I'll probe NNPC's missing $20bn —Buhari

...towards a better life for the people

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VOL. 25: NO. 62392

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

N150

MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

32 killed in Benue, Plateau, scores injured 7

AGM: From left: Ms Obi Ibekwe, Mrs Rose Okwechime; Mr. Phillips Oduoza, Mrs Onari Duke, Mr Tony Elumelu and Mrs Foluke Abdulrazaq, all of United Bank for Africa, UBA, at the 53rd AGM of the bank, in Lagos.

I'll probe NNPC's missing $20bn —Buhari

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

•Says bastardisation of military was PDP’s worst atrocity •Boko Haram issue not religious but pure terrorism •Vows to unravel why military failed to tackle Boko Haram •‘APC'll give priority to security, economy, corruption’ SUPPLEMENTARY POLLS: APGA, APC to challenge result in Abia, Taraba

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B U J A — Investigations into the circumstances of an alleged $20 billion Continues on Page 5

Mr & Mrs

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COLUMNISTS:

Clueless on Jonathan and Buhari •P.19

Can Buhari, Tinubu share power? •P.20

When $ became cheaper in the black market •P.44

Mixed reactions trail limit on debit cards See pull-out inside

2—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

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POCKET CARTOON

FORUM: From left: Mr Udom Inoyo, Vice President, CIPM; Mr. Keith Coats, guest speaker; Mr Anthony Arabome, New President/Chairman of Council, CIPM; Mrs Ifeoma Adeniyi, National Treasurer, CIPM, and immediate past President, Mr Victor Famuyibo during the 7th Special Human Resource Forum organised by Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, CIPM, in Lagos. Photo: Diran Oshe

I'll probe NNPC's missing $20bn —Buhari

patient and ensure that anything that will benefit our nation receives your support. We will try our possible best and ensure that we repair hospitals, schools, roads and ensure that we get drugs in our hospitals, books, and other equipment.

Priority to security, Continues from Page 1 as the major agenda of administration to the Boko Haram in the economy, his incoming allegation of the missing North-East to the extent corruption

missing from the coffers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, will be a priority for the incoming administration, the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd), said yesterday.

Receiving a delegation of political stakeholders from Adamawa State, Buhari also expressed shock at the treatment of the military by the outgoing Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, government, describing it as among the worst atrocities of the party on the nation.

Buhari, at the event, also reaffirmed his campaign promise to make the economy, security and corruption

administration.

The delegation of stakeholders from Adamawa State, led by the Governor-elect, Senator Jibrilla Bindow, comprised Senatorselect, House of Representatives members-elect and other political chieftains from the North-East states.

Earlier in his remarks, Bindow had tasked Buhari to put infrastructure, insecurity and youth unemployment at the top of his agenda once he is sworn in.

On missing NNPC's $20bn Noting the response of the outgoing

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

T

OO often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around— Leo Buscaglia In truth, listening is the first step to inner peace.

When we dare to quiet our minds and all the thoughts we inherit, the differences between us move back, and the things we have in common move forward. When we dare to quiet the patterns of our past, everything starts to reveal its kinship and share its aliveness.

And though we can always learn from others, listening is not a shortcut, but a way to embody this life we’re given, a way to personalize the practice of being human. In real ways, we’re invited each day to slow down and listen. But why listen at all?

Because listening stitches the world together.

Especially our personal worlds.

Listening is the doorway to everything that matters.

It enlivens the heart the way breathing enlivens the lungs. We listen to awaken our heart. We do this to stay vital and alive. This is the work of reverence: to stay vital and alive by listening with an open heart.We are intuitively guided to choose what is good for us and the whole.

$20 billion raised by former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Alhaji Lamido Sanusi, the presidentelect, who spoke in Hausa said: “I heard that some people have started returning money; I will not believe it until I see it by myself.

“Imagine a situation where the former CBN governor, who by God‘s grace, is now the Emir of Kano, raised an issue of missing billions of money, not in naira but in dollars, $20 billion.

“What happened, instead of investigating whether it was true, they simply found a reason to remove him. So, these are the issues we are talking about.

“This issue is not over yet. Once we assume office, we will order a fresh probe into the matter. We will not allow people to steal money meant for Nigerians to buy shares and stash away in foreign lands.”

Bastardization of military Buhari also reiterated his campaign promises of ensuring adequate security in the land.

He accused the ruling PDP of bastardizing the Nigerian military, which he said rendered it ineffective.

He recalled the lofty feats achieved by the Nigerian Army in foreign lands, wondering why it had been very difficult for it to curb the menace of

that some 14 local government areas would be lost to the insurgents.

Boko Haram issue is not religious but pure terrorism He stated that it had become obvious that the issue of Boko Haram was not religious but pure terrorism against the nation and the people.

He said: “I thank God for your visit. From what he (leader of the delegation) has said, this problem of Boko Haram, it is now evident, is not a religious problem. It is pure terrorism.

“I said it earlier, all the religions we practise, both Islam and Christianity, do not support terrorism. So, to go and kill people either in the mosque or in a church, market, motor park or to go and slaughter children in the school, anyone who commits such a crime either does not know what Allahuakbar (God is great) means or does not believe in it. This is terrorism. It is our hope that God gives us the power to end this.

“Because of the Boko Haram crisis, some of our fellow Nigerians from the North-East don’t know where their parents are. Some don’t know where their children are, their houses have been burnt, their cities like Bama, Michika, Mubi Madagali and the rest of them were distroyed.

“I urge you to be

“The 16 years of the PDP has further impoverished the people, and it was the PDP, not the APP, not the CPC, not the APC. “The three things we in the APC will give priority to are the issues of security, the economy, and the war against corruption. These are three things that affect all the states in Nigeria.

“We hope that like I have been hearing over the radio that we have regained most of the territories captured by Boko Haram, we thank God. But among the worst atrocities committed against Nigeria by the PDP is what it has done to our military.

“It is our military that went to Burma, the same army that when I was commissioned second lieutenant, I did not spend three weeks before I found myself in Kinshasha (in Congo), then (the civil war) in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, then to say Nigerian soldiers failed to retake 14 local government areas out of 774.

“For me, who served in the military, I find it incomprehensible except if I go there to find out the reason for this. The kind of leadership brought upon us by the PDP whether it is documented or not, it can never be forgotten in our history.”

Youth

unemployment The president-elect also pledged to show concern towards unemployment once he is inaugurated.

He said: “On the issue of unemployment that you talked about, I went to 35 of the 36 states of the federation. I went to some states about six times. I went for town hall meetings in Kano, Lagos and here in Abuja.

I met with religious leaders in churches of all denominations, everybody is involved.

“From the airports to the streets we saw youths running after our vehicles sweating, some walking the whole distance to wherever we were driving to, whether they went to school or did not go to school, they don’t have jobs.

“This is the biggest problem we have in Nigeria today. Because of this, apart from security challenges, the next thing is to find jobs for our youths.

“Our youths form 60 per cent of the population in Nigeria. Without jobs, these people, who are still bubbling with energy, will constitute a danger to this nation. If our youths don’t get jobs, we will not enjoy our stay in this nation.

“But one of the things we can use to fight poverty in Adamawa is the abundance of arable land that you have.

“Where I come from (Katsina State), the Sahara (desert) has eaten into the land and our populace that was not opportuned to get formal education became private guards because there is no more land to farm but for you in Adamawa, you are blessed with land and water for agriculture.

Because of that, within the next four years, we will do our best."

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

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Suspected Fulani herdsmen kill 28, injure many in Benue ...sack 3 villages in Gov-elect, Ortom’s hometown

By Peter Duru

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AKURDI — AT least 28 person were feared dead on Saturday evening while several others sustained injuries as suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked three villages at Mbadwem district of Guma Local Government Area, the hometown of Benue State governor-elect, Dr. Samuel Ortom The attackers also razed several houses and farmland in the three affected villages which include Tse Uosu, Gbudu and Branch Umenger.

Vanguard gathered from a source, who craved anonymity, that the crisis was sparked off by an alleged killing of two Fulani herdsmen by some yetto-be identified youths in the affected area.

According to him, “two days ago, two Fulanis were killed in that area for no justifiable reasons. So, what happened is a reprisal which may have claimed no fewer than 28 lives."

Vanguard further learned that the crisis has led to mass

movement of the inhabitants to neigbouring villages for fear of being caught in the bloody conflict, while Fulanis were also reported to be leaving Guma in droves to parts of Makurdi, the Benue State capital, and Nasarawa State.

The Parish Priest in charge of St. Francis Catholic Church, Daudu, where some of the displaced persons are taking refuge, Rev. Fr. Solomon Mffa, lamented the outbreak of fresh crisis in the area.

He urged the incoming administration of Gen.

Muhammadu Buhari to take decisive steps to bring the crisis to an end in the interest of all the parties concerned.

Contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Assistant Superintendent, ASP, Austin Ezeani who confirmed the crisis said: “It was as a result of the supposed killing of two

Fulani herdsmen in that area, two days ago.

“The gang, after robbing them and dispossessing them of their personal belongings, killed them and abandoned their corpses. So, the Fulani probably informed their brothers in Nasarawa and they came and carried out a reprisal attack.”

... Boko Haram attacks Plateau village, kills 4 zAs security men flee duty post

By Marie-Therese Nanlong

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OS — GUNMEN, suspected to be Boko Haram members, weekend, attacked Shonong village in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, killing four people, including two members of the state-owned security outfit, Operation Rainbow.

The village had been attacked severally by people suspected to be Fulani herdsmen in the last three months and casualties are

mostly women and children.

In the recent attack, the gunmen, armed with sophisticated weapons, took the villagers by surprise as they were said to have stormed the village at about noon and a response to the distress call sent to Operation Rainbow led to the death of its personnel as the gunmen overpowered and killed two of them.

The gunmen made away with rifles seized from men of the security outfit as residents fled the village to Riyom town, headquarters of Riyom Local

Government Area.

A villager, Chundung Chollom, who is also taking refuge in Riyom, said: "The gunmen are Boko Haram and they have sacked the entire village.

"There are strong indications that the gunmen will attack more villages, so we are fleeing our homes with others from nearby villages.”

Security men flee duty post

Combined security forces, comprising Operation Rainbow and Special Task Force, STF, numbering about

40 armed men and two armored personnel carriers, have also fled the village for fear of the terrorists.

The member representing Riyom constituency, Mr. Daniel Dem, lamented the situation, saying the gunmen ransacked the place and took the belonging of the security personnel away.

He said: “The people are living in fear and nothing seems to be done to put an end to the attacks and killings in my constituency. I’m calling on relevant agencies to look into this thing and bring to an end the activities of these terrorists.”

8 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

Five killed as pedestrian bridge collapses on taxi in Kano

By Abdulsalam Muhammad

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ANO—FIVE passengers in a taxi were believed to have died yesterday evening in Kano, as a pedestrian bridge under construction on Sheik Jafar road collapsed on the moving cab.

The pedestrian bridge, which is located at Karshen waya by Gidan mai, was designed to check and curtail risk associated with crossing the road in the densely populated Doroyi suburb.

An eyewitness, Salisu Ibrahim, told Vanguard that the incident occurred around 5.00 pm as the cab got to the bridge.

Malam Ibrahim said the cab had five people on board, including the driver, adding that it would have been a miracle if any of the passengers had survived this accident.

The eyewitness further disclosed that the passengers were trapped, pointing out that it will take a crane to rescue the battered automobile and its occupants.

When contacted, the police image maker in Kano, ASP Magaji Musa Majia, said rescue efforts were on to free the trapped passengers at the time of filing this report.

APAPA GRIDLOCK: Pedestrians decry one-way traffic zCall for construction of foot bridges

By Jonah Nwokpoku & Ediri Ejoh

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AGOS—PEDESTRIANS along the traffic-ridden Oshodi Apapa Expressway have decried the recklessness of oneway traffic drivers, and called for construction of pedestrian bridges along sections of the expressway that witness massive movement of pedestrians crossing from one side of the highway to the other.

Some pedestrians, who spoke to Vanguard at the popular Second Rainbow junction and Otto Woff Bus Stop, said the situation has conferred on the road the most dangerous road status in Lagos.

They identified the sections of the highway that need pedestrian bridge to include: Second Rainbow, Mile 2 FESTAC side and Otto Woff Bus Stop.

Drivers resort to driving oneway when the major expressway is blocked by the trucks and tanker drivers going to lift petroleum products at Apapa. The problem is compounded by motorcycle riders who also ply one-way, driving at very reckless speed, with little consideration for pedestrians trying to cross the road. This creates bedlam, making crossing the road a risky adventure.

A nursing student, Miss Joy Emaku, who plies the road to her residence in Apapa told Vanguard : “This road has turned into a nightmare to motorists and a death trap to pedestrians. People die here frequently. It is quite unfortunate that people have to go through this in order to

COMMISSIONING: President Goodluck Jonathan bidding farewell to the President, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, as the Chairman, Building Finance Committee, Mr. John Opara (2nd left); the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed (left) and wife of the CAN President, Mrs. Helen Oritsejafor (3rd right) and others watch after the President commissioned the Jubilee Resort and Leadership Centre at the CBD, Abuja, weekend. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida. go over to Apapa. This situation has made it expedient for an over head bridge to be constructed at Otto-Woff, seeing that it is a major area that leads to other major roads in the state.”

She explained that: “There have been countless accidents along this axis because of the uncontrollable traffic as commercial buses as well as motorcycles take one-way to avoid the heavy gridlock. As a result of this, countless souls have been swallowed up on this road when crossing over to the other side.”

On his part, a businessman, Harmony Ubani, argued that death toll in the area has risen considerably since last year.

“From August to December,

2014, there were at least three deaths in one month, recorded along this road. I cross this road daily going to work from Ajeromi and I had to stop for about 20 to 30 minutes waiting for a safe time to cross the road.

Sometimes, I had to go through Boundary just to be on the safe side.”

“What is most dangerous is the recklessness with which the drivers taking one way drive.

They drive as if they are on their right of way. Sometimes it is understandable that it is not their fault but they don’t seem to consider the danger and risk they put the lives of their passengers,” lamented Chukwudi Ozoadibe who plies the road daily from Oshodi to Coconut.

“This makes it very difficult for

Don’t create problems for incoming govt, APC warns Jonathan's men

By Gbenga Oke

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HE All Progressives Congress, APC, has warned officials of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration to desist from creating more problems for the incoming government of General Muhammadu Buhari.

The party also decried the reported allegations of last minute looting of the nation’s resources and the hurried recruitment into public service and rushed privatization of key financial institutions by the administration claiming such egregious actions will have serious repercussion.

In a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, he said the party has been inundated with calls and messages by concerned C M Y K

Nigerians alerting the party of unscrupulous actions of some officials in the government of President Jonathan.

He said, “While the Jonathan Administration remains in office till midnight of May 28, governance in the country will not stop because a new President has been elected but the outgoing Administration must not create any more problems for the incoming government than it had already done or to tie the new government’s hands through some suspicious actions”.

“For example, the National Council on Privatization which is headed by the Vice President has just approved the financial bid opening for transaction advisers for the privatization of the three

Development Finance Institutions in the country, the Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry and Nigeria Commodity Exchange. The question is: What is the rationale for rushing this exercise with just weeks left for this administration? Also, there have been reports yet un-refuted of a planned hurried recruitment into the Nigeria Immigration Service, (NIS) after a previous attempt ended in a national tragedy and the fleecing of innocent job seekers by mindless federal government officials.

Apart from the fact that this lastminute recruitment is suspect, it is irregular” he added.

Mohammed went further, ”The Civil Defense, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Services Board (CDFIPSB) is only empowered to recruit, promote and discipline

only senior officers (levels 8 and above). The power to recruit, promote and discipline junior officers is vested in the different services, in this case the Nigeria Immigration Service.

Therefore, the recruitment exercise now being conducted by the Federal Civil Service under the auspices of the Presidential Committee to Assist on Immigration Recruitment usurps the functions of the Board as it relates to recruitment of Senior Officers (level 08) and that of the Immigration Service as it relates to Junior Officers (levels 07 and below)”.

He, however, said the APC will not waste time in probing the Jonathan administration, but will get down to work upon assumption of office.

people to cross the road without risking being killed by oncoming vehicles from either side of the road,” he added.

Also speaking, another pedestrian, Jacob Lawson narrated his experience seeing a bus driving one-way kill a young woman.

According to him, “It was after Alaba Express bus stop. The lady was trying to cross to Fatgbems side when the bus coming against the traffic hit her and she crashlanded, hitting her head on the road. It was the goriest sight I have ever seen. She hit her head with force and crushed her skulls into bits of pieces.”

He added: “Do you know how many people that have lost their lives on this road? I think the only way to stop all these collateral deaths is to build pedestrian bridges along those strategic locations where people cross mostly. For instance, Mile-Two FESTAC side bus stop needs a bridge, Second Rainbow junction needs a bridge and Otto Woff bus stop needs a bridge as well.”

Recently at Otto Woffe, the media reported a death of middle aged woman killed by a container that skidded off its truck.

According to the report, the truck driver braked automatically when it tried to avoid an oncoming bus driving one-way.

The Apapa gridlock has defied all solutions. Deaths and criminal activities along the axis have become collateral damages. Industry experts, especially in the oil and gas sector say until the issue of tank farms clustering at Apapa is addressed, the traffic problem may continue to linger. There are expectations that the incoming government will do something about the situation and return sanity to the road.

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N256.2bn debt threatens fuel importation ...As fuel scarcity looms

By Sebastine Obasi

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AGOS—THERE are indications that the nation may be heading for another fuel scarcity few weeks to the May 29, handover to the incoming Muhammadu Buhari administration, as the Major Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, has threatened to stop importation due to government’s inability to pay N256.2 billion debt.

The Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Mr. Obafemi Olawore, while briefing journalists in Lagos said that the Association may not be able to import petroleum products again as a result of the debt. He said, “MOMAN is finding it difficult to continue its operations. The debts are rising. MOMAN is fed up with stock today, no product tomorrow. Soon we may have to rely on NNPC for supplies. This could be a problem because NNPC has issues with its suppliers over debt also.”

Olawore painted a grim picture of the situation thus, “The industry is bleeding. Our suppliers are at our neck. As at April 22, what we have in our Apapa depots will only last for three and half days, which shows that our members are finding it difficult to bring in products. Presently, we are being owed N256.2 billion.”

Giving a breakdown of the amount, he said that in February, the government paid marketers N100 billion subsidy claim through postdated Sovereign Debt Note (SDN), which is expected to mature by the end of April. Prior to that, the government was indebted to the tune of N315.8 billion.

“If you deduct the N100 billion from the N315.8 billion, you will have N215.8 billion. “Besides, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) had earlier approved Batches T and U for last quarter of 2014, for payment which amounted to N30.5billion. “In 2015, we also have Batches A and B for the products imported by

MOMAN which have been approved by PPPRA but had not been paid. “This also amounted to N9.7 billion. So the money put together is N256 billion,” he said.

The Executive Secretary also explained that the banks did not help matters, as they refuse to honour the post-dated SDN, while transporters are spoiling for a showdown because MOMAN is owing them about N20 billion. The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, last week told banks to get tough with bad debtors. Also, in the 2015 budget passed by the House of Representatives, no provision was made for subsidy.

Earlier in April, MOMAN had written a letter to the Minister of Finance stating the position of the Association as regards the debt. In the April 13 letter, titled, potential drastic reduction in the operations of the downstream sector, which was signed by

Olawore, MOMAN stated that the Minister assured marketers that they would be fully reimbursed for the interest (incurred due to the late payment) and foreign exchange differential elements of the “under recovery” within 30 days of the February, 2015 meeting.

MOMAN further stated, “Regrettably, despite your above commitment and assurances, the industry to date has only received approximately N30 billion in FOREX differential claims out of N100 billion. In the same vein, only N345 billion has been received in core subsidy payments covering payments up to Q2.

“Specifically, only three companies out of the six MOMAN companies received payments for FOREX differentials and no company, MOMAN or DAPPMA has been paid interest charges on delayed payments.”

The letter further stated, “As of March 31, 2015, the total amount due to marketers based on all

claims verified by PPPRA is in excess of N270 billion. We are aware that the amount allocated to petroleum subsidies in the 2015 budget is N200 billion. This is a great cause of concern to our members.”

MOMAN requested that the Minister ensured the sanctity of the PPPRA guidelines, which stated that the relevant government agencies vested with the authority to administer the petroleum subsidy fund scheme honour the sanctity of the sovereign debt notes and the 45 days payment deadlines.

MOMAN had been at the forefront of deregulation of the oil and gas industry. Last January, when the Federal Government reduced the pump price of petrol from N97 to N87, the association advised the government to take advantage of the lower crude oil price to deregulate the downstream sub-sector of the oil and gas economy.

AWARD: From left; Mrs Abimbola Akinjide; Chief Richard Akinjide, former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice jointly receiving his Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN merit Award from Mr Chidi Ajaegbu, ICAN President, during ICAN's 2015 Annual Dinner and Awards ceremony at Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. Photo by Shola Oyelese.

SUPPLEMENTARY ELECTIONS: APGA, APC vow to challenge result in Abia, Taraba

By Chidi Nkwopara, Anayo polled 180,882 votes.

Ngwa North local governments, manner as INEC”, Otti noted.

Okoli & John Mkom However, reacting to the result, which the Returning Officer, Also, the All Progressives

T

HE ALL Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA and the All Progressives Congress, APC, which lost last Saturday’s supplementary elections in Abia and Taraba respectively have expresed their resolve to challenge the outcome of the election in court saying they were dissatisfied with it.

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in Imo state, Mr Emeka Ihedioha as also described the supplementary election in the state as a sham.

In Abia state, INEC had in the early hours of Sunday declared Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu of PDP the winner of the election held on April 11 and 25th 2015 with a total vote of 264, 713 against Dr. Alex Otti of APGA who C M Y K

the National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh announced that the party did not accept the result.

He said, “We have come to inevitable conclusion that our party will reject the election result.

APGA decided to reject the result of the election not because it cannot lose in electoral contest but because it has evidence that the poll did not meet international minimum standard. We are going to challenge this fraudulent action in court at the tribunal to salvage the mandate given to Dr Alex Otti”.

Umeh lamented that INEC had ignored its complaints about the governorship election results from Obingwa, Osisioma and Isiala

Professor Benjamin Ozumba had cancelled and later reversed during the collation of the results of the April 11 governorship poll.

In his remarks Dr. Alex Otti said that he wholly agreed with the position of his party’s National Chairman, insisting that “Abia people have spoken with their mandate but those that have held the state down did not allow the will of the people to prevail.

The battle has just started; we are going to challenge this charade at the tribunal. What happened was a rape of democracy.

“I think INEC has a lot of questions to answer. I’ve never seen an organization that performs its duties in a shoddy

Congress (APC) candidate in the just-concluded governorship election in Taraba, Sen. Aisha Alhassan, has rejected the results of the poll as announced

by INEC on Sunday.

Addresing a press conference in Jalingo shortly after the announcement of the results, Alhassan described the entire elections process as a “daylight robbery” and said the party would challenge the results in the elections petitions tribunal.

“The combined governorship elections in Taraba were characterised by violence, massive rigging, ballot snatching and abuse of the card readers in most parts of the state by the PDP and their allies,” she said.

FAAN, ARIK AIR FACE-OFF: Arik Air paid FAAN N4bn in 2014

By Lawani Mikairu

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A G O S — CONTRARY to the claim by the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, that Arik Air has not been paying its bills and honouring its financial obligations to the aviation agencies, Vanguard investigations revealed that Arik Air paid FAAN about N4 billion in 2014.

An impeccable source told Vanguard that “FAAN got N4bn revenue from Arik Air last year and the airline has been meeting its obligation to the agency through the pay-as-you-go payment system introduced about two years ago to curb incessant account reconciliation disagreement between aviation agencies and airlines”.

According to the source, “Payments made by Arik Air to FAAN in 2014 amounting to N4bn are as follows: “In January, 2014, Arik paid N335,562,212.50; paid N318,575,002.50 in Feb; N327,359,180 in March; N370,417,622.50 in April; N349,471,655 in June; N315,530,737.50 in July; N344,486,305 in Sept; and N447,232,602.50 in December.This is contrary to the claim that Arik has not been paying its bills.“ This figure include parking and landing fees, rent, passenger Service charge (PSC), fuel surcharge.

FG reappoints Ezoem provost of FCE, Asaba

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RESIDENT G o o d l u c k Jonathan has approved the renewal of the appointment of Dr. Nwanze Ignatius Ezoem as Provost, Federal College of Education (Technical), Asaba, based on merit.

The appointment is for four years with effect from today.

The registrar, Rotimi Adepoju, on behalf of the management, staff and students, had already congratulated the Provost, wishing him a fulfilling second term, and enjoined all to co-operate with him in his laudable programmes to steer the College to greater heights.

10 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

Appoint spiritual adviser, retired General advises Buhari

By Esther Onyegbula

A

retired General, Alphonsus Chukwu has recommended a six-point agenda for President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, advising him to appoint a spiritual adviser in line with what obtains in the United States of America, USA. He also tasked the incoming government to, as a matter of urgency, reduce the movement in convoy by government officials to save cost.

General Chukwu further advised that the Presidentelect should strengthen the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies by encouraging the enlistment of more youths.

According to him, ''Buhari should encourage graduates to join the armed forces as recruits by offering them good salaries and encouraging community policing in the country as soon as possible.''

Commending President Goodluck Jonathan for conceding defeat, General Chukwu noted that, contrary to expectations that the elections would plunge the nation into chaos, it rather produced a President-elect in an election generally adjudged as free and fair while international observers described the results as credible.

“Apart from being adjudged as free and fair, the President even conceded defeat ever before the results were conclusive.

That is why is it obvious that the visible peace which reigns in the country before, during and after the election is from God and not the act of man,”he said.

COLLAPSED BUILDING: Lagos seals 1, 423 structures last year

By Monsuru Olowoopejo

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AGOS—AT least 1, 423 structures were sealed by the Lagos State Government for contravening construction permit last year, while 437 defective/ distressed buildings were identified.

The state government, however, demolished 16 illegal and distressed buildings identified within the same period.

These were contained in the document signed by the State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Toyin Ayinde and obtained by Vanguard.

Ayinde said the prompt response of the state government ensured there were fewer collapsed building in the year under review, adding “The state has declared a zero tolerance to building collapse in the state.”

According to him “During the year under review, a total of 5,910 buildings were identified and served contravention notices. Of this number, a total of 1,423 were sealed for non-compliance out of which 395 were later unsealed for compliance. However, 94 broken seal were discovered and resealed by the state government.

“Forty-two building insurance

SIGN-ON PARTY: From left; MI Abaga; Mr Kufre Ekanem, Corporate Affairs Adviser, Nigeria Breweries Plc; Banky W; Sound Sultan & Naeto C at 2015 Star Music Trek Artiste Sign-on Party, at Federal Palace Hotel , Victoria Island, Lagos. Photo by Kehinde Gbadamosi. policies were verified, while 108 court summons were served on properties out of which 66 cases are still pending while 42 cases have been decided. 437 defective buildings were also identified.

“In 2014, 367 petitions/ complaints were received out of which 45 were approved for sealing. 102 were amicably resolved, 208 are still under processing while 12 were approved for removal. Five out

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AGOS—THE Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, has passed a vote-of-confidence in its Founder and President, Dr. Frederick Fasehun, saying there was no crisis in the organisation.

The group also dissociated itself from Fasehun’s purported expulsion by a group, which

structures removed and rubbles were strategies adopted by the state government to forestall collapsed building and loss of lives in the state.

Also, the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, Mrs. Abimbola Animashaun said to forestall collapsed building, the agency has established its offices in the 20 local governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas, LCDAS.

… Takes preventive measures against malaria

By Olasukanmi Akoni

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AGOS—THE Lagos State Government has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to eliminate malaria in the state.

The strategies include: Vector control interventions, preventive therapies, diagnostic testing, treatment with quality-assured Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies (ACTs), and strong malaria surveillance.

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, who made this known at the weekend during a community sensitization campaign to commemorate this year’s World Malaria Day at the Amu Market in Mushin Local Government Area, said that measures put in place by the state

government were geared towards combating malaria.

Highlighting the various integrated preventive measures, Idris, who was represented by the Deputy Director in charge of Disease Control, Dr. Rotimi Agbolagorite, explained that Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLINs) have been deployed to communities, as well as distribution of nets in public health facilities to children who had completed their immunization schedule and also to pregnant women who booked for antenatal care, adding that pregnant women were routinely given in the prescribed manner Sulphadoxine Pyrimethamine (SP) for Intermittent Preventive Treatment of malaria during

OPC passes vote-of-confidence in Fasehun

By Dapo Akinrefon

of the 12 cases approved for removal were achieved while the remaining seven are awaiting further directives,” he added.

The commissioner said eight structures collapsed during the year under review. And it includes the Synagogue Church Of All Nations, SCOAN building, adding “all the rubbles from these structures have been removed and discarded.”

Ayinde explained that the

claimed to have appointed new leaders to run its affairs.

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Sylvester Eweka, the group described Fasehun’s removal as “a joke taken too far,” adding that Dr. Fasehun remained the founder and substantive President of OPC worldwide.

The OPC, however said plans at denigrating the leader was a

concoction of troublemakers, who were bent on treading the path of perdition.

The group said the Fasehun-led OPC had in 2014, expelled leaders of the group, including: Dare Adesope (former Secretary), Alhaji Taofiq Adeyemi (Organising Secretary) and Olusola Ajayi Edward (Publicity Secretary).

Ante Natal Clinics.

“Another preventive strategy being deployed in the state is the Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) which is the application of longacting chemical insecticides on the walls and roofs of houses for the effect of curtailing malaria

transmission.

The 6th round in the series of IRS activities was implemented in seven LGAs namely Ojo, Ikorodu, Badagry, Amuwo-Odofin, Kosofe, Epe and Ibeju-Lekki LGAs in 2014 and approximately 650,000 rooms were sprayed”, Idris said.

Xenophobia: South Africa condemns Nigeria’s recall of High Commissioner government”.

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HE South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation, has expressed shock at the recall of Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Ambassador Martin Cobham and Deputy High Commissioner, Uche AjuluOkeke over the xenophobic attacks against foreign nationals including Nigerians. South Africa described the recall as an “unfortunate and regrettable” diplomatic step.

In a statement, Clayson Monyela, spokesperson for DIRCO, said the South African government was shocked that the Nigerian government would resort “to such an extraordinary diplomatic step to express outrage at actions or behaviour of another

According to Mr Monyela, “we are not sure which actions or behaviour of the South African Government the Nigerian Government is protesting. It is only Nigeria that has taken this unfortunate and regrettable step.

If this action is based on the incidents of attacks on foreign nationals in some parts of our country, it would be curious for a sisterly country to want to exploit such a painful episode for whatever agenda.”

The. South African authority said despite the recall, the country remained committed to a strong bond of friendship and bilateral relations with Nigeria despite the death of 84 South Africans at a collapsed guest house of Synagogue Church of All Nations on September 12, 2014.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2015—11

ONDO DEPUTY GOV: Probe panel submits report today

By Dayo Johnson

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KURE—THE sevenmember probe panel inaugurated last week to look into allegations of gross misconduct levelled against the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, weekend, rounded off its sitting.

The panel is expected to submit its findings today, to the state House of Assembly which mandated it to probe allegations against the deputy governor.

Reports had it that the embattled deputy governor may approach the court, today, to stop the action of the probe panel.

Rounding off its sitting in Akure, the chairman of the probe panel, Olatunji Adeniyan, assured that it would be fair to all parties in line with the law setting up the body.

Counsel to both the House of Assembly, Dayo Akinlaja, (SAN), and that of the deputy governor, Dr Benson Enikuomehin, argued for several hours on the issue of proper service of the notice of impeachment.

Dr Enikuomehin said his client was not properly served to appear before the panel.

He, therefore, argued that the panel could not continue sitting, citing Section 36 sub section 1,2,3 of the constitution.

Dr Enikuomehin told the probe panel that it was the son of his client who instructed him to appear for his father who was out of the country on a routine medical check up.

He said the deputy governor had already written the governor to that effect and demanded that his client

be properly served by the Assembly.

However, in his counter argument, Dayo Akinlaja (SAN), said the appearance of Dr Enikuomehin for the deputy governor showed that his client was well served.

Akinlaja presented a copy of a letter signed by the deputy governor informing the governor of his intention to travel on April 27 to prove that the deputy governor was indeed in the country.

The counsel to the Assembly, therefore, prayed the panel to discountenance Enikuomehin’s claims.

Akinlaja stressed that the numerous evidence on ground

attest to the fact that the deputy governor was in the country and was well and properly served the summons as well as the notice of impeachment.

Chairman of the panel, after the argument and counter argument, called for a short break to rule on the submissions of counsel.

The panel, on resumption, ruled that after considering arguments of the two parties, sufficient evidence on ground showed that the deputy governor was properly served the summon.

After the ruling, counsel to the deputy governor excused himself, telling the panel that he wouldn’t be able to continue

because he had nothing else to work on.

Two witnesses gave evidences during the sitting.

They include the Chief of Staff to the governor, Dr Kola Ademujimi and the Permanent Secretary, Deputy Governor’s Office, Kehinde Temikotan .

Counsel to the Assembly Akinlaja led them in evidence as witnesses on all the seven allegations levelled against the deputy governor.

The witnesses provided both oral and documentary evidence to substantiate allegations that Alhaji Olanusi abused his office by condoning his younger brother and S.A who allegedly committed forgery.

THANKSGIVING: Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State (left), his wife, Olukemi (right) and daughter of the deceased and Chairman, Ondo State Micro-Credit Agency, Banke Sutton, at the funeral and thanksgiving service for Late Prince Isaac Edaghan, in Akure, weekend.

Ondo bans ogogoro, puts Irele death toll at 23

By Dayo Johnson

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KURE—AS normalcy returned to Irele area of Ondo State, following the outbreak of a strange disease, the state government, weekend, put the death toll at 23.

The disease, according to government, ravaged Ayadi and Ode Irele communities in Irele council area of the state.

But the natives of the community, including the Chief Priest, High Chief Lemo, attributed the death recorded to the desecration of the Malokun Shrine by unknown persons who carted away sacred objects.

High Chief Lemo said, weekend, that the god had been appeased hence the stoppage in the death toll last week.

The state government consequently banned the

consumption of local gin popularly called ogogoro, having discovered that those that died consumed the local brew.

It denied that 30 persons died in the two communities.

The government said that those that died were mainly okada riders in the community in whom ethanol poison was discovered from the samples taken for examination by medical experts.

The Health Commissioner, Dr Dayo Adeyanju, said the additional five lives lost were not new cases nor were they among those that were hospitalised.

Adeyanju pointed out that those that were hospitalised had regained their sight and had returned home while the monitoring still continues.

According to him, the five deaths recorded in addition to the 18 that were reported earlier

came from families that made reports because of the sensitisation by government and other stakeholders after the outcome of the preliminary investigations, which revealed that victims developed the ailment after consuming the local gin contaminated with ethanol poison.

Adeyanju explained that one of those that regained his sight said he did not take much of the drink but only a sip.

“Our clinical analysis reveals the fact that there were no known viruses, while toxicology reports have confirmed our prime suspicion of ethanol poisoning.

The commissioner said the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) report on the five samples taken showed that victims had 16.3 per cent of the

poison in their systems.

He said that having discovered the cause of the ailment to be ethanol poison, the government had banned the production, sale and consumption of the locally brew gin in the state.

The commissioner said the government and other stake holders would embark on sensitisation programme on this policy and any person or group of persons that contravened the policy would be prosecuted.

“We have reviewed our strategies and embarked on sensitisation to let people know that locally-made gin is prohibited. “ We will also embark on searches because this batch of ethanol-containing gin must have gone round because four cases were discovered outside Irele,” he said.

Thunderstorm wreaks havoc in Osun

By Gbenga Olarinoye

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S O G B O — SCORES of residents of Osogbo, the Osun State capital, have been rendered homeless following thunderstorm that accompanied heavy rains at the weekend, which wreaked havoc in many parts of the town destroying buildings and electrical installations.

The areas mostly affected by the thunderstorm include Oja Oba, Igbona, Ago Wande, Ibokun Road, among others where roofs of many buildings were removed and electric poles damaged.

In many parts of Osogbo, the rain which started late Saturday evening was light and lasted for barely 10 minutes, while in other neighbourhoods, it was heavy with thunderstorms.

During Vanguard’s visit to the affected areas yesterday, it was gathered that the areas worst hit by the thunderstorms were neighborhoods with old buildings.

Along Ibokun road and Oja Oba, roofs of many buildings were blown off and walls of some old buildings pulled down by the thunderstorms.

However, at Igbona and Ago Wande areas, some new buildings were affected, while some electric poles were destroyed.

When contacted, the Regional Manager, Branding and Communication, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC, Kikelomo Owoeye, confirmed that some installations of the company were affected.

She said that at Oke Ijetu area, the feeder of the company had to be switched off, because of loss of some lines, to forestall any accident.

She added that some areas within the state capital were in darkness because of some lines that were affected, assuring that the management of IBEDC, was working towards restoring supply to the affected areas as soon as possible.

12—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

Delta HOSTCOM backs Uduaghan’s DESOPADEC bill

By Emma Amaize

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S A B A — H O S T Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas, HOSTCOM, Delta State chapter, led by Benjamin Iwetan, has thrown its weight behind the plan by the governor of the state, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, to reform Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC. Governor Uduaghan had sent a bill to the state House of Assembly for the establishment of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Commission, Five Ethnic Nationalities Oil Producing Development Agencies, Five Ethnic Nationalities Producing Areas Investment Corporations and Other Matters Connected Therewith.”

The bill, which has passed first reading, will come up for second reading tomorrow.

But, the national leadership of HOSTOCOM, headed by Prince Maikpobi Okareme, is opposed to the bill, saying that the governor wants to scrap DESOPADEC. Differing with its national

leadership, Delta HOSTCOM in a letter, dated April 24, to the Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, called for speedy passage of the bill, saying: “We have thoroughly studied the 29-page bill and hereby state that it is in consonance with our objectives, hopes and

aspirations as oil and gas producing ethnic nationalities in the state.”

He said that the bill if passed into law would fast track development of oil producing communities, adding that Ika and Aniocha ethnic nationalities should be incorporated into

DESOPADEC, its agencies and corporations since significant exploration and exploitation of oil and gas had begun in the areas.

“We also sue for proper and accurate assessment of quantities of oil and gas produced in these areas,” he added.

WORLD MALARIA DAY: From left: Regional Manager, Stanbic IBTC, Ayoolu Oni; Manager, Events and Corporate Social Investment, Stanbic IBTC, Ame Okwudi; Team Leader, Makoko, Slum2School, Nkoyo Bassey; Community Leader, Makoko, Iroko Temitope and Dr Omonigho Ekhomu, medical volunteer, at the distribution of mosquito nets to school children in Makoko

by Stanbic IBTC to mark the World Malaria Day, weekend.

TRIBUNAL: Edo PDP Rep candidate seeks nullification of Akpatason's election

By Gabriel Enogholase

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ENIN—PEOPLES Democratic Party, PDP, House of Representatives candidate for Akoko-Edo federal constituency in Edo

State, Mr. Oladele BankoleBalogun, has asked the election petition tribunal sitting in the Benin, to nullify the declaration of Mr. Peter Akpatason of the All Progressives Congress, APC,

by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as winner of the election into the lower House of the National Assembly.

In his petition, BankoleBalogun is further praying the

A-Ibom residents cautioned against consumption of toxic meat

By Samuel Oyadongha

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YO—AKWA Ibom State citizens and residents have been warned against patronizing and consuming the poisonous skin meat being imported into the state by yet to be identified persons.

Director of Veterinary Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Mineral Resources, Dr. Obot Obot, who gave the warning during an interaction with newsmen, weekend, said the sale of the skin meat, known as kpomo in local parlance, in some markets in the state was discovered four months ago .

Obot added that the state government, in collaboration with the Department of State Services, DSS, had already taken proactive steps to apprehend those behind the importation of the poisonous

skin meat and to stop its sale in all markets in the state.

He said, “The state government through the Veterinary Services Directorate has commenced sensitization campaign to the

local and urban markets, because it is imperative that we talk to people so that they will watch out for the toxic meat which according to reports is being imported into the country from Europe."

Bayelsa is PDP state —ELDERS

By Samuel Oyadongha

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ENAGOA—A group of Bayelsa elders under the aegis of Bayelsa Development Forum, yesterday, said that the state remains a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, state and stronghold.

The elders' position followed the outcome of the general elections in the state, where the PDP clearly showed it had no opposition in the state.

The group in a statement in Yenagoa by its Chairman, Chief

Thompson Okorotie, also lauded the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and security agencies for their high level of service delivery in the conduct of the state House of Assembly election in the state.

BDF said: “We are happy with the violence-free elections conducted under free, fair and credible atmosphere throughout Bayelsa State. We commend the leadership quality of Governor Seriake Dickson and his deputy John Jonah, who was the chairman of the Central

tribunal to declare that the APC candidate was not duly elected by majority of the lawful votes cast on March 28, 2015 National Assembly elections.

He is further contending that the APC candidate returned unlawful thump printed votes from his community in Unemenekhua, ward 9 unit 1,2,3 and Aiyetoro in company of security agents, adding that he submitted the same himself at local government area collation centre.

Bankole, who expressed firm belief that the tribunal would do justice in the matter, is also praying the tribunal to declare him winner of the election.

According to the petitioner: “The APC candidate, deep down his heart, knew that I defeated him at the poll. I have no doubt that the tribunal is made up of a team of tested professionals who will not only promote the rule of law, but will also seek to advance the frontiers of good democratic processes in Nigeria. Hence, my complete trust and belief that my mandate will be returned to me as expressly and as timely as possible.”

Ndokwa youths urge support for Okowa's govt

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DOKWA Youth N a t i o n a l Vanguard, NYNV, has tasked Deltans irrespective of their political parties, ethnic nationalities and religions, to support the governor-elect, Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa, when he assumes office next month.

National President of NYNV, Ozegbe Adoh, said that since the electoral process was flawless and devoid of rancour, citizens of the state should continue in the same vein when Dr. Okowa commences his tenure in office.

According to Adoh, Okowa did not win on the platform of tribe and religion but rather on the goodwill of the people who affirmed that they prefer him to lead them in the next four years.

He congratulated the winners of various elective positions in the just concluded elections in Delta State.

DTHA member-elect thanks Ika South voters

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HE member-elect for Ika South constituency in Delta State House of Assembly, Mr. Festus Okoh, has thanked his constituents for voting for him in the just concluded state House of Assembly election.

Addressing a large number of constituents, who trooped to his residence in Agbor-Obi shortly after he was declared winner, Okoh, who was elected on the platform of Accord Party, said he was overwhelmed by his choice as the new legislator for the area in the state House of Assembly.

He dedicated his success at the poll to every indigene of Ika South Local Government Area and promised to provide effective representation to the constituents.

He said: “No matter the contest that we engage in from time to time, the fact that we are the same people with a common root, common aspiration and vision will spur me to work for everyone and attract development to the entire area not minding which party one belongs to."

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015—13

Delta Assembly threatens to arrest commissioners over land allocation

By Festus Ahon

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SABA—DELTA State House of Assembly has threatened to order the arrest of immediate past and current Commissioners for Lands, Survey and Urban Development, Sir Patrick Ferife and Mr Misan Ukubeyinje, for failing to honour its invitation to explain details of allocation of land in the state in the last four years.

Secretary of the House Committee, Judith Nwaka, had in separate letters addressed to the two men, invited them to appear before the adhoc committee last Friday, April 24, to explain details of allocations of lands in the state in the past four years, but they sent representatives.

Angered by their refusal to appear in person, Chairman of the five-member adhoc committee, Sam Obi, restated that the House would not hesitate to bring the two men in handcuffs should they fail to appear before it today.

The commissioners, Ukubeyinje and Ferife are expected to appear with some officials of the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Urban Development with all relevant documents in 15 copies that would assist the committee in its investigation.

Obi described as sad and disrespectful, the refusal of the duo to appear before the committee last Friday and expressed displeasure over the attitude of the two men.

He said: “The House will not fail to take certain legal means to make the two commissioners appear in person before the committee if it finds out that their actions were deliberate. If anyone invited by the House fails to come voluntarily, he or she will come in handcuffs.

“I, therefore, direct that the meeting be rescheduled for Monday, April 27. The Secretary of the committee will do another letter inviting the two commissioners to appear in person before the committee at 10 o’clock in the morning,”

he added.

Flanked by three other members of the committee,

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B U J A — EXPULSION hammer is now dangling over Senator Emmanuel Paulker representing Bayelsa Central on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, less than five weeks to the end of the senenth Senate as the state chapter of the PDP has set a panel to investigate him and other party leaders in the state over alleged anti-party activities in the last general elections.

But some members of the PDP who have expressed their anger over the development have cautioned against the move, saying it could affect the party in the 2016 governorship election.

Staging a protest in Abuja over the moves to axe Paulker and other PDP leaders from the party, the angry PDP group said if the plan was not stopped, it could worsen the chances of the PDP in the 2016 election.

The protesters, operating under the umbrella of Save Bayelsa PDP Forum, SBPF, who later addressed journalists said that what was needed in the party was harmony among party members and not disunity.

C M Y K

The leader of the forum Pere Time Newman, drew attention of the national leadership of the PDP to what he called unhealthy developments in Bayelsa PDP. Newman disclosed that the state chapter of the party

on Tuesday set up a panel headed by the state deputy governor, to investigate allegations of anti-party activities against Paulker particularly as they affected the performance of the party in the last elections and submit its report in two weeks.

A-Ibom councillors fault election observer's report

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HE Conference of Akwa Ibom Councillors, under the aegis of The Deciders, have taken a swipe at the European Observer Mission, EOM, over its report on the conduct of elections in Akwa Ibom State.

In a communique issued at the end of its meeting in Uyo by all members of the group, the councillors representing the 329 Wards in the state, frowned at the European observer team arguing that the minor incidences of violence in one or two spots in the entire state, did not warrant a blanket classification by the EOM team.

Commending the Independent National Electoral Commission,

the committee was not out to witch hunt anybody but to right perceived wrongs.

VISIT: National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress(APC) Chief John Odigie Oyegun (middle) flanked on the left by factional leader of Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, Chief Tuesday Onoge and Mr. Festus Keyamo, and on the right by Olorogun O'tega Emerhor, Delta State APC governorship candidate in the just concluded election and Chief Efeduma, during a courtesy call on Oyegun in Abuja.

BAYELSA PDP CRISIS: Senator faces probe

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

Martin Okonta, also a former Speaker, Pat Ajudua and Joseph Oshevire, Obi said

INEC, for the conduct of credible and fair elections in Nigeria, especially, in the April 11, 2015 governorship and House of Assembly polls in the state, the councillors also thanked their teeming constituents for coming out and voting en-masse for the candidates of their choice in the exercise.

The councillors scored the security agencies high for ensuring peaceful and orderly elections across the various polling units and wards in the state and declared their acceptance of the results as declared by INEC as being a true reflection of the wishes of the electorate in Akwa Ibom State.

14—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

2015 Polls: PDP to sanction members for anti-party activities

By Henry Umoru

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BUJA— AFTER a post-mortem of March 28 and April 11 general elections where it lost the Presidency to the Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has concluded plans to sanction its members who allegedly indulged in anti-party activities that contributed to its defeat.

The ruling party which controlled the Presidency and the House of Representatives and the Senate for 16 years since 1999, did not only suffer presidential defeat, but also lost in its traditional states of Plateau, Niger, Kaduna, Benue, Bauchi and Jigawa.

It also became an opposition party in the Senate with 46 senators, while the APC has 60 senators, same applies to the House of Representatives.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja, weekend, Deputy Majority Leader, House of Representatives, Mr Leo Ogor, said the party had taken the decision to deal with errant members who contributed to its defeat, against the backdrop that they pretended to be working for the PDP, whereas they were working for the APC to the detriment of the party.

Ogor, who represents Isoko North/ Isoko South Federal Constituency of Delta State in the House of Representatives, noted that the move was part of measures put in place by PDP to sanitise the party as well as reposition it.

He said those who would not be punished by the party would be those the party was unable to establish a genuine case against them.

He said: “As a party we have a constitution and definitely if you want to be a party member you must know that the party is supreme. If it can be established, but we would never compromise the principle of fair hearing. ‘’If it can be established and proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mr. A. or Mr. B worked

against the party, then I think the party would take the necessary decision in respect of that particular subject.

“But for now, what we want to look at is what is before us: why we failed

so woefully, how do we address this issue, how do we take this party to a higher realm rather than for some people to start calling for the disintegration of our party.”

Court rules on contempt charge against Okonjo-Iweala, June 3

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

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BUJA— JUSTICE Abdul Kafarati of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has fixed June 3 to deliver ruling on contempt charge against the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The minister was accused of disobeying a court order that had on February 25, 2014, directed her to release to a civil society group, Centre for Social Justice, CSJ, details of statutory transfers in the 2013 budget to six Federal Government’s agencies.

The six agencies that the court directed the Finance Minister to reveal their statutory transfer details in the 2013 budget include National Judicial Council, NJC; N i g e r - D e l t a D e v e l o p m e n t Commission, NNDC; Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC; National Assembly; Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and National Human Rights Commission, NHRC.

Following alleged refusal of Dr. OkonjoIweala to comply with the court order, the applicants, CSJ, through its lawyer, Mr. Kingsley Nnajika, filed a Form-49, which is a motion for committal of the Finance Minister to prison for contempt.

The group told the court that despite that she was served with a copy of the substantive judgment and the enrolled orders, Dr Okonjo-Iweala declined to obey the judgment, forcing the applicant to serve her the initial Form48 (notice of consequence of disobedience of court orders) before subsequently filling a Form-49 (motion for order of committal) against her.

CSJ had sued the minister upon her refusal to honour its request, made under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. In his judgment in the suit on February 25, 2014, Justice Abdulkadir Abdulkafarati upheld CSJ’s claim and ordered the minister to, among others, supply the information requested by the applicant.

Tony Momoh turns 76 today

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AWYER and journalist, Mr. Tony Momoh, turns 76 years today. Tony was born into the Momoh royal family of Auchi, Edo State on April 27, 1939 as the 165th child of King Momoh the First.

He was employed in the Daily Times as a Sub Editor in 1962. From there, he left to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) to read Mass Communication which he later completed at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) because of the civil car in the country at that time. He also read law at UNILAG and was called to the Bar in 1975.

He occupied various editorial and administrative positions in the Daily

Times before he was appointed a minister in 1986.

He was Secretary and later President, Nigerian Guild of Editors, as well as Chairman, National Registration Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists.

Momoh has also served on the Boards of Nigeria Airways, the Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA), the Nigerian Press Council and African Refugees Foundation. He is a fellow of the Commonwealth Journalists Association and the Nigerian Guild of Editors.

He is married to Janet and they are blessed with four children.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015—15

Primate Okoh urges Gen Buhari to ignore party defectors

By Chimaobi Nwaiwu

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RCHBISHOP Metropolitan and Primate of Anglican Church of Nigeria, Most Revd Nicholas Okoh, yesterday, called on President- elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, not to give any politician defecting from his party to join All Progressives Congress, APC, any position in his government, describing such people as lacking in credibility.

He said,“If I were the Presidentelect, I will not give them anything because they are not people to be trusted. They lack credibility, they are people who are destroying the country, and they did not work for the party so why are they joining the party now."

Archibishop Okoh, who spoke at All Saints Cathedral, Onitsha, Anambra State, shortly after the consecration of three Bishops, said: “The administration is a new one, it has set its programmes and the person who needs advice is not the new government but Nigerians. They need the cooperation of Nigerians to make their programmes succeed, so we ask Nigerians to please cooperate with them in our own interest, because if we cooperate they will do good work but if we don’t, they cannot do anything."

He urged the incoming

Ukwa Ngwa professionals congratulate Ikpeazu

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LEADING organisation in Ukwa Ngwa nation, the Ukwa Ngwa Professionals, has congratulated Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, following his victory in Abia State governorship polls, which were concluded yesterday.

In a statement by Chief Theo Nkire, the group described Ikpeazu’s success at the polls as "the victory of light over darkness; the victory of truth over falsehood, a victory for fairness, equity and justice "We salute you, Dr. Ikpeazu, for your uncommon candour in the face of all provocation. We salute all Abia people for their ability to decipher the truth from falsehood and their decision to stand by the truth at all times. We salute you in particular, Chief Theodore Orji, the outgoing Governor of Abia State for keeping faith with the Ukwa Ngwa people and for standing by us to the end. We shall never forget."

The group urged all Abia people and friends of the state to join hands with Ikpeazu as he grapples with the gargantuan problem of moving Abia State to its pride of place.

government to ensure it kept to its campaign promises, stressing, “We know no government can touch everything in the comprehensiveness of human life, so they cannot do everything, it is the duty of the incoming government to study those areas, particularly the embodiment of their campaign promises. I believe it was the manifesto that enabled them win, so they should look at it and see that they implement it.”

Archbishop Okoh, while consecrating the three Bishops,

told them to “be shepherd and not a wolf to the flock of Christ, feed them and do not devour them, seek the lost, uphold the weak, restore health to the sick, lift the down trodden, ensure discipline but forget not mercy, be so merciful and be not too remiss.”

He thanked the governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano, for hosting and accommodating them, adding that the governor was committed to neutralizing the relationship

between the Roman Catholics and the Anglicans Church in Anambra State.

Governor Willie Obiano, on the occasion, expressed happiness for attending the occasion, saying it was the first time he was witnessing the consecration of three bishops at the same time. “You must not exploit the but grow the flock; you must be honest with them if you want them to respect and obey you and above all be compassionate with them,” he said.

Ihedioha describes the gov result as a sham

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EPUTY Speaker of the House of Representatives and Imo State gubernatorial candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, has expressed serious reservation that despite instances of identified electoral malpractices, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, went ahead to declare the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate as the winner.

Ihedioha stated this, yesterday, while reacting to the declaration of Chief Rochas Okorocha as winner of the governorship poll in the state.

He said he was not happy that INEC released the result, in spite of instances of identified electoral malpractices, including the arrest of over 25 Imo State INEC staff who conspired with the opposition to manipulate and change results of the elections already declared in favour of the PDP.

Ihedioha expressed anger at the manner the electoral umpire treated the public confession of an INEC Returning Officer who was forced under gunpoint to declare false results in favour of the APC in the gubernatorial election.

He recalled that INEC went ahead with the release of the result, despite several arrests of fully armed men impersonating police officers and recorded inducement of INEC staff at Government House, Owerri, on the eve of the election as captured in photographs, audio and video recordings by local and international observers.

W h i l e recalling that in spite of p r o v e n widespread incidents of swapping of

Abia gov poll: APGA agent questions authenticity of Obingwa result

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MUAHIA—Chief Ahamdi Nweke, the agent of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in the supplementary elections in Abia, has questioned the authenticity of the result from Obingwa Local Government Area.

Raising objections to the results of Saturday’s re-run election in nine LGAs, Nweke said that the Obingwa result sheet bore the stamp of Umuahia LGA. The result showed that PDP polled 82,240 votes as against 1,952 scored by APGA. Nweke pleaded with the Returning Officer,

Prof. Benjamin Ozumba, to “take a look at the result sheet, which is with you here,"adding, “All I am asking is for the returning officer to look at the result sheet from Obingwa in the presence of the two INEC national commissioners and commissioners of police. ''The result sheet bears the stamp of Umuahia, which is in another senatorial district; please show it for the world to see,” Nweke, a legal practitioner, said.He also protested the result from Osisioma polling area, saying that the figures in the results sheet were at variance with the results from the polling units.

PDP votes in fabour of APC, all of which eroded the validity and credibility of the exercise, INEC had gone ahead to declare the APC candidate winner, he said: “As a democrat and law abiding citizen, I wish to acknowledge the declaration of the results by INEC.” Ihedioha said he would study the details of the results announced very carefully and communicate his position in the near future.

He urged Imo people to maintain the peace and keep the dream of rebuilding the state alive.

I was never arrested —Uzodinma

By Evelyn Usman

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ENATOR Hope Uzodinma representing Imo West Senatorial District of Imo State, yesterday, said he was never arrested over alleged electoral malpractices during the just concluded Imo State governorship and House of Assembly re-run elections.

He, however, cautioned politicians to desist from tarnishing the reputation of their opponents in the name of playing politics. Uzodinma who was reacting to report of his alleged arrest alongside some members of his family in his country home, advised politicians to uphold the interest of the country as smearing their opponents names would not help the country's democracy to thrive .

Explaining what transpired on the election day, Uzodinma said APC thugs and the party’s agents attempted to snatch some ballot boxes from Oru East and Oru West which were the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s strongholds under his leadership in the state.

16—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

Election monitors flay conduct of military in Imo supplementary poll

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

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BUJA—A coalition of 60 Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, involved in monitoring elections in Nigeria, yesterday, decried what it described as the brutish and unprofessional conduct of military men deployed for Saturday's supplementary election in Imo State.

In a statement it issued in Abuja yesterday, the coalition, which sent observers to monitor the supplementary governorship elections in Abia, Imo and Taraba states on Saturday, said the involvement of the military in policing elections in Nigeria must be situated within a strict protocol of rules of engagement.

It noted that most of the military men that participated in the electoral process in Imo State had no name tags, a situation it said made it difficult to identify them.

It said: “There was sufficient security presence in Abia, Taraba and Imo States. The military

personnel deployed in Imo State were overly aggressive. ‘’They detained and restricted the access of domestic accredited observers and media personnel to polling unit across the three senatorial zones.

“It is important to note that military personnel across the three senatorial zones where the election held in Imo State had no name tags making it difficult to identify officers. ‘’One of the cars used by the officers had the following registration details NA 02234.”

It harped on the need to develop election protocols and training of military personnel for subsequent elections.

Besides, the CSOs maintained that appointment, control and

oversight activities of Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, including their relationship with the national headquarters of INEC, must be reviewed with a view to finding a balance that would enhance oversight without undermining state effectiveness.

The group said further: “The current arrangement has proved to be problematic. A lot is still left to the discretion of RECs and that discretion has been abused. ‘’The provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act in this regard will need to be reviewed and reformed.

“Following from the April 11, 2015, governorship elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the governorship elections in Abia,

Imo and Taraba states as inconclusive and scheduled supplementary elections to hold on Saturday, April 25, 2015. ”INEC conducted supplementary governorship elections in the affected states as well as senatorial and Sstates Assembly elections in several of the wtates where elections did not take place due to irregularities. ”In Abia State, supplementary governorship elections were conducted in 276 polling units across nine Local Government Areas. In Taraba State, elections were conducted across 159 polling units in 10 Local Government Areas. Imo State also had elections in 259 polling units across 23 local government areas."

EFCC's documents for forensic reports in alleged oil subsidy theft trial were photocopies —WITNESS

By Bartholomew Madukwe

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Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has been told that documents used in carrying out forensic reports in the trial of alleged oil subsidy theft allegation against Walter Wagbasoma and two others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, were photocopy generated.

Wagbasoma is facing trial alongside Adaoha Ugo-Ndagi, Fakuade Babafemi, a staff of Petroleum Pricing Regulatory Authority, PPPRA, and his firm, Ontario Oil and Gas Limited.

This disclosure was made before Justice Lateefa Okunnu by the defence witness, Raphel Onwuzurigbo, under cross examination by the lead prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN).

According to the witness, Onwuzurigbo relied on photocopy specimen in carrying out scientific analysis of the signature on the document.

“I don’t know the generation of the photocopy of specimen which I used for the scientific analysis," he said.

ANNIVERSARY: From left: Commercial Manager, The Bridge Clinic (TBC), Dr. Ekundayo Omogbeehin; Client Services Manager, Mrs. Promise Abaribe; Consultant Gynecologist, Dr. Tayo Abiara and Head, Nursing Services, Mrs. Ebele Onwuagbaizu, at the company’s 16th Anniversary Children’s celebration in Lagos.

APC's call for cancellation of Enugu gov poll baseless —GROUP

By Francis Igata

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NUGU—A group, Enugu-042 Peoples Assembly, EPA,yesterday, dismissed calls by the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate, Okey Ezea, seeking the cancellation of the April 11 poll alleging that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, colluded to ensure Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s victory.

EPA's stand followed outburst by Ezea, against the PDP, INEC and security agencies for allegedly manipulating the process in favour of the PDP candidate.

In a statement jointly signed by EPA chairman and secretary,Oliver Nweke and Innocent Ozoemena respectively,the group said: “Calls by Ezea seeking the cancellation of a free, fair and credible poll which we monitored in the company of international observers, media and security agencies, are baseless and unfounded."

Enugu East senatorial poll: Nnamani petitions election tribunal

By Francis Igata

Okorocha thanks Imo people

By Chidi Nkwopara

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WERRI—IMO State governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, said yesterday, that he was dedicating his victory at the polls to the citizenry who remained the pillars of his success.

Chief Okorocha stated this while speaking at a thanksgiving service held at Government House Chapel, Owerri.

“I dedicate my victory at the polls to the entire Imo people.

They are the main victors as they had stood by me in the last four years and never wavered in their support for my administration,” Okorocha said.

The governor said he had always asked God to bless him so he could bless others, adding that he also asked God to give him leadership position to positively impact on the people.

While repeating that the victory was for Imo people, the governor also noted that he had redeemed his campaign promises.

“I have redeemed my campaign promises. Now, my people can enjoy free education. Kidnapping is now a thing of the past. ‘’Now, it is time for job creation, establishment of industries and employment for the unemployed,” the governor added.

Chief Okorocha disclosed that the first beneficiaries of the job placement would be the 25,000 youths waiting for employment, adding that 1,000 others would be moved to Turkey for industrial training.

He appealed to his opponents not to see him as an enemy but rather urged them to join hands with him to build the state.

“I suffered a lot of campaign of calumny and hate speeches from my opponents but one thing they would never say is that I did not work. ‘’Now, I am the governor of the APC, APGA and PDP. So, I call on them to join hands with me to build this state,” Okorocha pleaded.

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NUGU—FORMER governor of Enugu State, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani, has petitioned the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Enugu challenging the declaration of Senator Gil Nnaji of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, as the winner of Enugu East senatorial election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Confirming the development in a press statement in Enugu, state chairman of People for Democratic Change, PDC, Mr. Sunday Ani, said the action was necessitated by the w i d e s p r e a d irregularities that characterised the election.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015—17

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18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

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WO ignored factors that emphasise governments’ insensitivity to Nigerians – overwhelmingly unacceptable sanitary conditions and the abysmally low levels of access to medical services – have helped in the ricocheting cholera outbreaks.

Contaminated water, unhygienic handling and poor food preparations are among factors that aid rapid spread of cholera. Its high mortality rate is evidenced by the number of States reporting deaths.

Access to hygienic drinking water in Nigeria is limited by low investment in the sector, drought, and poor plan that have seen demand for water outstrip supply for years. Cholera benefits from these, and Nigeria’s public health system that is totally reactive.

The health authorities pay minimal attention to preventive medicine. Even when they have advance notice of epidemics, they ignore them.

Cholera is not a tropical disease. Low standards of hygiene and quality of drinking water make it prevalent in the tropics, parts of Asia and the Americas. In the 19th century, cholera outbreaks were common in the United States of America and Britain. Improvements in health standards, particularly drinking water and the availability of flushing

Cholera – A Country’s Shame toilets have distanced human waste – a great source of the disease – from water sources and made cholera a rarity in those regions.

Areas where flooding destroys toilet facilities and inject their contents into public water sources are prone to cholera. It is little wonder that the disease has facility to spread in Nigeria. In many places, water for domestic use is contaminated by poorly disposed human wastes.

Yet cholera, according to the World Health Organisation, WHO, “is an easily treatable disease.

The prompt administration of oral rehydration salts to replace lost fluids nearly always results in cure.

In especially severe cases, intravenous administration of fluids may be required to save the patient’s life. Left untreated, however, cholera can kill quickly following the onset of symptoms.”

Water management is critical. While routine preaching about use of safe water persists, the reality is that millions of Nigerians lack access to clean water. It is advisable that they boil their water, and avoid ice blocks that could have been made with water from doubtful sources. The cholera bacteria are known to survive the freezing process. Food needs to be cooked properly and human waste disposed in ways that would not contaminate water sources.

The good, old benefits of washing hands after using toilets are still important to curtail the spread of cholera and other diseases. Governments, however, must ask themselves how they spend the billions of Naira they budget for health annually. It is a shame that in the 21st Century, hundreds of our people die from preventable causes while governments tally the numbers and gleefully announce the statistics.

OPINION Revisiting electronic voting

By Alex Atawa

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OW that the elections are over, we should be looking ahead to 2019 general elections. However, before that major election, we must first deal with Bayelsa governorship election in August 2015 and Kogi in December 2015. These two States promise to be battlegrounds for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the new opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Subsequent to these, Edo, Ekiti, Osun, Ondo and Anambra States will pick their respective governors. Governorship elections were held on April 11, 2015 in the following twenty-nine (29) States of the federation: Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

Some years back, I wrote a piece titled “Electronic Voting for dogs and baboons” based on the controversial statement attributed to the now President-elect. In that piece, I inquired as follows” “What puzzles a lot of us and the countless courageous elderly village women, who stood in line and withstood the elements, to register to vote in early 2011, was why the same technology/methodology (biometrics) was not employed for the

actual voting a few months later? The unknown answer to the villagers is that Section 52(1) (b) of the 2010 Electoral Act says: “The use of electronic voting machine for the time being is prohibited.”

One wonders if the same honourable members of the National Assembly who passed the Electoral Bill into law were not the same one that approved the huge sums of money for the DDC machines used in the voters registration exercise. Did it not occur to them that they were giving to Nigerians with one hand while taking away with the other hand?”

The deliberate speed some lawmakers used to authorise use of PVCs could be applied to allow electronic voting, unless there are other ulterior motives for maintaining the status quo

In all humility, it will seem as though INEC heard me partially because in the buildup to the 2015 elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), decided to utilise the pseudo-electronic voting by using the Smart card Readers (SCR) to accredit voters who had Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs). The PVCs and SCRs were froth with problems, based on inadequate training of ad hoc staffs, but more importantly malfunctioning of the SCR. Assuming the ubiquitous problems with the SCRs are resolved, it now begs the question, why can’t we have complete electronic voting? Pessimists will postulate that those who are afraid of losing elections are the ones against electronic voting.

Otherwise, if you are sure of getting the people’s mandate, you will support electronic voting. If as we approach 2019 and we really seek to move forward in our democracy, then we must support complete and full electronic voting.

Also, with electronic voting, we will no longer need our bifurcated electoral process. In other words, accreditation and actual voting will seamlessly appear contemporaneous.

Furthermore, reporting of results will be instantaneous.

An unbiased observer will admit that delayed collating and release of results encourage fraud. The gap in time makes it susceptible to introduction of fraud and its twin brother called rigging.

Most civilised nations do not have segmented voting process. In fact, even those that have hailed our use of card

readers are miffed by the two-prong voting system of Nigeria. In a recent story in Vital New titled “Separation of Accreditation, Voting Periods Will Reduce Fraud”, we read that “the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has explained his rationale and preference for separating accreditation from voting, especially with the introduction of the controversial PVC readers. He stated that the separation of accreditation and voting periods reduced fraud in the voting process, including double voting.” I will respectfully disagree.

The lapse of time allows for manipulation of numbers. Another benefit of electronic voting is that it will make it difficult, if not impossible, to inflate votes.

Those questionable “Sokoto votes” or riverine numbers will be a thing of the past.

The 8th National Assembly will have a majority of APC lawmakers. If they are really progressive, they should progress towards sponsoring a bill to allow electronic voting. The deliberate speed some lawmakers used to authorise use of PVCs could be applied to allow electronic voting, unless there are other ulterior motives for maintaining the status quo.

In conclusion, Nigeria needs electronic voting. Electronic voting, for all intents and purposes, will be a panacea to election fraud.

•Rev. Atawa, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Asaba, Delta State.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 —19 Send Opinions & Letters to: opinions1234@yahoo.com

Clueless on Jonathan and Buhari

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T struck like a thunderbolt from the blues. It was an unexpected goal; against the run of play. One second, Suleiman Abba was Inspector General of Police (IGP) the next, he was gone with the wind in what can be called Hurricane Jonathan. It was the second time in two weeks President Goodluck Jonathan was making unexpected moves, leaving most of us clueless.

The other was declining to sign the constitutional amendments into law. The first reactions in the media were that the sack of Mr. Abba was “suspicious” a “political vendetta” and for “no justifiable reasons” So how can a president said to be “clueless” make such baffling moves, leaving the political class speechless? Not many expect the quiet Jonathan to continue asserting his mandate; some expect him to have sought the refuge of his village. One of the first reactions to the sack came from Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, the IGP under the Abacha and Abdulsalam military regimes. The retired cop concluded that the

sack was “suspicious” because Mr. Abba is from the North. I had not realized that, and I am sure President Jonathan who picked Abba above his seniors (who were then forced to retire) had not known that Abba is from the North. Until now, I did not know that Abba was the IGP of the North which would make it “suspicious” for a President from the South to sack him.

A second reason Alhaji Coomassie gave is that if the sack is linked to the general elections, President Jonathan should not have removed Abba. I concede it is the prerogative of a retired cop to engage in speculations. A third reason given by the elder Statesman is that the sack did not follow due process. I agree with him; rather than President Jonathan exercising his prerogative to appoint and fire the IGP, he should have subjected it to a national referendum.

There are other commentators who have called on Presidentelect, General Muhammadu Buhari to reject Abba’s sack. I am sure there is a lot of logic in this;

the President-elect can over-rule the incumbent President! The only weakness that I see in this brilliant call, is that the constitution does not permit two presidents to govern the country simultaneously; Jonathan remains the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Republic until he hands over on May 29. After General Buhari is sworn in, he can recall and reinstate all the IGPs and military chiefs Jonathan had removed.

That will be his prerogative.

Just as many of us are clueless on Jonathan, so are we on Buhari. He is no messiah, but many insist he is. Buhari reminds me of the chief priest in the play, Kinjeketile by Tanzanian playwright, Ebrahim. N. Hussein, who gave birth to a word, and the word gets bigger and bigger, until it becomes far bigger than the priest himself. Alarmed by the huge expectations of his supporters, Buhari has had to tell them not to expect miracles. But many of them insist on miracles.

After General Buhari is sworn in, he can recall and reinstate all the IGPs and military chiefs Jonathan had removed. That will be his prerogative

Dialectic of Okunbo’s politics and ethnic consideration

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By Francis Ehigiator

HE 2015 general elections have come and gone, but the ripples of victory and defeat that they have generated across the country have been so profound that they are yet to settle. For the first time in the annals of presidential elections in Nigeria, an incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan, was defeated by the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari.

This has forced spontaneous realignments across the political landscape with a good number of politicians switching platforms. While a few gladiators dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the APC and vice versa before the March 28, 2015 presidential election, there was a gale of movements from the PDP to the APC after the defeat of President Jonathan in that election. Some founding leaders and members of the PDP who had benefited so much from the party in terms of elective and appointive positions left the party without as much as a whimper.

With eyes, possibly fixed on the sharing of national cake in Abuja, principles took a whimsical flight. It was all a parade of absurdities and ideological somersaults for those who claimed to be guided by some form of political ideology.

The development left those (especially businessmen) who have hugely invested their hard-earned resources in the development of the PDP and in support of elective office-seeking members, without getting anything in return, in a reasonable

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position to undertake a post-mortem and reach a decision on what next step to take.

This is the position in which the political drum major and PDP leader in Edo South senatorial zone, where I come from, Captain Hosa Okunbo, found himself immediately after the March 28, 2015 Presidential and National Assembly elections. I am aware that Okunbo is a solid businessman in the billionaire league; he is, according to media reports, a good friend of President Goodluck Jonathan. This perhaps explains his decision to withdraw his support for the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Edo state in 2011 and give the same to President Jonathan and his PDP. Okunbo had stuck out his neck for his friend (Jonathan) in the March 28 presidential election in spite of pressure from many of his kinsmen and women to act like typical businessmen who would sponsor candidates of both the ruling and the opposition parties in the same

Okunbo, from all indications, has keyed into these realities by supporting the electoral victory of Binis into the State Legislature on the APC platform

I am sorry, but those who voted for Buhari in expectation of miracles are mistaken. The fact that the Vice President-elect is a serving pastor, does not mean Nigeria is now in in the ‘Atmosphere of Miracles’ Those who expect miracles should, in the first place have drafted Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and Pastor Enoch Adeboye on the ballot. Surely, a Sheik Ahmad Gumi as Presidential Candidate and Pastor Temitope Joshua as running mate or vice versa, would have been an ideal ticket. Then we can have miracles on per second billing in a payas-you-go system. In any case, why did such people over the years, reject the candidature of my brother, Pastor Kris Okotie even when he repeatedly told Nigerians that God had revealed to him he would win those elections? Why is it now that we are demanding miracles?

To show how clueless some of us can be, I hear it said all over the place that we have comparatively done very well because we have a nascent democracy. How can that be when we have been having general elections since the 1950s? We should not accept such insult. But why do so many people insist that our electoral process is still in its infancy? I can make some guess.

First, twenty nine years of military rule has blinded us to the fact that we had over fifteen years of elections before the first coup in January, 1966.

A second guess is that seeing long queues of children voting, such people assume that our

election(s). He had chosen to act differently, preferring to publicly identify with the PDP and thus expose himself to the vagaries of the tension of political goals and objectives.

His investments in the actualisation of the second term aspiration of Jonathan yielded results in Edo state. He was able to deliver his Edo south zone with the highest voting population to Jonathan. He won three of the four House of Representatives seats fair and square while the APC won the fourth in a controversial manner. Overall, Jonathan won Edo state but the victory was not enough to give him a countrywide presidential election victory.

The new realities that crystallised after the March 28 presidential election were a mixed bag of sort: Jonathan and PDP lost the Federal Government; the PDP is not the government in control of Edo state; and interestingly, a Bini son, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, is National Chairman of the APC, whose party has just won the presidential election. What this presents to all Binis, although those in the PDP may not like it, is that their own is holding the most powerful and influential position in the ruling party whose government will swing into action on May 29, this year.

This development and other forwardlooking considerations coalesced into the strategic move by Okunbo to review his political beliefs, decide to support his brother, Odigie-Oyegun, to be able to win all the State House of Assembly seats in the April 11 elections. If Okunbo had wanted to go the whole hog, he would have won the seats for the PDP, but the question is, of what benefits will that be for a Bini ethnic nation in desperate quest for national accommodation and integration? He would have worked against the very objective of Bini

electoral process must also be in its infancy. They fail to understand that we are so democratic, open-minded and children-friendly; that we are just catching them young. After all, these are the leaders and voters of tomorrow.

I watched a report/documentary on Silver Bird Television on underage voting, and was full of commendation and admiration for the electoral staff the way they handled the children. First, realizing that these special voters, (some looking like nine or ten year olds) can be rowdy, special queues were created for them.

Then card readers patiently put them through the identification process before voting. This is good for our electoral process because in the next five-eight years when these children are eligible to vote, their invaluable experience as underage voters, will give them a head start over their contemporaries.

On the social media, I read a brilliant justification or argument for underage voting; it is more democratic than a single adult thumb printing scores of ballot papers. As a Nigerian, I am happy to be swept along by the flood of accolades that have poured in from the international community. The world had not expected us to pull off these elections without much violence and bloodbath. Don’t forget that the prophetic Americans had spied into the future and announced that Nigeria will break up in 2015. But here we are, united and strong. Proudly Nigerian!

development, liberation and transformation that he has over the years espoused, and for which he has exposed himself politically for possible “vicious attacks”. Now, an APC government is stepping in the saddle on May 29 while an APC government is already in place in Edo state. So, what else is there to fight for other than for all Binis to align with the present realities?

Okunbo, from all indications, has keyed into these realities by supporting the electoral victory of Binis into the State Legislature on the APC platform. Indeed, with the role he played in the April 11 State House of Assembly elections, I believe it is time Okunbo rose above political differences to strengthen his commitment to the liberation and transformation of Benin ethnic nationality in the context of national politics.

Having staked his reputation and business interests by not only exposing himself to politics but also taking up the position of PDP Edo South Senatorial Leader for the sole purpose of offering a strong voice and representation to the Binis (who has been largely short-changed and marginalised in terms of strategic appointments) in the Federal Government, all Binis irrespective of their political affiliations and tendencies should rally round Okunbo to accelerate the actualisation of the Benin agenda for rapid integration, accommodation, infrastructure development and transformation.

This is the only workable and viable option that the Binis must embrace under the fast-consolidating leadership of Okunbo working in concert with OdigieOyegun and other well-meaning Bini leaders.

•Mr. Ehigiator, a public affairs commentator, wrote from Benin City, Edo State.

20—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

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ITH a month to the inauguration of an All Progressives Congress (APC) federal government, the street partying to celebrate the sweeping success of the nation’s most successful opposition party in history is winding down. Now is the time to tackle the challenges of success. The question on our lips today is: can the APC survive the two tests of its manhood which lie in wait for it? Between May 29th 2015 and May 28th 2019, the incoming ruling party will be sorely tested with two challenges: (1) power sharing at the outset of its reign and (2) the struggle for the party’s tickets towards the end of the tenure. How will the APC fare?

The party’s supporters and enthusiasts will answer right away by saying the APC has already conquered the biggest obstacles of forging a successful merger of parties and unseating the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). But it needs to be noted here that capturing power is one thing, keeping it is yet another. PDP collapsed because it could no longer maintain the internal cohesion necessary for continuation as a ruling party. It had little or no problem with power sharing, but the integrity could no longer be maintained in the struggle for its tickets in 2015. If the APC wishes to last long as a ruling party, these two elements must be satisfied, in addition to good governance, of course.

There are some danger signals that, once you see them manifesting within the APC, then you can start a mental countdown to the end of its reign. One of them is political greed. That was one of the factors that led PDP to failure. The Party thought that the larger its size the more invincible it would be at the polls.

This was the factor that made former President Olusegun Obasanjo to ensure that the opposition was not allowed to stand on a firm footing. Eventually, many opposition party leaders dumped their parties, jumped into PDP and some of them even got prestigious posts at all levels. PDP was reduced to a free-forall bazaar.

The upshot was that there were too many interests, and once they could not be satisfied, they automatically turned around to constitute internal opposition in the PDP. If you check the history of the PDP as a ruling party, especially at the Centre, it was the PDP National Assembly members that stood in the forefront of opposition against the Executive Branch. The Presidency under Obasanjo fought and changed the leadership of the National Assembly led by its party men. It was PDP Senators that prevented President Obasanjo from

Can Buhari, Tinubu share power? using the constitution amendment of 2004/2006 to grab an extra term of office.

The APC only became a living threat to PDP when five states controlled by the Party moved over to APC. All these were traced to internal power struggles occasioned by too many selfish interests clashing against one another.

Preying on PDP's remains The APC is large enough to stand in the same danger, unless it opts to learn from the foibles of its predecessor in the presidential seat, the PDP. It must resist the temptation of preying on what remains of the PDP. It must also ensure it does not interfere in the affairs of the party. Though a political party is like a church which never rejects new members, it must not give away coveted posts to opportunistic newcomers. In fact, the party should place all

If Buhari is able to carry every section of the country along, not only in the selection of top government officials but also in the distribution of the benefits of good governance, the entire nation will embrace him.

His Party will also benefit

newcomers on probation for at least four years to prove their genuine commitment to the APC before they qualify for its privileges. Giving away plum positions to newcomers will create ill feelings among those who fought and endured for the APC to become the ruling party.

Rather than putting emphasis on increasing its size, the APC will do itself – and our democracy – a favour by firming up party principles and policies and keeping members within its ideological bounds through discipline and internal democracy. The PDP should also pay attention to creating a new ideological character for itself. What we need within the next four years is to able to choose between the party of the Progressives and the Democrats. Solid ideological grounding, not mere ephemeral size, is the only thing that will ensure the longevity of both the APC and PDP. The second issue that will determine APC’s fate as a ruling party is how it manages its ethno-regional differences.

Put it in another way, how it handles the political interests of its principal leaders: President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, and its erstwhile National Leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu. That these two gents were able to forge an alliance that successfully saw off the mighty PDP is a great feat which has become a milestone in the nation’s political history. However, that is where the problem starts.

Right now, the APC is still a gang-up of seventeen states of the old Northern Region and four states of the old West Region, with one vassal state each from the old Eastern Region (Imo, whose fate is still hanging) and old Mid-West (Edo). The PDP has been completely shut down in Northern Nigeria, save for Gombe and Taraba. The APC revolution in Northern Nigeria even put away the issue of “Middle Belt”. The Minorities of the North went with their Hausa/ Fulani Majorities, just as the Southern

Minorities (except Edo) went with their Igbo Majority neighbours. How will four states of the South West cope under the deadweight of seventeen states of the North in the APC? It is more like a master-servant partnership – what a partnership!

How will Tinubu continue to be the “National Leader” of the APC with his power bloc forming such a miserable minority in the partnership? Though it is agreed that Tinubu’s South West made Buhari’s victory possible (just as the South East did for President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011) how will that stand when an all-out power struggle ensues?

This question becomes even more germane when we realise that under our presidential system, the president is the Leader of the ruling party. Buhari is now the Leader of the APC. What becomes of Tinubu, since two captains cannot command one boat?

Buhari and regional supporters A lot will depend on the mental attitude that Buhari and his regional supporters are coming into this dispensation with. If they are coming with the old mindset of Northern domination and Southern dependency, then we are in for a rough ride, just as I have always warned. Will Buhari and his Northern support group resist the temptation of seeing this as a dispensation of the North having “snatched” power back with their might?

Or have they learned from the history of their past attitude which made the idea of the North’s return to power unpopular in the South in the past sixteen years? Has Buhari put aside the mentality of North’s alliance with the West with which he once ran this country along with the late retired Major General Tunde Idiagbon, whereby the entire East and its Minorities were virtually shut out of national relevance?

That was why they refused to vote for him, apart from the President Jonathan factor.

Buhari can still surprise many of his critics by seeing himself not just as Muslim/Arewa president or even as a president of a North and West alliance against the rest of the country. If he is able to carry every section of the country along, not only in the selection of top government officials but also in the distribution of the benefits of good governance, the entire nation will embrace him. His Party will also benefit.

Everything now depends on Buhari.

OPINION What's wrong in Opposition?

By Ben Abhulimen

S

OME years ago, Friday May 14, 1999 , I wrote an article along this line and it was published in Vanguard newspaper. As a result of the present political situation, it is necessary to reflect extensively on the content and spirit thereof, vis avis the current political situation. After much deliberation, one has come to conclusion that our politicians have not changed really in character and actions. However, what is apparent is that in politics change is inevitable and to capture power, any political party or group must remain focused, resilient, consistent and continually strategising in charting its political pathway with vision and ideas.

Secondly, there is nothing wrong in been in opposition. The responsibility to the governed is as much as those in the centre of power. It can be said without equivocation that defection particularly at the eleventh hour of the game in order to avoid being in opposition is unnecessary and disservice to the people.

It is just being clever by half and carries no honour, integrity, credibility in the scheme of things.

Politics is a game of numbers and being a contest, there must be a winner and a loser. It is a game to capture power, derived from the will of the people. It entails the people of like minds aggregating together to wrestle this power. In a broader sense, politics is “the maneuvering for power or advantage within a group or state”. In the process of pursuing this power, any politician or party will certainly find himself or itself on one side of the political divide. However, whatever side of the

delineation, it entails enormous responsibility in a true political practice especially in democratic governance.

How alive are Nigerian politicians to this responsibility? It is a fact of political experience that Nigerian politicians are seriously averse to be in opposition. This is self-evident in the way and manner they jostle for power at all costs. They are so obsessed with the fear of being in the opposition, that they could easily resort to Machiavellian approach to capturing power.

From the view point of history of elections in this country, rigging remains a fundamental issue. It is predicated on the fear of losing power. It has been the bane of the electoral process fromtime past. International observers who were on duty during the recent elections testified to the ugly incidence of electoral malpractices. It is indeed very unfortunate that we have not still learnt any lesson after so many years of conducting elections. It is quite intriguing and ironical to know that it is not only the winner who rig. It involves both the loser and the winner but the loser cries most because he has been outsmarted by the winner.

However, why are our politicians so afraid of been on the opposition bench? The reasons for such fear are not far fetched.

Every politician has the ambition to achieve political set goal and in this wise to grab power and use it to advance his political beliefs and ideals for the good of the people. This remains The country needs the fundamental baseline in strong and the political game plan, qualitative however, what is in practice in Nigeria may be different. opposition to serve It is a fact of history that variety of ends

politicians have used power dangerously and callously in denying their opponents all the good things of the life including fundamental human rights. There have been evidence of the use of state apparatus for oppression, utter discrimination and skewed distribution of amenities and infrastructural developments. The ruling party at the local or regional and federal level had in the past pursued heartlessly, the policy of exclusion or alienation thereby making the opponent irrelevant in the scheme of things. Many tend to scramble more for the spoils of office and self-aggrandisement than renderservices to the electorate. The rise to political power has become the easy way to amass wealth illegally. Consequently, many politicians are propelled to want to be at the centre at all times and by any means. They want to belong and be relevant. They feel seriously threatened at the sideline of political power.

But what is wrong in opposition if a politician is true to his political beliefs and ideology? The late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Anthony Enahoro, late Mallam Aminu Kano and few others were notable politicians who were not dreaded being in opposition and stuck firmly to their political ideology irrespective of the swing in the political pendulum. There is no gainsaying in the fact that late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Mallam Aminu Kano are today even larger in death than when they were alive because of their political and ideological dispositions.

It is, however, an inescapable reality of the time that in the emerging political dispensation, the country needs strong and qualitative opposition to serve variety of ends. *Mr. Abhulimen, a commentator on national issues, wrote from Lagos.

APRIL 27, 2015

BY BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE, ADERONKE ADEYERI, TUNDE OJO, OLACHI USUWA

B

ank customers are divided over the reduction in the amount of foreign exchange that can be accessed for overseas transactions through Naira debit/ credit cards.

Two weeks ago, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reduced the limit on Naira debit card for overseas transactions to $50,000 per person per annum from $150,000. It also reduced the limit for daily withdrawal to $300 per day from $1,200 per day. The reduction is on Naira denominated MasterCard or Visa Card, linked to bank accounts in Nigeria.

A cross section of bank customers who spoke to Financial Vanguard on the policy were however divided on the necessity and impact of the policy on the economy. While some criticised the reduction, saying it would hurt their businesses, others commended the reduction, saying it would help curb wastage of foreign exchange and corruption.

Criticising the new limit, Mr. Chiedu Igwe, an importer said, “The idea of reducing the debit card limit to $50,000 per person per annum is discomforting. I travel out often to get items for my trade and that aside; I spend money on vacations using a Naira debit card. So with this new limit on debit card, how am I going to keep up with my business and personal foreign exchange needs while I am overseas? I wish the implementation of the policy could be re-adjusted if possible to help businessmen like me.

Another businessman, “Mr. Lekan of LakeSide Clothing said, “I am not comfortable with the reduction, because I travel overseas to purchase most of what I sell in my stores. I make use of my debit card for shopping whenever I travel abroad, and I travel more than once in a year.

So this new limit will disrupt my business plans.”

Corroborating these views, Mr. Umaru Hassan, a customer of Diamond Bank, Apapa, said that the reduction in limit is not good for business people, as most of them always travel abroad to purchase

Mixed reactions trail limit on debit cards zBanks commence implementation goods and conduct other business related activities that involves the use of money. “The idea of reducing the limit to $50,000 per person, per annum is an indirect way of reducing their ability to do business”, he said, adding that the CBN should reverse the policy.

On the contrary, veteran producer, director and actor, Prince Jide Kosoko commended the reduction, saying it would help curb the outrageous spending of many Nigerians. He said, “CBN has brought up the policy to redeem the value of the Naira. I know

this will not go well with some Nigerians but the CBN has the power to do it. Many Nigerians travel abroad and spend their annual savings within one month in the name of holidays”.

Similarly, actress Ronke Ojo, commended the reduction saying it is another means of eradicating corruption. “It is obvious that electronic banking has generated some hiccups in the economy.

However, the policy is a means to curb our excesses and eradicate corruption in the country,” she said.

According to Mr. Harrison Owoh, Chief Executive Officer, H.J Trust Bureau De Change, “The reduction in limit would minimise the various abuses associated with the use of Naira debit card overseas, like round tripping. He noted that some people use the card to withdraw dollars abroad at cheaper exchange rate, and then import the dollars and exchange them at higher exchange rate.

Banks commence implementation Meanwhile, banks have commenced implementation of the reduction in limit on Naira debit card Continues on page 22

CONFERENCE - From Left, Senior Adviser on Public -Private Partnership to Oyo State Government, Folake Akinleye, Managing Director, Bank of Industry, Rasheed Olaoluwa, Deputy Governor, Oyo State, Otunba Moses Adeyemo and Executive Director, Small and Medium Enterprises, Bank of Industry, Waheed Olagunju at the Commissioning of Zonal Office, Bank of Industry in Ibadan.

C M Y K

22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

Economy 35 ships laden with fuel, other products, berth in Lagos

T

hirty-five ships are expected to arrive in Lagos Ports with food items, petroleum products and other goods from last week Thursday to May 10, according to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). The NPA said in Lagos that the ships would sail in with general cargo, palm oilein, bulk, sugar, ethanol, bulk gypsum, bulk wheat, bulk fertiliser, bulk rice, second-hand vehicles, petrol and fresh

CONFERENCE - From left: Manaing Director, SKG Pharma, Mr. Okey Akpa; Director, Enterprise Development Centre, PAN African University Lagos, Mr. Peter Bankole; and General Manager, SKG Pharma, Mrs. Pat Iloba, during the company's Trade Partners' conference in Lagos on Thursday.

Mixed reactions trail limit on debit cards Continues from page 22 for overseas transactions by informing their customers about the new limits For example, GTBank in an email message to its customers said, “We write to inform you of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) decision to reduce the Foreign exchange spending limit on Naira MasterCard from $150,000 to $50,000 per annum.

This means that you can spend up to $50,000 in a year using your GTBank Naira MasterCard when abroad (shopping online at foreign stores, ATMs and POS). In addition, the daily cash withdrawal limit for the Naira MasterCard has also been reduced to $300 per day.

Please see below the new limits for both spending using your Naira MasterCard and cash withdrawal abroad”.

Similarly, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), informed its customers via an email message saying, “Dear Customer, the new foreign exchange spending limits on your FCMB card is shown below. This means that when you are abroad, you can only spend up to $50,000 or its equivalent annually (shopping online at foreign stores, ATMs and POS). In addition, the daily cash withdrawal limit for FCMB cards have also been reduced to $300 or its equivalent per day.”

Limit not applicable to Domiciliary Accounts Meanwhile, there are indications that the reduction in limit is being misinterpreted to include use of Naira debit cards for local transactions and, also debit cards linked to Domiciliary accounts.

Indications to this effect emerged from a circular issued by the CBN, Director of Trade and Exchange Department, Mr. Olalekan Gbadamosi. The circular titled, “Clarification on Circular of April 13, 2015. Re: Usage of Naira Denominated Cards Overseas, stated, “It has been observed that some sections of the public are giving different interpretations to the recent circular on the usage of Naira debit denominated debit cards overseas. It has therefore become necessary to provide the following clarifications: For the avoidance of doubt, the circular refers to naira denominated cards (debit and credit) to be used overseas only.

Debit/Credit cards used locally are not affected by this circular.

Debit/Credit cards linked to customers' Domiciliary Account to be used overseas are not also affected. Authorised dealers are to take note and bring this to the attention of their respective customers.”

Deutsche Bank fined record $2.5 billion in rate rigging inquiry

U

.S. and British regulators fined Deutsche Bank $2.5 billion and its British subsidiary pleaded guilty to criminal wire fraud as it became the eighth financial group to settle allegations of rigging interest rate benchmarks.

The record penalty in a seven-year investigation that has shredded the banking industry ’s reputation takes the total fines imposed on some of the world’s top financial institutions to more than $8.5 billion. Twenty-one C M Y K

traders and brokers face criminal charges.

U.S. regulators fined Germany ’s largest bank $2.175 billion and British watchdogs imposed a 227 million pound ($341 million) penalty for its role in a scam to manipulate the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) and its Euribor cousin - together benchmarks for hundreds of trillions of dollars of financial products and loans worldwide.

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the

misconduct involved at least 29 Deutsche Bank individuals including managers, traders and submitters based mainly in London but also in Frankfurt, Tokyo and New York.

It accused Deutsche Bank of inadequate systems and controls, failing to provide timely, accurate information and misleading the UK watchdog by claiming its German regulator BaFin had prevented it from sharing a report, when this was untrue.

fish. It said five ships laden with rice, crude palm oilein and bulk malt had already arrived at the ports waiting to berth. The NPA also indicated that nine other ships had sailed in with petrol.

“Five more ships carrying base oil, kerosene, aviation fuel and diesel are also waiting to berth.

Another 25 ships are currently at the ports, discharging crude palm oilein, bulk rice, buck wheat, general cargo, containers, bulk sugar, bulk gypsum, petrol, bulk gas and kerosene,” it said.

Promasidor delighted with entries for 2015 Quill Awards

P

romasidor Nigeria Limited, makers of Cowbell, Loya, Toptea and Onga and, promoters of the prestigious Quill Awards in Nigeria, has expressed delight at the number and quality of entries submitted so far for this year ’s edition of the awards.

In an interview in Lagos, the company ’s Head of Legal and Public Relations, Mr. Andrew Enahoro, disclosed that with barely a week left for the entries to close, journalists working with national and regional newspapers in the country are still rushing in their entries on a daily basis.

He noted that the trend of the entries received and uploaded since January 29

2015, when the call for entries opened shows that journalists have keen interest in the seven award categories which are Brand Advocate of the year; CSR/Industry Report of the year; Best Photo story of the year; Best Report on Nutrition; Best Report on Children; Education Reporter of the year; and Future Writer of the year.

Enahoro said: “For each of the categories, a winner will emerge. Winners from each of the categories with the exception of the winner of the Best Photo Story of the Year will be given high-end laptops while the winner of the Best Photo Story of the Year will be given a highend camera. The overall winner of all categories will proceed on a four-week certificate course in Journalism at the highly acclaimed Thompson Foundation in the U.K.

British Airways offers summer discounts

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ritish Airways has announced discounts for the coming summer fares in its Club World, World Traveller and World Traveller Plus to a range of worldwide destinations from Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria. The discounts apply to all existing and potential customers of British Airways, who want to get great deals on flights to the United Kingdom, Europe or North America when booked from 16th April to 15th May, 2015 and for outbound travel from 16th April to 30th November, 2015.

With this offer, World Traveller customers can fly to Europe from $257 and to North America from $541.

Customers on the World

Traveller Plus however can fly with $1,585 to North America and those on the Club World can fly from $3,599.

Commenting on the discounts, British Airways, Regional Commercial Manager, West Africa, Kola Olayinka, said the latest offer was in line with the company’s desire to offer great deals to customers desirous of spending as well as celebrating with their family members and friends abroad during the summer period.

Olayinka added, “We are always determined to offer our customers good value for their money and continuously support them with amazing discounts, especially during the summer, when most of them will be travelling outside the country to see their loved ones.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 — 23

T

o ensure that Nigeria’s growth can be wide, inclusive and sustained, the incoming Muhammadu Buhari administration must focus on building infrastructure, institutions and people.

Nigeria has big infrastructure gaps, which represented huge costs to businesses and to people. Over the past three decades, per capita output of electricity in Nigeria remained virtually flat. Only 16 per cent of all roads are paved, compared with 58 per cent in South Asia. The investment needs to address this is in the region of billions of dollars.

Good enough, Buhari realises that Nigeria needs to improve governance, transparency and create sound economic frameworks for growth which is building institutions.

Building institutions rather than individual office holders by the government, would ensure that revenues and benefits from mineral resources could be better captured for national budgets and generating more jobs. Nigeria needs to build people to reap the dividends of its rapid population growth.

An increase by even one percentage point in the working age population could boost GDP growth by half a percentage point. For this to happen, however, good jobs need to be created in the private sector.

Today, only one in five people in Nigeria finds work in the formal sector. This must change. With wider access to quality education, healthcare and infrastructure services, Nigeria can change all of that.

Buhari does not need a magic wand to achieve this.

In the nation’s archive are volumes of development plans that long charted a path towards these lofty economic goals or ideals.

The nation’s set objectives in the third National

What Buhari must do to move economy forward (2) development plan are what Nigerians are clamouring for today.

The plan had envisaged increase in real income of the average Nigerian; even distribution of income among individuals and social economic groups in the country; reduction in the level of unemployment; increase in the supply of high level manpower; reduction of t h e dependence of the economy on a narrow range of activities; balanced development – t h e achievement of better balance in the development of the different sectors of the economy and various geographical areas of the country; increased participation by Nigerians in the ownership and management of the productive enterprises; greater selfreliance, that is increased dependence on internal resources in seeking to achieve the various objectives of society.

What is required of the Buhari administration is increased efforts to achieve optimum utilisation of Nigeria’s human and material resources; development of

technology; reduction in rural-urban migration; the promotion of a new national orientation conducive to greater discipline, better attitude to work and cleaner environment.

The main economic thrust of the Buhari administration should be in the direction of increased self-reliance and

resources are to be freed for pressing development needs.

There will be no room for subsidy. It must free resources for development. This strategy will demand a greater spirit of innovation, hard work, and greater utilisation of domestic resources and in particular, the involvement of the masses especially at the local level in the development process.

Buhari must make a conscious effort to mobilise the Nigerian masses for the implementation of the new Nigeria vision. If China could successfully mobilise its populace to achieve the second largest economy position out of obscurity, yes, Nigeria can. Nigeria and China have certain things in common, a growing population, an emerging middle class that constitutes a huge market for industrial products and a huge land mass. Yes, Nigeria can move into the league of top economies of the world. All that Nigeria needs is an effective leadership. Like Peter Drucker said: “Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.

For Nigeria to succeed in this regard, the new government must be

Buhari needs to return Nigeria to its roots, plans, strategies and push to become relevant in the eyes of other nations; this will require greater sacrifices as he has told his political friends and foes considerable reduction of Nigeria’s continued dependence on the external sector in general and the Petroleum sector in particular.

If Buhari pursues these objectives rigorously, Nigeria would no longer be playing a catch up game in the global economy.

Buhari needs to return Nigeria to its roots, plans, strategies and push to become relevant in the eyes of other nations. This will require greater sacrifices as he has told his political friends and foes especially in terms of established consumption habits if

perceived as fairly delivering basic services to all Nigerians rather than prioritising its own constituency.

Moreover, Buhari will have to be inclusive and avoid the pitfall that many African countries still suffer - that of political rather than meritbased appointment to government positions that require technical skills. A qualified and dedicated cabinet will have to be established if the social, economic and political challenges of Nigeria are to be addressed and eventually eradicated.

Although the Nigerian economy seems to be growing, the economic growth benefits have failed to trickle down to the larger population. A recent study points out that considering Nigeria's income per capita only, nothing has changed since 1970.

Nevertheless, the country has become much richer thanks to the exploitation of its oil resources. Thus, despite being the biggest economy in Africa, Nigeria ranks 160 out of 177 countries on the scale of the Human Development Index (HDI). The wealth remains concentrated within a few individuals, most of whom have strong political connections. This has to change and that is the real change Nigerians are yearning for.

Economy

APCON to support creativity initiatives

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he Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) has pledged to continue to support creative initiatives in the advertising industry in order to encourage talented young individuals.

APCON Registrar, Mr Garba Kankarofi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the council would also support institutions where advertising practitioners work.

“We have so many talented

youths and individuals in the industry that need to be encouraged to bring out the best in them. The advertising

industry is a creative industry that requires visions, ideas, concepts and talents to carry out their

works, “ Kankarofi said. The registrar said that the council hosted a Mass Communication student of

Gemalto launches software to protect bank customers from online fraud

G

emalto, a digital security firm launched its newly integrated transaction monitoring software, the Ezio Dynamic Fraud Manager, which is used to track fraud

related bank transactions.

The company, in a statement, said that the new software had the capacity to protect bank customers from fraud and give them a unique user

experience.

“The Ezio Dynamic Fraud Manager enables real-time calculation of the actual risk of individual online transactions.

the University of Lagos, Miss SimileOluwa Fayombo, three weeks ago.

“The student is the award winner of Roger Hatchuel Academy based in the United Kingdom. The competition was organised among mass communication students in various institutions within and outside Nigeria. We in APCON are proud of such a winner from Nigeria and I am indeed sure that Nigeria will also be proud of her, “ he said.

Kankarofi said that APCON would not relent in supporting any individual, group and institutions that would make the industry to flourish.

C M Y K

24 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

Business & Economy

Africa CEO Forum: What does the election of Muhammadu Buhari mean for doing business in Nigeria?

Mark Okpanachi Ogah

“Buhari`s victory will boost investors' confidence in Nigeria. In the last 16 years, the Nigerian government has been ruled by highly corrupt people in office, but with the emergence of Buhari and his zero-tolerance for corruption, our institutions will be strengthened.

Because Buhari is assertive, strong-willed and above all, experienced, which is the mother of all lessons, there will be very minimal if any negative influence or any form of Godfatherism, which has been a bane in the Nigerian political circle.”

Mark Okpanachi

•Leopold Ebegbuna

Glenn Davies, Singapore:

M

r. Buhari’s election is a game changer for Nigeria and for Africa as a whole. The very nature of how this election was won shines a positive light on Africa’s largest economy and sends a clear signal to the rest of the continent. Not only does the election mark the first time an incumbent president has lost a re-election in Nigeria, but it has done so without violence, although this still remains a high risk. This is a great start to what I believe will be Nigeria’s turning point moving forward.

Buhari stands for change and this is exactly what Nigeria needs. Nigeria’s growth has been impressive to watch and a prodigious place to do business over the past few years. More recently though, this growth has slowed and the country marred by harrowing violence and the rise of extremist insurgents. Mr Buhari will need some ‘quick wins’ to settle the country's nerves and prove why he was elected. First priority on the cards will be to carefully and strategically choose his team this will be key to his success.

Then shortly after look to address the main issues headlining being Security and defeating Boko Haram, addressing falling Oil prices - countering this with new positive stimulating measures, and of course, commencing the arduous and incredibly challenging process of ridding the country of corruption. I feel Mr Buhari can then focus on some more positive key initiatives such as better infrastructure, industry diversification and creating new jobs and opportunities.

There’s no doubt that Mr C M Y K

•Glenn Davies Buhari’s success will have given Nigeria new credibility on the African and international stage. This will translate into heightened interest from neighbouring countries and international allies keen to work with Nigeria, and will be extremely positive for the economy overall.

But it won’t be an easy road monumental challenges lie ahead. I don’t think Mr Buhari n e e d s to overcomplicate things though to make a real difference in Nigeria. If he simply only focused on two issues - Security and Corruption - he will go down in the history books and Nigeria will overnight be a better place. Getting these two right will rev up the economy and let the world know Nigeria is open for business.

Glenn Davies is Group CEO of Inigmah

Leopold Ebegbuna

L

eopold Ebegbuna: "I see Muhammadu Buhari struggling to redress Nigeria’s major challenges. The President-elect promised an end to the Boko Haram insurgency that has killed thousands of Nigerians and forced over a million to become

•Andrew Diack, Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs. He campaigned on a reputation as an anti-corruption crusader, and made populist pledges such as stipends for poor people and health care for all, etc.

The reality is that by the time

He will battle with increasing tax, improving the currency, the external reserve, etc. The result is likely to be some form of austerity big social spending programmes, such as universal health care, may have to wait Buhari takes office at the end of May, he’ll inherit a treasury depleted by the global drop in the price of oil, Nigeria’s biggest export, he will be left to figure out how to put an end to Boko Haram insurgency, the IDPs, fighting the entrenched corrupt practices which had flourished for years,

etc.

Fulfilling his election promise of change will be herculean especially starting with those who sponsored and supported his election within his party.

My concern is that his ability to deal with these individuals, who are perceived to be corrupt, will determine his success at the macro level.

Besides, at 72 years, largely not cerebral, and largely out of tune with the principles of modern day economic indices and technology, I see him struggling to redress Nigeria’s major challenges. He is likely to be overwhelmed by them leading to slowing down in the processes and in some circumstances, abdicating responsibilities. Yes, Buhari may be pious, it remains to be seen his capability for curing Nigeria’s challenges especially corruption and insecurity. He is not likely to have the resources to fully execute his campaign promises of universal health care, monthly $25 payments to vulnerable people and defeating Boko Haram, etc. With the oil accounting for over 70% of total revenue, now around $50 per barrel, he will battle with increasing tax, improving the currency, the external reserve, etc. The result is likely to be some form of austerity - big social spending programmes, such as universal health care, may have to wait, the task of rebuilding the northeast, crucial to putting an end to Boko Haram, may be difficult.

If he can reduce the wage bill of politicians and civil servants, who alone account for the huge recurrent expenditure, he will remain very popular among the masses.

Leopold Ebegbuna is MD/ CEO of Rising Light Global Company

Prince A. Olumuyiwa Latunde,

I

campaigned and voted for a candidate with a good pedigree in the person of Gen. Buhari. I’m glad this change has finally come and without sounding too spiritual, God has a purpose in this and it’s my prayer that we, as Nigerians will not miss it again. His election marks a new beginning and turning point for so many things, notably addressing the issue of stealing public funds with impunity and reducing waste across the board. This must stop.

Buhari is a true Nigerian, a leader of repute; leadership corrects many things because of its features such as

prudence, integrity, boldness, calmness, good decisionmaking because of good listening, religious and most times, they don’t come with too many words but actions.

Our new President is not lacking in any of these qualities.

We have experienced him in “Khaki” and now “Babariga.” He should be a rallying point to unite Nigeria and get everyone committed. God bless the late Dora Akunyili, it’s time to have a genuine rebranding.

Once again, in the comity of African Nations, Nigeria will take her place and set a good example for others to follow; build infrastructure and genuine base that justifies the largest economy in Africa through aggressive production, mechanized farming and developing human capital like India that will measure up to any job in this global village instead of drugs and internet fraud.

Prince A. Olumuyiwa Latunde, President, Emilaug Energy

Andrew Diack, South Africa

I

t is saddening that we as Africans celebrate a peaceful transition which in this day and age, should be the norm. In a positive light, great progress was made and hopefully indicates a brighter future. A major concern is Boko Haram and hopefully will be dealt with decisively.

I’m not that informed of the new incoming president (Muhammadu Buhari). What are his aspirations/goals for Nigeria and the region? Is he someone of honour/integrity who is committed to making the transition? What support does he have from his ministers and are they capable of delivering? These are all questions I currently don’t have a viewpoint on. As for me doing business in Nigeria, that is my goal. About time we started utilising our resources to make this continent the power house it should be.”

Andrew Diack, Founding Member, Cyber Logistics

Culled from Africa Business Panel with over 14,000 members. This is the largest Online B2B Market Research Panel in Africa.

Members are guaranteed a large amount of privileges. On a regular basis, we consult African CEOs about their views on business.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 — 25

Business & Economy

NIPC boss blames protest on directors, insists on change

BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU

T

he change process sweeping through the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) may not have gone down well with some directors of the Commission whom were alleged to have instigated the recent protest against the Executive Management of the agency.

NIPC’s Executive Secretary, Mrs. Saratu Umar told Journalists at a press briefing in Abuja Wednesday, that some key directors of the Commission that are not in tune with her change process, are fomenting trouble in the office so they can cover up their activities in the company.

She said that some directors were indicted by the Commission’s audit of its account books and want to frustrate her effort at all cost in order to prevent being exposed and prosecuted.

She told the Media that the findings of the audit findings revealed that several million of naira were misused by the directors who spurred the staff to kick against her.

She however denied spending or contracting her office furniture which the protesters alleged gulped over N30 million, adding that her office is still as it was when she assumed office According to her “My office is still the way I met it when I assumed duty; I have not changed anything. Anybody can walk in and see for himself. I felt there were pressing issues that needed attention, so I did not spend any N35 million furnishing my office. That you can confirm. Repositioning the agency for optimal service delivery is my top priority but those who are used to the old ways of doing things are the ones misinforming the staff.”

She also denied issuing queries to staff, stating that it is not her responsibility to do that whilst the Director of Administration is there to see to that.

She explained that some of the staff members allegedly queried by the director in charge of Human Resources, Mr Mutawali Kukawa, were actually those found to be perpetual late comers, pointing out that no management would condone any act of indiscipline by its workers.

Though, she admitted errors in the queries issued as some staff that had proceeded on

leave were also not spared.

“The Director, Human Resources, told me that it was just a memo he issued seeking explanation on why the affected staff should come to work late or even absent themselves from work for days.

But I pointed out to him that those on leave were also included, which should not be so because they have genuine reasons for being away, so it is unfair to punish them and I asked him to go and correct that” “On the issue of query, I said they needed to make it more

explicit, that it was not a query but memo, because we are trying to avoid them thinking it was a query because somebody will ask, if it was a query why am I withdrawing it? But today, we were expecting to conclude the matter, only to come and find the gate locked, and that tells me that the indicted directors are bent on causing problems because the issues raised have been exhaustively addressed.”

Umar further explained that the Director was working to redress that when the protest

started. “I can understand the agitation of the staff, because the message was wrongly conveyed; there was a communication gap which the indicted directors exploited”.

Umar further debunked the allegation that she issued over 150 queries to staff, and that about 600 files were lying on her table unattended to since November 2014 not until she got hint of the protest before she shed off some of the files on her table.

PARTY - From left: Sam Onyemelukwe, Managing Director, Trace; Omotayo Otitoju, 1st runner-up, Airtel Trace Music Star Nigeria; Jitey Peters, Winner Trace Music Star Nigeria and 1st runner-up Airtel Trace Music Star Grand Finale; and Segun Aderinokun; Head Youth Segment, Airtel Nigeria, during the Airtel Trace Music Star Grand Finale Viewing Party at the Vapors on Saturday.

Seplat , FBN Capital, others close $1.4bn loan facility

BY PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

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eplat Petroleum D e v e l o p m e n t Company Plc, FBN Capital and London Stock Exchange , LSE alongside a consortium of other Nigerian banks have struck a $1.4 billion seven years secured term facility acquisition deal.

The new facility, alongside a new US$300 million three year secured revolving credit facility provided concurrently by international banks, refinanced Seplat’s existing

debt portfolio to ensure a robust capital structure and strategically position the Company for future oil and gas acquisition opportunities in Nigeria.

Commenting on the transaction, Austin Avuru, Chief Executive Officer of Seplat, noted “We are pleased to have extended our banking relationships with several existing and new lenders, both Nigerian and international. This successful re-financing, which commenced several months ago, significantly enhances our already robust capital structure and underscores the quality of our asset base”.

Kayode Akinkugbe, Managing Director of FBN Capital Limited said: “FBN Capital is very proud of the instrumental role it played in assisting Seplat to structure the local financing to optimize its capital structure”. He went further to state that the FBN Holdings Group is delighted to assist the growth of indigenous oil & gas companies within the sector and will continue to deploy its extensive debt arranging experience and structuring expertise in executing complex and robust transactions in record time”.

Itua Pack introduces German flux pump technology to Nigeria

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tua Pack Limited, a pioneer of product processing and packaging technology industry in Nigeria has introduced German flux pump technology into the country.

Flux is a world renowned brand for the highest standards in pump technology. It all started in 1950 when the German company first manufactured electric barrel pumps according to its own designs and patents. Continually increasing customer demands stimulate the company policy of ongoing development of new, high quality pumps to meet various market needs.

Today FLUX- GERATE GMBH offers a wide range of products which can be configured individually. For instance Flux pumps are used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, in machine and plant construction and in electroplating companies, in sewage treatment plants and in the food industry. Whether as a stand-alone or a system solution, Flux quality means long useful life, excellent economic efficiency and a maximum of safety.

According to the Service Engineer of the company Mr. Akinyemi Awodele each of these products has its specific functions, which he enumerated thus: Mixers – offers a complete range of mixers for agitating, mixing, dissolving, stirring and diluting low to medium viscosity liquids. The complete range of mixers is based on a modular design, allowing the user to select the individual component part to meet its specific requirement; Flow Meters – maximum measurement accuracy, ensure absolute safety, control and reliability in liquid handling be it manual, automatic or computerized dispensing operation of different liquids; Vertical Centrifugal Immersion Pumps – with high delivery rates centrifugal immersion pumps combine maximum efficiency with a robust and reliable construction, resulting in a pump that provides the ultimate in process security, especially for transferring corrosive or abrasive fluids.

26 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

Banking & Finance

BY BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

Fidelity staff donate water treatment to Nigerian Navy

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taff of Fidelity Bank Plc. working under the auspices of the Fidelity Helping Hands Programme (FHHP), a special vehicle for the Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practice constructed water treatment plant and donated computers and other office equipment to the Nigerian Naval Medical Centre, Naval Dockyard, Victoria Island. Lagos.

Commissioning the project, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc. Nnamdi Okonkwo said that the Bank, as a socially responsible institution, takes pride in its humble accomplishment in entrenching the culture of true and responsible citizenship among staff members through regular training programmes and integration exercises in the Bank’s various business offices. “It is this passion for our country and our people that has motivated the staff driven initiative which we fondly call the Fidelity Helping Hands Programme”.

Commending the bank for the donation, Admiral Superintendent, Naval Dockyard Limited, Rear Admiral Sylvanus Chinweuba, who represented the Chief of Naval Staff, said that the donation is a demonstration of the commitment of Fidelity Bank to the welfare of its community. He assured that the equipment would be judiciously used and encouraged the bank to extend this gesture to other areas of the armed force.

While commending the staff of the Human Resources Division of the Bank, who in their little corners, contributed their widow’s mite to construct the water treatment plant and provide office equipment for the Naval Medical Centre, Okonkwo noted that Fidelity Bank is the only bank in the country where staff members contribute their salaries to embark on projects that impact on the lives of their host communities.

“Fidelity Bank strives to reinforce strong, healthy Community Relations by identifying with communities in activities that are most relevant to them.

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he Bank Verification Number (BVN) initiative will help to boost retail credit in the banking industry by helping banks to identify and blacklist fraudulent customers, Managing Director of the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), Mr. Ade Shonubi, who is responsible for the implementation of the BVN, stated this in a statement, explaining that once banks are able to identify and blacklist fraudulent customers, they would be encouraged to extend loans to those customers that are credit worthy and do not have any record of being delinquent borrowers.

The BVN is an initiative aimed at protecting bank customers and further strengthening the Nigerian banking system. It is an initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in conjunction with the Bankers’ Committee meant to address the safety of customers’ funds, avoids losses through compromise of personal identification numbers and other criminal activities in the industry.

Shonubi noted that apart from the challenge of identifying customers, a major hindrance to retail credit in the Nigerian environment was the perception that most Nigerians are crooks who would look for ways of

COMMISSIONING - From Left: Commander, Naval Medical Centre, Rear Admiral Jeremiah Onubi, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc. Nnamdi Okonkwo and Admiral Superintendent, Naval Dockyard Limited, Rear Admiral Sylvanus Chinweuba at the commissioning of the Water treatment plant, computers and other office equipment donated by staff of Human Resources Division of Fidelity Bank Plc.

BVN will boost retail credit —NIBSS CEO failing to repay loans. He pointed out that the BVN would address this problem by helping to identify and distinguishing fraudulent Nigerians from law abiding and honest citizens.

He said, “When the BVN project came up, there were three key things. First and

most important of all is for us to identify our customers and to identify them uniquely across banks and across accounts. So, once you have BVN, even if you have 10 bank accounts, it is the same BVN that will be tied to the bank accounts. Now, relating to identifying is the possibility

Sterling Bank partners firms to boost education

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terling Bank Plc has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with some firms in the education sector to digitise and simplify learning process at all levels of education.

The partnership is also to make the learning solutions affordable for students in primary, secondary and tertiary education levels.

Some of the partners include HR & P Solutions, Netlibrary Nigeria Limited, QC-Investment Limited and the DFID-Deepen Programme.

Speaking at an event held in Lagos, the Executive Director, Finance & Strategy, Sterling Bank, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman noted that fundamental to the

progress of any nation is education.

He said the objective of the initiative is to transform education and make it ‘sexy’ again for people to want to invest in education and also for start-up companies to see education as where there is a clear demand.

The bank’s executive director added: “The idea is to digitise all the educational contents and make it cheaper for the students to afford. We are to develop devices that would provide digital solutions for student.

“We also recognise that the government does not have the resources. There is nowhere in the world where the government provides all the needs of the society. So, it is clear that as some point, financial intermediation is

required. We have also looked at our partners and they have the same desire.

“Most of them are trying to take advantage of modern technology, firstly, to make it cheaper and more affordable for people to access education.

Secondly to also make sure that we are providing the relevant education because as things evolve, if you stay with the traditional educational methods, you will not be prepared for the new world.

“Like every partnership, this is not charity. Sterling Bank is not a charity organisation, neither is any of our partners.

The intention is not sustainable unless there is a sound economic logic behind it. So, whatever we are doing is to make sure that five years from now, this partnership is something that is still ongoing.

of banks blacklisting people who have committed financial infractions. It could be fraudsters; it could be people who have gone to forge documents because what happens today is that the same guy will go to a bank, commits fraud, then runs to another bank and because there is no way of tying all these activities across. So, we found out that there were quite a lot of losses related to these individuals from one bank to another.

Consequently, he said the BVN would allow lenders begin to build retail credit. He explained: “This is because a concern for bank is, if I lend you money now and you go away, how do I identify you?

So, you find that the entire retail consumer lending is to people with formal employment, that is why you see everybody running to the oil companies to say ‘let’s give your staff car loan; let’s give your staff consumer loan; let’s give your staff TV loans.’ But there are a lot of self-employed people working in smaller organisations, who should also benefit. “Nobody wants to take the risk on them because if they resign today and run off, how are you going to get your money?

Once they have bank accounts, the BVN allows us to identify them.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 — 27

Banking & Finance

Council moves to ensure best practice in banks’ IT Standards

BY BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

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he Council of Information Technology Standards (IT Standards Council) in the banking industry has commenced moves to ensure global best practices in the way banks deploy and use of information technology to drive their services.

The Council is reviewing the IT Standards Blueprint to align with current realities and trends and is also planning to drive an industry wide remediation exercise on the gaps identified during the baseline assessment that was conducted last year on the banks.

Indication to this emerged when Deputy Governor, Operations, Central Bank of Nigeria, Alhaji Suleiman Barau met with the outgoing IT Standards Council members to discuss the activities of the Council and progress made against their mandate within the last two years.

The need to define IT

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MEETING - From left: Chidi Umeano ( Head, Shared Services, CBN), Suleiman Barau (Deputy Governor, Operations CBN), Callistus Obetta (Standard Chartered Bank) and Niyi Yusuf, (Country MD, Accenture) during the meeting of the IT Standards Council with the CBN Deputy Governor.

Standards for the industry arose in 2010 during the Industry infrastructure transformation programme where the CBN in conjunction with the Bankers Committee sought to identify ways to reduce the significant high cost to income ratios of Banks within the industry as well as improve operational

efficiency. This transformation programme is coordinated by the Shared Services Office in the Central Bank of Nigeria and is the driver of the collaborative strategic response by the Financial Services Industry to realize reduction in the industry annual cost base.

IT which is the key driver of

FCMB intensifies competition for low cost funds *Acquires 500,000 new customers

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Ecobank’s money transfer service for Okpekpe Road Race

irst City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, a subsidiary of FCMB Group Plc has intensified its quest for low cost funds by acquiring 500,000 new customers in its operating year ended December 31st 2014. Meanwhile Shareholders of the FCMB Group has approved the payment of a cash dividend of 25 kobo per ordinary share, for the year ended December 31, 2014.

Speaking at the AGM, the Chairman of FCMB Group, Dr. Jonathan Long, stated that the Group, which comprises First City Monument Bank Limited, FCMB Capital Markets Limited and CSL Stockbrokers Limited, ‘’has achieved a strong and sustained growth over the past three years”, adding that during the past year, the Group continued the profitable development of its core banking, capital markets and stock-broking businesses”. This he added is reflected in the huge number of customers acquired by FCMB Limited during the year.

Also speaking at the AGM, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of First City Monument Bank Limited, Mr. Ladi Balogun, pointed out that the Bank made considerable progress on the priorities it set out last year, including accelerating market share in retail banking, primarily through consumer finance; enhanced investment in customer experience as a means of growing customer base and containment of operating expense.

He disclosed that following the Bank’s renewed focus on retail banking, ‘’we acquired 500,000 customers in 2014. We also supported 278,518

borrowing customers during the year with loan disbursements which demonstrates the broad impact we are having on the economy”. According to him, the Bank also provided greater convenience for its retail customers by rolling out 245 new ATMs, just as it migrated more customers to alternate channels.

Balogun told the shareholders that, ‘’we are very much on course to build a dominant retail banking business well diversified across lending, savings deposits, bancassurance and payments. Overall, we are confident this progress and momentum will be sustained, as we continue to grow our market share through service excellence and improve our efficiency ratios”.

Commenting on the development and the financial statements of the Group, the Coordinator of Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu, commended the Board and Management of FCMB Group Plc for the performance and dividend payment, despite the particularly challenging operating environment for banks in 2014. He added that, ‘’the increase in the Group’s profit from N16b in 2013 to N22b in 2014 is commendable. It is a clear signal that things are looking up. We are also happy that FCMB has emerged as a strong player in retail banking and from what we have seen so far, we are optimistic that the Bank will continue to wax stronger ”.

banking was however lagging global best practices; limiting banking operating efficiency, cost effectiveness, regulatory information and risk management practices. To address this gap and provide guidelines for application and utilization of Information Technology, Industry IT Standards were defined to articulate and provide a point of reference for the utilization of IT. The IT Standards cut across different IT capability areas and include those to improve information security, IT service management, and systems availability and information exchange.

The achievements of the IT Standards Council within the last 2 years include: the release and publishing of the IT Standards Blueprint to Industry in January 2014 and the hosting of the blueprint on the CBN website; The development of an aggregate rating system that will be used to rate the compliance of banks individually and as an industry to these Standards; And lLastly the conduct of a Baseline assessment of three priorities 1 IT Standards on the Deposit Money Banks (DMB) to determine their level of compliance to the Standards.

Barau commended the Council on their achievements and assured them of his continued support and the support of the CBN. He reiterated that the mandate given to the Council was an important one and would go a long way to drive the adoption of world class IT Standards in the Nigeria Financial Services Industry, enabling the Industry reap the full benefits of its investments in Information Technology.

cobank Rapid Transfer has been named the official money transfer service for the 3rd Okpekpe 10km road race scheduled for May 16th in Okpekpe town, in Edo State. The Okpekpe Race, now an International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) Bronze Label Race will attract over 3000 local and international professional athletes. Also sports enthusiasts from across the world are being expected.

Announcing the bank’s premium partnership in Lagos, Ecobank’s Deputy Managing Director, Tony Okpanachi, said the Ecobank Rapid Transfer is best suited for the competition that has grown to have global recognition.

According to Mr. Okpanachi, the Ecobank Rapid Transfer is an innovative money transfer services available within Nigeria and countries in Africa where Ecobank is present. “The service was conceived out of the need to provide quick, convenient, accessible, and reliable money transfer services for customers and non-customers of the bank”.

Okpanachi is optimistic that the Ecobank Rapid Transfer will provide the muchneeded ease of financial transactions during and after the competition, and urged all the participants to avail themselves of the opportunities provided by the bank.

In his words: “This is an Ecobank proprietary send and receive money transfer product available in all Ecobank branches in Nigeria.

The product allows you to send and receive money where Ecobank has its footprint within Nigeria and in over 36 countries in Africa.

It is our way of supporting this international race to ease the burden of fund transfer. ” The Rapid Transfer he reiterated is very suitable for sports men and women, schools/students, travelers, parents, foreign nationals residing in Nigeria.

The Okpekpe Race which holds on May 16 has received endorsements from local and international athletes as well as governments across the continents of the world.

28 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

Corporate Finance

Fidson’s PAT increases by 307%

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idson Healthcare Plc has recorded a 307 per cent growth in Profit After Tax, PAT for the financial year ended December 31, 2014.

Specifically, the company recorded a PAT of N631.8million in 2014 as against N154 .9 million in preceding year. It also recorded a growth in Profit Before Tax, PBT by 250 per cent for the financial year under review. The PBT stood at N249.6 million as against N249.6 million in 2013.

According to the result released on the Nigerian Stock Exchange,NSE, the company reported a modest growth in revenue of 5 per cent Year on Year, YoY. The Earning Per Share, EPS of the company increased from N0.10 in 2013 to N0.42 in 2014.

Fidson grew its gross margin by 7 per cent, from N5.1 billion in 2013 to N5.4 billion in 2014 while operating profit increased marginally by 5 per cent with operating margin remaining at 15 per cent of revenue.

Despite the economic challenges, harsh market conditions and increasing financing cost faced during the year, cash flow improved with the company ’s cash position increasing by 51 per cent from 2013. The increase in long term debt during the year is as a result of the issuance of a 5-year fixed rate Bond to refinance some expensive short-term debt andaugment working capital requirements.

The company ’s focus on extensive brand building of its innovative and high quality products enhances its financial growth and its ability to maintain significant market share in key disease areas. This is supported by robust sales and distribution channels as well as persistentdiligence in ensuring products’ integrity through various anticounterfeiting initiatives.

Fidson’s ultra-modern WHO Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliant plant, where she would manufacture IV fluids in addition to existing product offerings is scheduled to be operational before the end of 2015. This would broaden the company ’s products base, increase its capacity and consequently profitability and growth opportunities.

FORUM - Managing Director, May & Baker Nigeria Plc, Pharm. Nnamdi Okafor presenting a plaque to Mrs, Abosede Kazeem, Managing Director, Tanimola Pharmacy Limited at the 2015 Customers Forum of May & Baker Nigeria Plc held in Lagos

302 capital market operators meet new capital base requirements … 144 operators yet to comply

BY PETER EGWUATU

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bout 302 capital m a r k e t operators have so far complied with the new capital base as directed by the apex capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC .

The commission had announced a new capital base for the various categories of capital market operators, in which

deadline for compliance was extended from December 31, 2014 to June 30, 2015.

According to the latest data obtained from the SEC, out of 449 registered capital market operators, 302 operators have met the new capital base , representing 67 per cent compliance, while 144 operators are yet to meet the new capital requirement.

Details showed that out of 235 registered Broker/Dealer, 135 operators have met the new capital, representing 57 per cent compliance, while 98

operators are yet to comply; For Issuing Houses, out of 72 operators, 66 operators have met the new capital, representing 92 per cent compliance, while six are yet to comply; For Registrar, out of 22 operators, 15 have met the new capital base, representing 68 per cent, while seven are yet to comply; For Trustees, out of 28 operators, 12 have met the capital base, representing 43 per cent compliance; For Rating Agency, Out of five operators, three have met the

capital base, representing 60 per cent, while two are yet to comply; For Fund Managers, Out of 87 operators , 71 have met the new capital base, representing 82 per cent compliance level, while 16 operators are yet to comply.

Commenting on the recapitalisation issue, the Acting Director General, SEC, Mr. Mournir Gwarzo said, the operators are all aware of the gracious extension the SEC Board granted. We set up a market Committee comprising SEC, Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE and Central Securities Clearing System, CSCS which have been working with Trade Groups to address related issues. Based on the latest returns we have received from operators the level of compliance is encouraging although we will conduct a verification exercise at the end of this recapitalisation to confirm compliance.

Commenting on the activity of the commission in the area of strengthening and refocusing the SEC, he said “We are streamlining the operations of the Commission to focus on its core mandates as apex regulator. We believe this will make us more effective and efficient. We have worked on a new organisational structure which will be fully implemented this year.

On the empowerment of trade groups and Self Regulatory Organisations, SROs, he said “ As we focus on the big issues, we are committed to empowering Trade Groups and SROs to play more important roles in regulating their members. An example is the new Complaints Management Framework which we have released that ensures investor complaints are dealt with more swiftly starting from the operator, to the Trade Group or SRO level before reaching

May & Baker returns to profitability, rewards customers

BY PETER EGWUATU

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ay & Baker Nigeria Plc, has returned to profitability in the financial year ended December 31, 2014, just as it rewarded customers for their contribution in lifting the company higher.

Result for the year 2014, shows that the company recorded a 990 per cent growth in profit. From a pre-tax loss position of N11.4 million in 2013, the group recorded a pre-tax

profit of N101.1 million.

Similarly after tax profit rose by 161 per cent from a negative of N103 million in 2013 to a positive of N63 million in 2014. This was achieved on a group turnover of N7 billion, against N6.3 billion in 2013, a growth of 10.2 per cent.

Cost containment and efficient resource utilisation were responsible for the positive signals by way of reduced financing charges, distribution, sales and marketing expenses all which combined to deliver healthier bottom-line.

Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of May & Baker for the year ended December 31, 2014 made available by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed a growth of 10.2 per cent in sales for the group.

The company boosted its operational profitability with 16.2 per cent increase while sales and marketing expenses dropped by 3 per cent and finance costs also dropped by 4.2 per cent. However, finance cost still remains a challenge to the company.

Meanwhile, the management of May & Baker

Nigeria Plc has assured its customers that it would continue to value their inputs and feedback in the decisionmaking process of the company.

Managing Director, May & Baker Nigeria Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okafor, gave this assurance at the company’s customers’ forum. According to him, the company revived the annual national customers’ forum not only to reward outstanding performance but to engender better intimacy with and obtain feedback from its customers.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 — 29

Corporate Finance

SEC set to revive corporate bonds market, Commodities Exchange

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

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he Securities and E x c h a n g e Commission, SEC, has said that it is taking steps to address the perceived dormancy in the corporate bonds market.

The Acting Director General of SEC, Mr. Mounir Gwarzo, disclosed this while briefing of capital market correspondents at the end of the first quarter of 2015 Capital Market Committee, CMC meeting in Lagos.

He stated that members of the CMC are already considering suitable ways to revive that segment of the bonds market, hitherto dominated by the Federal Government Bonds.

“We looked at the corporate bonds market, which has been quite dormant and we looked at ways to revive the market because it has always been dominated by the FGN bonds,” he said Gwarzo also emphasized the need to revitalise the Commodities Exchange, saying that the committee mandated to chart ways to revive the Exchange has come up with a report, which implementation will soon commence.

According to him, “The house was very concerned by the fact that we do not have a very vibrant commodity exchange and we are happy with the new acting managing director, who has been in the system since the inception and she is very excited that

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BRIEFING - From left: Managing Director, Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited {SAHCOL}Mr. Oluropo Owolabi; Representative of International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Mrs. Ewemade Atake and President, Association of Foreign Airlines in Nigeria (AFAN), Mr. Kingsley Nwokoma at a press briefing marking the end of SAHCOL safety week held at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos. she wants to get the exchange going.

“Happily enough, the market already has a committee and the committee has submitted an extensive report on the ways the exchange will be revived. So the house has mandated the Commodities Exchange to look at that report and where it needs any advice or intervention from the market, we will do so.”

Speaking on funding for Investment and Securities Tribunal, IST, the acting DG said, “We have a committee

that is comprised of SEC, the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE and the Central Securities Clearing System, CSCS, on the funding of IST. In the first instance, we agreed that part of our fees should be ceded to IST; we all recognise the importance of IST to this market. It has played a very important role and it also play a role to the investors as well.

“So between the three organisations - SEC, NSE and CSCS, we have ceded some amount of fees that we pay to IST. But moving forward, we

Access Bank’s profit before tax up 21% in Q1

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

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ccess Bank Plc has recorded a growth of 21 percent in its profit before tax for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015. During the quarter, profit before tax rose to N16.5 billion as from N13.6 billion posted in the corresponding period in 2014.

The bank also announced profit after tax of N13.7 billion, which was up 11 percent from N12.3 billion in recorded Q1 2014.

Its gross earnings was up 34 percent to N76.7 billion for its first quarter ended March 31, 2015, compared to N57.3 billion posted in the same

Despite earnings beats, expectations dim for later quarters

period in 2014.

The group audited International Financial Reporting Standard, IFRS, results for the period showed that the bank’s net interest income grew by 17 percent to N46.4 billion from N39.6 billion in Q1 2014, benefiting from a loan portfolio growth in 2014 and improved yields on fixed income securities.

The non-interest income of N30.4 billion in Q1 2015 compared with N17.6 billion in Q1 2014, increased by 47 percent, supported by growth in net trading income.

Operating income of N54.0 billion grew by 28 percent in Q1 2015 compared to N42.2 billion in the corresponding

period, while the return on average equity (ROAE) of 19.2 percent in Q1 2015, improved by 50bps from 19.7 percent in Q1 2014.

Commenting on the results, Herbert Wigwe, the Group Managing Director, noted that the bank’s financial performance in the first quarter of 2015 marks steady progress towards key strategic objectives. “Our focus remains on the delivery of sustainable value to our shareholders. We continue to deepen and broaden our toptier corporate relationships whilst optimising and growing our diverse retail customer base to support lowcost liability growth,” he said.

have made certain suggestions to IST. It is either they become part of the judiciary so that they will be funded from source or the market will find a way to incorporate them. For now, we think that with the little money we are giving them, we are empowering them to do their job.”

Commenting on the level of preparedness for take-off of the Investors’ Protection Fund, he admitted that the Fund could alleviate some of the fears investors have that stop them from investing in the market, saying, “SEC has taken a giant step in setting up the investors’ protection fund and some huge amount of money has also been set aside for the fund. The board of the IPF has almost been constituted.

The names of the members have been drawn. What now remains is to constitute the board.”

“It has been agreed that one or two operators that have problems and have gone through our Administrative Proceedings Committee department will be beneficiaries of the IPF. What we are doing now is verification because immediately the IPF came on board; many people came up saying they have issues. So, immediately we finish our verifications, we should be able to pay some amount of money,” he added.

ost U.S. companies so far this earnings season have managed to beat Wall Street profit forecasts despite weak sales, but investors hoping corporate headwinds have died down may need to temper their enthusiasm.

Of the 169 Standard & Poor’s 500 companies that have reported so far, 71 percent beat earnings estimates, many of which were modest to begin with, Thomson Reuters data showed. But they did so with help from share buybacks, cost-cutting and other measures, instead of robust sales growth.

Despite those beats, analysts are now trimming their profit and sales expectations for the second quarter on the belief that the stronger U.S. dollar and sharply lower oil prices, widely held to have hurt firstquarter results, will continue to dampen business growth for a while.

“The fact that you’re seeing some companies beat on the bottom line is not going to change the story. You’re going to see some pretty ugly numbers over the next couple of quarters,” said Dan Suzuki, senior U.S. equity strategist at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch in New York.

World’s biggest for-profit college chain plans $1bn IPO

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aureate Education Inc., the largest forprofit college network in the world, is interviewing banks for a $1 billion initial public offering in the U.S., people with knowledge of the matter said.

The company, whose honorary chancellor is former President Bill Clinton, has been meeting with potential underwriters for an IPO that could value the education juggernaut at about $5 billion, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private information. The company, based in Baltimore, owns 84 universities, mostly in emerging markets.

Laureate was taken private in a management-led $3.8 billion buyout in 2007, backed by an investor group including KKR & Co. and Citigroup Inc. C M Y K

30 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 — 31

Homes & Housing By YINKA KOLAWOLE

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o u s i n g microfinance, otherwise known as microfinance for housing or incremental financing, is regarded as the application of a microfinance based approach to housing finance.

While the concept ‘housing microfinance’ is relatively new in development circles, the practice is not.

Access to housing and access to housing finance by low income earners is a critical development issue facing most countries around the globe. Many households in Africa are unable to access mortgage finance either because it does not exist or because it is inaccessible.

UN Habitat notes in a report the predominance of two extreme outcomes of current shelter systems that are being witnessed today affordable shelter that is inadequate, and adequate shelter that is unaffordable.

The report goes on to state that within the next 20 years it is unlikely that conventional sources of finance will be available in many developing countries for investment on the scale needed to meet projected demand for infrastructure and housing. With deficits in public budgets and the persistence of weak financial sectors, the situation seems untenable. Throughout subSaharan Africa, income levels are such that the majority of households cannot afford to buy the least expensive house, even if mortgage finance were available.

Opportunities Nigeria represents a potentially huge market for housing development, mortgage and housing microfinance lending. At the Africa GRI 2014 delegates highlighted the fact that despite high transaction costs, the returns are high.

The Global Real Estate Institute (GRI) is a global club of senior real estate investors, developers and lenders that runs its activities through a collection of annual meetings focussed on different regions of the world.

The delegates noted that while the government and its various institutions are paying substantial attention to the mortgage market, the potential of the housing microfinance market is increasingly being acknowledged. With a population of more than 100 million low-income people and a small mortgage market, housing microfinance has

Housing microfinance: Panacea for Nigeria’s housing deficit

A joint housing project between LASG and First World Communities Ltd. in Abijo, Lagos enormous potential in Nigeria.

Accessible mortgage With an aim to ensure that all Nigerians are able to own a home, the Federal Government is using three strategies – land swap initiatives, affordable and mass housing schemes and accessible mortgage finance.

In addition to unveiling the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Corporation (NMRC), the federal government also launched a national N960 billion housing scheme for labour union members. Similar to the NMRC, the Lagos State government launched the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (Lagos HOMS). A Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiated by the government and administered by the Lagos Mortgage Board (LMB), it aims to support first time buyers in the state to purchase decent homes through accessible mortgage finance. When the scheme was flagged off in February 2014, 1,104 housing units were completed and 3,156 units were at various stages of completion. Both NMRC and Lagos HOMS are PPPs and this is fast becoming one of the key strategies used by the government to drive the growth of housing delivery.

As well as the private sector, the government is working with non-governmental and non-profit organizations to deliver homes to low-income earners.

With a population of more than 100 million lowincome people and a small mortgage market, housing microfinance has enormous potential in Nigeria The Lagos State Government also established the Lagos State Co-operative Home Ownership Incentive Scheme (Lagos CHOIS) to provide housing for low and medium income households.

The state government entered a partnership agreement with First World Communities Limited under the CHOIS initiative in 2005 to build 10,000 houses in three senatorial areas of Lagos namely; Abijo, Agbowa and Badagry. As part of the agreement, Governor Babatunde Fashola recently commissioned CHOIS City, a 460 housing unit residential estate located in sub-urban Agbowa-Ikosi in Epe. In 2013, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) launched its Informal Sector Cooperative Society Loan Scheme, designed to enable informal

sector participants to access the benefits of the National Housing Scheme. FMBN’s Managing Director, M r.

Gimba Ya’u Kumo, explained that scheme will provide a platform for members to form housing cooperatives to access loans for estate development. To qualify for the facilities, participants are expected to make a minimum monthly contribution of N450 for at least six months. The scheme involves the issuance of e-collection cards to contributors, which will in turn streamline the collection process and cut out deficiencies of manual collection, while allowing contributors real time access to their contribution records.

The loan facility offers borrowers a 24 months repayment period at 10 percent per annum for houses worth not more than N5 million.

Also in the same vein, Prime Asset Housing Cooperative Multi-purpose Society, a private initiative, was established to enable people pool resources together for the purpose of owning their homes. The Home Ownership Savings (HOS) plan of the Cooperative is to facilitate pooling of savings towards securing or meeting required deposit payment for a property (built or landed), mortgage financing or any such expenditure geared to facilitate members’ house ownership drive.

Housing supply The private sector continues to deliver new housing units for the luxury and highincome bracket. It is estimated that the formal and informal private sector provides over 80 percent of the housing stock in Nigeria.

Though there is insufficient data on the proportion of private, government and individual contributions to the housing stock, it is general knowledge that the incremental building by individuals on land purchased by private land owning families is the most prevalent, particularly with respect to housing low and medium income groups.

Nigeria’s housing deficit is estimated to be over 17 million units and growing at about 780 000 units yearly, due to the high cost of building and slow construction process. Of the 17 million unit deficit, Lagos State is estimated to have a deficit of one million.

Between 1999 and 2011, the state government built 3,766 housing units in 17 housing estates, averaging 316 units annually. In the last five years, however, the rate of delivery has improved drastically. In 2012, the total number of units delivered into the market was slightly above 1,500 units and this rose by 48.2 percent with 2,299 housing units delivered in 2013. However, this is still not meeting the demand.

Way forward Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF) has undertaken various research initiatives to explore the state of housing microfinance across subSaharan Africa, highlighting innovation and providing recommendations for attention by financial institutions and governments.

“Our work is focused on supporting the growth of a housing micro-lending sector in Africa, with more players supported by more investors, reaching more clients,” it stated.

Generally, in Africa, high income earners use their own resources to build or buy houses for themselves outrightly, the middle class and low income earners finance their own construction gradually over time. Housing microfinance makes it possible to address housing needs progressively, step-by-step, towards a larger housing vision.

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32 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

Interview

BY EBELE ORAKPO

N

igeria has all the indices for greatness so one wonders why it is not great. Some have pointed at poor leadership and followership, corruption, poverty etc as culprits but one tends to agree with a popular Nollywood actor, Mr. Nkem Owoh who in one of his movies, wondered aloud if Nigerians were made by God’s apprentice. Nigeria is blessed with abundant natural and human resources, highly talented and resourceful people, high quality natural resources, yet, it seems to be moving round and round in circles. In this interview with Professor John Aroye Okhuoya, Professor of Mycology and Director, African Centre for Mushroom Research and Technology Innovation, University of Benin, he speaks on how Nigeria can partake of the multi-million dollar mushroom industry.

Introduction: I had my first degree in Microbiology here. I was one of the first 100 students of the University of Benin when it was Midwestern Institute of Technology. Thereafter, I worked briefly in the Rubber Research Institute and then went abroad for my PhD. I came back in 1981 and started lecturing in 1983 in the Department of Botany (now Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Benin.

I became a professor in 1995. I have been training undergraduate and post-graduate students in Mushroom Science. species in Nigeria are Pleurotus tuber-regium or tuberous mushroom Interest in mushroom: I grew up in the rural area and we (very common in South-East and used to go for mushroom hunting in used in cooking egusi soup. It the village, collecting wild produces tuber in the dry season and mushrooms for sale in the evenings. then in the rainy season, they break My father gave me some information the ground and begin to produce on the different mushrooms that we fruiting bodies. The tuber, referred ate. That was how the interest came. to as sclerotium, is the form the I have developed this area of mushroom uses to hibernate in order research over the years and at a point, to survive the harsh conditions of the we felt that this university should be dry season. In our folklores, it is a reference point. We introduced believed that for the native doctor to Mushroom Science in our see the future, he will have to make a curriculum. At undergraduate level, paste of the tuber, and rub his eyes we have Introduction to Mushroom and he will see visions.) Other edible Science, and then I developed a species are: Lentinus squarrosulus, master’s and PhD programmes in Auricularia auricula, Lepiota sp, Termitomyces spp, Volvoriella Mushroom Science.

Mushroom production is still very esculenta, Lycoperdon spp among low in Nigeria hence many of our others. people still depend on collection of Differentiating poisonous mushrooms from the wild. This is from edible mushrooms: fraught with the danger of collecting In our traditional system, Nigerians poisonous with edible ones.

Commercial farming holds the key to have always eaten mushrooms. In the the eventual elimination of South-East, they eat a lot of occasional mushroom poisoning in vegetables and mushrooms. In my own area in our population.

Edo North, we have Categories of mushrooms: There are four main categories of mushrooms in our mushrooms.

Edible mushrooms (those you can d i e t a r y eat as food); Medicinal mushrooms system, so used in taking care of certain ailments; our elders Poisonous mushrooms (these are knew the deadly). There are also mushrooms difference. that are both medicinal as well as They had edible. Then the last category is the their own of Miscellaneous group which contains ways mushrooms whose values are not yet identifying them but we established. refer to those ways Nutritional values: old Edible mushrooms are rich in as protein, B-vitamins and contain w i v e s ’ moderate amount of vitamin C. They f a b l e s are, however, low in carbohydrate b e c a u s e and are generally preferred to fresh they are not vegetables because weight for weight, r e l i a b l e . o r the body absorbs all of mushrooms F eaten without wastes. Common edible e x a m p l e ,

Commercial farming holds the key to the eventual elimination of occasional mushroom poisoning in our population

Mushroom production is still very low in Nigeria hence many of our people still depend on collection of mushrooms from the wild

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* Prof. John Okhuoya.. . edible mushrooms are preferred to fresh vegetables because weight for weight, the body absorbs all of mushrooms eaten without wastes

Nigeria must tap into mushroom market —

... Market forecast to reach $50,

*Edible Lentinus squarrosulus mushroom growing on a dead mango tree they tell you that when you see a mushroom with flies perching on it, it shows it is edible because it did not kill the flies. That is not reliable because there is a mushroom called Amanita muscaria. Flies perch on it though it is not edible. It is noted for its hallucinogenic properties so when flies eat this mushroom, they fall into stupor, temporarily dead and at the end, they recover. So you

cannot rely on that method of identifying edible mushrooms. But the point is they have been able to identify the ones they eat right from the beginning and they have stuck to those ones. Here at the centre, we have our own ways of identifying them using chemistry but we advise people to eat those ones that are known to be edible.

What we do at the Centre: The essence of our research is to ensure that

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 — 33

Interview we get the mechanism/technology to produce edible mushrooms so that our people can easily access them. That is what is happening in the UK and other developed countries; they cultivate and sell edible mushrooms in the market. If you rely on collecting from the wild, you are likely to collect both edible and poisonous mushrooms. That is why we are advocating that in Nigeria, we have gotten to a stage where we should be eating cultivated mushrooms. The beauty of it is that the species we have in Nigeria are very delicious a n d comparable with any type of mushroom from any part of the world. So the purpose of this centre is to first of all, document as much as possible, all available identifiable mushrooms in the whole of West Africa Sub-

We are developing the technology; we can fortify our garri, bread, rice and other foodstuff with mushroom mycelium so you will not be eating ordinary garri

Mushrooms and health: In Ghana, there is a strong belief that making a paste of Pleurotus tuber-regium and rubbing it on a malnourished child, will make the child fatten up. I don’t know how true that is. Mushrooms have a high percentage of protein, amino acids and all other minerals that help in development of our immune system.

For those who want to lose weight, it is very good.

A lot of products have been developed from mushrooms. For example, a product used in the treatment of arthritis from ganoderma, a mushroom from China, and so many other such products. We can produce them here. We have ganoderma tea, mushroom tea etc.

Mushrooms have been indicated in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. You can have our garri, rice, bread, etc fortified with mushroom mycelium so you will not be eating ordinary garri, but garri that is fortified with a lot of protein. That is our vision. We are developing the technology.

AIDS treatment: As a matter of fact, WHO sponsored

the multi-million-dollar PROF IKHUOYA

,034.12 million by 2019

*Prof. Okhuoya (l) and his former student, USbased Prof. Omo showing off Lentinus edodes (shiitake), edible and medicinal mushroom region, particularly Nigeria, and have a gene bank because right now, most of the mushrooms we used to eat as children are disappearing as a result of deforestation. This is the best time for us to begin to store some of the ones that are still available so that we can have our own gene bank for future use. Apart from meeting our national needs, contributing to national nutritional diet, we can also begin to export and earn foreign exchange. That is what we are doing here - we train people, create capital, and as much as possible, simulate people to be interested in mushroom farming.

one of the top mushroom scientists to develop some mushroom products that helped to treat an AIDS patient in South Africa. What that product did was t o We have enhance worked out t h e appetite different the substrates using of patient agricultural because one of waste like t h e banana leaves, things stems, oil palm we see w i t h fruit fibre, oil A I D S palm bunch, patients is that banana peels lose and corn husks they appetite, which we treat l o s e weight chemically a n d gradually die. It was found that when their food was fortified with mushroom, the appetite increased and they ate more, put on weight, and started living healthy lives.

Forex earner: Mushroom is a foreign exchange earner for many developed countries; a multi-million-dollar business in America, Europe, much more in China and other Asian countries. They use it for medicinal

and nutritional purposes. Most of the mushrooms we have in our supermarkets are imported. We can produce them here in large quantities.

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo started a mushroom farm which is no longer producing because of the technology involved in producing exotic strains.

Some of our local farmers are now trying to produce our tropical mushrooms. We have developed many local species and strains that are succulent, sweet and delicious which we can recommend and assist farmers in growing if they wish to go into mushroom farming.

Environmental cleanser: The mushroom also plays a lot of role in environmental cleansing. We have found that some mushrooms are able to absorb heavy metals from the environment and so when you grow some edible mushrooms in a polluted environment, they absorb the heavy metals so you cannot eat them, they become agents of filtration, trying to filter those chemicals that are dangerous to health from the environment.

Bioremediation: One of my students did his PhD on bioremediation. He found out that some of our mushrooms when grown on soils that have been so bastardised through pollution, can rejuvenate the soil through increased biomass.

Cultivating mushrooms: It is quite easy. Like I said, we have spent quite some time to study our indigenous mushrooms. We have done a lot of survey in different parts of the country, on the type of mushroom they eat, the history behind most of the mushrooms etc., and we have developed the technology using local resources to grow them.

Mushroom cultivation involves five major stages: Bed preparation: You prepare mushroom bed using different substrates. We have worked out different substrates using agricultural waste like banana leaves, stems, oil palm fruit fibre, oil palm bunch, banana peels and corn husks which we treat chemically.

Spawning (mushroom seed planting). After a while, the mycelium will grow and run through the system and in few days, you see the whole place white. If you leave it like that, you may never get fruiting bodies so we do what is called casing.

Casing: You cover it with calcium carbonate soil and you are by that act telling the mushroom to stop vegetating and grow up, you divert the mushroom from vegetative to productive phase. When you put that soil, the mushroom is shocked, it is being starved of nutrients so it starts looking for a way of survival.

It tells itself, ‘before I die, let me produce my kind.’ So it begins to produce spores because it wants to survive and in the process, it begins to have fruiting bodies which the farmer harvests.

Picking or harvesting: After a while, the mushroom is ready for harvest.

The first day you harvest, after two or three days, you harvest again, until the fourth or fifth time when the yield will be decreasing and then you can stop.

Packaging: The final step is packaging.

Each step requires careful handling for best results.

Not all mushrooms follow all the above five steps. Some species require specific conditions for their growth and development.

Spent substrate: The beauty of this farming process is that even the spent substrate can be used for growing other vegetables. It will become organic fertiliser so nothing is wasted.

The Centre: University of Benin was kind enough to sponsor this centre and it was commissioned by President Goodluck Jonathan last November. Within a short time, we have achieved so much in the areas of capacity-building, mushroom production, and our target is to raise farmers that can produce in commercial quantities. We will stimulate people to go into making mushroom products for health, medicinal and nutritional purposes.

It is a simple thing but it has taken us a long time to get to where we are today. We are hoping that the government, corporate organisations and private individuals will come in here, use our technology and expertise to go into business and develop whatever product they want to develop.

We will assist them because we have the expertise.

*Edible mushroom, Volvariella volvacea growing on oil palm bunch

*Edible mushroom growing on dead part of a living tree

34 —Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

Insurance Stories by ROSEMARY ONUOHA

REDAN ready for Buhari’s 1m houses

BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU

R

eal Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) has affirmed its readiness to join hands with the President-Elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, in actualising his promise of one million housing development yearly.

REDAN’s newly elected President, Rev Ugochukwu Chime, who gave the assurance in Abuja.

According to him, “REDAN has set up a committee to come up with a road map on housing development as a position paper to be presented to the new administration for implementation. “We will also work closely with the administration to ensure that the Land Use Act is amended.

REDAN will step up its advocacy and liaison with the National Assembly to expedite the passing of the Land, Housing, foreclosure law; Mortgage and Real Estate related laws proposed by government with the National Assembly since 2006.”

The REDAN president also said its members will work with respective government agencies and research institutes to ensure reduction in cost of obtaining permits and approvals relating to land for mass housing development. “We will focus efforts on land administration in favour of real estate developers; develop technology to utilize local materials and achieve considerable cost of construction; encourage green construction; ensure members adhere to standard in process and product s of housing development and; comply with National Building Codes and extant laws on land and housing construction. We shall collaborate with stakeholders in the government, built industry and business spheres to step up artisans, trades and craftsmen /women training and re-training to empower Nigerian citizenry especially the large population of youths,” he stated.

He assured that the association will work closely with the National Assembly to make REDAN an Act of the National Assembly that will ensure standard in the housing sector.

C M Y K

T

he Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) can now access the database of LIMRA, a world acclaimed financial services research consultancy body, following its admission.

Conveying the NCRIB admission during the 2015 International Business trip of the Council’s delegates to Malta, Europe, the Operation Head of LIMRA Europe, Middle East and Africa, Carla Baldivia said with the admission, NCRIB would now have access to the database of the association and be able to access yearly global financial reports by the body.

“As a LIMRA member, your Council will now have access to all the research, webinars and market facts in addition to the information centre that gathers resources from more than 128 periodicals” Baldivia noted.

Responding, the President of the NCRIB, Mr. Ayodapo Shoderu who led the Council’s delegation noted that the NCRIB has a vision of exploring all avenues to place the Council and its members on the global plane.

He said, coming on the heels of similar admission by the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA), Shoderu said that the challenges before NCRIB members was now higher in a bid to match up with its growing global reputation.

Also, during a lecture on customer service, brokers were told to imbibe multiple integrated channels of customer service in order to meet the yearning needs of today’s clients.

According to Senior Regional Executive of LIMRA,

BRIEFING - From left: Solomon Ikeanyi, Publicity Secretary; Abiodun Adebimpe, Secretary General; Akeem Oyewale, Vice President; Kemi Adewole, President; Taiwo Sonola, Vice President; Bunmi Arowosafe, Financial Secretary; all of Association of Asset Custodians of th Nigeria at the 4 Investors' Conference press briefing in Lagos.

NCRIB gains wider acceptability with Limra’s recognition Mr. Manolis Kyriacou, current and future customers have high expectations for service quality through all channels they could utilize to connect with the provider.

“Insurance intermediaries that successfully deliver their services competently will most often improve relationship and outcomes with their policy holders,” he said.

As a leading insurance and financial services trade association, LIMRA’s purpose is to be the trusted source of

industry knowledge. It currently provides research, learning and development programs to more than 850 financial services companies throughout the world.

Serving its members for nearly 100 years, these financial services firms turn to LIMRA first for research, serving as a catalyst for new ideas, to better understand the industry, and plan for the future, learning and development programs, to assess, train, and increase

distribution productivity, as well as develop the next generation of corporate leaders and connections with industry leaders and peers through study groups, committees, and conferences.

The tour was rounded off with visits to leading insurance companies and brokerage companies such as Middle Sea and Assikura Insurance Brokers where delegates had robust insights into operation of insurance business in Malta.

AACN set to host investors’ conference in London T

he Association of Assets Custodians of Nigeria, AACN, has said that it is set to hold its fourth annual investor conference in London.

The conference which is billed to hold on 7th of May has the theme, Nigeria: Navigating changes, extracting opportunities.

Speaking to journalists in Lagos, AACN President, Mrs. Kemi Adewole, said that the purpose of the event is to provide expert insight on Nigeria’s current market trends, and an opportunity for significant interaction among the various Nigeria capital market operators and investors.

She said that the 2015 investor conference will host

speakers representing the regulators and key market operators such as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele; acting Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Mal. Mounir Gwarzo; Executive Director, Market Operations and Technology, Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, Mr. Adeolu Bajomo; and MD/ CEO of the Central Securities Clearing System, CSCS, Mr. Kyari Abba Bukar.

Other speakers participating in panel discussions include Dr, Abraham Nwankwo, Director General, Debt Management Office, DMO; Mr. Bolaji Balogun, MD/CEO Chapel Hill Denham; Mr. Bola

Onadele. Koko, MD/CEO FMDQ OTC Plc; Mr. Bola Ajomale, MD/CEO NASD Plc; Mr. Bayo Olugbemi, President of the Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR), and some major foreign portfolio investors and global custodians.

Adewole said, “AACN continues to strive for greater efficiency in Nigerian capital market, with a firm understanding of the importance of bringing the players in the market together. The 2015 investor conference will provide a platform to facilitate dialogue between foreign investors and Nigerian capital/ financial market operators, while keeping participants

abreast of Nigerian securities market developments.”

Founded in 2009, the members of the association are Citibank Nigeria Limited, First Bank of Nigeria, First City Monument Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and United Bank for Africa.

The association is dedicated to establishing global best practice standards in all aspects of the Nigerian securities market and the development of the market, including promoting the custody business in Nigeria and making the Nigeria securities market more suitable for investors.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 — 35

“Unsold Nigeria crude grows as buyer interest falls”.

PUNCH, Thursday, April 9, 2015, p 41.

T

he story by Femi Asu, went on to state that “Weak buying from Asia and other regular buyers of Nigerian crude oil has left a large overhang of March, April and May cargoes, it was learnt”. For those who might not fully understand the implications of that report, it is necessary to spell them out.

The first casualty, and it has been in that position since last year, is the 2015 budget which is now nothing more than an academic exercise. With crude oil prices hovering between US$45 and US$60 per barrel, the budget which out-going Finance Minister first based on $78 per barrel crude oil price, had by February been dropped in the dust bin. Now, with volume supplied imperiled by weak demand from our traditional customers, it is obvious that the Age of Crude is surely over in Nigeria – at least for a while.

Incidentally, this is not the first time this will be announced on these pages. In an article published in December last year, titled THE AGE OF OIL IS OVER FOR NIGERIA, the point had been made that the forces which had driven the global price of crude oil to the low levels it reached then and also reduced the demand for Nigerian crude are not only long-term in nature, but they were then just gathering momentum. The news report

Nigeria without oil is now a reality above only points to the major economic crisis facing the nation – starting immediately. By the time President Jonathan hands over the leadership of Nigeria to Buhari, the country would have once again been classified as a near bankrupt economy. Our earnings from crude oil will just about be sufficient to pay for all the foreign loans taken by the Federal and state governments.

For Buhari and Nigeria, lightening has struck twice in a life time. By the time he was propelled to the Head of the military junta in December 1983, Second Republic politicians, at Federal and state levels had frittered away the first crude oil bonanza and left Nigeria with a huge debt which later became our debt trap. By October 1985, President Babangida, who toppled Buhari, was already lamenting that, “It is true that we have run through one of the greatest financial bonanzas that ever happened to a nation in need; so fast and so recklessly that we may wonder if ever happened at all!”

The harsh measures which Buhari took, which should have produced salutary effect, were denounced by

the same Nigerians who had to pay salaries before the been impoverished. Today, as elections will now start we approach a democratic defaulting in payments. change of government, we Governors going on May 29, can surely repeat what 2015, will simply abscond Babagida said about the from their states and leave bonanza which Second their successors to face the Republic politicians wasted. outrage of public servants.

From 1999 till date, Unpaid contractors politicians representing all constitute the third set of the political victims of the Every economic parties have change in the once again catastrophe fortunes of run through Nigeria. It is a n o t h e r invariably almost certain b o n a n z a manifests itself in that any m o r e contractor, still the banking sector – recklessly unpaid by any than in the which had actually government 1 9 8 0 s .

— Federal, placed itself in Buhari, once State or Local again is fated harms way by – and who is to inherit a not wellfinancing the buynational connected purse totally out of International with the depleted by Oil Companies, President, sixteen years Governor or of Obasanjo, IOCs, by local Chairman, can Yar’Adua and investors forget about Jonathan, at the centre. State governors, being paid for a long time to especially those newly come. The in-coming elected, will also find governments, cash strapped themselves wishing they meet current obligations, and never ran for office. Even having failed to receive the those who are continuing in kick-backs from over-inflated office face a massive revolt of contracts will not be in a hurry public servants and the to pay past debts. The great Nigerian populace as they wave of defections from PDP will increasingly fail to fulfill to APC is partly a reflection their election promises. of the desperation of So, the second casualties of contractors whose money is the impending economic trapped as their former doom are the public servants. benefactors leave office.

Even states which struggled Hundreds of thousands of

contractors face personal bankruptcy; and, their banks also risk being savaged by the consequences of both crude oil calamity and the change of governments nationwide.

Abandoned projects will proliferate.

Every economic catastrophe invariably manifests itself in the banking sector – which had actually placed itself in harms way by financing the buy-out of International Oil Companies, IOCs, by local investors. The rush for the gates by the IOCs should have served as a warning to Nigerians who had more money than sense, and their bankers, that something must be wrong, if so many multinationals are leaving. Even IOCs who had taken the position of “ wait and see” in the past are no longer waiting – because they have seen enough. And, what they see is a nation whose oil exploration is no longer attractive.

Finally, PIB is dead. Twice the Jonathan administration presented the bill to the National Assembly, NASS, and, twice government lacked the WILL to see it through.

The PIB which would have benefited the oil-producing areas immensely will now be buried in the graveyard of procrastination and presidential inertia. Decades from now people from the Niger Delta will continue to shake their heads that one of their sons allowed this opportunity to pass. For the folly of leaders; people perish.

Micro-Finance

LAPO awards scholarship to 700 students Stories by PROVIDENCE OBUH

L

APO Micro finance Bank (MfB) has awarded scholarship to about 750 students who are children of it's clients who meet the requirements set by the scholarship board, targeting 100, 000 scholarship by 2022.

The bank conducted a scholarship ballot exercise across all the zones of its operation in the country and 1000 students qualified for the scholarship but 750 who meet the requirement would benefit the scheme.

Speaking at the annual scholarship ballot exercise in Lagos, Managing Director, L APO MfB, Mr. Godwin Ehigiamusoe, said that about 5000 beneficiaries have C M Y K

emerged from the scheme which started in 2007.

He explained that the essence of the balloting was to make the process of selection of beneficiaries as

transparent as possible and to justify the confidence repose on the organization by the clients over the years.

Ehigiamusoe said, “ we target in the next five to seven

years about 100,000 student will benefit, since we started in 2007 we have continuously been doing it on annual basis and we will continue to provide the scholarship. We

started with 32 students in 2007, by 2014 we have done 5,000 students but 2015 we are doing 700, we hope to do 1000 or five thousand next year.

Cold Stone Creamery débuts in Ikeja City Mall

C

onscious abut proximity, Cold Stone Creamery (CSC) Nigeria, makers of premium ice cream has made its début at the Ikeja City Mall to benefit customers within the environ.

CSC is owned by Eat N’ Go, a restaurant group whose mission is to become the premier food operator in Africa, offering ice cream experience including: Ice Cream, Ice Cream Cakes, Shakes, and Smoothies the way you want it.

Speaking at the shop opening ceremony, Marketing Coordinator, Cold Stone, Mrs. Timilehin Lajubutu, said that there are alternative cream for everybody but according to demand, “for people who are on the big side, we have something for them, such as: low fat yoghourt, healthy mix-in, nuts,coconuts fruits, smoothies and purely ice cream for the generality. She said that CSC was officially launched in September 2012 and has grown to 13 stores across Nigeria including, Lagos, Ibadan and Enugu.

LAUNCH - From left: Mr. Eniola Ositelu, Marketing Manager Ikeja City Mall, Mrs. Timilehin Lajubutu, and Mr. Uzoelum Chukwunalu, Marketing Coordinator and Operations Manager, Cold Stone Creamery Nigeria, Mr. Olusola Adeeko, Human Resource Manager, Eat‘N’Go Nigeria and Mrs. Temilola Akinmuda, On Air Personality with Cool FM Nigeria during the launch of Cold Stone Creamery at Ikeja City Mall.

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36 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 — 37

E-Commerce

LAUNCH - From left: Consultant, Digital Financial Services, Department for International Development (DFID), Ms. Susie Lonie; Chairman, Board of EFInA, Mr. Yemi Cardosa and Consultant, Digital Financial Services, Ms. Lesley-Ann Vaughan during the launch of EFInA Request For Proposal 6 event and workshop in Lagos.

Can Jumia sustain affordability drive without compromising quality?

Stories by JONAH NWOKPOKU

O

ne of the most notable features of online shops, since online retail debuted in Nigeria, is its cheap prices of goods.

Compared with the offline market prices, these online shops, despite free shipping services and high cost of logistics, still manage to maintain clear edge in terms of price while still offering quality goods.

One of the online shops that has maintained this tradition since inception is Nigeria’s pioneer online retailer, Jumia.com.ng. They have consistently maintained competitive pricing in almost all items on offer. How do they accomplish this? How have they been able to sustain this despite the recent devaluation of the Naira? Why are their products always cheaper? Are they packaging counterfeited products online and selling to Nigerians? This is because most times, their prices are so ridiculously low that they can’t but arouse suspicion.

An investigation into some of the prices Jumia offers for some products showed a consistent competitive pricing with even international online retailers like Bestbuy.com and Amazon.

Take for instance the Samsung Galaxy S5 – Copper Gold. This goes for about $569 on Amazon.com which when converted into the local

currency, the Naira will be about N119, 000 depending on the exchange rate. The same product goes for $499.99, about N105, 000 on another international retailer, Bestbuy.com. These prices exclude the shipping cost including the customs and clearing duties, should one decide to buy from these stores. However in Nigeria, this same product goes for between N100, 000 and N105, 000 in different online stores.

It’s only Jumia.com.ng that sells the product at N95, 230, according to the price information available at their website at the time of this report.

Take also the Blackberry Passport. This could only be obtained at Jumia.com at N119, 500 against the N126, 000 to N130, 000 that it could be obtained from other online stores nationwide. This price also comfortably beats a retailer like Bestbuy.com where the device goes for about $667 which is about N133, 400.

Besides the electronic segment, home appliances also enjoys favourable rates on Jumia such as the Emel Plastic Electric Kettle-P006-White which goes for about N10, 875 whereas the cheapest price it can be bought elsewhere is about N12, 200.

More so, in categories like fashion, their prices also beat that of their competition by at least 2 per cent. For instance,

a pair of Vanessa’s secret’s shoes which cannot be found anywhere below N9, 000 in other online stores is available at N6, 495 on Jumia.com.

About quality There is no gainsaying it, that with many online retail shops springing up in recent

Compared with the offline market prices, these online shops, despite free shipping services and high cost of logistics, still manage to maintain clear edge in terms of price while still offering quality goods

times, the price reduction has been motivated more by the quest to beat competition. This has also meant some compromises on the quality of goods. In some unregulated online marketplaces, the prices are even so ridiculous

that one only needs some common sense to realise there has been compromise on quality. In this regard, some shoppers who have shopped from Jumia said from their experience, the quality of goods offered on the platform is not compromised.

Chukwudi Ozonna told Vanguard, “I was sceptical about this online deals especially the quality of the products since they are always willing to offer cheaper prices.

But then one day I needed a television for my children’s room. I saw a 22 inch LG TV on Jumia at N21, 900. I was sceptical about it but then after I prized it offline and saw that the same TV goes for N29, 000, I decided to give it a try. I have used that TV for two years now; it has never had any fault. It was an original LG product. I don’t how Jumia does it but I do know they do sell quality products at very affordable rates.”

Jumia and affordability Speaking to Vanguard in an exclusive interview on how Jumia Nigeria maintained its cheap rates, Co-Managing Director, Jumia Nigeria, Dr. Jonathan Doerr said: “Jumia does not sell at cheaper rates because it offers inferior products. We are able to offer products at affordable prices which are less than other online retail companies and those of brick and mortar stores due to its wide assemblage of brand partners. You just name it, from Apple to Infinix to Lego, Samsung, L’oreal and more, Jumia has been able to forge lasting and favourable partnerships with the biggest brand who are able to offer Jumia their products at reduced tariffs and sometimes even exclusively. These brands are happy and always willing to work with Jumia due to a proven track record of service delivery, customer satisfaction and guaranteed volume of sales.

According to him, the company leverages on its huge customer base, and its resultant economies of scale to drive down cost.

He said, “Speaking of guaranteed volume of sale, in economics, there is a concept called ‘Economies of Scale’.

This concept explains that there are cost advantages which certain enterprises enjoy due to their larger size, output and scale of operation.

Being that Jumia Nigeria is the biggest online retail store in Nigeria, accessible and patronized daily by tons of Nigerians nationwide, it only adds up that unlike the others, Jumia Nigeria can now afford to plummet profit margins and provide lesser priced products to customers due to a reduced overall operating cost.”

Lack of access to big data hindering e-payment growth – Obi

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hief Executive Officer of eTranzact International PLC, Mr. Valentine Obi has identified lack of access to big data as a threat to the growth of electronic payment in Nigeria. He disclosed this know while speaking as a member of a panel discussion at the just concluded Mobile West Africa held in Lagos.

According to him, “One big prerequisite for financial inclusion and fraud control for financial institutions is a check called “Know your Customer (KYC). It is one of the biggest challenges we face in the payments industry, and all players can come together to help solve this issue.”

He said: “The telecommunications companies own a lot of user data and can help the payments platforms by sharing this data. There is a big need for the telecommunications companies to share data in order to safeguard and protect customers from fraud just like banks share data with the switching platforms.”

Google profits buoyed by ad revenue US technology giant Google reported a 4 per cent increase in profits to $3.59bn, as strong advertising sales helped boost the firm’s bottom line.

Google said advertising sales for the first three months of 2015 were $15.5bn, an 11 per cent increase from the same period a year earlier.

Total revenue also increased by 12 percent to $17.3bn, but like other US firms, the company was hurt by the strong dollar.

Shares in the firm rose more than 3 percent in trading after markets had closed.

There had been fears on Wall Street that profits would be weaker due to investment in new businesses and weaker advertising revenue as more people access Google via mobile devices, where advertising rates are lower.

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Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 — 41

Economy

Foreign Portfolio Investments expected to increase in Q2 Stories By EMEKA ANAETO, Economy Editor

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midst concerns over sudden flattening of the bull run in the Nigerian stock market, dealers are speculating large inflows of Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs) on the heels of the post election market rally.

World’s biggest sovereign wealth fund (SWF), Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), is said to be refreshing its interests in the Nigerian market after a tactical ‘hold action’ late last year.

Many dealers were working on the expected surge in the FPIs after the elections but the deals which were said to worth over USD20 billion were not yet concluded as at last week.

Last year, GPFG added five African states to the number of countries it approves as marketplaces for trading in equities. It is keen to take advantage of the pace of economic growth across Africa to garner profitable returns on equity investments.

Its investments in Nigeria, as at the end of 2014 was USD63 million (about N12 billion), which included stocks in companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

About USD15.6 million (N3 billion) or 23.5 per cent of the fund’s investments in Nigeria went into the stock of Zenith Bank while USD13.9 million (about N2.8 billion) or 21 per cent of the FPI went into Guaranty Trust Bank’s stock.

The least in the allocation of its FPI in Nigeria went into Access Bank stocks at USD2.1 million

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•Mr Mounir Gwarzo, Acting Director General of Securities and Exchange Commission (about N400 million) or 3.2 per cent.

Other stocks that benefited from this FPI include International Breweries Plc, Larfarge Africa, Nestle, Nigerian Breweries, Seplat Petroleum, Stanbic IBTC Bank and UACN Plc. The Norwegian SWF which has extended its FPI to include five more African countries in total has investment in 169 companies in Africa.

Although the slump in global oil prices has hurt Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, the

International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as several global

The least in the allocation of its FPI in Nigeria went into Access Bank stocks at USD2.1 million (about N400 million) or 3.2 per cent

economy watchers still project impressive growth rates for Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa generally. Also, the number of middle-class households in the region has grown exponentially in the last decade. The Norwegian SWF is, therefore, determined to pour more cash into this emerging market, according to Ventures Africa, a major African economy publication.

“Which new markets we enter depends on which markets are available for investment, what market opportunities there are, and market standards,” the fund said in its latest report.

“We will continue to add new markets to the portfolio as soon as they meet our requirements for market standards.”

Although only 0.7 percent of the USD814 billion of The Norwegian SWF’s investment was in the continent by December 2014, the fund appears poised to increase its equity outlays in Africa. In a strategy report for 2014 – 2016 released last year, Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), manager of the Norwegian SWF, said it would add external mandates as it enters into new markets and segments.

It said it expects to have 100 external mandates by 2016, with the share of funds managed by external bodies expected to have risen by 5 percent. ”We use external equity managers for the majority of our emerging markets investments and for all our investments in frontier markets,” the fund said.

2015 Federal Budget: Matters Arising — Afrinvest

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he Nigerian Federal House of Representative on Thursday passed the sum of N4.5tn budget for the 2015 fiscal year with an increase of N135.4bn over initial proposal submitted in November 2014. In addition, the House has adopted an oil benchmark of US$53.0, daily oil production of 2.3mbpd, exchange rate of N190.00/ US$1.00 and fiscal deficit/GDP ratio of 1.1%.

Surprisingly, no provision for fuel subsidy was made in the approved 2015 Appropriation Act. A further review of the 2015 proposed budget shows a 4.3% increase in total expenditure to N4.5tn in 2015 from N4.7tn in 2014. In the same vein, capital expenditure dipped significantly by 50.3% from N1.1tn in 2014 to N0.6tn in 2015 despite the infrastructure deficit in the country.

In spite of the acclaimed plan of the Federal Government to reduce overheads, recurrent expenditure (non-debt) increased 5.6% from N2.5tn in 2014 to N2.6tn in 2015, accounting for 58.8% of the total expenditure.

Debt service now accounts for 21.2% of the total expenditure on the back of the persistence Y-o-Y increase in debt service (+33.9%). This will continue to be a sting in the tail for the government in coming years.

A further breakdown of the debt service shows that about N894.6bn and N59.0bn will be used for domestic and foreign debts respectively. Nevertheless, as a result of the rebasing of the GDP, fiscal deficit to GDP stayed flat at 1.1% in 2015.

Consequently, the new Government will be confronted with the challenge of

Technical hitch hampers transactions in Nigeria’s Bonds Market

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rade on local debt was stalled after the glitch affected central bank’s trading platform, traders said, adding that they were concerned the problem that started on Wednesday could run into next week, threatening bond settlement in the interbank, Reuters reported last weekend. “(There is) no trading currently going on in the market as a result of the unresolved technical glitch on the central bank’s platform,” one dealer said.

“We have seen fresh interest by some offshore investors, mostly a roll-over of matured funds and local pension, which has driven up demand for local debt before the glitch,” a senior traders said, referring to a technical fault that hit trading.

Overnight lending rates halved to an average 6 percent on Friday from 12.25 percent last week after central bank retired large matured bonds and treasury bills in the week, boosting liquidity in the market, traders said. However, the technical glitch that hit the CBN’s trading platform hindered major fund transfers and placement in the market.

“The market liquidity was boosted by repaid matured bonds and treasury bills worth about 806 billion naira (USD4 billion), but because of the technical fault, many traders were unable to transfer or place money in the market,” one dealer said.

implementing the 2015 budget in view of the current economic realities of lower oil proceeds. Meanwhile in anticipation that the Transition budget would likely become law before the eventual take-over by the new Government, the Buhari led incoming administration has highlighted avenues to increase the country’s revenue sources. As a result, the next Government has proposed to run a lean government whilst blocking the various revenue leakages.

Afrinvest, Nigeria’s leading finance and investment house, reasons that although, the execution of the 2015 budget may pose a challenge for the incoming administration, savings from the various leakages and cost reduction may go a long way in supporting the successful implementation of the 2015 budget.

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42 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

Agric

MAY: Nigeria’s month with history as Adesina seeks to lead AfDB

BY JIMOH BABATUNDE WITH AGENCY REPORTS

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he month of May is going to be a special year in the annals of Nigerian history as General Muhammadu Buhari will be sworn in as the President of the country having defeated the incumbent, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

In the same month of May another Nigerian, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, the current Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, might be elected the President of the African Development Bank as the financing institution is electing a new president to replace the incumbent President Donald Kaberuka.

Dr. Adesina, who has gotten the support of General Buhari, will be slugging it out with a number of toplevel finance officials in the region who have equally announced their interest in running for the position.

Other candidates short-listed for the post along side Dr. Adesina,are Ethiopia’s Finance Minister, Sufian Ahmed; Cape Verdean Finance Minister, Cristina Kamara; current Vice President of the Islamic

Development Bank, Birama Sidibe and Chad’s Finance Minister, Kordjé Bedoumra.

According to the AfDB Board, the selection of the most eligible candidates to succeed President Donald Kaberuka was done by a Steering Committee of the Board of Governors at a meeting held in Abidjan on 11 Feb. Kaberuka is currently serving his second five-year term as AfDB President.

The out going AfDB President, Donald Kaberuka, many watchers of the financing institution said has taken the bank to an enviable height that anybody coming must be able to do more .

It is here that Dr. Adesina Akinwumi wealth of experience come in to to tackle some pressing challenges in AfDB as many believe that the bank faces competition for influence in Africa from emerging players like China.

Realising the expectation from the bank, Adesina has promised Africa a bank that will increase private sector lending to curb widening inequality on the continent.

“I see a bank that needs to do more

in the private sector,” Adesina said.

He would focus on “new financial instruments that can tap into these pools of money, give us lower interest rates and long-term capital that Africa can use towards development.”

He also promise to focus the bank’s own lending on projects that have trouble attracting private investors, such as water and sanitation in the poorest countries. The African Development Bank’s private sector lending was about $2.1 billion in 2013, up from $250 million in 2005, he said.

If elected, increasing access to energy through infrastructure expansion would be his top priority, followed by growing private sector jobs and industrialization, youth employment, reviving rural economies, and regional integration, he said.

For those who have followed Dr. Adesina’s career will not doubt his capacity to deliver when the chips are down.

Adesina was AGRA’s Vice-President for Policy and Partnerships for five years, before moving to his current role as Nigerian Agricultural Minister.

While at AGRA, Akin Adesina helped

farmers and agro-dealers in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania access over US$100 million in finance through the use of innovative financing instruments.

He also worked to design the risk sharing facility for the Central Bank of Nigeria, which leveraged US$3.5 billion of lending from banks to agricultural value chains.

In 2011 Adesina become the Nigerian Minister for Agriculture, and has implemented a range of measures which have resulted in significant changes in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

One of these measures is his efforts to make Nigeria self-sufficient in rice production.

By encouraging greater involvement of private seed companies into the rice industry and providing farmers with subsidized access to seed and fertilizer, since 2012, rice production has increased by seven million tons, while net farmer incomes have risen by $2.5 billion. Nigeria is on-track to be self-sufficient in rice production by 2018.

Adesina has also been commended for transforming the Nigerian fertilizer industry by improving transparency into the supply and distribution of fertilizer, by ending the government’s role in the buying and distribution of seed and fertilizer.

Aviation Aviation Cabotage will save N200bn annual revenue loss — Agbakoba

By LAWANI MIKAIRU

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he introduction of Aviation Cabotage law will save Nigeria 200 Billion Naira annual revenue lose and stimulate the development of indigenous capacity and facilitate the pursuit for deep local participation in the aviation sector. This is the view of Dr Olisa Agbakoba, a Human right Lawyer, Aviation and Maritime Consultant.

Agbakoba made this view known during a seminar on setting aviation agenda for incoming government of General Muhammadu Buhari. He said the dwindling oil revenue has made it absolutely necessary for the incoming administration to focus on Aviation sector for economic diversification. And this, according to him, calls for an Aviation Sector Action Plan (ASAP). Cabotage law will compel the aviation sector to reserve certain percentage of the market for local airlines and stakeholders.

Agbakoba said “With about 170 million persons and regional economic potentials, 22 airports, a growing mass of flying middle class, Nigeria’s aviation requires massive C M Y K

revamping in terms of infrastructure, legal, institutional and administrative frameworks. “ “The Economic Benefits of Aviation and Performance in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index Report 2013 states that the aviation industry supports tourism and international business by providing the world’s only rapid worldwide transportation network. Airlines transported 2.8 billion passengers and 47.6 million metric tonnes of air cargo in 2011, connecting the world’s cities with 36,000 routes. By providing these services, the aviation industry plays an important role in enabling economic growth and providing various economic and social benefits.”

COMMISSIONING - from left Mr Ishaq Naalah, Assistant General Manager, Business Development, Medview Airline; Mr Christophe Penninck, CEO, BiCourteney, Aviation Services Ltd; Alhaji Muneer Bankole, MD/CEO, Medview Airline and Mr Akin Akinfemiwa, Group CEO, Forte Oil PLC during the commissioning of the new Boeing 737 - 400 Aircraft acquired by Medview Airline on arrival at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos on sunday.

Photo Lamidi Bamidele

Med-view partners Firstbank on e-payment

By DANIEL ETEGHE

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he Med-View Airline said it has signed a partnership agreement with First bank of Nigeria for online payment platform called “MasterCard Internet Gateway Service” (MIGS).This was contained in a statement signed by its Chairman, Alhaji Muneer Bankole and made available to aviation reporters on Thursday in Lagos

The statement noted that the service would enable customers with Master/ Visa cards to make payments online anywhere in the world.

According to the statement, this is to ensure that Med-View brings its service closer to its numerous clients who desire to buy their tickets online within the comfort of their home or offices without stress.

“This option of payment is in addition

to the Interswitch platform designed mostly for customers with Naira Master cards.

“And the book-on-hold platform where customers could walk into any bank in Nigeria and pay for their reservations made online.To achieve this, customer can make reservation online and choose the option “I want to pay with Master/ Visa card” when they get to the payment platform,” it said.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 — 43

Advertising & Promotions

The good and ugly sides of CSR Stories by PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

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o doubt, companies are increasingly recognising the strategic importance of building business practices that create sustainable economies, environments and societies. In the business world, Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR is an indispensable tool for corporate legitimacy and competitive edge.

Even as Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, is a keenly pursued objective of developing nations, its quest has lead to multinationals having access to emerging economies and when they are eventually admitted, the companies do not live up to the CSR demands of their host communities.

In Nigeria for example, Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, Mobile Producing, MTN, Airtel, British American Tobacco Company of Nigeria Foundation, BATNF, Glo DHL, Promasidor, Guinness, Dufil, Nestle Nigeria Plc to mention but few, had come up with some development programs in host communities through their various Foundations in order to maintain their social license to operate, with focus in areas such as health, education and community-building. Yet, when particularly oil companies like Shell, Mobil, Total and BATN attempt to implement a CSR agenda, they are regularly a target for social activism on issues of malpractice.

Likewise, the water of life project embarked upon by Guinness Nigeria Plc in parts of the country only ran for a few months. A check at some of the water sites in Ajegunle, Agege, Ogun state and other places showed that the sites are lying fallow, this according to residents was as a result inability of water to flow from the taps after commissioning and that since then Guinness have not

PRESENTATION: Barrett Kofi,Marketing Manager AGYA APPIAH BITTERS Company Limited;Samuel Ohemeng,Production Manager, with Andrews Akolaa, Acting CEO, and Joseph Ajah,Managing Director Strategic and Pratical Nigeria Limited, during the media presentaion of AGYA APPIAH BITTERS in Lagos. PHOTO: AKEEM SALAU.

returned to find out how the project is performing.

Speaking, Franklin Emejo, a resident of Mba street in Ajegunle, said water stopped flowing few months after it was commissioned. The story was the same in Agege area for the Guinness water of live project.

In Ijebu-Ode consumers pay a token to fetch the water, the money Guinness said is to maintain the project.

The bore hole constructed by Dufil Prima Foods, owners of the Indomie brand had the same fate befall it as residents in Orile- Iganmu say water stopped flowing longtime ago, likewise in other parts the company cited the project.

Speaking, Andrew Ojei, a resident of Orile -Iganmu, said that some of the CSR activities are shams. His words, “it is a reap off in terms of tax reduction from the federal and internal revenue offices. It’s a reap off in terms of deceit of the citizenry who associate themselves with the brands.” Even though multinational investors or FDI inflow into multinationals or transnational corporations with the financial strength of some corporations larger than that of many developing countries; are expected to meet their CSR

Communities should be consulted before carrying out their activities, a community may require school but construct water which may not be their immediate need requirements, companies still remain adamant to plight of their operating communities.

A Non Governmental Organization, NGO, Water warehouse Nigeria official, Ngozi Maduekwe, said that the major problem is that most of the CSR projects are not the need of the people. “Communities should be consulted before carrying out their activities, a community may require school but construct water which may not be their immediate need, they may require road and you build them clinic, these are some of the problems associated with what she called unplanned CSR initiative.”

ICM rewards loyalty

By MILDRED IBRAHIM

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inners have emerge from the Ikeja City Mall Promo rewarded loyalty at its promo tagged: ‘Easter Eggtravaganza.’ The promo which was in three folds, first was the ‘Easter Bunny Promo’, to participate, shoppers dropped receipt of N5,000 purchase with their contact details at designated boxes placed at three entrances of the mall.

In a raffle draw, winners won gifts donated by participating stores. The stores include Mr Price, Cold Stone, Bheerhugz Cafe, Sports World, Nike, Swatch, Da Viva, black|Up, Bruno’s Place, Jack & Jones, Seven Eagle Spur Restaurant, Harmony, V

Shop, Shoprite, Mango, Enzzo, Diva Accessories, Kidz Country, KFC and much more. Six winners emerge from this promo.

Another section of the promo was the treasure hunt, called-’The Easter Bunny Treasure Trail’ where shoppers had to search twitter, Facebook and the Ikeja City Mall blog for clues about participating tenant stores to help them locate treasures(The Easter Eggs) strategically positioned inside participating stores. The clues were uploaded on the eve of Easter Sunday to ensure fairness in the whole process.

Only shoppers who purchased items worth N5,000 on Sunday were automatically qualified for the second phase of the promo.

However, even when these multinational corporations make so much profit, giving back to their host communities through the concept of CSR becomes a problem, asserts Igwe Odinaka, Head, Research at Orlick Communications. He stated that most of the multinationals fail to live up to laws governing their operations and activities, with regards to giving something back to society.

For example, Coca-Cola is mandated by USA law to contribute no less than $100 million annually towards the progress of Hollywood, the American movie industry. But in Nigeria, no such initiative is available for Nollywood.

It was the late Senator Uche Chukwumerije who tried in this capacity to institute the 1 percent contribution for CSR was frustrated along the line by some the multinationals.

Even though some CSR activities are riddled with deceit and controversy, their some companies that have performed well in terms of giving back to the society.

While Nigerian Breweries Plc has run a couple of reality TV shows and talent hunt events such as AMBO box office, rested Music Quest, these cannot be compared to Heineken’s support for the British Film industry as seen by the millions of pounds it pumped into Skyfall, a James Bond movie. Odinnaka retorted But Adelaja Toki of Toki Mabogunje and Company, argued that a company will generally be more proactive in its country of origin, when it comes to living up to its obligations. Its CSR activities in other countries would be only a small percentage of its profit, when it looks at the huge tax it pays on revenue it generates, as well as remunerations to the local staff.

Thus, the establishment of a business integrity movement and the subsequent coming into being of the Convention on Business Integrity, CBI with the support of leaders of thought like Dr. Christopher Kolade, Dr. Michael Omolayole, Mr. Akintola Williams, and Prof. Pat Utomi, among others.

CBI has as its objective, the promotion of ethical business practices, transparency and fair competition in the private and public sectors, amongst other things. Living up to its billing, the business integrity movement has since won converts among illustrious Nigerians and institutions.

Guinness Nigeria Plc, Access Bank, GTBank, MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, and SAP Nigeria, among others are signatories to CBI which aims to move the Nigerian business community towards a state of visible zero tolerance for corruption, and higher CSR performance by companies, yet this is lacking.

IID award produces 21 winners

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ith 21 kids that so far have emerged in the Indomie Independence day, IID award, search for the winner of the 8thedition has begun.

The Group Managing Director of Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Deepak Singhal, owners of the Indomie noodles brand, represented by Tope Ashiwaju, Public Relations/Event Manager of the company, while presiding over the press conference to usher in the th 8 edition of the heroes award, said the 2015 IID award where three kids who have braved the odds and displayed exceptional courage in the face of daunting challenges to save a situation would be selected, recognized, rewarded and then celebrated for their act of heroism.

The GMD went on to say that the three kids to be selected would have demponstrated remarkable acts of great courage despite the unfavourable conditions they found themselves.

According to him, “so far 21 children have received the awards and have their named engraved in gold in our hall of fame as heroes of Nigeria.”

We are about to start the process of discovering another set of heroic children," he stated.

Unilever increases ‘Knorr Taste Quest’ prize to N5m

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norr Taste Quest, an annual cooking competition organized by Unilever Nigeria Plc, has increased its Star prize to N5miilion.

The company disclosed this when the Brand Building Director, Foods, Mrs. Nsima Ogedi-Alakwe, spoke at the third edition press briefing of the competition tagged: ‘Master class,’ where she stated that the winner will get N5million.

According to her, the cash prize was premised on public opinion, while stating that with the amount the winner can still get a car of his or her choice.

Aside the N5million, the winner will receive kitchen equipments and cartoons of Knorr seasoning, she stated.She also noted that the prize of N1million and N500,000 will be won by the first and second runner-up respectively.

Ogedi-Alakwe, who said that registrationis on via

www.knorr.ng.

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44 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 Email:lesleba@lesleba.com, lesleba@gmail.com Blog page:www.lesleba.com/blog2 Website: www.lesleba.com Tel:0805 220 1997

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igerians have become familiar with the irregular cycles of stable supply and intermittent scarcity in the market for various products, ranging from essential commodities, such as sugar, bread and salt to the equally important market for petrol and kerosene. Expectedly, prices of these items spiral whenever there is a supply deficit, while prices will collapse when supply levels are once again restored.

Indeed, in a free market, prices of goods and services faithfully follow this pattern; curiously, however, the money market in Nigeria (as well as in several other African countries) is one of the few exceptions, where a commodity (in this case money) which is alleged to be constantly in surplus, becomes increasingly expensive and costs well over 20% to borrow!

For some unknown reason, the management of these Economies remains in denial of the causative link between the ever-sliding rates of their domestic currencies against the dollar and the unceasing, unbridled, deliberate domestic creation of excessive cash surpluses by the respective monetary authorities. In the Nigerian experience, for example, the uninhibited increase and failure to successfully control money supply, made the attainment of a stronger Naira exchange rate impossible, even, when we “consolidated” best ever foreign reserves of about $60bn with extended imports payments cover.

Consequently, what has become an abiding feature in Nigeria, is the constant spectre of deliberately created domestic cash surpluses chasing rations of dollar

When $ became cheaper in the black market supplies, which are controlled by the Central Bank.

Clearly, wherever products are rationed, an insidious black market which will recycle scarce supplies for resale at higher prices will evolve; ultimately the black market price becomes a product of the extent of supply shortage and the number of ‘distributors’ in the chain before it reaches the final consumer. What is clear, nonetheless, is that a black market generally compromises supply sources and distorts market distribution to instigate higher prices and excessive profiteering in the sale of any scarce commodity.

Similarly, in the context of Nigerian’s foreign exchange market, the inability of our monetary authorities to successfully modulate the balance between Naira and dollar supply, in favor of the Naira, has led to an artificially induced dollar scarcity in a clearly vibrant and inexplicable government funded black market.

Consequently, in consonance with the characteristic feature of higher prices whenever there is market scarcity, it would therefore be an aberration if the black market price of the dollar ever falls below the official or interbank exchange rate.

Nonetheless, such an apparent price aberration, unexpectedly, transpired in the recent past in our own foreign exchange market!

Indeed, barely a week before the Presidential polls, market watchers noted that the black market dollar exchange rate had fallen from above N220=$1 to between N212 -

N215=$1; furthermore, between the weekend of the presidential polls and the Easter Holidays, the Naira further strengthened on the black market to below N210, while the official rate remained steady at about N197 = $1.

The real drama, however, came in the last couple of days before the state elections, when the Naira exchange rate in the black market strengthened below the official rate to sell, reportedly, for as low as N195=$1! The unexpected appreciation of the Naira in the black market was interpreted in some quarters as an expression of

The question, however, is whether or not such public sentiments are strong enough to make any black market forex dealer offload their stock of dollars at prices below the cost of purchase public confidence that Gen Buhari will ‘make’ the Naira stronger when he assumes power.

The question, however, is whether or not such public sentiments are strong enough to make any black market forex dealer offload their stock of dollars at prices below the cost of purchase; if not so, what then could have happened?

Well, a fall back to the solid ground of the law of supply and demand may provide us with a plausible answer. Thus,

Business & Economy

No plans to extend deadline for capital market operators — SEC boss

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he Securities and E x c h a n g e Commission (SEC) said that Sept. 30 deadline for new minimum capital requirement for market operators would not be extended.

The acting Director-General of SEC, Mr Mounir Gwarzo, said in Lagos that the commission had no plans to extend the deadline.

“The deadline has come to stay,” he said adding that the capital requirement would be implemented vigorously. The deadline is still September and progress is being made, C M Y K

the level of compliance has gone up but we are determined to keep to that September. 30, no shaking, no going back. There is no going back and we are happy the way we are receiving responses from all the capital market operators,” Garzo said.

SEC had on December. 19, 2013 issued a new capital requirement for capital market operators with December. 31, 2014 as deadline for operators to recapitalise. SEC in response to numerous representation from the capital market community, extended the recapitalisation deadline

to September. 30, 2015. The capital market regulator had earlier increased the minimum capital base for broker/dealer by 329 per cent from the existing N70 million to N300 million.

Broker, which currently operates with capital base of N40 million, will now be required to have N200 million, representing an increase of 400 per cent.

The minimum capital base for dealer increased by 233 per cent from N30 million to N100 million.

the Naira could only become stronger, if the monetary authorities significantly increased the supply of dollars, while keeping constant or actually also reducing Naira supply and demand. Well, there is no overt evidence that there was any significant unusual reduction in money supply, during the period in question, although the extended Easter Holidays may have, despite the availability of ATMs, reduced free access for huge movements of Naira for large transactions. So, if stronger Naira exchange rate in the black market was not the result of a significant difference in the Naira supply side of the equation, then we may turn to the dollar supply side for an answer. In otherwords, was there any apparent increase in dollar supply or did the hoarders of dollars decide to simply offload their holdings below cost price as part of their celebration of Muhammad Buhari’s victory?

There is nothing to suggest that CBN spiked its dollar supply to Bureau de Change during this period; if anything, the CBN has continued to intermittently reduce the amount of forex allocations to BDCs because of supply challenges.

Conversely, there were unconfirmed media reports of dollar bounties, which were deployed to attract votes throughout the federation by the political class in the last eight weeks and particularly in the two weeks between the Federal and State elections.

Evidently, the compact value of the dollar made it the currency of choice for easy movement for the job that had

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

to be covertly done to improve the chances of victory at the polls.

The actual value of dollars deployed for this purpose is not known, but it was certainly large enough to temporarily overwhelm subsisting Naira supplies with BDC operators to make the Naira relatively scarce against the dollar. It was consequently no big surprise therefore, that the heavy inflow of dollars into vibrant black market centres in Lagos, Kano, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Abuja etc. quickly strengthened the Naira exchange rate below the official N197=$1.

The ready availability of a significant Cache of dollars for election campaigns is probably an indication that CBN’s attempt to reduce the menace of bulk importation of dollars since 2013 must have been an abysmal failure.

Clearly, the sales of dollars below the official interbank rate is probably also reflective of the usual bargain prices accepted for prime quality stolen goods. Thus, if the CBN did not suffocate the black market with dollar supply, then the political class which, presumably temporarily did so, did not care much about receiving market value for the dollars shared, probably because, in the manner of stolen property, they did not have to put in any shift to acquire the dollars they liberally spread amongst their supporters.

Expectedly, nonetheless, the dollar surplus was unsustainable and the Naira now once again exchanges in the black market for over N220=$1.

SAVE THE NAIRA, SAVE NIGERIA!!

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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

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Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015—45

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46—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

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Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015—47

Fire razes gas station in Lagos

By Evelyn Usman

E

XPLOSION, weekend, rocked a gas station at Ago Okota area of Lagos State, injuring several persons.

Five buses loaded with over one hundred gas cylinders, two gas tankers and surface tanks, two heavy duty generating sets and one Peugeot car were razed in the resultant fire.

The incident which occurred at Allen gas company about 4pm, Saturday, sent everyone, including motorists plying the route on their heels.

It was gathered that while some customers were waiting to buy gas, a deafening sound from one of the cylinders occurred.

Before any one could ascertain what the problem was, the explosion was reportedly followed by balls of fire.

Its cause was attributed to leakage from one of the cylinders which spilled to one of the power generating sets. Fear stricken residents reportedly made efforts to put out the raging fire to no avail, until the arrival of fire service officials.

Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Mr Rasak Fadipe, told Vanguard that no life was lost.

Ogun Police burst robbery gang

A

NTI-ROBBERY team of Ogun State Police Command, Eleweran, has smashed a 10-man robbery gang that has been terrorizing Ewekoro Local Government Area of the state.

Leader of the gang, identified as Bayo alias Abana, and two of his members were arrested and are currently helping the Police in their investigation.

Following a tip-off, the Police swooped on the gang at Sofuolu village, in Ewokoro council of the state a 1a.m.

Among the items recovered from the robbery gang are AK-47 assault rifles, pump action rifles with rounds of ammunition, charms and other dangerous weapons.

Baale of Sofuolu village, Chief Abiola Ogundele, said Abana and his gang had been terrorizing the villagers and the adjoining villages since May last year and that at a stage, he had to relocate from the village.

Generator fire kills WAEC candidate

By Suzan Edeh

B

AUCHI—TRAGEDY struck, yesterday, as a teenager writing the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations, WASSCE, in Bauchi State, died of the burns he got after trying to start a power generating set, which went up in flames.

It was learned that Mubarak Aliyu Gidado, 16, was rushed to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

University Teaching, ABTUTH, where he died two days later as a result of the injuries he sustained from the incident.

His father, Aliyu Mohammed Gidado, said his son, an SSS III student of FOMWAN Model Secondary School, Bauchi, was trying to start the generator when the incident occurred.

He said: “Around 7p.m., after evening prayers, my son went to start the generator. The fuel just ignited and the flames

burnt him. When he came out of the area, his body was burnt from head to toe.

“The doctors gave him a 5050 chance, but his condition worsened and he was placed on life support machine, but his heart failed and he gave up.”

The bereaved father expressed shock because Mubarak had been putting on the generator for several years.

He said: “As a father, you cannot quantify the grief of

losing a child. It is God that gives and takes and we cannot question him.

“I thank God for Mubarak’s life. He was an obedient child.

He wanted to study Computer Science, but now he is no more.

“He was a good child. The whole Islamic school students and teachers came to my house to sympathize with me on learning of his death. May his soul rest in peace.”

Muktar Gidado, uncle of the late Mubarak, described his nephew as full of hopes.

“He was a very brilliant child.

He memorized 40 chapters of the Quran and he had a Quran in his pocket that day. He was a determined boy, respectful and obedient.”

Lawal Yusuf, Head of Daar Communications office, Bauchi and neighbour to the Gidado at the Federal Low-cost Housing, Bauchi, said Mubarak’s death was most painful because the boy was focussed in life.

He said: “It is sad. Tragic. He always came first or second in his class. Even at his hospital bed, he was reminding his father that he had Mathematics paper to write the next day.”

... as fire guts TV station

Candidates arriving for the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, 67th Regular Course entrance examination in Abuja. NAN PHOTO.

Three die in Benin-Sapele Road accident

By Perez Brisibe

S

APELE—AN accident along Benin-Sapele road, involving a navy blue 18-seater Toyota Hiace bus and a Toyota Sienna, weekend, claimed three lives, with others injured.

The accident, which occurred along Obayantor village axis of the road, was said to have

happened at about 8:35am on Saturday morning.

An eyewitness said the Hiace bus and Sienna car with number plates, Lagos XL 617 AGL and Delta BUR 598 AA, respectively, were heading towards Benin from Warri when the accident occurred.

The witness, who gave his name as Paul Ogodo, said the

accident happened when the bus, with obituary posters, lost control and rammed into the Sienna bus from behind, causing both vehicles to skid off the road.

Ogodo said some of the injured passengers, who were travelling to Ekpoma, Edo State, for a funeral, were taken to Stella Obasanjo Hospital, Benin.

3-storey building collapses in Orlu

By Chidi Nkwopara

O

WERRI—A three-storey building located along the road leading to Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu, has collapsed. But no life was lost.

Vanguard learned that the building was still under construction when it collapsed yesterday afternoon, following a downpour that lasted for several hours the previous day.

A resident of the area, who also claimed to be an eyewitness, told Vanguard he was on the other side of the road with his friends when they suddenly heard a loud noise.

He said: “On turning to the direction of the loud noise, we noticed that the three-storey building had collapsed.

“Our happiness is that it

occurred when there was nobody in the building and no life was lost.”

The man recalled that the illfated building, which was started last year, was nearing completion before its tragic collapse.

Another villager, who simply identified himself as Chukwuemeka, linked the collapse to poor foundation and faulty technical calculations by the contractor.

Chukwuemeka, who claimed to be a civil engineer, explained that he took the position because the other storey buildings on the same axis had been standing for years and still looking strong.

He expressed regret that some contractors were not bothered about soil texture and the damaging effect

Meanwhile, Bauchi State Police Command has reported that there was a fire incident early Sunday morning at Sunnah TV Station situated along Kobi Street, Bauchi.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Haruna Mohammed, said the scene was visited and cordoned off by police patrol team attached to Township Division, to prevent looters from taking advantage of the incident.

Mohammed said the departmentof fire service put out the fire with the assistance of good Samaritans in the area.

Apart from the building, other property destroyed by the fire included four sets of computers and other accessories.

collapsed structures could have on their reputation.

Revenue officials cause multiple accident in Enugu, escape lynching

By Francis Igata

E

NUGU—A mob, weekend, swooped on revenue agents working for Enugu South Local Government Area over alleged indiscriminate seizure of vehicles along Zik Avenue Road.

The officials, Ordi Clement and Ndubuisi Ordi, who sustained injuries during the attack, had allegedly forcibly seized a vehicle, which caused multiple accident on the road.

It was further gathered that the action of the revenue agents

angered sympathizers, who mobilized and pounced on them before the arrival of policemen from Uwani division, who rescued them.

Police Public Relations Officer, Enugu Command, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, said policemen averted what could have led to the death of the revenue enforcement officials.

He said: “The suspects have been arrested and all the vehicles involved in the accident towed to the station for necessary action, while normalcy has been restored.”

48—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

Ignorance often the cause of resistance to immunisation — Dr. Obianuju Ozoh, Pulmonologist & Senior Lecturer, CMUL AS the world marks this year's immunisation week, April 24-30, Consultant Pulmonologist (specialist in the lungs and breathing), Dr. Obianuju Ozoh, highlights the challenges of childhood and adult immunisation in Nigeria.

In this interview with Sola Ogundipe, Ozoh, who is also a Senior Lecturer at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, identifies the role of healthcare providers in preventing and reducing the burden of Vaccine Preventable Disorders, including pneumonia and other pneumococcal disorders through immunisation. Excerpts:

W

HAT is immunisation?

Immunisation is when a person is made resistant to an infectious disease and this is often achieved by vaccination.

Immunisation is a protection that is given by vaccination. The person is given a vaccine that contains a modification of the organism that causes the infection, such that when the person is exposed in the future to that organism, he or she is protected from it.

Why is it important for babies?

It is important to get babies immunised because when they are born, they have little or no immunity, so they are prone to infectious diseases. They have a little protection from their mothers' immunity but that wanes within a short time. The time to immunise a baby is right from birth. There is an immunisation protocol that is followed. The vaccination protects them and prepares them for the challenges ahead from the infectious diseases that can occur.

In Nigeria, the National Programme on Immunisation, NPI,stipulates the number of

immunisations and the schedule.

Some of them are mandatory, others are optional, but what you are seeing in Nigeria is a standard that has been approved by the Federal Ministry of Health.

Is immunisation for every child and why are there so many visits required?

Immunisation is for every child and protects for a long time.It gives good protection but it has been shown that no vaccine is 100 percent protective, however when some children get the disease after vaccination the severity is much reduced. An unvaccinated child has not received protection as required.

The schedule for immunisation that has been designed is evidence-based and the timing of each vaccine determined, therefore multiple visits may be required.

Is immunisation for children only?

Children under the age of five are mainly vaccinated but there is also immunisation for 12-13year-olds and for adults too.

Can the first breast milk from the mother serve as immunisation?

• Dr. Obianuju Ozoh.

The first breast milk that comes from the mother is high in immunoglobulin that is protective of the child, but it does not replace

Sometimes people are not aware of the vaccines they need, so the health care provider has a role in educating their patients about the right vaccines

NIPDs: Lagos targets 4m children

By Chioma Obinna

T

HE Lagos State Government has said 4.3 million children were immunised against childhood vaccine preventable diseases including polio during the March National Immunisation Plus Days, NIPDs, in the State even as it is targeting more four million children in the April NIPDs. Disclosing this last week, Special Adviser on Health to the Lagos State Governor, Dr. Yewande Adeshina said the March NIPDs had 96 percent coverage.

She said the April NIPDs commences 25th through 28th April, and that the Expert Review Committee on Polio Eradication in Nigeria recommended two rounds of NIPDs in March and

April 2015 to ensure that two drops of supplemental oral polio vaccine are administered to children aged 0 - 59 months.

"NIPDs campaign is essentially a Polio campaign initiated under the Polio Eradication Initiative in Nigeria which aims to immunise at least 95 percent of children aged 0-59 months with Oral Polio Virus (OPV) in all LGAs, regardless of their previous immunisation status; to reduce zero dose rate, that is children that have never received immunisation before; to increase routine immunisation coverage; and to promote integration of other child survival.

The campaign will involve house-to-house, transit and fixed post teams while children at homes, markets, churches, mosques, major car parks and

social event venues would be specifically targeted.

"Lagos State will mount 752 fixed posts, 2,189 house-to-house, and 1,712 transit Teams. Plans have been made to implement activities that would attract children and caregivers to vaccination posts like vaccination post banners, drumming, music, giving of 'pluses' to immunised children, amongst others. The hours of service will be between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily for the four days" she explained.

Stressing that the immunisation service is free, Adeshina appealled to parents and caregivers to ensure that all eligible children receive polio vaccine irrespective of their immunisation status when health workers come knocking at their doors.

immunisation. It helps the child to fight infections but it is not immunisation and the benefits last only for a short time. Some immunisations shots protect beyond one condition, some vaccinations come in combinations, so with one shot a person can get protection for multiple infections.

Where can people get immunised?

Immunisation has been made available to everybody. At every health centre, General Hospital, and government hospital, there is an immunisation centre that runs a programme for mothers to take their children for regular immunisation. At the government hospital, immunisation is free for the diseases that are in the national programme. It is not optional.

If you go to a private hospital, you are going to pay for immunisation. But government has recognised that there must be a public private mix, because some people will still not go to the government hospitals therefore many private hospitals also run immunisation programmes. . They follow the NPI and must make sure they maintain the cold chain so that the vaccines are safe.

It has been recognised that some mothers are resistant to immunisation, how can this be addressed?

Benefits of immunisation far outweigh the risks. The side effects of immunisation such as fever are mild and will resolve even without treatment. Some people often have the concerns of long-term side effect but it has been shown that these side effects are rare compared to the protection received from immunisation. To address this, it is first important tounderstand why a woman is resistant to immunisation. Many

times it is out of ignorance and proper education can suffice.

Sometimes it is as a result of cultural and religious factors and again presenting the facts will help to over come some of these.

It is important to understand that because immunisation has been taken up by so many people some of those diseases that are covered are no longer affecting others even those who have not received the vaccination (herd immunity). But if many people stop getting theimmunisation, those diseases will come back and the threat for those who are not immunised will increase. So we need to encourage everybody to get immunised.

Do adults require immunisation?

Yes a number of vaccinations such as the pneumococcal vaccine, HPV, chicken pox, typhoid fever and influenza vaccines may be required by adults. The indications for some adult immunisation include age and the presence of certain medical conditions.

Tell us a little about the pneumococcal vaccine The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has been shown to be effective in preventing infection from the pneumococcal organism which causes pneumonia, meningitis and blood infection. This is a major cause of death among the elderly and those with many medical conditions.

Medical conditions It is recommended for children and it is included in the NPI. It is also recommended for adults over the age of 65 years and also for those less than 65 years but who have other conditions such as diabetes, HIV infection, cancers, sickle cell, lung diseases etc.

There is a guideline that is usually followed for adult pneumococcal vaccination.

What is the role of healthcare providers in closing the immunisation gap?

Their role is to educate and advise patients on the benefits of immunisation and to identify those who have fears and concerns regarding immunisation and to address them. Sometimes people are not aware of the vaccine they need, so the health care provider has a role in educating their patients about the right vaccines that are available and encouraging them to get those vaccines.

The government is trying to reach the rural areas that were not adequately covered by decentralising immunisation and scaling it down appropriately and the reach has increased. Pneumococcal vaccine uptake particularly among adultshas not been optimal and I think we need to highlight its benefits in reducing the burden of pneumococcal infection.

VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015—49

ERSTWHILE speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, former deputy minority leader of the Senate, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora was the deputy director general of the successful All Progressives Congress, APC Presidential Campaign Organisation. In this interview, Senator Mamora bares his mind on the person of the president-elect, the challenges of the campaign and developments emanating from the victory of the APC among other issues. Excerpts:

By Henry Umoru

H

OW was the campaign?

Expectedly it was tough in the sense that we were trying to displace a sitting government which in its self is a herculean task in Africa and in fact in anywhere in the world.

Never has it been done in Nigeria, so this is the first time that you would have an opposition party come in to defeat the ruling party, the incumbent president.

So we knew what to expect, we knew what to face, but we were undaunted because we were determined, we wanted it, we worked for it and God did it at the end of the day. So I wouldn’t go too far without saying it is the Lord’s doing, as we say and to God be the glory.

But I will also give credit to the leaders of the party and in saying this, you would want to •Mamora consider the background to the merger, the parties that came together and then of course the defecting governors particularly from the PDP that also joined.

Emergence of the merger So everybody had a role to play, but I must specifically give kudos as it were to the leaders of all the parties that were involved in ensuring that the merger became a reality against all odds.

You don’t have to start recounting all that happened, attempt to scuttle the merger even when the merger eventually came to be and of course setting up the structures of the party, ward congresses, local government congresses, state congresses, and the national convention. People thought the thing would collapse; it is not possible, strange bed fellows and all sorts of things like that.

And then you would not forget so soon when some people also came claiming that APC is their own brand.

For me, I would tell you that all along I believed the hand of God was in the whole project. And I just had it within me that the hand of God was in the whole project, and we finally got the right candidate.

Seriously, for me and with all due respect to all the other presidential aspirants, for this point in time the best man that could have won that election with of course God in the project could not have been no other person than Gen. Mohammadu Buhari, seriously. It became an idea whose time has come, and nobody just could stop it.

Of course I acknowledge all the other presidential aspirants;

How PDP can survive the harsh life of opposition — Mamora

Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Kwankwanso, Sam Nda Isaiah and Rochas Okorocha, all of them.

When you look at even the history of nations, you will discover that at some point in time, at a particular point in time, God would just give the people, that is, the man for this point in time.

If you talk of America, you will talk of Abraham Lincoln, if you talk of Britain, you would talk of Winston Churchill, if you talk of South Africa, you would talk of Nelson Mandela, if you talk of Singapore, you would talk of Lee Kuan Yew, if you talk of France, you will talk of Charles de Gualle; so all these individuals came at a time or God just presented them at a time and everybody would just key into it.

Campaign period So it was against this background that we faced all the odds and like I said, I had that conviction within me that God is in this project. And look at the electioneering campaign period, look at all the campaign of calumny against the person of Gen. Mohammadu Buhari, hate, propaganda and all that, viciously attacking his person and in spite of all that, in fact it got to a point that all these attacks, they became positive in the sense that people were beginning to look beyond whatever.

All these attacks became a source of sympathy towards the presidential candidate then as he was. Then of course the certificate saga which was a nonissue to start with. And one thing I always and still tell people up till now is that the greatest thing going for Gen. Mohammadu Buhari is moral authority, it is the greatest asset. His integrity is there, but moral authority is the main character that can stand up and say yes and nobody would query that and none of his peers has that kind of quality.

As the Deputy DirectorGeneral of the campaign, did you at any time entertain fear of defeat before the election?

Not really the issue of fear, but there were concerns and there were even some anxious moments, but the peace of God was with me personally and I had the cause to express my own inner thoughts to Gen. Buhari himself, that God was with us in the project taking into cognisance the problems created for us by those who wanted to scuttle the merger.

I also remember an attempt even on the General’s life when there was a bomb attack on his convoy and he escaped.

I felt that for me, that itself was a good omen that God has a purpose for this man’s life for this country, that he could miraculously escape or he could be miraculously delivered in that situation, that itself was enough to convince me that God has a

purpose for this man in Nigeria.

Again, I said it earlier on, wanting to displace a sitting government at the federal level in Africa and in Nigeria where it has never happened before, so it was historic, and of course knowing the amount of money thrown out, seen and unseen, the amount of the vicious campaign, so if it was money, we would be nowhere to be found because we could not match the PDP money for money, no.

They also had all the state apparatus at their disposal, and all these convinced me that it was the Lord’s doing.

Given what happened to the PDP, what are you putting in place to ensure that you manage your success?

My prayer is that our own lot would not be like that of the PDP,

Three things happened to PDP. The first was complacency, the second was arrogance of power and the third was enthronement of impunity

but at the same time, I would also warn that we are not immune to what happened to PDP. For me, three things happened to PDP. The first was complacency, the second was arrogance of power and the third was enthronement of impunity.

And it was like, no, we are the ones there, nothing will happen, we can do whatever we like. So those were the three things that destroyed the party and brought the party, PDP, to her kneels completely. So, we should also be mindful.

In fact, I even said it somewhere before now, that PDP is even lucky for the Nigerian people to have tolerated the party for 16 years, I pray that we would also be lucky enough. You see, the expectations are more than before, very high now.

What do you make of the change?

I am not unmindful of what the challenges ahead are and what it means is that we must always remind ourselves of these challenges. We must always keep our eyes on the ball so that we don’t miss the goal.

We must keep our promises particularly the three major areas; insecurity which we must tackle, the second is corruption, the third is the economy; those are the three major areas and they are interwoven. What the president- elect has been saying, in essence, is that it may take time to achieve certain things.

Turnaround in stock market But I have gone further to say that certain things even with his election, without being inaugurated, with his election certain, things happened, there was a turnaround in the stock market, the price of dollar relating to naira fell, those are some positive signals and which are just based on the man, Gen. Buhari, the president elect of Nigeria, everything is just falling in place and that is the kind of thing that you need because with his election already, some level of stability is already being experienced in the system which we now need to build upon.

Even the investors both within and outside, there is already some kind of confidence coming into the system.

To complement this, the people he would work with, must think along the same line with him.

I can assure you that the bit I know of the president elect, he is ever mindful of who are around him because he cannot do it alone and that is why the constitution has given him that latitude to assemble a team who would work with him either as members of the cabinet or as special advisers or in various other positions.

I could remember on several

Continues on page 50

50—VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

How PDP can survive harsh life — Mamora Continues from page 49

occasions during the campaign, you would see the masses that virtually mobbed him and you would be wondering these people they have expectations.

So he is very conscious of what is at stake and I know that he would bring on board those who would be in the best position to assist him in achieving the set goals, objectives and the vision which he has for this country.

Don’t you think that the continuing failure of your party to resolve the zoning of offices could tear your party apart?

The party will not tear apart, that is the first thing to say. For a party that is as vibrant as APC, it is nothing unusual. What is important is that at the end of the day, the party would uphold the principle of justice, equity and fair play.

Whatever that is going on now, at best they are just consultations. No decision has been taken, they are just consultations and it is good to consult wide and put heads together, give and take, work out consensus and what have you to achieve what is best.

Crash programme It is not about an individual, tribe, geopolitical zones, it is about Nigeria. And once we keep Nigeria as our focus and we all collectively agree to work for what I call the best interest of this country, then we will get to that Promised Land.

What advice would you give to the PDP to survive as an opposition party?

First, I would probably just borrow from one of the recent press releases of my dear brother, irrepressible Lai Mohammed where he said that the PDP would be willing, I think he gave the advice to Olisa Metuh, the PDP National Publicity Secretary that he would be willing to give him a crash programme on how to be an opposition spokes man.

So I think I would just advice Olisa Metuh to take the advantage of that free crash programme offered

by Lai Mohammed on how to be an opposition spokes man, which is on a lighter note.

But on a very serious note, PDP should adopt the approach of APC in terms of not engaging in destructive criticism. I just mentioned earlier on that we would not be perfect,

•Mamora: Change will be challenging we are very conscious of that because perfection belongs to God. What PDP should look out for is to give constructive criticism and be up and doing.

You know that was what our party was doing and I cannot over say it. Lai Mohammed, the opposition spokesman till May 29, did a wonderful job in that capacity because he would comment on everything and anything in a very positive manner.

So that should be the kind of rule.

On those dumping the PDP for the APC? I am not too comfortable by this influx of a lot of people particularly even the big wigs in PDP now moving into APC in droves. Yes, people are welcome, but what we want is value addition, we don’t want fair weather birds, no because that may be dangerous.

Some of these people with all due sense of responsibility, some of them may just be political virus that would end up infecting and invading and then go on to destabilize and destroy, that is the way I look at it.

Some of them, I am not saying all of them, some of them may just be what I have just said political virus which would infect, invade, destabilize and destroy their host and in

On a very serious note, PDP should adopt the approach of APC in terms of not engaging in destructive criticism

this instance the APC. People must learn to be consistent in what they do and we cannot have a balanced democracy in an atmosphere devoid of robust opposition. It is important for me to say this.

We need that robust opposition to keep constantly the ruling party as it were or the government at that point the incumbent government on its toes. Because when a government or the ruling party is kept on its toes, then you will always know that there is another party waiting in the wings to take over.

This is the way it should be. It should just be a situation of if I don’t get what I want here, let me jump. It doesn’t help the system. We must help the system to grow to what we want it to be.

Political evolution For me, happily enough, through a process of political evolution, we seem to have established a two party system in the country, which I have always considered the best option for us because it is the kind of situation that provides the best advantage to abort the things that tend to divide us; the primordial sentiments, the north south dichotomy, the east west dichotomy, religious, tribal, ethnic sentiments and all that. It is a two party system that provides the best option to abort these divisive tendencies in the land.

So that is my advice for the opposition, the PDP, let them also feel it this time around, now that the table has turned. It is good to know how it feels to be on the other side.

Vanguard, MONDAY MONDAY,, APRIL 27, 2015—51

Several months after fire tragedy, traders still count losses zLament govt neglect

By Chris Onuoha

S

UNDAY June 9, 2013, is a day that traders at the Speedwell Plaza, Trinity Spare parts market in Olodi Apapa, now remember with pain and regret.

It was a day their shops at the plaza were razed by fire that left them suffering huge losses and being heart-broken. Two years after, they are yet to recover from that disaster as they are still lamenting their losses. This is after several Save- Our-Soul, SOS, letters and appeals to the Lagos State Government have failed to yield any comforting response.

The traders, under the aegis of Speedwell Plaza Union, are however, not discouraged by the lack of response to their cry or the outright indifference by the Lagos State Government and the Lagos State Emergency Relief Agency, LASEMA, to their suffering . They have intensified their appeals, telling all concerned about their plight and pleading for humanitarian intervention that will bring succour to them.

It will be recalled that on that fateful day in June 2013, over 150 shops and goods worth more than N500 million were destroyed by fire at the Trinity Road, Speedwell Plaza in Olodi Apapa. The fire was suspected to have been caused by power upsurge. Though no life was lost, about three people sustained various degrees of injury.

Citizens in distress Accordingtosomemembersofthe Union executive who spoke to Vanguard Metro, VM, on the incident, “in spite of several letters and appeals sent by the Union to the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, the State Commissioner of Special Duties whose office is directly in charge of citizens in distress in Lagos State, the chairman of Ajeromi Local Government Area and other relevant bodies, there has been no action taken to assuage our losses and alleviate our plight since the unfortunate incident, thus leaving us stranded.”

The Chairman of the Union, Theophilus Okeke, while expressing dismay over the attitude of the state government to their plight, said: “We are suffering; life has not been the same since the fire incident. Our children cannot go to school anymore and our domestic needs cannot be met, prompting some of our members to relocate to the village.”

*Fire fighters battling to put out the inferno at the Speedwell Plaza, Trinity Spare parts market in Olodi Apapa Okeke said: “As you can see now, many of us affected by the fire incident have been reduced to zero level after millions of naira which weborrowedfrombankstofacilitate our businesses got lost in the fire.

Some of our members have died following the untold hardship that came their way as a result of which they were unable to pay hospital bills when they had health challenges and psychological traumas.Unabletomakeendsmeet, some have resorted to doing menial jobs to sustain themselves. We owe the banks heavily and we need help to get our lives back on track.”

Speaking in a sorrowful voice, he said: “We all know it is a natural disaster, but as tax-paying citizens

Unable to make ends meet, some have resorted to doing menial jobs to sustain themselves; we owe the banks heavily and we need help to get our lives back on track

of this country, we feel government has an obligation to look after our welfare in our moment of need like now that we are left to the mercy of fate.”

Okeke also queried why their plight should be ignored when some people in similar situation in thestatearegettingassistancefrom government. He cited the case of the N87 million compensation given to victims of the Surulere rain flood disaster in February 2014 by the Lagos State Government.

Mr. Okeke used the opportunity to once again appeal to the Lagos State government to help alleviate theirsuffering,saying:“Wearevery instrumental in the electioneering process of the state and also have a fair share in the economic growth ofthestatethroughourcommercial activities and immovable properties. We have also contributed our quota in helping theFasholaadministrationsucceed and hoping his successor will not forget us. I am strongly appealing to the Lagos State government once again to come to our aid as things have been very difficult for us since the incident.”

According to Okeke: “Governor Fashola paid a visit to the site two days after the incident and promised to rebuild the plaza with considerationtotheinitialoccupants of the burnt shops first before others after completion. Two weeks after his visit, the plaza was cordoned off by a private developer without any physical works or construction going on.”

Vandals are better armed than us — Lagos NSCDC

By Bose Adelaja

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WO months after the antivandals squad of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, was attacked by some suspected pipeline vandals in OkeOko, a border town in Ikorodu, the Lagos State Command of the Corps has come out to say that the law enforcement agents were overwhelmed by the sophisticated weapons employed by the vandals, adding that three of its men were still missing.

The NSCDC State Commandant, Gabriel Abafi, also said that the vandals are being sponsored by some individuals, a situation which, he said, has enabled them procure better and more sophisticated weapons than the anti-vandals squad. He thereby called on both the Federal and state governments to declare the affected area a danger zone, saying only the combined team of the military and other security agencies can put an end to the illicit business.

Lamenting that the vandals have been having a field day since the incident occurred, the commandant said he has intensified the search for the missing men through other relevant security outfits in the state. ‘’We are still searching for three of our men. In the event, we have contacted all the intelligence organisations to help us in the

search. Unfortunately the vandals are having a field day in the community and this is so painful because what belongs to the entire nation is being cornered by some individuals who have sponsors and buyers,’’ he lamented.

Abafi also said the affected families have been contacted to join the state chapter in prayers for the missing officials as there was no clue to their whereabouts.’’We want to keep the names secret so that emotions will not be raised by individual families who have been coming to our office. Also, we have been pleading with them to join us in prayers,’’ he said.

The NSCDC official called on buyers of vandalised products to desist from the act, saying: ‘’If there are no buyers, these people will stop operation.”

We hereby urge both the state and Federal governments to declare the place a no-go-area to the vandals, even if it means taking possession of the area,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, the residents have urged government to provide adequate security in the community as the vandals have re-grouped, even threatening the community in defiance of law enforcement agents.

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Rivers: Election petition tribunal receives 17 petitions •as presidential tribunal enters no case against Buhari’s victory

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

A

BUJA—THE Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which was originally scheduled to conduct its proceedings at the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, is in the process of packing up, as no single case was lodged against the victory of the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari.

Section 285 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, specifically provided for petitions to be entered before the tribunal, 21 days from the day the final result was declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Investigations by Vanguard revealed that the 21 days deadline expired last week, with neither the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, nor any other party or presidential candidate, moving to challenge Buhari’s election victory at the tribunal.

It will be recalled that on three different occasions, Buhari himself had gone before the presidential election tribunal to challenge the election victories of ex-Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo (2003), late Umaru Musa Yar’adua (2007), and that

of Goodluck Jonathan (2011).

Meantime, 11 petitions have been lodged before the Rivers State Election Petition tribunal which was relocated to conduct its proceedings in Abuja.

The Secretary of the tribunal,

Mr. Deborah Musa who confirmed this to Vanguard, further disclosed that all the petitions were based on the National Assembly election that held in Rivers State on March 28.

She said that so far, no petition

L-R: President, DuPont Turkey, Middle East, Africa and Pakistan, Mr. Pierrick Le Gallo, Country Manager, DuPont Nigeria, Mr. Seydou Kane; and Managing Director/CEO, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, during DuPont Business Forum themed “Business Outlook for Nigeria in the new Political Context”, in Lagos

Reps Speakership: CJF makes case for S-South, S-East

By Emman Ovuakporie

A

BUJA—AN advocacy group, the Coalition for Justice and Fairness, CJF, weekend, cautioned the All

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has been filed against the outcome of the governorship election that saw the emergence of the erstwhile Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike as the governor-elect for the state, adding, however, that the time within which such petition could be filed, had yet to elapse.

Progressives Congress on the dangers of excluding the South South geopolitical zone from its zoning formula, particularly in the Speakership of the House of Representatives.

The CJF said in a statement that the APC administration having had the president-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari from the North West and the vice president-elect, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo from the South West, it was alarmed following reports of the APC zoning the National Assembly leadership to the North East and South West regions, by implication excluding the South South and South East geo-political regions.

CJF in the statement signed by its convener, Muraina Ahmed, warned that the exclusion of the zones will negate the federal character principle enunciated in section 14(3) of the Nigerian Constitution.

The statement read in part: “For the records, the APC as the majority party has the conventional privilege to zone the offices of Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. The knotty issue that will test APC’s abhorrence of impunity, which was one of the major reasons Nigerians voted for the party, is the zoning of the listed leadership offices in

It’ll be unfair to deny North-east senate presidency —Justice Forum

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HE Justice and D e v e l o p m e n t Consultative Forum, JDCF, said, yesterday, that it would be unfair to deny the North-east geo political zone the position of the Senate president, noting that the region braved security challenges to produce the second largest number of votes for the All Progressives Congress ,APC. A statement by its leader, Mr. Elisha Ishaku said the region deserves an influential position in the legislature to champion the reconstruction of the damages caused by Boko Haram insurgents.

His words: ''From when I can remember the leadership of the senate when zoned to the north has always been taken by the north central. I don’t think we are asking for too much. Look at the recent devastations in the North East, we have lost a lot to the insurgencies and we are still losing, our children are being kidnapped in hundreds, our wives and women molested, brothers and husbands killed, families without their homes, the destruction is massive.”

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N D U K W U — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Ndukwu Bernadine Ngozi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Bernadine Ngozi Aririguzo . All former documents remain valid. Federal University of Technology, Owerri and general public please take note.

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All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

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YOU CAN BOOK YOUR ADVERT AT: TRINITY MALL, 79/81 OBAFEMI AWOLOWO WAY, IKEJA. CALL: 08035449960, 07031322957 MURPHÝ'S PLAZA 27, SANUSI FAFUNWA STREET, VICTORIA ISLAND. CALL: 08038092373, 08033163424

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Garba warns players ahead of Germany trip A

HEAD of their training tour of Germany, Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba has warned his players that they are not embarking on a jamboree.

The 30 players currently in camp are travelling to Germany for a training tour, where they will be joined by the other invited overseas based players and Manu has said in no unclear terms that the players’ futures on the team will be decided there.

“The players we are taking to the World Cup will be decided there so they must keep working hard.

They mustn’t think going to Germany means going to the World Cup because if they stop working hard, they stop making the team.

“Going to Germany is not for sightseeing or jamboree, it is our final leg of preparation and the players must show more zeal and commitment if they are to make the final team because that is what we are going there to do and nothing else,” he said.

Manu also admitted that he and his coaching crew already have an idea of some of the players that will make the final squad, but insists they will only make their final decisions after their German exercise.

“From our training sessions so far we have some ideas but nothing will be decided until we have finished our preparations in Germany.”

Odemwingie happy with emotional return

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ETER Odemwingie has spoken about his happiness after taking part in a competitive football match for the first time in eight months.

The 33-year-old ruptured his knee ligaments on August 30, 2014 during Stoke City’s 1-0 win over champions, Manchester City in a Barclays English Premier League game at the Etihad Stadium.

Odemwingie returned to action on Saturday as he replaced Jonathan Walters in the 80th minute of Stoke City’s 11 draw with Sunderland in a Premier League game at the Britannia Stadium.

Ibe signs new Liverpool deal till 2020

N

CELEBRATION ... Flying Eagles players in joyous celebration after scoring a goal

•Ighalo

Ighalo’s Watford return to EPL O DION Ighalo’s Watford have secured a return to the Premier League, eight years after they were relegated.

The club got a 2-0 win over Brighton on Saturday with Ighalo playing while their close rivals faltered and they thus earned their place with the big

boys in the EPL. Fourth-placed Norwich drew 1-1 with Rotherham while thirdplaced Middlesbrough, Kenneth Omeruo’s club, fell to a 4-3 defeat to Fulham.

The Championship leaders could secure the title if second-placed Bournemouth lose to

Bolton on Monday.

Ighalo has had a very successful season with Watford where he has scored 20 goals so far.

His hot form with the Championship side earned him a call up to the Super Eagles during the two friendly matches in March against Uganda and South Africa.

Imo wins Etisalat U-15 School Cup G OVERNMENT Secondary School, Imo emerged winners of the second edition of the Etisalat U-15 School Cup after beating Government Model School, Bida, Niger 4-2 carting home the trophy in a thrilling final game played at the Campos Square Mini-Stadium, Lagos Island last weekend.

For its feat, the winning

school also took home the star prize of N2 million educational award and N50,000 each to players of the team, while the first-runner up Government Model School, Bida, Niger, went home with N1 million and N30,000 for each player of the team.

The second runner-up, Winners College Akure,

UP CHAMPIONS ... Government Secondary School, Owerri, Imo State players celebrate after lifting the Etisalat U-15 Soccer Champions in Lagos

Ondo who defeated Washington Memorial Grammer School, Anambra through the ‘sudden death’ penalty shootout after both

I G E R I A N youngster Jordan Ibe has committed his future to Liverpool as he inked a long-term deal that will see him remaining at Anfield till 2020.

According to Liverpool Echo, the contract is reward for the 19-yearold forward’s impressive development, with Reds boss Brendan Rodgers confident Ibe can become a significant player for the club in the coming years.

Ibe hit the limelight with some sterling performances with Derby County in the first half of the season where he played on loan, scoring five times, with an assist in 20 league appearances.

He has earned the praise of captain Steven Gerrard who crowned him man of the match against Everton in February and manager Brendan Rodgers who tagged him “sensational.”

Ibe is a player of significant potential, and 2015/16 could well be his breakout year for Liverpool.

schools had played for 90 minutes and extra time received the sum of N750,000 and each player took home N20,000.

NNPC-Shell Cup: 27 Schools qualify for zonal preliminaries

T

WENTY-SEVEN schools have emerged as champions from the state finals in the ongoing 17th edition of the NNPC-Shell Cup for Nigerian secondary schools sponsored by the Shell Petroleum Development Company Joint Venture.

According to the Nigerian School Sports Federation, organisers of the event, the state champions will now compete in zonal

preliminaries between April 27 and May 01, 2015 in nine zones.

The quarterfinals will take place from May 8 while the semifinal and the final matches are slated for May 22 and 24 respectively at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.

The NNPC-Shell Cup tournament has created a platform for the discovery of new football talents some of whom have subsequently played for the Nigerian national

•Ibe

62 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

Bayern win 25th Bundesliga title B

BATTLE...Arsenal's Sanchez (l) battles Chelsea's Fabregas for the ball in yesterday's match at Emirate

Chelsea close in on title C

HELSEA moved a step closer to winning their first Premier League title in five years with a draw against second-placed Arsenal. The contest started off slowly as both teams broke down their opponent’s rhythms with a string a of petulant fouls.

Jose Mourinho’s men nearly took the lead in the 15th minute when Oscar sprung the home-side’s offside trap.

The Brazilian raced in on David Ospina’s goal and hooked the ball over the on-rushing Colombian. The ball seemed destined to nestle in back of the net but was cleared off the line by Laurent Koscielny.

The Blues had a huge shout for a penalty in the 22nd minute when Cesc Fabregas - who was re-

turning to the Emirates for the first time - appeared to be fouled in the box by Santi Cazorla.

The visitors protested for a spot-kick to be awarded, but had their appeals were waved away by referee Michael Olivier - who booked the Spaniard for simulation.

Arsene Wenger’s side

immediately cranked up the pressure on the visitors after Fabregas’ dive and began to impose their will on the runaway Premier League leaders.

However, despite dominating the latter stages of the first-half, the north Londoners failed to test Blues stopper Thibaut Courtois.

The second-period started the same as the first and neither side created any golden opportunites Per Mertesacker should’ve given the hosts the lead in the 68th minute when the ball fell to him just inside the penalty box.

ayern Munich clinched their third consecutive Bundesliga title courtesy of Wolfsburg’s 1-0 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach.

Pep Guardiola’s side beat Hertha Berlin 1-0 on Saturday to put them within sight of the title.

Wolfsburg had to beat Gladbach, who move up to third, to make Bayern wait another week for their 25th title, but lost to an injury-time Max Kruse goal.

Treble-chasing Bayern are in the Champions League and German Cup semis.

They will have little time to celebrate this success as they face rivals Borussia Dortmund in the last four of the domestic cup on Tuesday.

Bayern are bidding for their third consecutive domestic double, and second treble in three years.

Guardiola has won five domestic titles in his six years as a manager; three out of four with Barcelona and now two in two for Bayern.

The Bavarians face Barca in the Champions League semi-finals in May. Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said: “Retaining the title is a magnificent achievement. All credit to the coach and the team. They’ve been fantastic throughout, in a season following a World Cup where we had a host of players in action.

“We’ll have a magnificent party at some stage, no worries. But all in good time. When we do, it’ll be a huge celebration.”

Torino delay Juve's title celebrations F

abio Quagliarella struck against his old club to give Torino their first Derby della Mole win in 20 years, but Juventus hit the woodwork three times.

The Granata hadn’t won the Derby della Mole for 20 years, home or away, since a 3-2 result in 1994-

95. Andrea Pirlo defeated the Granata in the last minute when these sides met earlier this season, a heartbreaking loss for Giampiero Ventura’s men. Claudio Marchisio was suspended with Patrice Evra, Paul Pogba, Martin Caceres, Kwadwo Asamoah and

Fabio Quagliarella (R) of Torino FC in action against Angelo Ogbonna of Juventus FC during the Serie A match between Torino FC and Juventus FC at Stadio Olimpico di Torino on April 26.

Romulo sidelined. Omar El Kaddouri returned from a ban for the hosts, while Fabio Quagliarella faced his former club.

Torino did get their equaliser just before the break. Quagliarella pulled back from the right and Matteo Darmian’s first touch was poor, but the bobble turned out to help, as he was able to beat Gigi Buffon on the half-volley.

Pirlo almost scored a second in identical fashion on 52 minutes, but this time it smacked against the upright and back out.

Instead, Torino took the lead for the first time.

Omar El Kaddouri threaded through for Darmian, who immediately rolled across for Quagliarella to sidefoot home from five yards.

This season Quagliagoal has scored against all his former clubs – Juventus, Napoli, Sampdoria, Fiorentina and Udinese.

Bruno Peres had a dangerous solo run and Quagliarella’s attempted overhead kick was wayward.

Bayern players celebrate

Everton punish slack Man Utd

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ANCHESTER UNITED failed to leapfrog their noisy neighbours after a humbling at the hands of Roberto Martinez’s ruthless Everton at Goodison Park. Louis van Gaal’s men dropped to fourth in the table following Manchester City’s 3-2 win over Aston Villa on Saturday and they failed to shine on a sunny Merseyside afternoon.

Toffees midfielder James McCarthy rounded off a quick counter-attack to stun United in the fourth minute before defender John Stones headed in a

second before the break.

The visitors pushed for a way back in during the second-half but Kevin Mirallas took advantage of some slack defending late on to fire past David De Gea and secure all three points.

Van Gaal made just one change to his side following last weekend’s 1-0 loss at Chelsea with Daley Blind coming in for Radamel Falcao.

But Everton were quick out the traps and punished United from their own corner as McCarthy picked up a loose ball and drove through some weak resistance to smash home.

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Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

Premier League Chelsea step closer — Pg 62 Glo Premier League

BUNDESLIGA Bayern win!

— Pg 62 RESULTS EPL Everton Arsenal

3 0

Man Utd Chelsea

0 0

SERIE A Atalanta Genoa Hellas Verona Lazio Parma Torino Fiorentina

2 3 3 1 1 2 1

Empoli Cesena Sassuolo Chievo Verona Palermo Juventus Cagliari

2 1

LA LIGA Malaga Almeria Sevilla

1 2 2

Deportivo 1 Eibar 0 Rayo Vallecano 0

BUNDESLIGA Paderborn M/gladbach

2 1

Werder Bremen 2 Wolfsburg 0

FRENCH LIGUE I Saint Etienne 1 Lens 0

Montpellier Monaco

1 0 1 3

0 3

Klitschko decisions Jennings

W

LADIMIR Kl itschko retained his heavyweight world titles with a comfortable 12-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten American Bryant Jennings before revealing Tyson Fury is likely to be his next opponent.

The Ukrainian did little to impress US fight fans at the fabled Madison Square Garden in New York in his 22nd straight victory and an 18th straight heavyweight world title defence.

Enyimba 3-2 Sharks Rangers 3-0 ElKanemi Warriors Akwa United 2-0 Dolphins Kano Pillars 2-1 FC Taraba Sunshine Stars 3-2 Wikki Tourists Abia War riors 1-0 Shooting Stars Kwara United 1-0 Nasarawa United Lobi Stars 1-1 Giwa FC Bayelsa United 0-0 Gabros FC Warri Wolves vs Heartland (PP, replay Monday 8am)

La Liga Juve title delayed — Pg 62 QUICK CROSSWORD

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

FRI DAY'S FRIDAY'S

ANSWERS

Across 1 Impel (4) 4 Intelligence (3) 6 Tight (4) 8 Coming (6) 9 No-one (6) 10 Owned (3) 12 Fashion (5) 14 Memorise (5) 15 Attempted (5) 18 Beg (6) 20 Harmony (6) 24 Loaded (5) 26 Enlist (5) 28 Broader (5) 30 Layer (3) 32 Larger (6) 33 Beast (6) 34 Intend (4) 35 Noise (3) 36 Dregs (4)

Down 2 Wireless (5) 3 Perform (7) 4 Having (4) 5 Nurse (4) 6 List (5) 7 Experience (7) 11 Expert (3) 13 Epoch (3) 16 Sick (3) 17 Defective (3) 19 Thoughtful (7) 21 Novel (3) 22 First (7) 23 And not (3) 25 Tool (3) 27 Harmonium (5) 29 Escape (5) 30 Poke (4) 31 Story (4)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS Across: 2, Tense 7, Devil 8, Melon Magic 12, Fat 13, Remit 15, Logical Eroded 19, Won 20, Deleted 23, Died Down 26, Devoted 30, Pad 31, Denote Shelter 37, Moral 38, Awe 39, Debit Piety 41, Sewed 42, Speed.

10, 17, 25, 34, 40,

Down: 1, Defer 2, Timid 3, Elated 4, Soil 5, Refined 6, Total 9, Lac 11, Cowered 13, Ready 14, Moved 16, Got 18, Decoded 21, Donor 22, Angel 24, Deplete 27, Vat 28, Demise 29, Chair 32, Noted 33, Tamed 35, Ewe 36, Reap.

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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