of Niger Republic to cooperate with the Nigerian government for the interest of both countries.

“We have been to the Apapa and Tincan ports and observed the quality of safety and security available on the Nigerian waterways, which are commendable,” Oumarou stated.

FLOOD: Relocate to safer grounds,

NEMA warns Imo communities

By Chidi Nkwopara

and Oguta local government areas of Imo State, to immediately relocate to safer grounds.

The advice came on the heels of the early warning from relevant Federal Government agencies, including the security organizations, about the

impending flood that would hit the affected communities.

The Head of NEMA Operations in Imo and Abia states, Dr. Innocent Ezeaku, explained that the agency preferred giving the advice early enough to avoid a repeat of the ugly experience of

2012, which sacked several families and submerged so many communities in the affected local WERRI—NATIONAL council areas.

Emergency Management “The relocation is to avoid the Agency, NEMA, has advised unpleasant experiences of the residents of flood-prone past, which is likely to repeat, communities in Ohaji/Egbema especially with the heavy rains and the release of excess water from the Cameroonian dam,” Dr. Ezeaku said.

According to the NEMA official, the excess water from Cameroon would affect the banks of Rivers Niger and Benue, as well as Urahsi River.

“The high risk areas are the riverine communities close to the Urashi River and Njaba River.

These rivers will not only receive water from the River Niger, but will likely overflow their banks,” the NEMA official said.

Answering a question, Dr. Ezeaku passionately appealed to residents of the flood-prone communities to temporarily relocate until the water level recedes.

Vanguard recalls that flood ravaged large proportions of all the communities close to the rivers in 2012, and rendered thousands of families homeless, while a few reportedly died.

It would also be recalled that the Federal Government remitted a staggering sum of N400 million to Imo State, to CAMP: Anambra State governor, Chief Willie Obiano lights the Scout Association Camp Fire Night, at the enable it soothe the nerves of Governor’s Lodge grounds Amawbia,weekend the people sacked by flood.

O

....Anambra mobilizes against disaster

By Vincent Ujumadu

A

WKA—FOLLOWING predictions that many states in the country, including Anambra, would be affected by flood disaster this rainy season, the Anambra State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA says it has taken necessary proactive measures to minimize the envisaged adverse effects.

The executive secretary of SEMA, Chief Paul Odenigbo had already begun a sensitization tour of 10 floodprone local government areas of the state to prepare the minds of the people on the impending disaster.

The concerned local government areas are Ayamelum, Anambra East, Anambra West, Ogbaru, Onitsha North, Onitsha South, Idemili South, Awka North, as well as Ekwusigo and Ihiala.

He said that the state government had procured enough speed boats and other basic logistical needs of potential victims of the flood disaster in the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camps already set up.

Odenigbo said, weekend, that the State Executive Council, EXCO, has directed SEMA to commence what he called ‘early warning interactive sensitization meetings with stakeholders in the flood-prone areas of the state ahead of the announcement by the Cameroonian government that it would release excess water from Ladgo Dam into River Benue in Nigeria.

According to him, SEMA had prepared itself for any eventuality, even as he stated that the expected flood disaster this year would not be as devastating as the 2012 incident which took most Nigerians unawares.

Odenigbo said the early prediction by the Nigerian Meteorological Institute, NIMET, about heavy rainfall and another flood disaster in

2015, in addition to the announcement by Cameroon, gave Nigerian authorities and citizens ample time to prepare to mitigate the adverse effects of the predicted deluge.

He also called on local government authorities, the clergy and town union executives to assist his agency and take the message of the impending flood disaster to the grassroots in order to save lives.

Obi advises CBN to re-consider monetary policies

T

HE FORMER Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to re-consider some of the recent monetary policies, especially those, according to him, whose adverse effects outweighed their positive impacts.

Obi was speaking to journalists during the ordination of 2015 set of priests by the Awka Diocese of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Awka, on Saturday.

Obi, who confessed that he appreciated the motives

behind some of the recent regulations, said the issue of domiciliary account needed to be re-considered as it was hurting the economy due to its effects on small and medium scale businesses, which he noted were the biggest employers of labour in the country.

He insisted that any policy not favourable to small and medium scale businesses both in short and long terms, should be re-examined, especially now that one of the biggest problems facing Nigeria remained that of

unemployment. “Besides,” he said, “those small and medium businesses are pivotal to the fight against extreme poverty.”

Obi, who said that a survey of small and medium scale businesses in cities such as Onitsha, Nnewi, Aba, Lagos (Alaba, Trade fair complex), among others, would reveal that traders were suffering and that the unintended negative impacts of the policy dwarfed its positive effects, called on the CBN to commission a study so as to obtain the realities on ground.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 — 15

EEDC laments high incidence of meter by-pass

By Francis Igata

E

NUGU—ENUGU Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC, has lamented high incidence of meter by-pass and tampering by consumers in the five states of the South East, saying it was responsible for the delay in the roll-out of its metering programme.

This is as consumers of electricity in the zone had expressed dissatisfaction with the services of the company in estimated bills, absence of meters, delay in repairing faulty transformers, prolonged power outages and fixed charges and called on the company to improve their services before considering tariff review.

Addressing her customers in the five South East states as part of the consultation for applying the tariff review, EEDC’s Managing Director, Mr. Robertson Dickerman, said the new meters needed to be designed to check the incessant by-pass and tampering.

The consultative meeting, he said had taken the company to all the states of the South East, adding that it was also a requirement from Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC. He disclosed that EEDC had commenced procurement and installation of meters for its maximum demand customers, adding, however, that procurement and installation of prepaid meters for its singlephase and three-phase customers had advanced.

Dickerman said EEDC was poised to continue to provide effective services to all electricity consumers in the zone, adding that it had made huge investments to reduce aggregate technical, commercial and collective losses and addressing customers’ complaints.

According to him, the company had earmarked N25 billion for investment in Geographic Information System, GIS, and enumeration of customers and assets in its licencse area, adding that the investment woud cover transformers, construction of relief substations and network expansion.

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UN pledges to assist Nigeria confront challenges

By Henry Umoru

A

BUJA — THE Secretary General of United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, said yesterday that the world body was ready to support Nigeria in confronting the challenges of security, education, power and development.

The UN chief who was in Nigeria for the 4-year anniversary of Boko Haram attack on UN secretariat in Abuja that claimed 21 lives, disclosed this while meeting with the 36 state governors under the aegis, the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, in Abuja The UN Secretary General who noted that Nigeria was currently passing through a crucial moment, expressed the hope that the governors would use sustainable development goal for the development of their respective states.

Ki-Moon said, “Nigeria is not a small country and therefore your passion and commitment is commended. Many people are looking up to you.

The first word charter of the United Nations is “We the people” and it was this basis that the United Nations was founded. We are working to solve the problem of the people.

“This is a crucial moment for Nigeria. And you have to take crucial steps to move the country forward. The United Nations is ready to help you. We have to work together to move the country forward.

“You (the governors) understand the peoples’ challenges

and you have the power to help the people on education, power, development, institution building, security and others “Nigeria occupies a pivotal place in the comity of nations. This is time of hope when we have a lot of challenges. I want to commend you for a successful election.

Elections should serve as a rally point for the people. But many often, it serves as a means of destruction. Nigeria has done well.”

In his address, Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Ab-

dulazizi Yari, who spoke on behalf of the governors, however assured Ki-Moon of the resolve of the governors to eradicate polio from local governments, states and the country as a whole.

According to him, he was glad that the NGF has become a product of the success recorded in the last general elections and that the governors have come together irrespective of party affiliation, to cooperate, collaborate and share ideas on bringing development to the electorates.

He said, “governors and oth-

AWARD: From left, Dr. Ofulue Uchenna, Director, Cargo, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN; Miss Sa’ada Dunoma, Engr. Saleh Dunoma, Managing Director, FAAN; Mrs. Maru Dunoma; Hajia Salamatu Umar-Eluma, Director, Human Resources, FAAN; Engr. Olufemi Ogunode, Director, Maintenance & Engineering, FAAN, and Miss Nse Ikkideh, General Manager, Planning, FAAN, during the 2015 National Produtivity Order of Merit Award, at Nicon Hotel, Abuja, weekend.

APC TO IGBO LEADERS OF THOUGHT:

By Francis Igata

E

NUGU—SOUTH-EAST Zonal Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday, lashed out at the leadership of Igbo Leaders Thought, ILT, accusing them of defending ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, which was allegedly fraught with widespread looting of public funds.

In a statement made available to newsmen by the SouthEast spokesperson,Mr. Osita Okechukwu, APC said: ”Our worry is that the timeless Igbo tradition which admonishes us not to steal, and neither to defend nor associate with rogues or even alleged rogues is being flagrantly breached by prominent Igbo sons, crying more than Ijaw sons and daughters.

“We are yet to locate any sentence where any of them, even our revered icon, erudite and constitutional lawyer, Professor Ben Nwabueze in any form denied the mindless, pervasive and unbridled corruption which governed ex-President Jonathan’s regime. We stand

er stakeholders are working for the eradication of the scourge. For us, there has been no better developmental partners than the UN. Many states now anchor their development plan along the lines of development goal. We are ready to embrace this programme as soon as possible with the same zeal. The NGF has just established a very successful peering group.”

The Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, spoke on challenges facing states, using his state as a case study.

to be corrected. Then why splash us with the mud?

“It is our considered view first that Ndigbo like all hard working groups in the country stand to gain more from a transparent regime, which caters for both the talented and the needy; than a predator regime, which dispensed only patronage to cronies.

Stop desecrating our tradition

“The Igbo ethnic merchants and gossip-terrorists, who bandy all manner of conspiracy hate theories against President Buhari must come to terms that an eight-year tenure of the man of uncommon integrity is the surest route to actualisation of president of Igbo extraction, given the zoning convention.

“In the context submitted

above, it is time to think out of the box and reason that Ndigbo’s support for President Muhammadu Buhari is a winwin-game for all Nigerians.

“Therefore, stop desecration of Igbo tradition and our great ancestors by supporting the less than transparent ex-president.”

Gov Ikpeazu tasks Ndigbo on curbing crimes

By Anayo Okoli

U

M U A H I A — GOVERNOR Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has appealed to well-to-do Ndigbo and people from the old Eastern Region of Nigeria to invest in the region to create jobs, saying it is the only way to curb the rising rate of crimes and criminality and other forms of insecurity bedevilling the region.

Governor Ikpeazu, who said that government alone could not provide the needed employment opportunities to curb insecurity in the region, also called for collaborative efforts of state governments in the region in the

fight against insecurity.

Ikpeazu spoke, weekend, in Awka, at one-day South-East/Delta states’ Security Conference hosted by the Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State.

Speaking at the conference which was aimed at finding a lasting solution to the security challenge facing the South-East and Delta, Dr. Ikpeazu said that he was “convinced that crime with criminality is a great threat to our prosperity and progress as a people.

“Crime has really touched and affected our values. We are a hardworking people, but crimes have been imported into our lexicon, lifestyles that have derailed us and it is fast destroying our values. Not

until we come together to fight crime, our hopes and aspirations as the people of old Eastern Region will remain a mirage.

“We must rise up to protect the value which we are known for, which is hard work. We must do everything we can to hold down crime and criminals in our areas.

“I want to call on Ndigbo, like I did in Lagos during the week, to look back home and join in our current fight against crimes and criminality in our region.

"We expect our people to join in this fight by investing in the region, and help in finding solution to the problem of unemployment that has created rooms for all kinds of crimes and criminality in our region.”

16 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 LAST week the Presidency issued a directive to all Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to begin retirement of their revenues into a unified account, a Treasury Single Account (TSA) maintained by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Several state governments have also commenced similar measures.

The regime of former President Goodluck Jonathan had initiated a similar measure in December 2014 with February 2015 as the deadline, though implementation suffered due to the campaigns and general elections.

TSA, as defined by the IMF, is a unified structure of government bank accounts through which the government transacts all its receipts and payments.

The nation’s banks would be losing about N2 trillion in deposits to CBN with the implementation of the TSA. This would obviously affect liquidity in the banking system and end up putting pressure on interest rates and availability of credit to the economy.

TSA, a welcome policy Even before the Presidency’s directive, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had begun withdrawing its funds from banks for remittance into CBN last month leading to adverse liquidity levels in the banking system and resulting in a surge in money market rates during the period as banks scrambled for funds to cover their liquidity positions.

The structure of deposits in the commercial banks indicates that the impact of full implementation of TSA may not be too negative. Data from

the CBN as at the end of June 2015 put total deposits in the financial system at N13.5 trillion. Analysis of this shows that the private sector accounts for 90.7 per cent (N12.2trillion) while public sector funds accounts for 9.3 per cent (N1.3trillion) which will be lost to TSA. While we do not think the 9.3 per cent deposit loss is likely to throw the banking industry into adversity, we call on the CBN to put some shock absorbers against unforeseen consequences.

Beyond this, the public finance policy benefits of TSA would compensate for the negative impacts on the money market.

TSA will bring about a consolidated view of government accounts and aid efficient management of government cash flow. This will enable increased transparency of government finances as relevant fiscal and monetary agencies will have more oversight of MDA accounts and cash positions.

Furthermore, the implementation will save the CBN the burden of mopping excessive liquidity (at expensive rate) caused by government revenue allocation and distribution to her MDAs. More importantly, the TSA will check round tripping of government deposits by banks due to the arbitrage between government deposits (bearing close to zero per cent interest rate) and government borrowing (at over 13.0 per cent interest rate cost to the government).

We commend the federal government for introducing the TSA and urge Nigerians to support it in full.

OPINION RIGHT OF REPLY

Re:If only it was O'Tega in Delta

By Sunny Onuesoke

I

READ with consternation the myopic and uninformed piece by one Jesutega Onokpasa in the 19th August 2015 edition of Vanguard on page 39 of paper titled "If only it was O’tega in Delta".

In trying to dwell on wishes rather than reality, Onokpasa tried to mislead the public with wrong information by distorting facts while basking in the sophistry of fiction, falsehood and fables.

Clearly, I do not intend to give any relevance or credibility to Onokpasa’s piece except that we need to set the records straight, and perhaps educate him a little on good governance, political expediency, and jusxtaposing, the morality of truth.

I doubt if the writer knows anything about the pedigree and experience of his principal who has never held any government position before and therefore lacks the requisite experience to govern a state like Delta.

For instance, how would an O’tega Omerhor-led government ‘impress with paradigm shift in governance’ if the available resources are not enough to even take care of recurrent expenditure?

Government is not Santa Claus, and the halting of the recruitment of 3000 workers who bought job slots is not a

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metaphor for economic hardship as Onokpasa suggested; rather it is blessing in disguise.

Delta state, with a bloated civil service of over 60,000, struggles labouriously to pay workers. No responsible government will take overdraft every month to pay workers and neglect other critical sectors of the state. We are all witnesses to the change happening in a state like Osun where workers are owed more than a year’s salaries!

That is not the kind of change we desire in Delta state. Governor Okowa’s five-point SMART agenda is the kind of change we want in Delta State at this critical point in our history: Strategic wealth creation and provision of jobs for all; Meaningful peace

A sensible government must shed unnecessary weight and look for ways to block all leakages in order to create value for the people

building platforms aimed at political/ social stability; Agricultural reforms and industrialisation; Relevant health and education policies and Transformed environment through massive urban renewal.

SMART is not a political jingo; it is an economic blueprint to reposition the state in the face of adversity, harness available resources into productive ventures, create value for money, accelerate growth, drive potentials into performance and enhance the well – being of the people.

We all know that falling crude oil prices means dwindling revenue from the centre as monthly allocation to Delta state hovers around N6billion, even as the government fights to grow the IGR beyond N4billion monthly. Yet, recurrent expenditure remains a cesspool, draining the state’s meager finances and slowing down investments in capital projects and critical sectors like infrastructure, agriculture and industrialisation.

A sensible government must shed unnecessary weight and look for ways to block all leakages in order to create value for the people. Yes, it is not going to be business as usual. That is why Dr. Okowa seeks to reform the 8 year-old Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) which has received not less than 200 billion naira since inception and yet cannot point to any meaningful achievement. That is why Okowa has surrounded himself with tested, credible, honest, pragmatic and sleeve-to-the-elbow people to reposition and drive growth in the state in order to

deliver superior value to the people.

I don’t know if Onokpasa has visited other state capitals in the country and compare them to Asaba, the capital of Oil-rich Delta state. You will agree with me that Asaba is in a parlous and decrepit state, and does not befit the status of the capital of an oilrich state. And if a conscientious and visionary leader like Senator Okowa decides to retrofit or refit the state capital by setting up the Asaba Capital Development Authority, I don’t think that this is out of place. He is not building a Dubai or engaging in any profligacy; he is just going to make sure our state capital is not an eye sore.

Dr. Okowa has a vision and a mission to use available resources to manage the state and transform it into a splendour that is not only enduring and sustainable but one that will impact positively on future generations. That is legacy. And the chronicle of his feats has just begun with momentum. It can only get better.

Finally, we are all witnesses to the overwhelming support that Senator Okowa garnered prior to the last elections, and how he campaigned vigorously and reached out to all interest groups in the state. The people trusted him, voted massively for him, and gave him their mandate. Deltans made the right choice and are now poised to see good governance in action. Let us all join hands and build the Delta state of our dreams.

*Mr.Onuesoke, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Asaba, Delta State.

AUGUST 24, 2015

AFREN'S INSOLVENCY:

How shareholders frustrated board's refinancing, restructuring plan

By PETER EGWUATU

I

ndications emerged weekend that Afren Plc may be sold in bits as no company has agreed to acquire it because of its current financial crisis. Afren is an oil and gas company specialising in oil and gas exploration and production.

Seplat had wanted to buy it over but withdrew its bid when it found out that the company was highly indebted. As at the time of going to press, it was not clear if the staff had been paid off or have had their appointments terminated.

Those who have working knowledge of development in the company told Vanguard that the shareholders of Afren are to be blamed for the current financial woes the company has been subjected to as the decision by its Board of Directors to put the company in administration could have been averted.

An analyst revealed to Vanguard that Afren has been forced into administration following its inability to close a $200 million funding gap deal caused by the drop in Brent crude prices. As it stands, stakeholders and customers of Afren stand the risk of losing millions of dollars of their stakes in the company. For instance, in Nigeria, three banks that lent over $185 million (N31.45billion) to Afren stand the chance of losing this amount if the company goes ahead to sell its assets where the cash flow is not sufficient to repay the loans

How crisis started

Afren, which was valued at about 1.64 billion pounds ($2.56 billion) a year ago, has been hit by a slump in oil prices, the dismissal of top executives and the absence of proven or probable reserves at a key field in Iraqi Kurdistan. The company has C M Y K

since lost nearly all of its market value.

The suspended shares of Afren closed at 1.785 pence on July 15.

The full scale of Afren’s funding crisis was first revealed in January when the company said it needed a $200 million (£132m) cash injection. In its bid to stay afloat, Afren tried to persuade shareholders to agree to a financial restructuring which would have substantially diluted their holdings.

It had planned to appoint new chief executive, Alan Linn once the interim funding deal had been completed.

But the Nigeria-focused oil company’s woes started towards the middle of last year when prices started sliding. Having dipped as low as $45 per barrel in January 2015, they are currently hovering around the $50 mark. Afren’s struggles were compounded by the suspension and

subsequent firing of chief executive, Osman Shahenshah, and chief operating officer, Shahid Ullah over the receipt of unauthorised payments last year.

Afren Plc said its board had decided to put the company into administration as it failed to secure support from its shareholders for a vital refinancing and restructuring plan.

Vanguard gathered that Afren in the first quarter of the year, held talks with bondholders, banks and its partners on its possibility of meeting targets after the company cut its production forecast for the year earlier this month, just as its shares were suspended on the same day.

The board believes that all the possible routes have now been explored during the course of its plan to refinance and restructure operations

which was subject to a strict timetable, driven by the company’s short-term liquidity issues.

According to a statement by Afren on its website, “These discussions have failed to deliver support for a revised refinancing and restructuring proposal that would result in Afren being able to pay its debts as they fall due.

“As a result, the board has taken steps to put Afren Plc into administration and appoint Simon Appell, Daniel Imison and Catherine Williamson of AlixPartners as administrators. The relevant documentation will be filed in court during the course of the day.

“Whilst the overall capacity of the assets to deliver field life production remains broadly unchanged, the nearContinues on Page 18

18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

Cover

Vocation and ttec ec hnical education echnical – a key to improving Nigeria’s development. Part 4

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Afren insolvency: How shareholders frustrated Board over refinancing, restructuring plan Continued from Page 17 term deferral of production revenues has undermined the immediate liquidity position of the business.”

Afren also ended takeover talks with Nigeria’s Seplat Petroleum Development Co Plc in February, 2015 and began defaulting on its debt payments, before agreeing to a $300 million funding lifeline from bondholders.

The deal, which was thought to be too complicated by analysts and investors alike, would have reduced existing shareholders’ stake to 11 per cent. As at January 7, 2015, Afren’s largest shareholder was Nigeria's South Atlantic Petroleum with a 7 per cent stake.

Standard Life Investments, another shareholder, cut its more than 8 per cent stake in Afren to 1 per cent in January this year.

Analysts’ views: “The core issue of Afren has been governance and communication,” FirstEnergy Capital analyst, Stephane Foucaud told Reuters, adding that the company was far too leveraged and had misunderstood the risk profile of its Nigerian assets. Also Renaissance Capital Research, in its report made available to Vanguard said “Afren is in administration and in this note, we explore the possible implications for Nigerian banks. We conclude that Zenith Bank is in the most comfortable position, followed by Access Bank and then Stanbic IBTC.” According to Afren documents, Nigerian banks have at least a $185mn principal exposure to Afren.

Zenith Bank has $100mn (N17 billion) to OML26, $5mn (N850 million) to Ebok;

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Access Bank has $50mn (N8.5billion) to Okwok/ OML113 (Aje), $5mn (N850 million) to Ebok; and Stanbic has $25mn (N4.25 billion) to Ebok.

According to Rencap: “From our discussions with Zenith management and Renaissance Capital’s oil & gas analysts, we believe that of all the banks with credit exposure to Afren, Zenith is in the most comfortable position. The asset is producing, located onshore, and has a low operating cost – which implies that its production economics still make some sense at currently low oil prices.

The February 2014 facility is primarily secured by a charge over Afren’s interest (via FHN 26 – the SPV) in OML26, and its cash flows.

According to Zenith management, other Afren creditors do not have claim to OML26. We do not think Afren plans to sell this asset and our oil & gas analysts believe that its cash flows should be sufficient to repay the loan, valuing the asset at $114million.”

Rencap in the report, said:

We believe that of all the banks with credit exposure to Afren, Zenith is in the most comfortable position

“According to Access management, it has a firstranking lien on the Okwok and Aje fields, though we note that some of the bank’s claims are subject to counterparty consent. Both assets are offshore and not producing. While most of the $50million was spent developing Okwok, Aje is expected to produce first, by late 2015; Okwok production could happen in 2016/2017.

At $50/bl, our oil & gas analysts value Okwok negatively at -$161million and Aje at $45million, implying 90 per cent potential credit recovery for Access.”

Rencap further stated that Ebok is located offshore and is Afren’s largest producing field. Afren has a $300 million syndicated facility from a series of local and international banks on this asset. “While the loan was originally secured using Ebok reserves, cash flows and material contracts, the creditors’ rights were relegated via an inter-creditor agreement on April 30, 2015, when Afren secured life-saving interim funding of $200 million. This implies that in a liquidation scenario, the providers of the interim funding have a superior lien to the Ebok creditors and bondholders. At a $50/bl long-term oil price and at 15 per cent WACC, our oil & gas analysts value Afren’s share in Ebok at $158 million unrisked NPV, leading us to conclude that the creditors would likely have to write off this exposure,” it noted.

In conclusion, Rencap said “After speaking to bank management teams and reading multiple documents on Afren, we think the devil is in the detail. We view the Continues on Page 19

he focus is on the roles of technology and vocational education in enhancing entrepreneurial skills that will equip students for entrepreneurship education in Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-driven technological environment. The world has become globalized and the future prosperity depends on comparative advantage. This comparative advantage hinges on people and their technical or technological sophistication. Towards this, some crucial entrepreneurial and technical skills needed by the students in colleges of education (technical), polytechnics and universities to meet the trends in a global economy is analysed.

Technology education is to be considered as the key agent of technology development, either as a way of developing human capacity, increasing the shield work force for modernisation, industrialisation, environmental development or as a matter of personnel freedom, developing capability and empowerment. Technology education is increasingly recognised to be central to both the origins of technological development and challenges and to the prospects for successfully dealing with them (Alam, 2009). Decision-makers at all levels, need timely, reliable access to knowledge generated by technology and technical education to introduce rational policies that reflect a better global understanding of complex technical, economic, social, cultural and article issues concerning the society, and our environment. Technical decision-making and priority setting is an integral part of overall development planning and formation of technology development strategies. Above all, technology education is a human right and as such, should receive priority in the allocation of national resources. It has become very necessary not to only keep technology education bound to the role of manufacturing skilled manpower but also to economic development and global economy. In Nigeria, technology education was

Technical decision-making and priority setting is an integral part of overall development planning and formation of technology development strategies previously not seen as fundamental for national development, or for the economic development, but for the school dropouts, and other social and political development within the nation and for individuals.

Hallak (1990) argues that technology education is also linked to human resources development and that this has an impact on more than just economic growth, but also an impact on the wider development of individuals and societies. According to him, it contributes to: (a). Individual creativity, improved participation in the economic, social and cultural roles in society. (b). Improved understanding of an individual and heir respect for others, thus promoting social cohesion and material understanding (c) Improvement in health and nutrition. (d). Improved chances of economic development. (e). Improved technological development. (f). Socio-cultural change. (g). Democracy and equality (h). Ecological development/quality of life (increasing people’s awareness of their environments).

From our analysis so far, it is clear that modernization and economic development, depends on investment and appreciation of modern trends in technology education. According to Woodhall (1997) investment in technological education and training produces benefits for the individual and for society as whole.

The roles of technical and vocational education in enhancing entrepreneurial skills using information and communication technology is very important in training for self-employment, selfreliance and skills acquisition now that government cannot employ every graduate. This could be achieved through the development of entrepreneurial skills in technology and vocational education through information and communication technology.

Technology and vocational education programme of our tertiary institutions should be directed to focus on enhancing the training for entrepreneurship in ICT so as to be functional in today’s world of work and the global economy. In this period of mass unemployment and global economic fortunes, only the best can survive by being self-employed. The tertiary institutions where technology and vocational education programme is offered should encourage and enhance entrepreneurial skills of students through constant review of the curriculum to reflect the technological changes and emerging technology in today’s ICT driven technical environment. Technical educators should involve technological, technical, and business organization, government, NGOs and even successful industrialists in their service delivery to the students.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 — 19

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RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari recently appointed a new Managing Director for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. The appointment drew applause as usual from ever-ready Nigerians to sing the praises of those in power. Many did not look closely at the process involved in the appointment and the implication for the future of NNPC and the Nigerian oil and gas industry. The new Managing Director, many have said, hit the ground running because on the first day of his assumption of office, he fired the existing executive directors and brought in new persons. This, to Nigerians, demonstrated competence Buhari/Idiagbon, it failed as is good enough to get rid of and through competitive soon as they were overthrown. the perceived corruption in needs strong selection process. It is Nigeria the NNPC. To any unfortunate that the leadership no doubt. A strong management consultant, President has started on a leadership without strong what happened is just a mere wrong footing in the institutions will face terrible replacement of personnel appointment of the GMD and frustration as things will never and the culture of impunity work out the way he wants. his team. continues.

If Nigeria has leadership The thinking is that the The NNPC Group change the President and his without institutions, it is a huge Managing Director was party talked about is about joke to expect things to work appointed and given a bringing new ways of doing out well. If you have the mandate on what to do. What things. The NNPC example is President who is Mr. Clean and he did is not from his the old Nigerian way of the institutions around him are management insight but an making such appointments. manned by corrupt individuals, order that has to be carried The way the GMD and his the President’s idea of a out. Nigerians have been team were appointed has changed nation will not work, fooled to believe that it is the always been the norm, that is he will end up being very old hands at the NNPC that why things do not work. That frustrated and then not getting were the problems of the is why those in such positions anywhere. country, certainly not. The What Mr. Buhari should do owe their allegiance to those problem at the NNPC is who appointed them or is to ensure that the government interference with recommended them for such institutions are there, and that the operations of the appointments and Nigerians they work under his watch as corporation. complain. What is wrong with the leader, then things will work The man appointed by the NNPC is lack of good well.

President reports to the Once institutions are built corporate governance. president and does the The issue with Nigeria is bidding of the president. that things are done behind Under a working closed doors. Nigeria needs environment that follows due transparency in its political process and laid down and economic life. For NNPC procedures, the to deliver on its mandate, it appointment of such a top must be free from political Will the GMD official of a corporation interference and operate should go through a rigorous be able to under a good corporate exercise, with members of governance culture. The stand the the board. Several qualified President must learn from his individuals should have pressure from past mistakes. When he came gone through the process of within and into the Nigerian political selection. The managing scene as a military leader in from outside director should have been 1984, Buhari instilled fear in given the free hand to select the Presidency the hearts of Nigerians by his team. introducing the War Against who appointed As it stands, the man did Indiscipline. While in office, not select his team, they were him? Only will the nation attempted to imbibe hand-picked for him. the culture of taking their tell how this Executive positions should turns, but because the war was not be by political will play out prosecuted on the person of appointment, it should be by

What has changed in NNPC? and Mr. President is there to encourage them, that is when it is going to work. The fact is that you have institutions that are not empowered. In the case of NNPC, the Federal Government should have appointed a board with the mandate to search for a qualified Nigerian to run the NNPC. The board and management of the NNPC should be made up of professionals and not politicians. The change that Nigerians are looking up for from Mr. President is that the NNPC should be free from political interference in its everyday activities. It must be open in its operation.

There must be transparency in its daily activities.

Nigerians are entitled to know what the financial situation in the company is. This should be made available to the Nigerian public on regular basis. Its account must and should be rendered to Nigerians and not to the few who sit in judgment over every other person and then enrich themselves with the fortunes of the NNPC. It is sad that in the last 20 years or so, the account of the NNPC has not been published.

The only time one could say a semblance of an audited account of NNPC was published was during the period of Gaius Obaseki as the Managing Director.

Perhaps, sensing the mood of the nation of the need for a break from the tradition of the past, the newly appointed GMD of NNPC, Dr. Ibe

Kachikwu, has agreed to usher in a new dawn of transparency through the periodic publications of the Corporation’s financial transaction insisting that transparency must be the watchword of every staff in the new NNPC. Dr. Kachikwu who stated this at his maiden Town Hall meeting with the staff of the Corporation at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, said the new NNPC of his dream is a Corporation anchored on the foundation of transparency.

Charging the staff to break away from the old culture and bring creative solutions to the numerous challenges facing the Corporation, the GMD said with the kind of change he has in mind, the staff could not afford to continue with business as usual.

He challenged staff not to obey any directive from him or any superior officer that runs contrary to the rules, adding that President Muhamadu Buhari will not ask him to do anything shady just as he himself would not ask any staff to carry out any unlawful duties. “I want transparency.

Beginning from next month, I want to be able to publish what the company makes. I have told the President that as from next week, I will be sending him weekly reports,” he said.

Will the GMD be able to stand the pressure from within and from outside the Presidency who appointed him? Will this man keep his word when the going gets tough? Time and time only will tell how this will play out. This man certainly needs the prayers of Nigerians to be transparent.

Cover Afren insolvency: How shareholders frustrated Board over refinancing, restructuring plan Continued from Page 18 feedback from the banks as the optimistic scenario and note that there are legal and contractual technicalities that could cause significant losses with regard to exposure to Afren.”

Afren in administration: The board has appointed Simon Appell, Daniel Imison and Catherine Williamson of

AlixPartners as administrators and said it was working with its partners to continue operations.

The administrators were appointed on July 31, 2015. The Joint Administrators are licensed in the UK by the Insolvency Practitioners Association. The affairs, business and property of the company are being managed by the Administrators, who act as agents of the company without personal liability.

According to Afren, “ For the avoidance of doubt, no other company in the Afren Group has appointed administrators or taken any other step to commence insolvency proceedings.”

About Afren: Afren Plc is an international independent exploration and production (E&P) company with a Premium Listing on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

Afren is a dynamic, entrepreneurial organisation with a portfolio of world-class assets located in several of the world’s most prolific and fastemerging hydrocarbon basins in Africa and the Middle East.

Its activities span the full-cycle E&P value chain of exploration, appraisal and development through to production. Its success depended on its ability to deliver long-term value for all stakeholders through a clear

and consistent strategy, which recognises that its responsibilities go beyond operations.

To leverage its track record of operational delivery and effective portfolio and financial management, its business has been strategically positioned into three core business units, Nigeria and other West Africa, Afren East Africa Exploration and the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

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20— Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

Business & Economy

African Caucus of IMF/World Bank meets

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epublic of Angola will host the Meeting of the Ministers of Finance and Governors of the Central African Banks, the African Caucus, with the aim of strengthening the voice of the continent’s representatives on important issues relating to the socio-economic development of the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs).

The meeting being held at the Talatona Convention Centre is an important opportunity for the African leaders, represented by their Ministers of Finance and Planning and Governors of the Central Banks, to jointly present in a coordinated and organised way the major and current concerns affecting the economies of the African continent, namely the building of infrastructure and industrialisation of production processes.

Hosting an event the size of the African Caucus in Angola should help our country to strengthen its relationship with international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the African Development Bank, with the aim of mobilising support for the financial needs of the country’s development.

Firm boosts capacity building to drive growth

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n a bid to build and strengthen staff capacity to win in the Nigerian business space, Customer Passion Point Limited (CPPL) holds an intensive training as part of her August 2015 edition to mark one year anniversary.

The monthly training program targeted at owners and core staff of small and growing businesses in Nigeria, is a one-day intensive training which currently holds in Lagos with the theme “Business Strategies for Growth and Profitability.

“We have in the last 12 months trained over 130 participants from over 50 businesses. This Program is our flagship program and has given us the initial access to our target audience. Besides the fact that the program has continued to attract more participants, month on month, it has also given us the opportunity to develop the market place.”

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60% of projects fail in Nigeria — UNIDO

BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU

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ROJECT management experts in the country say the country records just about 39 per cent success in all its projects due to variations in plans, defective planning and inefficient management resulting in 60 per cent of projects failure.

Project Management is an innovative management practice that tends to achieve stated or specified objectives within specific time and budget limits through optimum use of resources.

Speaking in Kaduna at the Project Management and Team Building Workshop by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) for Project Managers in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Mr Mark Engelhardt, Consultant and Trainer for UNIDO said that projects are vulnerable to failure because of myriad problems including lack of initiative and proper planning.

Though Engelhardt acknowledged that the problems of project failure are not peculiar to Nigeria, he said projects success in the last 20 years have been within 38- 39 per cent.

“It is a problem, a universal problem and it is universal problem because projects are

complex and unique, it requires specific skills to manage these problems.”

He believed that the country can improve its chances of success from the current 39 per cent to about 50 per cent.

“There is a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP); how to initiate and plan a project so that your chances of success are substantially higher. So instead of having 39 per cent success rate, maybe you can go up to 49 or to 50.

"They can stand anywhere in the world and use the same vocabulary, use the same terminology and the key thing to this advantage of an international standard is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheels; other people have the same problems."

Mr. Mithat Kulur, Project Lead Advisor of UNIDO said countries including Nigeria, invest millions of dollars on projects, bring on board the services of international expatriates using local resources to meet the compelling demands of those projects, yet experienced over 60 per cent project failure within the framework of governmental systems.

"He said: "In project management, a project fails not only when the project delivery refuses to meet the use or the needs of the project or when the project’s product refuses to satisfy the end-user, but when the project is not accomplished within the allowed time frame, project budget, scope defined for the

project and even when the outcome of the project is rejected by the stakeholder.

"Most often, the reason project fails is the inability of the government to separate the political games from professional demands on projects."

He added that, "another reason why a lot of projects fail is because of the lack of communication between project managers, the programme managers and people who designed the projects.”

In view of the last reason, Kulur explained that UNIDO wants to establish teambuilding between Nigerian government and the different institutions that are involved in projects execution, particularly the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) and to get people to have a realistic understanding of what is involved in managing projects.

The National Programme Officer of UNIDO, Mr Reuben Bamidele said participants from the various MDAs include the Bank of Industry (BoI), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority ( N E P Z A ) , Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigeria Investment P r o m o t i o n Commission (NIPC), the Central Bank of Nigeria, S t a n d a r d s Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Capital inflow drops by 0.20% in 1st half

BY BABATUNDE JIMOH

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HE value of capital imported into the country in the second quarter of the year stood at $2,666.36 million, representing a marginal drop of $5.24 million or just 0.20% quarter on quarter Capital importation thus remained relatively unchanged from the $2,671.59 million recorded in the opening quarter of 2015, suggesting that this new, lower level will be maintained as long as an uncertain economic environment remains.

A report released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Nigerian Capital Importation for second quarter, Q2 2015 shows that the second quarter capital imported was $3,137.53 million or 54.06% lower than the $5,803.89 million imported in quarter two of 2014.

Capital importation by

investment type, according to the report, shows that Portfolio Investment remained the largest of all investment types, with $2,183.15 million in Q2 of 2015, representing 81.88% of all capital imported.

This was $322.50 million or 17.33 per cent greater than the $1,860.65 million Portfolio Investment recorded in the opening quarter of 2015, when it represented 69.65% of the total.

The report added that nonetheless the result returned

by Portfolio Investment year on year, its decline remained large at $2,733.99 million or 55.60%.

The key driver of the portfolio investment for the period under review was Equity, which at 84.56% of portfolio investment, increased by $706.70 million or 62.02% from the preceding quarter.

Growth in Money Market Instruments further

contributed, increasing by $270.39 million or 1,674.78% from $16.14 million in Q1 to $286.53 million in Q2 of 2015.

The remaining component, Bonds, declined on a quarterly basis, $654.58 million or 92.83%, so that its share of total Portfolio investment declined from 26.39% to just 2.31%.

Year on year, all sub sectors declined, with Equity suffering the greatest losses, down by $2,029.27 million or 52.36%, accounting for 74.22% of the overall decline.

Other Investments, at $272.07 million, represented 15.58% of total Capital Imported, and held the second largest capital inflows by investment type.

Other investments were mainly comprised of Loans, which at $153.23 million represented 56.23% of the total, and Other Claims, which at $117.85 million represented 43.32% of the total. Currency

Deposits held the remaining $0.99 million or 0.36%, whilst Trade Credits recorded zero.

Other Claims were up $86.34 million or 274.03%. Year on year, declines in Other Investments were similar, at $141.69 million or 34.24%, although this time were driven by both Loans, which were lower by $83.76 million or 35.34%, and by Other claims, which were lower by $57.55 million or 32.81%.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), according to the Bureau report posted the smallest of the investment types in Q2 of 2015, representing $211.14 million or 14.77% of the total. It remains comprised mostly of Equity, at $211.01 million or 99.94% of the total, whilst Other Capital holds the remaining $0.13 million. Declines were observed both on a quarterly basis and annual basis, of $183.47 million or 46.49% and $261.85 million or 55.36% respectively.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 — 21

Business & Economy

BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU

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HE Federal Government’s efforts towards achieving inclusive economic growth through industrialization has received a major boost following the training of Project Managers in the country by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) on the implementation of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP).

UNIDO in collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) during a 3-day Workshop held in Kaduna on Monday for Project Managers in ministry and its agencies along with other stakeholders on ‘Project Management and Team Building’ may have prepared the country ahead of NIRP’s implementation.

The agencies represented at the workshop are the Bank of Industry (BoI), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Nigeria Export Processing Zones Au t h o r i t y (NEPZA), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Consumer Price Index (CPI).

UNIDO’s Programme Trainer, Mr Mithat Kulur said the country’s project managers and other stakeholders in the NIRP must have a wide range of understanding of project management so as to to achieve significant success.

Kulur believed that one of the reasons why a number of projects failed in Nigeria, is because of lack of communication between project managers, the

UNIDO, FMITI train MDAs managers on NIRP implementation programme managers and people who designed the projects.

“One of the things we try to establish in the workshop is team building among the different institutions that are involved in the NIRP and to get people to have a realistic understanding of what is involved in managing projects.”

He frankly admitted that project management is a complex one which involves a lot of learning. “We expect that the participants from the various agencies will go back

to their different institutions and check some rudimentary understanding of the difficulties involved while he added that the approach to project management is far above assumption.

On why the NIRP has to succeed in Nigeria, Kulur emphasized that the Government Plan must succeed to avert the country from running into troubled waters. “NIRP has to succeed because if NIRP doesn’t succeed, Nigeria is going to be in a lot of trouble.”

“I think NIRP is essential in

Nigeria because without industries Nigeria cannot reach international level because there will not be sufficient employment, there will not be enough labour, productivity and products produced in Nigeria cannot be sold to the world.”

Drilling the over 30 Managers on the complexities of projects, Senior Consultant and Trainer of UNIDO, Mr Mark Egelhardt noted that project management all over the world has a uniform Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) such as how to initiate and plan a project in order to ensure that a country ’s chances of success are substantially higher.

TOUR - From left: Head of Brewery Operations, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Samson Aigbedo, His Excellency, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State and the Brewery Manager, Makurdi, Tayo Ogundana during a familiarization tour of the revamped Nigerian Breweries’ operation in Makurdi, Benue State.

CSOs canvass support for CBN’s economic policy

BY CALEB AYANSINA

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VER 200 Civil groupshave endorsed the economic policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), saying it is for the good of the country.

Recently, CBN decried the increasing use of “foreign currencies in the domestic economy as a medium of payment for goods and services.”

The Coalition of Civil Society Groups said the recent measure by the bank was “designed to conserve our dwindling foreign exchange reserves.”

The President of the coalition, Com. William Bassey in a press conference in Abuja, said the policy would ensure stability

of the Naira, while creating jobs for the teeming population.

According to him, “Given the fact that our major source of foreign exchange earnings has reduced drastically, we must commend efforts by the CBN to conserve on our foreign reserves by preventing excessive imports of items like; rice, eggs, private jets and toothpicks, which are either luxurious or can be produced in Nigeria.

“By this action, the CBN is indirectly creating a huge opportunity for Nigerians to begin to look inward to produce these items here at home, thereby creating jobs for our teeming youths.”

The coalition wondered “why should Nigeria keep importing items for which we have strong

comparative advantage, such as vast amount of arable land, great variety of fish stock, excessive wood that could be used for furniture and toothpicks.”

Bassey maintained that the clamour by some quarters to paint the CBN in bad light and to give credence to importation of such goods would amount to impoverish the country, while empowering the foreign countries. “ By allowing the importation of items like rice from Thailand, eggs from South Africa, beef from Zambia, furniture from Italy and textiles from China, we are simply importing poverty into Nigeria and exporting jobs to these

countries.

“This is the reason, why every well meaning Nigerian should support the efforts of the CBN, particularly in this difficult time of low oil prices,” he said.

The group however recognised the fact that, although there might be some temporary pains, as the CBN implements the policy, “ we must realise that we as Nigerians ought to be willing to bear sacrifices that are for the ultimate good of the nation.

“If we become more productive and succeed in diversifying our economy, it will only serve to create more jobs, reduce poverty and increase the commonwealth of our nation.”

Half year: GTBank records 18% growth in profit

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uaranty Trust Bank, GTBank Plc has recorded a Profit Before Tax, PBT of N63.11 billion in its half year result ended June 30, 2015, representing a growth of 18 per cent over N53.39billion recorded in the corresponding period of June 2014 A review of the half year performance shows positive growth across key financial metrics and improved strategic positioning of the brand. Gross earnings for the period grew by 15 per cent to N153billion from N133billion reported in the June 2014; driven primarily by growth in interest income.

The Bank’s loan book grew by 2 per cent from N1.276trillion recorded as at December 2014 to N1.299trillion in June 2015 and total customer deposits increased by 5% to N1.71trillion from N1.618trillion in December 2014.

The Bank closed the half year ended June 2015 with Total Assets and Contingents of N3.04trillion and Shareholders’ Funds of N385Billion. The Bank’s non-performing loans remained low at 3.73 per cent . On the backdrop of this result, Return on Equity (ROAE) and Return on Assets (ROAA) stood at 28.1 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively. The Bank is proposing interim dividend of N0.25k per ordinary share of 50 kobo each for period ended June 30, 2015.

Segun Agbaje, Managing Director/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc attributed the bank’s strong performance during a tough half year period, to the continued support of its customers, the commitment and hard work of its Staff, Management and Board, and strong corporate governance standards.

According to Segun Agbaje, a major objective for the Bank this year is to add value to all stakeholders and improve the customer experience. “We will continue to drive customer engagement, underpinned by a single view of the customer, and build an ecosystem that will guarantee increased customer interactions and satisfaction at every touch point”.

22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

Corporate Finance Stories by PETER EGWUATU

More millionaires emerge in FCMB promo

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t was excitement galore last week as another set of 646 customers of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited smiled home with various amounts of cash and other fantastic gifts at the grand finale draws of the bank’s millionaire promo.

Following this development and the huge success recorded during the course of the reward scheme, which commenced in February this year, the bank has announced an extension of the promo till January 2016. At the end of the electronic selection exercise last week, three lucky customers of the bank were each rewarded with the star prize of N5million, while three others won N1million each at the regional draws held in Lagos, Uyo (Akwa Ibom state) and Abuja. A total of 640 other account holders went home with LED televisions, generating sets, decoders, tablets, smart phones and other consolation prizes at the Zonal draws held in different parts of the country. The winners emerged at the electronic selection exercise which took place across the 3 Regions and 25 zones of the Bank nationwide.

S

TERLING Bank Plc has recorded a growth of 12 per cent in its earnings for the half year ended June 30, 2015.

Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of the bank for the half year under review released at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed appreciable growth in key performance indices, validating the resilience of the lender in spite of the harsh operating environment and regulatory headwinds.

Highlights of the account

Sterling Bank grows earnings by 12% showed that gross earnings rose by 12 percent to N55 billion. This was driven by a 32.2 percent increase in noninterest income to N15.2 billion from N11.4 billion reported in the corresponding period of 2014. Similarly, profit after tax rose by 6.9 per cent to N5.4 billion during the period under review from N5.1 billion recorded a year earlier.

Operating expenses was relatively flat at N24.2 billion leading to an improvement in cost –to-income ratio. The

Bank’s balance sheet also came in stronger with shareholders’ funds increasing by 4.4 percent to N88.4 billion as against N84.7 billion in 2014.Total assets (excluding contingent liabilities) increased by 1.2 per cent to N834.0 billion as against N824.5 billion in 2014.

The Bank continued to strengthen its mid and bottomline performances, as its increasing focus on cost reduction, credit risk management and operating

UBA’s Awoof promo to take 20 customers to Dubai

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ustomers and noncustomers of UBA Plc who receive MoneyGram and Western Union money transfers at the bank are in for an amazing treat courtesy of UBA Remittance Awoof Promo. Now in its first season, the promo will give 20 people the opportunity to go on an all-expense paid trip to Dubai while 60 others will win interesting prizes such as generator sets, water dispensers and rechargeable fans. This offer is on-going and will end on September 14, 2015.

Speaking on the UBA Remittance Awoof promotion, Group Executive Personal Banking, Oliver Alawuba, enjoined the bank’s existing customers and new customers to take advantage of the promotion by receiving their money transfers through UBA. “This is a great opportunity for customers and even noncustomers to receive their funds through UBA and at the same time win something great. No customer should miss out on this opportunity. There is no minimum or maximum amount to receive in order to qualify for any of the prizes on offer. Just walk into any of our business offices all over Nigeria to receive your money, and you could be the lucky winner of an all expense paid trip to Dubai or any of the other fantastic prizes on offer” said Mr. Alawuba.

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efficiency cushioned macro headwinds and retained value for shareholders.

Commenting on the results, Managing Director of the Bank, Mr. Yemi Adeola said: “I am pleased to report on the steady progress made by Sterling Bank in the first six months of the year. Our performance further validates our resilience in the face of regulatory and other macroeconomic headwinds.

“We prioritized performance optimization and operational efficiency leading to a 260basis points improvement in cost-to-income ratio. We also achieved pre-tax Return on Average Equity of 14 per cent with a double-digit growth in top-line earnings. Our capital position remained strong with capital adequacy ratio at 15 per cent, 50 per cent higher than the regulatory benchmark”.

For the remaining half of the year, the Sterling Bank Chief Executive Officer said the Bank will complete the ongoing implementation of a number of technology-led service improvement initiatives across core and subsidiary systems in order to improve operating efficiency and employee productivity.

“Furthermore, we remain confident that we will complete the final tranche of our capital program in order to build additional resilience in view of the prevailing difficult macro-economic conditions while also strengthening earnings capacity”, he added.

CIS engages banking students on capital market investment I

N its efforts aimed at integrating the youths into the capital market through strategic investor education, the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) has advised the students of University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus to take advantage of an array of opportunities in the capital market for their professional advancement.

Addressing the students and their staff at a symposium organised by Confidence Consult, a professional association of Banking and Finance Department of the University, an Assistant Director and Head, Research and Technical Department of CIS, Mr. ArinzeNwobu advised the students to avail themselves of the unique opportunity provided by the institute’s Professional Diploma in Securities and Investment to become an

operator in the capital market.

Nwobu who was accompanied by the institute’s Marketing and Media Liason Officer, Mr. Olumide Coker explained that the financial system remained the life blood of the economy and axle on which the wheel of the economy revolves. He noted that financial system’s stability engenders macro-economic stability.

According to him, capital market, he said, is a segment of the financial system which consists of a web of institutions and mechanism through which long term investible funds are mobilized and channeled from surplus ends, to deficit ends for entrepreneurship, innovation, research, job and wealth creation.

He explained that once they enrolled and pass the Diploma Examination, they are already on a steady career path towards employment in the financial

market and a better access in becoming a stockbroker since the Diploma would qualify them to write the Final Examinations designed for professional stockbrokers.

Mr. Nwobu noted that every reasonable nation is expected to optimally develop its capital market, which is one of the most important factors in funding infrastructure with strong socioeconomic impact. He advocated for the evolution of a dominant capital market based financing structure and investment – led growth strategy for Nigerians in order to engender broad-based or pro-poor growth in the economy.

The capital market, he said, catalyzes industrial growth faster and create more job opportunities among other several advantages. He encouraged the students to develop interest in the securities and investment profession,

which he said is esoteric and offer lucrative career opportunity in investment banking, stockbroking, financial advisory, asset management and in other areas of business and governance. He advised the student to register and write the CIS qualification examination, to take position in the industry for the now and in readiness for the greater things anticipated in the capital market.

In his response, Head, banking and Finance Department, University of Nigeria, Enugu Associate Professor Chuke Nwude appreciated the laudable initiative of CIS and promised that the Department would make it mandatory for students to take up the value proposed by the Institute before the graduations even as he indicated interest for a repeat visitation by CIS in future.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 — 23

Corporate Finance

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

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n 2012, the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, reconstituted the Board of Trustees of Investors Protection Fund, (a vehicle for compensation of investors that lost money to stockbrokers in the stock market). However, the Board went into oblivion for a period of three years before making announcement penultimate week about first payments to be made to 154 claimants. In this interactive session, the NSE Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oscar Onyema, who is also member BoT of the IPF addressed some concerns on the proposed payment of N40.63 million to 154 claimants, reason for delay in take-off of the Fund among other issues. Excerpt: What has been delaying take-off of payment of top investors since the reconstitution of the Board about three years ago?

In 2012, the board was inaugurated, and then we went through preparing terms of reference, the governance framework, the rules, and how it will operate. In our rule making process, we draft rules, we send it to the industries for comments; there is s comment period, then they give us back their comments, and we make necessary adjustments and then we send them to the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC. The SEC then takes their own time to go through the processes before finalizing those rules. Now after putting those rules in place, you won’t start paying out immediately; you have to review all the claims that they are genuine and put them through a process. I believe we received about a little over 400 such claims and painstakingly went through each of them to confirm if they are legitimate and how much is eligible and all of that. The broker-dealer regulation team of the exchange did a very good job of reviewing all of that, and sending it to all the Board of Trustees.

We also went through a thorough process in bringing in professionals, and selecting the consultants to do verification exercise for us.

That included calling each of the claimants and verifying their identities and all of that.

So, that is just on that side.

Now, if you are going to pay, you must know how much you are starting with. So, did all that including converting the financials to International Financial Reporting Standard, IFRS, standard. We selected world class auditors to do the review of our financials and that was done and submitted to the SEC. We also put in place an appropriate website, and that was only a portion of the NSE website, to give information.

With that and using the print

IPF not mechanism to recover all lost assets — ONYEMA media, we were able to get as much information as possible from the claimant to allow us complete the process of verifying if the claims were legitimate and how much will be paid out, and actually then putting them through the process of payment.

What is the current situation of payments made as at today by the IPF Board to investors.

Has anybody been paid?

You have only 23 that have been paid N7.2 million been paid because as part of the payment process, you have to provide us with certain information. As you know we are now in the new age where you can transfer payment directly into the account and things like that. So we do verification of identity, and the claimants provide us with appropriate releases, because these are very legal transactions and they have to do an indemnity. Once you have completed those steps, then you receive your money.

People are in different stages of completing those steps and that is why it’s only 23 that have been paid. I am sure that if you check with us periodically, you can continue to update the numbers of people that received payment, and how much they are paid.

You said that investors must exhaust all avenues of dispute resolution set out by the Nigerian stock Exchange before approaching the IPF for any claim. So, is the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST) also included as one of the avenues for dispute resolution?

As you know, if you have a dispute with a dealing member of your exchange

•Oscar Onyema that you have tried to sort out with the dealing member and you are unable to, when you report to their exchange, we do have dispute resolution mechanism which is widely published and is available on our website as well. We would encourage the dealing member to settle with the investor. If that is not possible, we will do an all party’s meeting, where we invite all the parties, and we try to mediate, so we have the mediation event. If that solves the problem, that is good, if it doesn’t, we let it go to the next stage which is the investigation panel.

The investigation panel will then do further review and decide whether to take what we have come up with in the mediation or to discard it fully and come up with new solutions. If that does not solve the problem, we then go to our disciplinary committee, which

reviews such matters and they can end it at that point. Again, if it is not ended there, you can appeal to the full National Council of the Exchange, and they can make the decisions.

So, that is the framework for the stock exchange. Now, if you are not satisfied by what the stock exchange does, you can go to the SEC or the IST. I think the hope for investors lies in the recovery of the assets, which the rules also provide for. What structures have you put in place to ensure that this is pursued very well and to ensure that investors get maximum benefits from the IPF? The first thing we try to do is to recover the assets, and that’s why we said you must exhaust all the dispute resolution mechanism that we have in place. But the IPF itself cannot be a mechanism for recovering all of the assets. So, it is the equivalent of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Commission (NDIC) in the banking side of the business, or the Securities Investors Protection Corporation, SIPC in the U.S. You will see that most of the bodies that are like the IPF don’t t work with the methodology of recovering everything. What they do is that they give you a stated maximum just to help sooth some of the pains. So, we go through the dispute resolution mechanism to help recover the entire asset. When that fails, that’s when you can then come to the IPF. What is the net asset of the IPF? AS of today, we have about N872 million in various accounts.

NBC plans increased production capacity by 2020

By Princewill Ekwujuru

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he Nigerian Bottling Company Limited, NBC, says its involved in accelerated investment plan aimed at increasing its capacity by 2020.

Public Affairs & Communication Officer of NBC, Uzo Odenigbo, who did not reveal the amount of the investment involved said the company is currently executing an accelerated investment plan that is aimed at doubling production capacity of the company’s production line by 2020.

Some of the plants in Nigeria are being upgraded while a new plant will be established in Okigwe, Imo state.

The NBC spokesman further stated: “The already existing operations in Imo State would be significantly enhanced, hence the need to drive momentous investment into its operations and site a worldclass, state-of-the-art factory in Okigwe. When completed, the facility would be the biggest NBC manufacturing and warehouse site in Nigeria, supporting other existing production lines to deliver more to yearning customers and dealers in the Eastern Nigeria and beyond, in an environmentally sustainable way.”

He added: “Demand for our products is high, and in a bid to meet up with the sales projection trajectory in a very competitive environment, more production lines would be installed, most of which will be in our new Okigwe mega production facility.”

The Company’s operations supports the socio-economic lives of its stakeholders, providing employment opportunities, improving livelihood and economically empowering communities where they operate and with utmost need for basic infrastructure.

NBC Limited is also partnering with communities on its shared values of water stewardship, youth development and women empowerment. Collaborating with state governments, supporting female entrepreneurs with trade asset financing and business training for women entrepreneurs in the Coca-Cola value chain remains a top priority and a strategic part of the company annual business plan.

24 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

Banking & Finance

Naira appreciates at parallel market

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he naira sustained the gains recorded last week, edging higher on Friday against the U.S dollar at the parallel market at N208 to the dollar. On Monday, the naira traded at N223 and at N212 on Thursday.

The British Pound Sterling and the Euro also traded at N330 and N230, respectively, at the parallel market on Friday, according to a survey by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The official interbank exchange rate, however, remained at N197 to the Dollar.

The naira’s gain could be attributed to the new regulations on foreign exchange introduced by the Godwin Emefiele led Central Bank of Nigeria to curb speculation and dollarisation of the nation’s economy.

Bank customers win in CBN e-payment incentive scheme

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cobank customer, Julie Chioma Ukwosah has emerged one of the winners in the ongoing Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Electronic Payment Incentive Scheme (EPIS). At the raffle draw conducted in Lagos, Adeyinka Adejuwon, who banks with GTBank emerged the first prize winner. He went home with N100, 000; the first runner-up was Julie Chioma Ukwosah who banks with Ecobank won N50,000 while the second runner-up, Jerry Boakye-Mensah banks with Diamond Bank and got a N15,000 cash prize.

Commenting, Funso Oyelohunnu, Head, Acquiring Cards and e-Banking Department, Ecobank Nigeria, commended the CBN reward initiative, stressing that it would further encourage the use of epayment channels. She noted that the emergence of Ecobank customer as one of the winners of the draw attest to the efficiency of the Bank’s e-payment channels.

“This is a great initiative. As a bank we are glad that one of our customers is one of the winners.

This is a further proof that our various e-payment channels are efficient. This is an opportunity to urge both customers and non customers of the bank to make our e-payment channels their choice,” she said.

STORIES BY JONAH NWOKPOKU HE Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has named twelve approved centres across Europe, North America, Asia, Middle East and Africa to facilitate the Bank Verification Number, BVN registration exercise for Nigerian banks’ customers in the Diaspora.

The approved centres include the ones in Washington DC, Atlanta, New York and Houston, United States of America; Johannesburg, South Africa; Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, China; New Delhi, India; London and Leicester, United Kingdom; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

CBN also disclosed that, “Online Integrated Solutions OIS has been engaged to establish stations for data capture and generation of BVN at a fee of GBP30 per transaction, payable by the customer. The company is expected to capture necessary data for online transmission to the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System, NIBSS who would therefore generate the BVN and communicate same to the customer. The customer may approach OIS for the BVN, where the communication from NIBSS is not received within 48 hours after the enrolment.

Thereafter, Nigerian banks’ customers in Diaspora are expected to forward their BVN to their banks for linkage with their accounts.”

Besides Leicester and London where enrolment had already started, enrolment at all the approved centres is expected to kick off from

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CBN sets up centres in North America, Asia, others to facilitate BVN registration ...Confirms payment of 30 pounds August 24, 2015 for Washington DC, and August 19 for Dubai, UAE while September 7, 2015 has been slated for the possible go-live date for the registration in Johannesburg, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and New Delhi.

September 14 has been slated for possible go-live date for the exercise in Atlanta, United States of America while possible go-live dates for New York and Houston Centres have yet to be determined.

The circular added that information on other enrolment centres not listed above will be communicated

soon and that customers should visit the NIBSS website for updates on the go-live dates.

The apex bank also directed customers intending to register through OIS to make a booking first and confirm an appointment through the organisation’s website before they could be attended to.

In the circular entitled: “Circular on the framework for the enrolment of Nigerian Banks’ customers in Diaspora for bank verification exercise issuance’ CBN presented two options for the Diaspora customers to participate in the BVN registration exercise.

It said: “Nigerian banks’ customers in the Diaspora could present themselves for enrolment for the BVN without travelling to Nigeria. The first option is for the customers of Nigerian banks to present themselves to the offshore branches/subsidiaries of any Nigerian money deposit bank, where such facilities have been made available, for the enrolment for the BVN. The deployment of scanners and other devices to these locations have started in earnest.

“Nigerian banks abroad are expected to capture necessary data, generate BVN and communicate same to the customers.

Access Bank records N39bn profit in six months

By PETER EGWUATU

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CCESS Bank Plc has recorded a Profit Before Tax, PBT of N39.1 billion for the audited half year result ended June 30, 2015, representing a growth of 44 per cent over N27.1billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2014.

Profit after tax was up 39 per cent in 2015 to N31.3billionn, compared to N22.6billion in half year 2014. The Group recorded a strong performance in the first six months of the year, reasserting its capacity and resolve to deliver strong returns in spite of a tighter operating environment. In the audited financial results released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last week,

Access Bank recorded a gross earnings of N168.3billion, representing an increase of 43 per cent over the N117.9billin recorded in the same period in 2014. The Bank proposes an interim dividend of 25Kobo per share.

Growth in gross earnings was boosted by an 18 per cent increase in interest income to N98.9bn in the first half of 2015 from N83.6 billion in the comparative period of 2014.

There were also increases in other financial indices; noninterest income rose 101 per cent to N69.4billion in 2015 from N34.6billion in 2014; Operating income of N17.6billion grew by 42 per cent in half year 2015 compared with N83.1billion in the corresponding period of 2014 and Return On Average Equity (ROAE) of 21.6 per

cent in 2015, from 16.5 per cent in 2014. Commenting on the results, Herbert Wigwe, Group Managing Director stated, “The results reflect the Bank’s concerted efforts to deliver on its growth objectives for 2015. The first half of the year was defined by significant macroeconomic and policy headwinds with major impact on all aspects of our business.

The group despite those challenges reported improved profits in the first half of the year with significant contributions from our securities trading business.

We are particularly pleased with the strong support from our shareholders as they exercised their Rights during the recently concluded Offer which raised N41.8 billion.

The successful Capital Raise

underscores the overwhelming support of our shareholders and their belief in Management’s ability to deliver long term value. With our capital position secure, our priority will be to focus on; driving migration of our customers to alternative platforms to boost profitability of our channels; implementing our customer service improvement initiatives; generating lowcost liability from continued engagement with customers; growing risk assets by deepening market share in target sectors; optimising and improving penetration of our customers’ value chain and driving operational efficiency through cost containment and procurement optimization measures.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 — 25

Banking & Finance

Heritage Bank, EDC explore emerging horizons for SMEs

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BY JONAH NWOKPOKU

eritage Bank Plc and the Entrepreneurship Development Center, EDC of the Pan African University, PAU have partnered to bring together top chief executive officers to discuss emerging horizons for Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs in Nigeria.

The chief executive officers, among other things, will discuss with SME operators on a variety of issues during the 9th EDC annual SME conference sponsored by Heritage Bank and scheduled to hold next month in Lagos.

The CEOs scheduled to speak during the conference inlcude Mrs Mary Akpabome, Executive Director, Heritage Bank, Prof Pat Utomi, CEO, Centre for Values in Leadership, Dr Cosmos Maduka, Founder, President/ CEO, Coscharis Group, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Ighodalo, CEO, Design Options, Mr. Emmanuel Ijewere, CEO, Ijewere & Co, Mr Raphael Afaedor, CEO, Supermart.ng, Mr Olalekan Olude, Co-Founder, Jobberman and Mr Victor Afolabi, CEO, GDM. Others include Senator Babajide Omoworare, Dr Emeka Osuji, Ms Ebi Atawodi, GM, Uber.com, Mr Emeka Ezomike, Manager, Tax Regulatory Services, KPMG, and Mr Daniel Oparison, Marketing Strategist, Pagatech.

Speaking on the conference, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Heritage Bank, Mr. Ifie Sekibo said “Partnering with EDC to organize this conference is part of our efforts to help SMEs get better and bigger, which is one of the strategic objectives in our acquisition of Enterprise Bank. Each of these CEOs have proven track record in various business endeavours which are nationally acclaimed. We believe that their testimonials will serve a big boost of inspiration for SME operators that would attend the conference.”

Over the years, Heritage Bank has partnered with EDC and other organizations to help SMEs build competence, access new opportunities and develop necessary leadership skills required for success in the business world. These include the Heritage Bank SME Clinic, Heritage Governance Model, the Paris Club Credit Scheme and the Enterprise Stories, a radio programme which focuses on stories of successful entrepreneurs. The sponsorship of the Annual EDC’ SME Conference is to complement these initiatives, which are aimed at promoting SME development in Nigeria.

The SME Conference is a forum for members of EDC Business Network, and other SMEs alike to come together to learn, interact and share experiences. Last year, the conference which had the theme: ‘Model, money and market - positioning your organization’ brought together more than 500 people made up of SME owners, SME stakeholders, representatives of financial institutions. In the past 3 years, Heritage Bank has partnered with the centre on this annual event.

Heritage Bank, since inception in 2013, has been at the forefront of promoting SME development in the banking industry. To demonstrate its commitment to SMEs, the bank designed and offers an array of products and services based on the perceived and expressed needs of SME businesses.

Skye Bank kicks off phase 2 reward promo

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kye Bank has kicked off the second draw of the Skye Millionaire” Reward scheme in two market locations in Lagos.

In a statement, the bank said the August draw would hold during market activation in Alaba market and BBA Aspamda, simultaneously.

According to the Head, Retail Banking, Skye Bank Plc, Nkolika

Okoli, the Reach for the Skye Millionaire reward is part of Skye Bank’s strategy to encourage customers to save.

Okoli said, “at Skye Bank, we encourage our customers to build a savings culture with this scheme. We are rewarding customers for saving their money. In the end, the scheme is a winwin for both our esteemed customers and Skye Bank, because it also helps us to grow our customer base.”

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26 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

Homes & Housing

By YINKA KOLAWOLE

Refinancing pushes US mortgage applications up

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.S. borrowers took advantage of China’s economic woes last week. As interest rates fell on concerns overseas, mortgage refinances surged. Total mortgage application volume rose 3.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending August 14 vs. the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

Refinance applications were the driver, jumping 7 percent from the previous week to the highest level since May, 2015.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 55.5 percent of total applications from 53.1 percent the previous week.

This, as the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixedrate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) decreased to 4.11 percent, its lowest level since May, 2015, from 4.13 percent, with points increasing to 0.37 from 0.31 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans, according to the MBA. The 30 year fixed interest rate is down 15 basis points over the last eight weeks.

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he Lagos State government retains 35 percent equity holding in the concession agreement to redesign and redevelop the Falomo Shopping Centre in addition to the payment of N50 million which was meant for expression of interest only, the concessionaire, Afriland Properties Plc, has said.

Managing Director/CEO of the firm, Mrs Uzo Oshogwe, made the disclosure in a statement, last week, in response to the widely reported revocation of the concession agreement by the State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode.

Oshogwe however refuted claims that the state government was shortchanged in the deal, noting that the transaction was done transparently and in accordance with best practice.

It also denied the claim that only N50 million was paid for the lease, noting that the money was just for expression of interest. The statement reads: “The management of Afriland Properties Plc notes with concern, recent reports relating to its transaction to redesign and redevelop the iconic Falomo Shopping Centre in Lagos. These unverified

‘LASG holds 35% equity in Falomo Mall concessioning' *It's a fair deal, says developer reports have implied that, the contract with the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) was terminated on the grounds that the concession terms are “grossly detrimental” to Lagos State and its residents.

The reports also claimed that Afriland Properties only made a payment of N50 million for a 50-year lease of the government-owned land.

“Though the authenticity of these reports is unconfirmed, Afriland strongly refutes the suggestion that it has engaged in any misconduct or that the transaction is in any way detrimental to the people and government of Lagos State. We are strongly committed to creating a world class project, which will act as an economic magnet for central Lagos, creating opportunities for Lagosians and which crucially has been structured

to ensure ongoing value will accrue to Lagos State and to Lagosians. The contract was negotiated transparently and in accordance with best practice.

“Afriland Properties and LSDPC, acting on behalf of the Lagos State government, established a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which is jointly owned by the parties for the specific purpose of developing the Falomo project. Under the

The N50 million given to Lagos State plus 35 percent equity seems fair owing to the fact that the property before now was not generating any significant revenue

UK mortgage lending hits 7 year high

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ortgage lending across the UK in July was at its highest level for seven years, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

Home-owners borrowed a total of £22 billion in the month, the highest amount since July 2008. CML said total mortgage lending for the year was likely to hit £209 billion, which would mean a 3 percent increase on 2014. It also said it expected lending to pick up in the second half of the year, following “subdued activity” earlier.

“We expect lending activity in the rest of the year to be underpinned by improving economic fundamentals, but kept in check as any upward pressure on house prices further stretches affordability for some buyers,” said CML economist Mohammed Jamei.

The total amount of money lent naturally gets bigger as house prices rise, and homeowners need to borrow more.

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terms of the agreement, the SPV - Falomo Shopping Centre Development Company Ltd – was granted a concession to, amongst other things, develop, build, operate and maintain the Project on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis. Afriland paid N50 million to LSDPC as an expression of interest in the redevelopment project. The LSPDC will receive a 35 percent interest in the SPV for its land contribution and through this significant Equity Holding, will continue to receive significant ongoing value. Afriland is obliged to fund the entirety of the development costs which is projected to exceed N30 billion without recourse to the Nigerian taxpayer.”

A renowned property developer, who pleaded anonymity, said the transaction was fair since the state government will continue to earn 35 percent of the income generated by the project for the duration of the concession. “The project of about N30 billion, with 35 percent equity in the partnership, for 50 years, the value of that land would be about N3 to N4 billion. A plot in Ikoyi is between N300 to 400 million, this implies that for the N50 million given to Lagos State plus 35 percent equity seems fair owing to the fact that the property before now was not generating any significant revenue,” he stated.

Afriland further stated that it has consistently adhered to the terms of its agreement with LSDPC, as outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Joint Venture Agreement that were signed and executed by the parties.

Modern mini housing

Ogun targets 1,000 housing units annually O

gun State government is targeting the construction of over 1, 000 housing units per annum for property buyers and investors as part of its urbanisation scheme.

Managing Director of Ogun State Property and Investment Corporation (OPIC), Babajide Odusolu, said the move is aimed at meeting the state’s rising population and the desire to bridge wide gap of housing deficit. He said construction of the housing units will cut across the three senatorial districts of

the state.

Odusolu said the development is for all classes of career workers in both public and private sectors, in different categories - low-cost, middle class and upper class individuals, group of individuals and corporate organisations. He added that there will be a three year payment plan. He said the intention is to break barriers preventing access to homes and property ownership through 30 percent initial

deposit and three-year tenor.

“In the past, OPIC did not focus on housing development, what we focused on was to open up various estates and sell service plots to the people.

So, if you are talking about lands, OPIC, in the last 30 years , sold well over 5,000 plots cumulatively to people, but if you talk about housing stocks, we probably developed 100 housing units within the first 28 years. However, in the last two years, the dynamics and mind-set have changed.

Now we focus not just on opening our various estates, but we also develop housing stocks. In the last two years, we have developed and we are still developing well over 2,500 housing units cumulatively in Agbara and Abeokuta. This year, we are going to deliver at least another 200 housing units. Our goal is to get to the point where, on an annual basis, we can develop and deliver over 1,000 housing units across our various estates in the entire state,” he stated.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 — 27

Insurance

Consolidated Hallmark leverages on technology to drive retail market Stories by ROSEMARY ONUOHA

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HAIRMAN of Consolidated H a l l m a r k Insurance Plc, CHI, Mr. Ralph Ekezie, has said that the company will take full advantage of technology to drive the retail segment of the insurance market going forward.

Ekezie, who disclosed this to shareholders of the company in the company's annual report and financial statement, stated that there are also plans in place to partner with Nigerian banks to drive the bancassurance model for which the Central Bank of Nigeria recently issued a guideline.

On financial performance of the company, Ekezie said, “CHI was able to post a premium income of N4,678,556,485 when compared to the N4,151,298,704 recorded during the 2013 financial year. Your company also recorded an underwriting profit of N863,244,006, compared to N1,057,117,228 in 2013.

Profit before tax moved from a loss situation of N 181,101,830 in 2013 to N205,621,179 in 2014.

The profit after tax also took a forward leap from a negative position of (N200,555,035) in 2013 to a profit of N193,076,785 in 2014.”

The CHI Chairman said that the results have placed the company again on the path of profitability, a trend which was only broken briefly during the 2013 financial year when significant provision was made for impairment charges.

“It is good to know that the temporal set back has now been reversed with these results. We have remained firmly committed to the growth in shareholder value over the years. Payment of dividend was being made, although not yearly as envisaged. We are unable to effect payment from the results of the 2014 operation since we have only just bounced back to profitability. Our profits, as indicated in the details of the accounts are being reinvested in the business. However, I am pleased to inform you that the unaudited financial statements of your company for the half year ended 30th June, 2015 is indicative of the improved health in our finances. Our Profit before tax for the period currently stands C M Y K

at N469,860,599 with retained earnings of N148,015,245. It is hoped that this trend will be sustained for the rest of the year, and on the account of that, the board has decided to pay an interim dividend of N120 million upon approval,” he said.

Ekezie said that the future economic outlook of the country will be quite challenging, against the backdrop of falling crude oil prices and fall in the value of the Naira, adding, “The future of the insurance industry remains very bright giving the existing low penetration rate.”

Strong foundation has been laid for Wapic – Desai

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r. Ashish Desai, outgoing Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of Wapic Insurance Plc has said that strong foundation has been laid for future success of the company.

Desai said this at a send-forth party in his honour having indicated his intention to resign in view of the expiration of his contract early next year.

Desai would be returning to South Africa to join his family and pursue his business interests. The send-forth party which was well attended by staff of the company was held in Lagos.

Recall that Wapic Insurance recently reintroduced its motor insurance product suite while its Life subsidiary, Wapic Life Assurance Limited announced its revamped Group Life insurance product. The Motor insurance suite has been rebranded and is now called “Moov” while the Group Life Policy has been redesigned to address critical consumer needs while keeping them adequately protected against the financial impact of life’s risks whilst in employment.

Moov, the motor insurance product in its new form has been designed to meet the yearnings of customers for budget and life style flexibility. An integral feature of the new product, is the fact that the consumers can custom-create their motor insurance cover.

28 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

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Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 — 29

Interview

‘Using foreign auditing firms to the detriment of locals is killing’

BY OMOH GABRIEL

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ast week at the University of Lagos main auditorium, Mr. Emeka Ugwu-Oju, President of Concerned Nigerian Professionals and Entrepreneurs' Forum spoke of the fears of Nigerian professionals over the appointment of foreign audit firms to audit revenue-generating agencies of the Federal Government by the President. He said doing so without regard to competent and qualified Nigerian firms is sending the wrong signal to the outside world that this government does not trust Nigerian professionals.

Excerpts: may ask what is the update.

What is your concern in the appointment of foreign auditing firms to audit revenue generating agencies of the Federal Government and whose interest are you representing?

I coordinate different professionals, South-East, South-West and Southern Professionals and concerned Nigerian Professionals and Entrepreneurs' Forum.

Today, we are talking about the Concerned Nigerian Professionals and Entrepreneurs’ Forum.

I am an active member.

Professionally, I retired as an accountant and right now, I am on sabbatical with an NGO. South-East, SouthSouth are regional but this one is national. I am today speaking on behalf of Nigerian Professionals and Entrepreneurs' Forum. This organisation came into existence before the last presidential election. What happened was that my friend, Sanni Dangote, younger brother to Aliko, said to me that instead of South-East, South-West, why not a national platform? What we tried to do during the election was to get the two presidential candidates to address the Nigerian people on issues and how and what they would do if they are elected president. Unfortunately, we ended up not having that but we have published some of the key issues Nigerians wanted them to address, we also circulated it on the internet and we did some town halls in various regions to sensitise the people on some of the issues. That is a bit of the background but for today, I will talk about some of the objectives we want to achieve and that is the issue for lack of better words - local content as far as professionals and firms are concerned, then the issue of restructuring or repositioning NNPC, my take on Nigerian Content Act in the oil and gas industry, you

You talked about local content and the President has just come out to say that he wants to probe all revenue-generating agencies and he wants a forensic audit that has been contracted to foreign firms.

No Nigerian auditing firm is among them; are Nigerian professionals happy with this or is it your recommendation to the President to take foreign firms?

I am not speaking for the President but I think what might have informed the decision is his lack of confidence in the Nigerian firms. We have firms that can deliver like their counterparts anywhere in the world. Before we start putting the blame on the President, if there is going to be a blame on him, I think his decision or recommendation which was accepted was made by the committee of governors

to fellow professionals in the media at the same time seeking the assistance to scream and let the President, National Assembly and every Nigerian know that this act of using international auditing firms without following due process and without trying to encourage national accounting firms, is a killer. In an academic environment, what you are telling the students, especially the accounting students, is that they cannot be the Price Waterhouse Coopers of tomorrow, that they cannot find international accounting or auditing firms, because if their own government does not encourage them, how will they grow?

If they leave university degrees, they cannot dream of trying to start and grow and become the PWCs of Africa and globally. We are talking of conserving f o r e i g n exchange, people might be overlooking this job, but it is a big job. If you use international audit firms, the way it is structured is that the seven percentage will go to the home office, so inadvertently, we are encouraging some sort of capital flight. We are not saying they should not

Globally there are good and bad people, there are good and bad firms, I do not think that Arthur Anderson is a Nigerian accounting firm and you remember the story of Anderson headed by Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, under the auspices of Nigerian Economic Council, NEC. I do not think it is the President that fixes it.

If the Federal Government is going to foot the bill for this audit, then we are going to say to the President, this recommendation should not stand, it has to be reviewed.

Let me now address the issues, saying whether as professionals especially those who are directly affected as accountants, whether they are happy with it; they are very unhappy and that is one of the reasons why I am talking

engage international firms, many of their staff of course, are Nigerians but what we are saying is as much as possible, and where the capacity is there, they should as a matter of urgency, give Nigerian firms priority. In a worst case scenario, local firms in partnership with an international firm, and at best, only local firms will do it. We have a new government and this act of government will send a wrong signal showing that the government does not have trust in our local professional firms. If we do not have trust in them, then we cannot grow, it means that we can

also bring in foreign judges, lawyers, governors, to come and rule this country but of course, we know we can do much better.

Forensic audit is a specialised area in accounting, is there enough expertise/ competence to do a thorough job that i s required

in this change?

moment

of

The people that will do the job even for the international accounting firms are Nigerians, PWC, KPMG and their managing partners are Nigerians but the ownership is not Nigerian so there is no doubting the ability of Nigerians to do the job, but we are saying Nigerianowned firms should be given opportunity, because there is a big difference between ownership and management.

If you want to do a forensic audit and there is an external influence that might colour the judgment, would you think that Nigerian firms have that integrity to say no to external influence?

Globally, there are good and bad people, there are good and bad firms, I do not think that Arthur Anderson is a Nigerian accounting firm and you remember the story of Anderson, if I may say, my good friend, Itua Ighodalo, I think he is a man of integrity, these are people who are patriots and this issue of forensic audit at the end of the day, you think they are certain things impacting negatively on the country, we need to find out how to fix them, who can do this better

than a patriot.

For this sort of forensic audit, you do not need somebody who does not have a stake in Nigeria, because for him, it is just a job, this is one of the reasons why we want the forensic audit to help fix our country and then there are accounting firms that have partners who are very patriotic and have integrity and they have more at stake, so they would try to do the best they can to ensure that we are sitting in front of the system. What we are trying to do is go round and try and see how we can fix the leakages in the revenue collected; that is the essence of the audit.

Some of these institutions have been audited and the audits were done by Nigerians, the fear is that they did not do what was expected of them. You have cases of firms having three or four accounts done by accountants, one for tax, one for the regulator and one for the management, these are issues that people should be worried about.

I said there are good and bad firms, it is not like some of these firms or companies have not been audited by these firms you talked about.

Many of the jobs in this country are being done by foreign audit firms, if there are issues, it does not exclude international accounting firms, check your facts to see whether all the bad audits are done by Nigerian firms and the good ones by international firms.

30—Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

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he Senate by announcing its plan to probe the Federal Governments since 1999 till 2015 has not only demonstrated its independence frpm the Executive branch, as should be the case, under the principle of separation of powers, it is embarking on a patriotic mission. The reason is simple. More funds have been embezzled from allocations to power projects than on anything else except petroleum deals. At the very least, close to $20 billion remains unaccounted for, while power generation had remained almost static since 2007. But, before presenting the evidence, let me digress a little.

Each time a call to probe Obasanjo had been made, a President of the United States, nuisance message comes in under President Nixon, when asking why someone who left he received summons from office eight years ago should Maryland State where he was not be left alone. It is the sort Governor before he was of defence of dishonest public tapped to run with Nixon. officials which had Inquisitive investigative encouraged looting. But, the journalists had uncovered sender cannot figure out, for evidence of tax evasion more himself, the correlation than six years before. Agnew between our relative was forced to resign as VP, backwardness in power prosecuted and sentenced. No generation and the activities American, in his right senses of looters. So, permit me to in America protested against provide three examples from the probe. France, last year, other countries. prosecuted and sentenced Mr Spiro Agnew, was in former President Chirac for a his fifth year as the Vice- crime committed thirteen years

In support of Senate probe of Obasanjo, Yar’adua and Jonathan — 1 The Obasanjo/ Imoke/Nenadi power project started with clear violation of the constitution, proceeded with impunity

ago when he was a Presidential candidate.

Nobody in France who does not need a psychiatrist found anything wrong with the matter. Israel beat that record when a former President was prosecuted and sentenced for a crime committed twenty-four years earlier. No Israeli questioned the punishment.

Our high tolerance for corruption committed by public officials is one of the reasons USA, France and Israel are developed and will continue to distance us. For them there is no statute of limitation

preventing anyone from being probed – even hundred years after. OBJ’s friends will never learn that. I expect to receive their messages.

But, for those who still have their marbles intact, permit me to provide the evidence supporting probing Obasanjo’s government.

Obasanjo had at least two accomplices however. He was Engineer Lyel Imoke, who went on to govern Cross River State, and his Minister of Finance, , who went on to become a Senator.

Their exploits are recalled below.

The Obasanjo/Imoke/Nenadi power project started with clear violation of the constitution, proceeded with impunity, consumed between $13 and 16 billion. Yet, it failed to achieve its stated goal of lifting power generation in Nigeria to 10,000MW. One of the most important question for Nigerians today is what happened to N2.8 to N3.5 trillion, or more, of public funds spent on power under Obasanjo. Those against the probe must have a skeleton in their cupboards.

Micro-Finance b l a m e some of t h e s e schools because there is an inspection team that goes round schools, why did t h e y approve them, that means the government is a party to this. After approval, many a times they come to inspect this school, w h y haven’t they gone back to inspect t h o s e schools and see that they are not doing the right the thing, why are those schools still learning, is the government’s fault. If there are rules and regulations and there are no way to monitor those rules and regulations everybody does what they want so the government needs to monitor and stop giving approvals to schools that you would know for sure do not deserve the approval, there is even a government regulation that no school should be 500 meter from one another and yet they keep approving schools that are just next door to each other. I blame the government and I also blame the level of education, sometimes you want to employ, you will

Govt should give us subvention, not tax us —BELLO

BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

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rs. Nadia Bashir-Bello, is the Proprietress of Bellina Schools (Bellina College, Nursery and Primary Schools). She is an astute, hardworking and forthright woman, a disciplinarian, lover of children and a professional educator. Holds a B.Sc (Mass Comm.) PGDE, M.Ed (Admin). In this interview, she highlighted some of the challenges faced by good private schools in the country making recommendations on the way forward and urging government to aid private schools with subventions rather than tax them. Excerpt: provide the kind of Most Nigerian parents education that is global so take their children that our children are most abroad to study due to a comfortable where ever they drop in educational are in the world or where standard. ever they go for further Is very true that the education. We are seeking the standard of education has support of government, if dropped drastically from my there are more public time till now, a lot of things schools more people will go need to be put in place, some to school, if there are more of the parents do not have support from the confidence in Nigeria, not just government, for instance we the educational system but in who have private schools are Nigeria as a whole. Many of having a lot of problems with the these countries parents the government and we are take their children to, hoping we will get more England and America, their support and that the educational system too is bad government, should see us especially the junior partners not as competitors, to education system is really see us as people trying to help bad, unless they go to to augment that which the expensive private schools and government is giving. They they don’t have the same should not see us as cash-cow culture and values that we trying to take everything have, they don’t have the asking us for money all the same ambition and drives that time, asking us to do some we have. But unfortunately, exams we are not interested many people don’t realise in, all sorts of rules and that until they get there and regulations trying to frustrate it is too late. The educational our efforts. Some of us are system in Nigeria is poor but resilient because we are here the private schools have come as business people not only to the rescue. to make money but we have a What is Belina doing passion for education, some differently? of us does and some of us We are doing our best to don’t. In Belina school we C M Y K

Nadia Bashir-Bello have a passion, we do all we can to make the children happy and successful and to be able to challenge their qualifications where ever they go in the world because we expect them not to stay in Nigeria only but to be able to feel comfortable wherever they go the world.

Employment of unqualified teachers by private schools First of all I said some of us have a passion for education, we are not just in it for the money, some do not have a passion but they are there for the money, they don’t have any commitment or anything, they just want to make money and that is what matters to them. Sometimes you cannot

interview probably 50 teachers with certificates from all sorts of Universities and they cannot even speak or write English, yet they have the paper qualification, sometime you wonder if they actually seat for exams, but they actually did. The educational system we are talking about is right up to the Tertiary not just primary or secondary. The kind of people that graduate from universities these days is appalling and that is why when people say there are no job I say there are lots of job but there are no people to fill the vacancies.

What could be the causes?

Sometimes out of frustration and desperation you recruit one or two people you know you shouldn’t whilst waiting for that person you know you are going to employ but again the government needs to look into the educational system.

Because there are not enough Universities, many people try to get into the universities and many of them go through the back door and therefore those are the people we see out there to employ, some work so hard and with their result they don’t get anywhere and then we have all these quota system where you ask some people to answer one question and you give them admission where as other people would have answered almost all right and they don’t meet the quota because for their state the quota is so high. Is it a crime to come from a state that many people believe in studying, do you know how many years it took that state to develop to that level and yet we keep giving the other states the advantages, it is not fair and because of that some students

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 — 33

E-Commerce

How online marketplace drives e-commerce growth in Nigeria Stories by

JONAH NWOKPOKU

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IGERIA’s Information and Communications Technology, ICT sector contributes about 8.4 per cent to the gross domestic product, GDP. This sector in turn contributes significantly in driving the trade sector which has grown to about 16.4 per cent according to the 2014 data from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics.

The use of ICT to drive trade has received significant boost with the emergence of electronic commerce. The ecommerce sector has been growing strongly over the past three years and it is expected to contribute about 10 per cent, valued at N2.5 trillion to the GDP by 2018.

This growth has been driven by pockets of internet entrepreneurs who ventured into the retail sector, leveraging the advantages offered by technology.

This experimentation with online shopping has driven economic growth to unprecedented level for the past three years, creating enormous wealth and leading employment generation in the technology sector.

However, the most recent trend in the sector, which has been seen to be driving this growth, is the evolution of the online marketplace.

Online marketplace is a type of e-commerce site where product or service information is provided by multiple third parties, whereas transactions are processed by the marketplace operator. It is the primary type of multichannel e-commerce.

In an online marketplace, consumer transactions are processed by the marketplace operator and then delivered and fulfilled by the participating retailers or wholesalers.

In Nigeria, one of the ecommerce pioneers, Konga.com has led the way in the online marketplace evolution.

Started as vendor specific online retail store in 2013, the retailer launched its marketplace HQ in April, 2014 opening up its store for third party merchants across the country.

Konga’s Director of Marketplace Operations, Kunle Oguneye told Vanguard that over 25,000 merchants presently trades from the platform. He said over 800, 000 orders have been processed from the platform since launch, with orders from the marketplace accounting for about 50 per cent of all orders made on the Konga online store.

He said the marketplace have C M Y K

for eleven months and processes about eight to ten orders a day averaging between N50, 000 to N80, 000 daily on sales.

Kalejaiye who believes that what Konga marketplace offers heralds huge potential for ecommerce in Nigeria, said entrepreneurs should embrace the opportunity as they do not have to face the rigours of getting brick and mortar shops with its attendant limitations.

Challenges

been driven by the natural desire by merchants to explore more market opportunities to reach more customers who demand for their goods, a need that the Konga marketplace has perfectly met.

According to him, “People want to sell. People want to make money. So everybody who is selling wants to sell more. So we did come with a very simple proposition, that we can help them to sell more.We ship to all the 36 states every day and the FCT. So somebody who is based in Yaba or Tejusoho market, all of a sudden starts getting orders from Akure, Kogi or from Nasarawa and he does not have to bother about how to deliver to these places because Konga already made the logistics provision to make that possible. They may also decide to use other logistics option if they choose but then we are always there to make the entire process as seamless as possible.”

To sell on the platform, he said, a merchant must have inventory, that is, products to sell.

He said: “Wherever you keep the products, whether under your bed, or shop or inside your car trunk, we are not concerned about that. But it must not be a situation where you get the order and then you start looking for the item. And then for certain types of products, you have to show us proof of purchase. This is to ensure that we do not sell fake products on the platform. This specifically has to do with branded products where people may get the fake version from a third party manufacturer but still present it as the original brand. So we checkmate that because we do not want someone coming to buy a branded product and getting a fake. So for those kinds of products, the seller has to present proof of purchase, pictures of samples, and then we take a decision as to whether it is authentic or not.”

He disclosed that over 100

sellers are admitted daily to sell on the platform and they are verified to start selling within 24 hours.

One of the sellers on the platform, Blessing Olurin, whose shop, Little Angels debuted on the platform on May, 2014 told Vanguard she processes about ten orders a day, through the platform and grosses about N1 million every month.

Inspired by the high cost of brick and mortar shop to explore the online alternative, Mrs Olurin said the visibility that the marketplace provides is the most significant advantage that selling online offers, including the logistics solution provided by Konga.

Another seller, Chukwu Onwuka whose information technology store, Systematics, has been selling on Konga for ten months said its presence on the marketplace has driven sales up by 30 per cent.

He said, Systematics which also operates as brick and mortar in several locations across Lagos city, processes, on the average, six to seven orders and grosses about N500, 000 monthly in its online sales.

Also speaking, Tokunbo Kalejaiye who sells electrical gadgets on the Konga marketplace said Konga’s local content posture has been a major attraction for so many businesses selling on the platform.

He has been selling on Konga

The e-commerce sector has been growing strongly over the past three years and expected to contribute about 10 per cent to the GDP by 2018

But, Konga marketplace, he said, still needs to improve upon its distribution system especially as it regards delivery.

He said: “The efficiency of the delivery is what that will make them succeed in the business.

And if they don’t develop that arm very well, all the efforts they have put in place to ensure free flow of services might be jeopardised. This would happen because quite a number of customers have different reasons for buying and then if the delivery system is not persuasive or committed to the business, you will end up having a lot of returned orders.”

He also wants Konga to explore other payment options besides the popular pay on delivery.

According to him, “The payment system does not have to be pay on delivery always.

Konga should encourage a lot of customers to pay online. The seven day return policy that customers have is already enough of an encouragement.

This cash on delivery encourages a lot of unserious buyers to come to the platform.

People just place orders today and the next day, they have cancelled the order saying they don’t like the product again.

Those are some of the difficulties that we face.”

The Director of the Marketplace, Mr.Oguneye also believes challenges remain, especially around public infrastructure, and also as it relates to fraud and other safety concerns in logistics services.

He said: “Infrastructure remains a big challenge. This is because at the end of the day, you are trying to deliver but your trucks cannot go out at night because of fear of insecurity and bad roads. You are also dealing with all sorts of societal challenges, a lot of predisposition to fraud. So we are constantly chasing people who are trying to use our platform to perpetrate fraud.

Educating Nigerians about ecommerce is also a challenge because it takes most sellers that come into our platform, two to four weeks to actually become comfortable understanding how to interact with a customer and how to offer additional services. But then all that remains part of the growing process for all the parties concerned.”

‘Why wealthy Nigerians should invest in technology start-ups’

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anaging Director/Chief Executive Officer of InfoGraphics Nigeria and Vice Chairman, Demo Africa 2015 edition, Chinenye MbaUzoukwu, has urged rich Nigerians to start investing in technology start-ups, arguing that returns on investment in technology businesses has proved to be one of the most attractive in the world.

According to Mba-Uzoukwu, start-ups in other parts of the world are attracting investments more than they do in Nigeria.

He pointed out that within the first half of 2015 alone, Indian technology start-ups have raised $3.5 billion, adding that almost every other day a new start-up is being funded in India with mind blowing ideas and innovations.

“Interestingly rich Nigerians still look to the West or even China to save Nigeria. That has been our colonial legacy.

However, we must start to look inwards. Demo Africa is a great step and a new class of indigenous Nigerian investors must rise up and be counted because technology is the future of Africa,” he added.

VConnect evolves into online marketplace

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Connect Global Services Limited, Nigerian based search engine, has expanded its scope of business by evolving into a complete online marketplace where people can find, buy and sell goods and services. With over 1.1 million business listings on the website, consumers have access to a wide array of products and services.

According to the General M a n a g e r / C o - F o u n d e r, VConnect Nigeria, Mr. Deepankar Rustagi, VConnect’s online marketing platform offers unrivaled shopping convenience.

He said, “Our long term vision is to connect buyers and suppliers, providing convenience to buyers and growth to suppliers while boosting the Nigerian economy. Users can find a product by its name or by searching the name of the store; compare brands and prices side by side, and buy quality products at the best prices”.

Deepankar urged SME’s to leverage e-commerce solutions to grow and improve their business outputs, saying: “Technology allows SMEs to increase their productivity and growth at a much faster pace.

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Economy

Mergers and Acquisitions loom in oil industry as price crash continues access to liquidity, but also whether there will be a continued appetite for the sector more generally amongst the petro dollar based sovereign wealth funds, private equity houses and commodities houses. Hedge funds and other strategic players are also likely to be interested given the financial stress that we

STORIES BY EMEKA ANAETO, ECONOMY EDITOR

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here are indications that sustained decline in global oil prices and glut in the supply end is now pushing both multinationals and Nigerian companies to consider mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

This was contained in report by the Financial Times of London (FT) at the weekend which shows that for smaller oil firms, usually known as independents, to wade through the tough times successfully a new wave of industry consolidation is inevitable, as they struggle to remain afloat.

According to FT, ‘’several small oil companies are limping along, labouring under heavy debts and dwindling cash flows’’.The low oil price is already reshaping the industry landscape driving Royal Dutch Shell’s USD55 billion takeover of smaller rival BG Group, and triggered the fall of Nigeria-focused oil explorer Afren, which entered administration last month. More consolidations are therefore expected to occur in the coming months if oil prices continue to plunge further south.

Commenting on the report a top executive of one of the indigenous upstream oil companies in Nigeria told Vanguard that many of the locals are already talking to the stronger multinationals for take overs.

According to him ‘’With commodities’ prices hitting lows for the current decade, companies becoming even more focused on capital discipline, significant currency movements and access to capital being limited in certain quarters and increasing financial pressure on certain industry players, 2015 is likely to see a renewed level of M&A activity across the oil and gas sector in Nigeria as it is currently globally.

This activity is likely to include further takeovers among mid-cap

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•Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, NNPC boss companies, as well as the first “mega-mergers” for nearly a decade. Within the oil service industry, consolidation is already well underway, being all the more necessary due to the current contracting and pricing scenarios’’.

The oil company executive who

said his company was hosting a business combination meeting with some foreign investors last weekend added ‘’it will also be interesting to see who the main buy side players will include, not just the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and National Oil Companies (NOCs) with

‘’Several small oil companies are limping along, labouring under heavy debts and dwindling cash flows’’.The low oil price is already reshaping the industry landscape driving Royal Dutch Shell’s USD55 billion takeover of smaller rival BG Group, and triggered the fall of Nigeriafocused oil explorer Afren, which entered administration last month

are increasingly seeing in the sector’’ The drop in global oil prices has inflicted massive pain on oil exporting countries, widening budget deficits and weakening currencies. Other than Nigeria’s plummeting finances, oil companies in the country’s oil and gas sector, as is the case with oil producers worldwide, have been forced to scale down on investments, slash their budgets and lay off staff as plunging oil prices takes a toll on crude oil exporting countries and industry operators.

Brent crude has more than halved since June last year, with the slide accelerating after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) decision last November not to cut output, despite a US supply glut and weaker than expected demand in Asia.

Brent sold at USD45.54 Tuesday afternoon, down 20 cents but still some way from its 2015 low of USD45.19, while US crude futures hit an intra-day low of USD41.43 close to their lowest since early 2009 – before picking up when they traded at yesterday’s close price of USD41.87 a barrel.

Buhari to canvas for foreign investment at Commonwealth Forum T

o further boost his regimes international economic exposure President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to lead Nigeria to the first forum of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) holding alongside the meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government, CHOGM in Malta, November 2015.

The CWEIC, formally known as the Commonwealth Business Council was transformed recently with a specific mandate to promote trade and investment

among Commonwealth countries of which Nigeria is a major member. The CWEIC is expected to host the business forum which will offer opportunities for commonwealth members to exchange and project their businesses.

The forum will be attended by the heads of government, ministers from across the Commonwealth and about 1,200 business leaders.

CWEIC was established in July 2014 with the support of the Commonwealth Secretariat. It

helps Commonwealth Governments attract investments, promote enterprise and improve the business environment. It also work with member companies to expand their businesses and help with new investments in any Commonwealth country Initially the CWEIC will focus on a small number of priority programmes including economic governance and good business practice, infrastructure investment, sustainability, supporting SMEs access new markets through Commonwealth First initiative, women in business and youth entrepreneurship.

CHOGM is held every two years and is the Commonwealth’s highest consultative and policy-making body. While announcing the programe for November session Joseph Muscat, Prime Minister of Malta said “the Commonwealth is an institution whose strength lies in its diversity, a diversity which has always been underwritten by a subscription to a common set of values which include the promotion of democracy, human

rights, good governance, free trade, inclusive global development embracing all members of the world community, and world peace’’.

According to CHOGM Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma, “The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting brings together leaders of an immensely diverse yet cohesive grouping of 53 countries representing one third of humanity. They assemble from islands and continents at varying stages of development to work on common approaches and to plan practical action motivated by the shared values and principles of the Commonwealth Charter.

Goodwill and cooperation, supported by an enduring sense of affinity between the peoples of the Commonwealth, pave the way to fresh approaches to collective benefit.

“When Commonwealth leaders gather, innovative solutions are found to today’s global challenges for the benefit of all, particularly the vulnerable and marginalised. At the Malta CHOGM the wider world will see the Commonwealth in action, as a great global good.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 — 37

People in Business

Our initial capital was the idea in my head — AHMED ATERE

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ngineer Ahmed Atere is the Chief Operating Officer of Meed Networks, an ICT consultancy and training outfit that is into Integrated Network, LAN, Fibre Optic and Telecom Infrastructure solutions, Cabling and Wiring systems, Biometrics, Test and Security Network solutions. In this chat with Financial Vanguard in Abuja, the Agricultural Engineering graduate from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, speaks on why he went into ICT, the challenges, and says his start-up capital was the idea in his head. Excerpts:

BY EBELE ORAKPO Motivation: his has been my passion since I was young. I have always been a fan of somebody doing what he loves and I feel so much empowered by this. I started doing programming and IT stuff as early as in junior secondary school. I first learnt how to use DOs system so before I got into the university, I knew I wanted to study something that has to do with ICT but unfortunately, I did not get the course I wanted.”

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Combining major with ICT: While studying agric engineering, Atere pursued his first love, ICT, by doing computer programming and writing professional exams CISCO, Networking etc.

“I made a second class upper, meaning that I was not bad with my agric engineering.

Again, agric engineering is something I will go back to because when I retire and can no longer go up and down with ICT, I want to retire to a home with a large expanse of land where I can do mechanised farming. This will bring me back to agric engineering," he said.

"During my industrial training, I ensured that I wrote one exam or the other so by the time I got back to school in year four, I started working in cybercafés because I already had the certification that could help me. All these boosted my CV when I finished school because I started working in my third year. In fact, we were still waiting for NYSC call up letter when I got a job in Lagos.

Just before I went for the youth service, we got a job with the Cross River State Government (to connect all the ministries to the headquarters) and I was made to head the team. I was shuttling between Lagos and Calabar and by the time I got back to Lagos, I started doing training too. I was actually one of the first Fibre Optic Association's trainers in West Africa on fibre optic technology.

Starting my own business: "After a while, I felt it was time to be on my own. I had a partner, Mr. Sheriff Adeyanju and co-partners, Mr. Oponle and Daramola Alayande.

Along the line, we got a very big job from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria to connect the campuses Kongo, Samaru and Shika. I was head of the technical team.

"Our mentor and my first boss, Mr. Babajide, taught us that we could actually make something out of this. That was how we started growing, bit by bit and here we are today!"

What we do: "The whole thing is about you knowing what you want to do and what you actually enjoy doing. I enjoy lecturing so I train people on fibre optics apart from the normal job. I enjoy imparting knowledge.

I have trained people from NCC, former NITEL, NEMA, etc. I have a contract to train in East Africa with Africa eDevelopment Centre in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in fibre technology.

We train professionals who are already in the field. Because we also do deployment to site, we are able to meet both site deployment and classroom work; so that is one of our major strengths. We also train children. I believe in catching them young.

Starting early enough is good because years of experience were what helped me. My boss thought I had already worked for two years and he was looking for someone with two years experience and because I started when I was in school, I got those years of experience before I left school.

"Even when you get to the university and you don’t get the course you wanted, that does not mean that you will not do something. I had wanted to read electrical engineering but I didn’t get that but my reading agric engineering was a blessing in disguise because now, I know that there is another way I can use agric engineering when I retire.

"However, most of my mates who actually got that same course never liked it so they ended up with bad results.

*Engr. Ahmed Atere.. It's all about knowing what you want, starting early enough and being prepared for opportunities Those that got what they wanted felt they were on top of their game and so did not go the extra mile of learning the new technology. What I did was to learn the newest technologies then that people in electrical engineering and computer Science should have been learning.

"So it's all about knowing what you want, starting early enough, and all things being equal, being prepared for opportunities, the sky is the limit."

Start-up capital: "Initial capital was zero. It was just being prepared for opportunities because we knew what we wanted to do.

Our first job was actually a very big job and we had nothing so we went to meet with a finance house in Lagos.

They asked us what we had and we told them we can deliver the professional side of the project such as services, consulting etc. This means that the only thing we had then to start up the business was what I had in my head, so when we took that part of the bill, it was up to the minimum

The very first major job we got, we actually went to rent a CEO because we were too small/young and we were competing with the big guys in the industry

percentage that we were supposed to have for the finance house to partner with us. For example if the project is worth N10 million, that means you must have at least N3 million so on the value of the project, we were able to at least with all the things we could do, come up to that percentage so I will say the initial capital was what I had in my head. We were lucky they were able to help and again, because they had seen that I had actually headed some previous projects in that line successfully.

So preparedness was part of the initial capital.

Challenges: "People saw me as a small boy. It was very ironic. They look at me and think 'oh, you are too small,' you cannot do this. In fact, the very first major job we got, we actually went to rent a CEO because we

were too small/young and we were competing with the big guys in the industry. So the challenge was getting people to believe in us and luckily, we had people who believed in us that time and that was what helped. It was always ‘can you do it? You are too small for the job.’ That was then. Imagine starting a company at the age of 25 years. In fact, the job we went to do, a company had actually done it and it failed so we were going to salvage the entire thing.

Finance was another challenge but we were bailed out by the finance house.

Getting the right people with the right mindset was also a challenge because now, people do not want to work for experience or passion, they want money. My first salary was N4,000 which could not even fuel my car when I was in school but I was doing it because I needed the experience. People would call me to help them solve some of their problems and as I was doing that, I was learning.

Nowadays, people are not willing to do that kind of thing, they just want money. I tell interns who come here that I will not pay them and I will not take them until they accept that condition. I actually get to pay them later but if they cannot accept that condition, I won’t take them because we want to remove that money consciousness.

"The business environment is challenging.

Nigerians generally do not give out jobs on merit, it is always on who you know and sometimes when you are not in that circle, it might be a challenge for you even when you can do the job.

You have to know somebody in the environment before you can actually get the job.

Finally, I will want to say to anybody or parent who has a younger one, whatever anybody wants to do in life, the first thing is to ensure they start early."

Oil spill confab holds in Lagos

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aku Professional Engineers (KPE) Ltd., an indigenous energy and oil spill management and control company in conjunction with the Nigerian Environmental Society will hold its 4th Oil Spill conference.

The conference with the theme: Oil Spill Prevention, Clean-up and Remediation in the Niger-Delta, comes up on August 25 and 26 at the Colonade Hotels Conference Centre,21 Alfred Rewane Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Delegates are expected to pay a fee of N80,000 or US$400 while students are to pay N30,000 or US$150.

In a release made available to Vanguard, the CEO of KPE Ltd, Prof. Sylvester Egwu said

the organisation has a threedimensional approach to solving the spill problem one of which is the oil spill conference.

“We are approved by DPR to provide training and manpower development to oil workers. We have also partnered with the US National Spill Control School in Texas.

"We sensitize the public about oil spills through conferences and seminars.

We back up our efforts by introducing remediation technology for environmental restoration.

We are exclusive distributors of US Petroleum Remediation Product (PRP) for spill response remediation."

C M Y K

38 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

Aviation

By LAWANI MIKAIRU & DANIEL ETEGHE

IATA training: NCAT lauds BiCourtney’s initiative

By LAWANI MIKAIRU

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he management of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, Zaria, Kaduna State, has commended Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, BASL, operator of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Two (MMA2), Lagos, for its unique contribution to human capital development in the aviation sector.

This commendation followed the full sponsorship of four instructors in the institution to a one-week course in ‘Airport Route Development and Commercial Management’, organized by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in Lagos, in May this year.

In a ‘letter of appreciation’ signed by the institution’s Head of Aviation Management, Engr. E. O. Onwuka, on behalf of the Rector, Captain Sam Akinyele Caulcrick, NCAT lauded the strategic training initiative being promoted by BASL, promising to strengthen its collaboration with the company widely renowned for its pioneering efforts in the aviation industry.

In the letter, NCAT said: “With great sense of responsibility, the Rector/ Chief Executive and entire management of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) wish to express our deepest gratitude and thanks to BiCourtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL) for your magnanimity in providing full sponsorship to four NCAT Instructors in the Airport Route Development and Commercial Management Course organized by IATA, which your company hosted.”

“I wish to assure the Managing Director that NCAT, as a Centre of Excellence, is prepared and willing to strengthen the strategic partnership training initiative with BiCourtney Aviation Services Limited especially in human capacity development requirements of the Aviation industry.”

D

irector General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Captain Muhtar Usman has cautioned information managers and Public Relations officers at the country’s airports to do a critical review of information dissemination during accidents and incidents.

Capt. Usman who made the call few days after the Bristow Helicopters crash that killed 6 passengers on board said that information managers should tinker with the subsisting approach of information flow when there is an accident or incident.

He further calls for an integrated and unified approach among all information managers during emergencies.

He said: “We should put on the table a synergy and a robust working relationship within this group. When I say all of you this includes the public relations apparatchik of NCAA. “If we commence integrated information, there will be a concerted approach when there are accidents and incidents. On the reality, airline operations worldwide are not without its fair share of incidents.”

The DG continued, “the public character of aviation imposes on it a dual role.

Commercial airlines should advance their private interest, stimulate growth

VISIT - From left: Deputy Managing Director of Arik Air, Capt. Ado Sanusi, Ireland's Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency, Sean Hoy and Chairman of Arik Air, Sir Joseph Arumemi - Ikhide during the visit of the ambassador and Enterprise Ireland delegation To Arik Air in Lagos

NCAA tasks information officers on accident reporting and compete in the realms of operations. However, this should be done within the stipulates of NCAA’s regulations.

“In Nigeria today, we have 30 certified air operators, over 400 in-service aircraft registered in Nigeria. In addition, there are about 46

corporate jets, 130 helicopters and 100 foreign registered private jets.”

Usman used the opportunity to assure Nigerians that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) will continue to progressively strengthen oversight responsibilities to entrench

safe and secure air transportation in the country.

He reminded the airlines to clear all outstanding indebtedness as the regulatory Authority will soon commence severe sanctions on all defaulters.

Araba cautions FG on proposed merger of aviation agencies

By LAWANI MIKAIRU

F

ormer Rector, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Captain Adebola Araba has cautioned the Federal Government against merging the aviation parastatals saying it is against international practice to merge regulator, that is , Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, with the parastatals it is supposed to supervise.

Araba who disclosed this to newsmen in Lagos, added that the Federal Government should critically evaluate the situation before taking action.

He said that all over the world a regulator in the aviation industry has never been merged with an operator advising that the government should be careful before taking any step in the process of merging the various agencies in the aviation industry.

He noted that if the agencies were merged, the operators and stakeholders as well as the country at large could not get the best out of the merger.

Araba said: “We really need to look at it critically and we need to define what we are expecting, you know, we should come with a vision, merging a regulator and an operator, we might not get the best out of it. NCAA is a regulator, other agencies are there and they are supposed to be regulated by NCAA but merging them together in my perception, I don’t think that we are going to get the best out of it.

“The way we are going now, we have to be very careful, you just mentioned AIB and FRSC. We are talking about ground operations with air operations now, you see AIB has no business with FRSC and merging them together, I don’t think that we are going to achieve anything, that is the way I look at it in my own perception. I am not saying that I have the monopoly of wisdom concerning this issue but I feel it is not right to merge Accident Investigation Burea, AIB, with Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, because what they are doing is quite different from each other completely, so

merging them, I would not know what we are trying to achieve”.

“Like I told you, NCAT is an operator, NCAA is a regulator and merging NCAT with NCAA, I don’t think that we are going to have the best out of it in the sense that somebody has to regulate

whatever that is been done in NCAT, if the regulator is now turning to be the operator, my guess is as good as yours, the quality will suffer anyway you look at it, so I think it is better to keep them apart for NCAA to still regulate NCAT.

Dunoma commends Nigerian engineers for contributing to aviation industry

By LAWANI MIKAIRU & DANIEL ETEGHE

M

anaging Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Engineer Salem Dunoma has commended Nigerian engineers for contributing positively to the development of the Aviation sector.

Engr. Dunoma who made this known during the 2015 Annual public lecture organised by the Aeronautical Division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) said that the engineers were working hard to safeguard the integrity of the profession.

He however called on aviation agencies to initiate quality control procedures to strengthen controls over Jet A1.The MD, himself an engineer commended the organisers for picking a relevant topic that has stimulated robust debate by the participants.

While speaking on the topic “Procurement; Avoiding and Navigating through the Iceberg” the Guest Speaker at the occasion, Eng Emeka Ezeh FNSE, Director General of Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) called on the engineers to work in line with the tenets of the BPE.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 — 39

Advertising & Promotions

By PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU & MICHAEL ODOH

I

ntercontinental Distillers, IDL Limited has spent the sum of N313 million in cash and gift items to boost businesses of its distributors in the 2015 fiscal year. Of the N313 million, N55 million and Mrs. Dorothy Anegbe of Ogbohu Enterprise winning a Platinum Award of N9.25 million and a 4.5 tonne truck.

Generating sets of 15 to 20 KVA and other gift items which include Washing machines, Television sets, home theatres etc to the distributors who had distinguished themselves in the sale of the company ’s products.

The cash and gift prizes earmarked for the distributors include the award ceremonies which will be held in three different regions of Lagos, Ibadan and Port-Harcourt.

This was disclosed by the Managing Director of IDL, Engr. Patrick Anegbe, during the 2014 distributors forum and award ceremony tagged: Living-it-Up, in Lagos, where he said the ceremony has become an age long tradition of appreciating distributors who performed exceedingly well.

Engr. Anegbe maintained that the essence of celebrating excellence and rewarding hardwork is to encourage the distributors to invest more in their businesses and also rekindle the drive to grow their businesses.

Engr. Anegbe emphasized on the company’s commitment to be the leading distillers provider saying its continuous involvement in researching, producing and marketing of first choice quality drinks, will make Nigerians get the best of products for their enjoyment.

He expressed satisfaction of the fully integration of the company’s re-branded product that were unveiled last year, into the market.

IDL spends N313m on distributors According to him, while all the changes made in respect of re-packaging have been accepted in the market, it has helped to reduce counterfeiting of IDL products. He however noted that silent gratitude is not much of use to anyone hence; the company will continue to carry out the tradition of motivating its distributors who have moved large volumes of sales, with

dvertising agency, Noahs Ark, has deployed series of campaign material in print, radio and online aimed at renewed attention in the campaign to remind relevant authorities to expedite actions to rescue the Chibok Girls kidnapped by the Islamist terror group, Boko Haram, over a year ago.

Speaking to newsmen, the agency’s Managing Director, Mr. Lanre Adisa, said the decision to approach the Chibok Girls issue through advertisement campaign was born out of concern for the girls

Ijebu-ode, Abeokuta, Oshogbo, Akure and Ilorin.

In concluding his speech, he said, although unsteady power supply and instability of the Naira against the dollar were the major challenges facing the company, manufacturers are unable to pass on their costs directly to consumers taken into cognizance that the purchasing power of the consumer is weak.

PRESENTATION - From Left: Esijolomi Rewane, former Chairman, Board of Directors, Inntercontinental Distillers Limited (IDL), Mrs Dorothy Anegbe, Platinum winner of the IDL customers award , Prof Samuel Odeyemi, Director, IDL at the presentation of the 4.5 tonne truck to her in Lagos.

Infinix,Google collaborate to bring low-cost phones ...As MTN offers data Stories by PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

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nfinix Mobility company Limited, a mobile device manufacturer, mobile operator MTN in partnership with Google, said they are collaborating to bring the

Noah’s Ark deploys new campaign for #Bringbackourgirls

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cash sums and gifts.

Also, the Managing Director pointed out some activities that have been carried out by the company this year saying they were all successful.

Among the activities were donation of a block of five classrooms and two offices in Ogun State and complete execution of its Bull Fuji Talent Hunt Season 3 programme which was held in Ibadan,

and their parents who for a year have been in agony on the whereabouts of their children.

It would be recalled that the girls’ plight garnered attention on Twitter last year using the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls, attracting high-profile political figures such as first lady of the United States of America, Mrs. Michelle Obama, former Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton and British Prime Minister David Cameron who endorsed the social media campaign. But the conversation on social media never rendered political action.

Android One empowered telephone program to Nigeria; the Infinix HOT 2X510. The companies said this is part of an on-going initiative to bring high-quality and affordable smartphones to millions of people in Nigeria and other Africa countries including Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya and Morocco.

The Infinix HOT 2 smartphone, which is the first device to run on Android one in Africa, will be available via online retailer Jumia and at select retail outlets.

Speaking, Benjamin Jang, Managing Director, Infinix , at the unveiling in Lagos, said the Infinix HOT 2 phone is offering a high-quality experience, running the latest version of Android (5.1 Lollipop). He also said the phone will get the new Android M release — an update that will offer Google’s new material design, improved battery life, enhanced security features, and smarter notifications. The phone he stated comes in two variants; the standard version, which will be

available in black, white, blue and red, and the premium version which willbe available in gold. While Speaking, Caesar Sengupta, Vice President, Product Management, Google, noted that over three billion people worldwide are using the internet to live better, richer lives and create opportunities for themselves and their communities, explained that the driving force behind the growth particularly in Nigeria and many other African countries - is smartphones.

According to him, “in Nigeria, over 70 per cent Online users access the web via their phones.

Thus Android one via infinix mobile device offers that opportunity and affordablility.”

In terms of hardware, he stated that the phone features front and rear-facing cameras, 1G or 2G of memory, fast quad-core MediaTek processor, long battery life and other features, particularly of importance to Nigerians, include the dual SIM slots, a FM radio tuner, 16GB ondevice storage and a microSD card slot for additional storage.

Indomie offers N32m in ‘Flash &Win’ promo ...First

millionaire emerges

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ndomie noodles owned by DUFIL Prima Foods Plc, said it has earmarked over N32million for its customers to win if they buy its 120gram super pack noodle sachet, as first millionaire emerges..

The brand says two persons will win N2million in two months and n30 million airtime and N100,000 everyday if the customer flash a number written at the back of the seasoning sachet.

Speaking at the first cheque presentation of N1 million and N100,000 each to winners, Brand Manager of the brand , Amba….. said the promotion is to celebrate Indomie consumers to give them a chance to go out for their dreams.

According to him, immediately a consumer buys a pack of the 120 gram Indomie super pack the consumer stands a chance to win instant recharge cards ranging from N50to N1,000 and N100,000 every day and N1,000,000 for two months in the first monthOlamide Ayeni became N1million richer.

Experiential Agency pledges improved value to businesses

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ollowing her winning two awards at the just ended fifth Nigeria Brand Awards, NBA, Oracle experience says it will continue to improve and add value to client’s businesses.

The awards won by the agency; Best Experiential Marketing Agency and Most Innovation Driven Brand Activation Agency, Gold and platinum respectively was won at the expense of other experiential agencies.

Speaking, Oracle’s logistic director, Andrew Eiremiokhai, said the agency has become a respected face in Nigeria and the central West African countries as a result of the awards, whilst pledging the agency ’s continued improvement in client’s businesses.

CEO Oracle experience, Felix Eiremiokhai C M Y K

40 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 Email:lesleba@lesleba.com, lesleba@gmail.com Blog page:www.lesleba.com/blog2 Website: www.lesleba.com Tel:0805 220 1997

“First of all, you have got liquidity surplus in the banking industry; … there is over N1.3tn or so sitting in banks and belonging to government agencies. Now basically, they (these funds) are at zero percent interest and the banks are lending about N2tn to the government and charging 13 to 14%!

Now, that is a very good business model, isn’t it?

(You) Give me your money for free and I lend it to you at 14%; so why would I go and lend to anyone?”

T

he above is an excerpt from comments from Lamido Sanusi, former Governor of Central Bank, after a Monetary Policy Committee(MPC) meeting in July, 2013, when he denounced the apparent folly of government’s financial strategy. It is however surprising that inspite of the outstanding level of intellect in the CBN and the Monetary Policy Committee, this odious practice was sustained, with the attendant oppressive interest rates, which increasingly expanded government’s indebtedness for several decades; expectedly, the stupendous returns from this misadventure increased the profitability of banks even when they neglected the growth of the real sector of the economy.

Government revenue domiciled in commercial bank accounts also provided opportunity for, civil servants, to divert public funds into interest yielding dummy accounts and selfishly cream off the profit, notwithstanding, that such greed led to protracted delays in the payments of staff salaries and the settlement of contractors’ bills. Similarly, banks’ appetite for government deposits became so keen, that “physically correct” young females were engaged and promptly deployed to target the deposits of high net worth civil servants and related

public resources. Similarly, the traditional lackadaisical consolidation process and extended delays associated with budget enactment may also negate the high expectations from the operation of the TSA. Clearly, with the TSA, late passage of budgets will also delay disbursements and may strangulate operations of key revenue generating agencies, such as the NNPC, NPA etc, and ultimately, inadvertently, jeopardize revenue projections from such agencies. Consequently, some analysts have recommend the retention of a certain percentage of receipts to ensure the unhindered operations of these government cash cows.

Similarly, forex generating agencies like NNPC should also be allowed to retain a part of their receipts in dollars in order to facilitate the smooth running of their businesses wherever transactions are not denominated in Naira.

The Treasur y Single Account is also speculated to restrain the scourge of excess liquidity that fuels inflation, high interest rates and a sliding Naira value, which inadvertently makes the removal of fuel subsidy an uphill task. A closer examination may not however, support such expectation; for example, the level of systemic surplus cash clearly diminished very minimally when CBN’s liquidity mop-ups remained unrestrained after 75% of government deposits were sequestered from the cash reserve base of commercial banks; clearly, if 100% of government deposits i.e. a relatively paltry 9.3% of all deposits (N13.5Tn) including states and local governments were sterilized, the impact on liquidity would not be much different, in this event, government’s debt consolidation may only be impacted marginally by the adoption of TSA.

High expectation for TSA government agencies; consequently, successful budget implementation was often sacrificed on the altar of greed. Incidentally, by June this year, MDAs operated about 10,000 bank accounts nationwide.

Indeed, the Federal Government’s Economic Reform and Governance Programme recognized the reckless tradition of placing public funds in commercial banks and therefore recommended the implementation of a Treasury Single Account (TSA) for the Federation as from 2004. The TSA is defined as “a centralized cash position of the Treasury, where the revenues of all MDAs are consolidated and all cash outflows (payments and transfers) are executed in a single account within the custody of the CBN”.

The initial attempt to commence implementation of the TSA, was set aside in deference to intense pressure from the banking community in 2005. However, the TSA project, apparently, commenced partially in 2012 after other false starts during the tenures of former Presidents Yar Adua and Jonathan respectively.

However, in order to fast track c o m p r e h e n s i v e implementation, government established electronic platforms in 2014for the TSA, as well as, Government’s Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), and the Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS).

According to the CBN, the “Integrated Systems would unify government’s banking arrangements, assist the federal government in the effective utilization of government funds for approved projects, promote

transparency and accountability in government operations, and reduce the cost and amount of government borrowing by maximizing the use of available governmemt resources to deliver projects”.

Full implementation of the TSA for payments of salaries, taxes, suppliers, and the collection of independent government revenue did not commence in Feb 2015 as earlier scheduled by Jonathan’s administration, probably because of the ‘distraction’ of election campaign, but full implementation has accelerated since President Buhari’s latest directive in August 2015.

Under the TSA initiative, all government payments are routed from the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) to CBN’s Payments Gateway, to effect epayments into the accounts of individuals or corporate beneficiaries in commercial banks, microfinance banks and primary mortgage institutions, while salaries are also electronically routed through an Integrated Payroll and Personal Information Systems platform to create a fully automated payment and

Treasury Single Account is also speculated to restrain the scourge of excess liquidity that fuels inflation, high interest rates and a sliding Naira value

collection process for the Federal Government.

There is palpable optimism that, with diligent implementation, the TSA will enhance transparency and accountability in the management of public funds; furthermore, the practice should expectedly capture additional revenue to effectively fund more capital projects that lift the social welfare of Nigerians.

Nonetheless, some critics have cautioned that the noble objectives of TSA may not be realized if the peculiarities of some MDAs are not recognized; for example, revenue generating agencies with multiple collection centres will encounter serious challenges if they cannot patronize commercial banks nearest to them where CBN outlets do not exist.

Furthermore, if a “one size fits” all principle is employed for disbursements from the TSA to MDAs for budget implementation, we may end up, for example, inadvertently releasing huge funds for road construction in the rainy season rather than the dry season when it becomes more suitable for such undertaking.

In other words, disbursements must be finely programmed to match the peculiar requirements of each MDA. Indeed, this may not be too difficult if each MDAs provides projected annual cash flow statements that are realistically in tune with their respective income and expenditure expectations.

There are indications that MDAs have undergone orientations exercises, to facilitate transition to TSA project since 2013, nonetheless, it may still take a while longer, coupled with a strong political will for the programme to gain a firm foothold as best practice in the judicious management of

Business & Economy

Only 6 MfBs have national licence —CBN

BY PROVIDENCE OBUH & BUSAYO SAMUEL

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here are indications that only six Microfinance Banks (MfBs) in the country have meet minimum requirements and licenced to operate on National category, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) report.

The report was made available on the CBN website in a circular released by the Financial Policy and Regulation Department, C M Y K

penultimate week, with the title: “Updated List of Confirmed Microfinance Banks Limited.’

Meanwhile, the apex bank further reported that there are 949 MfBs who are confirmed and licenced to operate as at July 31, 2015, with 95 in the State category and about 848 in the Unit category.

Operators were given three options of recapitalisation by the apex bank to operate either as a unit, state or national MfB. Recall that the CBN categorised microfinance banks into three categories

which include Unit licence MfB with minimum capital requirement of N20 million, State licence MfB which requires minimum of N100 million to operate and National licence MfB which requires N2 billion as capital requirement.

The unit MfB is to operate in one location only and is prohibited from having branches or cash centres.

However, the national MfBs include: AB, Accion, Lapo, Parallex, FBN and NPF, Microfinance Banks respectively.

Omoh Gabriel Babajide Komolafe Clara Nwachukwu Peter Egwuatu Yinka Kolawole Favour Nnabugwu Godwin Oritse Godfrey Bivbere Michael Eboh Franklin Alli Ifeyinwa Obi Rosemary Onuoha Nkiruka Nnorom CONTRIBUTORS Princewill Ekwujuru Jonah Nwokpoku Naomi Uzor Providence Obuh LAYOUT

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Group Business Editor Deputy Business Editor Energy Editor Asst. Business Editor Snr Bus. Correspondent Insurance Correspondent Maritime Correspondent Maritime Correspondent Energy Reporter Industry/Agric. Reporter Maritime Reporter Insurance Reporter Capital Market Reporter

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Media/Marketing E-Commerce Industry Micro Finance Graphics Department

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015—41

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E have been complaining about President Muhammadu Buhari’s snail’s pace in appointing people to crucial posts in his government, especially the federal cabinet. At least, the president has proffered a presentable alibi: he is taking his time to look for “angels” to help him run his administration. He does not want to rush to pick crooks and thus run into avoidable embarrassments. Being “Mr Clean”, he wants his team members to be clean as well.

This sounds like sweet music to the ears of his teeming admirers, particularly those panting for a clean departure from the past spate of sleaze and scandals in government. We are waiting for Buhari to unveil this angelic team. Who knows, the wait could be worth the waste. Even the children of Israel took forty years to arrive the Promised Land from servitude in Pharaoh’s Egypt. All that matters is that they got to the Promised Land.

If Buhari has a plausible excuse for his “slow and steady” approach, how do we justify how the National Assembly (the Senate and House of Representatives) are going about theirs? Take a look at this: the two chambers of the Eighth Assembly were inaugurated by a presidential proclamation on 9th June 2015. Between then and now, they have embarked on FOUR expensive recesses.

After the controversial election of the Senate President and his Deputy, as well as the Speaker of the House of Reps and his Deputy, NASS recessed for two weeks to enable their members get properly “checked in”. They had sat for only three days before the recess that started on June 11th.

They reconvened on June 25th, sat for another three days and went on a fourweek recess that was scheduled to run from June 25th to July 21th, after a shameful “royal rumble” on the floor of Reps. The resumption date was postponed to July 28th to give the majority All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers more time to sort out their power tussle mess. On resumption, they sat for plenary business for nine days and on August 13th, both chambers proceeded on what they called their “annual leave” which will last for six good weeks. This means they would resume on September 28th 2015.

Now, between June 9th and September 28th, you have 101 days; nearly a third of the year is gone. From my own computations, I was able to establish that the Eighth National Assembly has sat for only 15 days for plenary business, though I admit that the committees are always busy behind the scenes. No bills

Indolent NASS and dictatorial rule have been passed; all we have seen is a lot of fisticuffs for posts and the screening of Buhari’s Service Chiefs. For this the country has spent about 12 billion Naira on our indolent lawmakers. It is estimated that so far, each senator has gone home with 36 million Naira, while the Reps members took 25 million each.

There is nothing in the way these chaps are carrying themselves to reflect the fact that majority of those who elected them have not been paid their salaries for months in their states, and that Nigeria is groping for funds to cope with the latest oil bust.

The danger in this lack of legislative presence and impact is hydra-headed.

We have just experienced an unprecedented power transition from one political party to another. President Buhari is forming his touted reformist government with very little legislative partnership and oversight. A lot of irregularities are being injected in the appointment of some officials. The due process has been largely circumvented, and the constitutional imperative of

It is not even a case of the Presidency or Executive undermining the independence of the NASS; it is a case of the NASS abdicating its responsibility and thus creating the room for dictatorial rule

carrying every section of the country along has been ignored with impunity.

A section of the country continues to predominate, and a cult of nepotism and marginalisation has been enthroned.

These are the things a virile and vigilant National Assembly is supposed to check in order to ensure a balanced federal government.

Dangerous and vexed issue

The dangerous and vexed issue of irregular and unconstitutional appointment of Hajiya Amina Zakari as “Acting” National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is waiting for the attention of the federal legislators. The Presidency has ignored all calls to remove Zakari and appoint a substantive, credibly independent INEC Chair through the constitutional due process. Meanwhile, Zakari, at the top of a thoroughly emaciated INEC Board that cannot even form a quorum, is preparing to conduct the impending governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi States! The legal consequences that lie in ambush against the outcome of such elections are obvious, but nobody seems to care.

The Directorate of State Services (DSS) under President Buhari’s kinsman, Lawal Daura, has been meddling in the election tribunal proceedings in Rivers and Akwa Ibom States. These are two oil-rich Niger Delta states which collect hefty sums of monthly allocations from the Federation Account which, some allege, the ruling APC is desperate to add to their electoral haul by all means possible. The law does not permit our secret police to meddle and suborn officials of the otherwise independent INEC and the Judiciary in the discharge of their duties. The National Assembly

which has the power to intervene and save the situation is nowhere to be found!Only last week, another controversial set of appointments were made by President Buhari. He dissolved the Board of the Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON). Its MD, Mr. Mustapha Chike-Obi, was fired and Alhaji Ahmed Lawan Kuru sent to replace him. Three new Executive Directors were also appointed. In flagrant violation of the AMCON Act of 2010, Buhari appointed these chaps without due regard to legal requirement that the president must consult with AMCON’s owners – the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMOF), which shall nominate the appointees, while the president forwards their names to the Senate for confirmation before they assume office.

If the NASS were active and alert to their responsibilities, they would have raised the alarm to this act of impunity and insisted on the due process being followed.

Besides, it is obvious that when Buhari eventually unveils his ministers in September, the nation may have to wait for the Senate to end its expensive recess before the usually lengthy confirmations are carried out. We will have only three months left of the year, during which the screening of ministers and other presidential appointees and the budget of 2016/2017 must be done.

There will be a lot of bills to debate and oversight functions to carry out within this little time. From the look of things, it is very likely that the NASS will miss the constitutional minimum of 181 days they must sit in a year. It will be recalled that the Seventh National Assembly missed the timeline by one day in the 2014/2015 legislative year.

It is very dangerous for the NASS to continue on its current path of allowing the Executive Branch to carry on just as it likes without being there to call it to order. The pity of it all this is that the PDP legislators, who are supposed to spearhead the effort against the growing impunity of the Presidency, are apparently unconcerned. It is not even a case of the Presidency or Executive undermining the independence of the NASS; it is a case of the NASS abdicating its responsibility and thus creating the room for dictatorial rule.

We are lying supine and clapping while a violation of our democracy and the rule of law are being perpetrated.

We might wake up one day and find ourselves back to 1984, or worse. Have we willingly surrendered the gains of the past 30 years, without even a fight?

OPINION Curtailing violent cult clashes

By Adewale Kupoluyi

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CTIVITIES of cult groups in the country have assumed a more frightening dimension as there is hardly any day that passes by without reported cases of clashes being recorded. The last few months have been a harrowing experience as hoodlums, social miscreants and cultists have engaged themselves in bloody battles for supremacy in many states while the law enforcement agents appear helpless in abating the tide despite the increased number of people being injured, maimed, killed and enormous properties destroyed.

Due to the secret nature in their modus operandi, taming cult-related activities could really be herculean but this is not insurmountable. Cult activities are often associated with rituals that are characterised by set of practices, belief system or thinking usually disclosed only to their inner caucus. Many studies have been carried out on cult-related matters in the country, unfortunately many of the researchers have failed to come up with workable solutions that could curb this social problem.

Ritual killing, which is associated with cultism, have become the lot of many in our society today. Bodies of unlucky victims are usually dumped on roadsides, bush paths and in gutters with their vital organs removed.

Cult and ritual killings have become pronounced as a result of the perceived inordinate ambition for power and show of affluence, get-rich-quick syndrome, a means of conflict resolution and for religious practices.

Students of secondary schools, tertiary institutions and C M Y K

hoodlums are mostly part of the criminally-minded individuals that have made our campuses, the streets unsafe while various groups have been known to attack each other when they cross the path of members of their groups. No doubt, living under environments where terror is the norm could have severe consequences for the human mind, security and the general well-being of the people, as children risk developing negative trait habits because of exposure to constant violence and bloodletting. Capital flight should be expected from such a nation as foreign investors could easily be discouraged from coming to such domains.

Recent media reports across the country on this issue should give us cause for serious concern. Just a few days ago, a Catholic priest and lecturer at the Imo State Polytechnic was allegedly killed by cult members. It was gathered that the assailants had waylaid him, slit his throat, cut through his stomach with a knife, dragged him into a nearby bush and tied him to a tree. Also, no A 57-year-old fewer than six persons were woman and her allegedly killed in a renewed cult war in Benin one-year-old City, Edo State. The clash, grandson were which was said to have said to have started between suspected members of rival groups, become victims claimed lives in the course of the bloody of sharing booties from gang clashes politicians.?

Some cult boys reportedly stabbed another 22-year-old boy to death in Ekpoma, Edo State as over 30 persons were reportedly killed resulting from clashes near the Ugbowo campus of the University of Benin. A number of students were said to have been hacked to death when two rival unidentified cult groups battled for supremacy on campus, affecting a 500-level student of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma.

At least, nine persons were reportedly killed while many were severely injured in clashes between two cult groups in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State. The two cult groups were said to have been terrorising the city for some time.

In Ishawo area of Agric in Ikorodu, Lagos State, rival cult groups and street gangs allegedly pervaded the area as a 57-year-old woman and her one-year-old grandson were said to have become victims of the bloody gang clashes.

In the Iwaya area of Yaba still in Lagos State, rival cultists were said to have clashed over a woman alleged to be dating two men that belonged to separate rival groups.

In the pandemonium that ensued, people scampered for safety while the hoodlums vandalised several vehicles.

A few days later, youths from another area were said be on the rampage on a reprisal attack, hacking down their targets with machetes and damaging vehicles parked by the roadside before disappearing.

The death toll of the lingering bloody war between two rival cult groups in Idemili North council Area of Anambra State was said to have led to the murder of their victims in cold blood.

Continues tomorrow on pg 18 •Mr. Kupoluyi, Iwrote from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

42—Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 Send Opinions & Letters to: opinions1234@yahoo.com

Blessed are the propagandists

B

ISHOP Matthew Hassan Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese has almost been buried in a pile of criticism. This followed his comments as a spokesperson of the National Peace Committee, on the war against corruption. If the cerebral Bishop has erred, I plead he be forgiven. After all, to err is human, to forgive is divine.

Having known the Bishop for several years, I want to testify that he has no inheritance in the House of Jonathan.

I am certain he had no stake in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration which is being dragged to the stake. Also, given my association with a few members of the Peace Committee, I doubt it was on an errand for former President Goodluck Jonathan as widely speculated. I am sorry to say that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) which in reaction, had issued an angry statement warning opinion leaders to steer clear of the anticorruption war, might be mistaken.

The Bishop is mistaken when he argues that “…a lot of talk and speculations about probes, are distractions nobody needs” Actually, they are needed to fill

the vacuum. I am sure he thinks that it is better the government concentrates on hunger that struts the country like an unfeeling conqueror, on mass unemployment that rules the land, and putting the basics of government in place. He might be thinking that the administration needs focus on implementing campaign promises like paying unemployed graduates and 25 million poor Nigerians, N5,000 monthly stipend and providing a meal daily for children in public schools. But what the Bishop fails to realise is that Nigerians will not live by bread alone. He ought to know that there is time for everything; a time to sow and a time to harvest; a time to accuse and a time to throw the accused into jail. This is the time to kill corruption, or corruption will kill Nigeria.

When it is finished with the corrupt administration of Jonathan, then government will focus on issues of governance and campaign promises.

When the Bishop said “The point we want to make very clear is that we are in a democracy” not a military regime. He failed to define democracy which in this case, is the government of

the progressive people, by the government, for the progressives. Perhaps Bishop’s greatest blunder was to ask for investigations before people are found guilty. He compounded his indiscretion by arguing “We don’t think any one should be criminalised when nobody has been brought to court. We are speaking on behalf of ordinary Nigerians.” Who else can speak on behalf of ordinary Nigerians, but the party that won the elections? After the Americans are rumoured to have handed a list of corrupt PDP politicians; the Presidency had announced uncovering massive fraud, and the APC, exercising party

After the Americans are rumoured to have handed a list of corrupt PDP politicians; the Presidency had announced uncovering massive fraud, and the APC, exercising party supremacy, had announced monumental looting, with an initial figure of over N11 trillion

Buhari’s probe and the monstrosity of corruption

By Bobson Gbinije

F

ROM independence in 1960 till today, Nigeria has been turning out 99.9% corruptionists and psychotically corrupt leadership at all levels, so much so that corruption has become the domineering mantra and ingrained culture of Nigerians. Nobody is free, no, not one is free.

We are not short of ideas on how to wipe away corruption hook, line and sinker from Nigeria in all its ramification, but we lack men and women of integrity and courage to take the bull of corruption by the horn and drive it out of our socioeconomic, religious, educational and political china shop.

The eradication of corruption in Nigeria has always constituted the Mission Statement of our leaders and all coups in Nigeria, from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogu, Yakubu Gowon, Murtala Mohammed, Buka Suka Dimka, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, Shehu Shagari, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, Earnest Shonekan, Gen.Sani Abacha, Gen.Abubakar, President Olusegun Obasanjo, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and now President Muhammadu Buhari.

Their Mission Statements have never been fraught with flaws. It has always been a patriotic call to serve and total submission to the principles of commitment to building a virile, vibrant and corruption-free nation. In Gen. Murtala Mohammed’s glowing speech titled “Africa has Come of Age and Nigeria

C M Y

Must Move Forward” and many others including the Retreat at Kuru, Jos which came out with the Kuru Declaration and many other evocational speeches it has always been the same story of so much motion but no movement. Buhari has now in his second coming made the fight against corruption the fundamental objective and directive principles of Nigeria’s policy.

Can Buhari succeed in this weirdest of fight against the tyrannosaurus monster of corruption that has become a tradition, custom and culture that has not only permeated Nigeria not only from grassroots level, but from root hair bass to tree top heights. Corruption has become deified, mummified, institutionalised, exhaustively glorified, consummately idolised and placed in the sacred Pantheon of revered untouchability. Agreed, relatively speaking Buhari is a man of integrity and has the disarming credentials to fight corruption. But will the democratic process, rule of law and serpentine legal manipulations allow

To make the fight against corruption work, Buhari must be trusted and furnished with power through the amendment of the constitution and freed from the frivolous use of the Law Courts

supremacy, had announced monumental looting, with an initial figure of over N11 trillion, what other investigation is needed?

Given the party’s legendary tradition of thoroughness, truthfulness and honesty, I am convinced, like many Nigerians, that the unnamed former government functionaries are guilty. So there is no need for probes, investigation or even court trials which can be long, expensive and in which the corrupt may go free based on technicalities. All that should be done is that the accused are rounded up and thrown into jail.

Bishop should learn from the trial of Barabbas, the highway robber in the Bible who was freed after trial by the mob. Also, he should not forget that the culprits have been given fair trial by the media, especially the social media, and the jury’s verdict is that they are guilty. We surely cannot discard the voice of the people; vox populi, vox dei.

From my investigations, another area Bishop angered the people was to hint on Dr. Jonathan’s role in ensuring a peaceful electoral process. He should know that it is a sacrilege to mention him under progressive skies. More annoying was his warning that the whip being used to whip Jonathan today, may also be used to whip Buhari tomorrow. This is indeed, a serious disrespect for the person of His Excellency, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

I want to plead with our leaders angered by the Bishop’s comments to temper justice with mercy. They should not let matters escalate by allowing angry Nigerians to demand that the Catholic Church denounce the Bishop. I am sure he has

him?

Will Nigerians at all levels join him in this macabre St. Vitus dance of death? Can he unbundle and sanitise NNPC, NDLEA, ICPC, EFCC, CCB, DPR, PPMC, Federal and State agencies, Parastatals, Ministries, Corporations, the Judiciary, the Nigerian Press, the Governors, Local Government Chairmen, Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, NUPENG, PENGASSAN, NURTW, NANS, JOHESU, Market Women, Captains of Industries, Traditional Rulers and RATTAWU, etc.

ARE NIGERIANS READY? The answer is a clear, concise and precise NO. To make the fight against corruption work, Buhari must be trusted and furnished with power through the amendment of the constitution and freed from the frivolous use of the Law Courts through judicial processes of hiding under court adjournments, Machiavellian manipulations through the Press, rent-acrowd phenomena, excuses of I’m being blackmailed, oppressed, lampooned, persecuted, etc. We must be prepared to sacrifice some of our precious freedoms.

In the Dictionary of Criminal Justice, Fifth Edition by George E. Rush, corruption is defined as evil, depraved, debased and a dishonest act, like taking of bribes, cheating etc. In the broadest legal sense, it is any illegal act by a sworn peace officer, including all violations of fiduciary trust and the professional Code of Conduct and Ethics- specific examples include, taking bribes, selling favours, accepting gifts and committing, aiding or abetting criminal behaviour.

In his dissertation on corruption in Africa, Professor Benard Ikeguoha of Imo State University (Department of Political Science) defined corruption as the total reprobate act of systemic and structural debasement, desecration and decomposition. At personal level, it is a perverted character, depraved and

learnt his lessons. There is also the humiliation that, people who were hiding under their grandmothers beds when Nigerians like Kukah stood up against military dictatorship, are today having diarrhoea of the mouth insulting the Bishop.

I think it is enough disgrace for him that the cubs who hid in the bushes when Kukah numbered among the fighters for democracy, are the Facebook lions of today claiming to lecture him on democracy.

Given Bishop’s propensity to be fair minded, he might actually be trying to warn President Buhari to avoid the pitfalls of his first coming. Back in 1984, the crowds thronged the streets singing his praises for tossing politicians into jail and introducing draconian policies plus a war against indiscipline.

But when his party men in the military hierarchy later turned against him, so did the crowds change sides. Perhaps, Bishop can see that those shouting hosanna today make cry, crucify him, tomorrow. But if the propagandists lay out the path that must be followed, what can the righteous do? As I pleaded before, let us bury the hatchet in the head of the Devil. Let us forgive Bishop’s short comings.

Another man of God I want us to forgive is Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Church who said “I have houses in at least 188 countries in the world, so I am richer than Bill Gates”. He meant this figuratively, not that he actually owns houses in all those countries. It is like the poor worker on minimum wage proclaiming “In my Father’s House, there are many mansions” when in reality, he is owing rents for the one room match box he calls home.

putrescent in integrity and honesty and given to bribery. But, indeed a functional definition with regard to corruption in Nigeria is that, corruption is the systematic manipulation of socioeconomic, political, legal, religious and traditional rules for parochial personal, tribal and pietistic interest like taking of bribes, inflation of contracts and championing family, personal or tribal myopic interest to the detriment of national interest.

To forestall the tentacles of communication blackout in the light of our current domestic chaos and corruption, the Buhari government must dialogue with International Agencies, Institutions and Governments and act through the instrumentality of the United Nations Convention against corruption, United Nations convention against Transnational organised crimes, United Nations Global Compact Tenth Principle, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Convention on the Bribery of Foreign Public officials in International Business transaction, Revised Recommendations of the Council of the OECD on combating Bribery in International Business Transactions. At the African regional level, there are the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, Southern African Development Community Protocol against Corruption and ECOWAS Protocol on the Fight against Corruption, amongst others.

In Nigeria, there is the prevalence of psychotic misappropriation, horrendously unbridled acquisition of filthy lucre, assets, deification of materialism and institutionalisation of unexplained wealth.

Continues tomorrow on the Viewpoints pg

•Mr. Gbinije, a social critic, wrote from Warri, Delta State.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015—43

How the fat in coconut can make you slim down

By Sola Ogundipe

I

N natural health circles, coco nut is famous throughout the world as a "superfood". Over the decades, it has been known that dietetic supplementation with coconut oil promotes reduction in abdominal obesity.

One of the reasons coconut is a favourite of dieters and weight loss enthusiasts is because the oil contains fats that aid weight loss.

A peer-reviewed Brazilian study has also found that consuming just 30 milliliters of coconut oil a day can help treat abdominal obesity - providing yet more evidence that healthy saturated fats are essential for long-term weight loss.

The study, published in the medical journal Lipids, involved 40 female volunteers aged 20-40 who suffered from abdominal obesity.

Reduces BMI & waist size

Over a 12-week period, the women were given 30 millimeters of either soybean oil or coconut oil on a daily basis. During this time, the volunteers were instructed to follow their regular diet and walk 50 minutes per day.

At the end of the period, researchers found that the women given the coconut oil experienced a significant reduction in both Body Mass Index, BMI, and waist circumference, as well as an increase in "good" HDL cholesterol. Similar results were not found in the group given soybean oil.

Though coconut oil was demonized for decades due to its considerable saturated fat content, scientists now understand that there is a big difference between the long-chain triglycerides found in foods like cheese and meat and the medium-chain triglycerides found in coconut oil.

While the long-chain triglycerides must be broken down in the intestines and transported to the blood before they can be used for energy, the medium chain trigycerides are metabolized very quickly and actually bypass fat

One of the reasons coconut is a favourite of dieters and weight loss enthusiasts is because the oil contains fats that aid weight loss C M Y K

COCONUT: Contains fat that fights obesity and promotes weight loss.

cells in which they might otherwise be stored.

For this reason, dieters who choose fats from medium-chain triglycerides-rich foods like coconut oil will experience the greatest long-term results.

Pure extra virgin oil: However, the best kind of coconut oil to purchase is organic, raw coconut oil. Refined coconut oil, which has been bleached and deodorized, is unhealthy and might even contain harmful trans fats.

Choose raw coconut oil extracted from fresh coconut. It possesses the unmistakable scent of coconut, signifying minimal processing.

Pure extra virgin coconut oil is one of nature’s most abundant sources of medium-chain fatty acids that can work wonders for a sluggish metabolism. Fats containing medium-chain fatty acids could increase the metabolic rate by up to 48 percent and for up to 24 hours.

If you are obese, the increase could be as high as 65 percent. If your metabolism has been damaged by dieting or stress, a daily dose of coconut oil can do wonders for getting it back on the right track.

But avoid long-chain fatty acids, like those in polyunsaturated oils, because they are more difficult for the body to break down and use for energy. The longchain fatty acids are usually stored as fat in the body.

Dons eulogise late FagbenroBeyioku

T

HE cream of medical profes sion in the country over the weekend poured encomiums on the late former Professor of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, School of Basic Medical Science, University of Lagos, Professor Adetayo Foluso Fagbenro-Beyioku during the order of commendation service held for the deceased.

Notable among them were the Unilag Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Babajide Alao; the Provost, CMUL, Prof. Folashade Ogunsola; Registrar, National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, Prof. Wole Atoyebi; and former CMD, LUTH, Prof. Akin Osibogun.

Fagbenro-Beyioku, an astute academic will be remembered for contribution to science and humanities and particularly for promoting student welfare through the indigent students' scheme of the CMUL.

Late Professor Adetayo Fagbenro-Beyioku

Nigeria targets 5% malaria elimination by 2020 ... As NIMR, Mortein commence research in Kosofe LGA

By Chioma Obinna

T

HE National Malaria Elimi nation Programme, NMEP, of the Federal Ministry of Health, is targeting less than 5 percent pre- elimination of malaria by 2020.

Disclosing this at the media presentation tagged Mortein ‘Own A Community Campaign’ in Lagos, the National Coordinator, NMEP, Dr. Nnenna Ezeigwe said the prevalence of malaria, according to the 2010 Indicator Survey was 42 per cent nationally.

Speaking on her behalf, the Senior Programme Officer, Global Fund Malaria Project Elimination Programme, Dr. Diwe Ekweremadu, said 16 percent of hospital visits and 30 per cent of hospitalisations for children below five, are attributed to malaria.

She said the 2014 – 2020 Strategic Plan of the government was

designed to tackle the disease headlong by ensuring a preelimination level of less than 5 percent by 2020.

“We are targeting universal coverage that will ensure that everyone gets to sleep inside a long lasting insecticide net. None of these interventions can do the magic by itself it has to be multipronged. I think we will get there by 2020.”

Mr. Oguzham Silivrili.

Research in Kosofe

In the meantime, Reckit Benckiser, RB, in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, NIMR, has commenced research on malaria in Kosofe area of Lagos State.

The Marketing Director, Mortein, RB West Africa, Mr. Oguzham Silivrili, the programme was initiated in 2012 and planned to reach 500,000 new mothers this year.

Oguzham said the programme is all about visiting hopitals that is why we are going to hospitals to educate them because it is very critical. The ‘Mortein Train’ that we call “From Community to Community” also reach out to primary healthcare centres. We are committed to these programmes and determined to join hands with the government to kick malaria out of Nigeria.”

In an overview of the campaign, Head of Research Group,

Nigeria Institute of Medical Research, NIMR, Dr Samson Awolola said the research in Kosofe Local Government was to educate and generate evidenced- based research that intervention can go beyond implemention.

Calling for a multi-pronged approach, Awolola urged for clear evidence that the intervention is working. “Evidenced -based implementation cannot be proven without research and that is where NIMR is coming in.

RB is supporting research to provide evidence that intervention works. No single intervention can eliminate or control malaria.

A combination of all interventions,”he said He said choice of Kosofe was due to the nature of the waterlogged environment. Noting that outdoor malaria transmission was a major challenge, he said the result of the research would be disseminated by December this year.

44 —VANGUARD, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor & Gbenga Oke

G

eneral Ishola Williams was at peace with himself that Friday afternoon when the Vanguard team arrived at his office, in the Iju area of Lagos. This was the man who made news in 1993 when he walked out on the army and General Sanni Abacha on the premise that the army takeover was immoral. Far removed from the life of pleasure and putrid abundance that is the lot of many other retired generals, the Vanguard team met the general engrossed in his research work in peace and conflict studies.

General Williams, erstwhile head of the Nigeria chapter of Transparency International, is presently on the faculty of the Pan African Strategic and Policy Research Group, a forum he is using to espouse issues that generate conflict in Africa among other development issues.

Given his exchange with Gen. Abacha and another squabble when as a colonel he queried a chief of army staff, General Williams was asked whether he considered himself a troublesome officer. In responding to the contrary, he nevertheless admitted that he may be controversial.

Undoubtedly so, as is revealed in this interview during which he spoke on the rot in the army, the fight against corruption among many other issues. Excerpts: What have you been doing since leaving the army in 1993?

Since I left the army, I have been engaged in the running of an organization that was initially into peace and conflict issues in Nigeria, West Africa and Africa for some few years.

We are also looking at how Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS) can situate itself in a very good position to be able to mediate conflicts happening in Liberia, Sierra Leone at that particular time.

When President Carter left as the President of the United States, he created the Carter Centre and he started coming into African nations. His centre went into two major areas; health and democracy and governance issues. He came to discover some of the challenges of governance, elections and elements leading into conflicts and after looking at the studies that were conducted by so many compatriots, he discovered that there was need for Africans themselves to study those conflicts to be able to cover the gaps and for Africans themselves to be re-involved in C M Y K

•Gen. Ishola Williams: We have not been having thinking governments

How the rot in the army started — Gen Ishola Williams mediating those conflicts.

At the time, African countries were dependent on the United States academically, intellectually and even for mediating its own conflicts.

So they told us that if we are not very careful, our own people will believe we cannot resolve our own conflicts and we must not get ourselves into such situations. So we were advised to form a group of people that can do these studies since several Nigerian students then studied in the universities abroad.

We then formed a group with some people from the Institute, some of them at the universities and with some few military officers interested in

West Africa.

Did your group envisage the

What did the retired Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh say recently when leaving office?

How can a whole Chief of Defence staff of a country talk about its own military like that?

crises gripping the country now?

(Cuts in) No, no, no. You did not even need to envisage that because I was in the military when we had this Maitasaine all over the place and the Army had to call in the Air Force to bomb places like Kano even within the urban areas. As we were dealing with them in Kano, they were coming up in Maiduguri, Yola and other places. Maitasaine taught us a lesson but did we adopt the lesson? And even if we did, did we make use of the lesson?

Some few years after that, when I was Commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), I wrote a letter to the commandant of

the Nigerian Defence Academy, (NDA) and the Minister of Defence then that we need to learn a lesson from Maitasaine. We were lucky to overcome them then because we had far superior arms and the people of Kano did not like Maitasaine. The rich people living in Kano then could not understand what Maitasaine was about, they were wearing expensive wrist watches and couldn’t accept their teachings of don’t do these or that.

The situation was like that of governors who wanted to introduce Sharia, of course the rich Muslims in those states didn’t want it.

Continues on page 45

VANGUARD, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015—45

The army did not learn from civil war account. I left because I told myself I must leave and thirdly, I must use my head to find a way.

Continues from page 44 I remembered in my letter to the military authority then, I told them that we must learn from it. The thing about us is that we don’t look at events from outside and how they can affect us. We have not been having thinking governments. What we have are governments that only live for today, so if there is a problem, government cannot deal with it because there are so many issues that have been swept under the carpet.

I will give you an example.

See the Ogoni issue that President Buhari has just assented to. How long ago have they submitted that report? Why was it neglected?

Something that is as important like that and the Ogoni people have been protesting about it and even said they will not allow Shell in, nobody cared.

One sentence, ‘I will do it’ and that was all.

See the victims of Boko Haram in the North East. The Federal Government promised to contribute N5 billion. What is a N5 billion in a trillion budget? How can you delay that kind of thing when your fellow human being is suffering? So in countries where people are thinking and people are compassionate, once such reports come, you act. So sometimes I do not believe those in government are human beings, it is either they come from Mars or they come from Venus.

There is no system for incubating good ideas in Nigeria. No system at all, how much more to want to talk of the future. Why? Because once you become a permanent secretary, what you are thinking of is how to make money, you think of when to retire and you don’t want to retire a poor man. So in putting that first, you will first think of things that will bring money for you that will enable you to retire comfortably. And if you are a permanent secretary and you have two children studying in Ghana or United Kingdom and you require about $30,000 or $40,000 to pay school fees, put that to naira, where does he or she get that from? These are the dynamics of corruption. So even if you see what is good that can benefit us today and the future, you don’t care because you are more concerned in your pocket first. It is just like a popular saying in Nigeria when people ask what is there for me.

So, why did the army not respond to your letter?

As a Commander of TRADOC, I looked at the situation and said, see, we

So how did you and your family cope?

My wife was lecturing at the university then. So we were able to manage through. Once you don’t get used to the life army wants to provide for you, you will not have any problem.

Are there men of such minds still in the military?

That is what I am saying that there is no organization in the world where you don’t have some thinking people but unfortunately, those thinking people don’t get to the top. Life is very interesting and that is why you have this word people call “destiny”.

Have you asked this question that what kept driving President Buhari over four times for over 16 years? What kept driving him and eventually ended up winning.

And how many people have attempted before him and had given up? That’s life.

Do you think President Buhari is a thinking man?

I don’t know because I have never worked with him.

•Gen. Ishola Williams

need to restructure the Army such that it will be able to tackle such problems in the future and we need to change our ways of thinking before the civil war to a new type of war that we have to face in the future. But instead of them to look at the letter, they pushed the letter aside and that was the end of it. What did the retired Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh say recently when leaving office? How can a whole Chief of Defence staff of a country talk about its own military like that?

Some would have expected him to have resigned. Why do you think he did not resign?

Integrity. It is an integrity matter.

What do you mean?

Integrity is simple. When you see that your boss wants you to do something that is wrong, you tell him sir, you are going the wrong way, then you put in your papers. But that is not common in Nigeria.

If you were in his situation, what could you have done?

(Cuts in) I could have left.

That was the situation I was in 1993 when General Sanni Abacha came into power through a coup and I said no, it was wrong for us to have a

We have not been having thinking governments.

What we have are governments that only live for today, so if there is a problem, government cannot deal with it because there are so many issues that have been swept under the carpet

coup d’état and he said, no don’t worry. It took me three days to leave, the coup happened on the 24th and on the 27th, I just left.

When you were putting in your papers, did you not have pressures from family, friends and colleagues?

It was not the business of my family; it was the Army that was putting pressure on me not to go. Even General Abacha himself wrote me a letter not to leave but I said no because I believed the coup was wrong and I knew we were heading for a disaster.

Did you respond to Abacha’s letter?

No I did not respond to him.

Did he speak to you or did you call him to tell him what he did was wrong?

There was no need to call him. He understood why I left because I worked with him at the Ministry of Defence, with General Diya and he understood my position.

It was very clear. He knew there was no way he could change my mind. I left the Army with an empty bank

And you never crossed his path in the Army?

No we never crossed each other’s path. Buhari was an infantry officer and I was in the signals. So we never crossed each other’s path.

Can you compare the military of your time and that of now?

What has been happening in the military is very sad. Like everything in Nigeria, it has been very wasteful.

I was in charge of research and development in the Ministry of Defense for about three years, every proposal that I put across was killed. Even to produce ordinary military uniform, I got the textile firms to do some research for the type of uniform our military will wear, we will have only one textile material and the colour will be different for the various services, we don’t need to import anything at all.

I was taken to Panama by the United States Army to go and see how they test the materials used including camouflage.

I wrote the report and came back and gave it to a textile firm in Nigeria and they were ready to produce it, that could have saved this country millions of dollars but no, they refused.

Continues from page 46

46— VANGUARD, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

Why the Nigerian system is rotten Continues from page 45 Why? (Laughs) Because somebody is making money from it. I challenge everyone of them to say I did not do that.

Was it when you were in TRADOC? No. I was in charge of research and development in the Ministry of Defense and that was before I went to TRADOC. There was a time when I was in charge of signals, I made the Chief of Army staff then to write a letter that I have advised you don’t buy this equipment and you still want to go ahead and buy this equipment and you know that sir it is wrong. I asked him to write the letter to that effect and he told me that he will write the letter and he did.

You asked the Army Chief to write the letter that he was doing the wrong thing and he did?

What was your position then?

I was a Colonel then and I was not afraid of anybody.

Which equipment was that?

It was radio equipment for signals.

Which Army Chief was that?

I don’t want to mention names.

(Laughs) And he wrote the letter that you advised him not to buy the equipment?

Yes he wrote the letter!

And which year was that?

I won’t tell you the year.

Is that Chief of Staff still alive today?

Yes he is.

You must have been troublesome in the Army then?

I was not but I was only trying to say things the way they are.

Maybe controversial because I was insisting for them to do things the right way and they should stop wasting public money.

In what other ways were the Army wasting money that time?

Several ways but I can tell you the whole system was rotten; the whole public sector system in Nigeria is rotten.

How will you describe it now?

I will say even worse. It is worse now. Once they do not accept thinking people within the

system to help the system do better, it is a waste of time.

What is your perception of former President, Goodluck Jonathan and the way he handled the Boko Haram crisis?

I was never part of the government. From part of his second term, I was out of Nigeria for about four years, I only came back to Nigeria only twice. So I never had the opportunity of looking critically at what happened under him. I only heard stories from people who came to the United States then.

But what I have to say is that you don’t need to be smart to become a good President, but surround yourself with smart people, surround yourself with smart and people of integrity, once you can do that, nobody will know whether you are smart or not. Even if you are smart and you surround yourself with stupid people, then you will look stupid yourself as President.

So what was the situation with Jonathan?

If I were to say things about him, I think Jonathan as President was not on that moral high ground and that was the number one problem but he had the opportunity to be. He had been a Deputy Governor, Governor and Vice President. So he had all the opportunity. And I think he didn’t display that sense of integrity and I was expecting him having been through the four walls of the university.

I expected him to be a thinking president and to encourage thinking people around him especially his advisers and ministers. People at that level should have what is called a kitchen cabinet of some people completely outside government that will be helping them to look at issues. I think Jonathan was too much consumed by politics.

If as president, you allowed yourself to be consumed by politics, you are going to fail.

Normally, what usually happens is that your political party will make too much demand on you but you must carry yourself to live above certain level and look for people outside your political party which interest is just Nigeria. Those are the people that you can fall back on.

I think it will be good in the nearest future to get Jonathan to talk about his time in government, it will be very interesting. In fact, when I look like people like Okonjo-Iweala

•Gen. Ishola Williams

A lot of time is being wasted in looking for saints who will run Nigeria, he cannot find them except he makes up his mind to find them outside the political spheres

and others, if those people too were professionals, with what is being revealed by the government now, they should have left before now. So that is Nigeria for you.

Have you been able to see the kind of changes that the new government promised to bring during the campaigns?

I am not looking for a Change; I am looking for a difference. The mere fact that Nigerians voted for another person other than a sitting president that is already a change for me. I am looking for a difference and not change.

Change is a nonsensical word because change occurs all the time; we see it in our way of lives.

But I am looking for a difference and I am yet to see that difference. A lot of time is being wasted in looking for saints who will run Nigeria, he cannot find

them except he makes up his mind to find them outside the political spheres. And even if he wants to find them in the political spheres, it must be those people who have no influence at all.

He has made a difference in one way by not allowing the governors to give him a list of ministers as they did in the past with Obasanjo and we can all testify that people who eventually emerged ministers turned out to be crooks.

For example, where did he get Kachikwu, the new NNPC Managing Director from? How many Nigerians knew there was such a brilliant man hiding in an American company and he is neither a member of APC or PDP. Not only that the man is bright, but the wife too is very bright and if I were the man, I will appoint my wife deputy Group Managing Director of NNPC. After I read through the wife’s CV, I said this is something and there are so many people like that in Nigeria. In fact, I would have made that man the Minister of Petroleum Resources because he has every background necessary.

So what I am saying is that, he has no excuse between May and September looking for people to make ministers. Who told him to believe that Permanent Secretaries too are saints? I am looking for one man or woman who has served as Permanent Secretary who can come out and declare his/her assets after being a Permanent Secretary. I am looking for one and I challenge them. So what is the big deal?

What are the specific areas you actually want this difference?

If he says he wants to deal with the issue of corruption, in fact I tell people, that is the simplest area to deal with from 15 to 16 years of dealing with Transparency International.

First, we read in the newspapers about Halliburton, the United States has jailed everybody involved in that scandal, what about Nigeria?

Secondly, where is the EFCC now getting all these people they are now questioning and indicting? How come the ICPC is just waking up? Therefore, there are files and records of all these people. It has been suggested over the years that we should have a special anti corruption tribunal in every state.

See the tribunal for elections, they have been set up and they were given three months to conclude the cases. I can tell you that the Chief Justice is already waiting and I know he is ready to set up that kind of tribunal.

The judges also know they are corrupt and the lawyers dealing with them know. If you ask lawyers today who the corrupt judges are, they will give you their names. So that is why I am saying the issue of fighting corruption is not rocket science.

So for the issue of corruption, I have not seen any difference at all.

But people are now being charged and taken to court?

Have people not be taken to court before? And how many cases have they lost? They said EFCC is supposed to fight money laundering activities but is it only money laundering that EFCC has been fighting? They said ICPC is supposed to fight corruption, did you hear anything about ICPC at all? Why don’t they merge them together?

I think what they should do is to separate the board from the management. The two anti corruption agencies we have, the management and the board are the same because you have an Executive chairman. How do you run an anti corruption body with an Executive Chairman and Commissioners? Who checks the management? I think we need to adopt the South African system where when appointing judges, they invite civil societies working in the area of justice, members of the political parties and so on.

They will interview the judges before they are appointed. So people know the kind of judges they are putting on the bench.

Can that happen in Nigeria?

That is the difference. We have also seen a competition among the security agencies, what is the business of SSS in pursuing the people accused of corruption?

EFCC is there and ICPC is there. Now you even see Civil Defence corps saying police is disturbing them and the Police will say civil defence is doing their job.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015—47

Attacks by land grabbers: Embattled community appeals to IGP, Amosun ...Stages peaceful protest

By Bose Adelaja

T

HEIR story is a pathetic one, hence most of those who heard it, especially mothers, could not help but weep.

The story is that of Toke Odusile and Rokibat Oyetunji whose world seem to have been turned upside down by some heartless land grabbers popularly called Ajagungbale.

Toke is five years old, while Rokibat is three. They were each living peacefully with their parents in a sleepy community called Ipetoro/Lowa, Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State until Wednesday December 3, 2014 when the unexpected happened. First was the threat of forcible eviction from their residences.

On the fateful day, the duo had been sent on an errand with Rokibat strapped on Toke’s back. It was while on their way back from the errand that they started hearing gun shots in their community. Frightened by the shooting, they fled in confusion in the event of which Toke ran into a group of hoodlums feeding flame to a bonfire. This heightened her fears.

Though both children escaped death and serious harm from the attack, they were later hospitalised for months following partial burns they sustained from the fire.

But Toke and Rokibat can be said to have escaped lightly compared to four-year-old Aliat Sobajo who was allegedly inflicted with machete cuts by her assailants in the presence of her parents.

Another victim is 45-year-old Biodun Ore who was forcefully evicted at a time his wife, who was in labour and was preparing to go to hospital, needed him most. Recounting his ordeal to Vanguard Metro, Biodun said he escaped through the window with his wife when the suspected land grabbers struck. But their escape was short-lived. This is because before they could get to the hospital, they ran into the suspected land grabbers who ended up grabbing the woman while Biodun escaped. The woman was later released in a neighbouring community

*Some of the protesting residents of Ipetoro/Lowa community

where she is presently staying with the baby she was later delivered of. Her husband was only able to set his eyes on the baby for the first time on Monday August 10, 2015.

Before these incidents, Ipetoro/Lowa, which has produced the likes of former Ayangburen of Ikorodu land, Oba Samusdeen Oyefusi and the current Oba of the town, Kabiru Sotobi, had been enjoying some measure of peace. But the ugly event of Wednesday, December 3, 2014 changed all

Our children have not attended school for the past eight months, while the artisans among us have their businesses put on-hold and some families have taken to begging as a way of survival

that.

Following the invasion of the community, many residents, which included women and their children, were forced to relocate to other places. Those were the lucky ones. Some who had no place to run to, reportedly died.

VM learnt that the traditional head of the community is presently being treated for shock arising from the invasion.

He was said to have suddenly become sick when he heard of the fate that befell his subjects and other residents of the town.

Months after that invasion, some of the displaced residents returned to the community last week to discover that their properties had either been vandalised or encroached upon by the invaders. When VM visited the community, some of those affected were seen protesting what they claimed was the unlawful encroachment of their land. They used the opportunity to call on both the Ogun State and Federal governments to bail them out.

The protesters made up of men, women and children, and brandishing placards, sang solidarity songs. According to them, they have become strangers in their own land. But last week Monday was a happy day for Biodun Ore as he was able to reunite with his wife and their new baby who was christened in his absence.

Aliat’s father, Saheed, told

VM that his only daughter received machete cuts from the land grabbers while trying to escape from the community.

The residents alleged that the suspected land grabbers were led by a member of the Oodua Peoples Congress who was identified as Dauda Olawale, aka ‘’Authority’’. But in a swift reaction Olawale dismissed the allegation, insisting that he had nothing to do with the problems in Ipetoro/Lowa land.

He told VM : ‘’Ipetoro/Lowa is in Gagamu while I hail from Osun State. How can I take possession of another person’s land when I am not in the position to do so? ‘’ The spokesperson for Ipetoro/ Lowa Family, Jamiu Bamgbelu told VM that after eight months in exile, he had been able to bring the displaced residents back. He, however, expressed worry over threat messages from unnamed sources. ‘’Our case is peculiar in the sense that there was no internal crises in our family because many of us are educated. But only God knows where the land grabbers came from. The most painful aspect of this incident is that our children have not attended school for the past eight months, while the artisans among us have their businesses put on-hold and some families have taken to begging as a way of survival,” he said.

He claimed their effort to

register their plight with the Police in both Lagos and Ogun states had proved abortive.

This he attributed to the allegation that the leader of the suspected land grabbers was well-connected. ”We have severally registered our plight with both Ogun and Lagos Police commands but as soon as one leaves the station, the leader of the land grabbers will call and threaten us. He will tell us that the Nigeria Police Force is in his pocket and their officers give him information whenever anybody comes to report him,”he further claimed.

Last Tuesday, about 100 elderly women among the residents allegedly stripped themselves naked to protest the return of the land grabbers to the community. The land grabbers allegedly suspended action on sighting the naked women. No fewer than 10 persons were injured while three others were declared missing when the land grabbers attacked the community.

But the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, told VM he was yet to be briefed about the attack.

“The command was not aware of the present attack but previously a suspect called Segun was arrested on August 7 with a gun and he has been charged to the Magistrate Court in Sagamu” he said.

48—Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

Good governance, service delivery, my priorities —Jigawa Gov

By Aliyu Dangida

D

UTSE—GOVERNOR Muhammad Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State has listed good governance and sustainable service delivery at both the state and local government levels as cardinal priorities of his administration.

Speaking at an induction training course organized by the Ministry for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Community Development for the newly appointed local government secretaries and education secretaries of the 27 local government areas in the state, the governor noted that local government was the closest administrative structure to the people.

He said that his administration intended to set the stage for the tortuous journey to the socioeconomic development and empowerment of people, especially at the grassroots.

ITF takes vocational training to IDPs camps

By Marie-Therese Nanlong

J

OS—THE DirectorGeneral of the Industrial Training Fund, ITF, Mrs. Juliet ChukkasOnaeko, has expressed concern over the increase in the number of unemployed youths in the country, saying the agency was set to train 1,000 youths from the 36 states of the federation to address the trend.

She added that the training would be extended to the internally displaced persons, IDPs, camps in the country to touch their lives positively and empower them to fend for their families.

The DG stated that the Fund was focused at repositioning the economy of the country as a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, had been entered with Dangote Group of companies and that over 4,000 youths had been trained in various skills acquisitions.

Kwara govt, PDP at loggerheads over N5bn bailout loan I

By Demola Akinyemi

LORIN—GOVERNOR Abdulfatah Ahmed’s All Progressives Congress, APC, administration in Kwara State and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, are currently at loggerheads over the proposed N5 billion bailout bond approved by the state assembly to offset the backlogs of salaries, pensions and gratuities of the workers across the 16 local governments in the state.

The PDP argued that the past loans obtained by the state government didn’t translate into any positive results to the people of the state but rather impoverished them The state Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Rex Olawoye, who spoke with journalists in Ilorin at the weekend over the development said: “The desire of the state government at this present time to source for such huge loan for councils in the state is uncalled for, moreso, a lot of multi billion naira federal allocations had come to 16 local government councils without anything to show for it.”

But the state government in a statement issued by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Communications, Dr Muideen Akorede, in Ilorin yesterday countered the claim and said that the N5 billion

Federal Government bailout loan was the cheapest and most efficient means of paying accumulated arrears of salaries and allowances owed to primary school teachers and other local government employees.

The loan also covers arrears of pensions and gratuities owed to retired local government workers, some of which go back several years.

According to the statement,the N5 billion loan, when received, will bring relief to local councils,

their staff and retirees as federal allocations are currently inadequate to meet salary, pension and gratuity obligations at state and local government levels.

A breakdown of the N5 billion liability shows that as at July 2015, the total salary arrears for local government workers was N2,012,999,522.40, while salary arrears for primary school teachers stood at N2, 143,414,338.55. Total local goverment pension arrears

stood at N523,160,259.38, while arrears for local goverment's Statutory Contribution to Kwara State University, KWASU, is N70,464,259.89. Outstanding payments for sundry services was put at N267, 806,538.40.

Providing further clarification, the state government said it was clear from the figures that the N3.6 billion combined June and July allocation to the 16 local government councils was inadequate to meet current and outstanding salary and pension arrears let alone development projects.

SEMINAR: From left: Managing Director, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria, Mr. Rahul Colaco, wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, FrieslandCampina WAMCO’s Corporate Affairs Director, Mrs. Ore Famurewa, and Marketing Director, Mr. Tarang Gupta at the 10th Nutrition seminar of the company, in Lagos. Photo: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor.

DPR shuts 39 filling stations in Benue, Nasarawa M

By Peter Duru

AKURDI—THE Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, has sealed off 39 filling stations in parts of Benue and Nasarawa states for alleged over-pricing and under-dispensing of petroleum products to unsuspecting members of the public.

The DPR Operations Controller, Makurdi Field Office, Mr. Isa Abdullahi, who also superintends over Nasarawa state, made this known at the weekend in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

Abdullahi, who led the operation, listed some of the affected filling stations to include AY Ashafa, Makurdi, Meloch Oil and Gas, Becostreams Petroleum, David Ogah Oil and Gas all in Otukpo and MRS Keffi, TAEN Oil Mararaba and Lunkman in Lafia, among others.

He said: “Of the total number of 39 sealed stations, 16 were shut in parts of Benue, while 23 others were sealed in Nasarawa State for under-dispensing and over-pricing of petroleum products.

“Though owners of some of the effected stations have paid

into the coffers of government, the stipulated penalty fee of N100,000 so as to have their stations reopened but we have also cautioned that if they flout our rules again, we will be forced to mete out stiffer penalties on them.

“As I speak with you, our officials are still on the field on surveillance to ensure that every station in Benue and Nasarawa states which is our jurisdiction, complied with government’s directive that petroleum products should be

sold at the approved pump price.”

Abdullahi disclosed that he had been holding series of meetings with product dealers in both states where he made it clear to marketers that failure to comply with the directives of government would be mete with stiff penalties as provided by the law."

PDP moves to avoid acrimonious party primaries in Kogi

L

By Kingsley Fanwo

OKOJA—THE national leadership of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has put measures in place to avoid a rancorous primary in Kogi State.

PDP has been in power in the state since 2003 when Alhaji Ibrahim Idris defeated the then incumbent, Prince Abubakar Audu, of the defunct All

Nigerian Peoples Party in a tense election.

Sources told the Vanguard that the party was worried about the activities of some leaders in the state pushing against the governor.

A chieftain of the party who craved anonymity, said the national leadership was deploying its machineries to

ensure that the party was united ahead of the governorship election.

“It is true that the national leadership of the party is not comfortable with the behind-thescenes activities of some of our leaders who are based in Abuja. ‘’A handful of them are kicking against the candidature of the governor," the source said.

Centre offers free treatment for 50 VVF victims in the state, beginning next would be attended to for a week. in Bauchi Monday.

The statement read: “The

B

By Suzan Edeh

A U C H I — T H E National Obstetric Fistula Centre in Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State, has concluded arrangements to offer free surgical service to fifty Vesico Virginal Fistula VVF victims

According to a press statement by the Head of Clinical Services of the Centre, Dr. Halima Mukaddas, the surgical service will be conducted in collaboration with United Nations Population Fund, UNFDA, It stated that patients

UNFDA has been involved with fistula programmes as part of its country programmes and currently working with the Nigerian government and other stakeholders to eliminating the lifeshattering condition of victims of obstetric fistula in Northern Nigeria”

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015—49

Don’t frustrate course of justice, Buhari tells lawyers

By Levinus Nwabughiogu & Ikechukwu Nnochiri

General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, in Abuja yesterday, argued that the legal profession would achieve more credibility if members of the Bar and the Bench uphold their professional ethics.

He noted that exposing various misdeeds of the corrupt officials was the only way to arrest corruption and

restore the glory of the land.

He said: “I am convinced that law, lawmakers, lawyers, law courts and the law enforcement agencies all have BUJA—PRESIDENT pivotal responsibilities to Muhammdu Buhari has discharge, if the change we urged legal practitioners in the seek is ever to materialise. country not to frustrate the “This administration has course of justice while taken on the challenge of defending public officials. improving security, fighting Buhari, who spoke at the corruption and revam-ping the opening of the 55th Annual e c o n o m y, among many others.

“The fight a g a i n s t corruption is a struggle for the restoration of law and o r d e r .

Corruption and impunity b e c o m e widespread w h e n disrespect for is allowed SAMSUNG: From left— Mr. Olumide Ojo, Business Development law to thrive in Manager, Information Technology and Mobile; Mr. Emmanouil Revmatas, society.

Director, Information Technology and Mobile; Ms Olajumoke Okikiolu, “Disrespect Marketing Manager, Information Technology and Mobile; Mr. Brovo Kim, for law thrives Managing Director, and Mr. Daesong Ra, Business Development Director, Information Technology and Mobile, all of Samsung Electronics West Africa, when people at the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, its newest flagship get away with all sorts of smartphonein Lagos.

A

shady deals and the court is unable to check them.

“Ability to manipulate and frustrate the legal system is the crowning glory of the corrupt and, as may be expected, this has left many legal practitioners and law courts tainted in an ugly way.

“In a gathering such as this, I do not need to elaborate on the way that corruption and impunity have damaged our economy. But I would like to say more on what, I believe, should be your role as legal practitioners, in helping us back to the path of rectitude.

On ethics

“First, we need to make our courts functional and effective again. This means that we must have lawyers who take the ethics of the profession very seriously; lawyers who will not frustrate the course of justice, even though they defend their clients with all legitimate means and resources.

“Nigeria needs ethical lawyers who always keep the end of justice in mind and will never sacrifice the integrity of the legal system

to cover the misdeeds of their clients, no matter how lucrative the brief may be.”

Corruption as rights violation

Noting that lawyers were often in the vanguard of the defense of human rights, President Buhari urged them to view corruption too as a gross violation of human rights.

The President said: “For the millions still wallowing in want and diseases, corruption is a major reason why they cannot go to school; why they cannot be gainfully employed; and why there are few doctors, nurses and drugs in their hospitals and health centres.

“It is the reason why pensioners are not paid and potable water is scarce.

“In effect, corruption diverts public resources meant for millions of people into the private pockets of a greedy few, thereby causing a lot of suffering, deprivation and death.

“In my view, there can be no greater violation of human rights. Viewed in this way, I think we can all fully appreciate the gravity of this oppressive and destructive evil.”

50 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 YOUR LUCK TODAY

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139 CANCER: Whatever anybody says or does, you will have both your say and way. Venus and Jupiter may tempt some of you to embrace illicit (or secret) romance within your base of operation.

LEO: Venus and Jupiter at positive angles may tempt you to join some of your friends who are already onboard of merry making train. Watch your health.

VIRGO: Good luck will smile at many and induce love of luxury merry making and romantic association. Genuine lovers will need to be on guard against deceit from new admirers.

LIBRA: Both financial success and emotional satisfaction are closed to you than before. Those of you travelling because of maters-of-the-heart are in for an exciting romantic day Those ambitious career-wise will succeed after few struggles.

SCORPIO: Many members of your opposite sex will go out of their ways to attract your romantic interest. This is the wrong time to engage on unnecessary argument.

LEISURE

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

By Richard Eromosele

R

IGHT from ages man has continued to look for ways of clothing his nakedness. Nakedness does not just mean not wearing clothes alone. It includes covering our evil deeds,

God is watching wicked acts, ways and sins etc.

As it was the days of the biblical Adam and Eve, so it is today.

When we commit heinous crime, we run for cover under the stone,

TERROR MUDA

under the water and under the dark, hoping and praying that we will not be caught.

We live a lie. We forget that air bear witness to our cruel act; the sun by our shadow

in “Scanvenger Elites”

takes our photograph, and our conscience convicts us daily.

Beware, God is watching. Your sins will find you out.

Think about it!

By Lanre Kehinde

SAGITTARIUS: If you priority is love, much of it would come your way as desired. But here is a better day for more ambitious in the business world. Don’t allow anybody to deceive you over money.

CAPRICORN: Those of you with secret admirers within your working area will have the needed opportunities to make the needed moves. Resist the temptation to deceive others.

AQUARIUS: Although matters-of-the-heart may give you cause to smile broadly, if care is not taken, you would cause friction that can’t help you r case at work. This is the wrong time for unnecessary scheming within your working arena.

PISCES: Those of your who are red-blooded for romance may have an exciting and satisfying day. Happenings within your social circles must be taken more seriously.

ARIES: Confrontation may come your way in the circle but the heavens are working favourably for you. Some doses of romance is not too much for you on a day like this.

KAPTAIN AFRIKA

in

“Hey”

By Andy Akman

TAURUS: Provided you don’t allow your innate ability to be as diplomatic as necessary desert you, things work favourably for you to the betterment of your finances.

GEMINI: Many of you will be in sentimental mood and exhibit strong romantic desire openly. But then, if care is not taken, you may be carried away to the detriment of your finances. Serious minded lovers are in for happy day.

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING Send yyour our dat th ttoo the As tr ological datee and place of bir birth Astr trological Counselling, PP.M.B .M.B 1100 00 7, Apapa, Lagos 007,

WHAT’S MY HOROSCOPE ?

Dear Joshua, I was born on September 11, 1960. I want you to give me my comprehensive horoscope, especially what my special gift is.

Which day of the week was I born? Where were my natal planets and their meanings? Who am I? Blessing, Abuja.

Dear Blessing, There is no space for comprehensive horoscope but what you’ll have here -under is answer to your questions/ You were born on a Thursday and your special gift is LEADERSHIP quality.

YOUR HOROSCOPE DATA Date of Birth: Thursday, September 13, 1962 Sun Sign: Virgo: Sun in 20th Degree of Virgo Moon Sign: PISCES: Moon on 10th Degree of Pisces Mercury in 16th Degree of Libra Venues in 5th Degree of Scorpio Mars in 13th Degree of Cancer Jupiter in 6th Degree of Pisces Saturn in 5th Degree of Aquarius Uranus in 2nd Degree of Virgo Neptune in 11th Degree of Scorpio Pluto in 10th Degree of Virgo North Node in 6th Degree of Leo South Node in 6th Degree of Aquarius Quality and Element Cardinal and air star signs hosted two planets each fixed and earth three each, no planet in fire while mutable and water star signs hosted five planets each.

Push-full influence = 20% Non- push-full element = 80% Final dispositor = Lucky Jupiter General Analysis Just 20 per cent of push-full influence in your chart can deceptively present you to others as a soft (or even timid) person but practical Virgo that hosted nothing less than three heavenly bodies when you were born and Astrological aspects between Mercury (mental focus) and aggressive Mars in you r chart are pointers to the contrary.

Yes! You are highly intelligent and your mind works the same way detective’s minds do. It is true, there are little contradictions between your inner self and your emotional being as indicated quality, water element and Virgo characteristics.

One moment, you can be very emotional, exhibiting temper with stinging tongue but a few hour later you are amiable, easy going, friendly and compassionate. You are the adaptable type who will see changes as sources of good opportunities.

LEADERSHIP quality is one of your greatest gifts from God. placement of your natal sun (basic-selfhood) and moon (your emotional being) in Virgo and Pisces respectively mean that characteristics of both Virgo and Pisces are highly pronounced in your inner-self.

VIRGINIA

HOME & ABROAD

dadadekola@yahoo.com

By Lawrence Akapa

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015—51

Vanguard CLASSIFIED VINCENT—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Amanda Ifeoma Ihejiamatu Vincent, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Amanda Ifeoma Onyenwere.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

IKPEBA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Uzezi Martha Ikpeba, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Uzezi Martha Ebowemen.

All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

MENE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Mene Esther Omagbosa, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ajao Esther Omagbosa Mene. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

IGWE—I, formerly known and addressed as Mr. Emmanuel Enubiaka Igwe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Emmanuel Obu. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

IGWE—I, formerly

please take note.

KEVWE—This is to notify the general public that Nabofa Harmony Kevwe and Nabofa Harmony Oghenekevwe is the same person. All former documents remain valid. First Bank Plc and general public please take note.

PRECIOUS—I, am both known and addressed as Mrs. Precious Akudo Igbokwe and Sylvia Akudo Igbokwe. All former documents bearing any of the above stated names remain valid. General public please take note.

E F A N G A — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Justina Efanga, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Justina Elevation Esikomiteba.

All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

ERIVWODE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Erivwode Oghenero Gladys, now wish to be known and known as Mrs. Pela Oghenero Gladys.

All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

EMUJEBESHARE— I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Sophia E f e m e n a Emujebeshare, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Sophia Efemena Eka. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CHUKWUMA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Chukwuma Gloria Ogochukwu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Osehenye Gloria Ogochukwu.

All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public please take note.

EVWERHAMRE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Evwerhamre Abigail, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ohwojeheri Jackson Abigail. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

SARKI—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Asabe Usman Sarki, now wish to be known and addressed as Miss Victoria Asabe Odigie. All former documents remain valid. The family of Mr. Phillip Odigie and general public please take note.

Confirmation of Name ONWUNGBOLU— This to certify that Aisha Umogor Onwungbolu and Aisha Isa Abdullahi is one and the same person but now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Aisha Isa Mohammed.

All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

AHUEKWE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ahuekwe Fidelia, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chiagorom Fidelia.

All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

known and addressed as Mr. Victor Igwe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Victor Obu. All former documents remain valid. General public

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Man City maintain perfect start

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ANCHESTER City maintained their flawless start to the Premier League season to go top of the table with victory at Everton.

Aleksandar Kolarov and substitute Samir Nasri struck after the break to make it three wins from three for City, who have yet to concede a goal as they lay down another marker that they are determined to reclaim their crown from Chelsea.

Everton, buoyed by a fine win at Southampton last weekend, gave City a real run for their money but David Silva had already hit an upright before Kolarov took advantage of poor goalkeeping from Tim Howard to take Raheem Sterling’spassandscoreatthe near post on the hour.

Vincent Kompany came to City’s rescue late on when he clearedGarethBarry’sheader off the line and the destiny of the three points was settled whenNasriplayedaneatonetwo with Yaya Toure to lift a finish over the advancing Howardwithtwominutesleft.

Federer beats Djokovic in Cincinnati final

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OGER Federer has won the Cincinnati Open title after a straight-sets victory over world number one Novak Djokovic.

Neither player looked to give an inch in the first set, with Federer extending his run of service games without a break beyond 40 this week.

Indeed, it was Djokovic who was forced to save four breakpointsbeforetakingthe opener to a tiebreak.

Federer had a point for a double-break in the sixth game of the set, but didn’t need it as he wrapped up the match 7-6, 6-3.

City Delight... Samir Nasri (C) celebrates with teammates Aleksandar Kolarov (L) and David Silva after scoring Man City’s second goal during the EPL match between Everton and Manchester City at Goodison Park in Liverpool.

Moses will go for £10m, Chelsea tell Hammers

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HELSEA have put a price tag of £10m on winger, Victor Moses.

The Nigerian international is wanted by West Ham who reportedly made a £6million transfer bid. Tottenham Hotspurs and Aston Villa are also interested in Moses who spent two season on loan to Liverpool and Stoke City. He was called back

by Jose Mourinho this season, but the arrival of Pedro from Barcelona made it certain that Moses has to move on.

The Hammers are keen

to bring the 24-year-old to Upton Park as he has struggled to break into the first team at Stamford Bridge.

Moses joined Chelsea in 2012 but has only managed to score one goal for the Blues.

The Nigeria international came off the bench in the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal and was on the bench for the opening Premier League game of the season against Swansea.

Benzema ready to join Arsenal

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A R I M BENZEMA is ready to swap Real Madrid for Arsenal.

Only last week the French striker was insisting he would be staying put in Spain – and not joining Arsene Wenger ’s men in the transfer window.

But that will change should the Gunners make their interest in Benzema, 27, official with a £50million bid in the next 48 hours.

That figure would meet Real’s valuation and, if accepted, set a new transfer record for Arsenal – eclipsing the £42m splashed on

Mesut Ozil two years ago.

And, most importantly, it would prove beyond doubt to Benzema just how badly he is wanted at The Emirates. Arsenal have been linked all summer with a bigmoney swoop for Real’s prolific hitman – 87 goals in 188 La Liga appearances.

But so far there has been no formal approach – leaving Benzema with no option but to pledge his loyalty to the Spanish giants.

Yet, according to a source close to the Bernabeu, the ex-Lyon star WOULD seriously

consider a move to north London.

Our Real insider said: “It’s up to Arsenal to fight for Karim with a big offer.

“Then he could be their player in this window.”

One major concern f o r We n g e r i s t h a t Premier League rivals Man United are still hunting a world-class striker.

The Frenchman fears that as soon as his interest in Benzema becomes official, United will enter the race with a significantly better offer.

52—Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

Nasarawa end Pillars 12-year home invincibility Sunshine drub El Kanemi 5-0 to go top N

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UNSHINE Stars are back on top of the Nigeria league table after they drubbed El Kanemi Warriors 5-0 in Akure yesterday.

The Akure Gunners now have 46 points, a point more than closest rivals Enyimba, whose game at home against FC taraba was shifted till Monday due to heavy rain which caused the pitch at the Enyimba International Stadium to be unplayable.

Man of the match was

continued from B/Page it is a wake up call for the Nigerian hopeful as she heads into the semi-finals and finals billed for today between 12.44pm and 14.35pm. Towie Bowie of the USA and defending champion, Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce had a joint best time of 10.88 seconds in the heats. From the look of things, it is going to be a hard race and Okagbare-

hard working midfielder and new Eagles invitee Paul Onobi, who scored a brace.

Prince Aggreh also scored a double with Tunde Adeniji also on the scoreboard to stay top of the goals chart with 13 goals.

Incidentally, all three Sunshine goal scorers will return this week to the Eagles training camp in Abuja.

Enyimba can return to the top if they defeat Taraba today in Aba.

Okagbare Ighotegunor has to be at her psychological best to withstanding the pressure.

One of the women to watch out for is Cote’d Iovire’s Marie Jose Ta Lou who had the fastest African time in the heats. She ran 10.95 seconds, while her compatriot Murielle Ahoure finished 11.10 seconds in her heat.

Ahoure denied Okagbare a podium performance in

ASARAWA yesterday rewrote the history books when they defeated home team Kano Pillars 2-1 to end a 12-year unbeaten home run by Pillars at the Sani Abacha Stadium.

Pillars last lost 2-1 to Julius Berger at home in the league on June 21, 2003.

Ex-Pillars forward Munir Ubale opened the scoring in the 12th minute off Eugene Salami’s assist to stun the home fans.

Four minutes later,

Moscow 2013, she also beat the Nigerian sprint queen to the silver in the 200m. South Africa’s Carina Horn with 11.08 is another African in the race.

Nigeria’s Ihunoma Osazuwa is also battling to make her name in the heptathlon event. She ran her personal best in the 800m yesterday a 2.21.36mins. With 5951 points, she is in the 18th position after six events.

Eagles new invitee Yaro Bature doubled the Lafia team’s lead.

Skipper Rabiu Ali scored for Pillars in the 46th minute to make it 2-

1. Nasarawa United started well with Ifeanyi Nweke forced goalkeeper Theophilus Afelokhai to make a big save in the seventh

minute.

Pillars striker Gambo Mohammed, returned to action when he replaced Eneji Otekpa in the 67th minute.

continued from B/Page

Bolt

death to win the men’s 100m gold with 9.97seconds yesterday at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing.

Bolt, who holds the world record at 9.58 seconds was a major doubt following injury and subsequent loss of form. He almost didn’t made the final as he stumbled in the semi-finals but he was able to make up for the loss of pace despite posting a semi-finals time of 9.96 seconds.

And with most athletics followers grudgingly expecting USA’s Justin Gatlin to win but by the time the dust settled, it was Bolt who breasted the tape with 9.79 seconds a season’s best for the Jamaican, who is a poster boy for a sport tainted with doping allegations. Gatlin, battling to convince the

athletics family that his doping past has nothing to do with the present, finished at 9.80 seconds.

Trayvon Bromell of the USA clocked 9.92 seconds to occupy the last podium position.

“I came out here relaxed, no stress and brought it home,” Bolt said. “My aim is to be the number one until I retire, and therefore I am pushing myself and pushing myself. It is all about running the race and getting it done. You can call that race rusty. I could have run faster.”

Gatlin, the 2005 world 100m champion, finished in 9.80, well off his season’s best of 9.74 recorded in May. With 20 meters to go, it appeared he might be able to out-sprint Bolt but Gatlin lost his rhythm with about five paces remaining and was off balance as he

headed for the finish.

“I stumbled a little bit and it cost me momentum,” Gatlin said. “I think it was a great race, and I feel honored to be out here.

“Of course everybody wants to come out here and win, but I came out here, got nipped at the line by the great Usain,” he added. “Hopefully I have more great races to come.”

Bolt nearly did not make the final at all. Running in the first of the three semifinals, he got off to a quick start by his standards and then scuffed a toe on the track and stumbled. At 50 meters, he was well behind the leaders but fought his way back.

He managed to cross just ahead of De Grasse, with both finishing in 9.96 seconds. But while De Grasse looked delighted, Bolt was shaking his head and pursing his lips as he slowed down.

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015—53

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HAVE been mandated by the Government and good people of Akwa Ibom State to ask that the Federation Cup, in the true spirit and character of the Cup be handed to Akwa United FC. Even Journalists have joined in this honest appeal. According to them, should Lobi win the cup, God forbid, there will be no news. They have won it before, appeared in the final and semi final so many times and are guided by Dominic Iorfa, an astute administrator and former national team star.

There will be lots and lots of Cinderella and refreshing news if Akwa United, debutants, a bunch of relatively unknowns, get to the final and win it at first attempt. The victory of Akwa United will mean CAF will have no problem whatsoever approving that magnificent edifice christened Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, “The Nest of Champions” for CAF Confederation Cup matches next season…….

Jokes apart, I write my column today with a lot of pride as an Akwa Ibomite, one who has a lot to cheer and to expect. Historically, I feel fulfilled. It was the Government of Retired Captain Joseph Adeusi that thought Akwa Ibom should have a football team in the national league. I was entrusted that responsibility alongside the late Christo Davies, then Sole Administrator of the State Sports Council.

The search landed us in Lagos, where another top football son of the state, Ini Edoho alias Amama, was in charge of Vasco Da Gama football Club as Team Manager. Vasco wanted out of the league and we went into a bidding process and astute negotiations that finally landed the club and the change of name to Ibom Stars Football Club, dexterous management under the guidance of Captain Adeusi and the eventual promotion to the elite cadre 19 years on, there has been a lot of near misses, a semi final qualification, relegation, back to back promotion and now this……. treshhold of a Continental ticket.

When I appeared at the MKO Abiola stadium for the semi final match, most of my friends and colleagues appeared surprised. What, they said has dragged Paul Bassey to Abeokuta? They said they thought I was a CAF and FIFA Official, how come I had come to watch a “local match”?

I said to them that even in FIFA and CAF, you are designated with your country in tow and we laughed. I could not allow the opportunity to pass me by, history making opportunity.

When therefore coach Baraje obliged me the opportunity of talking to the boys before kick off, I told them to go for it. That this was one chance in a million, they should grab it with both hands ( and legs…) That I was aware they were owed some salary, some bonuses not paid etc, but that today was not a day to remember all that. “ “……Today is a day to launch yourself into the history books of the state as the first set of players since the club were founded, to play to the final. “ Today you will be playing for yourselves and your families, today you have a pedestal to climb to greater heights and I implore you to climb and excel……”

They did. What a difficult match. Nassarawa United gave it their all. Probed, shot, dribbled……yet they met a brick-wall in a determined bunch of history seekers who stood their ground till the final blast of referee Adigwe’s whistle.

I don’t remember the last time I was so tense watching the dying minutes of a football match.

Let me digress a bit to talk about my disappointment about a semi final match that did not attract up to five hundred spectators. I was told since it was mid week, with a 3pm kick off time it was difficult attracting spectators, even as the two teams did not possess names that could make you deceive your boss and sneak out of the office.

What about the decay that the stadium befittingly named after one of Africa’s greatest sons had undergone? The lights were not on, ( The First Vice President of the NFF, Barrister Akinwunmi who was the guest of honour could not use the State Box because of heat) dressing room facilities not available, toilets not functional.

Before now we have written and written about the

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Give it to Akwa United...thanks need to return the Federation Cup to its former Challenge Cup glory. I saw this year as a realistic beginning of that call, given the surprises that heralded preliminary matches with the elimination of top clubs in the country due to good officiating and an improved organization.

As we pause for the final date and venue, we pray for the best.

Meanwhile, let us return to Uyo where there is so much expectations and dreams. Akwa Ibom is pregnant with expectations, of Governor Udom Emmanuel stepping out to receive the cup from the Skipper after he had been handed over to him by the guest of honour……the triumphant landing of the trophy at the Ibom International Airport, triumphant entry in a motorcade into Uyo, grand reception at the Banquet hall, presentation of the glory boys and the board of Akwa to his Excellency by Chairman Akparawa Nse Ubeh…..

The Governor ’s speech, well written, delivered and full of a reward package, applause unlimited……glory…glory….glory…

Before then, we must get to work. The board of

Akwa United in collaboration with the sports ministry must ensure that the players are fully prepared for war . welfare packages and incentives are to be put in place to motivate them and their handlers. Buses must be hired to transport as many supporters as possible to the final to cheer the team to victory.

This belief is best captured by Amos Etuk who in an articulate article entitled “ Federation Cup Final, Gov Udom Emmanel must cheer Akwa United to Victory”, wrote “Your Excellency, you are the number one supporter of Akwa United Football Club and this feat is coming at a time when the Nest of Champions has also become a fortress to this darling side of Akwa Ibom State.

The team have vastly improved so far and the fans have thronged out to cheer the team to victories in all their home matches. The dynamics of the success story of Akwa United today also fall in line with your vision to make sure that the private sector has a strong investment status in almost all the sectors of the state and despite your landmarks so far in less than a hundred days in office, the final of the 2015 Federation Cup will be the first unique selling point of your success story to Nigeria and a strong message to Africa that Akwa Ibom State has arrived.

Your Excellency, this is obviously a new dawn in sports renaissance in Akwa Ibom State and you are the face of this history and expected victory.

Your presence at the final of the 2015 Federation Cup will be a defining moment as you hopefully sit with your counterpart from Benue State, Samuel Iortom and the host Governor waiting for ninety minutes as the Stadium will erupt in the BLUE colours of Akwa United Football Club and millions of fans at home watching on television the victory of our first national trophy for Akwa Ibom State, a feat achieved in the first one hundred days of your administration.” Amos argued.

I want to believe that my long standing friend Dominic Iorfa will share my emotions and sentiments, and take it easy ( Don’t laugh) See you next week.

Pedro inspires Chelsea to beat West Brom

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SAVIOUR ...Pedro celebrates after scoring for Chelsea against West Brom. Chelsea won 3-2

EDRO Rodriguez pro duced a goal and an assist on his debut as Chelsea survived the dismissal of captain John Terry to prevail 3-2 at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.

30 million euros signing from Barcelona earlier this week, reportedly snatched from beneath Manchester United’s noses, Pedro scored and set up Diego Costa as Jose Mourinho’s side went 2-0 up.

Having earlier missed a penalty, James Morrison scored twice in response for West Brom, but despite Terry’s red card for a lastman foul, Cesar Azpilicueta’s first league goal proved enough to give Chelsea a first victory of the Premier League season.

Van Gaa: I don’t need a new striker

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ANCHESTER Unit ed boss Louis van Gaal claims he is not concerned about signing a new striker, despite Wayne Rooney failing to score for the 10th game in a row in the goalless draw with Newcastle at Old Trafford.

Asked if he needed a new

forward to support Rooney, Van Gaal said: ‘No, because we have been the better team all three times this season. My [only] worry is that we have to dominate the opponent and we did it today.

We did it against Tottenham and Aston Villa. We did against Bruges [in the

Champions League] and against Barcelona and San Jose Earthquakes in our preparation games. It’s not bad”.

Of the bid to sign Neymar, he added tersely: ‘I don’t enter into this discussion.

You can ask me about all the players in the world.''

Pedro announced his arrival in English football by darting infield from the right, exchanging passes with Eden Hazard and finding the bottom-right corner with the aid of a deflection.

Chelsea’s fans launched into a chorus of “Are you watching Manchester?” and United’s supporters will have found themselves looking away again 10 minutes later when Pedro’s cross-shot was turned in by Costa.

Morrison reduced the arrears by bludgeoning home when Salomon Rondon hooked James McClean’s cross back into the box, only for Azpilicueta to restore the visitors’ twogoal cushion in the 42nd minute by rolling in a shot after Costa had chested down Cesc Fabregas’s pass.

Terry saw red nine minutes into the second half for impeding Rondon as he bore down on goal before Morrison reduced the arrears with a glancing header, but Chelsea held out, Courtois thwarting Rondon in added time.

54 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

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Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015—55

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Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015

Okagbare on course for 100m gold

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LESSING OkagbareIghoteguonor kept her title hopes alive yesterday as she won her heat, with 11.07seconds in the women’s 100m at the

IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China.

Though her time was the slowest amongst the big girls gunning for the title,

Continues on Page 52

Bolt still fastest man on earth I

Stories By Ben Efe

T was a tight race, but Usain Bolt still managed to defeat Justin Gatlin at the Continues on Page 52

•Okagbare

Pedro leads

Chelsea to victory —P.53

Sunshine drub El Kanemi 5-0 to go top —P.52

RESULTS

CHAMPION.....Usain Bolt wins gold in the men’s 100m final as Justin Gatlin of the USA wins silver at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Beijing on August 23.

NPL Pillars Rangers Wolves Akwa Abia Warriors Sunshine Stars Bayelsa Lobi Kwara EPL West Brom Everton Watford LA LIGA Athletic Bilboa

1 1 1 2 1 5 0 1 1

Nasarawa Dolphins Wikki Giwa Heartland El-Kanemi Sharks Ifeanyi Ubah Shooting

2 0 0

Chelsea Man City Southampton

3 2 0

0

Barcelona

1

2 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0

QUICK CROSSWORD

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

FRI DAY'S FRIDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS 1 Aperture (4) 4 Fellow (3) 6 Mirth (4) 8 Influence (6) 9 Menace (6) 10 Beer (3) 12 Dispute (5) 14 Moorland (5) 15 Test (5) 18 Rescind (6) 20 Stupidity (6) 24 Loaded (5) 26 Room (5) 28 Darkness (5) 30 Fuss (3) 32 Abdicate (6) 33 Clergyman (6) 34 Employed (4) 35 Pale (3) 36 Place (4)

DOWN 2 Tender (5) 3 Perform (7) 4 facts (4) 5 Observe (4) 6 Furze (5) 7 Stretchy (7) 11 Meadow (3) 12 Tune (3) 13 Epoch (3) 16 Sick (3) 17 Cover (3) 19 State (7) 21 Lair (3) 22 First (7) 23 Still (3) 25 Append (3) 27 Infant (5) 29 Hurry (5) 30 Afresh (4) 31 Frank (4)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Plot 4, Rim 6, Slab 9, Pal 10, Confused 11, Edit 14, Asp 16, Order 19, Spirited 21, Deter 23, Damaging 24, Tense 27, Lag 31, Cure 33, Industry 34, Doe 35, Deep 36, Sad 37, Ramp.

DOWN: 2, Look 3, Tiff 4, Resisted 5, Made 6, Spear 7, Lad 8, Alive 12, Islet 13, Sirene 14, Aid 15, Petal 17, Drain 18, Range 20, Demanded 22, Rag 25, Elude 26, Sleep 28, Miss 29, User 30, Cram 32, Roe.

How to Play Sudoku

P

lace a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

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