bank, pdp kick against cbn's policy

...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 62462

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015**

Mr & Mrs

Banks, PDP kickagainst CBN's policy

COLUMNISTS:

•P.41 •P.42

Dogara’s expensiveprice for peace

Removing theJAMB and jam fromadmissions

Papa has a newbag of debts

•P.40

UNPAID SALARIES:NLC factions uniteagainst debtor govs

4

•See pull-outinside

•Importers divert businesses to neighbouring countries•CBN explains rationale, as Naira bounces back

Continues on Page 5

WAR AGAINST MONEY LAUNDERING9

CORRUPTION:Buhari descendson civil servants

By Gabriel Omoh,Babajide Komolafe

& Henry Umoru

LAGOS—BANKS andthe Peoples

Democratic Party, PDP,have kicked against thedecision of the CentralBank of Nigeria, CBN, tobar foreign currencydeposits into domiciliaryaccounts.

The PDP described thedecision as illegal,unlawful, void, archaicand communist in nature,stressing that thePresident should bereminded that as acountry, Nigeria was in ademocracy and notmilitary administration asin 1984.

A senior bank treasurerand executive member ofFinancial Market DealersAssociation of Nigeria,FMDA, also described thepolicy as a knee-jerk

8

50 Boko Haram killedas troops repel attackon Borno village

RESCUED—Some of the 178 Boko Haram captives rescued by troops of 21 Brigade of the Nigerian Army along Aulari inBama axis of Borno State. Those rescued include 101 children, 67 women and 10 men.

2 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015 — 3

CMYK

4—Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

THE Special Assistanton Political Matters to

Delta State Governor, ChiefAkigho Kent Okiemute,has refuted the claims thatthe governor was interestedin controlling the funds ofDelta State Oil ProducingArea DevelopmentC o m m i s s i o n ,DESOPADEC.

Okiemute said theallegations in a paidadvertorial were baselessand advised Deltans todisassociate themselvesfrom such facelessindividual or groups thatare spreading rumoursbecause of their vestedinterest.

He said what GovernorOkowa did when heassumed leadership was tocheck all the institutions,parastatals andcommissions of the stategovernor, adding that thiswas to enable him tocommence thedevelopmental strides hepromised during hiscampaigns.

From left: Assistant Editor in-chief, News Agency Of Nigeria, NAN, Mr Suleiman Tola,Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria, IHVN, Dr. Patrick Dakumand Deputy Editor in-chief, Mr. Victor Idem, at the NAN Forum in Abuja, yesterday

Unpaid salaries: NLC factions unite against debtor govs

Delta gov notcontrollingDESOPADECfunds—Okiemute

•Wabba faction meets Wednesday for decisive action•Ajaero faction issues August end ultimatum

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

LEADERS of the two factionsof Nigeria Labour

Congress, NLC, have put asidetheir differences to fight againststate governors owing workers’salaries and other benefits, saying“we are united and on the samepage on this issue and willcollectively fight to ensure thatthese governors pay workers theirearned wages and benefits.”

While the Ayuba Wabba ledfaction will be meeting onWednesday to take a decisiveaction on how to force the debtorgovernors to pay workers theirsalaries and other unpaidbenefits, the Joe Ajaero factionhas given the governors till theend of August to pay or faceunprecedented industrial unrest.

Speaking to Vanguard, Wabbasaid he had spoken to some ofthe leaders of the other group(Ajaero faction) and that therewas no doubt that they were onthe same page on the issueconcerning workers’ welfare andthat there would be collectiveaction against the debtorgovernors. According to him,there would be a joint meeting ofhis faction’s Central WorkingCommittee, CWC, and NationalExecutive Council, NEC, onWednesday where state councilswould give them first handinformation on the true positionof things in their states.

Taking of informeddecisions

He said that besides few stateslike Osun, which were obvious,Congress needed the statecouncils to give the actualsituations for informed decisionto be taken, saying “what he havediscovered is that it is not aquestion of shortage of funds thatprevented some of thesegovernors from payingworkers’salaries, but that theyused their funds for 2015elections. The financial situationis not as bad as being portrayedby these governors hence it not ageneral thing among thegovernors. Take for example thecase of Plateau State, the formergovernor was busy awardingbogus contracts which put thestate in this terrible situation. Thesame thing as Bauchi. In Plateau,the new government has met withour leaders on how to address theissue.”

Wabba said his leadership hadmet with some state governorsincluding Comrade AdamsOshiomhole of Edo State, whoconfirmed that the financialsituation in the states was not asbad as being portrayed by thedebtor governors. He lamentedthat in their wisdom, the debtorgovernors decided not toprioritize payment of workers’salaries and other benefits for lessimportant things.

“We have decided to summona joint meeting of CWC and NECto get a first hand informationfrom our state councils. We arevery concerned about thesituation because it is very serious.A worker deserves his wage. Wewill meet on Wednesday todecide how to collectively addressthe situation. It is no longer goingto be a state by state action wherea state would declare a strike andsuspend it without achievingmuch. The good thing about thisis that we are united on this. Wehave spoken to some of theleaders of the other group(faction) and we are on the samepage on this matter. We are goingto collectively address it becausean injury to one is an injury tothe other. So, we are going tohandle all the states collectivelyand not individually.”

Wasteful disposition of stategovernors

Wabba also dismissed claims bysome governors that the bailoutwas not meant for the payment ofsalaries and other allowancesowed workers, saying “the bailoutis for the payment of salaries andother allowances. We will nottolerate or accept a situation wherethe fund is diverted to other useswithout first clearing the backlogof salaries and other workers’benefits.”

In the same vein, the JoeAjaero faction of NLC which heldits National Executive Council,NEC, meeting in Port HarcourtRivers State, lamented that thegreed and wasteful dispositionsof state governors prevented thegovernors from living up to theirresponsibilities of paying workers’salaries and allowances as atwhen due.

Ajaero told Vanguard that theissue of unpaid salaries and otherbenefits to public workers by somestate governors featuredprominently during the NECmeeting and it was resolved thatif at the end of August, the affectedstate governors failed to pay,industrial action would bedeclared against them.

He said, “the greed andwasteful dispositions of stategovernors have put this delicateand intricate balancing of income,consumption and production ina state of disequilibrium. It isunfortunate that many statescannot pay salaries in the first instance. It is even more inconceivable anddefinitely unacceptable that afterthe timely intervention of Mr.President, salaries of workers arestill not paid in full as manystates still owe many months ofsalary arrears. If this continues tillAugust, we will mobilize allprivate sector unions for solidaritystrike action in affected states untilarrears of salaries and allowancesare paid.

“It must also be on record thatwe will not accept theblackmail of economic crisis notto negotiate a new minimumwage deal for Nigerian workers.We will resist every attempt tomake Nigerian workers thesacrificial lamb of the profligacyand maladministration ofpoliticians. We are, therefore,putting this administration onnotice that five year tenure of thenational minimum wage hasended and we are putting beforethe new administration a proposalof N90,000 for negotiation withthe Federal Government andNigeria Employers ConsultativeAssociation, NECA. This

modest proposal is based on the unstable macro-economicenvironment, naira devaluationand the high rate of inflation. Ifthere is any reason Nigeria is yetto fulfill her developmentpotentials, it is corruption that isresponsible for that. With over 150billion dollars stolen and stackedaway in foreign banks all over theworld, we need not search furtherthe reason for the perennial decayand the sorry state of criticalinfrastructure in our dear country.It is natural, therefore, to supportthe effort of PresidentMuhammadu Buhari to seekinternational support to ensurerepatriation of our stolen wealth.

“Beyond recovery of the stolenwealth, the presentAdministration must endeavourto review operations of the anticorruption agencies such asEconomic and Financial CrimeCommission, EFCC, andIndependent Corrupt PracticesCommission, ICPC, with a viewto strengthening them andmaking them come alive to theirstatutory functions of averting,discovering and punishingcorruption and other relatedcrimes in our society. There is theurgent need, too, to carry outreforms in our justice systemsuch that corruption cases can bequickly dispensed with.

LP blames Nwanyanwu over handover of certificate to NLC

By Chris Ochayi

ABUJA— A FACTION ofthe Labour Party, LP, has

disagreed with the formerNational Chairman, Chief DanNwanyanwu, over his reasonsfor handing over of theCertificate of Registration of theparty to the Nigeria LabourCongress, NLC, describing theaction as contemptuous.

The faction’s lawyer, ChiefChukwuma Ekomaru, SAN,said in a letter addressed to thefactional President of NLC,Ayuba Wabba, that the receiptof the certificate was faulty as ithad been reported missing byNwanyanwu when he resignedfrom the party before the 2015general elections to join thePeoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Ekomaru in the letter datedJuly 31, told Wabba that theparty on November 19, 2014had sued those paradingthemselves as the NationalCaretaker Committee of theparty with same Nwanyanwubeing the fourth claimant in thesuit pending before a FederalHigh Court Abuja and whichhearing had been adjourned bythe court till September 30,2015.

The letter said, “We are toinform you that before now theLabour Party had reported to the

Police that their certificate ofregistration is missing becauseDan Nwanyanwu after leavingthe party told the NationalChairman of the party that thecertificate of registration wasmissing. In the build up topolitical activities leading to the2015 General Elections,Nwanyanwu, for reason verypersonal to him left the LabourParty and joined thepresidential campaign team ofPresident Goodluck Jonathan.

“The whole world by yourpress coverage on bothelectronic and print media onJuly 30, 2015 is now aware thatthe NLC factional president,Comrade Ayuba Wabba, is nowin custody of the certificate ofregistration of the Labour Party.What Nwanyanwu handed overto you yesterday (Thursday) asthe certificate of registration oflabour party is a stolen propertybecause Nwanyanwu is nolonger a member of LabourParty.”

Addressing newsmen on thematter in Abuja, factionalNational chairman of the partyAlhaji Abdulkadir AbdulSalam,lamented that Nwanyanwu whoorganised the NationalConvention that brought thepresent leadership, NWC, ofthe party would be the one totry to destroy it.

POCKET CARTOONVanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015 —5

Continues from Page 1

Banks, PDP kick against CBN'spolicy

VISIT: From left, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, Bishop MargaretIdahosa, and Bishop Obianke Udume, Bishop of Anioma Bishopric, duringa courtesy visit by members of the Church of God Mission International tothe Governor in Asaba. Photo: Nath Onojake.

measure, which was notsustainable, adding thatbanks’ decision to stopdollar deposits intodomiciliary accounts wasin protest of the newpolicy.

In a statement signed,yesterday, by PDPNational PublicitySecretary, Chief OlisaMetuh, the party saidthat President Buhari’sregulations of the foreignexchange transactions inNigeria where theadministration wasmaking it impossible for

honest Nigerians toengage in free trade andregulate their personalactivities as guaranteed bythe constitution, wasclearly an agenda toillegally impose acommunist economicregime on Nigerians.

The party noted that theabsence of an economicteam at the moment,especially in the thirdmonth of theadministration, wasleading the country intoeconomic quagmire anddoldrums.

The statement read:“The Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) wishes to

bring to the notice ofPresident MuhammaduBuhari that the apparentabsence of an economicteam in the third month ofhis administration isleading the country intoeconomic quagmire anddoldrums.

“In the past, we hadgiven examples of thedevastating effect of lackof an economic team anda clear-cut fiscal policy bythis administration asevidenced in the lull andpainful decline in thestock market, spiral rate ofinflation, the disastrousouting of the governmentteam in bilateral talksduring the recent visit tothe United States ofAmerica and theshambolic state of oureconomy at present.

“This confusion hasbeen extended tooperations andregulations of the foreignexchange transactions inNigeria wherein thegovernment is making itimpossible for honestNigerians to engage infree trade and regulatetheir personal activities asguaranteed by theconstitution, and this isclearly an agenda toillegally impose acommunist economicregime on Nigerians.

“The most disturbingaspect of this communisteconomic agenda is theillegal and unlawfulattempt to repeal theprovisions of the ForeignExchange MonitoringAnd MiscellaneousProvisions Act, otherwiseknown as Decree No 17 of1995 and replace it withunilateral imposition ofnew regulations.

“This Act remains thesubsisting law regulatingthe operations ofdomiciliary accounts inNigeria and by itsprovisions therefore,Nigerians are empoweredto freely open and operatedomiciliary accounts.

"As such, any enactmentand or regulationinconsistent with theprovisions of this Act aredeemed void. Thus, therecent foreign exchangetransaction restrictions bythis government areillegal, unlawful and void.

Besides the provisions ofthe law, the PDP declaresthis administration’sarchaic communisteconomic agenda asunworkable andunsustainable.”

Naira bouncesback

Meanwhile, the toughmonetary policy stance ofthe CBN on the exchangerate of the naira hasstarted yielding result asthe local currencyappreciated weekend to aband of N225 to N230 tothe dollar, compared toN240 to the dollar atwhich it sold in the last fewweeks.

The apex bank hadbarred 41 items fromaccess to foreignexchange. It had directedthat as from August 1, allforeign exchangetransactions in anyBureau de Change musthave the BVN ofapplicants as foreignerswere said to have invadedthe nation’s foreignexchange market.

Banks last week, in a bidto stem the increasingtrend of the dollarisationof the economy, startedrejecting deposits offoreign currency in localbanks.

Forex dealers attributedthe naira’s gain to excesssupply of the greenback inthe market, even as itlooked like a lot ofspeculators would loseout in the new trend.

It was gathered from theCBN that commercialbanks that currently haddollars in excess of $1billion in their vaults,have started takingdesperate measures tomitigate currency risk.Bureaux de change(BDC) operators disclosedthat banks have stoppedaccepting dollars becausethey have too much cashin their vaults.

As a result of thedevelopment, banks havebeen rejecting dollardeposits into domiciliaryaccounts, but customersare allowed to withdrawcash from their accounts.

“The reason the bankshave too much cash is dueto speculation and moneylaundering. A lot ofpeople have beenspeculating against thenaira and amassed somuch cash.

"Then there are thosewho have been amassingdollars obtained illicitlyand want to launderthem."

Banks protestA senior bank treasurer

and executive member ofFinancial Market DealersAssociation of Nigeria,FMDA, who spoke toVanguard on condition ofanonymity, said thedecision by banks to stopaccepting foreigncurrency deposits intodomiciliary accounts wasin protest of the newpolicy.

He said: “There was noofficial communicationfrom CBN that it would nolonger collect dollar cashfrom banks. The wholething started when two orthree banks took theirdollars to the CBN forswap on Thursday, andthe CBN rejected thecash.

"As a result, banks nowfound themselves withhuge volume of dollarsthat are practically uselessto them. To protest thisdevelopment, banks havestopped acceptingforeign currency depositsacross the counter intodomiciliary accounts.

"The reality is thataccepting such deposits isuseless to banks. Theycannot trade the currencyand they cannot transferit. So it is useless.”

He said the new CBNpolicy implied thateverybody who wanted todeposit into domiciliaryaccount was a moneylaunderer, which was notpossible.

“This negates thepurpose of banking. It isa knee-jerk policy, whichis not sustainable, thoughit might force appreciationof the naira in the parallelmarket in the short term.’’

Importers divertbusinesses toneighbouringcountries

President, Association ofBureaux De ChangeOperators of Nigeria,Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe,told Vanguard that thepolicy had startedimpacting negatively onthe economy as importershad started diverting theirbusinesses toneighbouring countries.

He said the protest bybanks had, however,started impactingnegatively on theeconomy.

"The surplus dollars inthe street market isunavailable to the localimporters as they cannottransact with it throughtheir bankers. Theneighbouring countriesare having a field daymopping up the excesscash dollar liquidity, avery cheap rate for the useof their imports to thedetriment of the localimporter.

"Our local importersdivert the payments oftheir imports to thoseneighbouring countries.

The local importers alsodivert their consignmentsto the ports of theneighbouring countries.

"The current marketsituation is enablingbusiness activities toflourish in theneighbouring countries,”he said.

CBN explainsrationale for policy

Although the CBN didnot officially announce thenew policy to banks, it onSaturday issued a pressrelease, titled: “RenewedVigilance to Prohibit IllicitFinancial Flows inNigeria’s BankingSystem.”

The release, signed byIbrahim Muazu, DirectorC o r p o r a t eCommunication, CBN,stated: “The Central Bankof Nigeria (CBN) noteswith concern a recentreport by the GlobalFinancial Integrity group,which ranks Nigeria asone of the 10 largestcountries for illicitfinancial flows in theworld.

“Although we do nothave an independentconfirmation of thisassertion, the reportestimates that aboutUS$15.7 billion of illicitfunds go through oursystem annually."

It added that "CBN willincrease its vigilance toensure that Nigerianbanks are not used asconduits for illicit fundflows, especially inforeign currencies.

“We note and applaudthat in line with globalbest practice, Nigerianbanks have started tocurtail the acceptance offoreign currency cashdeposits, much the sameway as customers in othercountries cannot just walkinto banks and makeforeign currency cashdeposits without properdocumentation.

“We wish to assure allcitizens seeking foreigncurrencies for legitimatepersonal and/or businessinterests that thereremains ampleopportunity to do sowithin the law. The CBN’sForeign Exchange Ruleshave many windows foraccessing foreignexchange for legitimatebusiness as well as forpersonal commitments."

I believe that personal leadership is the majorprerequisite for living life. Personal leadership istaking full responsibility for the creation of yourfuture and the shaping of your destiny. It is thebasic awareness and consciousness that the outputof your life is largely dependent on the quality ofyour input which has to be intentional. I like howthe Persian poet Rumi put it; he says “why should Ibe at the bottom of the well when a strong rope is inmy hands?” One of the greatest mysteries in life isthat a man is held captive in prison while the keysto the locks are right in his hands only covered indust.

IT'S UP TO YOUBY AYO ADIO

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

“Success is peace of mind which is direct resultof self- satisfaction in knowing you did your bestto become the best you are capable of becoming” -John Wooden-

When you do work that you have a passion for,that you really love, everything counts beautifully.Each one of us has had this experience at some timein our lives. We get involved in something, andforget the world around us. Maybe it’s writing astory, or a book, or a painting, or handling a project.Maybe it’s pursuing your interest or hobby and work.You get so deeply involved with it, that suddenlyyou look up and discover with startled surprise thathours have slipped by in just minutes! That happenswhen you do work that you really and truly love.Find work that you love, and you won’t have to workanother day of your life. Do what you’re good at.When you’re good at it, you don’t want to give up.Even difficulties become challenges to be conquered,not barriers to keep you down.

So you’ve carefully picked the kind of work to do –work that you’re passionate about, that you’re goodat. Does this mean that everything will nowautomatically run smoothly and without trouble? Theonly difference – and it’s a big one – is that you’llbe better able to cope with the challenges and morelikely be successful at whatever you do.

CMYK


Suspectedritualists killwoman,abandoncorpse inAbeokuta THE three siblings,

Christiana, Feranmi andPelumi, who were burnt todeath in the fire that engulfedsome shops at Mechanicvillage, Oke-Afa, Isolo area ofLagos State, would haveescaped death last Thursday,had their mother granted theirwish.

The children, as gathered,begged their mother to takethem with her, when she wasleaving at about 10p.m.,promising the children that shewould be back by 11.30p.m.

According to a woman, whoclaimed to have been with thechildren’s mother at the time,Pelumi, 6, passionately beggedhis mother not to lock theminside. Their mother was saidto have bought them biscuitsand bobo drink, and then left.

However, she did not seethem alive again as the 2.30a.m.fire burnt them to death. Thechildren’s mangled bodies werereportedly discovered close tothe door with the eldest’s handon the door handle apparentlytrying to open the door.

Since the incident occurred,most of the shops around haveremained under lock and keyexcept a beer parlour, close tothe burnt shops.

Investigation by Vanguardrevealed that the woman, whois now on the run, was firstmarried to a man, but divorcedhim after having four childrenfor him.

The estranged husband wassaid to have taken two of thechildren, leaving Christianaand Feranmi in their mother’scustody.

Thereafter, she reportedly gothooked to her present husbandwho resides in Ejigbo area,whom she had two children for.

Her husband was said tohave given her two shops. Sheused one for sales ofprovisions and salonoperation, while the otherserved as bedroom. Report hadit that she usually locked thechildren in the shop any timeshe went out.

LAGOS FIRE DISASTER: Dead childrenbegged mother not to lock them in

She went to visit lover who didn’t want children around—NEIGHBOUR

Police silent on role in incident

By Evelyn Usman

A neighbour’s storyA resident, Mr. Gbadamosi

Lawal, said: “Her husband wasdevastated when he visited onthe day of the incident. He wastoo shocked to speak to anyone.Everyone thought she went tohis house.

“But what we heard was thatshe went to her present lover’splace. Her present lover said hedid not want any man’s child

in his house, which was whyany time she went visiting him,she locked the children in theshop.

“On that day, she went withthe youngest child, who is aboutthree years old. Everybody isangry with her. In fact, I do notthink she will come anywherenear here because she may belynched.”

Meanwhile, Lagos State

Police Command seems to besilent on the fire incidentalleged to have been triggeredby a head-on collision betweena LT 27 bus being chased by ateam of policemen, and a 14-seater stationary commercialbus.

Report had it that a team ofpolicemen, suspected to be fromEjigbo Division, chased the LT27 bus loaded with jerry cansfilled with petroleum product.

REMAINS OF THE DAY: The scene of the fire incident.

OWERRI—A gang ofmasked dare-devil armed

robbers, weekend, unleashedterror on a bridal train atMgbuishii in Ohaji/EgbemaLocal Government Area of ImoState, killing the videocameraman and injuringothers, including thephotographer.

Vanguard gathered that thenewly-wed couple (nameswithheld) were at ChimezieCatholic Parish, Mgbuishii, forthe solemnisation of theirwedding and were on theirway back to Owerri for thereception when masked mensuddenly jumped out of thenearby bush and attacked thebridal train.

A villager, who spoke ongrounds of anonymity,

identified the dead videocameraman as Mr. IsaacEzirim and the woundedphotographer was Mr. JuliusAshigbu.

An eyewitness said: “Thehoodlums first attacked thevehicle conveying the brideand groom. Although the bulletshit the video cameraman andthe photographer, the driver ofthe vehicle sped off.”

It was also gathered thathaving missed their target, themasked hoodlums descendedon all the vehicles comingbehind the couple.

“The hoodlums robbed thefriends and relations of thecouple of cash and otherpersonal valuables, includingtelephone handsets,” thewitness said.

A close friend of the coupletold Vanguard that thewedding, which was held at

the home of the groom, wasgoing well until the bridaltrain started moving to Owerrifor the reception.

“This ugly incident took placeon the outskirts of Mgbuishii, asleepy rural community that isnow getting notorious for allmanner of serious crimes,” asource lamented.

It would be recalled that abouta year ago, Vanguardexclusively reported how scoresof women from this communitydemonstrated at MariaAssumpta Cathedral, Owerri,not only to complain about thelack of security in the area, butalso how their childrenmindlessly raped them.

The fear-stricken womenequally refused to go home afterthe protest until their host,Archbishop Anthony J. V.Obinna, arranged police escortthat led them home.

Newlywed robbed, one killed,many injured in Imo

By Chidi Nkwopara& Chinnso Alozie

A B E O K U T A —S U S P E C T E D

ritualists have killed a 23-year-old woman, simplyidentified as Sitira, andabandoned her corpse at adump site at Olomoorejunction in Abeokutametropolis, after allegedlysevering her right arm.

The corpse of the victimwas identified by one of herrelatives, who was atLafenwa Divisional Policeheadquarters, where herremains was initially takenby the police rescue team.

Vanguard gathered thatthe victim was suspected tobe one of the commercialsex workers plying theirtrade within Abeokutametropolis.

Findings have shown thatthe deceased and a missingfriend were allegedlythrown off a moving SUVat Olomoore refuse dumpsite located alongA b e o k u t a - L a g o sExpressway.

The dump site wasnotorious for harbouringritualists in the past.

When Vanguard got to thescene, ladies items,including pants, brassieres,ladies’ armless wears, lipsticks, powder kits, nailpaint and a pack of cottonwool littered the ground.

A middle-aged woman,Esther Adewuyi, whoclaimed to be a relative ofthe deceased, said thedeceased had been livingwith her mother inIberekodo area of AbeokutaNorth Local Governmentafter the death of her onlychild almost two year ago.

She said Sitira was anhair stylist apprentice, andwas last seen in their housearound 10p.m. on Saturday,where they discussed plansfor her graduation.

By Daud Olatunji

MINNA—A Lebaneseconstruction worker with

Enerco Nigeria Limited hasbeen kidnapped at Ekilavillage, along Tegina- Minnaroad in Niger State.

The victim, Mr. Rody, was saidto have been kidnapped byheavily armed gunmen at about4.30p.m. while he wastravelling to a construction sitewith some staff of the state’s

Ministry of Works.In the vehicle with the

Lebanese were the driver of thecompany’s Hilux van, IsaiahEntait, and two staff of theMinistry of Works andInfrastructural Development,Hamidu Usman and SalihuMustapha, respectively.

A distressed call was said tohave been made to the policeand when the patrol team gotto the scene, the Lebanese hadbeen kidnapped.

Lebanese kidnapped in Niger

By Wole Mosadomi

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015—7

Cleric nabbedfor childtrafficking

By EstherOnyegbula

AKURE—A 55-year-oldwoman, Florence

Aladenoye, has been bitten todeath by a dog at Alade Idanrearea of Ondo State.

The dog's owner, AfolabiOlafingbesote, 69, has beenarrested by the police.

Men of the CriminalInvestigation and IntelligenceDepartment, CIID, of the StatePolice Command have wadedinto the matter.

Vanguard gathered that afterthe deceased was bitten by thedog, she was rushed to fivedifferent hospitals, but wasfinally referred to the FederalMedical Centre, FMC, Owo,when her condition becamecritical, where all efforts by themedical personnel to save herlife proved abortive.

Vanguard gathered that thedeceased, a neighbour to thedog’s owner, was going on anouting when the dog pursuedand bit her, then immediatelyturned back and went home.

A police source said that theowner of the dog admitted thatit had not been treated forrabbies in recent time.

Police spokesman, WoleOgodo, who confirmed theincident, said the owner of thedog was in police custody andthat he had made usefulstatements.

According to him, the remainsof the deceased have since beendeposited at General Hospitalmortuary in the town for

Woman dies from dog bite inOndo, owner in police custody

autopsy.He, however, stressed the

need for owners of dogs andother domestic animals to

By Dayo Johnson

ILORIN—THREE members ofOodua Peoples’ Congress,

OPC, were feared killedweekend at Agbamu inIrepodun Local GovernmentArea of Kwara State following aviolent clash between membersprotesting their expulsion fromthe group and other members.

Five others, who sustainedsevere injuries, were said to bereceiving medical attention ina private hospital at Agbamu.

Vanguard gathered that theincident occurred at St. PaulAnglican Primary School,Agbamu, venue of the 10thyear anniversary of thecoronation of Arigbamu ofAgbamu, Oba Samuel OlusolaDare.

National Coordinator ofOPC, Otunba Gani Adams,was reportedly present at theoccasion, while members ofOPC recently expelled in thestate were said to have seizedthe opportunity of his presence

to seek his intervention.Vanguard gathered that they

had mobilised for a protest, adevelopment that reportedlyangered members of the stateand local chapters, who werealso in attendance in largenumbers and a clash ensued.

Policemen at the venue weresaid to have been been caughtunawares, as the OPCmembers engaged in a gunbattle and guests scamperedfor safety, leading to the abruptend of the ceremony.

3 dead as expelled OPC membersdisrupt Kwara monarch's anniversary

A Lagos-based pastor(names withheld) has

been arrested overallegation of childtrafficking.

He was arrested byofficers of NigeriaImmigration Service, LagosState Command, followingthe allegation that shehelped a 24-year-old lady,Benedicta Okolo, toprocess an e-passport withfalse identity.

Benedicta and the saidpastor visited Alausapassport office where theofficer in charge, MrJoshua Ajisafe, firstdiscovered thediscrepancy.

The Comptroller ofImmigration, LagosCommand, Mrs JustinaAhmadu, said: “Benedictais a victim of a traffickingring. But our eagle-eyedofficers noticed thediscrepancies in herbiodata.

“She lied to the passportofficers that her name isMiss Karem Rachel, butinvestigation showed she isBenedicta Elejo Okolo.

“Following herconfession, we arrested herfacilitator, a pastor, and wehave handed the suspectsto the National Agency forthe Prohibition of Traffickingin Person, NAPTIP.

“Okolo said she met oneMr. Charles Arinze and hissister, who claimed thatthey reside in Dubai, onsocial media.

“Following theirinteraction, Okolo wasinvited to Lagos where shemet one Agnes Chinyere,who later took her to aherbalist where hair fromher private part, armpit,head and her blood weretaken by the herbalist.

“They took her the nextday to the airport with aproxy passport where shewas refused departure. Shewas, thereafter, asked tomeet the said Pastor.”

AKURE—THIRTY-SEVENsuspected criminals,

including kidnappers,fraudsters, cultists and armedrobbers, were, weekendparaded by Ondo State PoliceCommand.

Also, over 214 motorcycleshave been impounded by thestate police command forflouting the suspension order

By Demola Akinyemi

... as one dies in NURTW, RTEAN clash

ILORIN—ONE person waskilled yesterday and 20 others

injured as members of theNational Union of RoadTransport Workers, NURTW,and Road Transport EmployersAssociation of Nigeria, RTEAN,engaged themselves in a battlefor supremacy in Offa, Kwara

State.Police have arrested no fewer

than 10 persons in connectionwith the fracas that alsowitnessed the vandalisation ofmany cars. The secretariat ofone of the unions was torched.

Calm has, however, returnedto the ancient town at press timeas policemen were seen instrategic locations at Offa,

searching suspected vehicledrivers, passengers andpassers-by.

Vanguard reliably gatheredthat the rift was prompted by adisagreement between the twounions on the way of conveyingthe students of Kwara StateCollege of Health Technology,Offa, going on internship toOndo, Ekiti and otherneighbouring states.

Contacted, spokesperson ofthe state police command, AjayiOkasanmi, confirmed that oneperson, who received deepmachete cuts in the neck, haddied. Okasanmi added thatpolice had arrested 10 personsalready assisting them in theirinvestigations.

A member of the state Houseof Assembly from the area,Alhaji Hassan Oyeleke, alsodescribed the incident asunfortunate, saying Offa wasreputed for its spirit of fraternityand brotherhood.

By Demola Akinyemi

always ensure that they weretreated, adding thatinvestigation into the matter wasin progress.

placed on the operation ofOkada in Akure metropolis bythe state government overdestruction of its facilitiesduring protest.

State Police Commissioner,Isaac Eke, said in Akure thatthey would be arraigned in courtafter investigations.

Giving the breakdown of thesuspects, Eke said 25 of themwere cult members; five, armedrobbers; four kidnappers and

one fraudsters, among others.Suspected kidnappers of the

former chairman of CocoaAssociation of Nigeria, CAN,Segun Adewunmi in Akure,and 82-year-old MadamTheresa Akindeji at Okitipupa,were also paraded.

Kidnapper of Mrs. Akindeji,Sunday Omojugba, 30, whocollected N3 million ransom,was arrested in his house at Ilu-Titun area of the state.

Police parade 37 suspected criminals in Ondo

By Dayo Johnson

From left— Mr. Olusegun Akinola,FEDERAL ROAD SAFETY CORPS,FRSC, Director of Special Marshals andPartnership, Anambra State; Mr.Rindom Kumven, Delta State FRSCSector Commander; Mr. Ben Osaka,Co-Ordinator, Special Marshals andPartnership in Anambra; Dr. SiniKwabe, National Co-ordinator of SpecialMarshals and Partnership, and Mr.Sunday Ajayi, Anambra FRSC SectorCommander, after the inauguration ofSpecial Marshals under its SpecialMarshals and Partnership programmein Anambra, yesterday. NAN PHOTO.

CMYK


RCCG convention: Prepare for unprecedentedbreakthrough, Adeboye tells participants

By Sam Eyoboka &Olayinka Latona

LAGOS— THE GeneralOverseer of the Redeemed

Christian Church of God,RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye,has enjoined all participants atthe church’s annual convention,which begins today with theordination of deacons/deaconesses at the RedemptionCamp on Lagos-IbadanExpressway, to preparethemselves for unprecedentedbreakthrough and a new levelof walk with God.

The church’s 63rd conventionbilled to run for one week isexpected to attract Nigeria’s VicePresident, Professor YemiOsinbajo, and other anointedministers of the gospel from localand international circuit.

In a welcome address to thethousands of people who defiedyesterday’s downpour in partsof the country on their voyageto the camp, Pastor Adeboyeurged them to remember to obeyall camp rules and be at the rightplace at the right time, whileassuring them of an encounterwith God again as “He decreesgoodness, mercy, favour, andhealing into your life.”

The text of the welcome

message read in part: “The Lordhas preserved us to see anotherconvention of His church and toparticipate in the blessings thathe alone can give. We, therefore,welcome you to the conventionof The All-Sufficient God. Thisyear ’s theme holds lots ofpromises for all of us who willparticipate in all the proceedingsand our lives will be impartedin ways we have neverimagined.

“The All Sufficient One hasenough blessings to give all Hischildren because there is noshortage in His storehouse. Heappeared to Abraham as the ElShaddai, the One who is morethan enough (Gen 17:1), and Heis still the same till this moment.During this convention, He willrelease His all-sufficiencyconcerning all your long-awaited miracles and you willbecome a testimony in the nameof Jesus.

“The All Sufficient One rulesby decrees. He commandedlight where there was darknessand darkness had no option butto take its leave (Gen 1:3). Hecommanded ravens to feedElijah and they did not miss theirway (1 Kings 17:4-6). He is theOne who calls those things thatbe as though they were

(Romans 4:17) and He has notchanged. You will encounterHim again as He decreesgoodness, mercy, favour, andhealing into your life.

"He spoke to the sea and thewaves and there was peace. Hewill speak into your situationsand you will have newexperience of fulfillment. Hespoke to the emptiness of awidow and she became an oilmerchant, and her disgracewas turned to abundance. Getready for a deluge of miracles.

“His promises cover everyaspect of your life – spiritual,physical, emotional, financialand material. Zacchaeus wasrich but he needed somethingmoney could not buy. Hesought the attention of Jesus(Luke 19:2-8). Salvationentered his house, the Lamb ofGod who takes away the sin ofthe whole world visited himand his past was washed away.There will be salvation galoreduring this convention.

"It is the opportunity you havebeen waiting for in order tomake peace with God.Hannah, the mother of Samuel,did not visit Shiloh in vain. Shereturned with her bundle of joy.You will be the next in the line."

VISIT: Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State (right) and Commander, NigerianArmy, One Brigade Command, Sokoto, Brigadier-General Chikezie Ude, during a visitby the governor to the army formation, yesterday.

Court stopsSEC, BGL'spublic hearingon violationsof marketlaws

By Peter Egwuatu

LAGOS — THESecurities and

Exchange Commission,SEC, yesterday, disclosedthat it has postponed thepublic hearing of itsAdministrative and PublicCommittee, APC,involving BGL Plc andothers over violation ofcapital market laws.

The commission, in astatement, stated that itwas empowered underSections 13(n), 45, 303 ofthe Investments andSecurities Act(ISA) 2007and Rule 598 of its Rulesand Regulation to protectthe integrity of the capitalmarket against all formsof abuses by investigatingand sanctioning personswho violated theprovisions of the act andthe rules and regulationsmade pursuant thereto.

It stated: “Section 310(1)of the ISA and Rule 599(1)of the SEC Rules andRegulation empowers thecommission to set up theSEC AdministrativeProceedings Committee(APC) to hear complaintson alleged violations ofsecurities laws governingthe market. Pursuant tothese powers, the APCwas scheduled to hold onAugust 4 and 5, 2015 tohear SEC APC/01//2015Rivers State Ministry ofFinance & 31 others vsBGL Plc & 31 others.

“The commission’sattention has, however,been drawn to an ex parteorder obtained by thePlaintiffs/Applicants inSUIT NO: FHC/L/CS/1050/2015 BGL PLC & 12ORS VS SEC & 2 ORSdirecting that partiesmaintain the status quo.

"In view of the saidorder, the general public,concerned parties andstakeholders in theNigerian capital marketare, hereby, informed thatthe Securities andExchange CommissionA d m i n i s t r a t i v eProceedings Committeehearing in SEC APC/01//2015 RIVERS STATEMINISTRY OFFINANCE & 31 OTHERSVS BGL PLC & 31OTHERS scheduled tohold on August 4 and 5,2015 at SEC Head Office,Abuja, has beenpostponed to a date to beannounced later.”

By Kingsley Omonobi &Ndahi Marama

50 Boko Haram members killed as troopsrepel attack on Borno village

As sect kills scores, sets houses ablaze

MAIDUGURI — ABOUT 50Boko Haram terrorists were

killed between Friday night andSaturday when the Nigerian AirForce, NAF, in a combined effortwith the ground troops of theNigerian Army, successfullyrepelled an attack on Bita villageby the terrorists.

This came as suspectedmembers of the sect, Saturdayevening, invaded Malari villageof Konduga Local GovernmentArea of Borno State, killing scoresof residents after setting ablazehouses.

A statement from NAFHeadquarters, signed by AirCommodore Dele Alonge, said:“The Air Force, using its AlphaJet, provided combat air supportto the ground force to attack theinsurgents where they wereobserved to be mobilizing(mopping up), to carry out adeadly attack on the village.

“Consequently, a large numberof the insurgents were killed andseveral others injured.”

Military sources, however,confided in Vanguard that scoresof the terrorists estimated at about50 members were killed in the airand land offensive, while severalothers ran into the bush for safety.

According to the sources, theNAF Alpha-Jets conducted anarmed reconnaissance along Bita-Gwoza road and throughYamtege, Hamdaga, Dure andPulka.

“The NAF will continue to giveall necessary support to theground force through itsintensified and persistent effortsin the ongoing fight against BokoHaram terrorists in the North-Eastuntil all portions of Nigerian soilare safe and free from theinsurgents," Alonge said.

Sect kills scores,sets houses ablaze

Meanwhile, suspectedmembers of the sect had onSaturday evening invaded Malarivillage of Konduga LocalGovernment Area of Borno State,killing scores of residents andsetting ablaze houses.

The insurgents, according tosources, also looted food items andloaded same into some vehiclesthey snatched from the villagebefore they fled into Sambisaforest.

The incident, according to areliable security source, came ata time troops had been combingsome strategic points of Sambisato confront terrorists in theirhideouts.

Fleeing residents of Malarivillage told Vanguard that theinsurgents were not many innumber as they came into thecommunity with three motorcycles

fully armed with AK-47 rifles andpetrol bombs, but noted thatbecause of fear from armlessresidents, the attackers wreakedhavoc as they shot at anyone onsight, including fleeingresidents.

Sources in Maiduguri,particularly those who residealong Tashan Bama road andUniversity of Maiduguri, saidyesterday morning that theysaw military patrol vehiclesconveying the dead and injured

to undisclosed hospital inMaiduguri.

Another source from Mairiward of Maiduguri metropolis,who gave his name as AliyuMusa, told Vanguard on phonethat he sighted many membersof the civilian JTF and troopsheading towards Konduga atabout 10am, yesterday.

“I was at the main road leadingto Konduga when I saw manyvehicles conveying troops andcivilian JTF, and when I became

inquisitive, I learned that theywere heading to Malarivillage to rescue the victims ofBoko Haram attack which tookplace in the community onSaturday evening,” Musa said.

Contacted at press time,Deputy Director, Army PublicRelations, Colonel TukurGusau, in a telephone/textmessage, told Vanguard: “Iwill get back to you.”

The Police Commissioner,Mr. Aderemi Opadokun, didnot respond to a text messagesent to his cell phone at presstime.


VISIT: Immediate past governors of Lagos and Rivers states, Mr. Babatunde Fashola(middle) and Rotimi Amaechi (right) during a courtesy visit to Nobel laureate, ProfessorWole Soyinka (left) at his Abeokuta residence.

Corruption: Buhari descendson civil servants

Orders resolution of outstanding audit queries within 30 daysInsists fresh queries must be answered within 24 hrsIgbo leaders want Siemens, Halliburton scandals, past govts

probedGbagi disagrees with calls to probe Obasanjo’s regime

By Clifford Ndujihe &Levinus Nwabughiogu

ABUJA— DISTURBED bythe rot and thriving

corruption in the civil service,which has cost the countrytrillions of naira, PresidentMuhammadu Buhari hastaken his anti-graft war to thesector.

He has ordered that alloutstanding audit querieswhich had piled up over theyears be resolved within thenext 30 days.

Confirming the presidentialdirective, Senior SpecialAssistant to the President onMedia & Publicity, MalamGarba Shehu, said theunanswered audit queriessounded unsavoury to thePresident who, on hearing it,expressed his displeasure.

An audit query is therequest for an explanation bythe Auditor-General of theFederation over improprietiesdiscovered in the Accountant-General of the Federation’sreport. The report is donequarterly.

By law (Civil Services Re-organization Decree No. 43 of1988), the Office of theAccountant-General of theFederation supervises theaccounts of federal ministriesand extra-ministerialdepartment; collates, presentsand publishes statutoryfinancial statements of accountrequired by the Minister ofFinance; conducts routine andin-depth inspection of thebooks of accounts of federalministries and extra-ministerial department toensure compliance with rules,regulations, policies, andinternal audit guides;investigates cases of fraud,loss of funds, assets and storeitems and other financialmalpractices in ministries/extra-ministerial department;ensures revenue monitoringand accounting; provides asystem for the monitoring ofthe accounts of all Ministries,Departments and Agenciesand ensures timely submissionof all financial statements tothe Auditor-General of theFederation.

If the Auditor-General isdissatisfied with the reports,he issues queries. Auditqueries are also used to checkfraud as the ‘ghost workers’phenomenon.

Over time, an avalanche ofthese queries have not beenanswered, a development thathas created a huge tunnel forgraft through unaccountede x p e n d i t u r e s ,misappropriation andmiscalculation of fundsrunning into trillions of naira.The measure is used to checkunspent budgets, which areexpected to be returned to thetreasury.

Following the disappointingmanner the queries werehandled, President Buhari

directed that any civil servantwho failed to answer auditqueries within 24 hours,henceforth, would face adisciplinary action.

These are part of themarching orders Buhari gavethe Auditor-General of theFederation, Vanguardgathered.

The orders followed thediscovery of a plethora ofunanswered audit querieswhich spanned a long periodof time, running into years,under previousadministrations.

Era of impunity is gone

Garba Shehu stated thatPresident Buhari wasirrevocably committed totackling administrative andbureaucratic corruption head-on.

He said: “The era ofimpunity is gone. ThePresident is taking the war oncorruption to the civil service.He is not happy that standardoperating procedures andfinancial regulations are nolonger being observed as theyshould.

"President Buhari willensure that public officials andcivil servants in the service ofthe Federal Government paya heavy price from now on for

violating financial regulationsor disregarding audit queries.”

He added that the Presidentwas determined to put an endto the present situation inwhich, rather than respond tolegitimate audit queries,violators of financialregulations in the Federal.Government resort tothreatening, bribing ormounting other forms of socialpressures on auditors.

“On his watch, PresidentBuhari wants to see firm actionagainst those who violateextant financial regulations, notthe prevarications andshenanigans that went on inthe past in the form of endlessprobes and public inquiries,”the Presidential spokesmansaid.

Probe Siemens,Halliburton, otherscandals, Igbo leadersurge Buhari

This came as Igbo leaders onthe plank of Igbo Leaders ofThought, ILT, led by ProfessorBen Nwabueze (SAN) urgedPresident Buhari to extend hisprobe of past administrations to1999.

However, the call to extendthe probe beyond the DrGoodluck Jonathan’sadministration was opposed byformer Minister of State for

Education, OlorogunKenneth Gbagi, who arguedthat late President UmaruMusa Yar'Adua andJonathan should haveprobed the former PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo regime,if they had any issues withhis government.

Commending PresidentBuhari over his anti-graft warand calling on all Nigeriansto support the crusade in theinterest of the country, theIgbo leaders, however, saidthat making the probeextensive will lead to a"change that will endure."

In a statement byEvangelist Elliot Uko,Deputy Secretary, ILT,founder, Igbo YouthMovement, IYM, andLeader, South-EastDemocratic Coalition, SEDC,the Igbo leaders said: ‘’Thepromise of change to theugly manner things havebeen done in our country fordecades, inspires hopeamong the citizenry.

"Talk about probe,prosecution and the eventualreturn of looted funds to thecoffers of government is awonderful, exciting and amost welcome idea.

"President Buhari’s corrupt-free image goes a long wayhere to inspire hope andconfidence that this exercisewill help send the necessary

signal to public officials, thatthe era of mindless lootingand siphoning of public fundsis over.

"We support the probe,prosecution of looters andreturn of all stolen commonwealth of Nigerians over theyears. We also ask ourcountrymen to support thisneedful and timely exercise.

"But we have two worries:Firstly, we plead that theexercise be totally free ofpolitical vendetta as thatwould taint the credibility ofthe whole exercise. Secondly,we wonder why the exercisewould be restricted only to theimmediate past regime. Doesthat mean that the notoriousSiemens and Halliburtonbribery scandals have beenrested forever?

"Are we saying that theglaring corrupt cases of 1999-2007 are closed cases? Is itmorally right to target only thelast regime while exoneratingthe 1999-2007 sleaze-infestedregime? Will the deliberateisolation of the last regimealone for probe not give theimpression of a politicalvendetta? Why is it socompelling to look away andleave out the 1999-2007 era?

"We conclude by pleadingwith our countrymen tosupport the probe becausecorruption remains one of thefour great problems facing ourcountry. Others are ethnicityand nepotism, religiousbigotry and the mother of allproblems: unjust politicalstructure.

"It is important wethoughtfully appraise theimpact of singling out onlyone regime for probe andprosecution while givingothers a clean bill of health.

"The exercise must not beseen as political and divisive,as the essence and noble goalwill be lost. If the change weprofess is real, then falsestarts must be avoided.’’

Buhari has nobusiness probingObasanjo’s regime—Gbagi

Opposing the extension ofthe probe to Obasanjo’sadministration, Gbagi said:"Whatever was done in 1999,there was a president beforethis president. It was the dutyof Jonathan to have probedthe government that he tookover from. Buhari has nobusiness going to agovernment which is not back-to-back with him. TheJonathan administration isback-to-back with him.

"Whatever negativity therewas with regards to theJonathan’s government willhave effect on the Buharigovernment. Buhari cannot begoing to the 1999 regime.What concerns him by law andevery fact of life is theJonathan's government."

CMYK


PRESENTATION: From left; Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos (UNILAG), ProfessorRahamon Bello; GMD/CEO, UBA Plc, Mr Phillips Oduoza; and Deputy Vice Chancellor, UNILAG,Professor Duro Oni during the formal presentation of N52.9m endowment for the UBA ProfessorialChair of Finance to the University of Lagos, held at the university campus, Akoka, Lagos.

INSURGENCY: APC chieftains meetU.S. congressmen in Lagos

Ejigbo–Ikotunroad rehabilitationbegins

L AGOS—GOVERNORAkinwunmi Ambode of

Lagos State yesterday led topchieftains and lawmakers of theAll Progressives Congress, APC,to receive a delegation of USCongress, led by CongressmanDarelle Issa, where he said thatthe state is the citadel for growthand development of Nigeria.

Speaking at an interactivesession with the US delegation atthe Lagos House, Marina, whereissues bordering on deepeningdemocracy, trade relations andtackling Boko Haram insurgencywere discussed, GovernorAmbode said the US democraticexperience was one that would bebeneficial not only to Lagos, butalso to Nigeria.

The Governor commended theUS government for its role inensuring the peaceful conduct ofthe 2015 general elections, sayingthat the country has benefittedfrom their democratic credentials.

“The parliamentary structurethat we have is synonymous withwhat is obtainable in the US. APCas a party is the first in the historyof Nigeria to unseat an incumbentgovernment and we want toimbibe the tenets of democraticvalues”, the Governor said.

Governor Ambode also told hisvisitors that the state leverages onits population and cosmopolitannature and perhaps the mostbuoyant economy in West Africa.

“I want to let you know that youare in the commercial capital ofNigeria, Lagos, which representsthe future citadel ofentrepreneurship in this country.As we speak, the population isnearing 21 million of which fourmillion are actually middle class.We’re the fifth largest economy inAfrica and our GDP has hit$131billion, more than 42 Africancountries put together”, he said.

He said the thrust of hisadministration is to touch as manylives as possible and make lifeeasier for residents, saying thatthe state government is committedto pursuing this ideal in the nextfour years.

To achieve this, the Governorsaid his administration is readyto entrench moral leadership,saying that it would latch on tothe experience of the US to better

the lot of its people.“As we proceed, the party is

committed to learning the bestideals of democracy and that’swhere I want to take thisadvantage to learn from you. Wewant to be transparent, we wantto be credible, we want to bringa leadership to the table that isopen, we want a governmentof inclusion, we don’t want toleave the people behind.

Lagos is more like New Yorkbecause it is a cosmopolitanstate where the largestconcentration of foreigners live.So it’s important that everyoneis carried along, we’recommitted to that”, he said.

He listed the areas ofcollaboration the stategovernment wants to improveupon to include security andtrade relations.

Earlier, Congressman IssaDarelle, a Republican,explained that thoughAmerica could be viewed aspossessing high democraticvalues it was also strivingtowards perfection ofdemocracy, urging that ratherthan emulate the Americandemocracy, Nigeria shouldstrive to better the Americaexperience.

He also urged Lagos State toas a matter of urgency,

collaborate with the FederalGovernment, in tackling issues ofinsecurity issues in the country,especially the Boko Haram menace,saying the fight could not be leftalone for the government at thecentre to handle.

Among those in attendance atthe interactive session includemembers of U.S Congress,Carolyn Manoney, Sheila JacksonLee and Blake Farenthold,Chairman, Lagos APC, OtunbaHenry Ajomale (right), WomenLeader, South West APC, Mrs.Kemi Nelson (3rd left), ActingU.S Consul General in Lagos,Ms. Dehab Ghebreab (2nd left)and the Secretary to the StateGovernment, Mr. Tunji Bello,House of Representatives andState Assembly lawmakers fromLagos, among others.

LAGOS StateGovernment has

commenced rehabilitationwork of the road linkingIkotun and Ejigbo, in oldAlimosho LocalGovernment Area.

The Lagos State GovernorAkinunmi Ambode, duringan unscheduled visit toIkotun-Ejigbo road afortnight ago, directed theMinistry of Works andInfrastructure, incollaboration with LagosState Public WorksCorporation, LSPWC, tomove to the site within sevendays to fix the road.

The LSPWC moved to siteat the weekend andcommenced the de-silting ofdrainages along Oke-Afa andEjigbo area to ensure free flowof stagnated water anddischarge from domestic use.

Though, thecommencement of therehabilitation resulted intohectic traffic on the axis,LSPWC officials haveassured of speedycompletion withconsideration for quality jobdelivery.

However, the scrappingof failed sections on theroad is ongoing inreadiness for fullrehabilitation.

Heavy duty constructionequipment has since beenmobilized to the site by thecorporation. Also, site trucks,milling machines, tractors,and graders have alsobeen moved to site.

Lagos PDP restates call for Fashola’s probe

By Dapo Akinrefon

...There’s nothing to probe – LASG

LAGOS—FOLLOWING an alleged huge debt burden of N418.2 billion

left behind by former governor of LagosState, Mr Babatunde Fashola, the LagosState chapter of the Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, has restated its call on the stategovernment to probe the Fasholaadministration.

But the state government hasdismissed the possibility of probingthe administration, saying there is

nothing to probe.This indication was made known to

Vanguard by a source, who spoke onthe condition of anonymity.

When Vanguard asked whether theFashola administration would beprobed, the source simply said “it isnot possible, that is not on the card.We are in the same party which doesnot put it on the card for now.”

The PDP expressed concerns overwhy the former governor was notbeing investigated by his successor,Akinwumi Ambode.

While calling on Ambode toimmediately commence the probe ofFashola’s eight years administration,the PDP also said that the APCadministration is still on the start block,making promises, when it ought tohave hit the ground working to fulfilalready made promises.

The party’s spokesman, Mr TaofikGani, described the situation as “badomen for any meaningfuldevelopment in the coming four yearsof this administration.”

GENERAL Overseer of theRedeemed Christian

Church of God, RCCG, PastorEnoch Adejare Adeboye hasenjoined all participants at thechurch’s annual conventionwhich begins today with the

ordination of deacons/deaconesses at theRedemption Camp on Lagos-IbadanExpressway, to prepare themselves forunprecedented breakthrough and a newlevel of walk with God.

The church’s 63rd convention billedto run for one week is expected toattract Nigeria’s Vice President,Professor Yemi Oshinbajo and otherministers of the gospel.

Redeemed Church starts 63rd convention

By Sam Eyoboka &Olayinka Latona

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

By Olasunkanmi Akoni


By Gbenga Olarinoye

Ooni is alive, Oodua Chief Priest insists

VISIT: Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State (right), Deputy Governor, Mrs. YetundeOnanuga (left) and Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, Boboye Oyeyemi (middle)during Oyeyemi's visit to the governor in his Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, office...yesterday.

OSOGBO—THE ChiefPriest of the ancient town

of Ile-Ife, Chief Olajide FarotimiFaloba has described as untrue thenews of the demise of Ooni of Ife,Oba Okunade Sijuade.

He also described a report (notin Vanguard) that the remains ofthe foremost royal father had beensecretly brought home as untrueinsisting that the monarch was stillalive.

Speaking with Vanguardyesterday at the Ile Oduduwa, anancient grove believed to havehoused the first Ooni of Ile-Ife,Chief Faloba debunked thereported arrival of the monarch’scorpse, saying Ooni was hale andhearty in the United Kingdom.

The Chief priest, who spokein Yoruba language said: “I justcame from the Ooni’s palace andthere was nothing that showedthat he (Ooni) is dead. If trulysuch happened, there would berestriction to the palace, thepalace gate will be shut, marketwill be closed and all trees inthe town would be cut down;these are part of signs that Oonihas joined his ancestors.

“In fact, Ooni’s son, Adegbiteis having his weeding in Lagosas we speak. Thus it did notshow any sign of mourning. Ifthe rumour is true, we (himselfand other chiefs at the grove)should be the ones to announceit. We are the owner of our culture,we are the owner of ObaSijuwade.

''Obaship in Ife kingdom issacred and should be handled assuch,”, he added.

The Yoruba paramount rulerreportedly gave up the ghost in aLondon Hospital in the UnitedKingdom after a brief illness lastTuesday, but Ife chiefs havepersistently debunked the report.

When Vanguard visited thepalace yesterday to confirmwhether the remains of themonarch had actually arrived, the

palace was desolate as only thegate keeper was sighted.

People were also seen movingfreely in and out of the palacewith little restriction.

When journalists were allowedinto the palace, there was nobodyto speak with.

When asked why the palacewas desolate, Chief priestcontended that it was because ofOoni’s absence and the fact thatit was a weekend.

Activities remain normalBusiness and social activities

in Ile-Ife continued as usualyesterday as people were seencarrying out one activity or theother without any hindrance.

When Vanguard visited thetown yesterday, places likeLagere, OAU campus, Mokuro,Ilare and others witnessedbeehives of activities.

Some of the residents whospoke with Vanguard feignedignorance of the king's demise.

Shops at various locationsincluding drinking joints and

eateries within the city remainedopen to customers.

Commercial drivers andmotorcyclists popularly known asokada riders were busy plyingtheir routes in and out of the city.

Successor: TraditionalCouncil must follow 1979declaration – Youths

A group, The Cradle Youths,has urged indigenes of Ile-Ifenot to be anxious over thecircumstances surrounding thehealth of Ooni of Ife, ObaSijuwade Okunade II, sayingthat Traditional Council knowsthe right thing to do.

The co-ordinator of the group,Mr. Kunle Elusayo, in astatement yesterdaycommended the TraditionalCounci,ladding that there aretraditions to be followed whenissues like this occur.

He explained that “onlyinformation circulated by thetraditional council should befollowed, arguing that theyhave a customary law regulatingthe selection of who becomes thenext Ooni, if the need arises”.

‘’If truly suchhappened, therewould be restrictionto the palace, thepalace gate will beshut, market will beclosed and all treesin the town would becut; these are part ofsigns that Ooni hasjoined hisancestors.’’

AKURE—THE Pan Yoruba socio-political group,

Afenifere weekend frowned atthe position of the ArewaConsultative Forum, ACF, onthe implementation of thenational conference byPresident MuhammaduBuhari.

Last week the ACF said theNorth had no faith in the reportand advised the President toignore it.

But the Secretary General ofthe Afenifere, Basorun SehindeArogbofa pleaded with thePresident not to accede to theposition of the ACF in theinterest of a true federalism.

Arogbofa spoke with newsmenshortly after he was conferred

with the title of the Asiwaju ofOka Akoko in Akoko SouthWest local government area ofOndo state, the first history ofthe town.

Arogbofa wondered why theNorthern leaders in the ACFare capitulating now despitethe fact that ”leaders fromnorthern part of the countrywere not left out in theconference.''

He said that the North waswell represented at the confaband called on President Buharito find time to read it.

The group expressed optimismthat the reports will beimplemented without delay ifPresident Buhari finds time toread it.

According to him, the reportcontains so many

recommendations that could turnaround the country positively.

The group Secretary urgedPresident Buhari todiscountenance the ACFadvice in the interest of thenation.

“Unless Arewa is nowtelling us that highly placedNigerians like Alhaji Kumasi,Tanko Yakasai and someformer governors from thearea are no longer from thenorth, because theyrecognize them as goodpeople from the north.

“Except the ACF wants totell us that the Northernersthat attended the confab didnot represent the interest ofthe north, that is when theycan advise the President toignore the confab reports.

OSOGBO—THEEconomic and

Financial CrimesCommission, EFCC mayhave yesterdaysummoned JusticeOloyede Fololahanmi ofOsun State Judiciary overher claims in the petitionsent to the anti-graft body,it was gathered.

Justice Oloyede, had ina 39-page petition to OsunState House of Assembly,copies of which were alsosent to both EFCC andICPC, accusing GovernorRauf Aregbesola and hisdeputy, Mrs Titilayo Laoye-Tomori of financialmismanagement of thestate’s resources.

The judge in the petitiondemanded Aregbesola andhis deputy's impeachmentfor allegedly committingconstitutional breaches.

The seven-man committeeset up by the house ofassembly headed byAkintude Adegboye,completed its findings lastweek.

Justice Oloyede howevershunned the panel whenshe was invited to comeand defend her petition,but was represented by aSenior Advocate of Nigeria.

Afenifere condemns ACF’s stance on confab

By Dayo Johnson

By GbengaOlarinoye

EFCC invitesjudge overpetitionagainstAregbesola


Group laudsBuhari onBoroh'sappointment

Oil spill ravages Delta communities

By Emma Amaize & PerezBrisibe

GOV POLL: Group alleges plot by APC torubbish Rivers REC

By Emma Una

By Samuel Oyadongha

Buhari petitioned over Delta govt, communityface off

Dickson'saide quits

I'm learning to survive in private sector— SEN IMOKE

YENAGOA—A rightsgroup, Niger Delta Watch

for Democracy, NDWD,weekend, raised alarm over analleged plot by the leadershipof the Rivers State chapter ofthe All Progressive Congress,APC, to use the Department ofState Service, DSS, to rubbishand indict the state Resident

UGHELLI—OVWOR, Oteri,Adjekota, Otor-Egor and

other immediate surroundingcommunities in Ughelli North andUghelli South Local GovernmentArea of Delta State are currentlyconstrained as a result of a massiveoil spill from a vandalized gaspipeline belonging to the NigeriaPetroleum DevelopmentCompany, NPDC.

A security source in the area, toldVanguard that the damaged spoton the pipeline, is located in Otericommunity and was damagedFriday morning.

Confirming the incident whencontacted yesterday, Mr. ZinoOnaemo of Tezino Nig. Ltd., thecompany in charge of PipelineSurveillance and IntelligenceGathering Project for OML 26 andOML 30, said that according tointelligence reports received, thepipeline was hack-sawed by somevandals who are currently on therun and have been declaredwanted by security agencies.

He added: “The pipeline inquestion is a 10-12 inches gas flowline conveying products to a gasreserve.”

Meanwhile, residents of theaffected communities have cried

WARRI—CENTRE forPeace and

Environmental Justice,CEPEJ, has commendedPresident MuhammaduBuhari for the appointmentof Brigadier-Gen PaulBoroh (rtd) as the newcoordinator, AmnestyProgramme, describing itas a well deservedappointment.

CEPEJ, in a statement byits coordinator, SheriffMulade, said: “Theappointment of Boroh asthe coordinator of theFederal Governmentamnesty programme is around peg in a round holebecause Boroh is anacclaimed peace-keepingand conflict managementexpert, and theCommandant of theNigerian ArmyPeacekeeping Centre,NAPKC, Kaduna.

“We believe that going byhis experience in securityand peace, he will makesignificant contributions tothe security situation in thecountry and consolidate onthe relative peace andsecurity in the Niger Delta."

.... Fears over burst NNPC gas pipeline

out to the Federal Governmentand management of NPDC tofashion out ways of protectingoil facilities in theircommunities, stressing thatthey were on the receiving endin the incessant vandalizationof these pipelines.

Similarly, an NigeriaNational Petroleum

Corporation, NNPC, gaspipeline, running from Escravos-Warri Petrochemical andRefining Company, WRPC-Lagos, has cracked atOpuedebubor creek in WarriSouth West Local GovernmentArea, Delta State.

Since the incident, last week,fear has gripped residents of the

community, who toldVanguard, weekend thatNNPC officials have not visitedthe ruptured pipeline since July24, when it occured to effectrepairs.

President of Tebubiri Youths inGbaramatu Kingdom, Mr. MikeItima, said that the communitychairman, Mr. Fredrick Braye,had appealed to the villagers toavoid the spot and remain calmuntil government intervenes.

WARRI—EKPAN communityin Uvwie Local Government

Area of Delta State, has petitionedPresident Mohammadu Buhari toprevail on the state governmentto refrain from alleged “undueinterference” in the appointmentof Community Liaison Officers,CLOs, to major companies doingbusiness in the community.

In a Save Our Soul, by SilverOfugara, Chairman, EkpanDevelopment Committee, PaWilliam Ujara, eldest man,Famous Etawhene (Men’sLeader) and Madam EkpokponeTanofor, the community said therewas looming crisis, if the situationwas not checked, as it will affectthe entire Nigeria in view of thecontribution of Ekpan to thenation’s economy.

By Egufe Yafugborhi

“Ekpan used to be volatile.However, the prevailing peacefor the past five years wasshattered on July 3, when theSecretary to the StateGovernment, Ovie Agas,ordered corporate bodies tosuspend appointments of

CLOs made by the communityand replace them with CLOswhose tenure elapsed June 11until further notice.”

The state government, thepetition noted, was aware thatCLOs in Ekpan run a three yeartenure, describing the SSG’s

action as a slight on thecommunity and the Ovie ofUvwie, HRM, Abe 1, whosefollow up interaction with analleged understanding reachedat the SSG’s office with policein attendance failed to changethe government’s position.

Electoral Commissioner, Mrs.Gesila Khan over the conduct ofthe governorship poll in the state.

The group noted that thoughthe APC decision to file a petitionbefore the Election PetitionTribunal was a constitutional rightof all political parties, it decriedthe plot to malign and bring topublic domain unfoundedallegations of fraud against Mrs.

Khan.NDWD in a statement in

Yenagoa, Bayelsa State by itsPresident, Edwin Ebiowe,alleged that preliminaryinvestigation showed that theAPC leaders in Rivers State hadrecruited defectors from thePeoples Democratic Party, PDP,in Rivers State to petition theEconomic and Financial CrimesCommission, EFCC, withunfounded and frivolousallegations in order to smear herprofile and image over the justconcluded governorshipelection in the state.

He said:, “We have alsoobserved with dismay thedesperation and negativeinfluence of the APC leaders,former governor, RotimiAmaechi and their cohorts tovent their anger and bitternesson the REC over the partyabysmal loss at the polls duringthe just concluded generalelections in Rivers State.”

CALABAR—SENATOR LiyelImoke, the immediate past

governor of Cross River State, hassaid he was learning the ropes onhow to survive in the private sectorwhich he once was a major playerbefore his foray into politics as thesector has evolved so much duringhis absence.

Senator Imoke in Calabar,

Y E N A G O A —F O R M E R

governorship candidate ofthe defunct ActionCongress, APC, in BayelsaState, Prince EbitimiAmgbare has resigned hisappointment as the GeneralManager of Bayelsa StateTransport Company underthe Governor SeriakeDickson administration.

Amgbare, a relation of thefirst civilian governor of thestate, Chief DiepreyeAlamieyesiegha, wasappointed GeneralManager of the statetransport company by theDickson administration in2012 but resigned hisappointment on Friday tojoin the All ProgressivesCongress, APC.

He is rumoured to beinterested in contesting theforthcoming governorshipelection in the state.

Amgbare in an interviewin Yenagoa said that hisdecision to return to the foldof the APC was due to theinability of GovernorDickson to allow himinterpret the progressiveand pragmaticdevelopment vision in thestate transport sector.

weekend, at the 2015 lectureseries of his Bridge LeadershipFoundation for YoungEnterprenuers, said: “Whenyou occupy public office,everybody believes you are arobber or you have looted andbecause of such perception,holding public office becomesa challenge, yet since we arein a morally bankrupt society,people still disturb me evennow to help them get political

By SamuelOyadongha

appointment“There is nothing special about

me because if you look at myschool records, I doubt if youwould find A’s there but I wasdetermined on what I wanted todo. I was just an average personbut I learn from everyone evenfrom young people since am nowout of public sector into privatesector, I have to learn the ropes againbecause the sector has evolved so muchwhile I was away to the public sector."

GROUND BREAKING: Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, laying the foundationstone of the Motor Spare Parts Dealers ultra modern market, Mr Maxwell Anuonye,Chairman, SPAT Limited ( left) and Board Chairman, Greater Port Harcourt, Chief FerdinandAlabraba, during the ground breaking of SPATMART Centre in Port Harcourt.


CMYK


Gov Ikpeazu tasks NSCDC on pipeline security, child traffickingBy Anayo Okoli

UMUAHIA—ABIA StateGovernor, Dr. Okezie

Ikpeazu has called on officersand men of the Nigeria Securityand Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC)to intensify effort at securing thenation’s petroleum pipelines.

The Governor also chargedthem to clamp down on childtraffickers whose illicit businessseems to be thriving in the state.

Governor Ikpeazu gaveNSCDC the charge, weekend,when the new commandant ofthe Corps in the state, Dr BenitoEze paid him a courtesy call.

While commending the corps ontheir operations against pipelinevandalism in the state, theGovernor advised them to shareintelligence with other securityagencies and the stategovernment to ensure adequateprotection of the NNPC pipelinesas well as in fighting child

trafficking.He also pledged to partner

with the corps and support themin enhancing their operations inthe state.

Earlier in his remarks, Dr.Benito Eze requested for the stateGovernment’s continued logisticsupport to enable his command

carry out effective patrol of theNNPC pipelines in the state.

Eze disclosed that the commandrecently rescued over 80 pregnantgirls from child traffickers andpledged that they would continueto discharge their duties inaccordance with the law.

NIMASA redeploysdirectors

THE ACTING DirectorGeneral/Chief Executive

Officer of the Nigerian MaritimeAdministration and SafetyAgency, NIMASA, Mr. HarunaBaba Jauro has approved theredeployment of some seniormanagement staff of the Agency.

The exercise has Mr. IbrahimJibril as the Director ofAdministration and PersonnelServices department, Mr. FelixBob Nabena is Director ofSERVICOM, Mr Olayemi Abasstakes over as the Head ofFinancial Services department,Mr. Suleman Abdulsalam is theAg. Legal Adviser, Mr.Mohammed Sani is the Head ofProcurement department whileHassan el-Yakub is Head ofCabotage Department.

Similarly, Hajia Lami Tumakais now the Deputy Director/Headof Public Relations, Aisha Musahas been redeployed to Head theWestern Zone, Mr. IsicheiOsamgbi is Deputy Director,Maritime Guard Command, Mr.Dele Ejekuko is in charge ofzones in the DG’s office and Mr.Eric Orji is the Acting Registrarof Ships.

Ugwuanyi inaugurates AdvisoryC'ttee on economic survival

By Austin Ogwuda

ENUGU—ENUGU State governor,Mr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, weekend,

inaugurated a 15-member StateEconomic Advisory Committee with amandate to chart a road-map for

economic survival in tackling theeconomic challenges facing the Statedue to paucity of funds.

Inaugurating the committee, thegovernor said that “the challenges arethe direct fallouts from the negativedevelopments in the oil sector andconsequential drops in allocation from

the Federation Account andpaucity of the State IGR(Internally GeneratedRevenue) informed ourdecision to constitute thecommittee and entrust itwith the task of helping toreposition and reinvigoratethe economy of the State”.

He therefore called onall well-meaning Enugupeople resident both athome and in Diaspora tocome up with necessaryadvice, information or anyassistance to the committeethat would help facilitatetheirassignment.

Responding, theChairman of theCommittee, ProfessorObiora Ike, the Vicar-General of the CatholicDiocese of Enugu thankedthe governor for findingthem worthy to serve andpromised that they wouldlive up to expectation,noting that Enugu Statehas all it takes as a peopleto achieve the commongood, welfare and overallsecurity of its people.

Earlier, GovernorUgwuanyi had said that“Enugu State governmenthas concluded that thecommittee would assist usin investments promotion,mobilization of funds,increased internallygenerated revenue, IGR,and establishment ofindustries.”

My problem with‘dissident’ ASUUmembers—MOUA VC

By Anayo Okoli

UMUAHIA—THE Vice Chancellor of MichaelOkpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia

State, Prof. Hillary Edeoga has said that he was beingattacked by some members of the University’s ASUU,whom he described as ‘dissidents’ because he broughtchanges that prevented them from ripping-off theuniversity.

According to Edeoga, the aggrieved ASUU memberswere fighting back at him for effecting some changes whichaffected them by removing them from their former positions,an action he said was for the best interest of the university.

Edeoga who spoke to journalists shortly aftercommissioning 11 brand new 2014 Toyota Corolla modelcars procured for deans of some faculties, explained thatthe gesture was to assist them do their jobs better.

Commissioningthe cars, the ViceC h a n c e l l o rhowever, warnedthe deans againstmisuse of thevehicles, saying thatthey must be usedstrictly for officialpurposes.

“These cars arestrictly for officialuse. They are toserve as poolvehicles, they arenot to serve aspersonal vehiclesand not for domesticuse”, Edeogawarned.

Dismissing hiscritics who accusedhim of wrongdoings, includingembezzlement ofN300 million, thevice chancellordescribed theallegation as“ l a u g h a b l e ” ,pointing out that theannual budget of theuniversity washardly up to suchamount.

He said ratherthan misappropriatethe university’sfunds, he hasworked hard to raisethe internallygenerated revenueof the institutionwith which a lot ofinfrastructure hasbeen provided forthe school.

He also deniedthe allegation thathe awardedcontracts forbuilding 10 hostelsto only onecontractor, sayingthat the contractswere given to tencompanies.

COMMISSIONING: Warri South-West Local Government CouncilChairman,Hon. George Ekpemupolo(3rd from left) commissioning theKokodiagbene Community Town Hall, while Kokodiagbene CommunityChairman, Sheriff Mulade; Secretary of Warri South-West Local GovernmentCouncil, Hon. Emmanuel Golly; Leader of Warri South-West Local GovernmentCouncil Legislative Arm, Hon. Dennis Erebo; Chief Emmanuel Ekpetipu (right),and Hon. Blexson Omadoye, Vice Chairman of Warri of the council, look on. Ebonyi to

spendN12.5bn forreconstructionof 10 urbanroads

By Peter Okutu

ABAKALIKI—EBONYIState government hasearmarked N12.5 billion forthe rehabilitation andreconstruction of ten urbanroads within Abakaliki, thestate capital.

In an interview withnewsmen, weekend, thestate Commissioner forWorks, Engr. FidelisNweze, noted that the stategovernment was desirousof rehabilitating all majorroads and streets within theAbakaliki metropolis andbeyond to ease vehicularmovement within the city.

He said that the firstphase of the roads wouldcover 200 kilometres as itwould be executed ondirect labour basis.

The roads include:Gunning, Obiri, Nkaliki(leading to the State Houseof Assembly), Udemezue,Udensi to Ebebe junction,Uzanna, new market,Ogoja, among others.

He said: “You can see thatmajority of the roads withinthe city are in very terribleconditions and governmenthas taken it upon itself torehabilitate them.Government is embarkingon rehabilitation andreconstruction of 10 majorroads after which we willmove to the next phase.

“The cost of the firstphase is about N12.5 billionand it covers 200 kilometresof roads. And the contractsare awarded on directlabour,” he said.


Probe Siemens, Halliburton, otherscandals, Igbo leaders urge Buhari

By CliffordNdujihe

IGBO LEADERS on thebanner of Igbo Leaders ofThought, ILT, led byProfessor Ben Nwabuezehave commendedPresident MuhammaduBuhari over his anti-graftwar and called on allNigerians to support thecrusade in the interest of thecountry.

However, they told thepresident not to limit hisprobe of pastadministrations to the Dr.Goodluck Jonathangovernment, noting thatmaking the probe extensivewill lead to a ‘’change thatwill endure.’’

In a statement byEvangelist Elliot Uko,deputy secretary, ILT,founder, Igbo YouthMovement, IYM, andLeader, South EastDemocratic Coalition,SEDC, the Igbo leaderssaid: ‘’The promise ofchange to the ugly mannerthings have been done inour country for decades,inspires hope among thecitizenry. Talking aboutprobe, prosecution and theeventual return of lootedfunds to the coffers ofgovernment is a wonderful,exciting and a mostwelcome idea.

‘’President Buhari’scorrupt-free image goes along way here to inspirehope and confidence thatthis exercise will help sendthe necessary signal topublic officials, that the eraof mindless looting andsiphoning of public fundsis over.

‘’We support the probe,prosecution of looters andreturn of all stolen commonwealth of Nigerians overthe years. We also ask ourcountrymen to support this

needful and timelyexercise.

‘’But we have two worries:First, we plead that theexercise be totally free ofpolitical vendetta as thatwould taint the credibilityof the whole exercise.

"Second, we wonder whythe exercise would berestricted only to theimmediate past regime.Does that mean that thenotorious Siemens andHalliburton briberyscandals have been restedforever?

"Are we saying that theglaring corrupt cases of

1999 – 2007 are closedcases? Is it morally right totarget only the last regimewhile exonerating the 1999– 2007 sleaze-infestedregime? Will the deliberateisolation of the last regimealone for probe not give theimpression of a politicalvendetta? Why is it socompelling to look awayand leave out the 1999 –2007 era?

‘’We conclude bypleading with ourcountrymen to support theprobe because corruptionremains one of the fourgreat problems facing our

country. Others areethnicity, nepotism,religious bigotry and themother of all problems:unjust political structure.

"It is important wethoughtfully appraise theimpact of singling out onlyone regime for probe andprosecution while givingothers a clean bill of health.

‘’The exercise must not beseen as political anddivisive, as the essence andnoble goal will be lost. If thechange we profess is real,then false starts must beavoided.’’

UNVELING: From left – Stella Nnadi, Deputy Head, People Outsourcing; PejuNkemneme, COO, Workforce Group; Foluso Aribisala, Director, Workforce Group& COO, Workforce Institute; Bolaji Olagunju, Lead Consultant and CEO, WorkforceGroup; Chinelo Ume-Ugochukwu, GM, Workforce Group, and Aigbe Igunma, GM,Workforce Select, during Workforce group, formerly Workforce Management Centre,unveling of its new corporate identity following an organisation-widetransformation initiative in Lagos.

Apprehension in Enugu as EFCC goes

after ex-commissioners

…whereabouts of ex-Gov Chime unknownBy Austin Ogwuda

ENUGU—THERE isapprehension in Enugu askey officials in theimmediate pastadministration led byGovernor Sullivan Chimehave gone underground ina bid to escape possiblearrest by Economic andFinancial CrimesCommission, EFCC.

The anti-graft agency hadin the past few days

quizzed the former Chief ofStaff, during Chime’s era,Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo andformer Managing Directorof the Enugu State HousingCorporation and currently,the State Chairman ofPeoples Democratic Party,PDP, Mr. Ikeje Asogwa.

Unconfirmed report saidthat the embattled ex-governor Chime had sincetravelled out of the countrywhile other formercommissioners are on therun as EFCC operatives

from Abuja swooped onEnugu.

There had been hue andcry over whether or not toinvestigate the formeradministration and at theheat of the debate, Mr. RayNnaji petitioned EFCC andwent further to file anapplication before theFederal High Courtseeking for an order ofmandamus to compelEFCC to prosecute Chimeover alleged financialimpropriety.

ALLEGED FORGERY OF SENATE RULE:Rights group tasks IGP

By Austin Ogwuda

E N U G U —

C O N T R O V E R S Ysurrounding the allegedforgery of the Senate ruleprior to the inauguration ofthe 8th Senate is stillraging as the police high

command has beencriticized for delay in theprosecution of the suspectsconnected with thepurported forgery.

The backlash came froma rights group, Centre forthe Vulnerable and theUnderprivileged, Centrep,who warned that any

attempt by the police toadopt political solution inresolving the issue wouldamount to compoundingfelony.

Senate Deputy President,Senator Ike Ekweremadu,who is at the centre of thestorm, said recently inEnugu that he was notunder investigation by thepolice.

According to him: “I amsure you are seeing andhearing what they say inthe media. Most of thosethings are certainly not true.No police are investigatingme, because there isnothing to investigate. It isonly APC and their mediathat are investigating. Whatis happening in the Senateis purely Senate affairs andwill remain as that," hemaintained.

INEC office burnt down in AbiaBy Ugochukwu Alaribe

ABA—UNKNOWN persons haveburnt down the offices of the

Independent National ElectoralCommission, INEC, in Obingwa LocalGovernment Area, Abia State.

According to eye-witnesses, the incident,which occurred at about 1.00p.m.yesterday, razed the entire building,including the store and Electoral Officer’soffice.

A resident in the staff quarters at thecouncil headquarters at Mgboko, whodeclined to have his name on print, toldVanguard that they saw thick smokeemanating from the INEC office and raisedalarm, which attracted passers-by.

He added that the fire would have burntall the buildings, but for the timelyintervention of the council workers whoquenched it.

“We came back from church and saw athick smoke around the INEC office.Before we could know what to do, securitymen had cordoned off the area. The firenearly spread to the Education and SocialDevelopment buildings before it was putout.”

When our correspondent visited thecouncil headquarters at about 4.35p.m,men of the Counter Terrorism Unit,Nigerian Security and Civil DefenceCorps, NSCDC, mounted security in thearea, even as people strolled in to see therubbles.

OPINION


OPINIONDriving desirable 'change' in the power sectorDriving desirable 'change' in the power sectorDriving desirable 'change' in the power sectorDriving desirable 'change' in the power sectorDriving desirable 'change' in the power sector

By Dan Aibangbe

* Mr. Aibangbe, energy consultant,wrote from Abuja.

ELECTRICITY, globally, is to nationaldevelopment what blood is to the human

body. It’s a major stimulant and the bed-rock for enhanced productive capacity. Sofundamental is electricity that it isindispensable to our daily living. Unfortunately, challenges in this criticalsector appear to have defied all logicalsolutions in the Nigerian context. At theonset of the new democratic dispensation,the readily available excuse was the longneglect of the sector by successive militaryjuntas in terms of developmentalexpenditure and maintenance in budgetaryallocations.Today, one and half decades into democraticrule, the story remains the same.Government expenditure in the sector hasnot been encouraging, with just about 10billion dollars, out of which 8 billion dollarscame from the National Integrated PowerProject, NIPP. That means, directgovernment expenditure in the troubledpower sector in all of these years is just 2billion dollars despite the huge amount ofmoney at the disposal of the Nigeriangovernment. It’s not surprising that Nigeriahas only earned herself less poweravailability, massive job loss and spiralingunemployment, loss in public collaterals toprivate entities and massive de-industrialisation. Twenty five years ago, Nigeria’s powergenerating capacity was about 6,000

megawatts. This fact, will, no doubt, shockmany Nigerians and throw up the question,“how did we get to this sorry state?” Theanswer is not farfetched. Infrastructuraldecay, sheer negligence and corruption arethe major factors. At this point in history, it’s crucial andurgent that we take a critical look fromoutside into the black box called the NigerianPower Sector. Aviation experts are quitefamiliar with this procedure after each crash.So we can borrow this analogy from them tochat the path for this discourse. In trying to put into perspective where weare today, we also need to borrow from theexperience of countries that are similar interms of population, level of developmentand natural resource endowment. India, forexample, generates as much as 950,000megawatts for a population of 1.2 billionpeople. That’s about 850 kilowatts per person.South Africa currently generates 40,000megawatts, with additional 11,000megawatts to come on stream for apopulation of about 50 million people. Thatcomes to 900 kilowatts for each person. InNigeria, we have 3,000 megawatts andsometimes less for the consumption of 180million people. Comparatively, this goes toone kilowatt for 45 people. What this implies

is that the average power available to a singleindividual in other countries is what 45Nigerians share. To make it clearer, if thiswas food, the meal available to one personelsewhere is what 45 people will share inNigeria. Obviously, these 45 people willbecome emaciated and probably die ofhunger. This is exactly what is happening toour industries and which also impacts on ourunemployment rate. In terms of technology, Nigeria is also highlydeficient. The old hydro-power stations wereconstructed in the seventies by foreignengineers. Presently, the gas driven thermalIPPs are based on foreign technologies likethose of China and Germany. Ourtransmission technology too is foreign,although our local engineers have madeconsiderable in-roads in the areas of servicingand maintenance. Only recently has theNigerian government developed thenecessary partnership for training powersector engineers and manpower, when theexisting manpower gap had become tooobvious with the unbundling of NEPA. The most reliable component of our powergeneration mix today is hydro due largelyto the natural resources of the Niger Riverand other rivers. This has afforded us thedevelopment of backbone generatinginfrastructure such as Kanji and ShiroroDams. Unfortunately, this model of powergeneration is not scalable and has longgestation period, unsuitable for the Nigeriansituation, which has become urgent. Theother model which is the Thermal generatingtype, infinitely scalable and of relatively lowgestation would have been the ultimatesolution, considering our comparative

advantage in the sourcing of gas for suchplants. Nigeria is endowed with expansivedeposit of hydro-carbons such as natural gasand coal. In the last 15 years, Nigeria hasinvested the huge sums of Dollars mentionedearlier in pursuit of this apparently beneficialmodel. The challenges which have stuntedthe success rate are systemic in terms ofcorruption and the economics surroundingthe procurement and stable delivery of inputraw materials such as gas. Nigeria is one ofthe top ten gas producers in the world. Yet,natural gas is not under the control of thepower sector. There are three conflictinginterests contesting for the use of Nigeriangas: the international market, the domesticmarket and the energy sector. Here lies theproblem.Because the Nigerian gas production sectoris firmly under the control of the multi-national oil companies, their focus is tosatisfy the international market. TheNigerian regulator, the NNPC appears notto have been empowered with the rightpolitical will to assert its full influence insecuring adequate supply of gas for theenergy sector. These are market forcesplaying out and resulting in the under-production of the NIPPs and other thermalgenerating plants. The supply chain of gas has been subjectedto high levels of corruption by the cabalsoperating Nigeria’s oil sector. The choicefacing us as a nation is to confront thecorruption system head-on or procure ourgas at open market rate and seek other lesscompetitive fuel for our thermal stations.

The choice facing us isprocure our gas atopen market rate

THE crisis in the House of Represen-tatives,was finally resolved on Tuesday last weekwhen the leadership of the House bowed tothe demands of the All Progressives Congress(APC) to install its preferred candidates asprincipal officers.

This made it possible for the Speaker,Hon Yakubu Dogara, to announceHonourables Femi Gbajabiamila as theMajority Leader, Baba Jibrin (DeputySpeaker), Alhassan Doguwa (Chief Whip)and Pally Iriase (Deputy Chief Whip). TheSpeaker and his group had, during thecrisis, insisted that the remaining posts inthe House should be shared in such a wayas to enable all the six geopolitical zones inthe country to have a sense of belonging.But the ruling party, with the backing ofPresident Muhammadu Buhari, insistedon having its way, and in so doing, and forthe first time since 1999, a ruling partycould not accommodate one of thegeopolitical zones of the country, the SouthEast, in sharing the offices of the House ofRepresentatives.

We encourage both the president and the

NASS: NoNASS: NoNASS: NoNASS: NoNASS: Now Tw Tw Tw Tw To Businesso Businesso Businesso Businesso Business

ruling party to henceforth endeavour toensure that all parts of the country are carriedalong, not only in the sharing of public offices,but also in the distribution of our nation’scommonwealth. The principle of federalcharacter, which is enshrined in theConstitution, must be reflected at all times,and this must be done without regard to thevoting pattern of any section or group. Thisis necessary for the peace, stability and unityof this country.

Besides, the strident insistence on “partysupremacy”, we hope, will not tamper

with the independence of the federallegislature as this will not augur well fordemocracy and good governance.

Now that calm has returned to the NationalAssembly, we urge the federal lawmakers tofocus their attention on the work for which theywere elected. For two months, our democracyran without the input of its major guardian andguarantor, the legislative arm. This made itpossible for events that had graveconsequences for our democracy and goodgovernance to crop up unchecked. A lot ofwork waited for legislative attention.

The legislature should quickly ensure itscreens and approves the nominations of theService Chiefs from the president. It mustenquire into the Directorate of State Services(DSS) “invasion” of the homes of the formerNational Security Adviser, retired Col SamboDasuki and determine the propriety of HajiyaAmina Zakari remaining as the “ActingChairman” of the Independent NationalElectoral Commission (INEC) even after theexpiration of her tenure.

The NASS must work hard and recover lostgrounds.

CMYK

AUGUST 3, 2015

Continues on Page 18

Importers shun Onne, takecargo to nearby countries

NIGERIAN importers of oil and gascargoes have carried out their

threat to divert cargoes away from OnnePort as they now consign their goods toports of neighbouring countries and thenmove them into Nigeria.

It will be recalled that the lastadministration had ordered that all oiland gas cargoes be consigned to IntelsLogistics terminal in Onne, Rivers State,a development some importers kicked

against, saying charges at Onne weretoo exorbitant for them.

The importers threatened to divert theircargoes to ports of neighbouringcountries if government did not rescindits decision.

FG frowns at arbitrary charges,undue delay at ports

The Federal Ministry of Transport lastweek said that arbitrary charges andundue delays had become key problemsmilitating against port concessionexercise.

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministryof Transport, Mr Mohammed Bashar,made the disclosure in Lagos in amessage to a one-day conference onReview of Port Concession Agreement.

Ports were concessioned to 26 privateterminal operators in 2006, among whichIntel is one. Bashar, who wasrepresented by the Director of Shippingin the ministry, Alhaji Sani Galandanshi,said the challenges of port concessionincluded arbitrary charges, undue delayto cargo clearance. He said otherchallenges were abuse of the concession

agreement and other general oppressivetendencies as observed by stakeholders.

“It is these negative tendencies, andto address them that in February 2014,the Federal Government appointed theNigerian Shippers’ Council as theInterim Port Economic Regulator. ThePort Economic Regulator was establishedfor effective regulatory regime inNigerian ports for the control of tariffs,rates, charges and other relatedeconomic activities. The interimregulator will address the negativeimpact of the port concession activitieson the economy and realise the optimalbenefits derivable from port reform.

“The regulator will as well carry outother related incidental activities,”Bashar said.

The permanent secretary said theconference would critically analyse areasof ambiguity, duplication of contractualobligations and failure to clearly separateresponsibilities and accordingly, proffersolutions.

Bashar said the conference would goa long way in the realisation ofdividends of port concession by allparties. He, however, explained that portconcession had had positiveimprovements in the quality of portservices, infrastructure development,improved safety of cargo and increasein cargo throughput. Bashar said theconcession was meant to create efficiencyand quality of service rendered at portsand encourage investments in the portsector through Public Private Partnership(PPP).

He said concession was meant toreduce costs of doing business at theports, increase revenue generation forgovernment, create employment andpromote competition in port services.

Also speaking, Mr Benjamin Dikki,Director-General, Bureau of PublicEnterprises (BPE), said the concessionoperation in Nigeria was basically theefforts of both the Nigerian PortsAuthority (NPA) and the BPE.

Dikki said the failure of the passage of

BY GODWIN ORITSE

Over alleged monopolistic practices

WALMART: Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (right) and President and Chief Executive Officer ofWalmart Europe, Middle East, Africa and Canada, Shelley Broade when he received a delegation of Walmart Incorpo-rated last Thursday. Walmart, employing 2.2 million people in 28 countries is berthing in Nigeria.

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Cover

Continued from Page 17

the Port and Harbour Bill andTransport Commission Bill ledto the establishment of PortEconomic Regulator tocheckmate the activities of boththe terminal operators andother stakeholders.

Mr Hassan Bello, ExecutiveSecretary of the NigerianShippers’ Council (NSC),called on key players to cometogether to review theconcession agreementperiodically. Bello said thatNSC was primarilyconcerned with seeingreduction in the costs ofdoing business in Nigerianports. The executive secretaryexpressed NSC’s readiness totransform the ports throughits new port order whichrevolved around introductionof electronic platform.

However Oil and gasimporters now bring heavymaterials meant for oil andgas industry through the Portof Cotonou in Benin Republic.

Confirming thedevelopment, a staff of theCommercial and Marketingdepartment of the port, Mr.Oladele Romare who spokepassable English toldVanguard that there has beenan increase in the volume ofoil and gas cargoes importedby Nigerians in the port.

Romare added that most ofthese cargoes are finallytrucked to Nigeria throughthe Seme border.

Speaking in similar vein,Mr. Toure Nurudeen whotried to arrange a meetingbetween our reporter and theDirector-General of the

Cotonou port said thatNigerian importers are one oftheir biggest customers.

He also said that cargoesbelonging to Nigerianimporters are treated withdispatch.

Efforts to reach the Director-General of the port, Mr.Samuel Batcho was futile ashe was said to be away whenVanguard got to his office inCotonou.

The Comptroller of theSeme Customs Command ofthe Nigeria Customs Service,(NCS), Ndalati Mohammedsaid that importers have theright to consign their cargoesto any port of their choice. Heexplained that most of thesecargoes are so large that it ispractically impossible to movethem by road. Mohammedfurther said that some arealso urgently needed thatthey are air-freighted to theirpoint of use.

“What we are moreconcerned about is that dutiesare paid since they are

dutiable.” He, however, confirmed

that some drill pipes comethrough the border and ifthere is no reason to stop themthey are allowed to come. Alsospeaking on the development,President of the NigerianAssociation of LicensedCustoms Agents, (ANLCA),Prince Olayiwola Shittu saidthat importers now freighttheir cargoes through ports ofother countries because theyrefused to be blackmailed intousing the Oil and Gasterminal in Onne.

ANLCA, which decriedgovernment’s moves to grantsuch monopoly, has said thatit would instruct its membersand principals who handle oiland gas cargoes to henceforthdirect their vessels to ports ofneighbouring countries anduse trucks to move suchcargoes into Nigeria.

Shittu said: “What they(former administration) havedone was very irresponsible.What they did was create amonopoly that is anti-people,and not in the interest of theeconomy.

“Everybody should have achoice of where they want totake their cargoes to. “Thegovernment concessioned theports, all of them(concessionaires) signed thesame documents. Why do youhave to force people to taketheir cargo to Onne so thatthey can charge them indollars, and not only that,their charges are 300 timesmore than regular charges inother ports.”

According to theassociation’s leader, “We

Importers shun Onne, takecargo to nearby countries

Why do you haveto force people totake their cargo toIntels so that theycan charge themin dollars, and notonly that, theircharges are 300times more thanregular charges inother ports

An entrepreneur is a person who makes plans for a business or apiece of work and gets it going. Anyanwuocha (2001) observes

that the entrepreneur is the chief co-ordinator, controller and organizerof the production process. The entrepreneur combines other factors ofproduction (land, capital and others) in such a way as to obtain maximumproduction of goods and services at minimum costs. In order toeffectively enhance occupational skills in the present day, entrepreneursneed also to acquire information and communication technologyknowledge and skills. Mkpozi (1996) observed that a country that isdeveloping and manufacturing its own goods either from Hi-Tech orsmall/medium scale industries using indigenous skills and exports someof those goods to other countries is usually economically stable. Thiscould be better achieved through the acquisition of entrepreneurialand occupational skills in technology and vocational education.Individuals with technical and vocation skills and good knowledge ofICT are characterized by self-reliance, self-employment and fit properlyinto today’s technical, entrepreneurial and business world.

The entrepreneur should therefore possess technical skills, ideas andmanagement skills which are necessary for the success of the venture.One of such skills is information and communication technology whichis characterized by employee empowerment and involves the makingof unskilled and semiskilled workers to be skilful and functional intoday’s world of work. It also involves the development of task orientedteam of workers who no longer depend on individual managers for alltheir decisions to achieve targets. Technical process re-engineering arealso required to redesign technical work processes, jobs, organizationalstructure, management system, and also in process designs using inmanufacturing industries.

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

There are various numbers of opportunities for technology andvocational education graduates with entrepreneurship skills in ICTdriven technical and vocational education environment. Theseopportunities exist in various forms for the enhancing entrepreneurshipskills. Nwabuona (2004) views entrepreneurship education as theidentification of the general characteristics of entrepreneurs and howpotential entrepreneurs can be trained in management techniquesneeded for effective performance of persons for long time survival ofan organization after the acquisition of occupational skills. Therefore,the roles technology and vocational education in enhancement ofentrepreneurship skills is to identify and equipped graduates withcritical wealth of skills, technical knowledge, and a good measure ofself-confidence using information and communication technologycompetence.

The entrepreneur should therefore possess entrepreneurial andmanagement skills which are necessary for the success of the venture.Ogalanya in Nwabuona (2004) identified entrepreneurial skills toinclude managerial or administrative skills, job/technical skills, humanrelations skills, innovative/enterprising skills, competitive skills,communication skills, conceptual/planning skills, supervisory/guidanceskills, according skills, investigation/problem solving skills. Ohakwe(2003) observed entrepreneurial skills as banking transactions, internetconcepts and skills, internet websites knowledge and skills. An adequateknowledge of these concepts, skills and internet competences certainlyis an asset to technology and vocational education graduates in today’sICT driven world.

Information Communication TechnologyThe Information communication technology (ICT) is a fast growing

new technological era. The ICT is entering fast in Nigeria both ineducation and in the job market but still in its infancy. The ICT hasopened global job market where people with competence can do jobssitting in their own house anywhere in the world without going to orattending the work place (Alam, 2009). ICT is very important and asrightly observed by UNDP Human Development Report 2001 (UNDP,2001) Marketing New Technologies Work for Human Development,more information can be sent over a single cable in a second than in1997 was sent over the entire internet in a month. They also observedthat the cost of transmitting a trillion bits of information from Bostonto Los Angeles has fallen from US$150,000 in1970 to 12 cents today.

Vocation and technical education– a key to improving Nigeria’s

development. Part 3

PRESS CONFERENCE - From left: Principal of Vocational Training Centre, Federal NigeriaSociety for the Blind (FNSB) Mr.Sola Ogunsiji; Chairman Executive Council, Asiwaju Fola Osibo;Past Chairman, Chief Olu Falomo and Member Executive Council, Barrister (Mrs) Tomi Ladejoat the Press Conference on the upcoming 10th White Cane Day and Public EnlightenmentProgramme of FNSB Vocational Training centre in Lagos.

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Continued from Page 18

have started our campaignalso to call for the boycott ofOnne port facilities. Inaddition, we are prepared totake our oil and gas goodsthrough Cotonou. If thatdiscrimination is going tohappen, then we go throughthe border. “It is veryunfortunate because Intelshave been a problem and itis like a country of its own.That is because the promotersheld the last government bythe jugular. It is veryunfortunate,” he said.

An official of the NigerianShippers’ Council whorefused to have his names inprint told Vanguard that theCouncil was discussing thematter with the management

of Onne Port.The official also said that the

government does not supportthe issue of monopoly, addingthat the matter will be resolvedin no time.

The President of theNigerian Chamber ofShipping, Ms Ify Akerele-Anozodo told Vanguard thatformer President GoodluckJonathan’s decision toconsign all oil and gas cargoto Onne was not a wisedecision adding that it musthave been politicallyinfluenced. Akerele-Anazodoalso said that if the trend wasallowed to continue, it willdefinitely affect the Localcontent project thegovernment embarked uponyears ago.

She said: “Besides,

operators of Onne Port hadsaid that it was not going tocreate a monopoly but assist thegrowth of the local capacity.

“I am very baffled and I wantto appeal to the Buhari-ledgovernment to reverse thedecision so as to allow thegrowth of the local oil and gas

and maritime industries.”In his reaction, former Senior

Special Assistant to PresidentGoodluck Jonathan onMaritime matters, Mr.Oyeleke Oyewole said thatcreating a monopoly at Onnewill not be in the best interestof both the Nigeriangovernment and itsbusinessmen.

Oyewole added that it willbe more costly to import thesecategories of cargoes throughthe port of Cotonou asimporters will pay duty in thatcountry as well as in Nigeria.

He opined that it was wrongto compel businessmen toconsign their cargoes to aparticular port.

On the implication of thedevelopment, the President ofthe National Council ofManaging Directors of

Licensed Customs Agents,(NCMDLCA), Mr. LuckyAmiwero said that Nigeria haslost its international freightcomponent to Benin Republic.

He explained that importersof such cargoes will pay theshipping charges, terminalhandling charges and othersundry charges to the Beninterminal operators.

Amiwero also said thatNigeria has also lost itsemployment opportunities tothe ports of neighbouringcountries. All Nigeria getsfrom this deal is that importerswill pay for transit from Beninto Nigeria adding thatgovernment made a mistakeby directing all oil and gascargoes to be consigned to aparticular logistics base despite earlier directives thatimporters are free to consigntheir cargoes to any port oftheir choice.

Importers shun Onne, take cargo to nearbycountries

It will be morecostly to importthese categories ofcargoes through theport of Cotonou asimporters will payduty in that countryas well as in Nigeria

Cover

White House parley scheduledfor July 20 would seem to bean aberration and a surprise.But an analysis of both leaders’circumstances suggests thatsuch a meeting is a no-brainer.

Economic and war legaciesBuhari and Obama were

elected during a period ofeconomic turmoil and distress.When Obama was elected in2008 the US economy was indire straits and reminiscent ofcontemporary Nigerianeconomy. With unemploymentrate hovering around 10%, theUS economy was losing800,000 jobs monthly. Budgetdeficits were spiraling,pushing the country’s debtstock to unsustainable levels.Like Buhari, Obama not onlymet an empty treasury but wasalso saddled with a whoppingdebt burden of about US$10trillion – or 72% of GDP. Bothpresidents also inheritedexpensive and drawn-out warswhich they pledged to end.Ending the wars inAfghanistan and Iraq was amajor mantra in Obama’selection campaigns in 2008. InBuhari’s campaign a majorplatform was the promise toend the scourge of BokoHaram. Just as Nigeriansclamoured for change duringthe last elections, Americansdesperately wanted change in2008. When people clamourfor change, they’re taking a bigrisk.

But, looking back, manyAmericans would say that therisk they took in 2008 waswell-calculated. The USeconomy has rebounded.Unemployment has fallen from10% in 2009 to the current levelof about 5%. The US budget

deficit is now less than half ofwhat it was when Obama firsttook office. Obama has alsosignificantly reduced thepresence of American troops inAfghanistan and Iraq. In asense, he has virtually fulfilledall his election promises wellahead of the end of hispresidential tenure.

Stimulus versus austerityGiven the striking similarities

in both leaders’ circumstances,Buhari would do well to borrowObama’s economic “magicwand”. If he does, he’ll besurprised to learn that Obamaturned the US economy aroundnot through austerity measures,but by spending more. A fewdays after his election, Obamaappointed Harvard economistand former Treasury secretaryLarry Summers as his chiefeconomic adviser. At the sametime he announced hisintention to launch aneconomic stimulus programmeat a scale never seen before inthe country. Obama justified thestimulus programme byreferring to the severity of theeconomic challenges heinherited. Despite push-backsfrom Republicans in Congress,he managed to implement astimulus programme worthalmost US$1 trillion. Hisstrategy was predicated on thepremise that the way toresuscitate the economy is notthrough belt-tightening, but viaexpansionary fiscal andmonetary policies.

Obama’s stimulus strategyfocused on “shovel-ready”projects that created jobs almostinstantaneously, as well as onprograms that deliveredimmediate cash to Americans.The projects and programsinclude infrastructure,education, health, renewableenergy, tax incentives,unemployment benefits andother social welfare provisions.

Shortly after Obama’sinauguration, Americans beganto receive stimulus cheques intheir mailboxes or get temporarytax relief. As an unapologeticproponent of “Middle ClassEconomics” – the notion that avirile middle class is a sine quanon for a robust economy – muchof Obama’s stimulus money went

to middle-class Americans.Buhari should resist belt-

tighteningThough Buhari has yet to

formally unveil his economicblueprint, he should resist thetemptation of embarking on belt-tightening as an end in itself.His administration appears tobe drumming-up the need toreduce the cost of governance.While this is an unassailableproposition, he should becircumspect about what heintends to cut.

In the process of cutting costscare should be taken not tojettison investments andprojects needed to enhance thecountry’s productive capacity.Buhari should considerincreasing spending in sectors,projects and programmes thatboost the economy, generateemployment and promoteinclusive growth. These sectorsinclude infrastructure, labour-intensive manufacturing, agro-processing, health andeducation.

Nigeria is arguably a countrywhere a massive economicstimulus programme is urgentlyneeded. It has a large stock ofhuman and natural resourcesthat are grossly underutilised.The informal sector is bloated,with millions of underemployedyouths. Most of Nigeria’sgraduates are unemployed orengaged in menial jobs.

Meanwhile, there is a hugeinfrastructural deficit that can bepartly filled through public

works projects executed withdirect labour. These projectswould provide temporaryemployment to unskilledworkers, enabling them to gainexperience needed forpermanent jobs.

Domestic borrowing canfund stimulus in Nigeria

Buhari has the pedigree toshepherd a massive stimulusprogramme. He’s known toabhor profligacy, which meansthat stimulus money will bespent prudently. He detestsgraft and corruption, whichimplies that stimulus fundswon’t disappear. This dependson whether Buhari will be ableto prevent those around himfrom corruptly enrichingthemselves – something hispredecessor failed to do. LikeObama, he cares deeply for thedowntrodden, which suggestshe’ll focus stimulus spendingon job creation and economicempowerment.

Some may wonder how theBuhari administration couldpossibly finance stimulusspending. After all, he hasinherited an empty treasuryand faces dwindling oilrevenues and a volatile globaloil market. But Nigeria couldfollow the example of Asiancountries that financed theirstimulus programmes throughdomestic borrowing (mainly byissuing government bonds).Borrowing money domesticallyin one’s own currency is notnearly as problematic asexternal borrowing.

Stephen Onyeiwu is aProfessor of Economics atAllegheny College,

Culled from ConversationAfrica.

Lessons Buhari can learn from Obamaabout managing a tough economy

It is atypical for an American president to invite a nascent African head of state to the White House, especially less than one month after the

latter’s inauguration. To some observers, therefore, US President BarackObama’s invitation of his Nigerian counterpart, Muhammadu Buhari, for a

Like Buhari,Obama notonly met anemptytreasury butwas alsosaddled witha whoppingdebt burdenof about $10trillion – or72% of GDP

BY STEPHEN ONYEIWU

20— Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

CMYK

Business & Economy

Nigeria and 19 otherAfrican countries in

collaboration with the AfricanDevelopment Bank, AfDBhave set up $830 millioninfrastructure funding facility.The facility known as Africa50,is a new and innovativeinfrastructure investmentplatform promoted by theAfrican Development Bank. Itheld its Constitutive GeneralAssembly on the 29th of July2015 in Casablanca, Morocco.

According to AfDB, twenty(20) African countries and theAfrican Development Bankhave subscribed for an initialaggregate amount of $830million in share capital.

The founding Africancountries of the facility areNigeria, Benin, Cameroon,Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon,Ghana, Ivory Coast,Madagascar, Malawi, Mali,Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria,Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone,Sudan, The Gambia and Togo.

AfDB said that while this firstclosing was available only toAfrican countries, it isanticipated that the second andsubsequent closings will beavailable not only to Africancountries that are yet to investin Africa50, but also non-sovereign investors both inAfrica and outside Africa.

The second closing is

expected before the end of2015. Speaking at the event,Dr. Donald Kaberuka, Presidentof African Development Bankand current Chairman of theBoards of Directors of Africa50,said “the large presence ofAfrican States and theirfinancial commitments are a

testimony to a shared vision tofind new ways to accelerate theprovision of infrastructure.Africa50 will be a step changefor infrastructure financing anddevelopment in Africa”.

Africa50’s raison d’être is tomobilise long-term savingswithin and outside Africa for the

financing of commerciallyviable infrastructure projectsacross Africa. Through anintegrated approach, Africa50will invest in Africaninfrastructure projects at scalealong the entire project financevalue chain leveraging itsinnovative Project Finance andProject Development windows.The strong expression ofcommitment today by theAfrican countries is anecessary first step towardsattracting institutionalinvestors, including sovereignwealth funds, pension funds,insurance companies and othersources of long-term financearound the world. Africa50’smedium term capitalization isprojected to reach $3 billion.

During the ConstitutiveGeneral Meeting, Africa50’sfounding members signed thearticles of incorporation, whichenshrine the highest standardsof corporate governance.Africa50 is headquartered inCasablanca, Morocco. Aheadquarters agreement wassigned with the Kingdom ofMorocco that confers uponAfrica50 a range of privilegesand immunities similar to thoseenjoyed by the AfricanDevelopment Bank. Otherdecisions taken at the meetingincluded the appointments ofthe members of the Boards ofDirectors of the Project Financeand Project Developmentvehicles and also theappointment of KPMG asexternal auditors.

Africa50 raises USD 830 millionfor infrastructure

The Petroleum TechnologyDevelopment Fund,

PTDF, has called on theFederal Government tocompel both local andinternational oil companies(IOC) operating in thecountry to employ Nigerianoil and gas professionals.

Speaking at the Close Outseminar of the 2012/2013Annual Oil and Gas researchGrant competition in Abuja,Executive Secretary of theFund, Mr. Femi Ajayi,lamented the fact that afterexcelling in their studies andhaving undergone rigorousand world class training inboth local and internationalinstitutions, majority of theprofessionals ended upwithout jobs.

According to him, the

Federal Government shouldput in place measures thatwill ensure that both local andinternational oil companiesengage indigenousprofessionals, especiallyscholars of the PTDFscholarship scheme.

He said, “The issue is notjust competence andcapability, there is also theneed for political will amongthe IOCs and the government.We cannot rely on thegoodwill of the IOCs when itcomes to the issue ofemploying of our people; theyhave to be compelled to do it.”

He emphasized the need forall stakeholders in thepetroleum industry tocontribute their quota towardsensuring that indigenousprofessionals are gainfullyengaged and also that thefunds and efforts expended intraining these professionalsare not futile.

“When we train all thesepeople, give them theresearch competence and theexperience that they have,there is the issue of gettingthem gainfully engagedlocally.

‘There are certain roles thatgovernment should play andthe role that the private sectorneeds to play; everyone needsto play their individual roles,because at the end of the day,if we put so much money totrain these people, yet it doesnot lead to domestication ofsome of these things that wewant domesticated, it meanswe are just spending money,we are not getting theresults,” he noted.

Ajayi, however, commendedthe federal Government forsetting up the NigerianContent DevelopmentManagement Board,NCDMB, urging thegovernment to empower the

agencies and others to deliveron the mandate.

Continuing, he said, “Thereis no running away fromfunding, training, researchand development. It is not byaccident that the mosttechnological advancedcountries in the world, theyhave the best communicationsystems, they have the mostreliable power systems, theyhave the most efficienttransport systems, and it is notby accident. So if you wantany of these things, you mustfund training, you must fundresearch and development.”

Also speaking, Mr. TaiyeHaruna, PermanentSecretary, Ministry ofPetroleum Resources,commended the PTDF for itsrole in growing capacity andensuring manpowerdevelopment in the Nigerianoil and gas sector.

Compel oil companies to employ Nigerians,PTDF tells FG

BY MICHAEL EBOH

FORUM - From left: Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, Managing Director& Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria receiving the award forAfrica’s Telecommunications Company of the Year from Ms. CarolAbel, Governor, Central Bank of Seychelles at the 6th AfricanBusiness Leadership Forum & Awards 2015, which held at theHilton London Metropole, United Kingdom.

BY OMOH GABRIEL

PSC Solarintroduceshybrid inverterpower plant

PSC Solar UK Limited,solar panel

manufacturers and total solarelectricity systems integrator, inpartnership with Tesvolt ofGermany has introduced500KWh LiFePo4Mn amalgampower plant. The company is amultinational manufacturer ofhigh quality German madeXantra brand super pure sinewave inverters from 1.5KVA to50KVA.

The Managing Director/ChiefExecutive Officer of PSC Solar,Dr. Patrick Owelle and TesvoltExecutives, Frank Braun andMathias Zdzieblowski in aninteractive session disclosedthat orders for 40 units of thelarge utility scale power plants from local governments,industrial and businesscustomers in Nigeria, Ghana,Benin, Togo and Niger arecurrently being produced.

Said Dr. Owelle: “We arecurrently bringing advancedtechnology electricity powerplants to the market place andsoon, there will be no moreexcuse for citizens of Nigeria,Ghana, Benin, Togo and Nigerto groan in darkness.”

He further explained that thissystem can provide power toover 100 residential homes atabsolutely no cost other than theinitial acquisition cost.

“These units are excellent forestates, large apartmentbuildings, schools, hospitals,churches and mosques,government buildings etc.,” hestated, adding: “Although thepower plant on display is500KWh, we have the capacityto produce systems as small as7KWh and as large as over1Mwh.”

NCAAthreatens topublish namesof debtorairlines

The Nigerian CivilAviation Authority

(NCAA) has threatened topublish names of airlines whohad not been remitting the fiveper cent Ticket Sales Charge(TSC) to the authority. NCAA,in a statement by its GeneralManager, Public Affairs, MrFan Ndubuoke, in Lagos, saidthe airlines were also notremitting Cargo Sales Charge(CSC). It gave the erringairline operators a 30-dayultimatum to comply with thedirective on remittance of theoutstanding payments.


Business & Economy

Operations at GuinnessNigeria Benin plant

has been paralysed by officialsof Ikpoba Okha LocalGovernment Area, LGA of EdoState, who mounted a blockadeat the entrance to the brewerycompound over unpaid fees.The blockade stalled exit andentry into the premises for afew hours.

The blokade was led byMrs . ItohanOgbeide,Chairman, Ikpoba-Okha LGA, who claimed thatGuinness Nigeria have beenobstructing the localgovernment from collection offees from third party logisticscompanies engaged in theprovision of haulage services.

Mr. Kingsley Imade, thePlant Manager at the Brewerylater held a meeting with Mrs.Ogbeide, following which theblockade was lifted andoperations at the Breweryresumed. Before departing the

brewery, Mrs. Ogbeidehowever issued an ultimatumto Guinness Nigeria to complywith her directive on or beforeWednesday, 29 July 2015, orface further disruptions to itsbusiness operations.

Responding, SesanSobowale, Corporate RelationsDirector, Guinness Nigeria,said: “We are taken aback bythis unlawful disruption of ouractivities ostensibly toblackmail the company toassume the role of an agent forrevenue collection from thelogistics services providers.

According to him, “theblockade is also in violationof a subsisting court orderrestraining the localgovernment from mountingblockades at our premises anddemanding levies allegedlypayable by these companiesfrom Guinness Nigeria.”

Continuing, he stated:“Guinness Nigeria Plc is aresponsible, law abidingcorporate citizen and hasoperated its business

peacefully for several decadesin Benin City.

While we continue to exploreoptions for peaceful and legalresolution of this issue, we arealso consulting our legaladvisers to protect ourbusiness against furtherunlawful invasion of ourbusiness premises,” Sobowalesaid.

In addition, he said: theinvasion of our businesspremises which we witnessedyesterday has become

recurrent, and we have hadto call the attention of theExecutive Governor of EdoState, Comrade AdamsOshiomhole, to this practiceby Ikpoba Okha localgovernment officials. TheComrade Governor wasemphatic about the localgovernment having nobusiness blocking ourbusiness premises in a bid tocollect third party levies. HisExcellency acknowledgedGuinness Nigeria as thesecond largest employer oflabour in Edo State, after thestate government, and a majorprivate sector contributor tointernally generated revenue.

“As a law abiding corporatecitizen, Guinness Nigeria Plchereby appeals to theleadership of the localgovernment to act incompliance with applicablelaws. We understandourresponsibilities, and alwaysact lawfully and with integrityin every aspect of ourbusiness."

Unpaid fees: LG grounds Guinness operation in Benin

BY PRINCEWILLEKWUJURU

The United NationsI n d u s t r i a l

Development Organisation(UNIDO), says that the NationalQuality Infrastructure Project(NQIP) will boost thecompetitiveness of the Nigerianeconomy in the internationalmarket. The project wasdesigned to put in placenecessary infrastructure andinternational regulatoryframework that will createglobal acceptance of Nigeria’sproducts and services.

National Quality InfrastructureProject will boost competitiveness— UNIDO

28 shipscontainingpetroleumproducts, foods,expected inLagos ports

Twenty-eight ships ladenwith petroleum

products, food items and othergoods, are expected to arriveLagos ports from July 30 toAug. 8. The Nigerian PortsAuthority (NPA) stated this inits daily publication - ‘ShippingPosition’- made available tonewsmen on Thursday inLagos. According to thedocument, the ships wouldarrive with rice, bulk malt,buckwheat, frozen fish andpalm olein. It noted that otherships were expected withgeneral cargo, containers,petrol, diesel and bulk gas. Thedocument explained that 11other ships had arrived theports with petrol, diesel, baseoil, and general cargo; waitingto berth.

LCCI Agricsector decriesN1trn annualspending onfood importation

Chairman, Agriculture andNon-Oil Sector, Lagos

Chamber of Commerce andIndustries, LCCI Mr WaleOyekoya, has decried thenation’s annual spending ofN1 trillion on importation offoods. Oyekoya lamented thedevelopment in an interviewin Lagos while reacting to theCentral Bank of Nigeria’sreport on spending on food perannum.

According to him, it isalarming that such an amountis being spent on foodimportation per annum whileonly a meagre sum is beinggiven to local farmers. Some ofthe foods imported are rice,wheat and poultry products.“Is it a shame that the FederalGovernment is spending somuch on foods that we caneasily produce in the country.This act is just killing theeconomy as it is a clear meansof siphoning money out of thecountry. This is some of thereasons why the dollar isgoing up and will notappreciate if nothing is doneabout it,” he said. Oyekoyasaid the incumbentadministration should look intothe plight of farmers with theaim of solving their problems.

PRESS CONFERENCE - From left: Manager, Corporate Communications, Nigerian BreweriesPlc, Mr. Patrick Olowokere, President/Chairman, Institute of Directors OF Nigeria, (IOD), Mr. YemiAkeju and Otun Eesa of Osogboland, Chief Moshood Aremu at a press conference to announce theforth coming Osun Oshogbo festival held at the Institute of Directors, Lagos

The Chief Technical Advisorof UNIDO, Dr Charles Malatamade this known in Abuja.

“The main objective for theNational Quality InfrastructureProject is to boostcompetitiveness of the Nigerianeconomy vis-a- vis theinternational markets. And allthe work that is being doneunder the project is aimed atimproving the competiveness ofthe local industry. On one side,what we are trying to do isensure that the commodities

that are produced can meet thebest international standards,best international practices thatare there.“

Some Nigerian products weredisallowed from entering someinternational markets due topoor standards and quality.Malata said that though therewere Ministries, Departmentsand Agencies saddled with theresponsibility of ensuringstandardisation of products inNigeria, there was still the needfor an internationally accepted

body. He, however, said that forcommerce and trade to thrive,there was the need for theintroduction of an internationalaccepted standard forassessing the quality ofproducts made in Nigeria.According to him, the projectwill soon be presented beforethe Federal Executive Councilfor adoption as a policy.

Malata stated that whenadopted, the policy wouldalso ensure the safety andhealth of consumers whoconsume the various locallyproduced products in thecountry.

“While doing that, we takerecognition that we have anational market as well, andtherefore, we need to ensurethat the safety and health ofthe consumers at the locallevel is also protected,“ hesaid. The policy is alsoexpected to ensure accuracyand reliability of the outcomesof tests carried out on localproducts. He said that theNQIP was being funded bythe European Union (EU) andwould be implemented indifferent out puts.

‘He said: ‘We haveestablished a Nationalaccreditation body, we areabout to set up a NationalMetrology Institute. We haveorganised the private sector sothey can also establishcertification and inspectionbodies which deals withissues of quality, and we areat the moment runningprogrammers to raiseawareness on consumers’issues.“

We are takenaback by thisunlawfuldisruption of ouractivitiesostensibly toblackmail thecompany toassume the role ofan agent forrevenue collection


CMYK

Corporate Finance

BVN: Investors exempted from extracharge for signature, biometric verification

StandardCharteredwins GlobalFinance bestconsumerdigital awards

Standard Chartered Bankhas dominated Global

Finance Magazine’s 2015 BestConsumer Digital BankAwards in Asia, Africa and theMiddle East, winning 17country awards and 6 regionalawards.

Speaking about theaccolades, Karen Fawcett,CEO of Retail BankingStandard Chartered statedthat, “We are delighted thatGlobal Finance hasrecognised our industry-leading digital bankingcapabilities. What is central toour efforts is creatingconvenience for our clients, sothat they have access tobanking anytime, anywhereand using whatever channelsthey prefer. Ms. Fawcettcontinued that, “We haveinvested heavily in technologyand have been infusing astrong digital service cultureamong our staff. Bybeingdigital by design, ourdigital processesare end-to-end,so that clients have accessto the same, seamlessexperience and high qualityof service, whether theyengage with us throughmobile, online, phonebanking, at the branches, orATMs.”

Dominating this year ’sawards, Standard Charteredwas awarded Best ConsumerDigital Bank in 17 countriesnamely, Asia Pacific (Brunei,China, Hong Kong,Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan,Singapore, South Korea),Africa & Middle East(Botswana, Ghana, Kenya,Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda,Zambia, Zimbabwe) andEurope (Jersey).

In the Regional awardscategory for Africa & theMiddle East, StandardChartered won for the BestWebsite Design and the BestInformation SecurityInitiatives. In the Regionalawards category for AsiaPacific the bank won BestOnline Deposit, Credit andInvestment Product Offerings,Best Bill Payment &Presentment, Best in MobileBanking and Best MobileBanking App.

Award organisers,GlobalFinance selected winningbanks based on the criteria:

Companies within the FastMoving Consumer

Goods, FMCG sector haverecorded decline in profits aseconomic pressures continueto grow.

Unilever Nigeria Plc,Nigerian Breweries Plc andother companies appear to beaffected by the economicpressures experienced withinthe first half of the year asshown in the results sent tothe Nigerian Stock Exchange,NSE.

This is occasioned bypersistent fall in consumerdisposal income whilepurchase preferences shift toaccommodate the risingprices in petrol and aconsequent rise in the priceof transportation and energyrequirement. The positivetrend which characterized theNigerian economy in the lastdecade took a downward turnwith the slump of global oilprices in 2014. This trend

continued into the first andsecond quarter of 2015 andwas further escalated in Q2 bya lull in the retail market inMarch and April.

While the country’s generaleconomic outlook within thisperiod grossly affected thefinancial status of severalbusinesses, many predict thatthe economy will settle lastquarter of this year as the newadministration settles downand the country has a clearerdirection on governmentpolicies

Unilever Nigeria Plc profitdecline in its half year 2015financial statement accounts.While overall results declined,the business improvedperformance in overheadswith a decline of 4 per centfrom the last quarter, andinterest cover declined in thehalf year 2015.

Unilever Nigeria was not theonly company worst hit,Nigerian Breweries half-yearpre-tax profit declined to 8.5per cent same period from last

year to N30.39 billion, whiletotal revenues grew by 7.2 percent to N151.61 billion.Underlying topline forNigerian Breweries was downby close to 6 per cent.Transnational Corporationshalf year results showed a 35.6per cent decline in pre-taxprofits and a drop in revenuefrom N21.21 billion to N20.25billion same period from lastyear.

The financial sector is also notleft out, as many release theirresults, majority of the bankshave cited the slump in oilprices and bad loans as themain reasons for the poorperformance half year 2015.Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plcreported a two digit decline inits profits, posting pre-taxprofit of N9.537billion in thefirst half results – 52 per centdown from N19.94 billion sameperiod 2014. Post tax profit is40 per cent lower than sameperiod last year, down toN9.695 billion from N16.184billion.

Investors in the Nigeriancapital market have

been excluded from payingextra fee for biometric andsignature verification in theprocess of keying into theautomation of capital marketactivities.

Mr. Niyi Ajao, ExecutiveDirector, Technology andOperations, Nigeria Inter –Bank Settlement System(NIBSS) disclosed toVanguard that arrangementswere reached by Central

Bank of Nigeria, CBN ,Securities and ExchangeCommission SEC an NIBBS toensure that investors do notincur extra charge as themarket moves into fullautomation processes.

According to him “The issueof taking what does not belongto you has ended today withthe launch of this e-dividendportal. No investors would becharged for signature andmandate verification. Alsodividend can be paid intosavings and current accountunder financial integration

scheme.For the investors in the

Diaspora, an arrangement is

being put in place where theregistrars can provide theirportal online for them toregister and thereafter theKnow Your Customers, KYCwill be concluded by thebanks.”

Addressing newsmen inLagos during the launch ofthe e-portal dividend heldafter the second quarterCapital Market Committee,CMC meeting, DirectorGeneral of the commission,Mr. Mounir Gwarzo said: “The SEC is committed to zerotolerance of unclaimeddividend, hence the need tolaunch the e- dividend portalwhere investor can downloadthe e-dividend mandate formand register through theirrespective registrars. So, theissue of unclaimed dividendwill now be a thing of the pastas the commission incollaboration of NIBSS, CBN,Central Securities ClearingSystem, CSCS collaboratedto launch the e-dividendportal that would enableinvestors get their dividendpaid into their savings andcurrent accountsrespectively.”

Commenting on the risingunclaimed dividend whichhovers around N70 and N80billion, he said “Thecommission had tried in thepast to solve the issue byrecommending UnclaimedDividend Trust Fund, but forsome stakeholders who werenot comfortable with theproposed Fund, which theyfeared could not be managedeffectively kicked against itwhen the matter went to theHouse of Assembly.

“ However, Companies andAllied Matters Act, CAMAhas stated that unclaimeddividend becomes statusbarred after 12 years andsuch money should bereturned to the companiesthat declared it. But, it shouldbe noted that Investment andSecurities Act , ISA has giventhe SEC the power to makerules pertaining to marketissues and where are thereare conflicts with CAMA, theISA supersedes. So, thecommission has stated in itsrule that after 15 months thatdividend is declared, anyunclaimed dividend shouldbe returned to the companythat declares it rather thanwaiting for 12 years. The SEChad directed all registrars ofpublic companies to return allunclaimed dividends, whichhave been in their custody forfifteen (15) months andabove, to the payingcompanies. Registrars arerequired to file evidence ofremittance with the

The SEC iscommitted tozero toleranceof unclaimeddividend, hencethe need tolaunch the e-dividend portal

By PETER EGWUATU

Companies under FMCG sectorrecord decline in profit for first halfBy PETER EGWUATU

ANNIVERSARY - From left: Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun and ManagingDirector, Lafarge Africa WAPCO Operations , Mrs. Peju Adebajo at the 25th anniversary of thecoronation of the Akarigbo and Paramount Ruler of Remoland, Oba Michael Adeniyi Sonariwo,in Ogun State


Corporate Finance

The Securities andE x c h a n g eCommission (SEC),

has disclosed that theprocesses associated withthe use of physicalcertificate in the nation’scapital market would beconcluded in December2015.

Mr. Mounir Gwarzo,Director-General ofSecurities and ExchangeCommission, SEC confirmedto Vanguard that acommittee charged to lookinto the issue ofdematerialisation hasreached an advance stage inits report, adding that by theend of this year, the use ofphysical share certificatewill come to an end.

Dematerialisation is theprocess of replacing papercertificates with electronicrecords at the CentralSecurities Clearing System(CSCS).

According to Gwarzo, SECis currently working with allstakeholders in the marketto conclude the process thisyear. We have alsocommenced publicenlightenment programmeto reach out to all states ofthe federation to enableinvestors to comply with theprocess.

“The process is ongoing, weare doing a lot of publicenlightenment to facilitate

Berger Paintsurges FG totackleexchange ratevolatility

Berger Paints Nigeria Plchas urged the

Federal Government toaddress the issues ofexchange rate of the naira toforeign currencies,infrastructural deficit,multiple taxation andenforcement of enabling rulesby the StandardOrganisation of Nigeria(SON) in order to create themuch-needed enablingenvironment for businessesto thrive.

The Managing Directorand Chief Executive Officer, Berger Paints Nigeria Plc,Mr. Peter Folikwe , who gavethe advice, appraised theNigeria’s operatingenvironment and proposedoperation of consumeradvocacy as a strategy topromote culture of qualityproducts amongmanufacturers.

In response to mediaenquiry, Folikwe explainedthat quality products were anecessary condition forcompetitiveness in the globalmarket and it enhancesconsumers’ loyalty andhigher turnover. According tohim “Nigeria would competemore favourably in the globalmarket if we leverage onconsumer advocacy approachwhereby consumers ofproducts are enlightened thatwhile inferior productsappear cheap, they areactually more expensive thanquality products in the areaof durability and utilitarianvalue.”

“The real sector is the majorsector that can driveeconomic growth anddevelopment. But in Nigeria,the sector has consistentlysuffered a setback in thescheme of things. The sectoris bedeviled with myriad ofissues which includeinfrastructural deficits suchas bad road, epileptic powersupply, multiple taxation,naira exchange rate volatilityand the extent to which theStandard Organisation ofNigeria (SON) is actuallytracking and sanctioningthose who compromisestandard in their productquality. All these increaseproduction cost and forceproducers to pass the cost toconsumers who are alreadystruggling with weakpurchasing power.Government should addressthese issues without further

Honeywell Flour Mills posts N1.4bn profit

easy take off as we also adviceinvestors to key into theprocess,” Gwarzo said.

He disclosed that SEC hadalready instructed registrarsto notify shareholders tochoose a stockbroking firmof their choice in readinessfor full dematerialisation.

Gwarzo also said that withthe process, shareholdersforms already with the CSCS

would be passed to theregistrars, after which theregistrars will notify theCSCS the broker’s choice ofthe investor.

On the 10-year capitalmarket master plan, Gwarzosaid that the commission hadalready set up an advisorycouncil that would review thereport and make amendmentswhere necessary.

“We have the list ofadvisory council and theCMC has given us themandate to select 10 to 12people and very soon, we willcome out with the list. The tthe committee’s work ispurely advisory and they areto interface with the judiciaryand National Assembly. Thecouncil will interface with thepeople working out theinitiative and the master planwill be concluded this year,”the Director-General said.

Use of physical certificate endsDec 2015 — SEC

Stories by PETEREGWUATU

Honeywell Flour Mills Plchas reported a profit

before tax of N1.4 billion forits audited full year financialresults for the period ended31st March, 2015. Sales forthe financial year, 1st April,2014 to 31st March, 2015totalled N49 billion; an 11 percent decline relative to N55billion achieved the yearbefore. The pressureexperienced in the top linereflects the intensecompetition around price wargoing on in the industry andthe falling naira.

Honeywell Flour Mills alsorecorded Profit After Tax (PAT)of N1.1 billion for the sameperiod under review. Otherkey performance indicatorswere more positive: financecosts reduced by 35 per centand total assets rose 6 per centto N67.9 billion on thecompany’s balance sheet.

The company in a statementattributing the challengingresults to several factorsincluding the Apapa trafficgridlock and declininginfrastructure around the

ports. Roads leading to andfrom Apapa have effectivelybecome car parks. Truckparking facilities around theports that should have beencompleted years ago seem tohave become abandonedprojects. These problemshave compromised ourlogistics efficiency byfrustrating the promptloading of products resulting

in longer loading turnaroundtimes and reduced stockturnover.

In the statement, Mr. LanreJaiyeola, the ManagingDirector of the Tincan-Apapabased foods processor,lamented the economic lossarising from the falling naira,the perennial chaotic trafficand debilitating condition ofthe roads leading in and outof Apapa. According to him,the company’s customers,suppliers, haulage partnersand staff demonstrated greatcourage, loyalty andcommitment during thesechallenging times. He notedthat it takes, on an average,eight (8) hours for customersto access or exit the factory.Added to these, is a rise indollar denominated inputcosts. Costs of wheat andspare parts have been risingbecause of the falling Nairato forex rates. Thesechallenges coupled withweakening macro-economicsof the country, means it takesmuch longer to factor suchcost increments into product

prices.Going forward, the company

plans to build on somesuccesses recorded in the lastfinancial year, such as thewide acceptance of its newflour brand: HoneywellComposite Flour (HCF)which contains 10 per centHigh Quality Cassava Flour(HQCF). HFMP willcontinue to evaluateopportunities to increase useof local inputs in its portfoliothat helps it to reduce itsexposure to forex volatility.

Management isimplementing new initiativesto improve outbound logisticsand service deliveryincluding the operation of off-site warehouses andoptimization of its 24-hourloading programme. HFMP isalso taking a leading role inthe engagement of theFederal Government, LagosState Government, NigerianPorts Authority (NPA) andother stakeholders to findimmediate and long termsolutions to the trafficproblems in Apapa.

LAUNCH - From left, Bola Onadele Koko, MD/CEO, FMDQ OTC PLC; Roger Gifford, FormerMayor of London & Chair, UK-Delivery Group, Emerging Capital Markets Taskforce (ECMT);and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, President, Nigerian Stock Exchange & Chair, Nigerian-DeliveryGroup, ECMT, during the cocktail reception and launch of the inaugural report titled - NigerianCapital Market: Legal & Regulatory Review and Recommendation, in Lagos.

The company’scustomers,suppliers,haulage partnersand staffdemonstratedgreat courage,loyalty andcommitmentduring thesechallenging times


Banking & Finance

The naira case against fuel subsidy

By BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

The 2015 annualseminar for financecorrespondents and

business editors organised bythe Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) provided anotheropportunities for journalistsand economic experts toassess developments in thenation’s foreign exchangemarket in the last 12 months.The theme for the seminar,“The Impact of Crude OilPrices on External Reservesand Exchange Managementin Nigeria” was informed bythe declining crude oilprices from over $100 to $56per barrel in the last 12months, leading to decline inthe nation’s external reservesand over 20 percentdevaluation of the naira aswell as the various policymeasures introduced by theCBN to manage the situation.According to AkinsowonDawodu, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Citi BankNigeria and BismarckRewane, Managing Director/Chief Executive, FinancialDerivative Company, whathappened in the last 12months has been the trendsince the early 1970s when oilovertook agriculture has thecountry’s number one foreignexchange earner. Oil dependence “The exchange rategenerally mirrored themovements in oil prices as aresult of Nigeria’s reliance onoil”, Rewane noted. “Oil accounts for over 90percent of foreign exchangerevenue. As a result Nigeriaexperiences exchange ratestability in period of highcrude oil prices while thereis volatility and reservedepletion visible in period oflow oil prices”, notedDawoduSimilarly, Moses Tule,Director, Monetary PolicyDepartment, CBN, explainedthat, “A rapid fall in crude oilprices threatens Nigeria’smacroeconomic stabilitybecause foreign exchangeearnings, governmentrevenue and domestic moneysupply are largely dependenton receipts from crude oilexports. For the CBN, fallingprices pose concerns forexternal reserves, inflationand the exchange rate of theNaira.Lamido Yuguda, Director,Reserve ManagementDepartment, CBN, alsoexplained that due to itsimpact on the externalreserves, the price of crudeoil also influence inflow or

outflow of foreign investment(capital) in or out of thecountry.“A robust level of externalreserves provides confidenceto the internationalcommunity that the countrycan meet its internationalobligations, hence, the higherthe level of external reserveholdings by a country, themore capital it will be able toattract.“Thus when crude oil priceswere high, and externalreserves were high, foreigninvestment inflow was highbut when reserves are low dueto decline oil prices, foreigninvestment flows out of theeconomy,” he explained. This overdependence of theeconomy on crude oil forforeign exchange earnings,according to Tule, isaggravated by the country’shuge demand for imports. Hesaid these two factorscombined together makesmanagement of the exchangerate of the naira, challengingfor the CBN. “The best CBNcan do when there is declinein crude oil prices, is tomanage the situation tominimize the impact of theeconomy”, This, he said, is therationale for the variousmeasures introduced by theCBN since November lastyear, including closure of theofficial foreign exchangemarket (Retail Dutch AuctionSystem or RDAS) and theexclusion of 41 items fromaccess to dollars in thenation’s foreign exchangemarket. How to value the nairaDawodu and Rewanehowever averred that moreneeds to be done to minimisethe impact of crude oil priceson the economy and the value

of the naira.Dawodu for example, thoughcommended the closure of theRDAS, saying it is another steptowards a floating exchangerate regime, he averred thatthe CBN needs to complementthis by reducing the frequencyof its intervention in theinterbank market. “CBNshould reduce intervention inthe foreign exchange marketto achieve policy credibility,he said. He added that thoughempirical evidence on theeffectiveness of intervention onexchange rate stability aremixed, the impact of CBNintervention on exchange ratelevel is often short-lived andincrease volatility.“CBN should be selective inits interventions and be frugalwith the use of the reserve.RDAS closure is the first steptoward a completeliberalization of the foreignexchange market. Autonomousmarket needs to be opened toallow flexibility in exchangerate movement. Investors willremain wary until this is done.However, it might behappening a few years tooearly as the market depth is notenough to absorb the totalyearly demand. Economictransformation must precedetotal liberalization”, he added.Rewane on his part averredthat the issue is not the valueof the naira but determinationof the value of the naira. “TheCBN needs to put in place aframework for determining thevalue of the naira that istransparent and credible. Allthe various exchange ratepolicy measures since theintroduction of SAP in 1986revolve around this problem”,he said.He noted that today Nigeriahas a currency crisis, becausethe price of the naira and

value of the naira are attangents. This, he said isbecause, adjustments to theexchange rate of the naira inresponse to declining crudeoil prices, and reserves areusually delayed. This delay,he argued always result intosevere adjustment ordevaluation of the naira asexperienced in the last 12months.He noted that presently, thenaira, using the PurchasingPower Parity (PPP) exchangerate model, should be tradingat N186 to the dollar,implying that the nation’scurrency is undervalued.“Using the PPP formula, thetrue value of the naira shouldbe N186.75. The differencebetween this rate and N230(as obtained in the parallelmarket) is the fear factor. Thenaira will not appreciate toN186 because of: Theinflation/interest ratedifferential and Speculativepressure,” he said. Fuel subsidy must go In addition to the need fortimely adjustment of the

Access BankappointsBelo-Olusoga aschairperson

Access Bank Plc hasappointed Mrs. Mosun

Belo-Olusoga as BoardChairperson, effective fromJuly 31st.She succeeds Mr. GbengaOyebode MFR, who retiredas a director and Chairman ofthe Bank from the same date.In a statement announcingthe appointment, the banksaid, the retirement of MrOyebode follows hissuccessful completion of themaximum term limit asprescribed by the CentralBank of Nigeria’s Code ofCorporate Governance forBanks and Discount Housesin Nigeria.The appointment of Mrs Belo-Olusoga follows a thoroughselection process by theGovernance and NominationCommittee of the Board led byMr. Emmanuel Chiejina, aNon-Executive Director.Mrs Belo-Olusoga joined theBoard of the Bank inNovember 2007 as a Non-Executive Director. Until herrecent appointment, she wasthe Chairperson of the Creditand Finance Committee andmember of the BoardCommittees on Audit,Governance and Nomination,Risk Management andRemuneration.She was formerly anExecutive Director ofGuaranty Trust Bank Plc andwas at various timesresponsible for RiskManagement, Corporate andCommercial Banking andTransaction Services andSettlements. She is a graduateof Economics from Universityof Ibadan and a Fellow of theInstitute of CharteredAccountants of Nigerian andChartered Institute of Bankersof Nigeria.Commenting on theappointment, Olabode said, ‘Iam glad that Mrs Belo-Olusoga will be succeedingme as Chairperson. Hersignificant board experience;knowledge of our dynamicindustry and personalqualities will be highlybeneficial to Access Bank’.On her part, Belo-Olusoga

The subsidy isa number; thesubsidy systemis a systemthat breedscorruption, getrid of thesubsidy systemand then thenumber will bean efficientnumber



CMYK

Banking & Finance

exchange rate, Rewanealso pointed out theneed to addressleakages in the foreignexchange market. Hesaid the two majorsources of leakages areexchange rate subsidyand fuel subsidy,adding that while theclosure of the RDAS/official market haseliminated leakagesfrom exchange rate, thefederal government

must complement thisby removing the fuelsubsidy. Fuel subsidy,he noted, constitutes 30percent of Nigeria’simport bill, adding thatby remove subsidies,aberrational demand(for dollars) pressurewill disappear in theforeign exchangemarket, and reduceimport bill of bogusdemand by 15 to 20percent.

Continued from page 24

Rewane noted thatthough PresidentBuhari seems notdisposed to removingfuel subsidy, he averredthat removal of subsidyis not a matter of ‘if’ but‘when’. “The truth is thatrefineries wereproducing beforesubsidies wereintroduced. Subsidiesare a gap between theprice and the cost. Even

if you produce at therefineries and you areselling at below the costof production, then youcreate a subsidy.“Subsidies aredistortionary: first of all,get rid of the system soit doesn’t breedcorruption and if thereare no subsidies, withthe price of oil today at$52 per barrel, thismeans that you mightactually find that the

price of petrol may belower than what it istoday.“So there’s no question– and let us separate theissues – the subsidy isa number; the subsidysystem is a system thatbreeds corruption, getrid of the subsidy systemand then the numberwill be an efficientnumber,” he said.He added that theremoval of fuel subsidyis critical to how much

the naira would tradeagainst the dollar in thecoming months. Henoted that thoughnotable internationalorganisations like theBank of America, Recapand EconomicIntelligence Unit (EIU)have predicted furtherdevaluation of the naira,to between N215 perdollar and 235 per dollarin the next six to 12months, the possibilityof these predictionscoming to pass will bedetermined bygovernment’s decisionon the removal of fuelsubsidy. “The realityis, if crude oil price fallsbelow the present level,another adjustment(devaluation) of thenaira will be imminent.The adjustment will beminimal if fuel subsidyis removed, theadjustment will beminimal but if fuelsubsidy is maintained,the adjustment will besevere”, he warned.

The naira case against fuel subsidy

Visapromotessecurityfeatures ofChip & PINcardsBy Providence Obuh

Visa, a globalelectronic payment

company has launcheda campaign to createawareness about thesecurity features in theChip and PIN card.The card is also knownas EMV card. Asopposed to magneticstripe technology, a chipis difficult to crack. Animportant aspect of theEMV card is its use ofdynamic data whereeach transaction carriesa unique stamppreventing thetransaction data frombeing fraudulentlyreused, even if the dataor the card is stolen,this saves banks andconsumers from losingmoney through fraud.Speaking at a mediabrief on card securityweek campaign inNigeria, , BusinessDevelopment Leader,Visa West Africa, Mr.Emezino Afiegbe, saidthat the campaign isintended to raiseawareness amongcardholders on thesecurity features.


CMYK

Homes & Housing

unit. Document required forCHDL include: Certificateregistration of the Co-operativesociety; Bye laws of thecooperative society; DetailedProfile of the Co-operativeSociety and; Resolution of theBoard of Trustees of the Societysigned by the chairman and theSecretary, authorising it toborrow.

On the other hand, the CNLwindow offers an individual co-operative member mortgageloan to buy a housing unitdeveloped through theCooperative HousingDevelopment Loan or torenovate an existing one.Documents required to besubmitted by a cooperativesociety, on behalf of its co-operators (under CNL) are:Evidence of membership of Co-operative society; Evidence ofNHF registration and up-to-date NHF contribution. Othersare: Completed CNLapplication form; Two passportphotograph; Prove ofownership of the object land /property; A guarantee from thecooperative society to whichhe/she belongs and; Certificateof registration of the Co-operative society.

Real estateamong top

Nigeria’s growthsectors - UN

Real estate has beenidentified as one of the

two leading growth sectors inthe Nigerian economy, alongwith with Information andCommunication Technology(ICT), according to a recentdata by the United Nations(UN).

Head, Poverty and Trade Department, UN Conferenceon Trade and Development(UNCTAD), Mr PatrickOsakwe disclosed this recentlyin Lagos. He said that realestate, as well as informationand communicationtechnology, in conjunction withthe financial services sectorhave the capacity to driveeconomic growth, if wellharnessed.

Osakwe spoke against thebackdrop of the recent AnnualReport on AfricanDevelopment by UNCTAD,which has been presented tothe public in 15 Africancountries. “In Nigeria, thefastest growing sectors wouldbe real estate, as well asInformation andCommunications technology.That is peculiar to Nigeria,among others, and thesesectors are suffering from alevel of deficit that needs to beaddressed, to maximize theirpotential.

UK mortgagelending jumped

in June

Mortgage lending in theUK bounced back in

June following the election ashome buyers continued to takeadvantage of a home loansprice war.

Bank of England figuresissued last week showed thenumber of home buyermortgages approved by highstreet banks rebounded to66,582 in June. Loan approvalsfor house purchases haddipped to 64,826 in May froma 14-month high of 68,051 inApril. A mortgage price war hasbeen driving rates to recordlows, and the figures alsocoincided with the traditionalspring home-buying season.

Howard Archer, UKeconomist at consultancy IHSGlobal Insight, said: “Whilemortgage approvals in Junewere modestly below April’speak level, they werenevertheless at the secondhighest level since March2014. They were also up 12.3percent from November’s 17-month low.”

How to obtain loan from NHF scheme

The National HousingFund (NHF) scheme

was established by Act 3 of 1992to enable Nigerians in allsectors of the economy,particularly those within thelow and medium income levelswho cannot afford commercialhousing loans to own houses.But what are the criterianeeded and the proceduresrequired in order to be able tosecure loans under thescheme?

EligibilityTo be eligible for the NHF

loan, a contributor must beabove 21 years old, and musthave contributed to the Fundfor a period of not less than sixmonths. He/she must applythrough a registered and dulyaccredited mortgage loanoriginator, e.g. a PrimaryMortgage Bank (PMB), whopackages and forwards theapplication to FMBN. Forindividual borrowers theremust be satisfactory evidenceof regular flow of income toguarantee loan repayment.

How to applyExcept for institutional

borrowers who can apply forthe loan directly from FederalMortgage Bank of Nigeria(FMBN), individuals can onlyapply through a duly licensedand accredited PrimaryMortgage Bank (PMB) of theirchoice and not directly to theFMBN. Loan applications arealso to be obtained from thesame PMB.

Formal sectorOpen a savings account with

a registered PMB, with at leastsix months consecutivecontributions prior toapplication. Have satisfactoryevidence of regular flow ofincome to guarantee the loan.Other requirements to processNHF loan include: Completed

prescribed mortgage loanapplication form; Photocopiesof title documents; Currentvaluation report on theproposed house to buy or billsof quantities (BoQ) for thehouse to build and; Three yearstax clearance certificate. Othersare: Evidence of NHFparticipation; Copy of pay slipsfor the previous three monthsand; Equity contribution orpersonal stake of 30 percent,20 percent or 10 percentdepending on the loan amountapplied for loans of 15 million,N10 million and N5 million,respectively. Also required are:Letter of consent to mortgageto chosen PMB; Offer Letter/Acceptance and Allocationletter (in case of governmentprojects). In case of registeredself employed applicant, a copyof Articles and Memorandumof Association and a copy ofCertificate of Incorporation asevidence of employment statusmust be submitted.

Informal sectorWorkers in the informal sector

can also benefit from the NHFscheme via the informal sectorcooperative housing loanscheme (Coop Loan Scheme).

The Coop Loan Scheme wasdesigned to accommodate non-salaried informal sectorNigerians to join the NHFscheme through co-operativesocieties and avail themselvesthe opportunity to own houses.The loan facility under thescheme could be accessed inone of two ways, namely:Cooperative HousingDevelopment Loan (CHDL) orCo-operative National HousingFund Loan (CNL).

The CHDL enables acooperative society that hasacquired a plot of land todevelop houses for allocation toits members. The parcel of landwill have title in the name of thesociety which will act as thefacilitator on behalf of itsmembers in the loan transactionand which would facilitateconstruction of the housing

Individualscontributors canonly apply througha duly licensed andaccredited PMB oftheir choice and notdirectly to theFMBN

Mortgage lenders in theUS have been accused

of rejecting 72 percent ofstruggling borrowers from afederal program aimed atcreating more affordablemonthly mortgage payments soowners can keep their homes.

Christy Romero, SpecialInspector General for theTroubled Asset Relief Program(TARP), a federal bailoutenacted in 2008 to protect theU.S. and financial firms from afinancial tsunami, said this ina quarterly report to Congress.

According to the report,Citigroup Inc. has rejected 87percent of applications forTARP’s Home AffordableModification Program

(HAMP), which aims to makemortgages more affordable bychanging terms, such asinterest rates and loan duration.It added that J.P. MorganChase & Co. rejected 84percent of applications, Bankof America Corp. has rejected80 percent while OcwenFianncial Corp. has rejected 70percent.

“There is a massive lostopportunity for an emergencyprogram designed to helphomeowners through the crisisif only 20 percent to 30 percentof families seeking help fromHAMP actually get intoHAMP,” Romero said.

Moreover, the U.S. TreasuryDepartment’s requirements for

lenders to explain whyborrowers were rejected “do notgive a clear picture of whyhomeowners were denied,” thereport said. Also, the reportnoted that officials have foundthat lenders have “wrongfullydenied” borrowers fromentering HAMP. “Persistentproblems and errors in theapplication and incomecalculation process (lenderscalculate a homeowner ’sincome) have historicallyplagued homeowners seekingHAMP assistance, andcontinue to do so,” the reportsaid.

The watchdog said Citi “hashad one of the worst records ofnon-compliance” with

Treasury ’s guidance forreviewing applications, failingto meet benchmarks in mostreviews. “Citi is the only largeactive lender that has everbeen rated as needing‘substantial improvement’ withrespect to denialdeterminations,” the reportsaid.

A Citi spokesman said thecompany has “consistentlyaddressed issues” in quarterlyperformance reports, “and hasfully implemented correctiveaction plans to remedy them.”A J.P. Morgan Chasespokesman said the companyhas earned a relatively highcompliance score in recentquarters. “We believe today’sreported findings are based onan inaccurate analysis ofTreasury data, and that bothHAMP and our participation inHAMP have helped to achievethe program’s goals,” he said.

US mortgage lenders deny 72%borrowers from federal programme

By YINKA KOLAWOLE

•An Estate in Ibadan


CMYK

Insurance

THE Centre for Insuranceand Financial

Management Studies(CIFMS) is a value addition tothe quest to better position theChartered Insurance Instituteof Nigeria (CIIN) in theinsurance industry and heralda new era of improvement onservices rendered by theinstitute.

Former Commissioner forInsurance, Mr Fola Danielmade this assertion at thecommissioning ceremony ofthe Centre in Lagos last week.

Daniel said that thecommissioning marks awatershed in the history of notjust the institute, but the entireinsurance sector, while notingthat the landmarkaccomplishment symbolizesgrowth and key to futuresuccess of the sector.

He said, “As the educationarm of the industry, this iscertainly a step in the rightdirection towards theattainment of the CIINmandate which is to breed andcertify insurance professionalsin the country, a pre-requisitefor individuals to qualify asinsurance practitioners.

“Let me advise that as youbask in the euphoria of thisaccomplishment, you shouldnot lose sight and focus of thebig task ahead. The knowledgegap in the industry remains

Centre for insurance to bridgeknowledge gap in industry – Daniel

genuine desire to alleviatepoverty.”

According to Ogunbiyi,Mutual has successfully carveda niche for itself in its ability tosecure patronage of tailor-madeinsurance products by makingcustomers feel genuinelyimpacted on and looked-after inwhat they are offered as value-additions. “We make them feelgood about our value-offerings,about the process, and theMutual Benefits Brand”, headded.

Speaking further, ManagingDirector of Mutual Plc, Mr.Segun Omesehin said that thecompany’s innovative activitiesare driven across seven keyplatforms namely; widening ordeepening access to relevantinsurance products, awarenessof the value-delivering benefitsof these products throughknowledge and patronage,evolving innovative and newdistribution channels, workingwith the Mutual Benefits

high just as professionalindiscipline. This isunacceptable. It calls for allhands to be on deck if we are toattain the professional heightand standards we all crave toenable the industry occupy itsrightful position in the fore frontof the financial services sector.”

Daniel stated that as aprudential regulator, the qualityand technical capacity ofinsurance practitioners in thecountry is a major concern to theNational InsuranceCommission, NAICOM,stressing that NAICOM willcontinue to support efforts atridding the profession ofindiscipline and non adherence

to rules and ethical standard.“It is our desire in NAICOM

to superintend over aninsurance industry that isflourishing, financially strongand viable but with the rightmix of professionals,” hestated.

In a welcome address,President/Chairman ofCouncil, CIIN, Mr. BolaTemowo, said “Although theCollege is beingcommissioned today, work onthe remaining phases of theproject will continue.”

He however appealed formore contributions fromindividuals and corporateorganisations who would find

STI partnersYudala as

officialinsurer

Sovereign Trust InsurancePlc, STI, has entered

into partnership with Yudala,an online and offline retailchain in Africa, as the officialinsurer to the organisation inNigeria.

The partnership, just likemany others that have beenemerging in the insurancelandscape in recent times isseen by many as a welcomedevelopment that will helpengender the growth of retailbusiness in the insuranceindustry.

In a statement, STI notedthat as the official insurer toYudala in Nigeria for allonline transactions and offlinepurchases in the differentoutlets spread across thecountry, it is expected toprovide All Risks InsuranceCover to indemnify customersof Yudala in respect of anyproduct purchased fromeither the online or offlineretail platforms. The scope ofcover is expected to includedamage to and/or electronicbreakdown of any item sopurchased. It is an open-coverpolicy which meanscustomers of Yudala can havetheir purchased items insuredfor one year on an on-goingbasis.

At the signing ceremony ofthe Memorandum ofUnderstanding both partiesacknowledged that thepartnership would helpengender a great deal of trustand confidence on the part ofcustomers as they will beguaranteed of gettinggenuine products from theretail chain as well asadequate cover for their assetsfrom a reputable insurancecompany in the country.

Chairman of ZinoxTechnologies and the brainbehind Yudala, Chief LeoStan Ekeh assuredprospective shoppers ofYudala that they will begetting real value for theirmoney for whatever productis purchased from any of theYudala platform.

Ekeh said, “I will love to seea lot of this businesspartnership as that ofSovereign Trust and Yudalaemanate from our shores fromtime to time as it would helpkeep alive theentrepreneurship flame indriving the Nigerianeconomy and beyond. It isindeed a union that I am somuch pleased, is seeing thelight of day.”

GROUP ManagingDirector of Mutual

Benefits Assurance Plc, Mr.Akin Ogunbiyi has said thatthe company will continue tocreate wealth and value to allits stakeholders going forward.

Ogunbiyi who stated this atthe company’s stakeholdersengagement meeting in Lagoslast week, noted that they hadput in place a sound riskmitigation strategy, increasedits businesses and reduceddebt, adding that the companyremains a strong, wellcapitalised and profitableleading brand in the Nigerianinsurance industry.

Ogunbiyi said, “The uniqueand dynamic posture ofMutual Benefits Group is todirectly impact on GDP byprogressively evolvingbusiness activities and strategicpartnerships around uniqueinsurance services. We touchall facets of the economies ofour catchment countries, in our

Microfinance Bank to identifyappropriate bancassurancebusinesses, micro-insuranceand takaful insurance (islamiccompliant insurance), as wellas promoting insurancegenerating investments andstrategic partnerships.

Omesehin said that the twocardinal objectives of MutualBenefits are to bring tailor-made value-addinginsurance services to the door-step of citizens and at thesame time, promote a new eraof using retail outlets todeliver insurance services toevery nook and cranny.

Omesehin said, “MutualBenefits Assurance Plc., aNigerian company with full-fledged but affiliatecompanies in Liberia andNiger Republic, is one of thebig players in the Africaninsurance market. Anenhanced private-sectorinitiative, Mutual, thrives onimpacting positively on all

facets of the economy and thevarious income bracketsthrough value-addition withtailor-made insurance productsas the unique offerings.”

The Managing Directorstated that the kernel ofMutual Benefits’ impressivegrowth is strict adherence tothe company’s core values andthey pride themselves asunrepentant sticklers forleadership, professionalism,knowledge, continuoustraining and ethical practice.

He said, “As a result of therecapitalisation exercise of2006/2007, Mutual Benefitscame up with the “Wind ofChange”, our terms ofengagement with stakeholdersin fostering insurance as avital financial instrument fornational development through,repositioning and deliberatechange in strategy; clear andcompelling brand promise;superior and memorableservices; clear, as well ascompetitive differentiation.

the Centre a worthy channel toexpress their belief in thedevelopment of a world-classCollege of Insurance in thecountry.

According to Temowo, theCollege relies on patronage ofits programmes by the industry,adding that is to ensure that itmakes use of its incomegeneration capability for thefinancing of parts of theremaining phases of theproject.

The completed structures atpresent are the administrationblock; 50 room students hotel;syndicate rooms; lecturers’lodge; rector ’s lodge;restaurant and 10 chalets.

COMMISSIONING – From left: Rector, Centre for Insurance and Financial ManagementStudies, CIFMS, Mrs. Yeside Abiodun Oyetayo; Chairman of Juli Insurance Brokers, Mr. WoleAdetimehin; Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel; President of Chartered InsuranceInstitute of Nigeria (CIIN), Mr. Bola Temowo; Chairman of CIFMS and MD/CEO NigerianReinsurance, Lady Isioma Chukwuma, during the commissioning of CIFMS in Ogun State.

Mutual Benefits restates commitment towealth creation for stakeholders

Stories byROSEMARY ONUOHA


CMYK

Interview

Mr. Peter Hoddinott isthe new Managing

Director of Lafarge AfricaPLC, a member ofLafargeHolcim. He spoke toVanguard on what led tothe merger of the twocompanies, the opportunitiesfor stakeholders in the newgroup globally and locally,among other issues.

Excerpt:

On July 15, 2015,Lafarge Group of

France and Swiss Holcimannounced successfulcompletion of their $40billion merger into a newcompany. Why themerger?There are many reasons forthat but the key ones thatbrought these two greatglobal companies togetherare that both companieshave similar corporatephilosophies- delightingcustomers; they have similarmarket capitalisations ormarket values in the stockmarkets; both had a longhistory of similarshareholders performanceand, strong balance sheetand expertise. The mergerwill create platform for growth, unrivaledexcellence, and a platformfor the development ofemployees, suppliers, communities, andshareholders.

With the merger, what isthe position ofLafargeHolcim in the globalcement industry?

It’s really big. We are in 90

countries and with 115thousand employees, 350million tons of cementcapacity and the numberone in aggregate andcement, the company is setto transform the globalconstruction industry.

With the merger withHolcim, does that alsotranslate to a change withthe brands?

That is a great question.But nothing is happeningright now; the brands willcontinue for the time being.It is something we areworking on.

What advantage is thesynergy going to bring toNigeria?

The first one isdevelopment. We believethere is going to beopportunities for doing

better with costs. Avery simple example is,today, there is cement wetransport from Ewekoro andSagamu to the Port atCalabar; that was becausewe were competing withUnicem but now that withthe merger it makes a lot ofsense for the Calabarplants to supply thosecustomers and for us inthe West to withdraw. Thiswould save money andlogistics costs. The secondarea has to do with the highcost of our plants: here , itis very interesting to bringtogether two companieslike Lafarge and Holcim;there are many things thatLafarge do and hasdeveloped over the last 180 years which are verygood practices but Holcimdoes not do them, and soright now a team has beenformed which comprisedLafarge going to studyHolcim’s ex-operation andin return, Holcim’s team iscoming to study ex-Lafargeoperations to study theefficiencies and output ofthe mills that have run downand we expectimprovement to come fromthat. The third is, inNigeria, Unicem has beenbuying local goods andservices and also buying afew from overseas. The ex-Lafarge Africa units inUnicem, Ashaka, Ewekoro and Sagamuhave been doing the samething . In most cases, theprice is paid by Ewekoroand Sagamu, Unicem andAshaka or vice-versa. The merger will have apositive impact on the on-

going consolidation of theNigeria operations underLafarge Africa as Unicem,AskaCem, Atlas, WAPCOoperations in Ogun, as wellas the Readmix sites acrossthe country will now beintegrated as a member of LafargeHolcim in Nigeria.We will create a strongercompany that is able tomake a more solidinvestment in Nigeria andbe able to better able toassist in delivering more

affordable housing as well assupport for socioeconomicprogress through corporatesocial responsibility activities.

So by bringing them together,we should be able to achieve alot.

The fourth area is that LafargeAfrica is a very large listedcompany with good credibility.One will expect us to be able toprovide financing and all that.

Will this bring about reduction

in cement price?

‘We havn'traised cementprice in fiveyears’— Hoddinott

•Hoddinott

We will create astronger companythat is able tomake a more solidinvestment inNigeria and beable to better ableto assist indelivering moreaffordable housingas well as supportfor socioeconomicprogress throughcorporate socialresponsibilityactivities.

BY FRANKLIN ALLI


Interview

The price of cement todayis lower than five years agowhen there was importation ofbulk cement for bagging. And the idea is that byincreasing the production herein Nigeria we will be capableof having much more stablepricing situation on cement. That is the objective of thebackward integration policy inthe cement sector. Of moreimportance is to reduce thecost of construction forNigerians and for that we have

been working very hard todevelop solutions for peoplethat have less resources tobuild their own affordablehouses. We have givenaccess to more than sixthousand families for lowcost construction and we areworking hard with theMinistry of Works to developsolutions which areaffordable, using localmaterials for construction.We are also developingdurable solutions for roadsconstruction like concretewall because of theintricacies of the weatherconditions in Nigeria. It canlast 20, 30, 50 years. One of the issues affectingcement pricing in Nigeria isthe high cost of production,and getting the cement fromthe plants to the markets. So, by investing ininfrastructure five years ago,we have been able to reducethe logistics of transport costand that in turns hasreduced the price of cementto consumers.

How much does your

Nigerian operationcontribute to the group’sglobal sales?

Africa and Middle Eastrepresents 18 per cent of thetotal group and Nigeria isappropriately 1/6 of that; itis something around 3 to 3.5per cent of the total group’s27 billion Euro turnover in2014.

What are the challengesyou anticipate whilesteering the company inNigeria?

Well, I like to count mychallenges on the fingers ofone hand. Unfortunately, asI come to Nigeria, I mayhave to use my both handsand feet as well. The firstbiggest challenge is, there isa huge move by LafargeAfrica to improve health andsafety and working on thecare of individuals.

This is something that Ihave seen right from myearliest stay as an Engineerand later on working inbusiness; and it is

undeniable that we can do alot more in the future. Thetrend had been set byGuillaume Roux, theoutgoing Managing Directorand his team and everybodyrecognises we can do a lotmore in care, health andsafety of the people. For methat is first major challenge.

The second is thedevelopment of people.What I have seen in the veryshort time I have been hereis incredible team thatGuilluame has put together– very energetic, veryintelligent, and dynamic. The challenge in front of usis understanding andtranslating this into greatresult for individual, thecompany, Nigerians andshareholders and ourcontribution to the globalbusiness. That is myambition. By doing that, amvery confident that the otherchallenge on my otherhand and feet will be dealtwith because it is onlythrough great people thatyou really achieve greatresults against thechallenges. The third area Iwould mention is on cost. I’d mention it earlier justvery briefly in respect oflogistics costs. Within ourplants and our operations,the cost of operation is veryhigh, especially for energy. There is need to use thevery best practices aroundthe world to reduce cost,typically it is around 30 to40 percent cost. Nigeria hashuge amount of biomass anda huge of otheropportunities to convertwhat is not currently usedby the country into usefulenergy. This will result intoa lower cost and a win-winfor the community, theenvironment and for us.

What is the total output ofyour cement operations inNigeria and future outlook?

WAPCO with three cementplants in Ogun state isdoing 4.5 million metrictonnes, 1 million metrictonnes in Ashaka CementGombe state; 2.5 millionmetric tonnes in Unicem in Cross Rivers state and aterminal in Atlas CementRivers state. In Nigeria,our plan is to double thecapacities of WAPCO,Ashaka and Unicem over thenext four to five years and itis critical to mention that weare completing the doublingof Unicem which should becoming on stream next yearand that will add another2.5 million tonnes; we aredoing the same atAshakaCem, and that is howwe get to doubling of thesize. We are havinganother expansion in thesouth west of roughly the

same size. With operationsin South Africa 3.6 millionmetric tonnes, Lafarge Africahas a combined currentcement capacity of 12million metric tonnes, whichis expected to grow to 14.5million metric tonnes by2016 and 17.5 million metrictonnes by 2017 and 20million metric tonnes by2020.

Manufacturers are bitterlycomplaining of the newCBN forex policy. How is itaffecting your operations?

We are not importing much

of gypsum and are notaware gypsum is affected bythe policy. 100 percent ofour raw materials aresourced locally and it is justa few gypsum and we get itfrom Ashaka and Unicemand we import a little bitfor Ewekoro and Unicem.That is one of theadvantages of the backwardintegration in the country.

What is the update onyour embedded powerprojects?

Our power plants arecapable of producing morethan we can use; the worksare being done in phases.First to sell the excess to thecommunities, we are goingto make it available and wewant to make the powerplants bigger throughWasilat, IFC and otherparties to build a 220MWplants. We are verymuch on course and wehope by the fourth quarterof this year we should beable to start to sell theexcess capacity to thegrids. We have startedbuilding the equipment tobe able to sell to the gridsand we have starteddiscussions with gas supplycompanies; we are alsoprogressing to the secondphase which will take uscouple of years before wecan get the full megawatts.

Nigeria hashuge amount ofbiomass and ahuge of otheropportunities toconvert what isnot currently useby the countryinto usefulenergy. This willresult into alower productioncost and a win-win for thecommunity, theenvironment andfor us.

Lafarge Africa hasa combined currentcement capacity of12 million metrictonnes, which isexpected to grow to14.5 million metrictonnes by 2016 and17.5 million metrictonnes by 2017 and20 million metrictonnes by 2020.


E-commerce

Online auto parts solutionprovider, AutoBox has

restated its commitment tosupplying genuine car parts tomillions of Nigerian carowners.

Autobox said it has over thepast months, in her bid to serveits ever growing customer baseas well as reach out to yet-to-be reached car owners,continued to innovate and findways to crack the tough terrainof car repair in Nigeria.

With support from Co-creation hub, it has grown itsuser base, network of reputableparts dealers, as well asimprove its offerings toNigerian car owners.

“Over the past months wehave come to understand thatNigerian car owners don’t wantto just buy parts, but want tofix their cars. This has made ustransit from a solely e-commerce platform to aplatform for car owners to fixtheir cars without stress, tomatch the yearnings ofNigerian car owners,” saidAutoBox in a statement.

least N200. Basically it is thecost of doing business. We feelthat the value proposition isstrong enough that the sellerswill embrace it. Before now, wecharged one to nine per cent,depending on the category ofthe item but now we haveincreased it by three to fifteenper cent.

“To cope with thisdevelopment, we encouragesellers of affordable products tobundle their products. Forinstance, instead of selling onepencil, a merchant should sella pack of ten pencils. We feelthat we are now in a stage ofour growth cycle where thereis need to support some of theadditional services that we aretrying to bring into the marketto ensure sustainability.”

He added: “Some of ourmerchants have expressedconcerns but again we feel thatthe value proposition is there.But even with the increase, weare not the highest. And wehave given our sellers enoughtime to be comfortable with it.This has nothing to do with thedevaluation of the naira. It hasalways been planned that atsome point this year,commission will have to go up.”

Also commenting on the rolethat Konga’s separate logisticsarm, The Konga Express hasplayed in the success of themarketplace, he said thelogistics arm has played asignificant role in the successbeing recorded on themarketplace, noting thatwithout efficient logistics

infrastructure, e-commerce willnot thrive.

He said: “It is true that we donot have the equivalent of aroyal mail or a USPS but we didpartner with some of the largercourier companies in thebeginning and the service wasnot what it could be, so werealised that that was a problemwe need to solve on our ownand we have put in a lot ofinvestments to make thathappen and that has reallyhelped to make the processseamless. Logistics is the key.It is the key determining factorfor success at the end of the day.It is not how fast or slick ourwebsite is. It is being able tophysically get products into thehands of the customers whenand where they want it.”

Online marketplace,Konga.com has

increase the commissionpayable by merchants sellingon the Konga marketplace by3 per cent. From July,merchants will now pay basic3 per cent commission, aboutN200 for every item sold andup to 15 per cent for some othercategories.

Konga’s Director ofMarketplace, Kunle Ogneyetold Vanguard in an exclusiveinterview in Lagos that theincrease has becomeimperative in order to sustainthe value proposition thatdrives the marketplace.

He said: “The N200 is goingto be the basic commission.This means that no matter whatthe item is, we must collect at

Konga increases marketplace commission by 3%

Online vehiclem a r k e t p l a c e ,

Carmudi.com has said thatNigerian used cars remain thebest selling cars online, asabout 2,400 Nigerian used carsare sold through the platformmonthly.

Carmudi’s Head ofOperations for Africa,Mohammed Iyamu toldVanguard that of the 3,000Nigerian used cars that arelisted on the website monthly,80 per cent are sold.

He said: “Carmudi has a totalof 3,000 Nigerian used cars onsite, the 3,000 being an averagenumber which sits there on amonthly basis. At the end ofevery month we do a check onmajority of these cars and findout that they are sold. Weupload an average of 200

Nigerian used vehicles everyweek, which brings us to 800vehicles a month on anaverage. We keep in touch withevery single seller on amonthly basis and recordsshow that over 80 per cent ofthese cars are sold. This bringsus up to 2,400 sold Nigerianused cars in a month.”

He added: “Given that we donot record total sales on thewebsite, I cannot give aconversion on total sales,however I can tell that Nigerianused cars sell faster and morebecause they are affordableand every Nigerian wants toown a car because we do nothave standard transportsystems.”

Founded in 2013, Carmudi

operates in Nigeria andnineteen other countries inemerging markets, offeringbuyers, sellers and car dealersthe platform to find cars,motorcycles and commercialvehicles online.

Last month Carmudi Nigeriasaid it recorded a 30 per centincrease in total visits,particularly in iOS visits whereit saw over 700 per cent growthsince it was launched inFebruary, 2015.

The online marketplacewhich is backed by AfricanInternet Group also said it has attracted 6.4 million monthlyvisitors during the secondquarter of 2015, a 17.6 per centincrease over Q1.

The vehicle marketplace also

recently named a new head forCarmudi Nigeria, AmyMuoneke who told journaliststhat Carmudi will continue toinnovate to take advantage ofthe opportunities provided bythe growing e-commerce trendsin the country.

She also disclosed that someauto dealers in the country arebeing inspired by the new autopolicy to start local productionof cars in Nigeria.

She said: “E-commerce willkeep growing. We have starteda segment where we dointerviews with CEOs of cardealerships. The one we justconcluded was with the ChiefExecutive of Lanre ShittuMotors, Mr. Lanre Shittu andI asked him what his stake wason the new auto policy, and hesaid that most of them havestarted making moves to startmanufacturing vehicles locally.So a lot of these dealers fromwhat we understand havealready started makingprogress towardsmanufacturing because just likeany set up, we have tocomfortably sustain ourselvesbefore we can grow. So a lot ofthese auto dealers are makingmoves towards makinginvestments that will helptowards manufacturing some ofthe things they need to startlocal production.

“Everyone is channellingtowards ecommerce and it willkeep influencing the waypeople buy things. E-commercewill continue growing becauseevery sector of the economynow has started investing in e-commerce. This is because e-commerce provides easy accessto information andconvenience. And in a countrylike Nigeria where it is difficultto move around, theconvenience that e-commerceoffers cannot beoverestimated.”

Over 2,000 Nigerian used cars soldmonthly through online marketplace

Stories BY JONAHNWOKPOKU

CONFERENCE - From left: Convener, Role of Women in Emerging African Democracies (ROWEAD),Mrs Adaobi Alex-Oni; Iyalode of Egbaland, Iyalode Alaba Lawson; Experience Centre Manager,Heritage Bank, Toyin Street, Ikeja, Mrs Nkiru Chigbo and Guest Speaker, Barrister, MargaretNkem Onyema Orakwusi, during the ROWEAD 2015 in Lagos and sponsored by Heritage Bank.

AutoBox targetscar owners, dealerswith genuine auto

parts

Wecyclers winsN11m Case

Foundation prizefor start-up pitch

Lagos-based Wecyclers, astartup that recycles

waste in Nigeria, has won the‘Pitch for Lagos’ start-up pitchevent held last week at Co-creation Hub, Lagos.

The start-up won the $55,000,about N11 million, beating othereight pre-selected start-upsincluding: Aella Credit, BudgIt,Queens of Africa, Callbase, Eveand Tribe, Jekalo and Lizzie’screation.

Wecyclers offers convenienthousehold recycling service usinga fleet of low-cost cargo bikes. Thecompany said it is powering socialchange using the environment byallowing people in low-incomecommunities to capture valuefrom their waste.

According to Wecylcers, “Weaim to build a low-cost wastecollection infrastructure whileraising general awareness on theimportance of recycling forenvironmental sustainability andsocial welfare gained fromreduction in pollution anddiseases like malaria.”

The sponsor of the event, CaseFoundation, owned by AOL co-founder, Steve Case and wife,Jean Case have been touringAfrica and Wecyclers are mostrecent in the list of impactinvestment by the company intoAfrica in the days since the start ofthe Global Entrepreneurshipsummit that held in Kenya lastweekend.


CMYK

E-Commerce

New Horizons Nigeriawill be sponsoringtwo students from its

partner schools, DoregosPrivate Academy and VivianFowler Memorial College forGirls plus a school teacher aschaperon to the 2015 CertiportMicrosoft Specialist andAdobe Certified Associatecompetition taking place in

New Horizons takes two students toMicrosoft's global contest

STORIES BY JONAHNWOKPOKU

Uber to invest$1 billion inIndia expansionpush to morecities

CEREMONY - From - Seye Ogunwole, National Sales Manager, Honeywell flour mills plc;Mr. Rotimi Fadipe, Executive Director, Supply chain and Mr. Lanre Jaiyeola, ManagingDirector, Honeywell flour mill plc, at the 27th Honeywell flour mills baking school graduationceremony in Lagos.

Chief Executive Officerof Nigeria’s hotelbooking platform,

Mark Essien will speak at themaiden edition of Start-upAfrica Summit billed for 28thand 29th October 2015 at EkoHotel in Lagos.Other speakers billed for theevent include: Founder/Managing Partner of AdlevoCapital, Yemi Lalude, Co-Managing Director, AfricanCourier Express, TundeKehinde, Swiss Investor andAfrican entrepreneur, YorkZucchi and ManagingDirector, MEST IncubatorNeal Hansch.The summit which has thetheme ‘Scaling up to criticalmass’ is being organised byCITC Global Consulting, Customer Passion PointLimited (CPPL) and ZoomRunner Technologies, a New

Hotels.ng boss, 4 others to speak at Start-up Africa Summit

York-based Africa-focusedtechnology company,The summit is also expectedto feature panel discussions,policy advisory, start-upcontests and angel investmentseminars.

According to the organisers,“The event aims to promotethe activities of aspiringentrepreneurs in Nigeria bygiving them an opportunity tolearn from start-up veterans,providing a platform for

MyQ, a mobile app thatprovides queue

management and ticketingservices for transporters inNigeria has emerged thewinner of Seedstars WorldLagos pitch, held last week inLagos.Nigeria’s technology newsplatform, Techcabal reportedthat the win now qualifies theAbuja-based start-up tocompete at the global finals ofSeedstars World which will

MyQ emerges winner of 2015 Seedstars WorldLagos pitch

hold in Switzerland byFebruary, 2016 where theywill compete for $500,000,about N100 millioninvestment prize.At the Lagos pitch,Talentbase, a start-up thathelps SMEs manage theirHuman Resources andpayroll with a mobile/webapplication came secondwhile Nerveflo, a contentdistribution and monetizationinfrastructure came third.

The Seedstars Lagos eventwas held in partnership withStanbic IBTC, Lagos StartupWeek, Co-creation Hub, taxihailing app, Uber, Simple Payand Enspire Incubator.The Seedstars World pitchtour continues in Accra whereanother set of start-ups willpitch on August 5 at theImpact Hub Accra for achance to compete at theglobal finals.

budding entrepreneurs toshowcase their start-ups,facilitating a dialoguebetween entrepreneurs andpolicy makers on how to boostentrepreneurial growth.”

Uber Technologies Inc.said it will invest $1

billion in India to expand intomore cities as the ride-hailingapplication company targetsto hit 1 million trips per dayin the next six to nine months.The company will spend themoney on developing newproducts and paymentsolutions, and other uses,Amit Jain, who was appointedin May as president of UberIndia, said in an e-mailedstatement. The service isgrowing 40 percent month-on-month in its largest marketoutside the U.S., he said.“India is one of Uber’s bigpriorities, along with Chinaand uberPOOL,” Jain said,referring to the company’scarpooling program. “Allthree have the ability tosignificantly improve people’slives, as well as build a greatbusiness.”The plan to step upinvestments in India comes asride-hailing applications seeopportunities in a countrywhere public transportationservices in most cities andtowns haven’t kept pace withthe needs of a growingpopulation.

Sluggish sales of SamsungElectronics Co.’s Galaxy

S6 smartphones helpedtrigger a share decline thatwiped more than $10 billionfrom its market value in July— almost twice thecapitalization of local rival LGElectronics Inc.The stock dropped 6.6 percentthis month as the world’sbiggest smartphone makerposted its fifth straight profitdecline and said it would cutprices for its new high-enddevices less than four monthsafter their debut. The Suwon,South Korea-based companyalso warned of slowing growthin the device market and tepiddemand for memory chips.Samsung’s global smartphonemarket share fell more than 3percentage points in thesecond quarter amid surging sales of Apple Inc.’siPhones and toughercompetition from Chinesevendors including XiaomiCorp. It misread demand forthe S6 models released inApril, failing to produceenough three-sided screensfor the Edge while the regularversion struggled against thebigger iPhones.

Samsung drops$10bn in marketvalue

Texas, USA.The winners are Miss AishaToki of Doregos PrivateAcademy who emerged thenational winner of AdobeCertified Associate PhotoshopCompetition and MissAfopefoluwa Laja of VivianFowler Memorial College forGirls, national winner ofMicrosoft Office WordSpecialist Competition.The two of them emerged thewinners after very rigorous

competition held at NewHorizons Centre Lagos inJune this year where they satfor real time online test invarious aspects of ICT. NewHorizons will pick all the billson behalf of the two kids andone chaperon for thiscompetition.They are to represent theirschools and Nigeria in theWorldwide Championship inDallas Texas, USA where theywill be competing with other

national champions from 90countries with a total of400,000 participants inEurope, America and Asiafrom 9th – 12thAugust, 2015.This will be the fifth year in arow that New Horizons willbe sponsoring Nigerian kidsto feature in this mostimportant global ICTcompetition. New Horizonsfor the past ten years havebeen at the forefront ofrepositioning Nigeria throughthe instrumentality of ICT,with the chief aim of makingNigeria become an ICTexport nation as against beinga consumer nation that she ispresently.According to the CEO ofNew Horizons, Mr TimAkano, “The most viablesolution to Nigeria’s currenteconomic crisis is toreposition its economy nowthat the prices of crude oilkeep falling from an oildependent nation to an ICTproducing nation like Israel,South Korea and India. Butthis can only happen if wegive our kids quality ICTeducation from Primaryschool to university.“This is why for the past tenyears, New Horizons Nigeriahas taken it upon itself tochampion this noble cause byfocusing on massive ICTeducation across board. Weare committed as a companyto help Nigeria produce morepeople like Chinedu Echeruo- the Nigerian born ICTprofessional based in the USwho sold his company toApple for $1billion.”


CMYK


CMYK

Tax Matters

This article clarifies theFIRS’ position onwhat constitutes

‘trade’ or business for taxpurposes. In accordance withthe Companies Income Tax Act(CITA), and the PersonalIncome Tax Act (PITA), anytrade is subject to tax underCITA and PITA, even if thattrade is carried out by friendlysocieties, co-operativesocieties, charitable andecclesiastical organizations, ortrade unions. .

CITA states that “any tradeor business for whatever periodof time such trade or businessmay have been carried on” shallbe subject to CompaniesIncome Tax (Sec 9(1)(a)). Theprofits of certain institutions areexempt from tax under CITA,but only in so far as such profitsare not derived from ‘trade orbusiness’ (Sec. 19(1) (a, b, c,e)). This means that the profitsof any organization that arederived from ‘trade’ shall besubject to Companies IncomeTax. This raises the question,what exactly constitutes‘trade’?

A definition of the word‘trade’ cannot be found inNigerian tax legislationalthough an attempt was madein PITA. The interpretationSection of the Fifth Scheduleof PITA defines “trade orbusiness” to mean “trade orbusiness or that part of a tradeor business the profits of whichare assessable under this Act”.

However, the issue has beenaddressed in several legalcases, the rulings of whichprovide some legal certaintyregarding how the courtsinterpret the word (see Section2). In line with these rulings,‘trade’ can be regarded as “thebusiness of buying and sellingor bartering goods or services”.Furthermore, the one-offnature of an activity in no wayinvalidates that activity asconstituting trade. Thisinterpretation matches theapproach in other jurisdictions,namely the UK and USA (seeSection 3).

Case Law in NigeriaAlthough no explicit

definition of ‘trade’ exists in thelaw, the issue has beenaddressed in several legalcases, the rulings of whichprovide some legal certaintyregarding how the courtsinterpret the word. The mostimportant case is that of ArbicoLtd v. FBIR, {1996} 2 All NLR303. The plaintiff in the dispute,Arbico, had acquired a plot ofland, erected a building, andsold the property at a profit.The company wassubsequently assessed for taxon the proceeds of the sale ofproperty The Companyobjected to the assessment onthe basis that the transactionwas a one-off and therefore didnot constitute ‘trade’. The casewas ultimately settled in theSupreme Court. In the rulingthe Court laid down twoimportant axioms:

In the USA, theInternal RevenueService (IRS)employs a similarapproach to HMRC.IRS regards ‘trade’as including “anyactivity carried onfor the production ofincome from sellinggoods orperformingservices”.

What constitutes ‘trade’ for tax purposes

Firstly, that the word ‘trade’should be interpreted in itswidest sense, in accordancewith its common everydaymeaning;

Secondly, that an isolatedone-off transaction can stillconstitute a “trade”.

In line with the ruling of theSupreme Court, the followingdefinition seems to capture thecommon meaning of the word‘trade’. Trade is “the businessof buying and selling or barterin goods or services”(takenfrom Black’s Law Dictionary,Eighth Ed. (2004)).

Treatment in OtherTax JurisdictionsIn considering what

constitutes ‘trade’ for taxpurposes it is useful to considerhow the issue is addressed inother jurisdictions.

In the UK, as in Nigeria, thereis no statutory definition of theword ‘trade’. Her Majesty’sRevenue and Customs(HMRC) relies on case law toformulate a working definition.HMRC states that “Usually,trading involves the provisionof goods or services tocustomers on a commercialbasis”. As in Nigerian case law,“Simply because a venture is aone-off or occasional does notmean that it will not be treatedas trading for tax purposes”. Itis interesting to note thatalthough the HMRC definitionemploys the notion of‘commercial basis’, HMRCexplicitly states that whether ornot the profits of an activity areultimately used for charitablepurposes is not relevant for thedetermination of whether or notthat activity constitutes a trade.

In the USA, the InternalRevenue Service (IRS)employs a similar approach toHMRC. IRS regards ‘trade’ asincluding “any activity carriedon for the production of incomefrom selling goods orperforming services”. It isinteresting to note how IRStreats the trading activities of

an organisation that alsocarries out tax exemptactivities. IRS states that “anactivity does not lose its identityas a trade or business merelybecause it is carried on withina larger group of similaractivities that may, or may not,be related to the exemptpurposes of the organizations.In other words, a singleorganisation can undertakeboth exempt activities andtrading activities. This impliesthat an organisation cannotargue that none of its activitiesconstitute ‘trade’ just becauseit undertakes some exemptactivities.

Badges of TradeIn 1955 in England, the

Royal Commission on theTaxation of Profits and Incomein reaction to whether astatutory definition of trade wasnecessary, said that “each casemust be decided to its owncircumstance (1955 Cmnd.9474para.116) and suggestedbadges of trade” which theyconsidered to be the majorrelevant considerations that willfacilitate in determiningwhether any profit is a taxabletrading profit or not. Badges oftrade refer to certain indicatorsthat may be used indetermining the factualquestion as whether an activityis trade or not. Case law hasexpanded it to 9. The badgesof trade are:

•Profit seeking motive. Anintention to make a profitsupports trading, but by itselfis not conclusive.

•The number of transaction.Systematic and repeatedtransactions will support‘trade’. An isolated transactionmay also constitute a trade.

•Existence of similar tradingtransactions or interests.Transactions that are similar tothose of an existing trade maythemselves be trading.

•Changes to the asset. Wasthe asset repaired, modified orimproved to make it more easily

saleable or saleable at a greaterprofit?

•The way the sale wascarried out. Was the asset soldin a way that was typical oftrading organizations?Alternatively, did it have to besold to raise cash for anemergency?

•The source of finance. Wasmoney borrowed to buy theasset? Could the funds only berepaid by selling the asset?

•Interval of time betweenpurchase and sale. Assets thatare the subject of trade willnormally, but not always, besold quickly. Therefore, anintention to resell an assetshortly after purchase willsupport trading. However, anasset, which is to be heldindefinitely, is much less likelyto be a subject of trade.

•Method of acquisition. Anasset that is acquired byinheritance, or as gift, is lesslikely to be the subject of trade.

These ‘badges’ will not bepresent in every case and ofthose that are, some may pointone way and some the other.The presence or absence of aparticular badge is unlikely, byitself, to provide a conclusiveanswer to the question ofwhether or not there is a trade.

The weight to be attached toeach badge will depend on theprecise circumstances.

FIRS PositionA definition of the word

‘trade’ cannot be found inNigerian tax law. However, theissue has been addressed inseveral legal cases, the rulingsof which provide some legalcertainty regarding how thecourts interpret the word. Inline with these rulings, ‘trade’can be regarded as “thebusiness of buying and sellingor bartering goods or services”.Where one or more of thecriteria on the badges of tradeapply, FIRS will treat suchtransaction as trade.Furthermore, the one-offnature of an activity in no wayinvalidates that activity asconstituting a trade. Thisinterpretation matches theapproach in other jurisdictions,namely the UK and USA. Thefollowing decided cases arerelevant in this regard:

i. In the case of Marlin VsLowry (1955)3 All ER 48; 11 TC297), a person withoutprevious knowledge of linentrade bought a surplus stock ofaeroplane linen fromgovernment which he sold tothe public in small lots. Heengaged employees for the re-packaging and embarked onsales” promotion throughextensive adverts andcampaigns. It was held that hewas trading.

ii. In Murray Vs I.R. Comrs(1951, 32 TC 238), where atimber merchant who boughtstanding timbers in twoplantations and could not cutthem due to labour cost, soldthe rights to cut the timbers tomeet his indebtedness. He wasassessed to tax on the profitfrom the transaction. Hecontended that the sale was acapital transaction since it wasnot in the normal course of hisbusiness but it was held thatthe transaction was part of hisnormal trading as a timbermerchant.

iii. In Burge Vs Pyne (1969,All ER 467), a club proprietorproviding facilities for bar,dancing, cabaret, fruitmachines and gambling,appealed against the inclusionof his winnings in hisassessment. The appeal wasdismissed on the ground thatthe winnings formed part of hisregular income from the tradeof running the club.

From the foregoing and inaccordance with the provisionsof CITA, any friendly society,cooperative societies,charitable and ecclesiasticalorganizations or trade unionsthat carry out trade as definedand described above would beliable to tax on income derivedfrom such trade.


CMYK

The story by NdukaChiejina, Assistant

Editor, went on to point out that“Two weeks after sharing taxproceeds from the NigerianLiquefied Natural Gas, NLNG,the three tiers of governmentyesterday shared a largeramount of cash from theFederation Account for themonth of June than they did forthe month of May 2015.”

With all due respects to mycolleagues in the media, this is astory for the front page of everynewspaper and headline news onelectronic media. For those whohave lately rained maledictions onthe governors of Nigeria ingeneral, and inexplicably OgbeniRauf Aregbesola of Osun state inparticular, it might give them apause for reflection on the truestate of the nation’s economy. Without defending the governorsagainst charges of profligatespending, the publishedallocation for June goes a longway towards sustaining the pointthat the fault is not entirely theirown – irrespective of politicalaffiliation, APGA, APC or PDP.

Incidentally, the fault does notbelong entirely to the FederalGovernment under Jonathaneither. A lot of what has happenedcould be traced to our faultyfederal system, as will beexplained later and to externalfactors which are totally out oftheir control. The majour sourceof our current problem lies in thefederal government assuming soleresponsibility for determining thebenchmark of price and volumeof crude exports on which theannual budget is based,

Nigeria in deep economic trouble“FG, states, LGs share N518.5bn for June”THE NATION, July 25, 2015 p 66

exclusively reporting the revenuegenerated without verification bythe two other tiers of government,states and Local Governments,and declaring whatever the FGwanted as gross revenue,distributable revenue and ExcessCrude revenue. It was a “Fatherknows best” system which hadlanded us in trouble.

The states, from the 1970s,when crude became the mainstayof the economy, not just now, hadbeen administered by mentallylazy people – both as Governorsand Commissioners of Finance—without exception. Otherwise,why should states which dependon revenue from crude for up toeighty (80) per cent or more oftheir revenue allow the FG aloneto determine all the parametersmentioned above? Why should theFG alone determine thebenchmark, export volume, grossrevenue and distributable incomewithout checks and verification bythe states? The Governors ofstates, up till now, had managedtheir relationships like membersof a religious group based on faithin which the leader is totallytrusted. “Faith”, meanwhile, “isnot belief without proof, but trustwithout reservation.” (EltonTrueblood, in VANGUARD BOOKOF QUOTATIONS, p 55).

Unfortunately for the States andLGs, the trust had been totallymisplaced as the current

controversy over thedisappearance of US$2bn fromthe Excess Crude Account, ECA,had demonstrated. That there is adispute at all is clear proof thatthe states and LGs now havestarted to exercise doubt – whichshould have been there all along.That no small group ofindividuals can be trusted withfunds belonging to others hadbeen the verdict of history. That iswhy there are independent orexternal auditors to verify whatthose in charge declare.Politicians, who should knowthemselves better than others

should have been the last peopleto allow the fraud-prone systemfoisted on us by the military since1967 till today to continue. Theresult, which should take some,but not all, the heat from thegovernors, is shown belowbetween the allocations to statesin 2006 and today 2015.

In July 2006, the aggregate tostates was N196.26bn when theprice of crude was under US$45per barrel. In June 2015, nineyears after crude oil at US$56-60per barrel, “Mrs AnastatiaNwaobia, Permanent Secretary ofthe Federal Ministry of Finance,said the sum of N449.68 wasshared…the states sharedN111.04bn. For furtherreference the states’ allocations inJuly 2006, were as follows: Abia,N3.96bn; Adamawa, N3.53bn; A/Ibom, N14.44; Anambra,N3.61bn; Bauchi, N4.10;Bayelsa, 13.16bn; Benue, N3.8bn;Borno, N4.1bn; C/River, N3.98;Delta, N15.8bn; Ebonyi, N3.0bn;Edo, N4.2bn; Ekiti, N3.08bm;Enugu, N3.3.29; Gombe,N3.15bn; Imo, N4.37bn; Jigawa,N3.92bn; Kaduna, N4.29bn;Kano, N5.55bn; Katsina,N4.30bn; Kebbi, N3.3.59bn;Kogi, N3.5bn; N3.12bn; N5.49bn;Nass, N2.99bn; Niger, N3.90bn;Ogun, N3.45bn; Ondo N6.95bn;Osun, N3.33bn; Oyo, N4.19bn;Plateau, N3.0bn; Rivers,N23.25bn; Sokoto, N3.72bn;Taraba, N3.4bn; Yobe, N3.39bn;Zamfara, N3.53bn.

No state will collect anythingclose to that now.

The year 2006 was two yearsafter Obasanjo and Okonjo-Iweala imposed the ECA on thestates and the FederalGovernment commenced robbingthe states blind. In 2006-7 US$13-16bn was withdrawn from ECAfor POWER PROJECT which hasnot seen the light of day till now.Thus today, states are receivingless than they did in 2006 –longbefore the minimum wagereached N18,000 per month andexchange rate escalated fromN150 to N220 per US$1.

The first question we mustanswer is, how was it possible thatstates received N196bn inallocation in 2006, and a mereN111bn in 2015? The astonishinganswer is: the Federalgovernments of Nigeria underObasanjo, Yar ’Adua andJonathan had increasingly keptmore than their own share of therevenue as a result of which thestates are being pauperized. Thetheft of states and LGs share ofaggregate revenue, which startedunder Obasanjo, reached its peakunder Jonathan. Between 2004,when ECA started and today, thestates and LGs might have beenrobbed of close to a trillion nairabecause they were careless enoughto allow the FG to determineeverything about crude oil.

Now we are all in trouble ascrude prices plummet to US$40per barrel next year. The only silverlining in the horizon is the factthat we would never again haveOkonjo-Iweala and Obasanjo incharge of the national purse.

The theft ofstates and LGsshare ofaggregaterevenue,which startedunderObasanjo,reached itspeak underJonathan


CMYK

Micro-Finance

W E T L A N D SInternational (WI) is

assisting some communities inNigeria, especially in theNiger Delta Communities inalleviating poverty andsustaining their wetlandecosystem services via anincentive system such as Bio-Rights.

Bio-rights is a micro creditfinance mechanism thatcombines poverty reductionand environmentalimprovement (restoration andconservation), while WIprovides funding to localcommunities to be actively

Employeeengagement

crucial to businessdevelopment– Accenture

Accenture’s finding hasshown that employee

engagement in form ofincentive is crucial to anybusiness aiming to have utmostproductivity and growth.

Mrs. Ronke Akpata, HumanResources Department,Accenture, maintained thatemployees’ engagement is aworkplace approach designedto ensure employees arecommitted to achievingorganisational goals, valuesand motivated to contribute tooverall success.

She said, “Productivity willfollow a greater satisfaction inthe workplace, as employees would have most of their needsmeet in a holistic manner andbe much more productive forthe organization as well aswilling to go that extra mile.

It is easier to retain a well-motivated employee as key tolong term business success asthey would help to uphold theculture in place and optimizethe training and skillsacquisition expenditure. It willalso reduce cost ofemployees’ turnover andacquisition, as those withlower engagement are fourtimes more likely to leave theirjobs than those who arehighly engaged,” she said.

MAMA 2015:Patoranking bags

Best New Act

Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie,known as Patoranking, is

the winner of “Best New ActTransformed by Absolut”category at the MTV AfricaMusic Award (MAMA) 2015.

The event took place at SouthAfrica’s Paradise City inDurban, celebrated successfulAfrican musicians andachievers who have made themost impact on youth culturethroughout the year.

The keenly competed AbsolutVodka category - ‘Best NewAct Transformed by Absolut’showcased new talents with theessence of innovation andcreativity which is at the coreof Absolut vodka DNA. Thecategory won by Patoranking,featured five nominees fromSouth Africa, Angola, Nigeriaand Ghana with the aim todrive exposure for new talentsoutside their countries andhelp transform artist careers.

Marketing Director, PernodRicard Nigeria, Mr. Sola Oke,said “We are very happy to bepart of the MAMAs and it hasbeen a great day for Africantalents with Nigeria leadingthe lights.

involved in environmentalconservation and restorationactivities in return for thesupport to refrain fromunsustainable practices.

To improve livelihood andsustain the environment, WIdisbursed funds throughWetland Micro FinanceBank, Warri, Delta State to 25Sustainable Livelihoods andBiodiversity Project (SLBP)beneficiaries in Obiayaghacommunity in Ughelli SouthLocal Government Area inJune 19, 2015.

More funds were given outthrough Equator MicroFinance Bank, Yenagoa,Bayelsa State to 14 SLBPbeneficiaries in AbobiriCommunity and 21 SLBP

beneficiaries in OpumeCommunity both in Ogbia LocalGovernment respectively on 23and 24 of the same month.

Meanwhile, micro-credits areconverted into definitivepayments upon successfuldelivery of conservation andrestoration services at the end ofa contracting period just as theconservation actions throughBio-rights have economic andenvironmental benefits not onlyfor local people but at the globallevel as well.

For instance, replantingmangrove forests can increasefish stocks locally while storingcarbon that helps limit climatechange globally. Bio-rights isthus able to bridge the gapbetween local and globalinterests.

•Beneficiaries of Wetland International bio-rights fund

A 2015 study by the InternationalOrganization of Securities

Commissions (IOSCO) found that access tofinancing can be difficult for any business, butparticularly for small and medium enterprises.

Some of the IOSCO recommendations tomake it easier for SMEs to access capital marketsinclude: Regulators should eliminate disclosureobligations that are of less value to SMEs andlighten listing requirements to lower theminimum free float, revenue, marketcapitalisation, among others and lowerregistration and listing fees for SMEs; SMEsthat have no plans to go public should be ableto access capital markets through privateofferings that require no prospectus or offeringdocuments or alternatively a backdoor listing,which involves a private SME acquiring apublicly listed company; Regulators mustensure retail investors have confidence withoutputting too many burdens on SMEs. To strikethe right balance, regulators could require SMEsto disclose less, but the information that is

disclosed should highlight the investment risksbase can make it difficult to sell SME shares,introducing a market-making system may help.To protect the integrity of the SME market,policymakers should consider introducingprovisions that would allow an SME to grantanother company the option to buy its stock as aprelude to an acquisition. Such a lock-upprovision would ensure that managementremains committed and that securities issued areappropriately valued; Regulators andpolicymakers should organise promotionalcampaigns, public seminars, and conferences toexplain the benefits of capital markets andincrease public awareness of the need for SMEfinancing.

Policymakers could consider setting up a websiteto inform, educate, and assist SMEs and investors,including publishing periodic analyst reports forSME securities; To ensure that SMEs comply withregulations, policymakers should considerestablishing a team that answers SME questionsand monitors compliance.

TO enhance quality ofstudents and improve

educational standard, BellinaSchools have called on theFederal Government to ensureadequate funding, monitoringand zero tolerance are adoptedin schools.

The call was made at theValedictory/Prize GivingCeremony Class of 2014/2015for Bellina Schools, (that isBellina college, Nursery andPrimary Schools).

In a separate interview, theSchool Administrator and thePrincipal, Mrs. KenechukwuIfeoma and Mr. Kola Ishola,told Vanguard that there is aneed to build teachers capacityboth in service and formaltraining, adding thatworkshops and seminars athome and abroad will give thenecessary exposure.

According to Ifeoma, “Thegovernment needs propermonitoring and also funding ofthe schools, if you go to mostpublic schools it is dilapidatedand many people will not wantto be recognised with suchschools without good classrooms and laboratories. So itwill be difficult for students tolearn in such environment.

“The government need to putin more fund into theeducation sector, motivate thestaff and monitor them, oncethis is is done, you will find outthat they will produce goodproducts but when all thesethings are not done, you nevercan tell what the products ofsuch schools will be or looklike. Some secondary schoolsgraduates can not write theirnames, some cannot expressthemselves in English and itborders us as teachers.

Speaking on the school, shesaid, “For us as a school, weare contributing our quotabecause we have not changedour standard, instead it hasgone even higher and we tryto imbibe all the innovations,we introduce new things tomake it interesting for thechildren. We found thattechnology must come into playin all we do, that is why yousee our students with iPhones,iPad and all those gadgets. Wetry as much as possible toinculcate all these in oursystem in order to make itinteresting and we also put acontrol so that they do notabuse its use.

“Government should monitorwhat happens in schools, is notas if we don’t have good handsbut the good hands are notadequately motivated and alsothey are not monitoredproperly to ensure they harnessthe potential in them,” she said.

Ishola added that Nigeriahas good schools despiteparents taking their childrenabroad for study.

Alleviating poverty via bio-rights– WI approach

Easing SMEs’ access to capital markets

Stories byPROVIDENCE OBUH

Funding,monitoring, zerotolerance will

enhance schools– Bellina


CMYK

Economy

STORIES BYEMEKA ANAETO,ECONOMY EDITOR

Results of major economicpolicy actions so far inthe third quarter 2015

have indicated a mixed outcomein the first full month postexecution.

At end of July last weekendVanguard investigations show asignificant accretion to foreignreserves with a 7.7 per cent riseto USD31.3 billion, up fromUSD29.1 billion a month earlier.The external sector results showa de-acceleration (positivereversal) of the rate of decline inthis important economic indicatorby 6.5 per cent age point (from -15.8 per cent to -9.3 per cent).

Also the exchange rate whichhad witnessed a serious bashingof the Naira value in the parallelmarket segment at beginning ofthe quarter following the newpolicy measures has recordedmajor rebound with theexchange rate mounting downfrom the high point of N245/USD1.0 to about N242/ USD1.00before recording a massive crashof 7.4 per cent to N225/ USD1.00last alone.

At the interbank segment of theforex market exchange rate hasremained stable at averageN199.10/US$1.00 while at theCentral Bank of Nigeria (CBN)official exchange window it alsoremained stable at N197/USD1.00.

Financial market analysts positthat consequent on the recentCBN policy excluding 41 itemsfrom the list of items valid foraccessing foreign exchange fromall segments of the market, afurther drop in visible andinvisible imports forex utilizationin the country should beexpected in second quarter/ halfyear as well as full year CBNreports on the external sectorperformance.

This is on the back of thequantum of forex utilizationstatistics of the excludedproducts, estimated at 20 percent of total forex utilisation bybanks in the previous quarter.

It is therefore clear that whilethe CBN’s tightened regulationshave attracted some criticismsfrom various economy observers

as well as some immediatebacklashes in market indicators,the country’s external reservesseem to have been re-routed tothe path of accretion.

Although the CBN suggestedit was a measure taken in a bidto encourage local production ofthese items, economy observersopined it was more of a falloutfrom the unyielding measurestaken to preserve the externalreserves.

In the week ahead, financialanalysts expect rates to remainstable at all the segments of theforeign exchange market whilepressure at the parallel marketmay soften as activity in thatsegment of the market furthermoderate.

In the money market themonetary policies have hadsome salutary effects as interestrates have been on the decline,at least in the interbank, despitethe fluctuating liquidity positionthroughout the month of July.

Bankers said some high networth borrowers have startedbenefiting from the rate crashwith prime rate at less than 15per cent.

Open Buy Back (OBB) andOvernight (O/N) rates at end ofthe month last weekend closedat lower levels than they did atthe close of the previous month.OBB declined further by 417bpsto 10.0 per cent and O/Nreduced 467bps to 10.6 per centlast week.

This was, however, on the backof the Cash ReserveRequirement (CRR) credit donelast week which resulted in ahigher liquidity opening balanceof N167.1billion on Monday lastweek.

The apex bank conducted an

Open Market Operation (OMO)Nigerian Treasury Bills auctionon Tuesday, which mopped upN91.4billion from the bankingsystem, although this action wasoff setted as the expectedFederation Accounts AllocationCommittee (FAAC) monthlybudgetary allocation ofN240.0billion was made on thesame day, bringing market ratesdown to 9.4 per cent (OBB) and9.8 per cent (O/N).

On Wednesday another OMOauction worth N70.0bn wasfloated which wasoversubscribed to the tune ofN96.4billion, but OBB and O/Nrates continued their decline to6.7 per cent and 7.2 per centrespectively, a signal that there

was still high level of liquidityin the system. The trendcontinued for Thursday andFriday portending sustaineddecline in overall interest rates.

Money market analysts opinethat money market rates in theinterbank segment may remainlow (at single-digit) in thecoming week as Treasury Billsworth a total of N195.2bn areslated to mature this weekThursday, though liquidity in themoney market may be reducedby more OMO auctions by theCBN.

However, on the flip side,asides forex illiquidity that hasslowed capital marketperformance, the economicmanagement policies in themonth, especially the exclusionof 41 items from the forex market,have had a pass through effecton June inflation rate pushing itfurther to 9.3 per cent whilethreatening to escalate to doubledigit for July as the prices of theseitems have risen in the marketespecially as suppliers beganhoarding and rationing availablesupplies. Also, this has costimplications on ConsumerGoods companies that rely onimported raw materials forproduction.

Consequently while the capitalmarket has been excessivelybearish during the month asnegative investor sentimentstowards the market persistedgiven the current situation of themarket, stock market analystssaid last weekend thatperformance is expected to bedriven by investor sentimentstowards the earnings results.

CBN has been the only visibleeconomic policy authority in theabsence of a federal economicteam and cabinet, and it hadtaken some monetary policypositions earlier in Juneincluding foreign exchangemarket reforms widely criticizedas restrictive and anti-investment.

Commodity prices at the localmarkets are persistently

in upswings, recent research hasshown. The prices basic fooditems such as tomatoes, yam,poultry, and fuel are climbing,and at very significant rates.Experts say the worst is yet tocome and they have predictedthat in the coming monthsNigerians will pay more forvirtually everything theyconsume, as key market

indicators continue to paint agrimmer picture for Africa’slargest economy’s consumermarket.

A rising consumer price index(CPI) and a climbing inflationrate as reported previous weekby the National Bureau ofStatistics (NBS) have beenblamed for the price hike.

According to a research by SBMorgen, Nigeria’s CPI grew by10 percent over the past six

months while NBS reports thatinflation rose to 9.2 percent, from8.6 percent last year. This hasbeen caused by the instability ofprices for both locally producedand imported goods since thebeginning of 2015.

The price of more commoditiesare expected rise as airlines andlocal intra-city transport servicesprepare to increase fares.Venture Africa publicationsquoting Chinedu Ozordi, a

director with SB Morgan said“Living standards are expectedto drop further with the upsurgein the price of consumables at atime when the average Nigerianis least empowered socially andfinancially to overcome thechallenge posed by rising foodand commodities price,”

Beyond the market indicators,factors including the weakerforeign exchange rates,prolonged period of fuel scarcity,and insecurity in Nigeria’sNortheast have not only putpressure on overall costs in theeconomy, has also hamperedfood producers and retailers fromoperating effectively.

A persistent rise in the pricesof commodities will heapenormous pressure on theNigerian consumer, particularlythose in the labour force.

The research revealed thatlarge chunk of the Nigerianworking class, particularlywithin the public sector, earn anaverage of N25,000 and spend60 percent of it on feedingannually.

Economic stress to increase further for lower income group

Mixed result in economicpolicy outcome in July

•CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele

Money marketanalysts opine thatmoney market ratesin the interbanksegment may remainlow (at single-digit)in the coming weekas Treasury Billsworth a total ofN195.2bn are slatedto mature this weekThursday


forward the USAP CMA auditreport to Nigeria. In 30 days,Nigeria will submit itscomments on the audit reportif any. Within another 30 days,the country will submit to ICAOits Corrective Action Plan(CAP)” he said.

An elated Capt. Usmanrevealed that he was happy thatNigeria performed better thanshe did in 2008 adding that thecountry would not rest on heroars but will continue to ensurethat our air transport operationis secure and safe.

“The Nigerian Civil AviationAuthority, NCAA , will sooncommence preparation for theICAO’s Universal SafetyOversight Audit Programme(USOAP) coming up inNovember, later this year”.

“While the USAP takescognisance of states’ security atthe airports, the ultimate goalof USOAP is promoting globalaviation safety through regularaudits of safety oversightsystems in all ICAO memberstates” Capt. Usman affirmed.

The handover notes given toUsman by his predecessor alsocontained a brief on thechallenges confronting theAuthority in areas of being ableto retain skilled and qualifiedstaff in sufficient numbers,indebtedness to the Authorityby Airlines, shortage ofaccommodation for staff,Shortage of funds for trainingand the on-going efforts toreview the subsisting ServiceCharge.

To tackle some of thesechallenges and boost themorale of staff, the DG ensuredthat the group Life Insuranceof staff was up dated andpremium promptly paid.Confirming this developmentin a recent interview, theDirector of Finance andAccounts of NCAA, AlhajiSalawu Nuhu Ozigi said “ Yes,staff are insured. They areinsured and we renew thepolicy annually. In addition, Iwill like to say the managementhas Group Life Insurancepolicy for all the staff”

“This group life insurance isvery key for the family of thedeceased officers. Because It isfrom there that they get someof their allowances, terminalpayment that is due to them.The Authority also pays thepremium for group lifeinsurance promptly”.

To solve the cash crushsuffered by the agency due tothe indebtedness of airlines tothe authority, NCAA, last weekissued a 14 days ultimatum toall debtors airlines to pay upthe five (5) per cent Ticket SalesCharge (TSC) and Cargo SalesCharge (CSC) to the authority.The Authority said that erringairlines would be sanction atthe expiration of the 14 daysultimatum stressing that failureto comply with the directive ofremittance of the outstandingpayments; the Authority shallenforce the provisions ofsection 27(3) of the CivilAviation Act.

Aviation

The Nigerian Air Force,NAF, has said that

plans are in top gear toestablish Maintenance Repairand Overhaul (MRO) hangarin the country. The Chief OfAir Staff , COAS, Air ViceMarshal Adesola Amosu,disclosed this while speakingat a stakeholders forumorganised by the NationalAssociation of Aircraft Pilotsand Engineers, NAAPE, at theMurtala MuhammedAirport(MMA),Lagos.

Amosu, who wasrepresented by AirCommodore Emmanuel Ezesaid that the proposed MROwould take care of all theaircraft platforms operating inthe country be it civil ormilitary airplanes.

He also explained that theobjective of the organisationwas to ensure that NAFestablish a maintenancehangar, where airplaneswould be maintained toreduce the cost of operationfor airline operators in thecountry.

It is about a year now sinceCaptain MuhtarUsman assumed office

as Director General/ChiefExecutive Officer of theNigerian Civil AviationAuthority (NCAA), theregulatory agency of Nigeriacivil aviation. Until hisnomination by immediate pastPresident Goodluck Jonathanand subsequent confirmationby The Senate, Usman was theCommisioner/CEO of the Ac-cident and Investigation andPrevention Bu- reau (AIB).

On assumption of office,Capt. Usman said hisadministration would focus onsafety, security and comfort inthe conduct of flight operationsin and out of Nigerianairspace. He told a gatheringof staff and other stakeholdersat the NCAA headquarters inLagos at a brief reception forhim that “My administrationwould focus on safety, securityand comfort in the conduct offlight operations in and out ofNigerian airspace.”

“We will be guided by An-nexes of the International CivilAviation Organiza- tion(ICAO), the Nigerian CivilAviation Regulations (NCARs)and other appropri- atelegislations and conven- tionsin line with internationalstandard,” He thereforesolicited for the support andcooperation of all the membersof the Authority for therealisation of the three pointagenda.

Usman also told themanagement and staff of NCAAthat a lot of hard work will beneeded for Nigeria to retain theAmerican Federal AviationAdministration (FAA)International Aviation SafetyAssessment (IASA) CategoryOne, which qualifies Nigerianregistered aircraft to fly directlyto the United States.

Few months after taking thesaddle, the International CivilAviation Organisation, ICAO,came calling to commenced itsICAO Universal Security AuditProgramme of Nigerian civilaviation .Capt.Muhtar Usmanimmediately called onstakeholders to join theauthority in ensuring asuccessful outing for Nigeria.He said the objective of theaudit was to determine “astates’ capability for securityoversight by assessing theimplementation of the criticalelements of a security oversightsystem.”

He noted that thereafter,“recommendations would beprovided for contracting statesto improve their securitysystems and oversightcapabilities” adding thatstakeholders should assist theagency to ensure another

successful outing similar to thepreceding Audit of 2008.”

The ICAO Auditorscomprising of four (4) members,namely: Karen Zadoyan,Steven Neu, Nuno MiguelSilva Ferreira Fortes andWendy Mueller. arrived Lagosto look at the following areas :“Regulatory Framework andthe National Civil AviationSecurity System, training ofAviation Security Personnel,Quality Control Functions,Airport Operations, Aircraftand In-flight Security.Passenger and BaggageSecurity”

The Nigerian Civil AviationAuthority (NCAA) being thenation’s statutory regulatoryAuthority responsible for thedevelopment, implementationand maintenance of NationalCivil Aviation SecurityProgramme (NCASP) was atthe centre of the audit.

The Audit which ran for aboutnine (9) days, and terminatedon the 9th of June, 2014 sawthe International Civil AviationOrganisation , ICAO, givingNigeria a pass mark. ICAOsaid Nigeria was given a passmark after the thorough auditbecause the audit teamdiscovered there have beenmassive improvements in thesecurity systems at the airports.

The leader of the team of theICAO auditors, Mr. StevenNeu said that Nigeriaperformed excellently in the 9days audit and scored a passmark of 90 percent stressingthat he was very impressedwith the National Security

Programme as there were veryminimal open items to beclosed.

He said, “Nigeria surpassedour expectations. We reviewedthe 2008 audit before wecommenced this exercise butwe discovered there have beenmassive improvements in thesecurity systems at theairports.”

‘’To Nigeria’s credit all theminimal open items wereclosed immediately. The auditwas focussed on the eightcritical elements”. he added.

According to him, Nigeria isone of the first countries in theworld to go through theUniversal Safety AuditProgramme ,USAP, ContinuousMonitoring Assessment ,CMA,Audit.

“After 60 days ICAO will

My administrationwould focus onsafety, security andcomfort in theconduct of flightoperations in andout of Nigerianairspace.We will beguided by An- nexesof the InternationalCivil AviationOrganiza- tion(ICAO)

D-G, NCAA: One year of pilotingNCAA's affairs

By LAWANI MIKAIRU

•Captain Muhtar Usman, Director General/Chief ExecutiveOfficer of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)

NAF to establishaircraftmaintenancehangar

By LAWANI MIKAIRU &DANIEL ETEGHE

Engineering personnel ofthe Nigerian Airspace

Management Agency,NAMA, from the Directorateof Air Traffic Safety ElectronicsServices , ATSES, havestarted their preparation forthe Air Traffic SafetyElectronics Personnel License, ATSEP. A total number of 17Engineers have justgraduated from the NigerianCollege of AviationTechnology (NCAT) afterundergoing a three-monthpreparatory course for the ,ATSEP.

The Air Traffic SafetyElectronics PersonnelLicense,ATSEP, is issued bythe Nigerian Civil AviationAuthority ,NCAA. Accordingto General Manager, PublicAffairs, NAMA, MrsOlajumoke Adetona “Thecourse which began in April2015 is designed to preparequalified engineers toeffectively man CNS/ATMinfrastructure, ICT equipmentas well as power systems.”

NAMA engineersprepare forATSEP License

By LAWANI MIKAIRU


CMYK

Advertising & Promotions

The Outdoor AdvertisingAgencies of Nigeria,OAAN, has decried

proliferation of approvingagencies of government in theoutdoor segment of the

advertising industry.Mr. Emmanuel Ajufo,Secretary of the Associationwho also is the secretary of theWest African OutdoorAdvertising Association in achat with Vanguardbemoaned the proliferation ofoutdoor approving agencies.

He said members of theoutdoor industry have to

contend with so many stateagencies like the TownPlanning Authorities,Ministries of the environmentand Information, commerceand at times the SpecialDuties Commissioners whowill also stop their membersfrom erecting billboards.

The secretary who saiddifferent states throw up

different challenges when itcomes to outdoor advertisingpractice described thesituation as frustrating.

According to him, “we aretalking to those states that donot have a one-stop-shop, forus to work with them on theseissues.”

Ajufo who spoke on otherissues concerning theindustry observed that otherchallenges the industry haveis the issue of measurement,however confirmed that theindustry has long beenconfronted with how to justifywhat the industry what theindustry claims to deliver.

His words, “even if we knowthat we deliver a whole lot, weneed to also justify our claimwith scientific evidence.”

To correct this, he continued,“we have hired a reputableinternational organisation tomhelp us out in this regard anda research is already beingcarried out. I can confirm toyou that it will be presentedto the industry soon by theAssociation’s president. Ithink that the result of thatresearch will put paid to issueof what we offer in terms ofreal value.

Speaking on the contributionof the industry to the Nigerianeconomy, he said, “we feelthat we have contributed somuch to the growth of oureconomy. And it is not hardfor you to feel it. In any majorcity that you have gone to, youwill see billboards positionedin strategic places to help inprojecting our clients’messages and also adding tothe beauty of theenvironment.”

Pay TV company,MultiChoice Nigeria

says its coming back withits DStv Compact bouquet tooffer better value with 95 pluschannels including allchannels in Family andAccess.

The all new bouquetincludes access to its flagshipon demand video rentalservice – DStv BoxOffice.New and existing subscriberswill get to enjoy premiumcontent and non-stoptelevision entertainment asnever before, the companyassured at the unveiling inLagos. General Manager,Marketing, MultiChoiceNigeria, Martin Mabutho,said the new offering furtherreiterates the company ’scommitment to provideNigerians with qualityentertainment they can afford.

“DStv Compact is designedfor our young, cool and trendysubscribers who desirepremium content in a bouquetthat is affordable and fitsperfectly into their lifestyle.We have refreshed thebouquet to include some

premium channels as well asintroduced BoxOffice foraccess to block buster moviesfor subscribers who have theExplora decoder”, he said.

Mabutho also said that thebouquet now comes with new

channels including M-City,Eva, AfricaMagic Igbo,AfricaMagic Urban,AfricaMagic Epic, ZeeWorld, as well as all thechannels on the Family andAccess bouquets.

OAAN bemoans proliferation of approvingagencies

STORIES BYPRINCEWILLEKWUJURU

...As ACTV enters 4 rooms viewershipproduct

Multichoice revamps DStvcompact bouquet

African Cable Television,ACTV, a multi-room

cable TV has launched its latestproduct with four roomsviewership independent of eachother.

Mr. Jide Lawrence, Director ofContent,ACTV, in a statementsaid: “ACTV Multi-room TVsolution gives subscribers theexpanded comfort andexperience of viewing televisioncontents in as much as four (4)different rooms simultaneouslyand independently of eachother.” He explained that this ismade possible with the use of onesatellite dish in the home, hotelor office and a much better four-way signal connector that feedsfour rooms simultaneously andallows the use of four

independent remote controlunits.

Before now, the only availableoption was the dual view decoderwith viewership of channelsdependent on the personholding the decoder’s remotecontrol.

But with the ACTV multi-room channel offering,subscribers can now enjoy theirfavourite TV shows without stressanywhere in their home.

Mr. Lawrence stated that:“With the ACTV Multi-roomtelevision bouquet, oursubscribers can do everythingthey wish in any of the roomswith TV without disturbinganyone else watching in otherrooms. The kids can watch theircartoons, mummies can watchtheir soaps and daddies can

watch their news or movieswithout the usual struggles forthe remote control. Ours is amulti-independent view,meaning freedom for everyoneto choose and enjoy TV contentanywhere in their home.”

According to Lawrence,ACTV has carved a niche inproviding cutting edgetechnology, innovative contentand top quality entertainment ataffordable prices to every and allits subscribers.

He said: “We are committed tobringing Nigerians the best andnothing else irrespective of theirsocial class” noting that “it is inthe spirit of providing the bestthat the company earlierintroduced the PVR functions toall levels of subscribers at anunbelievably affordable price.”

NB Flags offGolden penawards

Nigerian Breweries Plc hasannounced plans for the 7th edition of its Golden PenAwards. The company madethe announcement at a pressbriefing at the company’sheadquarters in Lagos.Informing the media of theplans for the 7th edition ofthe award, the company’sCorporate Affairs Adviser,Kufre Ekanem said this year’saward would retain the samemechanisms used last yearwhere journalists and mediahouses are expected to sendin entries based on selectedthemes to encourage mediafocus on critical sectors of theNigerian economy. Mr.Ekanem said that Education,Youth Empowerment andTalent Development havebeen chosen as the focus areasfor this year’s award andjournalists and their mediahouses can send in reportscovering this subject areapublished between January 1and December 31 2014.According to the CorporateAffairs Adviser, collection ofentries for this year’s awardwill commence, Tuesday, July28, 2015 and close on Friday,September 21, 2015. Allentries are to be sent to theindependent coordinatingagency, Mediacraft.

Peak milk tomake 60Nigeriansmillionaires in60 days

In 60 days, Peak Milk, aflagship product of

FrieslandCampina WAMCO,says its going to make 60Nigerians millionairesthrough a promo tagged:‘Peak Millionairepromo”which will run fromJuly through September 2015.

The company said the promois as a part of Peak’s 60thanniversary celebration.

Tarang Gupta, thecompany ’s MarketingDirector, explained the reasonfor the promotion. He statedthat with the Peak 60thanniversary ‘Peak Reach forMillions’ promo,FrieslandCampina WAMCOwants to deepen brand lovewith its teeming and loyalconsumers who have beenwith the iconic brand ‘fromgeneration to generation.’

He said, “This 60thanniversary celebration andconsumer promotion seeks toreward consumers for theirloyalty towards Peak bycreating winners andmillionaires everyday for 60days.

TOUR - From Left: Mr. Uzo Odenigbo, Head, Public Affairs and Communications, Nigerian BottlingCompany (NBC); Mrs. Yetunde Adesunloye, HR Manager, Ikeja Plant; Mr. Remi Bodunrin, IkejaPlant Manager, during a media parley held at the company’s Ikeja Plant, Lagos.

Business & Economy

Email:[email protected], [email protected] page:www.lesleba.com/blog2Website: www.lesleba.comTel:0805 220 1997


CMYK

Omoh Gabriel - Group Business Editor

Babajide Komolafe - Deputy Business Editor

Clara Nwachukwu - Energy Editor

Peter Egwuatu - Asst. Business Editor

Yinka Kolawole - Snr Bus. Correspondent

Favour Nnabugwu - Insurance Correspondent

Godwin Oritse - Maritime Correspondent

Godfrey Bivbere - Maritime Correspondent

Michael Eboh - Energy Reporter

Franklin Alli - Industry/Agric. Reporter

Ifeyinwa Obi - Maritime Reporter

Rosemary Onuoha - Insurance Reporter

Nkiruka Nnorom - Capital Market Reporter

CONTRIBUTORS

Princewill Ekwujuru - Media/Marketing

Jonah Nwokpoku - E-Commerce

Naomi Uzor - Industry

Providence Obuh - Micro Finance

LAYOUT - Graphics Department

Nigeria’s relativelym o d e s texternal debt

which was speculated to bebelow $17bn in 1999 becamespurred by dubious flatteringfrom international agenciesthat Nigeria was under-borrowed, to exceed $36bn by2005. Ultimately, governmentwas blamed for keeping pooraccounting records and failureto also promptly service ourdebt obligations.

Unfortunately, despite theinternational junketing of ourFinance minister and her teamand the boisterous media blitzacross Europe, with a Senateteam which also spent aprincely $10m in search of debtcancellation, Nigeria,inexplicably got 60% relief,whereas, other less starstudded negotiating Teamsfrom Africa received total debtreprieve for their countries.

An international pressuregroup, The Jubilee DebtCampaign (JDC), were soincensed with the over $14bnfleeced from Nigeria that its co-ordinator Tricia Rogers notedthat “It is obscene for G7countries to take billions ofdollars from one of the poorestcountries on Earth. Inparticular this means that theUK alone will take from Nigeriaalmost exactly twice as muchas it is giving in aid to thewhole of Africa in 2005!”; MsRogers therefore urged Britain,which chairs the G7, to take thelead in refusing to accept thepayments”.

However, after the celebrated‘controversial’ debt relief, about$3.7bn remained as externaldebt, while domestic debt,which included obligations tolocal contractors, was belowN1trillion. Instructively,however, one of the PolicySupport Instruments

demanded by the IMF withdebt relief was the adoption ofthe now ‘discarded’ wholesaleDutch Auction System (WDAS)in the determination of Naira’sexchange rate.

Ironically, despite the relief,there were signals thatNigeria’s debt profile hadbegun a reboundnotwithstanding buoyant crudeoil revenue with consistentbudget surpluses, before theend of Obasanjo’s tenure in2007. Nonetheless, with thebountiful dollar revenue, theCBN, in keeping with IMFconditionalities liberallyallocated billions of dollarsdirectly to Bureau de changeweekly for ‘retail transactions,while 14 commercial banksreceived $7bn soft loans formeeting CBN’s capitalizationrequirements.

Sadly, however, the promisethat debt relief would instigaterapid economic growth andenhanced social welfare failedto materialize; interest ratesremained nearer 20% to thereal sector and continues tilldate to keep the industrialsector comatose, whileunemployment is still risingwith an untamed inflationaryspiral, until, we became listedamongst the world’s poorestpeople.

Unfortunately, the creation ofa Debt Management Office(DMO) did not bring closureto the tenure of reckless andunfavorably structured loans,as National debt steadilyballooned, even beforeObasanjo left office in 2007.Regrettably, by 2008, DMO’sfresh borrowings exceeded N1Trillion with the attendant 10-17% interest rates, which wereclearly inappropriate for riskfree sovereign loans, “whichwere,” ironically according tothe DMO “backed by the full

faith and credit of the federalgovernment of Nigeria and arecharged upon the generalassets of Nigeria” (see CBN’sN50bn Bond offer circular of 27/8/2008).

The usually specified purposeof DMO’s loans was “torestructure part of theoutstanding 91 days NTB(Nigerian Treasury Bills:government short termborrowings) into longer tenuredbonds, to provide benchmarkinstrument for the pricing ofother securities in the capitalmarket, and facilitate thedevelopment of the bond marketin general as well as fund thebudget deficit” (see offercircular of Jan 2006 for 3rd FGNBond –with 2009- maturity).

Evidently, the loans made noreference whatsoever topurposeful development ofpower infrastructure, orrehabilitation of our roads,hospitals, schools etc. Thedefined purpose of suchborrowings, which exceededN200bn in 2006 alone, wereclearly for controversial

intangibles. In any case, whywould anyone borrow and incurannual interest charges inexcess of about N350bn simplyfor the purpose of creating amarket for bonds?

We should similarly, beconcerned that the DMO listedthe funding of budget deficitsas part of the reason forgovernment borrowing, wheninfact premium crude oil pricesand output provided a platformfor serial budget surpluses forover 4 years.

Indeed, in May 2008, in apiece titled “National Assemblyfiddles while debt burdencripples” as well as in anotherarticle titled “Bleeding us todeath with debt 1-3” later inOctober, this writer did notsucceed in drawing theattention of the NationalAssembly to our inexplicablyrising debt profile which sadlymade no positive impact on ourpeople’s welfare.

My humble observation wasalso that “only a fool willendorse double digit interestpayment on otherwiseacclaimed soft loans. Forexample, pg of 112, ofGuardian edition of 22/5/05,carried a report that theDirector General of the D.M.O.,one Abraham Nwankwoindicated that “…84% of theNation’s $3.7billion externaldebt is accounted for by loansfrom concessionary sources likethe World Bank, AfricanDevelopment Bank and IFAD”.“These are loans” according toNwankwo, “obtained at verylow charges and concomitantcharges of 0.5%. These loansare used for poverty alleviationprograms in education, healthand agricultural sectors”.

However, despite the aboveexplanation, late PresidentYar’Adua’s 2008 budget hadsurprisingly, provided $600m

(i.e. about 20% of principal) asinterest for the same loan of$3.7bn! This was clearly asoutrageous and out of sync asCBN’s inexplicable ‘softdeposit’ of $7bn in the same 14Nigerian banks thatgovernment concurrentlyborrowed from. Unfortunately,the National Assembly in itsself-serving wisdom ignoredthis faux pas, and it is doubtfulif the banks ever repaid thisloan.

Nigeria’s external debt stockhas alarmingly continued itsunrestrained spiral and nowexceeds $10.3bn as at 30thJune 2015, while theoutstanding Domestic stock hasalso risen to N8.4 Trillion;furthermore, the debt stock ofstate governments has alsorisen above $10bn to make upa consolidated outstandingNational debt of almost $64bn.

In retrospect, the alarm bellof an imminent death trap wasearlier sounded but remainedunheeded when Nigeria’s totaldebt stock rose above $40bn in2007; similarly, despite thepresent falling crude oilrevenue, there appears to be aninexplicable air of complacencyabout the current outstandingdebt of $64bn!

Indeed, if the freshunsolicited IMF loan of $2.1bnfor rebuilding those North Eastcommunities ravaged by BokoHaram is added, and the debtsowed local contractors aresimilarly captured, the NationalDebt Stock may well exceed$70bn, even though there isstill not much on ground toshow for these bloated loans.

Notwithstanding, someanalysts may once again assureus that Nigeria is still underborrowed! Clearly, with therecent emasculation of theGreek nation because of itsinability to meet its debtobligations, it will be foolish tobelieve such experts.

Save the Naira, SaveNigeria!!

Papa has a new bag of debts

Unfortunately, thecreation of a DebtManagementOffice (DMO) didnot bring closureto the tenure ofreckless andunfavorablystructured loans,as National debtsteadilyballooned, evenbefore Obasanjoleft office in 2007

Gov. Akinwunmi Ambodeof Lagos State has

pledged his commitment tocreating an enablingenvironment for investors asa way of creating jobs foryouths in the State.

Ambode made the pledge inIkeja while receiving adelegation of WalmartIncorporated, a leading globalbrand in retail supermarket.He said that the state wasready to give necessarysupport to assist investors inestablishing presence in thestate.

Ambode promises enablingenvironment for investors

According to him, thepresence of the brand inLagos will go a long way, notonly to create jobs for teemingyouths, but also boost theeconomy of the state.

He said that the successstory of the brand, whichcurrently operates in 28countries with over 2.2 millionemployees, would bebeneficial to the growth of thestate. The governor said itwould also help in actualisinghis vision to make lifecomfortable for residents.

‘’That summaries the reason

Walmart has to berth in Lagos.We are committed toexpanding the business scopefor Walmart and like I said, Iam interested in having yourbrand signature in Lagos. Youhave been pro-people andthat is why we find a congressbetween the objectives ofWalmart and Lagos StateGovernment. We have apopulation of over 21 millionpeople and four million of thatpopulation is in the middleclass. We have a bulgingyouth that is craving foremployment.


CMYK

Send Opinions & Letters to:[email protected]

By Rotimi Adebisi

•Mr. Adebisi, a public affairs analyst,wrote from Ibadan, Oyo State.

Removing the JAMB andjam from admissions

IT was a shock to many last week, whenrespected former lawmaker, top civilservant, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, revealed thathe knew the “Acting-Chairperson” of theIndependent National ElectoralCommission (INEC) “Mrs Amina Zakarisince childhood, and that her late father,the former Emir of Kazaure, was marriedto President Buhari’s elder sister”.

Alhaji Yakassai, in the said interview inthe Tribune of July 27,2015 at page 22 addedthat, as a matter of fact, President “Buharilived with and spent a significant part of hisearly years in the home of Amina Zakari’sfather”. It is difficult to dispute this claim,because Alhaji Yakassai insisted that “AminaZakari’s father worked under me as aPermanent Secretary and was a close friendfor many years.”

In effect, what this reveals is that the tiesof Mrs. Zakari to the President which hadbeen linked to Afriprojects Consortium priorto this recent claim, is in fact much morefamilial than any of the parties had beenwilling to admit. It comes as a great shockgiven the trust that most of us had reposedon the integrity of Mr. President. It reveals aworrisome streak of nepotism that elevatesthe courage and integrity of the formerPresident Goodluck Jonathan, who hadsearched very widely and very carefully fora man of integrity, far removed from hiscircle of family, friends, party and geo-political zone to ensure that the impartialityof the electoral umpire was unblemishedby suspicions of partisanship.

Since the interview revelation by AlhajiYakassai, none of the parties to the claim,has disputed nor controverted the claims

INEC and Yakassi's asertionof the former lawmaker. It is quite adisappointment, that one of the few areasthat the former President Jonathan hadbeen extoled for, will become one of theearly sources of disappointment by aPresident who has received so muchgoodwill from Nigerians because of thetrust that we have all reposed on his abilityto rise above such divisive attributes, suchas an ill-disguised nepotism. Worst stilland very unfortunate for the country is theloud silence of well-known leading civilright activists and lawyers on this violentbreach of the constitution; except for theeffable explanations of Professor ItseSagay who stated “that her acting aschairperson of INEC was valid andbacked by relevant provisions of theconstitution...... from what l gathered”, butunusually for him, he could not cite anylegal or constitutional backing for hisargument. This to say the least is mostunfortunate coming from one who shouldgive direction and speak truth to authority.

The tragedy of these developments is thatthe same people who are by their silence orare openly encouraging the President nowon this path of unconstitutionality, wouldbe the ones who will turn round to pilloryhim, when they fail to get the anticipated

favours they are expecting from Mr.President. Those who want the President andhis team to succeed most tell him the truth,more so, when we do not expect appointmentor contracts, but only wish for goodgovernance based on the rule of Law.

Furthermore, nepotism, tribalism and astoic and uncaring disposition towards theneed for inclusivity has been at the pivotof most of the national disputes, whichoften threatens the unity of the country onmany occasions. From the disputes aroundthe first post-independence elections,through the interventions of the first militaryinterventionists and the correspondingconflicts that followed, most of the regionaland national disputes have beenunderpinned by the reality and perceptionof social, cultural or ethnic exclusion. It istherefore disappointing to say the least, thata President, who was a major recurring roleplayer in these ebbs and crest of our nationalhistory, can brook such indifference to amain cause of our national recurrent malady.

It is even more pathetic that in executingthis indifference to the sensitivity of thenational mood, for a new way of doingthings, the President needlessly reversed thedecisions of a chairperson of INEC, whoseunblemished integrity and impartialityensured that he broke the jinx of politicalcontest, between incumbent presidentsand other political contestants. It isdifficult not to imagine that by the actionof the President, he is probably acting likesomeone who having climbed up a treewith the help of a public ladder, and hasdecided to break the ladder to prevent anyother person from climbing the tree to enjoyits benefits.

In the haste to ensure an advantage for hisrelative, the President was willing to breachseveral laws, including the constitution thathe swore to less than 60 days ago, to defend

and respect. First he caused the Head of theCivil Services to assume powers that he didnot possess, by indicating in writing that hecould prematurely terminate the tenure ofan INEC National Commissioner outsidethe provision of section 157 of theconstitution, by claiming that the tenure ofMrs. Zakari had ended with that of Prof Jegaon the 30th of June, instead of the statutorydate of July 21st 2015. Then in the same letterit was purported that the President hadappointed Mrs. Zakari as an “Acting-Chairperson “ of INEC, a title that isunknown to the constitution, where thePresident ought to derive his powers from,or any Nigerian law in relation to theoffice of INEC chair person.

By this breach of the constitution, thePresidential blunder has created aneedless impasse for the national electoralbody, as of today, the Commission whichhad only recently regained its respect is seenas a body that is headed by an illegitimateleader.

Moreover, having lost an additionalmember who recently died after a protractedillness, the Commission is unable to form alegitimate quorum as required by section159(1) of the constitution that requires fivemembers, whereas they are now three legaland legitimate members. Mrs Zakari’s fiveyears tenure like that of others, in line withSection 155 of the constitution, ended 21stof July 2015, even though she is stillhanging around loosely and illegally as thePresident’s relative.

The question is : Can the price of pleasinga relative be worth the destruction of anational institution like INEC?

THERE is a jam in our tertiaryinstitutions admission.

Unfortunately, the regulatoryJoint Admissions andMatriculation Board (JAMB)which last month, raced todecongest the process, becamepart of the problem; creating morechaos leading to protests bystudents, teachers and parents.JAMB was forced to abandon itsnew policy.

There are 1.4 million applicantsseeking admission into some 140universities with a maximum spaceof 450,000, and a further 350,000spaces in other tertiary institutions.After the JAMB entranceexaminations, the University ofLagos (UNILAG) for instance, hadat least 32,000 applicants who metthe cut off mark required to seatfor the university’s Unified TertiaryMatriculation Examination(UMTE). The problem is that theinstitution has only 9,000 spaces,which means over two thirds ofthese qualified candidates will notbe admitted. Rather than allow allqualified candidates to sit for theUMTE, JAMB decided toredistribute some of them to otheruniversities, including privateones, that did not have enoughapplicants. In the University ofIlorin, JAMB decided that only a

fifth of the qualified candidateswill be allowed to take the UTMEwhile the others were distributedto other universities.

JAMB’s motives maybealtruistic, but it did not consult theaffected students, the process wasnot transparent, forcedredistribution was not part of theadmission criteria and there wasno pretrial. To worsen matters,some parents showed proof thattheir children who scored farhigher marks were excluded fromsitting the UMTE in theirpreferred universities, whilecandidates with lower marks werebeing allowed.

It is illogical that JAMB wantedto force youths who want to attendprestigious and cheap federaluniversities to go to costly privateuniversities, some of which arecontraptions run by proprietorswhose decisions are based on howthe holy spirit moves them. Thereare parents who may not wanttheir children to attend universitieswith religious overtones or nameslike Madonna, Covenant,Redeemer’s, Al-Hikmah or Al-Qalam. Universities should sourcefor students and not JAMBproviding markets for them in thename of redistribution especiallyto private universities that may be

having accreditation problems. Inany case, if a student is forced toabandon a public university wherethe fees might not be more thanN100,000 for a private one withover N1 million as fees, who paysthe difference?

Tertiary education is becomingincreasingly expensive and thereare indigent students who mayneed to make some income to payfees. If JAMB throws such acandidate from commerciallyviable Lagos to Ilara Mokin, itwould be denying such a youth,access to education. In any case,there are varied reasons whypeople chose particularinstitutions. In my case, my herowhen I was in secondary school wasProfessor Wole Soyinka and myambition was to learn at his feet.So I not only decided to go to Ife(now OAU) but to the Departmenthe was head.

I was in the first set that tookJAMB. So I am a pioneer jambite.Before then, each university

conducted its concessionalexaminations and admittedstudents of its choice. UnderJAMB, candidates picked theuniversity of their choice and asecond choice. If he is not admittedfor his choice course, he can applyfor a change of course in hisuniversity of first choice or canapply to the second choice.

The law establishing JAMB givesit the responsibility for conductingmatriculation examinations foradmission into all tertiaryinstitutions. Along the way, JAMBwas clearly compromised as itadmitted students that should nothave been admitted. For theuniversities, it became a case ofgarbage in, garbage out. So theyrevolted and in defiance of JAMB’spowers, decided to screencandidates sent by the regulatorybody by conducting their ownindependent examinations whichis the UMTE. So the UMTE isactually an indictment of JAMB,a protest against its sloppiness anda vote of no confidence in the body.In a sense therefore, the UMTE isthe antithesis of JAMB, andcandidates who must pay to sitboth examinations, are victims ofthe politicisation of education.

But JAMB itself is a victim of theunitary system imposed on acountry whose constitution falselyproclaims it a federation. Thecentral government imposes onJAMB a criteria for admissionbased on 45 percent merit and 55percent politics; 35 percent basedon ‘Catchment Area’ that is forcandidates from statessurrounding the university of firstchoice, and 20 percent forcandidates from states adjudged tobe ‘Educationally Disadvantaged’.So for instance, if two studentsfrom the same house, attending thesame school, with one from ImoState, and the other from EbonyiState take the JAMB examination

into UNILAG, the Ebonyicandidate, even where he is lessbrilliant, has a clear advantageand far higher possibility of beingadmitted. The candidate fromBayelsa State has the same unfairadvantage over his brother fromDelta State, and a candidate fromBornu State has a greater chanceof being admitted into UNILAGthan her sister from Ondo State.

So apart from being chaotic, ouradmission system, discouragesmerit, promotes mediocrity,ethnicity, regionalism, andcontrary to our constitution,discriminates. It also promotesfraud, as desperate candidates willclaim to come from these‘disadvantaged’ states.Disadvantaged after 55 years ofindependence and trillions ofNaira in federal allocations!

Increasingly in our universityadmission process, merit isbecoming an orphan; the othercriteria such as Catchment Area,Educationally Disadvantaged,JAMB list, Council list, VC list,Senate list, Dean list, are now thedeterminants for admission. Theskewed and non-transparentadmission system teaches ouryouths that merit does not matter;it is not what you know, but whoyou know.

We need urgent remedialmeasures. Some of these includeallowing tertiary institutions withinsufficient post UMTEcandidates, to reopen admissionfor qualified candidates and,reviewing admission criteria infavour of merit. It is alsonecessary to cut the huge fat ofubiquitous JAMB by stripping itof the power to conductexaminations, and making itessentially, a regulatory agencywhile the tertiary institutionsconduct independentconcessional examinations.

Increasingly inour universityadmissionprocess, merit isbecoming anorphan; the othercriteria such asCatchment Area,EducationallyDisadvantaged,JAMB list, Councillist, VC list,Senate list, Deanlist, are now thedeterminants foradmission

Can the price ofpleasing a relative beworth the destructionof a nationalinstitution like INEC?


OPINION

CMYK

Dogara’s expensive price for peace

NNPC, missing funds and subsidy debacleNNPC, missing funds and subsidy debacleNNPC, missing funds and subsidy debacleNNPC, missing funds and subsidy debacleNNPC, missing funds and subsidy debacleBy Usman Sanni

THESE are certainly not the best of times for the NigerianNational Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). From

allegations of non-remittance of oil revenue to those ofoperating above the laws of the land and constituting itselfas a parallel government to the Federal Government ofNigeria, the anti-NNPC sentiments have come full-cycleand assumed the dimension of a mob action with the recentcall by Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State to “killNNPC”.

As is usually the case in every mob situation, objectivityand truth have been sacrificed even by those who havebeen given the assignment to investigation allegations offinancial malfeasance against the NNPC by the NationalEconomic Council. But try as we may to deny the reality ofthe financial situation that is upon our country by engagingin a mob action against NNPC or any other institution orpersonalities, the truth is that the days of oil boom are over(at least for now) and the earlier Nigerians (especially thosein government) wake up to that reality with a view to takingresponsibility to diversify the economy and developalternative revenue sources for the country, the better forus all.

It is a known fact that since the last quarter of 2014 theprice of crude oil, the major export and revenue earner forthe country, has been falling. From about $95 per barrel inSeptember 2014, the price dropped to about $85 (adifference of $10) in October that same year. This trend hasbeen sustained over this period with the unfortunate

IT is no longer news that peace hasfinally been restored in our House of

Representatives. The Senate and Houseof Reps can now settle down and attendto the heavy workload that hasaccumulated in the past two months.But before we proceed with business asusual, we must take note of some of theworrisome and unsavoury things thedeal for peace left in its wake. First, letus recapture the issue in brief.

On June 9th,2015, the Senate andHouse of Representatives wereinaugurated following the lettertransmitted by President MuhammaduBuhari to that effect. The new ruling party,the All Progressives Congress (APC), hadwanted to take control of the leadershipof the National Assembly by sponsoringsome favoured senators and honourablemembers as presiding and principalofficers of the Senate and House. In orderto make it look democratically done, theyconducted what they called “primaries”among APC federal lawmakers-elect. Theresult conformed to a script written byAsiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, who is oftenreferred to as the “National Leader” ofthe APC, though there is no such post inthe party’s constitution.

Long before the “primaries”, Tinubuhad wanted the Senate President zonedto Senator Ahmed Lawan from the NorthEast zone, while Senator George Akumefrom North Central was picked forDeputy President of the Senate. For theHouse, he wanted his longstandingacolyte, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila tobecome the Speaker, while Hon. TahirMonguno would be his Deputy.

But political nemesis caught withTinubu. A script he wrote to makenonsense of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) power sharing formula in the Houseof Reps in 2011 through the activecollaboration of Gbajabiamila as theMinority Leader came back to haunt himwhen his party became the ruling party.Tinubu had triumphantly installed Hon.Waziri Tambuwal as the Speaker insteadof Hon. Mulikat Akande, whom PDP hadwanted as Speaker to ensure that theSouth West zone benefited from theiroverall zoning formula. Tinubu’sintervention had left the South West withnothing while the North West and SouthEast got more than their share of positionsin the Federal legislature. PDP had toconsole Akande and the South West withthe post of House Leader.

Tinubu had preened after that feat, andsent Gbajabiamila to address a pressconference to hail Tambuwal’semergence as the triumph of “merit” overzoning.

Tinubu (and by extension the APC’s)candidates for Senate President and Deputy

were defeated by Senators Bukola Sarakiand PDP Senator, Ike Ekweremadu. Theywent on to lose the positions of Senate Leaderand Deputy, but the APC “rebels” concededthe post of Majority Whip (Senator SolaAdeyeye) to them. In further trouncing,their choices for Speaker of the House ofReps also lost to Hon. Yakubu Dogara andHon. Yussuf Lasun. Tinubu and APC couldno longer stomach the humiliation andprepared to “hang” proceedings in theHouse of Representatives unless they wereallowed to install Gbajabiamila as theHouse Leader.

However, Dogara initially concededthe positions of House Leader, Deputy,Chief Whip and Deputy to theGbajabiamila group but on thecondition that those to occupy thepositions must not come from the SouthWest and North East, which had alreadytaken up the posts of Speaker and Deputyin the House. Dogara pushed forcompliance with the principle of FederalCharacter, which has always been obeyedin composing the leadership of the Senateand House of Representatives since 1999.He wanted the South East to beaccommodated by conceding the positionof Deputy Chief Whip to a non-ranking

Rep from Imo State, while also allowingthe South-South, North Central and NorthWest to share the rest of the remainingpositions. This was the formula for equitywhich, the constitution affirms, isnecessary for national unity, stability anda sense of belonging for all.

Tinubu and his supporters wrapped theirinsistence of giving Gbajabiamila theHouse Leader position in the mantra of“party supremacy”, and made it sound likea refusal to oblige this demand wouldamount to the utter defeat of “the party”by APC “rebels” in cahoots with their PDPconfederates.

After two months of an impasse that didnot seem ready to abate, the buckreturned to the table of the Leader of theAPC, President Buhari. Those who werein doubt as to who is the real leader of theparty have now gotten the answer to theirconfusion: Buhari IS the supreme Leaderof the APC. If the tussle were left to Dogaraand Tinubu’s Gbajabiamila alone, Dogarawould have successfully divided the ranksof the “Loyalists” by installing AdoDoguwa as House Leader. The defeat ofTinubu in this power struggle in bothchambers of the National Assembly wouldhave been complete.

Buhari had to abandon his perceivedneutral position to throw his weightbehind Tinubu, the man who helpedcreate the historic merger that made theAPC an attractive platform for the PDPrebels to join and snatch power from thePDP. Buhari’s widely applaudedneutrality exposed Tinubu’s politicalAchilles Heels and showed him to beanything but invincible in calling theshots in the APC as erroneously held insome quarters. It was the power of thePresidency that loosened Dogara’sclenched fist and forced him to hand overthe House principal posts to Gbajabiamila– and Tinubu.

In siding with Tinubu, Buhari helpedbring “peace” to the House. Everybody,including us, the helpless onlookers, hadgotten tired of the fighting. But this peacehas come with a heavy price: the APCfailed to find space for the South East. Theexclusion of the zone, which started withthe presidential appointments so far, hasnow been extended to the Federalparliament. If not for the PDP and someAPC liberals and patriots, there would beno one from the South East in the Senateand House of Reps leadership.

Funny: some think it does not matter.But it remains a pox on the conscience andtrack records of the president and rulingparty that in their first 100 days, one ofthe six zones of the country wasshamelessly, arrogantly, wickedly andunconstitutionally excluded fromgovernment.

consequence of dwindling oil revenue flow into the nation’scoffers for onward distribution to the Federal, states andlocal government tiers of government as has been theculture. But rather than look for creative ways of shoringup national revenues in the face of dwindling oil prices, allthat we have seen so far is the demonisation of the revenuegenerating agency for the oil sector, the NNPC.

This is not meant to be a defense for the national oilcorporation that has been hobbled by years of governmentinterference and scandals. It is rather a call for a barefacedand critical look at the situation on ground with a view toaverting the calamity the nation is certain to fall into if wechose to continue on the path of trading blames instead ofrolling up our sleeves to work to build a prosperous nation.This work should include, of course, recovering every pennymisappropriated by NNPC or any other institution orpersonality and meting out appropriate sanction on themto serve as deterrent. But it should not be restricted to thatas the mob action against NNPC tends to suggest.

This is because, at the end of the day, it would be discoveredthat much of the so-called unremitted or missing oil revenuefor which the Corporation is being pilloried emanated fromthe federal government policy of fuel subsidy which it hasto implement. This much has been stated by NNPC in thepast when it contended that it was erroneous for Nigeriansto talk about missing oil money when it (NNPC) is saddledwith the uneconomic task of bringing in kerosene and petrolat the cost of N100 and above per litre and selling at N50and N87 per litre. The huge loss resulting from this is whatis referred to as fuel subsidy. Ironically, while Nigerians,

including the government, insist on having fuel subsidy, theyturn around to label the cost of the subsidy as unremitted oilrevenue or missing oil money and castigate NNPC for it. Thiswas why a former Group Managing Director of theCorporation, Engr. Andrew Yakubu, once declared that if oilmoney was missing, then it got missing in the pockets ofNigerians who bought kerosene and petrol at less than thecost price.

Other components of the unremitted or missing oilrevenue, according to the explanations offered by NNPC,are the losses arising from crude oil and products theft andlosses during the frequent cases of pipeline breaks. But tothe Nigerian public, including those in government, it isconvenient to charge these losses to NNPC insisting thatthey are unremitted revenue or missing funds.

When the price of oil was high enough to guarantee asizeable allocation to the various tiers of government, thehuge losses were not noticeable or were rather overlooked.But with dwindling oil revenues on the back of falling oilprices, the losses have suddenly become very noticeablelike a sore thumb. But rather than look at themdispassionately and think up ways of cutting the losses whileat the same time creatively diversifying the economy tobreak away from dependence on oil revenue, all we havebeen treated to is the anger and fury of a mob.

Sadly, mob action is not known to solve any problem,much less the gargantuan type that is starring us in theface. Now is the time for us to think and come up withsolutions to the dwindling oil revenues and the mono-economy anchored on oil before our march on the road toGreece gets to an irreversible point.

•Mr. Sanni, an oil & gas consultant, wrote from Abuja.

It was the power of thePresidency thatloosened Dogara’sclenched fist andforced him to handover the Houseprincipal posts toGbajabiamila – andTinubu

THE shocking news of theassassination attempt on the

governorship candidate of the AllProgressives Grand Alliance (APGA) inAbia State in the April elections, Dr. AlexOtti filtered out penultimate Friday.

Gunmen had attacked his Maitamaguest house, Abuja, in the dead of thenight. Otti had spent the week there andleft just a day before the assassinsarrived. A policeman on duty wasreportedly killed during the attack, andthe whole house was ransacked.

Though Otti is not pointing accusingfingers at anyone, opting for the policeto fish out the perpetrators, the attempton his life is suspected to be politicallymotivated, given the atmosphere underwhich the election took place in AbiaState and the ongoing election tribunalproceedings in Umuahia.

The police and other security agenciesmust expose the perpetrators and bringthem to justice, more so as life was lost.Unmasking the culprits will help deterfuture attempts on others. The securityagencies have a duty to protect allpoliticians, especially those with casesat the tribunals because desperateopponents will always be tempted tobelieve they can short-circuit justice bytaking the law into their hands.

Otti should not be deterred. The taskof unravelling the true winner of theAbia governorship election must beconcluded and affirmed according tolaw.

Gunning afterAlex Otti


Wike promises to deliver Unity road in one year

Ex-N-Delta minister, 2 accountantsin trouble over missing N1.5bn cash

By Soni Daniel, RegionalEditor, North

Discrimination against Albinos wicked—IDUORIEYEKEMWEN

A'Ibommoves toboost foodproduction

By Jimitota Onoyume

BOKO HARAM:

Badeh'sconfession,timely—REP

WARRI SHOOTING: Group seeks prosecutionof NURTW members, sponsors

By Emma Amaize

By Chioma Onuegbu

ABUJA—THE withdrawal ofof N1.5 billion from the

account of the Ministry of NigerDelta Affairs with the CentralBank of Nigeria, CBN, and whatthe money was used for are someof the questions the Office of theHead of Service of the Federationand security agencies arecurrently trying to unravel witha view to retrieving the funds andbringing those who stole the cashto book.

In connection with the saidmoney, two senior accountants inthe Ministry of Niger DeltaAffairs have already beenqueried and suspended fromoffice pending the conclusion ofinvestigation into their roles inthe alleged theft of the fund.

Vanguard learned thatalthough the two officerspromptly responded to the queryby pleading that they weresimply carrying out their dutiesas civil servants, the ministryimmediately suspended them,rejecting their excuse.

They had argued that theywithdrew the money based onthe instruction of superiorauthorities and that as civilservants they could not havedisobeyed their ‘superiors’ whoasked them to make the saidamount available for official use.

The amount in question wasreportedly taken in twowithdrawals on the instructionsof senior political aide, claiming

to be working on the directives ofa top presidency bigwig.

The first sum of N605 millionwithdrawn by a minister from theaccount of the ministry wentmissing after being withdrawnfrom the CBN and is the subjectof investigation by theIndependent Corrupt Practicesand Other Related OffencesCommission, ICPC, whileanother withdrawal of over N800million attracted the attention ofthe HoS which queried the twoaccountants and finallysuspended them.

There were indications that thesuspended accountants hadnamed those who were behindthe cash withdrawals and hadtried to exonerate themselves fromthe deal.

It was learned that the FederalGovernment is bent on inviting aformer minister in the ministeryto appear before its anti-corruption bodies to explain hisrole in the missing cash.

Already, one of the formerministers and close confidant offormer President GoodluckJonathan, Elder Godsday

Orubebe, has been questionedby the ICPC and freed by thecommission.

The former minister claimedthat he had already resignedbefore the cash went missingand that he never asked anyoneto withdraw such amount forhim, knowing that it wasagainst service regulations.

Already, the Presidency hasbeen given a brief on thefinances of the ministry and theroles played by some seniorpolitical actors in the dying daysof the last administration.

UYO—AKWA IBOMState Government,

yesterday, said it willprovide the rightintervention for farmers inorder to increase the levelof food production in thestate.

The state Commissionerfor Agriculture and MineralResources, Dr MatthewEkaette, who made thedisclosure at a three-daystakeholders meeting inUyo, said that the currentadministration wasdetermined to fast trackingagricultural developmentthrough partnership withthe private sector.

WARRI—A House ofRepresentatives

member, Daniel Reyenieju,has described the statementcredited to the former Chiefof Defence Staff, Air ChiefMarshal Alex Badeh, thathe (Badeh) headed amilitary which lacked the“relevant equipment andmotivation to fight anenemy that was invisibleand embedded within thelocal populace,” as timelyand a brazen display ofhonesty and sincerity by agentleman and an officer.

Reyenieju, who iscurrently the Vice Chairmanof the African Branch of theC o m m o n w e a l t hParliamentary Union, saidthat such a statementcoming from the formerCDS could not be ignoredby the present leadershipof the Nigerian military inview of the ongoing courtmarshal, including theearlier convictions andconsequent sentencing todeath of some soldiers overalleged breach of militaryrules in the ongoing waragainst insurgents in someparts of the country.

He noted that this"confession’ has brought inmoral questions as to thenecessity and morality ofthe present trial when anindividual, who was incharge of the military andconsequently operationsagainst the insurgent hasopenly told the world that“Our soldiers were ill-equipped, including beingvictims of fifth columnistswithin the army itself.”

PORT HARCOURT—GOVERNOR Nyesom Wike

of Rivers State has promised todeliver the long abandonedUnity Road that connects Opoboand Nkoro communities in thestate within one year.

It will be recalled that formerGovernor Peter Odili awardedcontract for the road in 2005 andit was abandoned after hisadministration.

Wike who spoke weekend saidhis government will ensurecompletion of the road.

“I did say that if you give usyour mandate, one thing wepromise you is that you will drivefrom Port Harcourt to your houses.These roads have beenabandoned for many years, I havecome and I have seen themmyself. I am assuring you to gohome and sleep with your twoeyes closed. I will look for moneywherever to repair this road andin one year’s time, you will bedriving on this road.

"This road is key, for me anypromise I make to people, I oweit a duty to fulfil it and that is whyI came to this road today to tellyou to play your own part.

“Now that your son has come,

BENIN CITY—FORMEREdo State representative on

the Board on the Niger DeltaDevelopment Commission,NDDC, Mr MatthewIduoriyekemwen, has describedas wicked and ungodly,stigmatization against Albinos inthe society.

WARRI—CENTRE for theVulnerable and

Underprivileged, CENTREP,Warri Delta State, has called onthe state Commissioner of Police,Mr. Alkali Usman, to arrest andput on trial, members of theNational Union of Road TransportWorkers, NURTW, Uvwie chapter,who shot and injured two police

I am not the Commissioner ofWorks, but governor of RiversState. I have come to say that allof you will drive your cars on this

road,” he said.In a related development, the

governor has signed amemorandum of understanding,

MoU, with the Nigeria PortsAuthority, NPA, to rehabilitateIndustry Road, leading to thePorts in Port Harcourt.

officers, last week, as well as theirsponsors.

CENTREP in a statement by itsExecutive Director, Mr.Oghenejabor Ikimi, said that someNURTW members, who wereprotesting the emergence of oneAriyo Francis as chairman,caused mayhem in Effurun, asthey not only shot an AssistantSuperintendent of Police andSergeant, but assaulted and

manhandled innocentcommuters and commercialdrivers.

He said: “We condemn sameas pure evil and call on theDelta State Commissioner ofPolice, Usman to immediatelyensure that all the persons andsponsors of the above mayhem arearrested and prosecuted in our lawcourts to serve as a deterrent to othermembers and their wouldbe sponsors."

By Simon Ebegbulem He noted that deficiency ofmaintaining pigment was not self-imposed, therefore, it wouldamount to insensitivity for Albinosto be discriminated against.

Iduoriyekemwen, who also isone of those gunning for thegovernorship election in EdoState come 2016, under thePeoples Democratic Party, PDP,

stated this weekend, when theForum of Nigerian Albinosbacked his 2016 ambition at arally in Auchi.

Speaking at a seminarorganised by the forum, he saidlike other people in the society,Albinos can compete favourablyin any field with others andtherefore, wondered whypeople should discriminateagainst them.

VISIT—From left: Kingsley Otuaro, Deputy Governor, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of DeltaState and Dr. Kemi Emina, National President, University of Ibadan Alumni Association,UIAA during a visit to the governor in Asaba, Delta State. Photo: Photo Nath Onojake.


CMYK

46—VANGUARD, MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

By Emmanuel Aziken,Political Editor

THE crisis in the APC wasblown open by the

divergent positions taken bysome prominent party leadersahead of the June 9 leadershipcontests in the two chambers ofthe National Assembly.

National party leader,Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubuaccording to sources,apparently reading the bodylanguage of PresidentMuhammadu Buhari hadsacrificed his own project toelect Senator George Akume asSenate President thrown his hatfor the aspiration of SenatorAhmad Lawan, who it wasbelieved had the support of thepresident.

That belief was underpinnedby the support for Lawan fromthe Katsina senators and thosebelieved to be close to thepresident.

Presidentialconvention

That was despite the wellorchestrated campaign bySenator Bukola Saraki whoimmediately after the March 28National Assembly electionswritten all the APC senators-elect congratulating them andseeking their support.

Even before that election,Saraki’s ambition wasreportedly also made known toparty leaders, especially duringthe presidential convention.

In the House ofRepresentatives, the Buharieffect was of little effect. Rather,the immediate past speaker ofthe House, Aminu WaziriTambuwal was believed to haveinitiated the Dogara project torun on a joint ticket withGbajabiamila.

Dogara, it was gathered was,however, snubbed by apowerful party chieftain fromLagos State. Even moreTambuwal’s plan for Dogaraand Gbajabiamila to run on ajoint ticket with either of themleading the pack was jettisonedreportedly on the claim that

CRISES IN THE PARTIES: PDIT was not surprising that when staff of the Peoples

Democratic Party, PDP openly confronted the party’snational leaders over alleged multibillion wastages, thatthe opposition party responded by alleging aninfiltration of its ranks by its political nemesis, the AllProgressives Congress, APC.The PDP claims that the increasing agitation of its

workers is a sponsored attempt by the APC to

APC: Managing the spoils of war

Dogara campaign.The sultanate it was gathered

saw in Dogara, a man that couldbe used to reconcile the farnorth and the northernminorities given the chasmcreated by recent religiouscrises.

It was as such not surprisingthat Dogara held on in the faceof the calculated attacks that

Gbajabiamila preferred to runwith Mohammed Moguno fromBorno State as his runningmate.

The rebuff given Tambuwal,it was learnt, fired him tomobilise more support forDogara from the Northwestwith Zamfara throwing in thehat. Strong rebuff for Dogara,however, came from Kano andJigawa States, apparently onthe instruction of formerGovernor Rabiu Kwankwansowho saw Tambuwal’s hand inthe Dogara project as anattempt to strengthen theformer speaker’s hand in thealleged 2019 presidential race.

Widespreadallegations

Kwankwanso according to asource in the Dogara camp didtheir campaign the worse harm.

All sorts of innuendos werereportedly thrown into by theKwankwanso camp to unsettleDogara and in the eleventhhour, the last joker became thereligious card with widespreadallegations that Dogara was aminority Christian activist.

That was despite the visiblehand of the Sultanate in the

almost unravelled hiscampaign in the few daysbefore the election. Tambuwalwas said to have played a majorrole as a bulwark in thosetrying days.

Tambuwal’s efforts were alsonot helped by the reportedantagonism given the Dogaraproject by another 2019presidential hopeful, Mallam

•Party is divided along the lines of three possible•2019 presidential aspirants•Party structure ill-defined with no formal rolefor leaders of legacy parties.•President Buhari’s political biases remainshrouded leaving party members in confusion-The influence of the PDP in the Senate remainsa concern to party members.

ISSUES Nasir El-Rufai whose NationalAssembly delegation fromKaduna State were almostsolidly behind Gbajabiamila inthe House and behind Lawanin the Senate.

By the time the contest forpresiding officers of theNational Assembly played outwhat emerged in the APC wasa silent collaboration of two2019 potential presidentialaspirants (Tambuwal andSaraki) confronting anothertwo possible presidentialaspirants (El-Rufai andKwankwanso).

Despite recent efforts towardsreconciliation, the party as it isnow, is presently fragmentedalong those lines as leaders puttheir bets on projectingthemselves in the unlikelyevent that President Buharidoes not seek re-election in2019.

•Odigie-Oyegun: Bridging the divides in the ruling party

Tambuwal’s effortswere also nothelped by thereportedantagonism giventhe Dogara projectby another 2019presidentialhopeful, MallamNasir El-Rufai

undermine the coherence of recent criticisms that have beenlobbed at the new ruling party.Indeed, until last week the general picture of the polity

was the crisis in the APC which had seen hitherto politicalallies entrenched in political warfare over control of the twochambers of the National Assembly.While the election victors seemingly threw away the

goodwill with which they came with to power, the PDP had

VANGUARD, MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015—47

DP, APC on the brinka field day ridiculing the ruling party over the circumstancesthat befell it.A sort of sop came the way of the APC last Tuesday when

Speaker Yakubu Dogara sacrificed his stance on federalcharacter principle and projected Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila asthe House Leader bringing to an end the crisis that for 49days consumed the party.The situation in the Senate is, however, yet to abate and it

THE unfolding crisis in thePDP was one that had over

time been covered up on accountof the party’s previous hold of theapparatus of government. Nowdenied of such, the bubble easilyburst given the absence of themixture of power and money thathad until recently kept theworkers and the party leadersunited.

As the crisis in the partynational secretariat deepened atthe weekend it was not surprisingthat elements in the party whohad issues to grind with thenational leaders were observedtrying to stoke the crisis for thepurpose of undermining thepresent leadership.

Chief Olisa Metuh, arguablythe longest serving politicaloperative at the national level ofthe party has become the objectof the attacks against the party.

In the weeks leading to therecent national elections the gulfbetween the national secretariatand the former president hadbecome very visible. Thepresident and his lieutenants forone reason or the other refusedto carry the party leaders along.

PDP: Internal Disloyalty

•Metuh: Have his articulations led him to trouble?

Of the 12 members of theNational Working Committee,NWC, only the national youthleader, Abdullahi HussainiMaiBasira, it seemed, wasaccommodated in the president’splans for re-election.

Luxuryvehicles

That was underpinned by thefact that when brand new SUVswere distributed by thepresident’s campaign team, onlyhim got a pick of the luxuryvehicles.

The assertion that the NWCcould go to hell was not lost onmany of the party officials, manyof whom instead of going to hellwent abroad in the heat of the

campaigns.There were also reports that

Chief Olisa Metuh particularlyfelt bad as he was almost alwaysleft to manage issues that fellfrom the mismanagement of thecampaign by Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, the former antagonist ofDr. Goodluck Jonathan who thethen president shockingly pickedto be his campaign spokesman.

However, central to theunfolding crisis in the party wasthe directive from the nationalsecretariat of the implementationof austerity measures as areaction to the revenue shortfallsinto the party.

In a memo from the nationalsecretary, the party had said:

i.Reduction of the allowancesof all NWC members by 50%.

ii. Reduction of the number ofpersonal staff of the NWCmembers by 50 per cent.

iii. Reduction in the number ofsecurity personnel attached to theNational Officers by 50 per cent.

iv. The reduction of the salariesand allowances of all staff(Establishment and Staff of NWCmembers) by 50% effectiveAugust, 2015.

v. Abolition of the ResearchDirectorate and transfer of itsfunctions to the PeoplesDemocratic Institute.

Researchdirectorate

“Furthermore, Establishmentstaff who would remain arerequired to obtain individualletter of revalidation from theirState Party Chapter within onemonth of this circular as to theirsuitability for service at theNational Secretariat.”

The proposal for staff to obtainrevalidation letters from theirstate chapters was one seen as away of sacking them from theparty given the fact that some ofthe national secretariat staff havebeen on loggerheads with theirstate chapters.

A case in point is a nationalsecretariat staff whose brother, isa prominent member of the APCand had in the past supportedthe brother’s campaigns at homewhile supporting the PDP at thenational level.

Given Metuh’s prominent rolein the present leadership of the

PDP and the banishment of somenational leaders who had in therecent past fallen out with him, itis not surprising that externalinfluence is being inputted forthe crisis that is swirling aroundhim.

Some have traced the externalinfluence to some PDP leadersin Anambra State who weredissatisfied with the outcome ofthe recent congresses that sawMetuh in dominant control of theparty in the state.

Others have also traced thedevelopment to the faceoffbetween the party and the APCover the issue of the appointmentof its new director general withthe assertion that the DSS mayhave prompted the action.

Metuh's conspiracy theorySpeaking on the issue

yesterday, Metuh was quick topoint at a conspiracy.

“For me it is more than acoincidence that issues like thesewould come up when we havegained the momentum on theruling party and thegovernment.

If the Publicity Department ismaking such an inroad on issuesand making alternativeproposals on governmentpolicies and making it hot for theDG of SSS and acting chairmanof INEC, we find it more than acoincidence that the workers whoadministratively have been givenletters by the secretariat for themto undergo a loyalty test becausethere were petitions that some ofthem are hobnobbing with thegovernment, but what do theydo? They turn back against onlyone aspect of the party, thePublicity Department, the onethat is giving the governmenthell and they say, you publicityyou people are not doing well.

So, we find it more than a merecoincidence and that is why weare careful not to engage withthem. Besides, that we believethat most of our workers are loyal.

So we believe that going to thepress is a very wrong thing todo. Ask them when husband andwife are quarrelling, do they takeit to the market place or to theprivate house?

Truly, there is more than a merecoincidence with what they aredoing.

•Lack of transparency in the management ofparty affairs•Party trying desperately to retain relevance•PDP is troubled by crises in many states

ISSUES

However, central tothe unfolding crisisin the party was thedirective from thenational secretariatof theimplementation ofausterity measuresas a reaction to therevenue shortfallsinto the party

is feared that the crisis there could drag on, on account ofmore complicated issues in that chamber.Meanwhile, centre stage is apparently being taken by the

PDP following allegations by its workers of what it claimsto be the mismanagement of billions of naira of party funds.Given the political environment it is not surprising that theallegations are being couched by the opposition party aspolitically instigated by its enemies.


M I C R O S O F TIMAGINE CUP:From left; ObinajuRaymond, TeamLeader, TeamLifeWatch, AdeyemoOluwaseun andAhwin Kevin duringtheir livepresentation at thejust-concluded 2015Microsoft ImagineCup technologycompetition for theglobal students heldin Seattle,Washington. Photo byEmeka Aginam.

A B U J A —THE Ac t ing

Executive Chairman,Federal CharacterCommission, FCC,Alhaji Mohammed BelloAlkali, has called on theNational Assembly tocomply with thecommission’s guidelinesand formula in theprovision of employmento p p o r t u n i t i e s ,distribution ofinfrastructural facilities,s o c i o - e c o n o m i camenities, among others.

Alhaji Alkalimaintained that the callbecame necessarybecause the FederalCharacter Commissioncould not interfere in theactivities of the NationalAssembly saying “It is aninstitution on its own.”

The Acting Chairmansaid “We cannot interferein the national assemblybecause it is aninstitution but we expectthem to respect theNigeria’s constitutionand to also adhere toFederal CharacterCommission Principle.

''In order to achieve ourobjectives in theimplementation of thesecond mandate, thereis need for a nation-wide infrastructuralaudit and data base.''

A B U J A — S E N A T EPresident Bukola Saraki

is moving to make peace with hisadversaries in the Senate byconceding a number of strategicor juicy committee chairmanshipsto them.

Senator Saraki’s moves despitethe overwhelming vote ofconfidence he got from the Senate

last Tuesday Vanguard learnt wasa personal effort to also satisfyofficials of the All ProgressivesCongress, APC and PresidentMuhammadu Buhari who weredissatisfied with the manner heemerged.

The efforts nonetheless, theSaraki caucus may have alsoconceded the chairmanship of theSenate Committee on the Reviewof the Constitution to Senator Ike

Ekweremadu, a position that hastraditionally gone to the holder ofthe office of Deputy SenatePresident.

Influential senators in the Sarakicamp including Senators DinoMelaye, Danjuma Goje and SaniYerima, Vanguard have also beenpencilled down for strategiccommittee positions, a principalofficer confided yesterday. Theyare among ten senators in the

Saraki camp that have beenenlisted for prominent committeepositions.

Saraki’s trouble shooting effortsVanguard learnt were unveiledweekend at a meeting of hisassociates at his Maitamaresidence.

The plea of the Senate Presidentwas, however, not totally acceptedby his loyalists many of whomexpressed reservation withrewarding supporters of SenatorAhmad Lawan after the later andhis group petitioned the policeover issues concerning the 2015Standing Rules of the Senate.

The measure, according to theSenate President, would heal thewound which Lawan and hissupporters are still reportedlycarrying, following their inabilityto realize their ambition ofclinching the Senate presidencyposition.

“I can confirm that a meetingto that effect was held last weekby the Senate President. Thiswas at the instance of supportersof the Senate President, whowere insisting that for allowingus to go through all thathappened here in the Senate,Lawan’s loyalists must betreated as renegades. But todemonstrate his magnanimity,the Senate President asked usall to bury everything thathappened in the past, insistingthat there was no victor in thecontest'', the source said.

Saraki woos Lawan's supporterswith juicy c'ttee positions

By Joseph Erunke

THE Special Adviser toKogi State Governor on

Media and Strategy, Jacob Edi,has said that Governor Wadaremains the main contenderahead of November governorshipelection in the state.

He stated that the governor hasjustified the mandate given him

by Kogi people in 2012.Speaking in an exclusive chat

with Vanguard over the weekend,Edi said the desperation of thoseopposed to the governor ’sreelection was “misplaced andunfortunate.”

He said the governor wasunperturbed by the sponsoredcampaigns against hisadministration.

“Let me reiterate an importantthing here; the governor is notlosing sleep over the spuriouscampaign of calumny sponsoredby selfish and desperateindividuals. Government will notpause the momentum of goodgovernance because of politicsand the administration of Capt.Idris Wada will continue to servethe interest of Kogi people. Thedecision of who becomes the nextgovernor of Kogi State is in thehand of God and the good peopleof the state who have beenappreciative of the governor’sachievements since assumingoffice.

“We have heard a lot of criticismand seen a lot of attempts todiscredit the governor before thepeople. But his achievements arethere for all to see despite thedwindling revenue at hisdisposal. Majority of Kogi peopleare with the governor and nottaken in by the kite of lies beenflown around by the enemiesof the state”, he said.

Mr. Edi said the ruling PDP inthe state remained one family,urging the opposition toconcentrate on their own partiesrather than looking out for crackswithin the ruling party, assuringthat the government will create anenabling environment for a free,fair and credible election.

According to him, “The world isfocusing on Kogi State to seewhether we can improve on ourdemocratic credentials. GovernorIdris Wada is an advocate ofcredibility in the electoral processand will ensure that he creates the

right atmosphere in the state toensure free poll. We cannot affordto disappoint Nigerians and theinternational community in thisregard.”

Edi called on the people of KogiState to be steadfast and avoid beenused by desperate politicians tocause chaos, saying thegovernment was determined toensure that the lives of Kogi peoplewere not endangered due toanyone’s desire for power.

He said the governor had madeit clear that his supportersshould stay clear of violence.

Wada remains candidate to beat in Kogi — JACOB EDI

By Funmi Olasupo

Respectfederalcharacterprinciples,FCC bosstells NASS

C O T O N O U —P R E S I D E N T

Muhammadu Buhari weekendsaid his government wouldreduce the number of ministriescurrently in existence but did not,however, give a specific numberof the ministries he would retain.

This is the first time thepresident would be making adirect public statement on theissue, believed to have beennecessitated by therecommendation of Ahmed JodaCommittee.

President Buhari gave theinsight while answeringquestions from Nigerians residentin Benin Republic during his one-day official visit to the country.

Responding to a request by

Nigerians to establish two or moreconsulates in the country, thePresident said: “I think I will directyour ambassador to make therequest to the Ministry of ForeignAffairs so that by the time we aredoing the next budget, it wouldbe included.

‘’Although we are trying to cutdown on the number of ministries,the morale of Nigerians in diasporamust be considered. This isbecause we are so many. We areaggressive whether in business orother facets of life. So, we will doeverything possible to look afterNigerians wherever they are.”

He also told the Nigeriansnot be in a haste to returnhome, saying it wouldcompound the problems athome as there were no jobs toimmediately engage them.

We'll reduce number ofMinistries —BUHARIBy Levinus Nwabughiogu

CMYK

ABUJA—THE NigeriaExtractive Industry

Transparency Initiative, NEITI,yesterday, called on the FederalGovernment to unbundle theNigerian National PetroleumCorporation, NNPC, and alsoundertake a speedy and far-reaching reform of the country’sextractive industry.

NEITI, in a statement in Abuja,after a delegation of itsmanagement visited GovernorNasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State,also lamented the over-reliance ofstates on oil revenues and proceedsfrom the federation account.

Executive Secretary of NEITI,

Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, who led thedelegation, solicited the support ofEl-Rufai to ensure theimplementation of findings andrecommendations contained inNEITI Audit reports, especially inthe areas of reforming theextractive industry.

According to Ahmed, the NNPCshould be unbundled, while thenew sub-business units should becommercialised to free the NNPCfrom regulatory functions.

She reiterated NEITI’s call for agradual phasing out of the subsidyscheme, lamenting that thescheme, which was designed tobenefit Nigerians had become adrain pipe of government revenueby a few privileged individuals.

NEITI calls for unbundling of NNPC

By Michael Eboh


Nasarawa Assembly suspends Clerk over allegedfraudulent withdrawal of N1m

Scores killed, houses razed in freshBorno village attacks

By Ndahi Marama

INFERTILITY: Hospital halves cost of IVF

NEMArepatriates620 NigerianrefugeesfromCameroon

By Abel Daniel

BENUE KILLINGS: Moro urges 24-hoursurveillance of vulnerable communities

By Peter Duru

By Ndahi Marama

MAKURDI—BOTHEREDby the unending killings in

Benue North East senatorialdistrict which recently claimed thelife of an elder statesman, ChiefAtoza Ihindan, immediate pastMinister of Interior, Mr. AbbaMoro, has urged 24 hours securitypatrols and surveillance ofvulnerable communities in thestate.

Moro, who also called for an

LAFIA—NASARAWA StateHouse of Assembly has

suspended the clerk of theAssembly, Ego Maikeffi, overalleged fraudulent withdrawalof N1 million from the coffersof the House withoutapproval.

Abubakar Kana, of AllProgressives Congress, APC,who represents Kokona Westin his submission on the floor ofthe House, raised alarm over theunlawful transaction by the clerkwithout prior approval by theHouse.

Consequently, the Houseunanimously directed theassistant clerk,Ibrahim Musa, toact as the clerk, pending theinvestigation of the matter by acommittee of the House.

The clerk, besides unilateralwithdrawal of N1 million, wasalso accused of insurbordinationin the discharge of his duty sincehe took over as the clerk,following the demise of the formerclerk, Moses Ondaki.

The speaker, IbrahimAbdullahi, directed the Assistantclerk to take over from theembattled clerk.

The House members alsoexpressed anger over the delayin the payment of teachers andlocal government workers

L A G O S — R E P R I E V Emay have come the way of

Nigerians seeking children asSt. Ives Specialist Hospital,Lagos, has again slashed thecost of its In-VitroFertilisation, IVF, by 50 percent.

Every year, the hospital, incollaboration with Ives

M A I D U G U R I —SUSPECTED members

of Boko Haram sect last Saturdayevening invaded Malari villageof Konduga Local GovernmentArea of Borno State, killing scoresof residents after setting ablazehouses.

The insurgents, according tosources, also looted food itemsand loaded same into somevehicles they snatched from thevillagers before they fled intoSambisa forest.

Malari village borders someparts of Sambisa forest, a fortifiedcamp of terrorists and about 20kilometres away from Maiduguri,the state capital.

The incident, according tosecurity source, came at a timetroops had been combing somestrategic points of Sambisa toconfront terrorists in theirhideouts.

Fleeing residents of Malarivillage told Vanguard that theinsurgents were not many as asthey came into the communitywith three motorcycles fullyarmed with AK47 rifles and petrolbombs, shoot at anyone on sight.

Sources in Maiduguri,particularly those who residealong Tashan Bama road andUniversity of Maiduguri, said on

MAIDUGURI—THENational Emergency

Management Agency,NEMA, yesterday,repatriated over 600Nigerian refugees who fledto Cameroonian bordertowns of Fotokol, Amchideand Maroua, followingrecent Boko Haram attackson Gambouru, Banki,Dikwa and Banki thatclaimed many lives andproperties in Borno State.

The refugees, accordingto North East ZonalCoordinator of the agency,Alhaji Mohmmed Kanar,took refuge in threeCameroonian towns andvillages, since they fled tothe Cameroonian borderareas of Gambouru andBanki for safety early thisyear and last month.

“The Gamboururesidents, includingwomen and children, hadfled because of BokoHaram incessant attacks ontheir communities and theyhad no other means ofescape but through theCameroonian-Nigerianborder bridge, beforereaching Fotokol and twoother towns in Cameroonon foot.

“The refugees could havebeen repatriated since theyfled, but because ofinsecurity in the bordersareas and protocols ofrepatriating the fleeingresidents had to be followedand coordinated, beforeNEMA repatriated 620Nigerians through Sahudaroute in Cameroon andMubi in Adamawa Statethis week,” said Kanar in atelephone interviewyesterday in Maiduguri.

On the resettlement ofrefugees, Kanar, however,said: “As I speak to you now,the first batch of refugees inover half dozen buses, arebeing screened by militaryand immigration personnelat the military post ofNjimtilo, along theDamaturu-Maiduguriroad.”

The military screening,according to him, was toensure that they weregenuine returningrefugees from Cameroon,before they could beresettled at Gubio roadInternally DisplacedPersons, IDPs, camp inMaiduguri.

Sunday morning that they sawmany military patrol vehiclesconveying the dead and theinjured ones to undisclosedhospitals in Maiduguri.

Another source from Mairiward of Maiduguri Metropoliswho gave his name as AliyuMusa, told Vanguard on phonethat he sighted many membersof the civilian JTF and troops

heading towards Konduga atabout 10am on Sunday.

He said: “I was at the main roadleading to Konduga when I sawmany vehicles conveying troopsand civilian JTF, and when Ibecame inquisitive, I learned thatthey were heading to Malarivillage to rescue the victims ofBoko Haram attack which tookplace in the community on

Saturday evening.”When contacted, the Deputy

Director, Army Public Relations,Colonel Tukur Gusau, in a textmessage told Vanguard, “I willget back to You.”

The Police Commissioner, Mr.Aderemi Opadokun, did notrespond to a text message sentto his cell phone at the time ofthis report.

salaries.The House called on the state

government and Nasarawa StateUniversal Basic Education,

NSUBEB, to expedite action inthe payment of workers salariesy,especially those at the localgovernment level.

immediate and definable actionon the part of the stategovernment to arrest andprosecute all the masterminds ofthe killings, spoke to reportersyesterday in Otukpo.

He said: “From the beginningI said that the increased wave ofkillings certainly could not beordinary, and we will not take theexcuse of armed banditry orrobbery for it.

“If you look at the circumstancessurrounding the killings, they

looked premeditated andorchestrated and they weretaken in turns and it was not acoincidence that only membersof the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, are being killed.

“It is certainly theresponsibility of the AllProgressives Congress, APC,administration in the state totake responsibility for thesituation that is on ground and ensure the security of thepeople."

By Chioma Obinna Medicare Foundation, strivesto make In-Vitro Fertilization,IVF, treatments affordable andaccessible to indigentNigerians in need of children.

The annual 50 per centdiscount was hatched in 2010and has helped thousands inthe past six years.

Commenting on theinitiative, the Director of thehospital, Dr. Babatunde

Okewale, said St Ivesidentified cost as a majorfactor militating againststemming incidences ofinfertility in Nigeria.According to him, "thisinformed the reason thehospital has resolved tocontinually make IVFaccessible and affordable tocouples."

SIGNING OF MOU: From left; Acting Consul General, US Embassy, Nigeria, DehabGhereab, President/Chief Executive, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, and Deputy Director,US Trade and Development Agency, USTDA, Enoh T. Ebong, at the signing of Memorandumof Understanding, MoU, between Dangote Oil Refinery and USTDA in Lagos.

CMYK

50 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

Obama to unveil ‘biggeststep ever’ in climate fight

US President BarackObama will today

unveil what he called the“biggest, most importantstep we’ve ever taken” tofight climate change, a sen-sitive issue central to hislegacy.

The White House will re-lease the final version ofAmerica’s Clean PowerPlan, a set of environmen-tal rules and regulationsthat will home in on the pol-lution from the nation’s ex-isting power plants, settinglimits on power-plant car-bon emissions for the firsttime.

Laying out how climatechange is a threat to theeconomy, health, wellbeingand security of America,and adding that time wasof the essence, Obama said

in a video released earlySunday: “Climate change isnot a problem for anothergeneration. Not anymore.”

“Power plants are the sin-gle biggest source of harm-ful carbon pollution that con-tributes to climate change,”added Obama, who made

the battle against climatechange a core promise of his2008 election campaign.

“But until now there havebeen no federal limits to theamount of that pollution thatthose plants can dump intothe air.”

No clues linking new debris to MH370

A fevered hunt for morewreckage from miss-

ing flight MH370 on LaReunion island turned upno new clues Sunday asauthorities said metallicdebris found by locals didnot come from an airplane.

However Malaysiaurged authorities in theIndian Ocean region to beon the lookout for debriswashing up on theirshores as hope flared apiece of a Boeing 777 wingcould help solve one of

aviation’s greatest myster-ies.

Locals on La Reunion is-land have been combingthe shores since the wingpart was found last Wednes-day, handing over bits ofwhat they believe to bewreckage to police.

On Sunday morning sev-eral pieces of debrissparked excitement, one ofwhich was believed by lo-cals to be from a plane door.

However investigatorsquickly shot down hopes.

Malaysian Director Gen-eral of Civil AviationAzharuddin AbdulRahman who is in Francefor the analysis of the wingpart, told AFP one item“was actually from a do-mestic ladder. It is not adoor.”

And a source close to theinvestigation in Paris said“no object or debris likelyto come from a plane” hadbeen placed into evidenceyesterday.

Kerry assures allies Iran deal makesMiddle East ‘safer’

US Secretary of StateJohn Kerry sought to

assure Middle East alliesSunday that the Iran nuclear deal would makethem safer, as he began aregional tour in Egypt.

Kerry met his counter-part Sameh Shoukry topatch up troubled relationsbetween the two countrieswith a pledge of support.

He later met PresidentAbdel Fattah al-Sisi, andwas also scheduled to flyto Qatar to meet Gulf Arabcounterparts.

Egypt and other re-gional states such as SaudiArabia are suspicious ofIran, which they see asbent on destabilisingthem.

“There can be absolutelyno question that if the Vi-enna plan is fully imple-mented, it will makeEgypt and all the countriesof this region safer thanthey otherwise would be orwere,” Kerry told a joint

news conference withShoukry.

“The United States andEgypt recognise that Iran isengaged in destabilisingactivities in the region —and that is why it is so im-portant to ensure that Iran’snuclear programme re-mains wholly peaceful,” hesaid.

Calais Crisis: Hundreds ofMigrants Storm Channel Tunnel

HUNDREDS of migrants stormed the

Channel Tunnel over-night, pulling downfences before being haltedfrom crossing to Britain byriot police using chemicalspray.

Around 200 migrantsbroke through several lay-ers of security before ap-proaching the tunnel en-trance.

As the migrants scram-bled down to the finalfence line, dozens of po-

lice arrived to back up themilitary, using chemicalirritant

The migrants and secu-rity forces faced off forclose to an hour, with themigrants shouting slo-gans including: “Openthe border” and “We arenot animals”.

One of those trying tobreak in to the tunnel rail-head said he had heardthat the UK was about touse the Army and it wastheir last chance.

•Obama

Burundi in crisis as top generalassassinated

A top Burundian general and right-hand

man to President PierreNkurunziza was killedin a rocket attack on hiscar yesterday, promptingfears of further instabil-ity in the crisis-hit coun-try.

A d o l p h eNshimirimana waswidely seen as the cen-tral African nation’s defacto internal securitychief and even consid-ered as the regime’snumber-two.

Police and witnessessaid GeneralNshimirimana’s pick-upwas hit by two rocketsand sprayed with auto-matic gunfire in the capi-tal Bujumbura on Sun-day morning. He waslater confirmed dead,along with his driver.

The presidency’s com-munications chief WillyNyamitwe confirmed thatthe general, a formerarmy chief of staff andintelligence chief, hadbeen killed.

“I have lost a brother,a companion in thestruggle. The sad real-ity is that GeneralAdolphe Nshimirimanais no longer with thisworld,” he said in a mes-

sage posted on Twitter.The assassination

comes just over a weekafter Nkurunziza was de-clared the outright winnerof a controversial presi-dential election, securinga third consecutive term

despite opposition pro-tests and internationalcondemnation.

Nkurunziza’s candi-dacy was condemned asunconstitutional by theopposition and provokedmonths of protests thatleft at least 100 peopledead in a fierce govern-ment crackdown, as wellas an attempted coup inmid-May.

Nshimirimana wasseen as the mastermindbehind the crackdownon the protests as well asa key player in foilingthe coup attempt.

Egyptian court postponesverdict in Al -Jazeerareporters' retrial

AN Egyptian court yesterday postponed for a

second time its verdict in theretrial of three Al-Jazeerajournalists, rescheduling itto August 29 in a move thatsparked widespread criti-cism.

The court had already putoff its much anticipated ver-dict last Thursday becausethe presiding judge HassanFarid was reportedly ill.

Another judge on Sundaysaid the verdict was againdelayed because other de-

fendants in the trial couldnot be brought to the courtfrom their cells.

Australian Peter Greste,Canadian MohamedFahmy and EgyptianBaher Mohamed werejailed last year for “spread-ing false news” in supportof the blacklisted MuslimBrotherhood during cover-age of the turmoil after thearmy ousted Islamist presi-dent Mohamed Morsi in2013.

Fahmy and Greste re-ceived seven-year prisonterms in the original trial,while producer Mohamedwas jailed for 10 years.

While Greste has sincebeen deported, Fahmy,Baher and several otherdefendants were releasedon bail at the start of theretrial. But at least threeother defendants havebeen jailed in separatecases.

“Verdict postponed untilAugust 29th. The audacity& continuous disrespect toour rights is unprec-edented!” Fahmy tweetedafter Sunday’s postpone-ment.

UN peace keeper killed in CAR

A UN peacekeeping soldier was killed and

eight other people injuredin an attack by gunmen inthe Central African Repub-lic’s capital Bangui, a mili-tary source said yesterday.

“The United Nationslaunched an operation bysending out a patrol,” af-ter the Bangui prosecutor’soffice issued an arrest war-rant for a former leader ofthe mainly Muslim Selekarebel alliance, whichseized power in 2013 be-fore being forced to stepaside last year, a UNMINUSCA force officersaid.

“As the (UN) blue helmetsapproached the area, theywere targeted by armed in-dividuals and responded,”the officer told AFP. “Therewas one death on the sideof the MINUSCA blue hel-mets and at least eight otherpeople shot and wounded...A UN force vehicle was se-riously damaged,” headded, without giving a na-tionality for the dead man.

Residents in the KM5 dis-trict where the trouble oc-curred confirmed by phonethat an exchange of fire hadtaken place, leaving severalcivilians wounded by gun-fire.

Zimbabwe accuses another Americanof killing another lion

A second Americanhas been accused of

killing a lion during anillegal hunt in Zimba-bwe - months before thedeath of Cecil the lioncaused an internationaloutcry.

Jan Casimir Seski, adoctor from Pennsylva-nia, shot the animal witha bow and arrow inApril, according to theNational Parks and Wild-life Management Au-

thority.Headman Sibanda, a

Zimbabwean landowner,has been arrested in con-nection with the case,which happened aroundHwange National Park -the same district whereCecil was being moni-tored by researchers fromOxford University.Sibanda is now assistingthe police with their in-vestigation.

Meanwhile, Zimba-

bwean authorities havesaid they are looking toextradite Walter Palmerover Cecil’s death on 1July, amid claims he wasnot authorised to embarkon the hunt.

•Nkurunziza

•Lion

•Kerry


Asaba Capital Territory Devt Agency, devoidof ethnic colouration —TIDI

A S A B A — H O N .Michael Tidi,

Special Assistant on NewsMedia to Delta StateGovernor, Dr. IfeanyiOkowa, has insisted thatcontrary to what hedescribed as “baselessinsinuations of ethnic bias”there is “absolutely noethnic considerationsunderpinning theestablishment of the AsabaCapital TerritoryDevelopment Agency onthe part of the presentadministration.”

In a statement madeavailable to newsmen,yesterday, in Asaba, Tidiclaimed that GovernorOkowa’s sole motivation inestablishing the agency is

to rehabilitate the statecapital and develop it intoa seat of government thatwill be a source of pride tothe entire citizensof DeltaState.”

According to Tidi: “TheAsaba Capital TerritoryDevelopment Agency is anecessity given thedeplorable state of the statecapital which leaves muchto be desired.”

Tidi asserted thatallusions to ethnicconsiderations in setting upthe agency are“nonsensical,” adding that“all of us from across DeltaState live here in Asaba.There are more non-indigenes than indigenesin the city and as such, a

developed Asaba will endup benefiting more non-Asaba people than eventhe indigenes of the capitalcity." "Just as we are all currentlybearing the brunt of abroken city together, so tooshall we all reap therewards of a properfunctioning city together.” While assuring thatdeveloping the state capital“can by no means affect thedevelopment of Warri andother parts of the state,” Tidiinsisted that “there can beno ethnic colouration indeveloping a capital citythat will end up being apride to all Deltans.”

Abia gov petition fixed for Aug 10By Anayo Okoli

UMUAHIA—THE Abia GovernorshipElection Petition Tribunal sitting in

Umuahia has fixed Monday, August 10for the commencement of the trial of thepetition filed by Dr. Alex Otti, thegovernorship candidate of the All

Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in theApril election against Governor OkezieIkpeazu.The tribunal chairman, Justice UsmanBwala, announced the date last Friday atthe end of pre-trial of Otti’s petitionchallenging the declaration and return ofIkpeazu as the winner of the governorshipelection.

Anambra govt, FRSC to stop sale ofalcoholic drinks in motor-parks...as FRSC inaugurates 318 new SpecialMarshals

By Chimaobi Nwaiwu

NNEWI—THE Anambra StateGovernment has promised to partnerwith the Federal Road Safety Corps,FRSC, Special Marshals to enforce theban on sale of alcoholic drinks withinmotor-parks in the state.

This was disclosed by Governor WillieObiano, yesterday, while inaugurating318 new FRSC Special Marshals at

THE NIGERIANtroops of 21 Brigade

in conjunction with 151Task Force Battalion of 7Division, have rescued 178people, including 101children, 67 women and 10men, held captives by theterrorists offensiveoperations along Aulari inBama axis.

Col Tukur Gusau, DeputyDirector Army PublicRelations, 7 DivisionNigerian Army in astatement, yesterday, said:“The troops successfullycleared terrorists’ camp inFadan, Shuwarin, Wulari,

Troops rescue 178Boko Haramcaptives...terrorist commander captured

Saint Mary’s Catholic Church hall,Onitsha, Anambra State.

The governor noted that the vestnumber of the new Special Marshalswould be put to active use by carryingout massive and intensive raids ofalcoholic sale points and spots in allmotor-parks in Anambra.

He commended the Special Marshals’passion of volunteerism, adding thatwith their vast numerical spread acrossthe state, the fight against sales of

alcoholic drinks and otherstimulants in motor-parkswould be won in nodistance time.

“My government plansto achieve zero tolerancefor alcohol and stimulantssales in our motor parksand we want a situationwhere every driver in thestate is sober and focusedand with this, we willcontinue to pursue theSafer Roads Project in thestate with the vigor andcommitment it deserves”he said.

The governor who wasrepresented by the Commissioner forTransport, Dr.Ifeanyichukwu Ejikeme,told the Special Marshalsthat their uniforms andother kits "are not fordecoration on the dashboard of their cars and ontop of their motorcycles,but for active participationin the road safety project."

Ngoro Dauye, Jidori,Alikashiri, Kalzamari-Shuwa and Kalzamari-Kanuri, amongst others.

“Also, three Boko Haramflags were recovered, whilefive motor cycles wereburnt by the troops.

"In addition, one BokoHaram terroristscommander was capturedalive and now undergoinginvestigation.

“The troops' moraleremains high as they aredetermined to consolidateon the success achieved sofar under Operation LafiyaDole.”

VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardCLASSIFIED

J A Y E O L A — I ,formerly known andaddressed as Jayeola Tomiwa Isreal, nowwish to be known andaddressed as JayeolaTomiwa Isaiah. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

H A R R I S O N — I ,formerly known andaddressed as ChukwuOtu Harrison, nowwish to be known andaddressed as ChukwuWayas. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Nigerian Armyand general publicplease take note.

Confirmation of nameI hereby state that myname was wronglywritten as MkpamaKingsley Uchennainstead of MkpumaKingsley Uchenna.My correct name isMkpuma KingsleyUchenna. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

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Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUSTM 3, 2015 — 53

LMC and the burdenof club licensing

SO much has been written about the success ofthe ongoing Glo Premier league, on and off the

field that I have very little to add.I do appreciate however the constant assertion by

the operators that there is still much to be done be-fore we can relax and thump our chests. Such anarea is in the Club Licensing structures.

Two key events in the last week has led me towrite this column today. First is the opinion of oneof Nigeria’s football legend, Segun Odegbami thatwith the benefit of good pitches our league wouldhave been judged perfect by him.

The next is a news item in the NFF website lastSaturday entitled “ LMC grants provisional approvalto suspended stadia”. The story has it that the LMChas granted approval to some clubs “…….to returnto their grounds while FURTHER ( capitals mine)inspection will be carried out to ascertain appropri-ateness of repairs done.”

This waiver which is for four weeks will see theLMC “redeciding” whether to “reimpose” the banon their stadiums or not! How I wish they had nottaken this action, preferring instead to stick to theirguns, until such repairs had been perfected andapproved once and for all to the benefits of the clubs.

Courtesy the LMC I have been involved in a cou-ple of stadium inspection visits and have alwayscome out with very negative reports on the state ofour football playing infrastructure. As a CAF ClubLicensing Instructor I know that playing a footballmatch in a stadium is more than the field of play.

The criteria set out by the LMC in their check listof demands which is a universal document is yet tobe met 30 per cent by our clubs. Having an idealstadium has to do with the presence of serviceabletoilets for spectators as well as players and officials,water and electricity, functional dressing rooms forplayers and officials, sick bay, manned exits andentrances for security and crowd control, stadiumcontrol room etc.

Many will be surprised that most of our stadiumseven lack covered substitute benches. If there is rain,has it happened at the Liberation Stadium in PortHarcourt during the match Heartland and IfeanyiUbah, the Technical bench is dislodged as playersand coaches scamper into the terraces.

The LMC presently enjoys a lot of support evenfrom Club owners (?) and managers who accept thata lot needs to be done to get their infrastructure upto date and have not minded the banishment frombase, pending repairs to their infrastructure.

The LMC will however tell you that the sameowners will turn round and put pressure on them toallow their teams return “home” due to the extracost of running the league and “hostile” new envi-ronment that works contrary to their aspirations.

Perhaps what the LMC has not told the clubs isthat there is a CAF directive that as from this Year,any club that qualifies to play in any of the CAFInter Club competitions will need to fulfill the min-imum criteria at national level. The club License istherefore obligatory. Apart from the Infrastructurecriteria which has to do with acceptable stadiumconditions one in which most of our clubs are famil-iar with, there are also two other criteria that clubsmust comply with and these are Sporting Criteria (Youth and Grass root development) and Adminis-trative, Legal and Financial criteria.

End of this month, CAF will arrive Nigeria ( andindeed some other African countries) to run a sem-inar on CAF Club Licensing System. Invited to takepart are the General Secretary of the NFF, top gunsof the LMC, representatives of the Premier LeagueClubs, NSC and state Government officials involvedin the running of football, stadium managers etc.

The objective of the CAF Club Licensing seminar

is to among others, promote and improve the qual-ity and the level of all football aspects in Africa,ensure that the clubs have the appropriate infra-structure, knowledge and application in respect ofmanagement and organization, improving the eco-nomic and financial capacity of the clubs throughproper corporate governance and control, allowingthe parallel development and comparison amongstthe clubs by ensuring the necessary compliance interms of financial, sporting, legal, infrastructure andadministrative criteria.

I know that in Nigeria, the visiting CAF in-structors will find some challenges and test caseswhere ownership of clubs at the Premier Leaguelevel is controlled by Government. Also, they willfind out that club ownership of stadia is practicallynon existent, creating some legal impasse as to con-trol and use of Government owned facilities.

Meanwhile the CAF instructor on Administration,Legal and Finance will have a problem coming tograsps with the unique Nigerian situation whereplayers go on playing for months without due emol-uments and allowances……….Are our clubs legallyestablished? How well are their financials managed,how qualified are their staff?......What about theiryouth development policy?

This seminar is one which the LMC will appreci-ate, one that will help the body re-emphasise itsaims and objectives and reinforce its quest for ex-cellence and best practices.

I remember that the best images we got from theSupersports coverage of the Premier league was thetwo matches involving Akwa United at the GodswillAkpabio International Stadium, The Nest of Cham-pions. We have other venues like that, that willhelp project our football in good light, yet thosevenues are not used.

There is nothing wrong in wanting to play at one’sbase, but efforts have to be made to get those ven-ues answer to the minimum required criteria. WhenT.P Mazembe wanted to play its matches at Lubum-bashi, they went ahead and constructed their ownstandard stadium for the purpose which CAF wentahead to certify.

I only pray that when CAF comes calling, the NFFClub Licensing Officer will be able to get all theprincipal actors to attend and religiously too, thetwo day intensive seminar that give direction to ourclubs and go a long way in adding value to ourmuch improved league.

See you next week.

Iheanacho: City readyfor league opener

KELECHI Iheanachois pleased with his

display in pre-seasonfor Manchester City andreckons the Citizens areready for their 2015/16season.

The 18-year-old nettedhis second goal in fivepre-season appearanceson Saturday as Citywent down 2-4 to VfBStuttgart at the Mer-cedes-Benz Arena.

He also scored againstAS Roma in the Interna-tional Champions Cupin Melbourne, Australiaon July 21 and he tookthe time to assess hisperformances after thedefeat to Stuttgart.

“It was a tough gameagainst a strong team(VfB Stuttgart) but weshould not have lost be-cause we are a goodteam full of quality play-ers.

“However, this is foot-

ball where you can winor lose,” the attackertold the club’s officialTelevision channel, Cit-yTV.

On a personal level,Iheanacho said that hewas satisfied with hisshowing and was pre-pared to take the nextstep in his football edu-cation.

“For my goal (againstStuttgart), I composedmyself to score. Weneeded more goals inthe second half but couldnot score them.

“I thank God for myperformance in pre-sea-son. We played sixgames and I played infive, scoring two goalsand providing two as-sists.

“It’s a very good per-formance for me and Iam happy with the per-formance,” he said.

Ronaldo: I don’tcare about FIFA

CRISTIANO Ronaldois one of the best

media-trained athletesin the world - but every-body has off days.

The Real Madrid su-perstar lost his coolwhen asked a questionabout FIFA, world foot-ball’s governing body.

His response? “I don’tcare about FIFA, Qatar,I don’t give a f**k.” OKCristiano, chill. Just aquestion.

Ronaldo was asked hisopinion on the scandal-hit organisation in the

wake of Sepp Blatter’sresignation announce-ment and human rightsconcerns surroundingQatar’s 2022 winningbid.

Many would feel theyare legitimate questionsfor the current holder ofthe FIFA Ballon d’Oraward.

But the Portugal cap-tain was clearly in nomood to discuss eithertopic, throwing hisheadphones down indisgust at the end of theinterview.

Arsenal battle Liverpool for £14.9m Cheryshev

ARSENAL havejoined the race to

sign Real Madrid wing-er Denis Cheryshev ac-cording to Spanish source Fichajes (via the Metro).

24-year-old wide-manCheryshev has represent-

ed Real Madrid for over adecade but is still yet to playa single La Liga fixture forthe Bernabeu side and isbehind the likes of Cris-tiano Ronaldo, GarethBale, Isco and James Rod-riguez in the club’s first-team pecking order.

•Ronaldo

•Iheanacho• Chery-shev

The LMC will however tell youthat the same owners will turnround and put pressure on themto allow their teams return


ArsenalContinues from BP

confess.They had to withstand

some concerted pressureduring parts of the secondhalf but it was a strangelysubdued Chelsea performance and Petr Cechquickly showed his newsupporters the value of hissigning. Cech controlledArsenal’s penalty area in away that has often beenbeyond his predecessorsand it was rare to see muchcarelessness inMourinho’s team bothbefore and after thedecisive moment whenAlex Oxlade-Chamberlainspeared a shot into the topcorner of ThibautCourtois’s net.

The goal arrived midwaythrough the first half andto put into contextMourinho’s supremacyover Wenger in recentyears, it was the first timeArsenal had scored againstthese opponents in 506minutes of play.

Arsenal had not ledagainst Chelsea sinceDecember 2010 but theypassed the ball with muchgreater incision andfluency, particularly in theopening 45 minutes, andmight have added moregoals in the finalexchanges when Courtoiskept out Santi Cazorla andthen the substitute, OlivierGiroud.

For Mourinho, it was agalling way to start theseason and Chelseaplainly have issues inattack, with no guaranteeDiego Costa will be fit fortheir opening PremierLeague game againstSwansea next weekend.Costa was missing herebecause of the recurringhamstring problems thatprematurely ended hisinvolvement last seasonand if that is going to be aregular issue over the next10 months Chelsea couldbe in trouble.

Nigeria Continues from BP

be decided.But the dream of the

Super Falcons to play at thesummer Games have beenpunctured by EquatorialGuinea, who yesterdaydefeated the Nigerians 2-1 in the return leg matchin Bata. They progressed3-2 on aggregate.

But the heroes of theweekend were the maleteam, who leading 2-1from the first leg in PortHarcourt a fortnight ago,earned a barren draw inPoint Noire to qualify 2-1on aggregate score.

Parading the likes ofEmmanuel Daniel, StanleyAmuzie, Sincere Seth,Segun Oduduwa, ErhunObanor, captain AzubuikeOkechukwu, UsmanMohammed, OghenekaroEtebo, Godwin Saviour,Daniel Etor and two-goalhero against Congo,Junior Ajayi, the DreamTeam truly played like a

dream team, thwarting allthe attacking forays of theirhosts to come out unscathedfrom the war in Congo.

After what happened inthe first keg, where theydominated but squanderedseries of chances to scoremore than two goals, manyNigerian fans were afraidthat Siasia’s boys wouldsuccumb to their hostileCongolese but like a teamon a mission, they went,saw, conquered and havenow qualified to play in themaiden edition of the CAFU-23 Championship inSenegal from where thethree qualifiers for the RioOlympics will bedetermined.

But the Dream Team didnot have it easy as they werepushed hard to the wall bythe Coach Claude Le Roy-tinkered Congolese side,who from the start of thegame, threw everything atthe Nigerians, who

however refused to buckle.Despite being on the

receiving end of the Congoattacking forays, Nigeriastill made efforts to putpressure on their hosts,with Usman Mohammeddriving a long shot towardsgoal only for Congo’sgoalkeeper to push out fora corner kick in the 15thminute.

Rattled by that attempt atgoal, Congo came outroaring but found theNigerian wallimpregnable. TheNigerian defenders weresimply fantastic , rising toevery occasion to denyCongo the precious goalthey needed to advance tothe U-23 Championship.

In the second half, theDream Team dug their feetinto the ground to thwartCongolese goals attempt.As the minutes wore down,the hosts stepped up their

pressure on the Nigerians,who however were in nomood for any letting up.With three minutes left inregulation time, anxietycrept into both sides as agoal by either team wouldchange the tide.

But with five minutes ofinjury time added by thematch officials, Congo heldout hope of still scoring butcredit to Siasia’s boys for nottaking their feet off thepedal as they played out thelast five minutes like thegame of their lives to recorda 2-1 aggregate win overthe Congolese.

But it was a bad day atthe box office for theFalcons, who despiteshooting into the leadthrough an Ngozi Okoli’sfirst-half strike, were unableto defend their lead,conceding two goals andcrashing out 3-2 onaggregate, as theirOlympic dream faded.

NadalContinues from BP

Nadal, a 14-times grandslam champion, hasendured an indifferentseason winning just twotitles in Stuttgart andBuenos Aires prior toSunday and dropped to No10 in the world rankings.

World No 32 Fognini,who won the Hamburg titlein 2013, was aiming for analmost unthinkable thirdclaycourt victory againstNadal this seasonfollowing successes in Riode Janeiro and Barcelona.

Nadal, whose previousair of invincibility on clayhas begun to evaporate, hitjust six winners and 15unforced errors in anevenly contested openingset.

He was, however, aidedby Fognini who was brokenthree times in the set andblundered 34 of his ownunforced errors following aseries of brutal baselinerallies.

Nadal appeared to havegained the upper handearly in the second set andbroke en route to a 3-1 leadbut Fognini roared backwith successive breaks totake a 4-3 lead.

In a topsy-turvy setNadal and Fognini wereunable to gain theascendancy and tradedbreaks as parity wasrestored at 5-5 before theSpaniard took a 6-5 lead toleave his opponent to serveit into a tiebreak.

Enyimba overtake Sunshine at topBY JOHNEGBOKHAN

SIX-TIME championsEnyimba have

overtaken Sunshine Starsat the top of the NigeriaPremier Football League.

The two-time CAFChampions Leaguewinners, shot to the summityesterday after playing a 1-1 draw with Rangers in amatch-day 20 fixture at theEnyimba InternationalStadium. Striker OnoriodeOdah shot Rangers intothe lead in the ninth minuteafter he earlier missed in aone-on-one situation withgoalkeeper Femi Thomas.

But Enyimba’s newsigning Musa Najeremarked his debut with agoal against his old teamin the 37th minute to levelthe game at 1-1. Itremained so till the end ofregulation time. But it wasa bad day for SunshieStars as they relinquishedtheir top spot to Enyimba,after a surprise 1-0 loss toTaraba FC in Jalingo.

Wikki Tourits completethe top three, after playinga barren draw withHeartland in Bauchi.

•Musa Najere of Enyinba

Police escort Le Roy out of Point NoirStadium

RUMOURS thatCongolese coach, the

French man Claude LeRoy has resigned rent theair yesterday in PointeNoir as he was pelted withmissiles and booed afterNigeria had obtainedqualification at the expenseof his team.

Trouble started for theFrench man in the 60thminute when theCongolese spectators rosein unison asking him tomake a change.

When he finally did,instead of him to substitutethe targeted KoumimaKelvin, Le Roy pulled outthe fans favouriteNkounkou Moise.

The Nigerian team didnot make it easy for theCongolese as theydominated play, creatingnumerous scoringopportunities throughUsman, Daniel, Etebo andJunior, yet the chanceswent begging.

The Congolese cameforcefully into the game inthe closing stages, yet theNigerians stood theirground.

In a post matchconference Le Roy said hisboys were not disgracednoting that the Nigeriansdid enough to merit victory.

After being pelted withstones and water bottlesnecessitating the escort byPolicemen, he said he hadbeen insulted and that hewas not a happy man

considering all he haddone for Congolesefootball. The Dream teamCoach Samson Siaisiathanked God for the victoryand said the better teamwon. “ it would have beenunfair if we did not qualify.That is why I thank Godand my boys foreverything.”

Chief Anyansi-Agwu,Chairman Technical Com-mittee of the NFF andleader of delegation was allpraise for coach Siasia andthe team for exhibiting ahigh degree of profession-alism. “ This team gave usso much confidence. TheNFF salutes them, Nige-rians appreciate them forflying the flag high he said.

The team returns Tues-day after a stop over inAddis Ababa.

BY PAUL BASSEY, Congo

•Le Roy

South Sudan becomesOlympic member

SOUTH Sudan willcompete at Rio 2016

after becoming the 206thmember of the Olympicmovement.

The InternationalOlympic Committee(IOC) unanimouslyapproved the inclusionof the African republic,which becameindependent in 2011.

IOC president ThomasBach wished the countrya “bright future” after itsinclusion was ratified.

“This will put yournation on the worldmap,” he said. “We willstand by your side.”

A South Sudanesemarathon runner, GuorMarial, did compete atLondon 2012 b u tunder the Olympic flagas South Sudan was notyet an IOC member.

South Sudan alreadyhas a men’s footballteam due to take partin qualifying for the2018 World Cup.

CMYK


CMYK

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How to Play Sudoku

Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line canhave two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (alsonine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within abold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1through 9. This means that no number can appear twicein any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, divisionor multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

FRIFRIFRIFRIFRIDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSTODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLE

Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

CMYK

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDACROSS1 Account-book (6)5 Thaw (4)8 Relaxed (5)9 Curve (3)10 Rotate (4)11 Elderly (4)12 Expiate (5)13 Terrible (6)16 Dregs (4)18 Discharge (4)20 Consumed (3)22 Fixed (3)23 Tear (3)24 Rank (4)25 Cut (4)28 Cows (6)30 Sorcery (5)32 Warmth (4)33 Sun-bathe (4)34 Relatives (3)35 Located (5)36 Record (4)37 Posture (6)

DOWN1 Hate (6)2 Deck (8)3 Involve (6)4 Unrealistic (9)5 Wander (7)6 Border (4)7 Neat (4)8 Epoch (3)14 Delineated (9)15 Mouthful (3)17 Fish (3)19 Wrong (8)20 Point (3)21 Unpredictable (7)26 Parcel (6)27 Sitting (6)29 Hut (4)30 Gather (4)31 Rotter (3)

ACROSS: 3, Odium 9, Couple 10, Suffer11, Dried 12, Eros 15, Menu 17, Deserve20, Rod 21, Ended 23, Item 25, Taxi 26,Renew 28, Cup 30, Receded 33, Real 35,Dude 36, Crisp 38, Clique 39, Elicit 40, Tally.

DOWN: 1, Acted 2, Kudos 3, Old 4, Derive 5,Used 6, Mud 7, Offer 8, Proud 13, Retinue 14,Sewer 16, Noticed 18, Enter 19, Met 22, Dated24, Men 27, Weasel 28, Crack 29, Panic 31,Dunce 32, Death 34, Area 36, Cut 37, Ply.

Enyimba 1 Rangers 1Taraba 1 Sunshine Stars 0Wikki Tourists 0 Heartland 0Kano Pillars 2 Lobi Stars 1Bayelsa Utd 1 Akwa Utd 1El Kanemi 1 Shooting Stars 0Ifeanyi Uba 1 Abia Warriors 1Giwa 1 Kwara Utd 0Sharks 2 Warri Wolves 1Dolphins 2 Nasarawa 1

NPFL Results

Arsene Wenger celebrates as Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta lifts the CommunityShield after a confident performance against the title holders

Arsenal clinchCommunity Shield•as Wenger breaks duck against Mourinho

Nigeria win one, lose one• Siasia’s men triumph• Falcons crash out of Olympics

Police escort Le Roy out of Point Noir Stadium — P.54

Enyimba overtakeSunshine at top

— P.54


BY JOHNEGBOKHAN

NIGERIAN footballgot a major boost

yesterday in Point Noireas the men’s Olympicteam progressed to theCAF U-23Championship, wherethe three qualifiers forRio 2016 Olympics will

Nadal claims 67th titlewith Hamburg Open

IT has taken 14attempts, spread over

11 years, and in the mostdifficult momentsArsène Wenger haslooked like he wouldcheerfully throttle JoséMourinho with his owntie, but finally Arsenal’smanager knows what it

feels like to get one overhis bete noire.

His team playedwithout any sense ofinferiority, which has notalways been the casewhen these sides havemet, and it should do Arsenal the power ofgood to break a run that

has hurt Wenger far morethan he would probably

•Nadal

SPANIARD RafaelNadal won his 67th

career title with a 7-5, 7-5 victory againstdangerous Italian FabioFognini in the final ofthe Hamburg Open onSunday.

