...towards a better life for the people

N200VOL. 25: NO. 63013

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016**

No way out of budgetcrisis, as deadline expires

CMYK

Continues on Page 5

Mr & Mrs

COLUMNISTS:

•P.33 •P.32

Season of denialsSeason of denialsSeason of denialsSeason of denialsSeason of denialsand marketand marketand marketand marketand marketstoriesstoriesstoriesstoriesstories

President'strade missionto China •P.35

•How politics of Saraki/Ekweremadu election caused budget crisis•We are ready to resolve all grey areas —Goje, Jibrin•Insist they worked on inputs from committees•Don’t expect change untill 2016 budget is signed, FG tells Nigerians

AssessingCandidatesIsaac

AdenipekunHead, National Office, WAEC

PIB: Need forevenhandedness,by Victor Attah

19

By EmmanuelAziken, Political Editor,Henry Umoru, Emman

Ovuakporie &Johnbosco Agbakwuru

A B U J A —PRESSURES by

the Presidency on theNational Assembly torewrite the 2016 budgetand include criticalprojects left out in theappropriation bill aspassed were at theweekend slipping intoanother crisis with thethreat of the legislators toveto.

The emerging crisis wasin the face of claims bylegislators that the budgetwith the President cannotbe rewritten under the

African musicstar, PapaWembacollapses,dies on stage

40

Bear with me,change'll come— BUHARI

6

36

FIRE—Cross section of the sympathisers, at the NNPC Mega Station and Shemaco petrol station, Ungwar/Mu'azu Kaduna,after a fire incident in Kaduna on Saturday night. Photos: NAN.

Oil pricenotch-up:CurrencydealstrenghtensNaira value

43

I'm verymuch alive,says IBB

2 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016 — 3

CMYK

4 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

CMYK

POCKET CARTOONVanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016—5

IT'S UP TO YOUBY AYO ADIO

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

SAYINGS OF OUR PEOPLE

No way out of budget crisis, asdeadline expiresContinues from Page 1

NOBODY knows tomorrow yet many of ouractions today have predictable outcomes

tomorrow. Prepare for tomorrow from a creative standrather than a reactive one. It's up to you.

If want to know how your wife will look atin her old age, take a look at your mother-in-law.

Life is a gift. Don’t waste a second on somethingthat does not make you happy— Take Heart Quotes

LIFE is a gift but it takes awareness to recognisethe gifts that are all around you, just like truth,

if you want truth , you must step back.Learn to see more than other people do and to

gain a different perspective of things as they appearoutwardly, this attitude enables a person to handlemany situations in life with grace and success.

law.The legislators have also

dismissed calls for asupplementary budget,saying the only optionopen to the President wasto sign what was passedto him and forward anamendment bill on the2016 appropriation bill totake care of his interests.

The deadline for thePresident to sign the 2016budget as presented tohim on March 23 passedat the weekend.

Meanwhile, Vanguardhas learned how theelection of Senator IkeEkweremadu as theDeputy President of theSenate, led to the eruptionof the crisis in the 2016budget.

President Buhari hasrefused assent to the 2016budget of the FederalGovernment uponmisgivings that a numberof critical projects notably,the Calabar – Lagos railline, were removed by the

Senate and HouseCommittees onAppropriation, led bySenator Danjuma Gojeand Abdulmmumin Jibrinrespectively.

The standoff has led topressures on the NationalAssembly to withdraw thebudget transmitted to thePresident on March 23and incorporate theprojects.

In the face of thatpressure, senior officials ofthe National Assemblyhave told Vanguard thatthe constitution did notprovide a leeway forrewriting a budget thathad already been passed.

The complexity isfurther worsened byconstitutional provisionswhich give the Presidenta maximum of 30 days togive his assent to thebudget bill.

Section 59(4) of theConstitution demandsthat where the Presidentrefuses to sign theappropriation bill within

30 days, the bill shouldagain be presented to theNational Assembly sittingat a joint sitting.

There was controversyamong constitutionalexperts in the NationalAssembly at the weekendas to whether thePresident is expected tore-present what waspassed or present a freshbill to satisfy his intereston the issues at hand.

A meeting between thePresidency and theNational Assemblyleadership, expected tohold at the weekend toaddress the issues ofconcern, did not hold,sources disclosed.

The section states thus:"Where the President,

within 30 days after thepresentation of the bill tohim, fails to signify hisassent or where hewithholds assent, thenthe bill shall again bepresented to the NationalAssembly sitting at a jointmeeting, and if passed bytwo-thirds majority ofmembers of both housesat such joint meeting, thebill shall become law andthe assent of the Presidentshall not be required."

Upon the constitutionalprovision, multiplesources in the NationalAssembly told Vanguardthat the current pressureson the National Assemblyto rewrite the budget toinclude some criticalprojects left out in theappropriation bill aspassed could not hold.

Vanguard learned thatthe National Assemblyleaders were expected to,at the meeting, conveythe point to the Presidentthat the only optionopened to him was to signthe budget and forwardan amendment bill.

“There is no provisionin the constitution thatwould allow us toincorporate those projectsagain,” a very seniorlegislator told Vanguard.

It was also learned that

calls on the President tosend a supplementarybudget would also not betenable.

“A supplementarybudget is only proposedwhen there is a shortfallin revenue for a project,but what is workable in thiscase is for the Presidentto sign the budget as sentto him and then send anamendment bill to the2016 Appropriation Bill toaddress areas of concernto him,” a legislatorfamiliar with the processtold Vanguard.

“You can see that thereare no other legal optionsavailable to get out of thissituation,” the sourcedisclosed.

TheEkweremadufactor

Meanwhile, Vanguardhas learned how thepolitical issues arisingfrom the election of theNational Assemblyleadership caused thebudget crisis.

In the past, an ad-hoccommittee, led by theDeputy President of theSenate and the DeputySpeaker of the House ofR e p r e s e n t a t i v e ssupervised works on thebudget.

That committee, it wasgathered, comprised thedirector-general of theBudget Office, seniorofficials of the FederalMinistry of Finance, thePresidency and thechairmen of the Senateand House Committees onAppropriation.

“It was the work of thatcommittee to clean thebudget and address allissues of concern betweenthe executive andlegislative branches ofgovernment and all issuesthat erupted were quietlysettled under theguidance of the DeputySenate President and theDeputy Speaker.

“For the past eight years,Senator Ike Ekweremaduwas involved, but youknow as a result of theissues around hisemergence, nobody in thePresidency wanted to dealwith him and you can seethat committee was notformed and you see howwe ran into this problem,”the source disclosed.

We worked oninputs fromcommittees— Goje, Jibrin

However, chairmen ofAppropriation Committeeof the National Assembly,Senator Danjuma Gojeand Abdulmunin Jibrin,yesterday, stated that in abid to move Nigeriaforward, both committeeswould resolve all greyareas raised by theexecutive arm ofgovernment.

Both lawmakers saidthis in a statement theyjointly signed, insisting

that they worked oninputs supplied by thecommittees.

The statement, entitled:"Budget 2016: A time forStatesmanship", read inpart: “Following thetransmission of the 2016appropriation bill anddetails passed by theNational Assembly, therehave been all manner ofm i s i n f o r m a t i o n ,misrepresentations andinnuendos about the rolesplayed by the JointCommittees onAppropriation in thecourse of passing thebudget.

“Even though most ofthe allegations, especiallythose specifically levelledagainst the two of us, aschairmen of thecommittees, areunfounded, we intend torespond to them at theappropriate time.

“For now, what weconsider important is toresolve the impassearound the budget andget it assented to so thatits implementation canbegin in the interest of allNigerians.

“However, we must putit on record that thedetails aggregated andtransmitted to theexecutive are largely theinputs we received fromthe standing committeesof both the Senate and theHouse of Representatives.

“Given the foregoing,and all factors considered,we hereby state that wehave had enoughcontroversy over the 2016budget.

"What is needful rightnow is a resolution of thedifferences and to thatend, we call on ourcolleagues in the NationalAssembly to accede to therequest by HisExcellency, PresidentMuhammadu Buhari tohave a second look at thedetails and make thenecessary adjustments sothat he can assent. This,in our opinion, should notgo beyond this week.

“To the extent that thereare already ongoingconsultations, a debateabout who is right orwrong is unhelpful in thecircumstance; and in anycase, does not advancethe cause of our countrymen and women whoseinterest we have beenelected to serve."

No change untilbudget is signed— FG

Meanwhile, the FederalGovernment said,yesterday, that Nigeriansshould not expect changefrom the presentadministration until the2016 Appropriation Bill,which had been passed bythe National Assembly,was signed into law.

The government said itwas still running thecountry with the 2015budget of formerPresident GoodluckJonathan of PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP.

Speaking, yesterday, atthe launch of a book,“Each Man, His Time:The Biography of an Era",by former Minister ofInformation, Prince TonyMomoh, at Royal DreamHotel, Mararaba inNasarawa State, Ministerof Science andTechnology, Dr.Ogbonnaya Onu, notedthat change was notfeasible now because thegovernment was stillimplementing the 2015budget prepared by theformer government ofPDP.

According to him,change cannot come, ifthe All ProgressivesCongress, APC, is notusing the 2016 budgetwhich must be signed andimplemented by thefederal government.

The book was alsolaunched to mark the 47thyear MarriageAnniversary betweenPrince Tony Momoh andhis wife, Janet TonyMomoh.

Onu, who notedt h a t P r e s i d e n tMuhammadu Buhari wasworking hard to providejob opportunities,secure lives and propertyof Nigerians, provideemployment, however,urged Nigerians tosupport him if he mustprovide good governancefor the country.

He said: "Change won’tcome until the 2016budget is signed. Whatwe are using now is the2015 budget which wasnot done by us. OurPresident has restored ourimage to the position ofrepute, so let’s supporthim.”

RECEPTION—Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Delta Central SenatorialDistrict, held a victory reception in honour of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa atOghara Township Stadium, weekend. From left: Gov. Okowa, his wife, DameEdith Okowa and Chairman of the occasion, Alaowei Broderick Bozimo,former Minister of Police Affairs at the event. Photo: Nath Onojake.

CMYK

6 — Vanguard, MONDAY APRIL 25 , 2016

By Theodore Opara

Court stops firm from liquidatingassets

UBA inauguratesgroup boardforum

FOLLOWING a 3-dayForum held in Lagos,

United Bank for Africa, UBA PlcChairman, Mr. Tony Elumelu, hasformally inaugurated a GroupBoard Meeting as a platform forgroup integration, bonding andknowledge sharing.

90 participants comprising ofthe entire Board of UBA,Chairmen and CEOs of UBAsubsidiaries in Africa and theUnited Kingdom, Group StrategicBusiness and Support Heads,among other special invitees andguest facilitators, were inattendance.

The Group Forum serves as aninteractive platform forknowledge sharing on issuesranging from CorporateGovernance, Institutional History,Board Effectiveness, BrandProjection, Empowerment andAccountability among others.

Speaking during the Forum,Elumelu said: “As long terminvestors and Africa enthusiasts,we are committed to the marketsin which we operate and to thewider African economy.

''We will continue to work withcredible partners andgovernments across Africa toidentify and develop thosecritical growth poles requiredfor the sustainable developmentof all African economies.”

LAGOS—THE CorpsMarshal and Chief

Executive Officer of FederalRoad Safety Corps, FRSC,Boboye Oyeyemi, weekend saidthe Federal Government hadapproved the extension of thevalidity period of Drivers’ licenceto five years.

The Corps Marshal explainedthat this was part of communiquéreached by the Joint Tax Boardat the end of its 134th meetingheld in Kano.

The Corps Marshal in a chatwith Transport Editors in Lagos,said rather than Drivers’ licenceexpiring in three years, driversnow had the option of settlingfor either three or five yearslicence.

But he noted that those whowanted the five years driverslicence would have to payslightly more.

He noted that while driverswere expected to pay N6,000for the three years' licence,those who opted for the fiveyears' licence would payN10,000.00.

According to him, the Boardhad approved an optionalvalidity period for Drivers’Licence of three and fiveyears respectively at differentcost to provide more efficientand effective service deliveryto its customers.

FG extendsdrivers' licenceexpiration tofive years

LAGOS—A Federal HighCourt in Lagos has

restrained management of BelbopNigeria Limited, from dissipatingthe assets of the company, pendingthe determination of a winding uppetition against the firm by anAmerican international oil and gasservices conglomerate, BakerHughes Group over alleged debtof $12 million.

Baker Hughes had in thepetition asked that Belbop NigeriaLimited be wound up for itsinability to pay a debt of $12, 092,531.66 which arose from series ofservices rendered to Belbop for thedevelopment and operation of anoil block.

Belbop, an indigenous oilcompany, was said to have duly

entered into agreements withBaker Hughes and had equallyearned substantial revenues as aresult of the services renderedto it by Baker Hughes, butallegedly refused to pay for theservices despite repeateddemands since 2014.

Ruling on an application forinterlocutory injunction, trialjudge, Justice Babs Kuewumirestrained the respondent, itsdirectors, staff, management,employees, officers, agents,privies, servants or any otherperson or group of persons bywhatever name so-called underthe authority of the respondentfrom ''alienating, assigning,charging, dissipating, disposingof, tampering or interfering withassets and properties of Belbop,including tangible and intangibleassets, and movable andimmovable assets.''

By Innocent Anaba

PRESIDENT MuhammaduBuhari last night appealed

to Nigerians to bear with him overthe difficulties in the land, sayingNigerians were seeing thedarkest days before dawn.

While appealing to Nigerianswho he said were known for theirinner strength to soldier on, hesaid the change which they votedfor was at the corner and about torock every nook and cranny of thecountry.

In a strategic move to counterthe difficult times, the Presidentordered the release of 10,000 tonsof grains from the nationalstrategic grains reserves.

The move, according toPresidential spokesman, MallamGarba Shehu also debunkedinsinuations that the changemantra of the new administrationwas concomitant with hard times.

The Presidency said a total ofN9 trillion was lost by the FederalGovernment to the Boko Haraminsurgency, lamenting that theloss worsened the economy.

Noting the crippling fuelsituation, the administration also

Bear with me, change will come — BUHARIobserved that it inherited a N600billion debt owed fuel importersand that it was working onensuring that newly-licensedrefineries commenced operationsin 2018.

While noting that the FederalGovernment’s socialprogrammes, including thepayment of N5,000 monthlytransfers to eligible Nigerians wasset to commence, the Presidencycalled for more understandingfrom Nigerians on the challengesit said it inherited.

The Presidency further averredthat the difficult times were causedby the economy downturn arisingfrom “the Boko Haraminsurgency, corruption and thelack of planning by the past

administrations and one thatshould not be blamed on theChange Agenda of theMuhammadu Buhariadministration.”

Shehu said: “The Presidencyfirmly rejects the insinuations thatpoverty and lack are products ofthe Change mantra. This shouldbe dismissed as an erroneous andmisplaced opposition criticism.The President understands thepain and the cries of the citizensof this country and he is spendingsleepless nights over how he canmake life better for everyone.Contrary to assertions by a factionof the opposition Conference ofNigerian Political Parties, CNPP,the President’s energy and focusare on changing the lives of

three Northeast states ofNigeria alone have so far lostabout three trillion Naira (Ninebillion US Dollars) to the BokoHaram insurgency. Theprevious administration at thecenter said Federal Governmentlosses amounted to aboutUSD18 billion.

“It would have been a miraclefor our country’s economy not tofeel the effects of this. And, inaddition to the thousands of liveslost to the insurgency, thousandshave also lost their means oflivelihood. The northeast regionof Nigeria is a mostly agrariansociety, which means Nigeria haslost billions of naira in agriculturalproduce. Many communities,which have had their yearlyplanting and harvesting cycledisrupted by Boko Haram attacksor occupation are still yet to returnto their farms. In many of thesecommunities, there have not beenplanting and consequent harvestfor between two to five years.

“At the time this governmentcame to power, about 600 billionnaira was owed to fuel marketersin subsidy payments. Strategicfuel reserves were depleted andlocal refineries not functioning.

“One of the President’s firststeps was to pay off the marketers,leaving an outstanding of aboutN150 billion which is captured inthe 2016 budget. The PortHarcourt and Kaduna refineriesare being brought back to life.Shortly, Nigeria will resumerefining its own fuel ratherthan depending on imports. ''

By Emmanuel Aziken,Political Editor & Levinus

Nwabughiogu

Nigerians, with a view to makingit better than he met it.

“Change is a process. Changedoes not happen overnight.Change can be inconvenient.Change sometimes comes withpain. Over the past year, thegovernment has been workingnight and day to deliver on itspromise of change to Nigerians,and the painful process is stillongoing.

“This is work in progress. As lifegradually returns to normal inmuch of the country and thenortheast in particular,agriculture will resume andtraders from neighbouringAfrican countries will once againfeel safe to do business with us.

“It is estimated, for instance, that

SILVERBIRD MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD: From left; Senator Ben Murry Bruce, Chairman,Silverbird; Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule; Governor Abiola Ajimobiof Oyo State; All Progressives Congress, APC, national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu;Dr Oba Otudeko, and Aremo Olusegun Osoba, former Governor of Ogun State during theSilverbird Man of the Year Awards at Eko Hotel, Lagos, yesterday. Photo by Akeem Salau.

Ambode, Obasa mourn Rafiu Jafojo

LAGOS—GOVERNORAkinwunmi Ambode, of

Lagos State, yesterday describedthe death of the former DeputyGovernor of the state, Alhaji RafiuJafojo, as a great loss to the state,saying his contribution to thedevelopment of state would notbe forgotten in a hurry.

Similarly, the Speaker, LagosState House of Assembly,Mudashiru Obasa, said LagosState and Nigeria had lost a greatpatriot whose penchant for equityand justice was well known.

Jafojo, who was DeputyGovernor under theadministration of Alhaji LateefJakande during the SecondRepublic, died late Saturdayevening in his Lagos residenceat the age of 80.

Ambode in a condolencemessage by his Chief PressSecretary, CPS, Mr. Habib Aruna,expressed sadness over the loss,saying: “Alhaji Jafojo was partand parcel of an administrationduring the Second Republic thathas been widely applauded acrossNigeria for achieving severalmilestones which are still beingreferred to. He was an astute

By Olasunkanmi Akoni politician, who was very loyalto the course of developing thestate and together with AlhajiJakande, they formed a strongpartnership and set thetemplate for the developmentof Lagos State.

Similarly, Obasa, in astatement by his CPS, Mr.Musbau Rasak, described thedeceased as one of the foundingfathers of modern Lagos whoseefforts laid the solid foundationfrom which the Centre ofExcellence evolved.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016 — 7

Bailout loannot diverted— OSUN GOVT

O SOGBO—THEOsun State

Government, yesterday saidthe Independent CorruptPractices and RelatedOffences Commission,ICPC, did not indict it overthe application of theN34.988 billion bailoutfunds it got last year.

The state government, ina statement by the Director,Bureau of Communicationand Strategy, SemiuOkanlawon, said the factthat the ICPC claimed it wasinvestigating claims thatworkers in the state receivedtheir last salaries in July2015 was enough forworkers in Osun and thosewho have been monitoringdevelopments in the state toconclude that the allegationcould not have been true.

The statement reads: “Thisis because after the paymentof seven months backlog ofsalaries last year, thegovernment had proceededto pay salaries on the agreedterms with workers. And thisis why Osun has been ableto pay its workers till Januarythis year.

“There is no case ofdiversion of bailout loan asfar as Osun is concerned.''

By Gbenga OlarinoyeTHE three officials of

Osun State government,who were kidnapped in KogiState, yesterday, regained theirfreedom from their abductors.

A Permanent Secretary in theOsun Ministry of Finance, Mrs.Adebimpe Ogunlumade wasabducted alongside the director,State Audit, Mr. TajudeenBadejoko and the driverconveying them from Abuja, Mr.Oladapo Ajani Arogundadewhere they had gone for officialassignment.

Earlier yesterday, it was learnedthat a delegation, comprisingsecurity operatives from OsunState, had been dispatched toKogi State to join in the searchfor the officials abducted lastFriday along Obajana/Lokojaroad.

The Osun state government, itwas also gathered, had to send adelegation to visit the families andrelations of the victims to reassurethem that it was making efforts atensuring their quick release.

Confirming the development,

Director, Bureau ofCommunication and Strategy,Office of the Governor, Mr. SemiuOkanlawon, said the officials hadbeen freed and were in good stateof health.

Also, a statement issued by theHead of Service, Mr. SundayOwoeye confirmed the release of

Abducted Osun Perm Sec, 2 others freedBy Gbenga Olarinoye the officials, adding that

arrangements are being made toreturn them to the state at theshortest possible time.

The statement reads: “This is toinform the general public that tothe glory of God, the three staffersof the State of Osun Civil Service,Mrs. Bimpe Ogunlumade,

Permanent Secretary, Ministry ofFinance, Mr. Tajudeen Badejoko,Director of State Audit and theDriver to the Auditor-General(State), Mr. Oladapo AjaniArogundade, have regainedtheir freedom from theirabductors this evening of Sunday, 24th April, 2016.''

D I N N E R :Governor RaufAregbesola ofOsun, State (left)and Head ofC h i n e s edelegation andM a n a g i n gDirector, GoldenMonkey Group,Wang Bao Genduring a DinnerParty, organizedby the StateGovernment, at theG o v e r n m e n tHouse, Osogbo,on Friday.

EDUCATION TAX: Ekiti govt, Catholic Bishop bicker

Boroffice wants Ondo govt, US firm probed over bitumen deal

FOLLOWING a threat bythe Catholic Church of Ekiti

Diocese to seek legal redress overeducation levy, the Ekiti Stategovernment says there is nogoing back on the N1, 000 andN500 levy being paid by privateand public primary andsecondary schools respectively inthe state.

This was as Oyo State Governor,Abiola Ajimobi has promised tohand over mission schools toowners who have genuineproposal for the development ofsuch schools and provencommitment to education.

The Ekiti State governmentmaintained that mission schoolsin the state will not be givenpreferential treatment over otherschools and that “no other bodyapart from the Federal and stategovernment has power to makepolicies concerning both privateand public schools in the country.”

The Catholic Diocese of Ekitihad last week threatened to dragthe state government to court overthe development levy, saying “nolaw empowers the stategovernment to imposeeducational development levy onpupils of mission schools.”

The government argued that “itis wrong for any organisation to

claim that it has its own educationpolicy that is different from thatof the state.''

Reacting to the development,Bishop of the Catholic Diocese ofEkiti, Most Rev. Felix Ajakaye,said “when I heard of it, I askedthe schools concerned to refundthe money collected to theirparents” adding “We shall meetin court.”

Commissioner for Education,Science and Technology, Mr JideEgunjobi, in a statement,disclosed that seven schoolsowned by the Catholic Diocese ofEkiti State had already paid thedevelopment levy, dismissing thethreat to sue the government by

the Catholic Diocese.

Ajimobi gives conditionRelatedly,Governor Ajimobi

stressed that any religious bodyor organization without aquestionable intention would beallowed to run such schoolsinasmuch as they metgovernment's requirements.

The governor made the promisein his address at the archdiocesanreception for the 34th council ofBishops at the Bishop AyoLadigbolu House, Molete,Ibadan, on Saturday, which wasattended by bishops andarchbishops of the MethodistChurch across the country.

By Rotimi Ojomoyela

...As Ajimobi gives condition for return of mission schools

THE senatorrepresenting Ondo

North, Prof. Ajayi Borofficehas called on the Economicand Financial Crimes

Commission, to probe thedeal between Ondo Stategovernment and anAmerican firm on bitumenexploration in the state.

Boroffice, who is theChairman, SenateCommittee on Science andTechnology, made theappeal through a press

statement signed by hismedia aide, KayodeAdeniyi.

The lawmaker, a chieftainof the All ProgressivesCongress, APC, allegedthat “credible reports haverevealed that the over-hyped firm with nofunctional website wasfounded in 2012, with a staffstrength of about fouremployees. Furthermore,the Managing Director ofthe Nigerian subsidiaryclaimed he joined the 2012incorporated firm in 2006.What an irreconcilabledissimilarity! How could afour-year old firm with aboutfour employees be trustedto undertake such hugetask of exploring bitumenin commercial quantity?”

By Dayo Johnson

A K U R E — T H EP e o p l e s

Democratic Party, PDP,was, over the weekend,declared winner of thelocal government areaelections by the Ondostate IndependentElectoral Commission,winning all the 18council seats.

The newly-electedchairmen and councillors

PDP wins all 18 council seats in Ondowould be sworn in todayby the state governor, DrOlusegun Mimiko inAkure.

However, the ruling partylost the councillorshipposition of ward 9, Oba -Ile in Akure North area ofthe state to the AlliedCongress Party of Nigeria(ACPN) candidate.

Announcing the results ofthe election conducted onSaturday, the Chairman ofthe Ondo State

Independent ElectoralCommission (ODIEC),Professor Olugbenga Igesaid 14 political partiesparticipated in the election.

Meanwhile, the AllProgressives Congress(APC) has kicked againstthe results of the election.

The party, through itsDirector of Publicity, SteveOtaloro said the results ofthe election clearlyvindicated the party’sposition on the election.

8—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

Nigeria turning forex scarcity to advantage— Emefiele Says agriculture, bedrock of genuine economic growth

By Emma Ujah, AbujaBureau Chief

ABUJA — THE currentscarcity of foreign

exchange confronting thecountry is being turned intoan advantage through thelocal production of goods forwhich hard currencies werehitherto wasted.

Governor of the CentralBank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr.Godwin Emefiele, said thisduring an assessment tour ofthe farmlands cultivated underthe Anchor BorrowersProgramme in Kebbi State,weekend.

A statement by the ActingDirector of Communications,Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, in Abuja,yesterday, quoted thegovernor as saying rice outputfrom Kebbi State alone hadproved wrong, critics of theapex bank’s forex policymeasures.

Emefiele noted that with thelevel of success attained withthe pilot project in Kebbi State,in addition to what he saw atSunti Golden Sugar Estate inNiger State just recently, thecountry could produceenough to feed itself and evenexport in no distant future.

Agriculture, bedrock ofgenuine economicgrowth

The governor reiterated thatagriculture remained thebedrock of genuine economicgrowth of any nation, addingthat Nigeria could not be anexception.

As such, he said Nigeriawith large expanse of arableland ought not to be spendinghuge amounts of money onimporting food items at theexpense of other competingneeds.

The CBN governor statedthat the success recorded byrice farmers in Kebbi Statehad rekindled hope in theability of Nigeria to be self-sufficient in rice and wheatproduction.

He noted that withN210,000, each farmer wasable to cultivate a hectare ofrice farm.

He disclosed that a total of78,581 farmers were mobilizedin Kebbi State under theAnchor Borrowers Programmeand that the farmers arealready looking forward to atotal of one million metric tonsrice this year.

Speaking further on whatthe programme had been ableto achieve, the CBN governorstated: “With thedisbursement of N4.9 billionas loans to the farmers, over570,000 direct jobs have beencreated and saved with themultiplier effects.

"70,871 rural farmers now

own and operate bankaccounts and captured underthe Bank Verification Number(BVN) biometric project andtimely supply of inputs to73,001 farmers.”

According to the CBNgovernor, the performance ofthe Anchor BorrowersProgramme has vindicated thestance of the apex bank andthat given the incentive andappropriate support, Nigerian

farmers can fill whatever gapexists between the demandand supply of agriculturalproducts like rice, wheat,cotton and palm produce.

On his assessment of theprogramme, the Minister ofAgriculture, Chief AuduOgbe, said the level ofactivities in the rural areasvisited by the team had shownthat with Kebbi State alonetargeting one million tons of

rice out of the projected sevenmillion tons required by theentire country, self sufficiencyin rice production is very muchin sight at this time when 12other states identified as riceproducing belts harvest theirproduce.

He commended the efforts ofthe CBN for reinventingagricultural practice intoprofitable business venture.

10,000 IDPs break camps, return homewith police protection —AIG OgunsakinAs 1,934,765 IDPs live in formal camps, satellite camps

By Kingsley Omonobi

ABUJA — FOLLOWING thetakeover of liberated and

recaptured territories from theNigerian military by the Police,as directed by PresidentMuhammadu Buhari, securityauthorities told Vanguard,weekend, that more than 10, 000Internally Displaced Persons,IDPs, located in seven IDPscamps, in Damaturu, Yobe State,have broken out of camps andreturned to their villages underPolice protection.

This came as the NationalEmergency ManagementAgency, NEMA, told USAmbassador to the UnitedNations, Samantha Power, that1,934,765 displaced personswere currently living in formalcamps, host communities andsatellite camps in liberatedcommunities as a result ofinsurgency in North Easternstates of Borno, Yobe, Taraba,Gombe, Bauchi and Adamawastates.

The displaced persons weresaid to have broken out of thecamps en-masse, following theopening of the Damaturu-Buni

Yadi-Biu road by the Chief ofArmy Staff, Lt. General TukurBuratai.

The road had been shut for thelast four years as a result of themarauding activities of BokoHaram terrorists.

Some of the communities theyreturned to with police protectioninclude Buni Yadi, Giniri, BuniGari and Gulani among others.

Confirming the development ina telephone conversation withVanguard, Assistant InspectorGeneral of Police in charge ofZone 12, Bauchi, AIG AyotundeOgunsakin, said the IDPs weremotivated to embark on thejourney back to their homesbecause of the deployment ofpolice personnel and therequired logistics equipment tothe North-East states of Borno,Yobe and Adamawa.

He said: “As the AIG in chargeof the zone, I have been visitingthe liberated territories randomly.I can tell you that the Police havestarted taking over control of theaffected areas in the North-East.

‘’New officers and men havebeen posted; equipment andlogistics requirements have

arrived. We have started takingfull control."

1,934,765 IDPs live informal camps, satellitecamps

Meanwhile, 1, 934, 765displaced persons are currentlyliving in formal camps, hostcommunities and satellite campsin liberated communities as aresult of insurgency in NorthEastern states of Borno, Yobe,Taraba, Gombe, Bauchi andAdamawa states.

This was disclosed by Yola CampCoordinator, Sa’ad Bello, who, onbehalf of the Director General ofNEMA, Muhammad Sani Sidi,took the United States Ambassadorto the United Nations, SamanthaPower, round the facilities atMalkohi IDPs Camp in Yola,Adamawa State, weekend.

He said there were 32 formalcamps in Borno, Yobe andAdamawa states, with a total of189,783 IDPs. Borno has 19 campswith 150,858 IDPs; Yobe, ninecamps with 31,988 IDPs andAdamawa, four camps with 6,937IDPs.

VISIT:Speaker,House ofRepresentatives,YakubuDogara,symphatisingwith anunaccompaniedgirl at DamareInternallyDisplacedPersons(IDPs) campin Girei LocalGovernmentArea ofAdamawaState, when heled adelegation ofmembers ofthe House tothe camp,weekend.Photo: NAN.

S-Westdemandsposition of PDPnationalchairman

By Henry Umoru

ABUJA— AHEAD oftheMay 21 National

Convention of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, formerDeputy National Chairman ofthe party and other stakeholdersfrom the South-West said,yesterday, that failure to give theposition of the national chairmanof the party to the zone was aclear indication that theopposition party hated thepeople of Yoruba race.

Rising from a meeting,weekend, in Lagos, the SouthWest PDP stakeholders saidwithout any fear ofequivocation, the people fromthe zone demanded and desiredthe post of the national chairmanat the next convention of theparty.

A statement signed,yesterday, in Abuja by theformer Special Assistant, PublicAffairs to former PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, Dr. DoyinOkupe, said only the SouthWest had not produced theposition of PDP nationalchairman since the inception ofthe party.

Okupe said: “There is anembarrassing falsehood beingpropagated by politicalcharlatans from the South-Westand some influentialcollaborators in the top echelonof the PDP.

“On April 21, 2016, the creamof the authentic Yorubaleadership in the South-Westgathered in Ikoyi, under thechairmanship of Chief OlabodeGeorge, a retired AirCommodore, former governor,former Deputy NationalChairman of the PDP and agrandson of the reveredlegendary and world acclaimed,distinguished Yoruba icon andpolitician, Sir Herbert Macaulay.

“At that meeting, the true sonsand daughters of Yoruba landin an unprecedented unity,condemned the erstwhile claimby the Yoruba traitors, who wentand lied to the PDP chairman,Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, thatthe Yoruba do not want thechairmanship of the PDP..

“I want to state categoricallyhere, without any fear ofequivocation, that we theYorubas from the South-West,desire and demand the post ofthe national chairman at the nextconvention of the party.

“Failure of a Yoruba man toemerge as the nationalchairman can only mean twothings. That there is a pervasiveand concealed hatred for theSouth-West in the PDP or thatthe PDP has very little or noregard for Yoruba interest as wasevinced by the obvious cheatingof the South-West from theposition of the Speaker in 2011,which was never rectified norcompensated for the whole offour years."

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016—9

Destroyed GTBank documents show how Saraki transferred $3m to US

By IkechukwuNnochiri

ABUJA — THE embattledSenate President, Dr.

Bukola Saraki, has queried thepowers of the Economic andFinancial Crimes Commission,EFCC, to exculpate theChairman of the Code ofConduct Tribunal, CCT,Justice Danladi Umar, fromprosecution, following hisalleged complicity in N10million bribery scandal.

This came as documentsobtained by popular onlinepublication, Premium Times,revealed that the embattledSenate President transferred atotal of $3.47 million in 40installments in four years withhis credit card to the UnitedStates.

Saraki, who dismissed thepurported clearance issued tothe CCT chairman by EFCC,contended that under the law,only the Attorney General ofthe Federation and Minister ofJustice had the powers toshield an accused person fromcriminal prosecution.

Speaking through his lawyer,Mr. Ajibola Oluyede, Sarakisaid the clearance the EFCCissued to Umar could notoverride the recommendationthe immediate past AGF madein 2014 for his prosecution.

He said the clean bill ofhealth the anti-graft agencygave the CCT chairmanrecently, confirmed hisposition that the tribunal,under Umar, would not ensurefairness in his ongoing trial.

Oluyede argued that onlythe AGF could reverse adecision to prosecute anaccused person, insisting thathis client’s application urgingJustice Umar to disqualifyhimself from the trial was stillpending before the tribunal.

Besides, Saraki’s lawyerfaulted media reports that theapplication was thrown out bythe tribunal, saying since theprosecution was yet to respondto it, and it had not beenheard, the tribunal could nothave validly determined itsmerit or otherwise.

He said: “We are not sayinghe (Umar) is guilty. We aresaying he is tainted and thathe cannot act independentlywhile the EFCC that isinvestigating him and hadindicted him is nowprosecuting our client beforehim. That is why we asked himto excuse himself from thetrial.

“He did so before in the caseinvolving former FCTMinister, Jeremiah Useni,where he excused himself fromthe hearing on the groundsthat he had a close

relationship with Useni. Weare asking him to do so againnow because of the facts thatwe have presented.”

How Sarakitransferred $3m to US Meanwhile, a documentobtained by Premium Timesindicated that Saraki,

transferred a total of $3.47million in 40 installments infour years with his credit cardto the United States.

He carried out thetransactions throughGuaranty Trust Bank between2009, when he served asKwara State governor, and2012 when he served as thesenator representing Kwara

Central Senatorial District.Prosecutors say the

beneficiary accounts in the USwere also owned by Saraki.

Some of the senator ’scompanies, during the sameperiod, also transferredthousands of dollars to the USaccounts. The companies areCarlisle Properties and WestGate Ltd.

Failure to share data hampers war onBoko Haram in Africa —US, others

DAKAR, Senegal — THEmilitary campaign by Nigeria

and neighbouring nations tocombat the West African militantgroup, Boko Haram, has beenhampered by a failure amongthose countries to share crucialintelligence, sometimes evenwithin their own security services,American and other Westernofficials say.

Western partners have balked aswell. The Pentagon and Americanintelligence services havestruggled at times to provideinformation quickly about BokoHaram militants to the Africancountries — Cameroon, Chad,Niger and Nigeria — withoutviolating restrictions on what canbe shared from spy satelliteimagery or electroniceavesdropping within rules for notdisclosing sources and methods.

Until recently, Western officialsand analysts said, Britain and theUnited States provided onlysanitized intelligence reports tothe Nigerian military. Thecountries feared that moredetailed information might bemisused by an army that humanrights groups say has committedabuses against civilians as itbattles Boko Haram, which haspledged loyalty to the Islamic

State.A new intelligence “fusion

centre,” created in Chad as partof a multinational task force, hasonly recently overcome budgetand staffing shortfalls, as well aslingering mistrust among theparticipating countries, to helpcoordinate operations.

“The big unanswered questionright now is how much are allthose five countries that areparticipating going to collaborateand work effectively,” Col. RobertWilson, who commandsAmerican Special Forces inNorth and West Africa, said in arecent interview, noting thatBoko Haram moves easily acrossborders. Benin recently becamethe fifth country to join thecoalition.

Even within the West Africancountries, interior ministriesoften do not share informationabout terrorist threats with theirmilitary counterparts.

In Cameroon, an elite specialoperations unit, the RapidIntervention Brigade originallytrained and equipped by Israel,now gets training andequipment from United StatesNavy SEALs and intelligencenot handed over to otherbranches and units of its security

services, Western analysts said.“It’s a confused mess,” said J.Peter Pham, the director of theAtlantic Council’s Africa Centerin Washington.

American military andcounterterrorism officials sayintelligence sharing is a difficultissue, particularly outsideestablished alliances. The UnitedStates confronted its ownshortcomings after the Sept. 11,2001, terror attacks, when itbecame clear that the F.B.I. andCIA each had information aboutthe hijackers not shared with theother. In the wake of the IslamicState attacks in Paris and Brusselsin the past year, the authoritiesin France and Belgium, as wellas throughout Europe, areseeking to fill glaring gaps inintelligence sharing.

American intelligence andcounterterrorism officials said itwas a challenge to share sensitiveintelligence with the West Africanallies fighting Boko Haram andother terrorist groups. The UnitedStates has different rules for whatintelligence it shares with eachcountry, and what one countrycan or cannot share with itsneighbour — even though all aretrying to fight a common regionalenemy, Boko Haram.

Fuel subsidyfraud: Courtfixes May 12for writtenaddress

By BartholomewMadukwe

LAGOS — JUSTICELateefa Okunnu of a

Lagos State High Court, Ikeja,has fixed May 12 for thewritten address of counsel inthe ongoing trial of some oilmarketers accused of fuelsubsidy fraud.

Founder, Executive Vice-Chairman of Ontario Oil & GasLimited, Walter Wagbatsoma,Adaoha Ugo-Ngadi, FakuadeEbenezer, and Ontario Oil andGas Nigeria Limited, arefacing a N1.9 billion oil subsidyfraud trial for purportedimportation of 39.2 millionlitres of petrol.

The defendants were re-arraigned in February 2013,on a nine-count charge offorgery, conspiracy, andobtaining by false pretences.

A witness of the Economicand Financial CrimesCommission, EFCC, ShehuMohammed, had testified thatthe defendants receivedpayment in excess of N414million by filing fraudulentfuel importation claims.

According to EFCC, thesuspects are part of numerousfuel marketers standing trialfor allegedly defraudingNigeria by forging documentsthat enabled them to receivefuel subsidy payments fromthe Petroleum Support Fund,PSF.

At a hearing before JusticeOkunnu, Mohammed, who isan EFCC detective, explainedthat the defendants scammedthe Nigerian government andconspired to receive anoverpayment of N414 millionin fuel subsidies.

Prosecutors allege that themarketers carried out theirfraudulent scheme bysubmitting false certificate ofshore tank content.

Mohammed told the courtthat the suspects claimed theyreceived 19 million liters ofpetroleum product, addingthat they forged certificates tosupport their fraudulent claim.

The prosecution witness saidEFCC investigations atIntegrated Oil and Gasdepots, OBAT Oil, the DebtManagement Office, and theCentral Bank of Nigeriaindicated that the suspectsforged documents to carry outtheir hoax.

“Analysis of the shore tankcertificate we recovered fromIntegrated Oil Services reads12 million liters while the onethat was given to thecommission by the Ontario Oilclaims 19 million liters,” Mr.Mohammed said.

Alleged N10m bribe: Saraki queries EFCC'spowers to clear CCT chairman

FORUM: From left, Mr Femi Mokikan, Chartered Institute Personnel Management ofNigeria, CIPM; Mrs Ifeoma Adeniyi, National Treasurer, CIPM; Mr Sunday Adeyemi,Registrar/CEO CIPM; Prof. Adrian Furnham, quest speaker and Professor of Psychology,University College, London and Mr Anthony Arabome, President/Chairmanof Council, CIPMduring the 8th Special Human Resource Forum organised by CIPM, in Lagos. Photo: DiranOshe.

CMYK

10—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

Train crushes 2 to death in llorinA KANO to Lagos passenger

train, yesterday, crushed acommercial motorcyclist and hispassenger to death on Kangu-lle-Araromi Road in llorin.

The train crushed themotorcyclist and his passenger, amiddle-aged woman, when themotorcyclist tried to cross the railline around 11a.m.

It was learnt that the train laterstopped some metres from thespot of the accident, but there wasnothing anybody could do as thevictims died instantly.

Hundreds of people, includingmotorists and commercialmotorcyclists, trooped to the sceneof the accident.

Some residents, including

children, burst into tears whenthey sighted the corpses.

Some members of thecommercial motorcyclistsassociation at the gate of theMichael lmoudu Institute ofLabour, identified the motorcyclistas one of their members.

Policemen from the GanmoPolice Station later evacuated the

two bodies.Officials of the Ilorin office of the

Nigeria Railway Corporation,NRC, were not in their offices forcomments, but the PublicRelations Officer of the KwaraState Police Command, MrSamuel Okasanmi, said thecommand would investigate thecause of the incident.

6 die, many injured as fire guts filling stationsDaud Olatunji with

agency reports

NO FEWER than six peoplewere killed, six houses

razed, and about 15 vehiclesburnt in Kaduna and Ondostates, Saturday, as fire guttedfilling stations, just as officers ofNigeria Security and CivilDefence Corps, NSCDC, OgunState Command, invaded aMRS Filling Station andreportedly attacked five workers

at the station in Ogun State.At Unguwar Ma’azu, Kaduna,

no fewer than six people died,seven injured while 15 vehicleswere burnt in a fire that gutted afilling station.

The Assistant Manager, FasadaMega Filling Station , AlhajiJibrin Musa, yesterday, inKaduna, disclosed that theincident happened, Saturday,when one of the trucks was off-loading petrol.

“The adaptor was not properlyfixed which splilled the fuel onground and some fuel hawkers

came to scoop the fuel on ground.“One of the motorists, who was

on queue waiting to buy theproduct, wanted to remove his car,he started his vehicle whichignited the fire.

“About 15 vehicles were burntto ashes, which include 11 privateand commercial cars, two KekeNAPEP, 1 tanker and a tipper.

“You can see that the fillingstation was all burnt; it evenaffected the nearby filling station.The Fire Service was there on timeto fight the fire. They helped a lotand people also helped to stop the

fire,” Musa said.The Manager of Shemaco

Filling station, which is near themega station, Malam Nafi’uInusa, said that the station wasalso affected by the fire incident,with four of the dispenser pumpsburnt.

When contacted, the KadunaState Director of Fire, Mr PaulAbio, who confirmed the incident,said that the fire fighters rescuedthose that were trapped.

In related incident at Igbokoda,headquarters of Ilaje LocalGovernment Area of Ondo State,no fewer than six houses wererazed in an inferno that gutted aMobil petrol station on Saturday.

It was learnt that the fire whichbegan at 7.30p.m. was as a resultof a spark which emanated froma house beside the Mobil fillingstation.

It was equally learnt that no lifewas lost in the inferno, but theabsence of a fire service stationin the town worsened thesituation.

An eye witness, Prince AyoolaOdidiomo, said that no life waslost in the fire outbreak, but thatsix houses were razed by theinferno.

Meanwhile, pandemoniumbroke out in Isale Igbein ,Abeokuta, when some officers ofNigeria Security and CivilDefence Corps, NSCDC, OgunState Command invaded anMRS filling station filling stationand attacked five workersincluding the manager of thestation.

2 die astrucks raminto cattle onexpresswayin Ogun

By Evelyn Usman

A 35-YEAR-OLD manwho was arrested a

for allegedly raping histeenaged sister in-law inMoloney area of Ikoyi,Lagos, has blamed his acton his state ofdrunkenness.

But for providence, thevictim, a primary schoolpupil would havesuffocated as she was saidto have been gagged bythe suspect identified as ,Mathew Akpan, in anapparent move to preventher from raising alarm,during the act.

The victim (nameswithheld) in herstatement to the Police,stated that ‘uncle’,(suspect) started havingcarnal knowledge of herimmediately his wifetravelled .

Unable to bear the painsand trauma of each night,she confided in aneighbour who advisedher to report to the Police.

By Daud Olatunji

ABEOKUTA—TWOpersons reportedly

lost their lives in anaccident which occurred atObada Oko axis along theold Lagos - Abeokutaexpressway yesterday .

An eye witness said thatthe accident occurred whena truck rammed into somecattle being led by a groupof Fulani herdsmen.

The witness said theaccident involved twotrucks: a green colouredAustin Tipper truck withnumber plates LAGOSKJA168 XP and a winecoloured DAF Truck withnumber plates OGUN TRE270 XA .

It was gathered that thedriver of the sand ladenAustin tipper truck onsighting the herdsmen andtheir cattle on the express-way lost control whileattempting to apply breakand eventually rammedinto the herd killing one cowin the process.

Both the driver of thetipper truck and his motor-boy also died after theirtruck had veered off theexpressway and crashedinto the bush.

I raped mysister-in-lawunder theinfluence ofalcohol—Suspect

Woman, 35, burns housemaid’s buttock with hot iron

Warri mob set 2 hoodlums ablazeBy Egufe Yafugborhi

WARRI—TWO hoodlumswere yesterday

afternoon burnt dead by angrymob in Okumagba Layout,Warri, Delta state.

The two, burnt at differentspots, were said to be among agang of nine armed robberscaught by youths in the areafollowing their failed robberybid at Okolobe Street,

Okumagba Layout.An eye witness told

Vanguard that, “They wereabout to raid people holdinga party in Okolobe Street witharms, but the crowd reactedswiftly and chased after them.

“They ran in differentdirections, but in the end, onewas caught at EmebirenJunction where he was beatento coma before being setablaze with a tyre round his

neck. The other got samejungle justice at EstateRoundabout.”

It was further gathered thatefforts by policemen andvigilante to rescue the victimswere thwarted by the mob.

Police Public RelationsOfficer, Delta State Command,DSP Cellestina Kalu, couldnot be reached for comment atthe time of filing this report.

By Francis Igata &Chinenyeh Ozor

ENUGU—THE EnuguState Police

command,yesterday, arresteda 35-year-old,Nneka Ifeoze,who allegedly burnt her nineyears old housemaid’sbuttock with a hot electric ironfor eating the food meant forher two years old baby boy.

Vanguard learnt from aneighbour that the quickintervention of the Policesaved the woman from beinglynched by residents of thearea when they heard that thewoman bashed the littlehousemaid because she wasaccused of eating the foodmeant for the woman’s twoyears old son.

Confirming the incident , theState’s Police Public Relations

Officer,PPRO, EbereAmaraizu, said the housemaidallegedly ate the food meantfor the suspect’s two-year-oldson, an action that infuriatedNneka Ifeoze.

“The madam (Nneka Ifeoze)allegedly came back to

discover that her two-year-oldboy under the care of thehouse help was assaulted asthe house help ate the foodmeant for him. The suspectbecame angry and headed forher plugged pressing iron,unplugged it and put it on her

buttock. The action left her withseries of injuries.

“Meanwhile, the victim wasrushed to a nearby hospital formedical attention while wewill prosecute them as soon asinvestigation is concluded,"Police spokesman assured.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Head of Field Unit in Markurd, Mr. SamAgwa (left) with UNHCR External Relations Officer, Mr. Hanson Tamfu, during the UNCHR envoy'svisit to Agatu in Benue, yesterday. Photo: NAN

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016—11

12—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

CMYK

By Gabriel Enogholase

Edo 2016: Ex-PDP govt officials adoptIze-Iyamu

N-Delta communities deny issuing quit noticeto Saipem

UPU lauds Ijawyouths overEse Oruru’srelease

B E N I N — T H Egovernorship ambition

of former Secretary to Edo StateGovernment, SSG, Pastor OsagieIze-Iyamu, of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,weekend, received a boostfollowing his adoption for thegovernorship race by pastpolitical office holders from EdoNorth senatorial district.

The decision to back PastorIze-Iyamu for the governorshipticket was taken at a meeting inFugar, headquarters of EstakoCentral Local Government Areaof the state by the formerpolitical office holders who aremembers of the PDP, as well assome other affiliate groups suchas women and youths groups.

The ex-political office holderssaid that after a thorough checkon all the aspirants jostling forthe Edo State governorship seatin all the political parties, theyhad come to the conclusion thatIze-Iyamu was the best,considering his experience,clout and temerity.

A former Speaker of Akoko-Edo legislative council, Mr. Ade

Ajayi, boasted that in Ize-Iyamu the PDP’s hope ofreclaiming Edo State from theAll Progressives Congress,APC, was certain, adding thatlike minds from the APC werewilling to team up with themonce Ize-Iyamu emerged thePDP candidate.

He said: “We have madeserious efforts to put thistogether. We have looked at

the profiles of all the aspirantsacross the party and have nodoubt that PDP’s chances arebrightest with Ize-Iyamu. Wehave since discovered that heis capable of bringing togetherthose things needed to ensurevictory for the party.”

Mr. Richard Olori fromAkoko-Edo Local GovernmentArea of the state moved themotion for the adoption of Ize-

Iyamu, while six other personsfrom each of the six localgovernment ares in the districtseconded the motion.

Some of those who attendedthe meeting include JaretTenebe, Abu Dokpesi, AbuMaipata former councilchairmen, vice chairmen,secretaries, supervisors andcouncilors in the six councils ofEdo North district.

NIGER Delta oil-richcoastal communities of

Ojobo, Ogbotobo and TarakiriCluster Development Board,TCDB, comprising Egbemo,Angalabiri, Ojobo, Ogbotobo,Agbayama, Agbidiama andother satellite communities, bothin Burutu and Ekeremo LocalGovernment Areas of Delta andBayelsa States, have said thatthere was no time they issuedquit notice to Saipem and otheroil firms operating in theirlocalities.

The communities stated thatthey were neither at war with the

Italian oil firm, Saipem, nor anyother company presentlyexecuting projects at the ongoingSouthern Swamp Associated GasSolution Project, SSAGS,warning that those fanning theembers of war between thecommunities and oil firms todesist.

In separate statements inWarri, weekend, by ChiefBekewei Warekromor(Amananaowei of Ojobocommunity), Tari Areprekumo(Chairman, Ojobo community),Chief Perry George (OgbotoboCT Chairman) and Dr. PrinceJude Ebibokefie (Chairman,TCDB), the community leaders

clarified that there were nocontractual irregularities betweenthem and Saipem.

They claimed that they hadnever been denied whatever wasdue to their communities since theproject commenced, adding thatthose threatening to shut down oilinstallations in the area under thepretence of breach in contractualagreements were mere mischiefmakers.

“As a people, we did not at anytime request or call on ShellPetroleum DevelopmentCompany, SPDC, to stop Saipemfrom handling its oil and gasprojects within our communities,"they said.

By SamuelOyadongha

Y E N A G O A —URHOBO Progress

Union, UPU, yesterdaylauded the commitment ofIjaw Youth Council, IYC, inadvocating the freedom ofEse Oruru.

Miss Oruru, a minor, wasallegedly abducted by Mr.Yunusa Dahiru in August2015 from Bayelsa Stateand taken to Kano Statewhere she was forced intoa marriage.

She was rescued by thepolice in March andreturned to Bayelsa Statewhile Dahiru was onMarch 8, 2016, chargedwith abduction, kidnappingand sexual exploitation bythe police.

Parents of the 14-year-oldOruru and executives ofBayelsa chapter of UPUlauded the support of IYCin securing the release ofthe minor during a thank-you visit to President of IYCin Yenagoa.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016—13

CMYK

Illegal appointment: CSO coalition wants 13VCs to resign

By Daniel Gumm

Deregulation, panacea to fuel crisis —Emami

By Innocent Anaba

NNPC ex-Executive Director gunning for GMD,NDIMRC alleges

By Onozure Dania

LP, APCmerger inDelta sufferssetback

A coalition of some civilsociety organisations has

advised the 13 Vice Chancellorsof federal universities in thecountry who were wronglyappointed by the FederalGovernment last February to takethe path of honour by resigningtheir appointments.

The coalition explained that themeasure had become imperativefollowing President MuhammaduBuhari's apology to the countryover the ill-advised dissolution ofthe governing boards of theaffected universities, whichpreceded the sack of the formerVice Chancellors and theappointment of new ones.

In a statement, weekend, inAbuja, the led by NationalConvener of the ConcernedCitizens for EducationalDevelopment, CCED, MrSolomon Adodo and ExecutiveDirector, Friends in the GapAdvocacy Initiative, FGAI, GeorgeOji, commended the principledposition of Professor AuwalYadudu, who bluntly refused toaccept the offer of appointment asVice Chancellor of the Universityof Birnin Kebbi for not followingdue process.

The group also highlighted theaction of Professor AndrewHaruna, Vice Chancellor of theFederal University, Gashua, YobeState, (one of the 13 ViceChancellors), who in apparent

recognition of his illegalappointment has now applied tothe University of Jos as one ofthe candidates for the office ofthe Vice Chancellor of thatuniversity.

“We use this medium to callon all the 13 Vice Chancellorswho were recently appointedwithout undergoing the speltout procedures to honourablytender their resignation lettersas Professor Haruna did, as hesubjects himself to seek the

pristine office of the ViceChancellor of the University ofJos.

“The fact that ProfessorHaruna could subject himself tothe proper screening andinterview process of theUniversity of Jos GoverningCouncil negates the premise onwhich he and the other 12appointed Vice Chancellorswere foisted on their respectiveuniversities in the firstinstance,” the coalition said.

The group restated that theposition of the law, whichprovides that the appointment ofVice Chancellors of FederalUniversities is the sole affair ofeach university without undueinterference from the Visitor(President) as seen in the caseof University of Jos GoverningCouncil under theChairmanship of Dr. DonEtiebet, stressing that, “thecompetitiveness of the processgives room for the best candidateto emerge successfully withoutbias or political interference.”

WARRI—NIGER Deltaactivist and chieftain of

All Progressives Congress, APC,Chief Ayirimi Emami, has urgedthe Federal Government toseriously consider fullderegulation of the oil and gassector, insisting that it was theonly way to end the endless fuelcrisis in Nigeria.

Chief Emami, who alsoenjoined the Nigeria LabourCongress, NLC, Trade UnionCongress, TUC, National Unionof Petroleum and Natural GasWorkers, NUPENG, andPetroleum and Natural GasSenior Staff Association ofNigeria, PENGASSAN, toreview the persistent fuel crisisin the country with a view toencouraging the FederalGovernment to fully deregulatethe critical oil and gas sector soas to encourage local andforeign investors.

He appealed to the FederalGovernment to relax thestringent forex policy and assistpetroleum marketers who importproducts to easily access forexat the official rate to complementthe government’s effort inmeeting the daily localconsumption demands for fuel.

In an open letter to PresidentMuhammadu Buhari, Emami

commended the FederalGovernment for revamping thehitherto comatosegovernment-owned fourrefineries and called ongovernment to immediatelyput measures in place toensure that fuel, kerosene andother crude oil products get tothe riverine dwellers ataffordable amount, since therewas a ban on the sale of fuelin jerry cans and the coastalcommunities do not have

filling stations.According to him, assigning

the task of distribution ofpetroleum products to thecoastal communities topetroleum marketers, who arefamiliar with the difficultterrain of the Niger Deltaregion will stop illegal oilbunkering and ultimatelyraise Nigeria’s daily crude oiloutput, apart from makingrefined products accessible atregulated prices.

He also absolved theMinister of State for PetroleumResources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu,of any blame in the currentfuel crisis, noting that theminister should be commendedfor his untiring efforts atmaking sure that the nation’sfour refineries have begunproduction again and ailinginfrastructures in the oil andgas sector are being revitalisedalongside sweeping reforms inthe NNPC.

NIGER DeltaIndigenous Movement

For Radical Change, NDIMRC,has alleged that a former GroupExecutive Director of NigerianNational Petroleum Corporation,NNPC, was desperatelyworking to become the GroupManaging Director of NNPC,even as they dismissed rumoursthat Dr Ibe Kachikwu has beensacked as the GMD of thecorporation.

It had been rumoured thatKachikwu had been fired andreplaced with Dr Maikanti Baru,the Adviser to Dr Kachikwu on

Gas.In a statement by its

President, Nelly Emma,weekend, the group dismissedthe rumour, saying: “Ourattention has been drawn tomisleading report that DrKachikwu has been sacked asthe GMD of NNPC and to tellthe general public that ourchecks revealed that it is not trueand therefore, should bedisregarded in its entirety.

“Our findings also revealedthat a former ED was behindthis devilish rumour. He is verydesperate to become the GMDof NNPC and we want toimplore President

Muhammadu Buhari to bewary of him.

“He is not happy with thereforms being carried out inNNPC by the GMD of thecorporation, Dr Kachikwu, andhe feels that the only way tounseat a hard-working innocentman is to go viral that his bosshas been sacked and he has beenappointed to replace him.”

The group, while alleging thatthe individual was one of thosewho destroyed NNPC which DrKachikwu has been workinground the clock to bring back tolife, said: “Without apology, wewant to say that he doesn’t meanwell for the corporation."

Edo 2016: WhyIze-Iyamu mustapologise toPDP—Ihimekpen

By Festus Ahon

ASABA—THE muchanticipated merger of

Labour Party, LP and the AllProgressives Congress,APC, in Delta State,weekend, suffered a setbackwith the state Chairman ofLP, Chief Tony Ezeagwu,dissociating himself from themerger talks between thetwo major political parties inthe state.

Indications had emergedlast week that LP and theAccord Party in the statewould merge with the APCahead of the 2019 electionwith a view to wrestingpower from the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, in thestate.

Chief Tony Ezeagwu, whileaddressing newsmen inAsaba, said that the partyhad never been innegotiation with any politicalparty to form a formidableopposition to dislodge thePDP from power in the statein 2019.

Ezeagwu said: “I think itis a rumour. I am the statechairman of LP, so if there isany such thing and I am notaware, it is not true."

By Simon Ebegbulem

BENIN—A chieftain of Peoples Democratic

Party, PDP, in Edo State, MrOkharedia Ihimekpen,weekend, insisted thatPastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, agovernorship aspirant ofthe party, must apologise toPDP members for hisalleged role in destroyingthe party and aiding theemergence of the AllProgressives Congress,APC, government in thestate.

Ihimekpen, who wasreacting to a comment byone Nosa Adams, a memberof the party, who faulted his(Ihimekpen’s) earliercriticism of Ize-Iyamu,noted that the power to electaspirants of the party lieswith the delegates but thatit would be difficult for thedelegates to support Ize-Iyamu’s candidatureunless he apologizes to theparty for jettisoning theparty for the then ACN andreturning to gun for thegovernorship ticket.

AINABE AT 70: Chief & Mrs Ezekiel Ainabe, cutting the 70th birthday cake for ChiefAinabe and the couple's 45th wedding anniversary, in Lagos. Photo: Diran Oshe.

14—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

Former Minister of Information, Prince Tony Momoh, the Yerima of Auchi Kingdom, presented a redesigned and updatededition of his book, Each Man His Time— The Biography of An Era, in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTOS: Abayomi Adeshida.

PRINCE TONY MOMOH'S BOOK PRESENTATION

Mr. Garba Zakawanu (left), Senator Victor Oyofo (right), former Head of Serviceto the Federation, Engr. Ebele Okeke (2nd left) and another guest.

From left— Guest of Honour, Senator Victor Oyofo; author's wife, Mrs. Janet Momoh;author, Prince Tony Momoh; Chairman of the event, Alhaji Ishyaku Rabiu, and Minister forScience and Technology, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu.

Former Chairman, Code of Conduct Tribunal, JusticeConstance Momoh (right) and Prince Momoh.

Guests with copies of the book.

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Delta Central Senatorial district held a victory reception in honour of Governor IfeanyiOkowa of Delta State at Oghara Township Stadium, yesterday. PHOTOS: Nath Onojake.

PDP RECEPTION FOR GOVERNOR OKOWA IN OGHARA

The reception venue.

ABOVE:From left— Gen.

Dominic Oneya (rtd)and Chief FredMajemite

LEFT:From left— Delta

State PDP Chairman,Chief Edwin Uzor;former DeputyGovernor of DeltaState, Chief B. S. C.Ellue, and SenatorPatrick Osakwe.

From left— Dame Edith Okowa, wife of Governor IfeanyiOkowa of Delta State; Hon. Erhatake Ibori and AlaoweiBroderick Bozimo, former Minister of Police Affairs.

From left—The governor's wife, Edith; Governor Okowa; Senator Ighoyota Amori; formerDeputy Governor of the state, Professor Amos Utuama, and Speaker of the state's House ofAssembly, Rt. Hon. Monday Igbuya.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016—15

HANDOVER: The new Flag Officer Commanding Nigerian Navy Logistics Command,Oghara, Delta State, Rear Admiral Sylvanus Abbah (left) recieving the Command Flag fromthe outgoing Flag Officer Commanding, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ofik.

WORKERS of Enugu State,under the auspices of the

Organised Labour, comprisingNigeria Labour Congress, NLC;Trade Union Congress, TUC,and Joint Public ServiceNegotiating Council, JPSNC,have debunked report creditedto the Independent CorruptPractices and other RelatedOffences Commission, ICPC),alleging that the stategovernment misapplied theFederal Government bailoutfund for the liquidation ofoutstanding salaries andpensions of the public servantsin the state.

They said: “Governor IfeanyiUgwuanyi involved theOrganised Labour in themanagement of the sum ofN4,207,000,000, being theactual bailout fund approved forthe state for the settlement ofoutstanding salaries andpensions of the public servants,”stressing that the stategovernment did not misapplythe fund as was wronglyreported.

ICPC had listed Enugu Stateamong the states that allegedlymisapplied the FederalGovernment bailout funds loanmeant to offset backlog ofworkers’ salaries and pensions.

In a statement by Mr. VirginusNwobodo, Chairman, NLC; Mr.Igbokwe Igbokwe, Chairman,TUC/JPSNC, and Mr. TheoObasiani, Secretary, JPSNC, theunions described the allegationby ICPC as “false andmisleading” and a “deliberateattempt to instigate workers andthe good people of Enugu Stateagainst the state governmentand tarnish the good image ofthe state.”

Imo tackles ICPCMeanwhile, Imo State

Government has not only deniedthat it misapplied the bailoutfund it received from theFederal Government, butequally challenged themanagement of ICPC to publishdetails of its findings or keepquiet over the issue.

Government’s position wasmade public yesterday, througha statement by Governor RochasOkorocha’s Chief PressSecretary, Mr. SamOnwuemeodo, which alsomade reference to a reportsigned by one MustaphaHussain on behalf of theCommissioner for PublicEnlightenment in theCommission.

Onwuemeodo said: “TheCommission did not state howit arrived at that conclusion, butonly stated that some transferswere made into certain accountsnot related to salaries andemoluments, including N2billion paid into a GovernmentAccount; N2 billion paid into anImo State Project Account andN2 billion transferred into aMicro finance Bank.”

While stating that ICPC was

Alleged Misapplication of Bailout Fund:Enugu workers exonerateUgwuanyi’s administrationAs IMSG tackles ICPCright that such monies werepaid into the mentionedaccounts, government,however, stated that itexpected the Commission togo further and tell the publicwhat such funds paid intothose accounts were used for.

He said: “The Commissionbecame stingy with facts at thatpoint. From the referencedMicro finance Bank Account,Imo State University, ImoPolytechnic, Imo College ofNursing and Health Sciences

staff, collected their salaries,also in arrears, in December2015. We also want the ICPCto prove us wrong on thisclaim.”

Continuing, he disclosedthat from the mentionedgovernment’s account,personnel of Imo SecurityNetwork, Imo CommunityWatch, Youth Must WorkTeachers, CommunityGovernment Council Teachers,and Imo Civil Guards werepaid all their arrears in

December 2015.He added: “In the case of

Imo State Project Account,government was drawingmoney from the account toensure full payment ofworkers’ salaries when thefinancial fortunes of the statebegan to dwindle like mostother states. So, when thebailout fund finally came, thegovernment had no optionthan to pay back the fund ithad borrowed from thataccount.”

By Emeka Mamah &Chidi Nkwopara

Tension as herdsmen plot invasion of Enugu community

CONFUSION hasenveloped Ukpabi Nimbo

community in Uzo-UwaniLocal Government Area,Enugu State, following analleged attempt by Fulaniherdsmen to invade thecommunity and displaceresidents for cattle-grazing.

About 500 Fulani herdsmenwere allegedly assembling atUkpabi Nimbo community inthe area to launch an attack.

It was gathered that theherdsmen at Adani had,weekend, imported these 500others from Nasarawa Stateto help them invade thecommunity on grounds thatsome of their cattle weremissing.

However, stakeholders fromthe local government met,weekend to find solutions to

the incessant attacks byherdsmen on communities inthe local government, leadingto the kidnap of over 15persons and raping of severalwomen from the area alongthe Nsukka-Adani-Umulokparoad in the last six months.

Those kidnapped allegedlypaid ransoms ranging fromN500,000 to about N5 millionbefore they regained theirfreedom.

According to sources,Chairman, TransitionCommittee, Uzo-Uwani LocalGovernment Area, CornellOnwubuya, reportedlyalerted Governor IfeanyiUgwuanyi and the stateCommissioner of Police,Ekechukwu on thedevelopment.

By Chinenyeh Ozor

He was said to havefurther alerted the leadersof the Fulani community inEnugu State, who met withstakeholders from Uzo-Uwani to address the issue.

Emergency meetingSpeaking at the

emergency meeting inEnugu, Onwubuya said themeeting was convened toaddress the allegation thatherdsmen planned to importabout 500 of their tribesmento enable them invade somecommunities in the area.

He noted that local leadersof the Fulani communityalso confirmed that therewere attempts to bring inmercenaries for the attackon the communities, adding

that the Fulani leaders in Enuguhad complained that some oftheir people were killed withinthe axis of Ukpabi Nimbo andAbbi communities in the recentpast.

In his speech at the meeting,Enugu State leader of theFulani community, Alhaji HaldoSaidu Baso said that he hadlived in Enugu State for over 33years and would not be alive towitness the type of crises thatthey were talking about.

The Fulani community laterresolved to talk to their peoplein the state not take the lawsinto their hands.

Baso said: “We will travel toNasarawa State to talk to thecattle owners and stakeholdersto warn the rustlers in EnuguState to stay away from trouble.”

Enugu Fulani community leader intervenes

IPOBleadershiptussleworriesMASSOB

By ChidiNkwopara

O W E R R I —LEADERSHIP of

the Movement for theActualisation of theSovereign State ofBiafra, MASSOB, says itis no longer comfortablewith what they called“the level of internalcrisis rocking theIndigenous People ofBiafra, IPOB.”

The group’s positionwas made public in astatement by Mr.Uchenna Madu, made a-vailable to Vanguard inOwerri.

It was the consideredopinion of MASSOBleadership that theconflicting leadershipclaims in IPOB “iscreating serious tensionand loss of faith whichdiminishes the primarytarget, interest and focuson the actualisation ofBiafra.

“MASSOB wishes toadvise the leaderships ofNnamdi Kanu’s IPOBand Supreme Council ofElders of IPOB under theleadership of Justice EzeOzobu (rtd), GeneralAchuzia and Dr. DozieIkedife, to sheathe theirswords, especially nowthat global attention isbeing drawn to Biafra.”

He said the lingeringwar of words was nothealthy for the struggle.

APRIL 25, 2016

CMYK

Continues on page 18

Operators of outdooradvertising businessin Nigeria say their survival is

under threat if government fails to cometo their aid, as they accuse the LagosState government of owing them overN1 billion.

The N1 billion is the total sumresulting from allotted sites for PresidentMuhammadu Buhari and GovernorAkinwunmi Ambode's 2015 electioncampaign, Financial Vanguard, FVauthoritatively gathered. The

practitioners under the aegis of OutdoorAdvertising Agencies of Nigeria,OAAN, among other things decried theinability of member companies andclients to access foreign exchange tobring in raw materials for production.

The Association also complained ofhigh rate of charges by states on bothredundant and occupied billboards.

President of the Association,Babatunde Adedoyin told FV that thesector is groaning under seriouseconomic crunch which is noticed onabout 70 percent of member companybillboards nationwide.

Adedoyin also noted that the present

economic situation is forcing clients tocut their advertising budget which hastaken toll on member companies.

Speaking to FV, the OAAN Presidentsaid: “The economy for us is in totalrecession, in a situation like this, thereis no way it would not affect our industry.As we speak, about 70 per cent of ourbillboards are redundant. Clients arecutting budgets. Some are not sure ofwhat they want to do this year and somecan’t even access foreign exchange tobring in raw materials and since they donot have raw materials they can’tproduce, hence they can’t advertise.

“For the first quarter of this year, there

are no media orders from mostcompanies, some of them are still tryingto put things together because of theuncertainty that we are facing today.That is the basic truth and I can’t startmentioning organisations. Some areeven owing the last two quarters of lastyear; I am talking about multinationals.”

Adedoyin went further to say, “theregulators are looking for money; LagosState Signage and AdvertisementAgency, LASAA is trying to collect moneyat all costs and everybody is looking forways to get money from operatorsbecause allocation coming from thecentre is little or nothing, therefore mostof them are now thinking that there areinternally generated revenues, IGR, andunfortunately those of us they are tryingto get the money from are having thesame problem.

“Our clients are not doing well, theyare not giving orders, they are notpaying. This is not peculiar to Lagos itis in all the states. Right now, our boardsare being pulled down in Kaduna,Rivers, Abuja and we have been to allthese places and the story is all the sameexcept that charges in Lagos is highermay be because they are the pioneer ofthese agencies. For sure, we don’t haveany sympathy from them, that is thetruth.”

On whether Lagos and the associationhave been able to strike a rapport, hequipped:

“First and foremost we have not settledanything with Lagos. We are stilldiscussing. We are trying to arrive at anamicable solution. We are praying andhoping that in a short time this wouldcome to an end. You know this is aprofessional association and as acompany you are compelled to practicein all the states of the federation. Wehave some of our members practising inthe East, in the West and those practisingonly in Lagos, and whatever policy thatwe have, members should be safewhether practising in Lagos orelsewhere. That is why we decided notto hold our annual general meetings inLagos alone.

"As I speak someone is in Kaduna andAbuja doing some discussion with theregulators there. It is a professionalassociation and the policy is the samewhether you are in Lagos, Abeokuta orUyo their problem there is our problemhere. Because today you might be inLagos and tomorrow may want topractice in Uyo."

BY PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

Multiple woes hitoutdoor advert sector

TOUR: From left, Former Governor of Kebbi State, Senator Adamu Aliero; CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele; Ministerof Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe and; Kebbi State Governor, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu, during the assessment tour ofANCHOR Borrowers Programmes in Kebbi State over the weekend.

Operators complain of unpaid bills, zero orders, regulatory issues

18 —18 —18 —18 —18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

Cover

Continued from page 17

On what drives rates,Emmanuel Ajufo, VicePresident of the associationstated that "there was a fixedrate, but with the advent ofLASAA, the rate went up by over1000 per cent and so theregulators want to make money,but like we keep telling them,Nigeria today has oil but havenowhere to sell it.

“We are telling them to allowus pay to the extent we havealso received but they are notreasoning, and we must getthem to understand that. "Ifthey can take what has beenreceived, then they should alsoallow us to pay what we havealso received.”

Corroborating the President’sstatement, Ajufo said furtherthat the association has beenbattling with LASAA on theissue of vacant billboards.

He said: ”We are theendangered specie, whatevermoney we spend, come from theadvertisers.

“The regulators still insist thatwe must pay them the sameamount of money we pay whenthe billboards were occupied.Where do they expect us to getthe money from?"

On raging debt controversy,the VP admitted that membersare owing LASAA, but it is as aresult of charges on vacantbillboards.

“We are saying to LASAA thatwe did a job for them and wehad an agreement with peoplethat gave us the job and LASAAis saying that they do not knowthat agreement and we believethat government is a continuumand very soon this presentmanagement of LASAA will bea thing of the past. I do notknow why people do not learnfrom the past. I don’t knowOAAN will enter agreementwith somebody and when thecurrent leadership departs andanother comes in and it willbegin to say it doesn’t knowanything about such agreement.

We are still talking about thisthing and we expect LASAA toset aside those debts until weresolve them because we areclaiming that money and he issaying that he doesn’t knowabout the money and he is stilldealing with us on the accountof the money that we expecthim to pay us.

Continuing, the VP stated: “itis not possible for us not to owebecause we can’t walk into thebank and take a loan to pay forvacant billboards. We believe asregulators, they mustunderstand the environmentsthey regulate and they mustalso know that a percentage ofwhat we give to them come fromadvertisers and they(advertisers) have the right totake their money to anywherethey want. We are here todaytalking about this rate being toohigh and we are asking themto bring it down and let us payas we received, but they saidno.

“Presently, we are havingissues in Kaduna, don’t forget the present Kadunagovernor was the one who didwhat he did in Abuja so hewants to do the same thing inKaduna. They started by sayingbeautify the environment and atthe end of the day it is rateincrease and so it is very clear

we need to come down toaddress this issue."

LASAA’s defence:The said Lagos State Signage

and Advertisement Agency,LASAA, the agency saddledwith the responsibility ofregulating outdoor practice inLagos, was said to have embarked on Save Our Soulagreement on behalf of the APCto rally support for itscandidates both within the Stateand at the federal level throughthe provision of sites foradequate exposure.

Although the agreement wassaid to have been reached byboth the regulator and theoperators prior to the election,the new administration ofLASAA led by Mobolaji Sanusihas denied any arrangement ordeal claiming that the formerhelmsman, George Noah, actedon his own.

Sanusi while denying theclaim stated that the partymade available some funds forthe execution of the campaignand as such the immediate pasthead should be heldresponsible to account for it.

While LASAA under Sanusiis insisting that it was theoperators that owe it for thestated period, the operatorsbelieve the new administrationwas being unfair by asking themto go after Noah for thepayment when the agreementwas reached.

To the operators, it was quitesurprising that the same LASAAwhose staffers were privy to theagreement could make a U-turnon the issue.

The operators further revealedthat some members had torelinquish previous agreementreached with the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) in orderto key into what the regulatorproposed to them.

Part of the agreement reachedbetween both parties, accordingto a source, include defrayingthe cost incurred by each of theoperators on the usage of theirsites for Buhari and Ambodecampaigns by clearing off eitherpart or all the debt owed.

Multiple woes hit outdoor ad sector

EntrepreneurialEntrepreneurialEntrepreneurialEntrepreneurialEntrepreneurialrevolution: The wayrevolution: The wayrevolution: The wayrevolution: The wayrevolution: The wayffffforororororwwwwward fard fard fard fard for Nigeriaor Nigeriaor Nigeriaor Nigeriaor NigeriaFor Nigeria’s and Africa’s women, youth, rural

populations, the urban poor, the underemployed andunemployed, the current economic realities offer no

hope for a change in their circumstances. Mass poverty isendemic across the continent, and shows no signs of waning.Most of Africa’s 54 countries are consistently listed amongthe low and low-medium human development societies. Whatis required to transform this situation is a radical break fromthe past. What is required is an entrepreneurial revolutiondevoted to providing goods and services that take advantageof the large domestic and regional markets and opportunitiesof a globalised economy. But this will not happen by wishfulthinking. It requires a profound shift in individual mind-setsand a fundamental reorganisation of government policies andpractices.

It will not happen overnight, but it can happen. Pursuingsuch a revolution, practical, directed steps can be takenimmediately to encourage the entrepreneurial vision, talentsand efforts of Nigeria’s, and Africa‘s populations. Theentrepreneurial revolution is key to poverty alleviation. Sucha revolution holds out a realistic hope for the future of Africa’s1 billion people.

Entrepreneurship is the surest way for a nation to meet thosegoals and to develop prosperity for the greatest number ofpeople. In fact, government activities should focus onsupporting entrepreneurship not just to meet thesemeasurable targets, but to unlock people’s mind- set, to allowinnovation to take place and to enable people to exercise theirtalents. In all people, you find different kinds of talents, andentrepreneurship is about harnessing those talents, andmaking sure that it takes people to another level in theirpersonal development. So, it is important for government todevelop the private sector and to create an environment thatenables entrepreneurs to flourish. We are focused on loweringthe costs of electricity, providing access to finance, buildingroads, and training managers.

Change has to start in the mind. And that is what we havebeen working on over time. Once the mind gets correct, therest becomes simple. This entrepreneurial mind-set mustinform our actions whether we are in the private sector,government, or civil society. This mind-set must inspire ourentrepreneurs to aim ever higher. It must compel our civilservants to reinvent government. It must encourage our civilsociety to work for the greater good. Ultimately, this mind-setholds the key to our prosperity, our development, and ourfuture.

Entrepreneur and government working together in public-private partnerships to pursue economic opportunities is theessence of the entrepreneurial revolution. The entrepreneurin his entrepreneurial activities can bring about increase inproduction and create employment, income and facilitate rapidgrowth of micro, small, medium, and large scale enterprise toreduce poverty and hunger among the people.

The World Bank’s country partnership strategy (CPS) forNigeria out lines basic requirements for sustainable growth:-Improving governance, Maintaining non- oil growth, andpromoting human development. The World Bank’s CPS andNigeria’s NEEDS strategies serve as a summary of keyinitiative that government must focus on in order to drive asustainable entrepreneurial revolution. These initiativesinclude:

· Creating a collective socio-economicatmosphere that encourages entrepreneurialdevelopment to its fullest and widest capability. Thisincludes tackling infrastructure deficits (in roads,power, and communication) that elevate the cost ofdoing business and mortality rates.

· Addressing systemic imbalances in terms ofpolicy design and implementation, together witheffective measures against institutional corruption.

INAUGURATION - From left, Victor Gotevbe, Secretary-General, Chartered Institute of StrategicManagers and Leaders, CISML Nigeria; Dr. Austin Izagbo, President/Chairman, CISML Africa;Dr. Hayford Alile, President-General, CISML Global and Prof. Joseph Mba, Registrar-General,CISML Global during the inauguration of principal officers of CISML Africa in Lagos recently.

We believe asregulators,they mustunderstandtheenvironmentthey regulateand they mustalso knowthat apercentage ofwhat we giveto them comefromadvertisers

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016 — 19

Economy

federation account by State andLGAs, while its IGR is not evenamong the top ten in the Stateby State list. Yes, why would thecore North be asked to collecttaxes when they can collect somuch from the federationaccount? Easy money. Even mysmall Kogi collects more IGRthan Katsina State. But KatsinaState ranks second when itcomes to sharing the allocationfrom the federation account byStates. So, to the core North, itis unitary fiscal government ornothing so that they cancontinue to control the federalpurse and appropriate it tothemselves using criteria likelandmass and census figures.

You just highlighted the realproblem with Nigeria. Peoplecan shout Sai Baba all theywant, there is no way in blueblazes someone like Buhari caninstill fiscal federalism into thesystem. To maintain its controlover Nigeria’s resources andmilitary, the North has tocontinue to uphold the myth ofbigger population whichjustifies their appropriation ofa lion's share of Nigeria’swealth. Anyone who thinksBuhari will bring about anyfundamental change is living ina fool’s paradise. Real changewill see the North losing all theirage long privileges. I don’t seethat happening at all.

Mr. President: Fiscal federalism willend Nigeria’s economic woes

Here are some interesting reactions to the issue raised on this column last Monday

Onu Igala

If the writer of this article saw the breakdown of internally generated revenues(IGR) by States, he would not have held his breath for Fiscal Federalism. If

the core North gives you fiscal federalism, what is then the attraction to seize federalpower by all means? Check this out, Kano State gets the highest allocation from the

Victor Inyang-EdungThe resources from Akwa Ibom

is what Kano is using to paysalaries, build roads andwhatever they call development,can you tell us what Kano andthe entire North is bringing tothe federal purse for sharing?Akwa Ibom, the rest of South-South and South East arejustified to collect 50 per centas it was before the civil war.

Matthews IThe problem does not so much

dwell on the absence ofknowledge or the unawarenessof our pitfalls as a people andnation but rather, on the non-existence of political and moralwill power to reason together asone people in resolving issuesconfronting us. Failure andinability to tackle the basiccauses of the so-called inherent,deep-seated and mutualdistrust rooted in our political,religious and ethnic trajectorywould continue to bog us downas an entity.

Of course, the major factor forour sundry predicaments lies in

our so-called leaders from allwalks of life – political, religiousand ethnic. Rather than seek orpromote causes for nationalunity, they would rathersponsor or lay foundation fordivisions for their ulteriormotives based on self-aggrandizement. Apt as theadvisory by the NationalEconomic Council, asencapsulated in this article, ongoing back to the basics of fiscalfederalism may seem to theentire developmental process ofthe nation, without genuinecommitment, this may wellseem like returning to thebridges that have been burnt.

DodoThis is very correct,

unfortunately, Nigerians areblind including their leaders.This problem, if not adequatelyaddressed, will affect ourchildren. Nigeria’s problem isnot about PDP, APC, religion ortribe. Buhari is not the solutionto Nigeria's problem. How longare we going to blame everyother person except ourselves?We are all responsible for thisvery unsustainable structure weoperate. Address this andchange our educational systemto focus on creativity and thingswill move in the right direction.Alternatively, we can continueto live in self denial. I repeat,Nigerians are blind. Take it orleave it.

Eri KingdomFiscal Federalism must also

include total deregulation of thetelecom sector. Some will arguethat at current stage, the sectoris already deregulated, but acloser look at it will show moreneeds to be done. A situationwhere five network providers

occupy a space for 100 millioncell phone subscribers isunacceptable. In fact, Nigeriawith its large population, needsa minimum of 50 networkproviders, an average of onenetwork provider per state inthe federation. Any networkprovider with two million+subscribers can sustain itsbusiness. States should beallowed to attract whicheverprovider they deem fit.

OkpomO Prince YusufThe regions that suffer the

most in this current lop-sidedarrangement must organisethemselves to get what theywant, whether any other regionagrees or not. They haveeverything at their disposal.

Oshimili OlatubosunPMB cannot deliver Nigeria;

he is part of the problem. Hewill never address thefundamental issue of true /fiscalfederalism, he can travel to themoon and borrow any amountor arrest all the thieves, yet hecannot deliver Nigeria from itscurrent problems.

Of course, themajor factor for oursundrypredicaments liesin our so-calledleaders from allwalks of life –political, religiousand ethnic.

Of all the Issues thathave threatened thestability of this

country- religion, ethnicity -there has been none as virulentas oil. This threat has beenpotentiated by the manner inwhich this product has beenadministered andmismanaged.The effect of thismismanagement has speltdoom for our economy andbrought total discontent to thepeople of the Niger Delta.When militancy and thedemand for resource controlfirst started, the rest of thecountry accused the people ofthe region of wanting tosecede. But, as I have hadoccasion to state in the past, itwas never the intention of thepeople of the region to secede.Rather our worry, which tilltoday has not been adequatelyaddressed, was, and remains,the fear that it is the rest of thecountry that has a hidden

PIB: Need for even handednessagenda toward our oil. Thesuspicion has been expressedthat the rest of the countryintends to exhaust the oil andgas in such an uncaringmanner as has left the regionenvironmentally devastated,and at the end of the day bidus good bye.We have therefore soughtguarantees that this will nothappen but none has beenoffered. We have soughtmeaningful participation ofthe States and localcommunities in the oilindustry and this has beenstiffly resisted. What we haveinstead is a contrivance calledPetroleum Industry Bill (PIB).The 1999 constitution ofNigeria as amended is veryclear and states as follows:“Notwithstanding theforegoing provisions of thissection, the entire property inand control of all minerals,mineral oils and natural gasin, under or upon any land inNigeria or in, under or uponthe territorial waters and theExclusive Economic Zone of

Nigeria shall rest in thegovernment of the Federationand shall be managed in suchmanner as may be prescribedby the National Assembly.”Why is the National Assemblyin such a hurry now toregulate the management ofmineral oils only and not theother minerals with whichNigeria is so abundantlyblessed?The Chairman of the House ofRepresentatives Committee onPublic Petitions, Hon UzomaNkem Abomia, was reportedas saying that the newPetroleum Industry Bill (PIB)proposed by the Nigeriansenate is skewed in a mannerthat would breed moretroubles and restiveness in theNiger Delta region, instead ofsolution.I have read such screamingheadlines as: “Plateau toexplore solid mineral”;“Ondo partners US firm onbitumen exploitation”; “PIB:Nigeria mulls 40% sale of newoil firms”.There is also a determination

to unbundle and completelyreorganize NNPC. It has alsobeen reported how “Expertsmake case for solid mineralpolicy”. The Hon. Minister forSolid Minerals, Dr Fayemi hasbeen quoted as saying “Thereis nothing in any law in thiscountry that prohibits Statesfrom being active participantsin the development ofminerals endowed in theirStates”. The Hon Ministerwent on to say “However, theFederal Government mustactively encourage States toplay a part. If anyoneimagines that simply becausesomeone has license (he) canjust enter and start operatingwithout some level ofengagement with the localauthorities; it’s a misnomer.This is not the intention of ourconstitution. It is the residueof our authoritarian past thatis still allowing people to feelthat that is what exclusivityrefers to.”Why has this never been sowith oil and in what way is thePIB expected to correct this

anomaly?With the industry in a flux andwith heightened activity in thesolid mineral sector there is acompelling demand for evenhandedness in the formulationof policies to govern allminerals, solid as well as oil.The Petroleum Industry Billtherefore should wait and letthis country make up its mindabout how all minerals in,under or upon land or waterin Nigeria are to be uniformlyadministered for the good ofall.Whatever else we do not do,in the long run, the aim mustbe to put the country back onthe firm compass of true fiscalfederalism. There can be nodoubt that all these agitationsfor secession, renewedmilitarism and even maybeBoko Haram, have their rootsin the fault lines of ourdistorted and fracturedfederalism.

* Obong Victor Attah isformer Governor of AkwaIbom State

By VICTOR ATTAH

20 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

Business & Economy

The Consumer ProtectionCouncil, (CPC) ,

weekend, clamped down ontraders at Oregun area ofLagos state for selling fake gasfilters and other mechanicalproducts.

Selling fake products in themarket, CPC said contravenesconsumers’ rights to value for

CPC clamps down on fake gasfilter traders

By FRANKLIN ALLI

money.The Head of Lagos

Operational Office, CPC, Mr.Joshua Nggada, who led theenforcement that lasted up toan hour, said CPC has the

mandate to protect theinterest of the consumers andpromoting their welfare.

He said that the Council isdetermined to make sure thatall products that are

hazardous and substandardare removed from the markets.

According to him, this isdone through routinesurveillance and consumertips from the public.

He informed that the councilhad received consumer tipsthat fake fleet gas productsand filters are being sold incertain locations in Lagos,especially in Oregun, Ikeja

“We went into surveillanceand discovered that severaloutlets are selling thesecomponents that haveidentified some of the shopswith what they are selling.After the due diligence andwe have identified the source,we have to now remove themfrom the market”, he said.

Similarly, the council’s Headof Surveillance andEnforcement, LagosOperational office, Mr.Camillus Anyawu who led theenforcement exercise toldnewsmen after the exercisesaid the enforcement was toprotect consumers’ interestand right.

According to him, manyconsumers are ignorant ofwhat they are buying butwhen they are sensitized, theyknow better.

“Education has to comefrom two angles because theperson selling has to informthe consumer what theproduct is all about. Theconsumers have opportunitiesto 3 Rs, repair, return orrefund but unfortunately,many consumers are notaware while traders too don’tgive room for such”, he stated.

The Acting Director-General of the

Standards Organisation ofNigeria (SON), Dr PaulAngya, has given reasons whythe agency ’s standardenforcers have resorted tochasing trailers and containerson the highways rather thanother less risky methods ofenforcing standards

Angya who was speaking tostakeholders in the nations’maritime sector at a forum inLagos, said the reason isbecause, contrary to generalimpression, the SON had longbeen sent out of the nation’sports, and had no alternativethan to seek other ways ofcarrying out its statutoryfunctions.

‘’As I speak to you, SON isnot at the ports. SON can onlygo the ports at the invitation ofthe Customs. We arebegging to be allowed to cometo the ports to do our jobs, butwe cannot force our way intothe ports.”

Angya said that result of thecurrent position of things is thatup to 60 per cent of thecontainers that arrive thenation’s waters leave the portswithout inspection by the SON,with obviously negativeimplications.

Angya saiD: ”Put us at theports, we will holdunscrupulous importers. SON

Why SON chases containers onhighways — Angya

was removed from the ports tofacilitate trade but that trade iskilling Nigeria and Nigeriansnow.

"We can’t continue like this.Our young ones can’t get jobsbecause there are nomanufacturing companies. Ourmanufacturers have gone toChina and other places.”

According to him, theComptroller of Customs hashowever been receptive ofSON’s initiatives for acollaborative way of policingthe ports more effectively,adding that modalities for thathad already been establishedin the course of recent meetingsand deliberations.

The Chief Operational Officer, BoschWorldwide, Dr. Michael Schoellhorn, has

expressed confidence in the Nigerianeconomy, saying its population and growthprospect is among other attractions thatpropelled investment of Bosch in the Nigerianmarket. While opening its first showroom inAfrica located in Lagos, Schoellhorn said hehas confidence in the Nigeria economy, andno doubt that the Nigerian market wouldbenefit immensely from the quality of productsand services Bosch is bringing to the table.

“We are expecting a lot in Africa and indeedNigeria considering the size of the populationand the potentials it has for growth. We haveno doubt that the Nigerian market wouldbenefit immensely from the quality of productsand services we are bringing to the table,” hesaid.

Also, the Head, Africa Region of Bosch, Mr.Novert Klien, who was also at the well-attendedceremony, said Nigerian consumers, wouldfind their array of quality home and kitchenproducts very useful and hard to resist.

We have confidence in Nigerian economy — BoschBy PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU Corroborating, Chief Executive Officer of

Pedini Nigeria Limited, Mr. Chiedu Nwokolo,said many of the products they are bringinginto the market are targeted at addressing theday to day challenges faced by manyNigerians especially with appliances used inkitchens. “At Pedini, we decided to partner withBosch in solving some of the problemsencountered by many Nigerians in the kitchenbecause they are the most reliable brand inthe entire continent in terms of durability,quality and technology.

“We are very confident of the Nigerianeconomy, the size of the market and also inthe quality and pricing of our products whichare tailored to compete favourably well in themarket. We intend to build between 50 to 100Bosch-branded stores across the country overthe next three years. This is to further servethe Nigerian public better,” he said.

However, the Managing Director of BSHSouth Africa, Enrico Hoffmann, said theproducts are “invented for life, adding “Boschhome appliances provide precision technologyand European design, which simplifies life inevery kitchen.”

The Managing Director ofGolden Chance Lotto,

Charles Arthur has said that theestablishment of the companyhas contributed immensely tothe development of man powerin the country.

Arthur said many youths havebenefitted from the jobopportunities provided by thecompany.

He stated this during theaward ceremony of the 30 Sub-Agent whom he claimed haveworked tremendously and wasable to meet a certain target thatwas given to them.

“Our company which isamong the big companies inNigeria, has changed so manylives, before now, you see a lotof youths underneath thebridges who steal and snatchbags from people because theyare hungry, but we empoweredthem through this Lottobusiness” he said.

All the awardees got differentprizes which ranges fromTricycle, double door deepfreezer and a Plasma Television.

According to him, the LottoCompany is now operating in28 states of the country and weare still doing more, this is thefourth time we would berewarding our agents.

He added that the GoldenChance Lotto Company is aregistered company with Lagosstate government and theFederal government.

Arthur urged the government

We're majoremployers of labour— Golden Lotto

By ONOZURE DANIA

Olam to invest $150min poultry sectorOlam International says

it is making $150 millioninvestment in animal feedmills, poultry breeding farmsand a hatchery in Kaduna andKwara state.

Olam CEO for AfricaVenkataramani Srivathsan,who disclosed this in astatement, said: “Domesticallyproduced meat is beinghampered by a lack of goodquality feed, support forfarmers and availability ofyoung stock, but consumptionis set to increase.

“By investing in poultry andfish feed, we can utilise thewheat bran from our wheatmilling operations, as well asmaximise our sourcingnetworks to buy corn and soyfrom local farmers. Ourinvestment in the hatchery willhelp boost poultry productionand, in the long run, helpreduce the country’s relianceon import.”

RECEPTION - From left: Director, Legal & Regulatory, Airtel, Shola Adeyemi; Chief Execu-tive Officer, Teledom Group International, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem with 1st Vice President,Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Olusola Teniola during the Spe-cial Reception held in honour of the Communications Minister in Lagos.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016 — 21

CMYK

Banking & Finance

VISIT - From left, ECOWAS Commissioner for Finance, Sesay Allieu, Managing Director ofEcobank, Mr Charles Kie chatting with President of ECOWAS, Marcel Alain de Souza andECOBANK Deputy Managing Director, Foluke Aboderin during a courtesy visit by Managementof ECOBANK to ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja.

BY BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

More than half of Africanbusinesses reduced

investments in capital projectsin the first quarter of the yeardue to gloomy economicoutlook and decliningbusiness confidence.

This was one of thehighlights of the latest GlobalEconomic Conditions Surveyconducted by the Associationof Chartered CertifiedAccountants (ACCA) and theInstitute of ManagementAccountants (IMA). TheGlobal Economic ConditionsSurvey (GECS) is the largestregular economic survey ofaccountants in the world.

Among other things thesurvey revealed that 55percent of African businessessaid that they were lessconfident about the economy,while 61 percent cut back oncapital investment.

The report stated, “China’sinvestment slowdown and theresulting collapse incommodity prices have hitbusiness confidence in Africahard. In Q1, 55 percent ofbusinesses said they hadbecome less confident aboutthe outlook – well above theglobal average of 48 percent.

“More firms in Africa thananywhere else (61 percent)were cutting investment incapital projects, and thecontinent is also the regionwhere businesses have thebiggest problems with risingcosts and foreign exchangemovements, with many of theregion’s economies sufferingsharp falls in their currenciesin recent quarters.

“The region’s largesteconomy, South Africa, is

African firms cut investments asbusiness confidence wanes —Survey

going through a particularlydisastrous spell. PresidentZuma is under pressure toresign, and a once-in-a-century drought is sendingfood prices soaring.

“The situation is not muchbetter in Nigeria, Africa’ssecond-largest economy,where speculation of currencydevaluation is mounting andthe government is struggling

to cope with a collapse in itsrevenue as oil prices havefallen.”

At the global level, TheGECS showed that in Q1businesses were lessoptimistic about theirprospects than at any othertime in the past four years.Almost half of the firmssurveyed said that they weremore pessimistic about their

prospects than they werethree months earlier. Lessthan one quarter had becomemore optimistic.

It also showed that morethan half of firms are eithercutting or freezingemployment, while only 14%are increasing investment instaff. As many as 42 percentof firms are cutting back oninvestment, up from 40percent in Q4 2015. Almostevery region saw an increasein the number of businessescutting capital expenditurelast quarter, with NorthAmerica the most notableexception.

Commenting on theoutcome of the survey, “ToyinAdemola, Country HeadACCA Nigeria said, “Theeconomic issues facing theworld are not limited toNigeria, it is the emergingmarkets more generally thatare suffering most from bottomlines being squeezed. Wagesare rising rapidly in manyparts of the world andbusinesses are finding itharder to cope as revenuescome under increasingpressure. The sharp dropagainst the dollarexperienced by manycurrencies will also havepushed up costs, makingimports more expensive andraising the value of dollar-denominated debts. All thesemean that firms in emerging-market economies are verypessimistic about theirprospects.”

Eurozone financeministers say they have

made progress in talks aboutthe bailout programme forGreece. But they said after ameeting in Amsterdam onFriday that further work wasstill needed.

They said they are hopefulthat an agreement canreached in the next few daysand are ready to call anextraordinary meeting. Thatwould pave the way for thenext payment under thebailout.

Once again a review of theGreek government’s policieshas been delayed by months.So has the next payment offinancial assistance. Thisreview, the first under a newbailout of more than 80billion Euros and agreed inAugust 2015, was originallysupposed to be completedlast year.

The tone emerging from ameeting of eurozone financeministers was, however,relatively positive. There hasbeen progress, theyacknowledged, but they wantto see more in a number ofareas, includingprivatisation and the strategyfor the government finances.

That latter of these is alsoat the centre of a disputebetween the financeministers and the EuropeanCommission on one side andthe International MonetaryFund on the other.

The IMF is sceptical aboutwhether the measures underdiscussion are sufficient tomeet the targets for reducingthe government’s finances -a surplus in the publicaccounts before interestpayments on its debtsequivalent to 3.5 percent ofnational income, GDP.

The IMF is also doubtfulabout whether it’s realistic toexpect that target to beachieved at all over a longperiod.

One way that the eurogroup is trying to narrow thegap with the IMF is seekingan agreement on measuresthat Greece wouldautomatically take if it missesits financial targets. If allwere to go to plan, theywouldn’t be needed, but theywould be available as abackstop if needed.

The IMF has anotherconcern. Its view is that debtrelief is needed and that’swhy it is not contributingfinancially to this, the thirdbailout, though it did providefunds for the first two.

Heritage Bank has introduced twocustomer reward programmes,

MyHeritageReward and HBConcourse,designed to appreciate and encourage customerloyalty.

While MyHeritageReward is a loyaltyprogramme in which customers winmouthwatering prizes as they use the variouselectronic channels of the banks, the HBConcourse is a meeting room fully furnishedwith relevant office equipment and designedto afford the small business owner or beginner,who are customers of the bank, space to holdbrief business meetings and conclude deals withhis own clients at absolutely no cost.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer ofthe bank, Mr. Ifie Sekibo, said that the twoprogrammes demonstrate, “Heritage Bank'scommitment to supporting customers in wealthcreation, preservation and transfer acrossgenerations.”

These programmes, he noted, are some of theinnovative ways through which we can showappreciation to our customers for being part ofour success story.” For MyHeritageReward,customers are required to sign up online on theplatform, www.myheritagereward.com, usingtheir mobile phone numbers, which enable thecreation of a customer profile with a pass-worded access. From this point on, the customerearns points which enable him to graduate fromclass to class while winning commensurateprizes as he actively uses the bank’s POS,

Heritage Bank introducesMyHeritageReward, HBConcourse

internet and mobile banking, ATMs and cardsamong other eBanking products.

The uniqueness of the MyHeritageRewardis in the ability to view milestone progressmade by customer like, bank transactionchannels, membership class, milestoneboosters and cashbacks as well as an inquiryservice that gives the customer access to pointbalance, ranking, rebate purse in addition toentertaining games and contests likeGoldfinger and Brain Quest among others.

The prizes to be won range from airtimeacross all networks, smart phones, business,shopping vouchers, generators, inverters toa brand new vehicle.

Apart from saving cost for the newcomer inbusiness and SMEs, the HB Concourse alsoprovides convenience for clients travellingout-of-State for business to naturally conducttheir meetings or appointments withoutworrying about office space among others.

To use these meeting rooms such customersof the bank will have to go through asimplebooking process online, which are mereformalities to avoid clashes of meeting times withfellow customers who also want to use the samefacilities.

These concourses are currently available infive key locations in Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan andPort Harcourt. Each concourse is furnished withoffice chairs, conference table, airconditioning,projector, flat screen TV, telephone, internet/Wi-Fi and crockery for tea/coffee.

Greece bailouttalks make‘progress'

22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

CMYK

Banking & Finance

PRESENTATION - From left: Group Head, Retail Banking Unit, Skye Bank Plc., NkolikaOkoli; a winner of N100,000 consolatory cash prize, a Jewelry Seller, Okoro Akonam and TeamLead, Small Business Group, Osolo Way Branch, Skye Bank Plc., Femi Shobande at the tenthcheque presentation to winners in the ongoing Skye Bank’s “Reach for the Skye” MillionaireReward Scheme held in Lagos on Thursday, April 21, 2016.

‘Naira/Y‘Naira/Y‘Naira/Y‘Naira/Y‘Naira/Yuan swuan swuan swuan swuan swap'll increaseap'll increaseap'll increaseap'll increaseap'll increaseNigeria’s dependency on China’Nigeria’s dependency on China’Nigeria’s dependency on China’Nigeria’s dependency on China’Nigeria’s dependency on China’Neutral effect on exchange rate

STORIES BY BABAJIDEKOMOLAFE

The Naira/Yuan currencyswap agreement

between the federalgovernment and Chinesegovernment will increasedependency of Nigeria onChina, said FinancialDerivatives CompanyLimited (FDC).

In an analysis of the dealtitled: 'Naira /Yuan CurrencySwap: The Mother of allDeals - Nothing to Cheer’,the Company stated that,“While the objective of theswap deal is to correct thetrade imbalance, the reality isthat the deal will increase thedependency complex andparasitic relationshipbetween Nigeria and China.Despite its drawbacks andmore important, it will providea negotiating platform forNigeria to extract better tradeand investment concessionsfrom other Westerncountries.”

The Company also notedthat currency swap will nothave any effect on theexchange rate of the naira,and it would not help curbinflation.

“Will this transaction makethe Naira stronger in theForex markets? No. Theimpact on the currencypressure is neutral. This isbecause the swap deal doesnot increase the inflow offorex into the country.

“Will this deal help curbinflation? No. This is becausethe root cause of the spike inconsumer prices is thescarcity of forex exchange

and other cost push factors.The currency swap deal hasnot addressed this issue.Therefore, the problem ofsoaring inflation remains.”

Explaining how the swapwill work, FDC said, “TheCentral Bank of Nigeria(CBN) will convert a certainportion of its external reservessay $3bn to Naira (N200 x$3bn = N600bn) and depositwith the Peoples Bank ofChina. The Chinesegovernment will give Nigeriathe Yuan equivalent of $3bn. Nigerian trader wants toimport spare parts from China

will approach Nigerianbank, and pay N40m for$200,000 (at N200/$). The Nigerian bank will open letter of Credit (L/C) confirmed by Industrial andCommercial Bank of China(ICBC). The Nigerian bankcredits ICBC with N40m,goods are shipped anddocuments negotiated. ICBCis long Naira and short Yuan.

If ICBC needs to importgoods from Nigeria i.e. oil at$43pb, it will pay NNPC withnaira at $43pb x N200. Consequently, Nigerian oilexports to the rest of the worldwill reduce by the volume

sold to China. Nigerian Yuanearnings increase and dollarrevenue reduces by the sameamount. Impact neutral onexternal balance. Nigeriawill end up importing morefrom China and selling moreto China. EUREKA! EUREKA!

It is the economic equivalentof Archimedes’ principle: The Yuan volume is the objectthat is immersed in theNigerian dollar pool. Theamount of Yuan will be equalto the dollars displaced. Inthe end oil revenue will notchange and import volumewill not. Destination ofexports and origination ofimports is all that will change.”

The Company noted thatwhile the currency swap will,“boost bilateral trade volumesbetween Nigeria and China, itwill also increase dependenceon China for imports of rawmaterials and equipment.

Cost of funds areexpected to fall this

week due to inflow of N396billion from statutoryallocation funds and paymentof matured treasury bills.

Meanwhile, FederalGovernment bond prices fellsharply last week due toincrease sell pressure fromfund managers.

In its review of activities inthe interbank bank moneymarket last week, Cowry Assetmanagement Limited notedthat “In the just concludedweek, Nigerian InterbankOffered Rates moved inmixed directions amidtreasury bills auctionsaccompanied by FederationAccounts AllocationCommittee (FAAC)disbursement of N299.7billion. “During the week,Central Bank of Nigeriaauctioned Federal

Fortis MFBgives outN15bn loan to64,000customers BY EMMA UJAH, ABUJABUREAU CHIEF

Fortis MicrofinanceBank Plc has given out

a record N15 billion in loansto 64, 000 customers inaddition to financiallyempowering over 100, 000clients.

Managing Director/ChiefExecutive, Fortis MFB, Mr.Tiko Okoye, disclosed this inAbuja, at the weekend duringthe presentation of the ClientProtection Certification by theSmart Campaign.

According to him, Fortis hasmaintained a leadingposition among theFicrofinance Banks (MFBs),in the country, been the firstto receive the ClientProtection Certification by theSmart Campaign.

Speaking on the SmartCampaign Certification, theMD said, “Fortis is amicrofinance bank that takesgood care of its customersbecause customer interest isforemost in whatever we dohere.”

He stressed that the bankpays particular attention tothe successes of its clients anddoes much more than justmerely transactingbusinesses with them.

According to him, “Wehave always held a strongcommitment to protecting ourclients, but this independentvalidation lends credibilityand demonstrates to ouresteemed clients and ourindustry that we continue towork every day to improveour service and ourcommitment to best practicesin microfinance.

On the Smart CampaignCertification, he said, “Thecertification we have justreceived underscores ourcommitment to customers. We make sure that there istransparency in pricing. We make sure that there is nohidden condition in ourfacilities, as it is said, noreading between the lines. With Fortis, what you seeis really what you get.

“And we must thank ourpartners, FMO. T h e yhave been very crucial intaking us through theprocess. And again I saythat the Smart Campaign, theCustomer Protection Principle(CPP) is central to ouractivities in this bank.

Interbank rates to fall as N396bn boost market liquidity

Government Bonds (all re-openings) worth N167.52billion on Wednesday, 20April; viz: 91-day bills worthN36.79 billion (marginal rate(MR) rose to 7.88 percentfrom 6.10 percent); 182-daybills worth N35 billion (MRrose to 8.99 percent from 8.69percent) and; 364-day billsworth N95.73 billion (MRrose to 10.25 percent from9.49 percent).

“The outflows were offset byinflows worth same amountsand tenors; hence, NIBOR forovernight funds, 1 month and6 months tenor bucketsincreased w-o-w to 5.58percent (from 4.54 percent)and 10.43 percent (from 10.39percent) respectively whileNIBOR for 3 months and 12months tenor buckets fell to8.33 percent (from 8.38percent) and 12.35 percent(from 12.48 percent)

respectively.“Meanwhile, yields on the

Nigerian Interbank TrueTreasury bills increased for allmaturities on sustained selloffs – yields on the 1 month,3 month, 6 months and 12months tenors increased to3.90 percent (3.54 percent),6.81 percent (from 6.50percent), 9.43 percent (from8.88 percent) and 10.98percent (from 10.55 percent)respectively.

This week, N96.36 billion,274-day treasury bills willmature on Thursday, 28 April2016. We expect that thematurity coupled with theN299.7 billion FAAC inflowswill help boost financialsystem liquidity and reduceinterbank offered rates.

“In the just concluded week,Federal Government bondprices depreciated (and yieldsincreased) on sustained bear

run. Week-on-week, 20-year,10.00 percent FGN JUL 2030debt lost N1.91 (yieldincreased to 12.97 percent);the 10- year, 16.39 percentFGN JAN 2022 paperplunged N3.25 (yield rose to12.50 percent); the 7-year,16.00 percent FGN JUN 2019instrument depreciated byN2.47 (yield increased to12.24 percent); the 5- year,15.10 percent FGN APR 2017paper declined by N0.25(yield upped to 10.85percent); while the 3- year,13.05 percent FGN AUG 2016bond shed N0.41 (yieldclimbed to 7.43 percent). Atthe London Stock Exchange,traded FGN Eurobondsweakened amid profit takingactivity – the 10-year, 6.75percent FGN JAN 2021 paperand 10-year, 6.38 v JUL 12,2023 bond lost $0.38 and$0.43 respectively.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016 — 23

CMYK

Union Bank of Nigeria Plchas said that its target

is to become one of the top tierbanks in the country by 2020.

The bank further stated that itis poised to grow its customerdeposit by 20 per cent in 2016while significantly driving downcost and reducing its Non-Performing loans, NPLs.

The Group Managing Directorof the bank, Mr. Emeka Emuwa,who disclosed this at the bank’sfacts Behind Figures on theNigerian Stock Exchange, NSE,said the bank’s aspiration is tobe a highly respected bankinginstitution in the country byimproving on the quality of itscustomer experience, quality ofits earnings, clients’ base, itstalent, as well as the quality ofthe banking platform.

He said: “Looking into thefuture, we expect to grow deposita bit faster in 2016 because wehave already made a lot ofinvestments in alternativechannels, we have made a lot ofinvestments in our retail front,so we expect our customerdeposit to go up a little faster by15 to 20 per cent within the year.

“Our cost-to-income ratio, weclosed 2015 at 67 per cent. In2016, we expect that to be lessthan 65 per cent or 65 per centat most. So, we will focus ontaking out cost by being a bitmore disciplined aroundpurchasing and being a bit moredemanding from serviceproviders.

Return-on-equity, again, weclosed 2015 at eight per cent, andwe expect the number to pushupwards to between eight andnine per cent in 2016,” he said.

On reducing the Non-performing loans ratio whichstood at 6.67 per cent as at fullyear ended December 31, 2015,the UBN boss said: “As our loanbook continues to grow andgrow copiously, the ratio of non-performing loans to performingloans is expected to come down;that is what we see. In addition,for the loans are not performing,there are two things we aredoing. One is actively workingto make sure they perform andwhere they are not performing,we apply measures exclusive tous to get our money back. Wehave been able to use that in anumber of cases and it workedpretty well. That is how we seethe NPLs.”

According to him, the bank’srobust transformation plansinclude portfolio enhancementwhich will help it enhance itsbusiness model and drive marketpenetration.

UBN targets top tier 1position in 2020, togrow deposit by 20%

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

Five banks quoted on theNigerian Stock

Exchange, NSE haverecorded a total Profit AfterTax, PAT of N90.07 billion forthe first quarter,Q1 financialperiod ended March 31,2016, representing a drop ofN10.52 billion or 10.5 percent from N100.59 billion inthe corresponding period of2015.

The first banks areGuaranty Trust Bank, GTBankPlc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc,Zenith Bank Plc, EcobankGroup, and United Bank forAfrica, UBA Plc.

Similarly, the five banksrecorded a total Profit BeforeTax, PBT of N106.29 billionfor the three months periodended March 31, 2016,indicating a drop of 11.15 percent from N119.63 billionrecorded in each of the banks’financial performance for thefirst quarter 2016 as releasedon the Nigerian StockExchange, NSE, last weekend,show that Guaranty TrustBank, GTBank Plc continuedto consolidate on its positionrecording moderate growthfrom its core bankingactivities.

However, decline in tradingand revaluation gainsoccasioned by ForeignExchange, FX paucity robbedoff on the impressiveperformance recorded with a4.6 per cent decline in grossearnings to N75.39 billion asagainst N79.02 billion in Q1,2015 . The bank recorded a6.1 per cent decline in PBT toN30.68 billion as againstN32.65 billion in 2015 and 3.6

Profits of 5 banks drop byN10.52bn in first quarter

By PETER EGWUATU per cent decline in PAT toN25.61 billion against N26.56billion in 2015. The bank alsoreported a post-tax Return OnAverage Equity ROAE of 24.19per cent and Return on AverageAssets, ROAA of 3.96 per centrespectively.

In line with the bank’s RiskManagement strategy, thebank approached its loangrowth with disciplinedstrategy, thus Non PerformingLoans (NPL) of the bank for theperiod under review is still wellwithin range at 3.51 per centand Net Interest Margin(NIM) for the period underreview declined marginally by9 bases points , bps to 8.12 percent from 8.21 per cent in Q12015. Commenting on the

financial results, SegunAgbaje, the ManagingDirector and Chief ExecutiveOfficer of GTBank stated that“Despite a slow start ineconomic activity in 2016and the extremelychallenging businessenvironment, the Bankrecorded decentperformance across keyfinancial indices during theperiod.” He added that “Weunderstand that there’s a lotmore work to be done, we arehowever prepared for thechallenges and opportunitiesthat lie ahead the 2016financial year.”

A review of the Union Bankof Nigeria Plc first quarterresults show that PBT

dropped to ¦ 4.7billion from ¦4.9billion in Q1 2015;excluding gain on sale ofsubsidiaries which increasedby 85 per cent to ¦ 4.7billionfrom ¦ 2.5billion in Q1 2015.

The bank’s PAT for the firstquarter 2016 was N4.72billion as against N4.91 billionin the corresponding periodof 2015.

Union Bank recorded grossearnings of ¦ 26.6billion asagainst ¦ 29billion in Q1 2015;excluding gain on sale ofsubsidiaries which was at parwith prior year at ¦ 26.6billion.

Interest income was up 5per cent to ¦ 21billion asagainst ¦ 20 billion in Q1 2015.This was as a result ofimprovement in asset yieldfrom 14.36 per cent in Q12015 to 15.65 per cent in Q12016.

Commenting on the UnionBank’s first quarter results,Emeka Emuwa, ChiefExecutive Officer said:”Ourfirst quarter results reflectsteady progress on theexecution of our strategicpriorities. The Bank’s core PBTin Q1 2016 is up significantlyby 85% to ¦ 4.7bn comparedto ¦ 2.5bn in the same quarterlast year. With the sale of non-banking subsidiaries nearcompletion, the Bank is nowfocused on growing anddelivering results through itscore banking business.

Customer deposits grew 9per cent in the year to March2016, compared to March2015, reflecting increasedcustomer confidence in ourservice channels, newproduct offerings and a re-energised brand identity.

Our priorities to sustaingrowth in 2016 remainfocused on growing ourdeposit base and newcustomer acquisitions, as wellas driving gains intransactional income.

First Bank of Nigeria, FBN, Limited saidit has advanced over N12 billion in

credit facilities to Small and MediumEnterprises, SMEs, in the country to supporttheir growth aspiration.

The bank also disclosed that it has disbursedabout N200 million to-date from the CentralBank of Nigeria’s N220 billion InterventionFund for SMEs.

The Deputy Managing Director, Mr.Gbenga Shobo, stated these at the bank’sEconomy & You forum with owners of smallbusinesses in Lagos.

He lamented the poor rate of assessmentof the SME Intervention Fund, saying thatit would have been higher, but for basicproblems associated with SMEs, especiallyunavailability of tangible collateral.

Shobo stated that guarantees is the way togo if lending to SMEs is to be increased,adding that most small businesses do nothave right structures on ground to attract

FirstBank advances N12bn loans to SMEs to drive growth

By NKIRUKA NNOROMbank lending.

“I think for us in Nigeria, we only determinewhether a loan is accessible or not accessiblebased on the pricing, but there are otherelements of lending that we need to look at.Apart from the pricing, the precondition by wayof collateral has to be available. Is it somethingwe all have.

“There are SMEs that don’t have tangiblecollateral which is what the banks are looking.So, the CBN Intervention Fund aside frommaking it available at a single digit of nineper cent also comes with some terms andconditions, which the banks and customersmust comply with. For example, you havesecurity, ie tangible collateral, you haveTreasury Bills and cash deposit. So do all SMEshave all these,” he queried.

“So, that is why the disbursement of thisFund has been very slow. We are not going toaffect that because it is not directly from bank’spursue. It is CBN Fund and CBN has saidthere must be collateral. If First Bank forinstance lends to a customer and the customersdoesn’t pay back, the bank is liable.

Corporate Finance

*CEO, NSE, Oscar Onyema *CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele

24 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

Corporate Finance

BY PETER EGWUATU

In a bid to boostagriculture and

promote commodityexchange in Nigeria, theSecurities and ExchangeCommission (SEC) is set torevitalise commodity tradingin the capital market.

Already, the commission isreviewing the WarehouseReceipt Bill currently beforethe National Assembly andhas assured that it willactively advocate itspassage.

This is in support of thepolicy thrust of the FederalGovernment to encourageinvestments in theagricultural and solidminerals sectors in a bid toensure economicdiversification and deepencapacity across theagricultural value chain.

Director General of SEC,Mounir Gwarzo said thiswhile delivering a Keynoteaddress at a TrainingSeminar organized by AfricaExchange Holdings (AFEX)on Commodity Trading andRisk Management in Abuja.

He said the 10-year capitalmarket master plan whichthe Market is currentlyimplementing is theblueprint for the growth anddevelopment of the marketover the next decade andacknowledges commoditiesexchanges as critical forenabling investmentdiversification, riskmanagement, pricediscovery and transactionalefficiency and expressedstrong belief that to boostNigeria’s competitiveness, athriving commodities trading

SEC set to revitalise commodity trading to boost agriculture

ecosystem must bedeveloped.

The DG said “We believethis can be achieved byimplementing the followingstrategic initiatives: Build asupporting and functionalecosystem for commoditiestrading;

“Others are: Build Centre ofExcellence in areas ofcomparative advantage suchas for oil & gas, cocoa, etcDevelop efficientcommodities exchanges andtrading platforms, Sponsorlegislation to ensure Nigeria’scrude oil sales are traded onlocal exchanges and buildcapacity in commoditiestrading at the SEC andamong market operators”.

He said that as Nigeriapursues policies aimed atdiversifying the economy,creating jobs and hastening

socioeconomic development,it is becoming increasinglyclear that CommoditiesExchanges can play a crucialrole in actualizing these loftyobjectives as a detailedempirical study by the UnitedNation’s Conference on Tradeand Development (UNCTAD)analyzed the impact ofcommodities exchanges ondevelopment in emergingmarkets.

Gwarzo said Countries thatwere part of the study are alsoemerging countries with themost vibrant commoditiesmarkets such as India, Brazil,China, Malaysia and SouthAfrica. Among the manyinsights in study’s report isthe fact that commoditiesexchanges play a central rolein facilitating economicdevelopment especially byhelping farmers to enhance

their marketing and riskmanagement capacity (suchas reducing their exposure toprice and other productionrisks).

Nigeria he said, ranksnumber one (1)in globalexport rankings forcommodities such as kolanut,shea nuts and shea butter,cassava, and yams and alsofeature in top exporters forother commodities such ascocoa, rubber, oil palm,cashew and sesame seed.

“Our ginger is reputed topossess the best aroma in theinternational markets. Exportopportunities also exist for awide variety of otheragricultural commodities.This simply magnifies thepotential of our agriculturalsector to contributesignificantly to economicgrowth and development” he

StanfordSEED,Pan-AtlanticUniversity,otherspartnerTAMSsummit

SB Telecoms & Devices,organisers of the TimeManagement Summit, haveentered into partnershipwith Stanford Institute forInnovation in DevelopingCountries (Stanford SEED)and Pan-Atlantic University(PAU) to deliver TAMSSummit, its forthcominghigh-level time managementconference. Stanford SEED isa Stanford Graduate Schoolof Business-led initiativeintent on ending the cycle ofpoverty in developingeconomies.

Others partneringinstitutions are theChartered Institute ofPersonnel Management ofNigeria (CIPM), ConSat,TVC, Radio Continental andInspiration FM.

The theme of the summit is“From African Time” to “ToOn Time”: A paradigmShift.” At the TAMS Summitscheduled to hold 19th May2016 in Lagos, leaders ofthought from StanfordSEED, Pan-AtlanticUniversity, CIPM and otherreputable institutions as wellas the public and privatesectors of the economy willconverge to proffer solutionto our curious nationaldevotion to the African Timesyndrome. Speaking on thepartnership support, Mr.Afolabi Abiodun, CEO, SBTelecoms & Devices,expressed delight at thebest-in-class institutionalsupport garnered by theTAMS Summit. He statedthat participation andsupport from StanfordSEED, Pan-AtlanticUniversity and CIPM willdeepen discourse at thesummit.

“As an organisationrenowned for its efficiencythrough its TAMS software,we are very excited thatthese institutions aresupporting this initiative ofnational importance. Bypartnering with us, they areencouraging us to do moreand their involvement willcertainly deepen theconversation and also shapethe expected positiveoutcomes,” he said.

BY NKIRUKA NNOROM

NASD OTC Plc has saidthat investors crossed

144.36 million shares worthN1.03 billion in the market inthe first quarter ended March31, 2016 compared to128.12million units worth ¦ 665.33million traded in 150 deals inthe preceding quarter 1, 2015.

NASD Plc is the promoter ofa trading network that easessecondary market trading ofall securities of unquotedpublic companies primarily inNigeria but with a focus on theWest African region.

The first quarter report of thesecurities exchange showedthat volume and value tradedrose by 13 per cent and 52 percent respectively with the

NASD OTC records N1.01bn transaction value in Q1

market registering an averagedeal volume and value of 214units and N1.50 millionrespectively in Q1, 2016.

Transactions in the marketwas led by Industrial andGeneral Insurance, IGI, Plcand FrieslandCampinaWAMCO Nigeria Plc whichaccounted for 29.42 per centand 48.93n per centrespectively of the valuetraded during the quarter.

The market recorded apositive quarterly return onthe index as reflected in theupward movement of theUnlisted Securities Index(USI-Market Cap). The USIclosed at 592.06 points asagainst 582.79 points in theprevious quarter representingan increase of 1.59 per cent,

while the marketcapitalisation of admittedsecurities on NASD OTCmarket at the end of Q1 2016stood at N389.85billion. .

The market also experiencedgrowth in the number ofauthorised traders as five newauthorised traders wereinducted during the quarterbringing the total number ofauthorised traders registeredby their sponsoring firms to193.

At the end of the quarter,NASD OTC market hadopened up 26 securities totrade as against 24 securitiesin the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, a turnover of885.367 million shares worthN5.829 billion in 13,870 dealswere traded by investors on

the floor of the NigerianStock Exchange, NSE, lastweek.

The financial servicesindustry (measured byvolume) led the activity chartwith 747.817 million sharesvalued at N3.832 billiontraded in 8,768 deals; thuscontributing 84.46 per centand 65.73 per cent to the totalequity turnover volume andvalue respectively.

The consumer goodsindustry followed with 45.517million shares worthN977.579 million in 2,145deals. The third place wasoccupied by the agriculturesector with a turnover of32.313 million shares worthN48.460 million in 247 deals.

AGM - From Left;Company Secretary, Dangote Sugar Refinery, Mrs Chioma Madubuko;Chairman, Dangote Sugar Refinery, Aliko Dangote, Acting Group Managing Director, DangoteSugar Refinery, Engr. Abdullahi Sule; at the 10th Annual General Meeting of Dangote SugarRefinery in Lagos on Wednesday. PHOTO;AKEEM SALAU

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016 — 25

CMYK

Homes & Housing Finance

A report by theFinancial DerivativesCompany Limited

(FDC) has highlightedreasons why rents in realestate in some parts of Lagosremain high despite a glut inproperty supply. The reportcovered Ikoyi, Victoria Islandand Lekki neighbourhoods.

According to the FDC report,“persistent macroeconomicheadwinds in recent timeshave led to lower demand forprime properties in Lagos.Stock broking firms,investment banks, insurancecompanies, airlines and oilcompanies that usually rentthese properties for officespace or residential use areexperiencing a businessdownturn.”

The report also noted thatthere is a strong correlationbetween real estate andinvestment, moneylaundering and public sectorcorruption. Explaining howanti money laundering activityaffects the real estate market,the report stated that many ofthe suspects are returningproperties to government;EFCC confiscating propertiesand; many properties aretagged as under investigation.“Empirical evidence revealsthat approximately 90 percentof Nigerian investors hold realestate as an asset class in theirportfolios. The sector hasbecome enigmatic because ofthe strong correlation betweenthe investment, moneylaundering and public sectorcorruption. This is why rentsremain stubbornly high evenwhen there is a supply glut.”

In the pioneer edition of itsreal estate vacancy factorindex (VFIX) for the Lagos

Real estate: ‘Why rents remain highdespite supply glut’

Stories by YINKAKOLAWOLE

metropolis, using January2015 as the base month forindex, FDC noted that thenumber of properties that werevacant in March 2016 was 65percent higher than in thebase month in January 2015.The vacant properties werehigher in Lekki (64 percent)followed by Victoria Island (35percent) and Ikoyi (24percent). The report addedthat Admiralty Way in Lekkihas the highest vacancy ratiodue to challenges thatbusinesses face in the currentmacroeconomic environment,noting that most properties onthe street are offices andcommercial spaces.

InflationThe jump in the inflation rate

from 8.2 percent in January

2015 to 9.6 percent inDecember 2015 has reducedthe purchasing power ofindividuals within theeconomy. As a result, the valueof individual incomes hasdeclined both in nominal andreal terms. Given that this

research focuses on luxuryareas, a decline in income isexpected to reduce thedemand for housing.Following, the real estateindustry is used as a hedgeagainst inflation. This isbecause real estate assets arelong-lived assets that adjust toinflation, which explains theincreased supply of housing.Specifically, inflation increasesthe value of the housingproperty, which providesincentives for new initiativesin the real estate market.

The official exchange raterigidity in the face of imminentdevaluation is discouraginginvestors from taking finalinvestments decisions. Thusin aggregate, is reducing thedemand for both residentialand commercial properties.The potential investments willnaturally lead to demand foroffice space and commercialproperties.

The sector hasbecomeenigmaticbecause of thestrongcorrelationbetweeninvestment,moneylaundering andpublic sectorcorruption

Arbitrary estate valuation, high agency feeand high cost of rent have contributed to

the inability of most Nigerians to have accessto affordable housing.

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr.Babatunde Fashola, made this assertion at therecently concluded 46th Annual conference ofthe Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors andValuers (NIESV).

Fashola, who was represented by his SpecialAdviser on Lands and Housing, Mr AbiodunOki, challenged surveyors on the need forchange of estate valuation in conformity with theprinciples of real estate pricing. He said highfees charged by surveyors are impeding accessto affordable housing. According to him, 5000properties in Lagos were not rented due to over-pricing and high agency fee. “Fifty, forty-oneand thirty-three 33 percent of people in Lagos,Kano and Abuja, respectively, rely on estateagents when looking for a house but agents makehousing more difficult compared to thelandlords,” he stated.

Arbitrary estate valuation worsenshousing crisis —FASHOLA

The minister noted that the role of NIESVin making housing affordable to Nigerianscannot be over-emphasised, even as thethree tiers of government are expected tofacilitate the development of housing.

He asserted that the housing needs ofNigerians cannot be met by governmentalone, adding however, that even whereavailable everyone cannot afford a house.“Sixty-four per cent of the United Statespopulation are house owners while 34 percent are living on rented apartment despitetheir housing programme,” he declared.

In his remarks at the conference,President of NIESV, Olorogun JamesOmeru, enjoined surveyors as foremostprofessionals in the built environment toguide the country towards sustainable citydevelopment. He stressed that surveyorscould help redress infractions in citydevelopment across the country if there isa conducive environment for them tooperate.

CDK to openceramic tiles,sanitarywares factory

CDK IntegratedIndustries is set to

commence the production ofporcelain and ceramic tilesas well as sanitary wares as itopens its factory in Shagamu,Ogun State, in May 2016.

Chief Executive Officer ofthe company, Dr KhaterMassaad, said that the ultramodern factory, built on amillion square meters of land,is targeted at meetingdemand for ceramics andsanitary wares, particularlyin Africa and Europe.

He asserted that with CDKIntegrated Industries Nigeriawill become a major exporterof ceramic tiles andsanitary wares to otherAfrican countries and Europein the nearest future. Henoted that over sixty fivemillion square meters ofceramic tiles are importedinto Nigeria as published byItaly-based Ceramic Worldreview magazine. “Our aim isto produce high qualityceramic tiles and sanitarywares products; everyone isin need of high qualityproducts. We aim to meet thebest quality in the worldmatching and possiblysurpassing the American andEuropean standards. CDKIntegrated Industries’ visionis to be number one in Africain terms of product qualityand pricing,” he added.

US home salessoar 5.1% inMarch

Sales of existing home inthe US rebounded

strongly in March, signallingsturdy demand in thehousing market even as therecovery remains choppy.

Sales rose 5.1 percent to a5.33 million seasonallyadjusted annual rate, theNational Association ofRealtors said last week. Thatwas higher than the 5.3million rate forecast byeconomists surveyed byMarketWatch.

That pace was up only 1.5percent compared to a yearago, but the average for thefirst three months of the year,which NAR Chief EconomistLawrence Yun called“bouncy,” was 4.8 percenthigher compared to the sameperiod in 2015.

High-end housing development

26 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

Insurance

BY ISRAEL OBIORAMBACHU

Many African countries

have established thenational health insuranceprogram. Nigeria’s NationalHealth Insurance Scheme(NHIS) came on stream in1999. Ghana’s NHIS wasestablished in 2003. Kenya’sNational Hospital InsuranceFund (NHIF) has been longoperational, since 1966.

The establishment of thenational health insurancescheme came about by thedesire of the nationalgovernments to better servethe health needs of thepopulation. It was hithertothe situation that the citizenshave to go before thephysician when theircondition had become worsebecause medical costs werenot easily affordable. Thescheme made it possible forthe insured to seek immediatecare whenever there isimminent need to see aphysician.

However, as in all humanendeavours, a minisculepercentage of theparticipants, particularlyphysician providers, haveresorted to milking the systemfor pecuniary gains andgreed. Every health care orinsurance program has beensubject to criminal gamingand gaining off the system byphysician providers whoperpetrate fraud.

Fraud diminishes theobjectives of the program,indeed of any humanendeavour. If fraud is allowedto fester and not checked, theprogram will ultimately shutdown.

The West, particularlyEurope and America, haveestablished fraud task forces

PRESENTATION - From left: Mr. Bala Bantex, Deputy Governor of Kaduna State; Mr. HenryAtionu, Executive Director, Business Development, UBA Metropolitan Life Insurance Ltd;Mallam Nasir El Rufai, Kaduna State Governor; Mr. Adetunji Mustapha, Regional BusinessHead (Abuja & North) of UBA Metropolitan Life; Mrs. Hadiza Bala Usman, Chief of Staff toKaduna State Governor; at the presentation of about N30 million benefit cheques to the 24deceased beneficiaries of last year’s Zaria bomb blast.

Why NHIS should be monitoredby investigative auditors

Fashion industrymust achievescale to attractinvestment– Uduanu

In a deliberate bid tocapture the interest of

fashion and design industryoperators and boost activitiesin the proposed micropension scheme targeted atinformal sector operators, PalPensions, one of the licensedPension Fund Administrators(PFA) sponsored this year’sedition of the Lagos Fashionand Design Week.

Speaking at the event,Managing Director/ ChiefExecutive officer of PalPensions, Mr Dave Uduanu,said for the fashion industryto attract investments, theoperators must have todemonstrate their ability toachieve scale.

He said the fashionindustry, has incrediblepotential to scale but howeversaid it was being held backby a number of issues.

He cited example ofpotentials in the industrysaying the second richestman in the world, Zarafounder, Amancio Ortegamade his money through thefashion industry. “What ittells me is that if you reallywant to make money fromfashion, you need to achievescale.

“There is $25 billioninvestment opportunity in theindustry and this money islooking for investmentoutlets. These investmentoutlets are outlets that wouldgenerate returns that wouldensure that the pensionersget their monies when theyretire,” he stated

The pal Pension boss toldthe designers that it isimportant they have abusiness plan that they canpitch to investors.

“For your business tosucceed, you need to put allyour energy into thatbusiness because investorsprefer to back anentrepreneur who is willingto put all he has into hisbusiness.

He also counselled them toalways create an exit strategywhen doing their long termplans in order to attractinvestors.

According to him,“Investors need to see an exitbecause most investors arenot looking to remain withyou for 20 years. You can’tbuild a business with theview that you must leave thatbusiness to your children, youmust build a business withthe view that you can exit atsome point.

either solely by the privatesector or by their respectivegovernments in collaborationwith the private sector. In theUnited States, there is theDepartment of Health andHuman Services, whichestablished the MedicareFraud Strike Force and theMedicaid Fraud ControlUnits. There are also theHealth Care Fraud Unit of theFederal Bureau ofInvestigation (FBI)and theCenters of Medicare andMedicaid Services (CMS). Allthe government’s efforts arecoordinated under theDepartment of Justice (DOJ).

There are privateorganisations such as theCoalition against InsuranceFraud and the NationalHealth Care Anti-Fraudassociation (NHCAA). Theseorganisations strive to combathealth care fraud andsafeguard the US annual

health care expenditure ofover US$3 trillion. In spite oftheir efforts, however, theyacknowledge that about 5% ofthe annual expenses is lost tofraud. The FBI estimates thatover US$250 billion was lostto fraud in 2014. The effortsof the US Department ofJustice (DOJ) in investigatinghealth care fraud havehowever resulted inrecoveries of the sum ofUS$5.7 billion in 2014 andUS$3.3 billion in 2015. From1997 to 2015, it has recoveredthe sum of US$27.8 billion.

The Canadian Health CareAnti-Fraud Association(CHCAA) reports that out ofC$120 billion spent byCanada annually on healthcare, fraud loss is over C$12billion per year.

European countries have notfared any better in effectivelychecking fraud in theirrespective health careprograms. The 2020 Health inthe United Kingdom estimatesthat the true cost of fraud inthe UK’s National HealthServices (NHS) is over £3billion per year.

It has been recognised thatthe various ways thephysicians bill the programsinclude billing for services notrendered, unnecessary testsin order to collect insurancepayments and use ofanother’s insurance card.

African countries’experience includingNigeria’s with respect tofraud cannot be different fromthe experience of the West.While discussing this topicwith some people in Nigeria,one of the interviewees, anemployee of a multi-nationalcorporation, covered underthe NHIS informed me thathis wife took ill at a time andwent to the hospital. She wasbilled ¦ 61,000.00. However,her cover under the schemewas limited to ¦ 50,000.00 per

outpatient visit, which meantthat she has to pay ¦ 11,000.00from her pocket. He hadreached into his trouserpocket to retrieve his walletwhen one of the physiciansadvised him that nobody payscash from their pocket. He wastold to present his insurancecard and they will apply it tohis wife! That is fraud and anindication it thrives in thesystem.

“The challenge in the useof recent medical graduatesas fraud Investigators is thatalthough they may be versedin medical practice, they lackfraud knowledge andtraining.”

Another indication that ledme to the suspicion that fraudexists within the NHIS inNigeria, is that over 60% ofhealth insurance fraudperpetrated in Nigeriaagainst foreign public andprivate insurers involvesphysicians colluding with thesubscribers/policyholders.More than 60% of thesephysicians are enrolled in theNHIS network as expressedin their letterhead. If they arebilling or attempting todefraud overseas companies,then the local programscannot be different.

If fraud is occurring underNigeria’s NHIS so it is in mostAfrican countries health careschemes. Kenya recognizesthis fact in their NationalHospital Insurance Fund(NHIF). As a result, itencourages whistleblowers toreport fraud and has a hotlineor tip line on their web site.For Nigeria, I’m aware thatalthough they have notinstituted an Internet hotline,but the HMOs deploy youngphysicians as Investigators toinvestigate suspicious claims.

In order to solve thesechallenges, not only inNigeria but around the world,I have developed a programto train HMO InvestigativeAuditors. This will be the firstof such a program anywherein the world.

The HMO InvestigativeAuditor will be able toinvestigate and audit bothlocal HMO claims as well asforeign claims. Investigationentails that the trainedprofessional can effectivelyundertake the investigation ofone or more suspicious claimin order to determine the factsabout it. Auditing requiresthat occasionally, claims fromevery primary, secondary andtertiary-level hospital in thenetwork should be audited todetermine if fraud is beingperpetrated and, if so, to whatextent.

Additionally, the HMOInvestigative Auditor caneffectively investigate foreignhealth claims including travelinsurance (medical expenses)claims and report factually tothe principals.

“The Nigerian HMOInvestigative Auditor will beable to effectively investigatelocal and foreign HMOclaims. He may choose towork only cases in Nigeria orwithin ECOWAS or evenaround the world.”

The HMOInvestigativeAuditorwill beable toinvestigateand auditboth localHMOclaims aswell asforeignclaims

Microfinance

vehicles waiting for days (nothours anymore) for fuel whichnever seems to arrive, transportfares long gone through the roofand general despair that thesituation will be better soon.One might as well add unpaidsalaries to millions of workers inthe public and private sectors.These are the realities of ourlives these days. Were these partof the change agenda? Werethese the promises made toNigerians during thecampaigns? Probably not, atleast, I never heard anybody inthe APC campaign trail sayingthings were going to get so badfor us.

So the Vice President ofNigeria was right; CHANGEwas a slogan devoid of contentduring the last elections. Ishould know because of myexperience with Buhari’scampaign in 2011 when he hadfirst adopted the change mantra.Prince Tony Momoh, formerFederal Minister forInformation was the Chairmanfor Congress for ProgressiveChange, CPC, on whoseplatform Buhari ran that year.Some of those with who Buharientered into an alliance hadtheir own candidates. TheAction Congress of Nigeria,ACN, fielded Malam NuhuRibadu – who they later

APC Change Programme:The slogan and the reality

Buhari came into office with an agenda for change. This was a compelling andultimately victorious slogan….” Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the NATION’s

Forum on the Economy, Thursday, 8 April 2016.Sweltering afternoons, usually spent engaging in vicious fights at filling stations for fuel,

followed by dark and cheerless nights on account of continuous power failures, businessesparalysed in the absence of raw materials and the same power supply and roads closed by

betrayed and voted for Jonathanon Election Day. So, we all knowwho to blame for four years ofJonathan.

However, this column is notdesigned to re-open the bookson 2011. Its purpose is toexamine how the concept of“change” which started with theBuhari campaign in 2011, andwhich had a specific content,had transformed into a mereslogan in 2014 to 2016 and howthe APC is now just strugglingto give it a content. TheNATION’s Forum on theEconomy, coming only abouttwo weeks after the NationalEconomic Council, NEC, helda retreat to craft an economicprogramme for the FederalGovernment is instructive in twoways.

First, it implies that thenewspaper — its proprietor,directors and editors – stronglybelieve there is a vacuum ineconomic policy and programmewhich needs to be filled. Theyare absolutely right. No honesteconomist can fail to notice theabsence of both policy and

credible programmes at themoment. Second, the Forumitself is coming too late andmight not be too useful. Inreality, given the fact that thepaper had supported the APCand its candidate, the time toorganize the Forum on Economyshould have been last year –before Buhari assumed office.Permit a quick diversion beforean explanation is givenregarding the timing of theNATION’s forum.

In 2011, I had approachedTony Momoh, who was with usin VANGUARD beforebecoming the Chairman of CPCto offer my services, free ofcharge, to assist Buhari incrafting his Economic Change

Programme. The reason wassimple. A political party, outof government, campaigningon the platform of “change”,must, as a minimum, addressseveral questions: what is to bechanged and why? How will itbe changed and why? Whenthe changes will occur? Whowill undertake the changeprocess? How much will itcost? What will be the benefitsto the people of Nigeria?

I went to Abuja at my ownexpense and Momohintroduced me to some ofBuhari’s senior campaign staff.Within two weeks, a draft outlineof CPC’s Content of Changewas ready – to be discussed andfleshed out later. Seven areaswere identified and the most up-to-date information about thesituation of each of them wasobtained. These were going tobe focus of change. Selection ofseven thrusts was deliberate.After over twenty years ofrunning commentaries onFederal Budgets, it hadbecome clear that we weremaking no progress on

anything becausegovernments were trying to dotoo many things in a short time.Prioritisation was key tosuccess – do a few things anddo them well.

The draft was presented toBuhari’s people shortly afterand two decisions were made.First, the details needed to beworked out – including theimplementation process.Second, an appointment wouldbe made to brief Buhari afterthe work had become moreadvanced. Unfortunately,there was a major constraint –the Buhari campaignorganization was short offunds. My trips to Abuja wereself-funded and there was nomoney to recruit the additionalstaff required to provide thedetails until the end. But, therewas a content to Buhari’schange message in 2011.

About a month after Buharihad been nominated by theAPC as the flag bearer of theparty, I noticed that “change”had again become the slogan.Investigations quicklyconfirmed my worst fear; theslogan had no meaningbecause it was devoid ofspecifics. Again, at my ownexpense, I traveled to Abujafor an appointment with oneof Buhari’s in-laws.

“Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016 — 27

CMYK

STORIES BYPROVIDENCE OBUH

Microcred Micro-Finance Bank (MFB)

has diversified into micro-insurance services with a viewto generating about N40billion from the Lagos marketin the next four years.

The diversification which iscoming barely three monthsafter the Kaduna-based outfitsecured a licence from theCBN to offer its servicesnationwide, sets the companyon course to grabbing up to300,000 insurance customersin Lagos.

CEO, Microcred MfB, MrKazeem Olarenwaju, said thatthe diversification wouldsustain the company’s growthand leadership position,disclosing that the bankentered into partnership withAXA Mansard, a member ofthe global AXA Group, to giveclients multi-facetedinsurance services.

He said, “Through apartnership arrangement withAXA Mansard, MicrocredNigeria will provide its clientsmulti-faceted insuranceservices, covering life andnon-life insurance. Lossesassociated with death,burglary, fire and special perilsshould now become a thing of

Microcred MFB diversifies into micro insurance servicesthe past.

“Never shall our clients losetheir business to any disaster,clients would be educatedand supported to ensure thattheir assets are insured at anaffordable rate.”

Also speaking, DeputyCEO, Ms. Isabelle Levard,said that the outfit wouldexploit the huge businesspotential in Lagos to

consolidate its leadershipposition, pledging a newexperience for its Lagosclients.

“We want to ensure thatclients are protected and willnot lose their goods to anyinsurable risk. We plan toenlist over 300,000 customersin Lagos and its surroundingswithin the next four years andwe are targeting over N40

billion from variousinsurance products,” Levardsaid.

The Divisional Director,Retail Solutions of AXAMansard, Mr Yomi Onifade,described the Nigerianinsurance industry as largelyunder-penetrated, stating,“as a leading non-bankingfinancial service group, weare poised to offer

unparalleled products andservices to Microcred’s clientsby ensuring that their risksare adequately covered.

“The targeted clients haveevery reason to be excited andhappy as their losses wouldbe minimised going forward.We are excited to partner withMicrocred to achieve itsgrowth aspirations in Nigeriawhile also growing insurancepenetration,” he said.

The Former Minister ofHealth and Chairman of

Juli pharmacy, Prince JuliusAdelusi-Adeluyi, has said thatthe adoption of goodcorporate governance willchange Nigeria.

He stated this during theconferment of FellowshipAwards on 969 members ofInstitute of CharteredAccountants of Nigeria(ICAN) in Lagos.

Meanwhile, earlier in anaddress, ICAN President,Otunba Femi Deru, urged thenew Fellows to inculcatehonesty in the discharge oftheir duties so as to contributeto the development of theeconomy, saying, “The nationis waiting for us as charteredaccountants to make thingswork.”

According to Adeluyi, “As

Good corporate governance will change Nigeria — Adeluyi...as ICAN confers fellowship award on 969 members

professionals especially asaccountants who areaccountable, we must lookthrough life and leave thatlife whereby people will knowthat we are disciplined,ethical and that we can bebelieved as truth speakers

who are ready to buildgoodwill and that our work isgoing to be beneficial to ourclients and all concerned.

“I am sure that if we do thisit will help the body outthere, the business peopleboth public and private to

carry out good corporategovernance. If we have goodcorporate governance Nigeriawill change. If theprofessional groups canchange their mind and say wewant to have professionalethics, the country willchange.”

Acting Director General of the StandardsOrganisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Paul

Angya has appealed to State and LocalGovernments to assist Micro, Small andMedium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) stand ontheir feet for overall economic and industrialgrowth.

He said this at a courtesy visit to Governorof Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, stating thatMSMEs are the engine of growth for anyeconomy.

To this end he said, “Concerted efforts shouldbe made by government at all levels to grow

SON boss tasks States on MSMEsthe sector.

“There is no way we can diversify theeconomy without the active development andinvolvement of the MSMEs. They are thesecret of economic prosperity. Let the stategovernments in Nigeria help MSMEs in theirlocalities to survive, then SON as theregulator would come in, accredit and certifythem. “We have been encouraging andsupporting them through trainings andsensitization programmes. We have offeredin some states and offering 25 percent subsidyfor their certifications.

So the VicePresident ofNigeria was right;CHANGE was aslogan devoid ofcontent during thelast elections

28 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

E-Commerce

CONFERENCE: From left, Dirk Henke, Managing Director, Emerging Markets, Criteo;Sebastian Loaiza, Country Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa, Criteo; Shayan Rahimi, BusinessDevelopment Manager, Middle-East & Africa, Criteo and Michele Lozzo, Commercial Director,MEA, Criteo at the Mobile West Africa Conference in Lagos. Photo:Lamidi Bamidele

Digital Base,iFLUX openretail shop forLED lightingproducts

iFLUX brand inpartnership with Digital

Base Limited have lastweek opened its secondbrand experience and retailcentrer in Lagos with anarray of eccentric, top-of-the-range LED lightingproducts.

Speaking at the VictoriaIsland showroom opening ,Teddy Lee, ManagingDirector of iFLUX said thatthe multinational companyis the first of such brandsplaying in the LED lightingsector to cover a two yearswarranty on all their LEDproducts.

“We have proven to themarket the high quality andour commitment to qualityassurance. For instance, theeighty eight (88) solar-powered streetlightsinstallations in Ikejacomputer village of ‘Lightup Ikeja’ Community SocialResponsibility project byTecno Telecoms limited areiFLUX products

“As we speak, those LEDstreetlights are fullyfunctional; there are noglitches and each one ofthem has a warranty of twoyears, within this period, theproduct will be responsiblefor fixing or replacing anyof the streetlights that showfactory faults,” Leeexplained.

Speaking on the long lifespan of the products, theManaging Director, iFLUXLED Nigeria, VictorOkpaluku said on a threehours daily use, the lifespan of one iFLUX LEDlight bulb is equivalent tothe combined life spans oftwenty incandescent bulbs.

“iFLUX products saves up80% of the energy used topower incandescent lights,the power wattage requiredto light up the product to fullglow can be as low as 8W,”Victor, the brand marketinglead reiterates.

“The two years warrantyon products redeemable onall CarlcareTM centresnationwide,” Terry Tang,Marketing supervisor, of thecompany, added.

Also speaking, the Head ofMarketing, Digital BaseLimited, authorised dealerof iFLUX, Abel Emokai saidthat the product has thestate-of-art technology tosupport the Nigeria market.

STORIES BY JONAHNWOKPOKU

The number of retail e-commerce transactions

taking place throughsmartphones in Nigeriaspiked by 73 per cent withinthe first quarter of 2016.

This is according to e-commerce Q1 report data byperformance marketing firm,Criteo which was presentedby the Managing Director,Emerging Markets, DirkHenke while making apresentation at the MobileWest Africa conference heldin Lagos last week. This is areflection of global mobilecommerce trend which hasrisen by 39 per cent since thelast quarter of 2015.

The report which showssmartphones becoming thedominant m-commercedevice indicates smartphonestaking a huge chunk, about18 per cent in Africa, of e-commerce transactionscompared to about 10 percent share of other mobiledevices.

The report also highlightsmobile versus desktop salestrends in the country withdesktop sales dominating e-commerce transactions withinweekdays and Saturdayswhile Sundays share equaltransactions rates betweenmobile and desktops. This isin contrast to South Africa’smobile commerce trendswhere mobile dominates allweekend transactions.

The report also noted thaton weekdays, desktopusages specifically spikesduring office hours withclicks averaging 1200 per

73% e-commerce transactions in Nigeriahappened on smartphones in Q1cent and clicks through mobilebarely rising above 100 percent. However, on weekends,desktops and mobile usageare similar with clicksaveraging 250 per cent acrossthe devices.

Another importanthighlight of the survey is theinability of payday weeks toinfluence e-commerce sales.Except for significant salesrise during the Black Fridaysales in Q4, 2015 whichcoincided with the paydays,transactions within the other

paydays and within the firstquarter of 2016 remainedbasically flat. However,Henke noted in hispresentation that despite theimpressive statistics andgrowth trends, everything isnot perfect yet, because while86 per cent of retailers claimthey already have a mobileoptimised website, only 13 percent of consumers rate theirshopping experience as ‘verygood’ on smartphones.

The report, however, showsNigeria's mobile conversion

rates steadily growing withAndroid smartphoneaveraging 1.8 per centconversion rates, iPhone andiPad, 2.9 per cent andAndroid Tablet, at 1.5 percent conversion rates.

Henke noted retailers needto become more strategic intheir approach to sales bypersonalising their marketingacross different channels andadopting retargetingstrategies to convert morevisitors into real buyers.

As part of programmes tomark its

23rd anniversary, non-banking finance institution,Rosabon Financial Serviceshas entered into a strategicpartnership with a nongovernment organisation,NGO Mamamoni, to empower23 women with soft grants andcapacity building.

In a statement, Rosabonsaid, this is part of its effortsat encouraging womenempowerment and promotingindigenous production,adding that the training andprovision of grant to theselected women is part ofRosabon’s commitment atsupporting local business toboost local production andgrow the economy.

The women who areinvolved in various craftsincluding farming, fashiondesigning, soap making, fishfarming and other chemicalproductions got the grant tofurther expand theirbusinesses.

At the cheque presentationat Satellite Town, Lagos last

Rosabon marks 23rd anniversary, empowers women with grantsweek, the 23 womenexpressed gratitude andsatisfaction for the supportreceived from Rosabon.

Speaking on theempowerment initiative andpartnership with Mamamoni,Rosabon’s CEO, ChukwumaOchonogor said they wereinspired by Rosabon’spassion for deepening accessto financial services,especially as a means to

tackling the menace ofpoverty among theunbanked.

He noted that the companyhas championed financialinclusion in Nigeria throughits several innovativeproducts targeted at the non-banking population, addingthat the partnership withMamamoni is to continue itsdrive at deepening financialinclusion in the country.

According to Ochongor,“Women are becoming greatplayers in the economy, so itis very important that theyget the right empowerment.At Rosabon, we have asocietal outlook andrecognize the importance ofworking together for thegreater good. We are fullycommitted to this project andwill keep it on for as long aspossible.”

International online shop, Shoptomydoor.comhas announced a three day delivery service

from the United States of America to Nigeria andother African countries

In a statement, the company said theintroduction of the three days delivery at adiscounted rate from USA to any country in Africais in the spirit of its commitment to constantlygive value to customers.

“The company’s goal is to continue providingAfricans stress free global shopping and shippingexperience that brings an affordable solution totheir need for quality products ranging fromclothes, shoes, auto parts, cars and electronicsthrough an innovative platform. Although,ecommercehas continued to grow in Africa, thereis still room for improvement. E-commerce is not

Shoptomydoor unveils 3-day delivery from US to Nigeria

just about setting up computers andbusinesses, but encompasses a larger scope,”said Nduka Udeh, President/CEO ofShoptomydoor.com.

He said: “Most of what is needed to growe-commerce is to put in place the rightstrategies and ensure strict implementation,provide an enticing browsing experienceacross online platforms, create multi-channelofferings that will enable consumersexperience your brand consistently, considerconsumers shopping method of choice andinvest in mobile. Mobile commerce isgrowing at a rate of over 130 per centannually. To stay competitive, we offermobile-accessible services such as tracking,delivery status and real-time notifications.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016 — 29

CMYK

Background: Upon graduation from University of Benin,

armed with a degree in Civil &Structural Engineering, Engr.Egube was sent to the NationalDefence Academy, Kaduna forhis one year national youthservice. After that, he workedbriefly with his elder brother inhis furniture component exportbusiness.

“After working with him for ashort period, I felt I should somemore exposure in business andenterprise so I joined ArthurAnderson (now KPMGProfessionals). From ArthurAnderson, I went intoconstruction again becausebusiness was always on mymind. Although I readengineering, I have an MBAand I am a member of differentsocieties – Nigerian Society ofEngineers, Council for theRegulation of Engineering inNigeria, Fellow of the Instituteof Credit Management,Honorary Senior member of theChartered Institute of Bankersand an Associate of NigerianInstitute of Management. I alsoattended several courses.

Working in the bankingindustry:

“I went into construction withsome of my friends and workedthere for about two years beforegoing into the bankingindustry. The exposure I had atArthur Anderson formed thebedrock of my work ethics andculture. In Arthur Anderson, Ilearnt about how to analysebusiness and the frameworks bywhich some of these analysesare done quite easily. And thenthe work culture was extremelystrong.

I went into banking becausewhile I was in Arthur Anderson,I consulted for the financialservices industry and so I hadvery heavy interactions withmost of the leading banks at thattime, doing one form ofassignment or the other. Ipassed through several leadingbanks from UBA, NIBInternational Bank, First Bankand Diamond Bank, taking updifferent roles andresponsibilities (administrativeto business development).

I spent quite a bit of timedriving energy so I am known

People in Business

Corruption beginsin the mind, withthe way weinterpret things; ifyou believe you aregoing to gainwealth only byreceiving, it is acorrupt thinking

People gain wealth byinvesting, not by hoarding— Engr. Samuel Egube

•Engr. Samuel Egube

By EBELE ORAKPO

Engr. Samuel Egube is the Chairman, AltAssistLimited, a Lagos-based ManagementConsulting firm. In this chat with Financial Vanguard,

the engineer, banker and business consultant speaks onsundry issues, harping on the need to unlock/create valuethrough networking and building business relationships.Excerpts:

basically as oil & gas man eventhough I have had significantexposure across the varioussegments of the economybasically.

What I do:Today, I do a

lot ofc o n s u l t i n gwork, what Icall Pair ofh a n d sconsulting. Iinteract with a lot of people whorequire capacity in theirbusiness from the advisorystand and then you flow in togive them that support. Manybusinesses are led by CEOswho require an equivalentcapacity in business and whoprobably are unable to affordthat on permanent basis sobasically, we give that level ofsupport from time to time. I amalso a director in severalcompanies and serve on theirboards, helping to provide therequired directions to keepthem focused, and thegovernance system andframework working.

Networking:I have a passion for Nigeria.

I believe Nigeria is a greatplace but our forebears had notdone a great work in buildinggreat enterprises. It is quite achallenge seeing the very fewenterprises that had movedfrom one generation to another.It is the African/Nigerianmindset. Typically, we have notlearnt how to work together.Most people are soleproprietors, they run theirbusinesses alone. I am glad theconsolidation in the bankingindustry forced a lot of peoplein the sector to work togetherwith other stakeholders and theindustry is better for it.

It is coming from very strongregulations and rules aroundthe practice of banking inNigeria and the fact that thereare a lot of extremely strongstakeholders in the sector. It ismy belief that we will see moreof that happening whereresources can be pulled togetherto make things happen.

Historically, if your money isunable to do it and you areunable to get banks to do it, youjust leave the enterprise or theidea. But today, people cometogether to build skyscrapers

where each of them will own justa part. This gives me the hopethat the future of Nigeria isgreat. The Oil & Gas sector hasdone well too. When somemajor international oilcompanies began to divest, itbecame clear that as Nigerians,we were going to participateand we needed to do sotogether. There would be moreof that going on as we pull ourcapital together to create things.

One job which I love andwhich I do now is pullingpeople together and causingthem to make investments thatare good for Nigeria. Except welearn how to do that, we will notmake significant progress.

Trust:As human beings, it has

always been a matter of trust.There is a reason why we needvisas to go into other countries.Depending on the level of trust,things can work smoother butyou cannot wait for trust to entera perfect state before you cando business; that is why youhave laws. There are rules ofengagement and if you want toapproach life purely based ontrust, then you will not have

institutions.In the Banking industry, you

build rules and controls; youanticipate what can go wrongand then you build reasonablecontrols around them. You havesystems that check thoseevents from time to time toensure they are not in breach.There are outcomes andrepercussions when thosesystems are in breach. “Can Itrust you? I don’t know. Youmay be a great person todaybut I am not sure how you willbe if we start to make moneyor how you will behave if youstart to have family problems,whether the problems willcome into the business. So itis always going to be about therule of law and principles.Today, the biggest corporationsin the world are publiccompanies and they arecontrolled companies becausethe stakeholders are the public.The securities and exchangecommissions around the worldput rules to guide thebehaviours of these companies.Rules actually hedge us in toa predetermined behaviouralexpectation.

Challenges:One is Rule of law: I am

looking at the entire systemsthat help support agreementsin Nigeria - constitution,specific rules aroundbusinesses and the rules withwhich we operate. So if therule of law is workingproperly, then it is clear whatto expect when we agree todo business. Corruption:Another problem is the waypeople think which I callcorruption. Corruption is notwhat you see in the streetswhen the roads are decayingor things like that.Corruption begins in themind, with the way we

interpret things. If for exampleyou believe you are going togain wealth only by receiving,it is a corrupt thinking. Peoplegain wealth by investing, notby hoarding. So when youhave people putting money insoakaways, it is a decayingmindset, and those people arethe ones you put in charge ofour infrastructure andbusiness systems. Andbecause that is their mindset,the outcome of their work isdecay.

People think also thatscattering, rather thanintegrating people is a greatway to provide leadership sorather than reintegrating ourpeople, we put them in silos –north and south; Christian/Moslem and not justNigerians. That creates apolitical ecosystem that leadsto another level of distrust. Ihave to surmount the fact thatyou are a northerner and I ama southerner so we always tryto second-guess what otherpeople’s intentions are. Thiscreates an unhealthyatmosphere for interaction andbusiness actually thrives withincreased interactions amongpeople.

Infrastructure: The two majorones are power and logistics.If power is steady, smallenterprises andmanufacturing companies canrun at lower costs. Thankfully,Nigerians are creatingalternative solutions.

Functioning rail system:People and goods must movefreely and cheaply. If I canmove from Benin to Lagos intwo hours by rail, I don’t needto live in Lagos to work inLagos. If I knew that quitecheaply I could move mygoods from Apapa Port by railto Port Harcourt, then I canbuild a factory in Port Harcourtand have a very decentralisedeconomy and a betterdistribution of our peoplewhich will aid significantamount of interaction. I canwake up this evening and sayI am going to Abuja for ameeting and from there, I justwant to touch base in Kadunaand each of the trips takesabout three hours or even 30minutes. That helps becausewhen people interact withpeople, business happens.

I understand that over 50%of our tomatoes go to waste.Can you imagine if that 50%can come to the market, whatthe standard of living of ourbrothers who producetomatoes in the north will looklike?

In my own business,because it is a business thataffects capital and people, youfind out that the challengesfacing the economy become mychallenges and my job is to tryand create solutions aroundthese challenges to makething better despite thesituation.

CMYK

30 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

Economy

BY ESTHER ONYEGBULA

In the face of worseningforeign exchange supply

crises, young entrepreneurshave been urged not to allowexchange rate to determinetheir success.

Speaking at the 2016 editionof Business Wednesday, aninteractive platform thatfacilitates networking,information sharing, andbonding hosted by theMarket Place Alliance of thisPresent House, ManagingDirector, Guaranty Trust BankPlc, Mr Segun Agbaje, whomade this admonition, shareduseful insights onsuccessfully running abusiness and ultimatelycreating lasting value inpresent-day Nigeria.

To buttress his point Agbajegave a brief recap of similar

GTB boss advises entrepreneurs on exchange rate

challenges in his careertrajectory in GTBank, and laterdelved into the socio-economicdynamics of the country since1991 when he joined the bank.

“I still believe Nigeria is thegreatest place on earth to dobusiness. Africa as a continentis the best place to dobusiness. There are a fewcountries with the populationwe have and at the least, 50per cent are below 28. Whoelse has 170 million people tosell products to?” Agbaje said.“When the rate was N22 to $1,you didn’t have cars. N150 toone, you didn’t own a car, butat N200 and N300 you boughtcars. At N400 you will buyhouses. There areopportunities that come withdevaluation.”

“The only way forward in acountry like Nigeria is to havethe SMEs sector developed.

It’s not corporations that willfix Nigeria, it’s anamalgamation of SMEs thatwill take the country forward,”he said.

Pastor Tony Rapu, theconvener of the event, furtherelaborated on the need formore engagements such asTPH Business Wednesdaysaying things can no longerbe business-as-usual.

“The reality of the 21stcentury demands a betterapproach for highperformance, and ThisPresent House’s BusinessWednesday service is a greatplatform to exchange ideas.We are excited to have Mr.Agbaje on this platform withus today, and we areconfident that the insightsshared will inspire us to attainfor greatness in spite of thecurrent economic situation,”he said.

BY EMEKA ANAETO,ECONOMY EDITOR

Amidst dramatic positiveturn in oil prices in the

international market someeconomy analysts haveindicated that a positive rub-off on Nigerian economywould not come in the shortterm.

Economists at the FinancialDerivatives CompanyLimited, said the inflationarypressures which hadsustained over thirteenmonths consecutively, wouldremain in the months ahead,due to the persistent scarcityof petroleum products,among other key factors.

However they noted that thecurrency swap initiativebetween Nigeria and Chinais expected to dampendomestic prices, as Chinaaccounts for 25.6 per cent ofNigeria’s import, hence amoderating influence onimported inflation,especially as China’sinflation remained flat at 2.3per cent in March, 2016.

But economy researchers atARM Investments said theirearlier identified tripod ofinflation drivers coming into2016 (higher electricity tariff,Naira volatility and petroleumproducts scarcity) dominatedinflation discuss thus far in2016, adding that lingeringfuel scarcity bolsters theirexpectation for continuedpressures on prices within thesecond quarter.

Consequently, theyprojected a 57 basis pointsrise in headline inflation to13.4 per cent for April 2016with a target full year 2016average now at 12.79 percent. Last month’s headlineinflation rate was 12.8 percent, a near 4-year high.

In its economic outlook forfirst half 2016, the economists

First half economic outlookappears hazy despite oil pricerebound —ANALYSTS

at ARM Investments statedthat output will also remaindepressed as growthchallenges show no sign ofabating

“Going forward, we retainbearish outlook on overallgross domestic products,GDP, on the back of extendeddelays in the passage of 2016budget which was meant tosignpost a kick-start ofstimulatory fiscal spendingthat would have supportedproduction in non-oilsegments of the economy.Consequently, we retain our2016 GDP forecast of 2.9 percent year-on-year.”.

Further, they stated, “whilstwe expect currency issues tokeep importation reasonablyconstrained, oil exports islikely to be pegged-back byincessant downtime atstrategic pipelines such asTrans Forcados, withorganisations such as SeplatPetroleum, already bracing upfor significant down-time overthe first half of the year”.

This, according to them,increases prospects forrenewed balance of paymentpressures over the rest of2016.

As a result, they said thatthe huge parallel marketpremium in the foreignexchange market whichresulted from the decision ofthe Central Bank of Nigeria,CBN, to administratively pegexchange rate in its officiallycontrolled market segment inthe face of sharp depreciationin the parallel market, wouldpersist.

“In all, as the CBN keeps itsgrip of the peg, we expectfurther market dislocation toresult in sustained increase inparallel market premium”.

On the stock market ARManalysts said, “over the restof first half 2016, whilst oilprices show signs of findinga bottom, current foreign

exchange market illiquidityshould continue to stymieforeign interest on thedomestic bourse”.

Thus, they advised thatdomestic investorconsiderations should play apivotal role in charting equitymarket outlook in the secondquarter (Q2), 2016.

However, on this wise, theyreasoned that the recent twistin monetary policy andresultant rise in interest ratesraises the hurdles for quotedcompanies while drivingheightened domestic investorsensitivity to stockfundamentals.

On balance, they see lagged

economic policy response tothe tepid economic landscapeas driving a bearish marketoutlook in the Q2, 2016.

“Our base case was for aweak macroeconomiclandscape on account of theoil price shocks to combinewith current foreign exchangerestrictions to temper foreignparticipation in Nigerianequities, leaving domesticconsiderations to exert greaterinfluence on market outlook.

“On a sector basis, weanticipated the planned fiscalstimulus would be positive forFMCGs (fast movingconsumer goods companies)and cement stocks with thelatter aided by modestvaluation multiples.

“Going forward, whilst oilprices have posted a quickerrecovery than we expected,subsisting glut and stillunclear prospects for anoutput freeze leave room forfurther price volatility in Q2,2016.

“Combined with currentforeign exchange restrictions,we see an extension of net

Sen. UdoUdoma,Minister ofNationalPlanning

Advertising & Media

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016 — 31

Nick Imudia is theRegional Director,

Alcatel Nigeria and centralAfrica. He spoke of thecompany’s plan for Nigerianmarket with a renewed focus ofbringing innovation to a broadspectrum of Nigerian consumers.Princewill Ekwujuru reports.

Nigerian mobile phoneculture

Mobile phone is a basiccommunication and work tool formost Nigerians and as such hasbecome an absolute necessity forpeople to communicate and dobusiness. Consumers also needreliable devices that offer themall the features they expect froma smartphone but at anaffordable price. As such priceplays a key deciding factor forthe majority of consumers whoneed to stay in touch and dobusiness on the go.

A key factor in Nigeria is theconnectivity issues faced due tothe growing demand for mobiledevices. This puts a strain onthe infrastructure and hascreated the need for manyconsumers to carry a secondsupporting mobile device inorder to stay connected throughan alternate network.

Nigeria is still very much a

Nigeria is key market for Alcatel—NICK IMUDIA

growing mobile market whichcreates the perfect opportunityfor Alcatel.

Market penetrationWe recognize that every

smartphone user needs anddeserves a device that offersgood performance, beautifulaesthetics and rich functionality.As such, we’ll strive to offerchoice, variety and flexibility toconsumers irrespective of theirbudget.

With our renewed focus inNigeria we have spent the pastmonths giving Nigeriaconsumers, partners, operatorsand their consumers’ easy accessto our vast range of affordableproducts. This includesestablishing the fundamentalssuch as in store devices, bothlive and dummy, promoters, afield marketing team, onlinepurchasing / promotions andtraining for sales staff etc. Webelieve we are delivering on thisand once this has been firmlyestablished we will then turn ourfocus on building Alcatel into amajor player in the Nigerianmarket. We have the brand, theproducts and the distributioncapabilities to grow aggressivelyin the years to come.

Market shareAccording to Q4 2015 IDC +

company data, Alcatelis number 5worldwide in the totalphone market with4.5 percent marketshare. Alcatel is IDCTop 2015- 2016 Top10 GlobalSmartphone brandsand IDC 2015-2016 Top 15Global Smart ConnectedDevices Brand. So globallyAlcatel has strong presence,therefore when entering theNigerian marketplace weneeded to ensure that we hadall the fundamentals in place.Key to this was ensuring we hada strong in-store presence withlive and dummy in store devices,promoters, a field marketingteam, online purchasing /promotions and training for salesstaff etc. In addition it wasimportant for us that wepartnered with the rightdistributors in order to ensurethat the Nigerian consumershave every opportunity to gettheir hands on the perfect mixof Alcatel devices that are featurerich and affordable. This isevident with the Alcatel Idol 3premium smartphone, that iscurrently available with itsinnovative technology.

West Africa hubNigeria is a key market for

Alcatel particularly from an openmarket perspective. However,

we have offices throughoutAfrica all of which are importantto grow.

Phone dealers and availabilityIn order to reach the mass

market in Nigeria, it isadvantageous for companies,particularly technologycompanies to partner with theComputer Village. This givescompanies access to all areas andvillages throughout the country,through their distribution anddealer network. Alcatel aims atmaking technology available tothe market. This means makingit available at affordable priceswithout compromising onfeatures and style. We believethat we have managed toachieve this with the productslaunched in Nigeria.

Partnership with Konga.comE-commerce is seen as an

opportunity for Alcatel to createdeep partnerships withplatforms such as Konga, Jumiaand Yudala. This means thatwe are fully integrated in theend-to-end delivery of theproduct.

The Chairman and Boardof Directors of Lexcel

management/Nigeria Distillerieshas appointed Aare FataiOdesile as Acting ManagingDirector, MD of Grand OakLimited, effective March 282016. Aare Fatai Odesile was theCommercial Director before hiselevation to the position ofActing Managing Director ofGrand Oak Limited (GOL),following the exit of the formeroccupant.

Aare Odesile started hisWorking Career with 7upBottling Company Plc in1991and moved to NDL as aResearch and DevelopmentOfficer the following year.

He rose rapidly to become theR&D Manager, before crossingover to Sales and Marketing,where he rose to become thepioneer Marketing Director ofGOL in 2010.

Lexcel Group appointsFatai Odesile Ag MD ofGrand OakBy ANN OKAFOR

Aviation

NCAA directs airlines to remit collected chargespassengers by the airlines onbehalf of the FederalGovernment of Nigeria.

“These sales charges are toenable all aviation agenciescarry out their responsibilitiesof providing safe, secure andefficient regulatory servicesfor the overall benefits of allaviation stakeholders,”Usman said.

He further said “It isimperative that all unremittedfunds must be forwarded infull to the NCAA immediately.The airlines must desist fromusing these funds ‘’held intrust”; The ongoing 5%Ticket/Cargo/Charter/SalesCharges automation ofpayments which offers real-time transparent transactionsmust be completed withintwo(2) months. This willremove endless reconciliationof data and reduce high debtprofile of Airlines to NCAA.”

“Reconciliation of alloutstanding debts must becompleted within sixty(60)days; The 5% Ticket/ Cargo/Sales Charges must be On

Gross Ticket excluding VATand Passenger ServiceCharge(PSC) only; Allairlines must provide to theAuthority the breakdown ofthe recently introduced‘’Taxes+Fees” component onall passenger tickets whichinclude the amount due toeach Government Agency.”

“That is FAAN-PassengerService Charge (PSC);Federal Inland RevenueServices (FIRS)-5% VAT; andNCAA 5% Ticket SalesCharges (TSC).Any add-oncharge, surcharge (i.e. fuelsurcharges-(YQ, etc) or anyother miscellaneous added onpassenger ticket must be

approved by the Authoritybefore applying these chargeson passenger tickets.”

“After exhaustivedeliberations between NCAAteam led by the DG on onehand and Operators by CaptChimara O. Imediegwu ofFirst nation on the other,agreement was reached by allparties on all the issuesraised.”

Airbus, one of the largest aircraftmanufacturers, has introduced its Airbus

H175 Helicopter series to the Nigeria market.Airbus Helicopters is promoting the H175 seriesthrough a demonstration tour in Lagos. The tourheld from 20th to 22rd April 2016 with severalkey oil & gas operators.

Speaking with Aviation reporters in Lagos, MrRegis Magnac, Vice President, Head ofOperational Marketing, Airbus Helicopter, saidthe H175 series was designed with the supportof oil companies and helicopters operators, and“with 16 passengers aboard in an oil and gasconfiguration, it can fly to distances of 140 nauticalmiles (332KM), increasing to nearly 200 nauticalmiles (435 KM) when 12 passengers are carriedin a long range configuration, with no auxiliaryfuel tank required.”

Airbus introduces Airbus H175 Helicopter series to Nigeria

“In a higher density configuration, it cancarry as many as 18 passengers up to 105nautical miles (269 KM). It offers costcompetitiveness, performance and newstandards of safety and comfort. Thisaircraft is perfectly suited for oil and gasoperators in Nigeria.”

Magnac further said the 7-ton classH175 was developed by AirbusHelicopters as “its new-generationmedium-sized rotorcraft, certified inaccordance with the latest and mostdemanding regulatory requirements.Benefits include enhanced flight safety,more volume per seat for passengercomfort, mission versatility, simplifiedmaintenance, and cost effectiveness tomatch customer expectations.”

By LAWANI MIKAIRU

The Nigerian CivilAviation Authority,

NCAA, Weekend directed allairlines, domestic & charter,operating in the country toforward in full unremittedfunds accruable to theauthority without furtherdelay.

According to Mr SamAdurogboye , GeneralManager, Public Relations,NCAA, the directive washanded down at a meetingwith the operators on non-remittance of 5% Ticket, Cargoand Charter Sales Charges[TSA/TCA] held at theAuthority ’s HeadquartersAnnex .

Adurogboye added that theDirector General of the NCAA,Capt.Muhtar Usmanpresided at the meeting incompany of the Authority’stop management staff.

According to the DG, thedirective is with regards to the5% TSA/TCA collected atsource from the air

32 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

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

(0805 220 1997)

Business & Economy

CMYK

President MuhammaduBuhari on Friday saidhe was yet to be

convinced that the vastmajority of ordinary Nigerianswould derive any tangiblebenefit from devaluation ofthe Naira. The president saidthis at a meeting withmembers of the Council ofRetired Federal PermanentSecretaries in Abuja. He saidthat he still held theconviction which motivatedhis principled resistance todevaluation in his first tenureas head of state.“When I was military head ofstate, the IMF and the WorldBank wanted us devalue the

I'm not convinced on Nigeria's benefitfrom previous devaluations —BUHARI

naira and remove petrolsubsidy but I stood mygrounds for the good ofNigeria. The naira remainedstrong against the dollar andother foreign currencies untilI was removed from office inAugust, 1985 and it wasdevalued.“But how many factories werebuilt and how many jobs werecreated by the devaluation?That is why I’m still asking tobe convinced today on thebenefits of devaluation,” hesaid. Buhari welcomed thecouncil’s pledge of support forthe successful implementationof his administration’s changeagenda, especially in thepriority areas of improving

security, curbing corruptionand revitalising the nationaleconomy.“I am glad you have rightlyidentified the key issues wecampaigned on. We need adynamic bureaucracy whichwill not mislead us into takingwrong decisions,” he added.The Pioneer Chairman of thecouncil, Chief Philip Asiodu,expressed the readiness ofmembers of the council toassist in ensuring the successof Buhari-led administration.We are non-partisan. Theinterest of Nigeria isparamount to us and we areanxious that you shouldsucceed,” Asiodu said.

The template for publicexpectation fromPresident Muhammed

Buhari’s recent visit to Chinawas formally defined by FemiAdesina, in the President’sMedia Adviser’s press release,which was published a daybefore Nigeria’s star-studdeddelegation departed Abuja inApril. However, the FinanceMinister, Kemi Adeosun hadtold Reuters and London'sFinancial Times, just beforethe China trip that Nigeria wasactually in negotiation for a$2.5bn World Bank loan topartly fund the 2016 budget,because of the more favourableterms.

Shortly however, before thisannouncement, Adeosun hadalso suggested that Eurodenominated, Diaspora bondsand Chinese Panda bondsincluding a $Rbninfrastructure loan were alsobeing considered to fund thebudget deficit. Inexplicably,the signing of the $2bnChinese loan did notmaterialise, but Kemi Adeosunwas however quick to confirmthereafter that her Ministrywas actually looking at otherhome grown solutions to fundthe 2016 Budget deficit.

Evidently, however, afterPresident Buhari’s meetingswith Xi Jinping, protocolagreements on various areasof co-operation and assistancewere signed; according toGarba Shehu, the President’smedia assiatant, theseincluded for example, $1bnA b u j a - I b a d a n - L a g o sGreenfield Expressway, a 300megawatt solar plant inShiroro; other more modestdeals which were also sealedin housing, rail transportationand floating gas facilities. Indeed, in another majoragreement, China had alsooffered a $6bn loan to fundinfrastructure projects inNigeria; according to GeoffreyOnyeama, Nigeria’s ForeignMinister, “ the offer is a Credit

President’s trade mission to Chinathat is on the table as soon aswe identify the Projects”. Inthe light of Onyeama’sstatement, it is disturbing thatthe Nigeria delegationembarked on the China Trademission without a clean copyof a defensible and coherent“Wish list” that would havemade access to the $6bninfrastructure loanimmediately possible. Itshould however be instructive,before we commit to the $6bnoffer, to appraise why theearlier infrastructure loansobtained four years ago byformer President Jonathan’sadministration failed topositively impact oureconomy.

However, Nigerians shouldalso be concerned with ourgovernment’s apparentfixation on external loanswhich have yielded minimalsocial impact over the years,especially when, our owndomestic money market,remains embarrassinglyawash with excess Nairaliquidity, while our own CBNalso, ironically sits on almost$30bn reserves “just awaitingauction” to banks!

Conversely, the Chineseshould be encouraged withspecial concessions to injectthe $6bn as direct privateinvestment in Nigeria to buildand independently operatethese critical infrastructuralprojects for a period notexceeding 15years, with aclear provision for privatesector Nigerian partnershipthat would jointly run theestablishment, from the tenthyear, after project iscommissioned.

Notably however, the newsof a Currency Swap agreementbetween Nigeria and Chinaseems to have captivatedpublic attention. Basically, theswap implies that Chinawould set aside billions ofdollars equivalent of itscurrency (the Renminbi) fromwhich Nigerian importers can

directly exchange their Nairaat pre-determined exchangerates, without first procuringdollars to complete thetransaction. Regrettably, thePresidency has not publishedthe amount, nor tenor andapplicable exchange rates thatwill be applicable totransactions and settlementsunder the swap arrangement.

Nonetheless, while briefingState House correspondentson gains of the China trip,Foreign Affairs Minister,Geoffrey Onyeama suggestedthat the celebrated agreementwas not a currency swap aswidely reported, but arecruitment of Nigeria into apartnership “that wouldfacilitate China’s drive to

internationalize its currency”.“So, far us” according toOnyeama, “ it has given us(our economy) greateropportunity, so that thosepeople (who cannot readilyaccess dollars) can now alsoimport, notwithstanding theshortage of dollars”.

Similarly, CBN Governor,Godwin Emefiele, also notedin a ThisDay report of 18thApril that “the agreement oncurrency swap with China willdefinitely benefit Nigeriabecause the essence of themandate is that Nigeria isdesignated as the trading hubwith China in the Ecowas subregion.” Emefiele furtheradded that “ we believe thatusing the Renminbi willimprove trade with China, asthis will encourage importersto open L/Cs in the Chinesecurrency for the importation ofraw materials, equipment andmachinery from China, ratherthan other trading regions, sothe agreement will encouragetrade between both Countries”.

However, Lin Songtian, asenior official of the ChineseForeign Ministry noted thatthe deal on Yuan transactions“means that the Renminbi isfree to flow among differentbanks in Nigeria, and theRenminbi has been includedin the foreign exchangereserves of Nigeria”. Indeed,Lamido Sanusi, as formerGovernor had converted about10% of CBN’s dollar reservesinto Yuan about 4 years ago!

In effect, in order to facilitaterapid Yuan acceptance in oursub-region, Nigeria as hub,will invariably host a ClearingHouse with affiliation to thePeoples Bank of China toallow the Renminbi to becomea common settlement currencywhich can be used for bilateralloans or aid. Ultimately a Newbank with affiliation to theChina bank will also beestablished and dedicated tointermediate on Yuantransactions in the sub region,as a product of the Currency

Swap.Furthermore, China’s official

News Agency reported thatPresident Xi Jinpingexpressed interest in economiccooperation with the Nigeriandelegation, particularly inareas like oil refining andmining; however, it is not yetclear if the Currency Swapdeal also implies that Chinawill pay for Nigeria’s crude oilin Naira or Yuan.

Ultimately, this currencydeal will bolster our Renminbireserves, but this willinvariably lead to acorresponding drop in ourdollar reserves; ironicallyhowever, China may readilydepreciate its Yuan to promoteexport price competitivenessof its products in the UnitedStates and other dollardenominated markets.Unfortunately, in such event,Nigeria’s increasing Renminbireserves would have beendevalued and would buy lessand less dollars than before.It is instructive that, China isalready in similar bilateralcurrency swap agreementstotaling RMB 3.137Tn (about$500bn) with 31 Central Banksincluding the UK and SouthAfrica, and the trade volumewith these countries has sinceexceeded RMB 11 Trillionafter the swap agreements.

Nonetheless, CBN GovernorEmefiele has howeverobserved that “ we are workingto encourage exports of rawmaterials to China in order toreduce the trade imbalance”which is presently, clearlyheavily skewed againstNigeria with an annual importbill of about $15bn to China.However, It is not yet clearhow Nigeria’s industrialproduction and output willever become internationallycompetitive enough to reducethis trade imbalance,particularly when domesticinflation rate is trending atover 12% while cost of fundsto real sector presently exceed20%!

Nigeriansshould alsobe concernedwith ourgovernment’sapparentfixation onexternalloans whichhave yieldedminimalsocial impactover theyears ...

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016—33

CMYK

Send Opinions & Letters to:opinions1234@yahoo.com

Opprobrium tagged NEC summitOpprobrium tagged NEC summitOpprobrium tagged NEC summitOpprobrium tagged NEC summitOpprobrium tagged NEC summitBy Jim Moses

*Mr. Moses, a public affairs analyst,wrote from Lagos.

THIS, in Nigeria, is theseason of denials and other

market stories. There is hardly anymain event or issue that has notbecome controversial or denied.One of the latest occurred in theOffice of the Senate DeputyPresident, Ike Ekweremadu. It was aceremony to confer on him the togaof Economic and Financial CrimesCommission (EFCC) Anti-Corruption Ambassador. It seemeda richly deserved award asEkweremadu has been a decoratedChairman of the Aninri LocalGovernment, Secretary to the EnuguState Government, Senator since2003, Speaker of the ECOWASParliament and of course, DeputySenate President of Africa’s mostpopulous country.

At the conferment ceremony, theEFCC Liason Officer to the NationalAssembly, Suleiman Bakarireportedly pronounced: “On behalfof my acting chairman, Mr. IbrahimMustafa Magu and the entiremanagement and staff of the EFCC,I decorate you as an Anti-CorruptionAmbassador and formally presentthis frame, as a token of our

Season of denials and marketSeason of denials and marketSeason of denials and marketSeason of denials and marketSeason of denials and marketstststststoriesoriesoriesoriesories

appreciation to your person andoffice, and as a symbol of theinstitutional partnership between theEFCC and the National Assembly.”

The ceremony was austere;Ekweremadu had only bottled waterand small plates of sweet to offer hisdistinguished guests. But I am suremany groups especially from theSouth East must have perfected plansto send delegations to felicitate withthe new brand ambassador. Thencame a spoiler; the EFCC denied theaward! Its perceptive spokesperson,Wilson Uwujaren, declared that “Thestatutory mandate of the EFCC isthe investigation and prosecution ofall economic and financial crimescases, which does not include thedecoration of individuals as anti-corruption ambassadors. TheCommission is not in the habit ofawarding titles to individuals.”

Ekweremadu’s office, rather thanwaving this off and advising theEFFC to put its house in order, tookoffence, joining issues with theEFCC. It referred the body “toDecember 7, 2007, when the NuhuRibadu-led EFCC conferred the RoleModel Award in the Fight Against

Corruption, on certain persons,including a former President of theSenate, a taxi driver, and a formerJustice of the Federal High Court atthe Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.”

Is it possible that a senior officer ofthe EFCC will concoct an award anddeliver a speech on behalf of the

it means to be an Anti-CorruptionAmbassador; perhaps it is acertificate of cleanliness andimmunity.

Another denial is the NationalGrazing Reserve Commission Billwhich was widely reported to havepassed Second Reading in theSenate. It had elicited debates in thecountry; how can such a potentiallycontroversial bill be on its way tobecoming a law without a PublicHearing? Then a shocked nation sawSenator Eyinnaya Abaribe stand upin the hallowed Chambers tocomplain that although he wasregular in attending sessions, he hadnever witnessed the bill beingpresented or discussed. The Senateofficially reacted; that no such billwas ever presented to it. So is there aghost Senate deliberating on the bill?Well, since in Nigeria, we have ‘ghostworkers’ who go to work and collectsalaries, it is not impossible to havea ghost bill pass Second Reading.

Yet another denial. The phoenixPetroleum Industry Bill is beingdebated in the National Assembly.There are reports that the legislatorsin their wisdom, expunged the 10percent Host Communities Fundfrom the bill. This has been denied,but the National Leaders of the HostCommunities of Nigeria Oil and Gasmeeting at the NNPC Towers inAbuja, said there was indeed, such amove, and that it viewed this as “aprocess to truncate the prevailingpeace existing in the region”

Dr. Temitope Aluko, Ekiti StateScribe of the Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) went on air claiming thathis party used the ElectoralCommission, Armed Forces, Policeand other paramilitary forces to rigthe June 2014 state gubernatorialelections. He claimed that then

President Goodluck Jonathanprovided $37 million to ensure thatGovernor Ayodele Fayose waselected. Then on April 3, 2016, Alukoand Fayose appeared at the EkoHotel, Lagos to jointly address thepress with Aluko claiming that hisaccusations were based on“misunderstanding” and that themeeting was “about family coming”together.

This was after Fayose had told thepress “If I leave him (Aluko) to thewhole world, who will be there forhim? I am his father, hisbrother…Aluko remains my boy, myson.” It was to me, a humiliatingpress briefing for Aluko; how can ahuman being stoop so low; is it notbetter to starve than lose all dignity?The following day, Aluko went backto the press to make another U-turnand renew his accusations. I thinkhe needs a medical examination.

The trophy for most denials go tothe 2016 Appropriation Bill. Theremust have been dozens. It startedwith the Senate claiming that the Billpresented by the President had beenstolen! Then that it had beensubstituted and replaced with a fake.Latter, that it was padded; the publicwas regaled with long tales of thepadding. I asked myself, why can’tthe NASS simply remove thepaddings and give us a clean bill?After more drama, the bill was passedfor signing without details. When thedetails came, the Executivediscovered the NASS had done itsown padding. On this I ask, since itis the Executive that releases funds,why not sign the bill and simplyrefuse to release the funds for thepadded items? The market storiescontinue; meanwhile, I amsearching for the Calabar-Lagosrailway.

Chief Executive aware that he wasnot doing so in secret? Or was therea change of mind by the agency?What was more baffling is the angryresponse of Ekweremadu; was thepurported EFCC award, achieftaincy title that would requirethe feather of the Niger Delta eaglejotting out of his red cap? He mighthave missed the opportunity ofadding the title EFCC Anti-Corruption Ambassador (EACA)after his name, but was it notsuspicious to him that such a majornational award was conferred by aLiaison Officer? I am not sure what

What was morebaffling is the angryresponse ofEkweremadu; wasthe purported EFCCaward, a chieftaincytitle that wouldrequire the featherof the Niger Deltaeagle jotting out ofhis red cap?

ON March 7, 2016, this writer ’sarticle titled; “The Many Failed

Promises of Buhari” was published inVanguard newspaper. The analyst was veryclear on President Muhammadu Buhari’s lackof capacity and the right team to move Nigeriaforward. In one of the paragraphs, this authorwrote: “Nigerians are hungry. And rather thanspend the past nine months since he assumedoffice to fight hunger, starvation, poor healthcare delivery systems, and shelter for thehomeless, PMB has been busy junketing theentire globe and painting Nigerians as corruptpeople”. And in another paragraph, I stated:“President Muhammadu lacks clues on howto move Nigeria forward. He also lacks thecapacity to be Nigeria’s president. This isbecause he equally lacks ideas on how todiversify the economy of this great nationblessed with abundant natural and humanresources. His team also lacks cutting edgeideas that will take Nigeria out of the woods.They have nothing new to offer as his “miraclemaking” and “saints” ministers are of the oldschool or old brigade with little or noachievements to show in their past leadershiproles except for Babatunde Raji Fashola”.

I am happy that after the publication of theabove article, the President found it worthy toconvene a 2-two day National EconomicCouncil, NEC, retreat to address some of thesemajor challenges like hunger, starvation, poorhealth care delivery systems and shelter forthe homeless; as contained in his economicagenda designed to achieve the change agenda.But what I find very worrisome is the cleardemonstration and exhibition of hisadministration's lack of capacity, clues, cutting-edge and innovative approach to profferingsolutions that are in tandem with modern dayrealities.

Shallow thinking: The gathering of his teamfor a 2-day NEC that ended with the decision

to release N350billion to contractors, increasevat, and the ordering of state Governors toidentify two areas in agriculture to focus on,buttresses this writer’s earlier stated positionand remains a monumental disgrace to anation blessed with abundant educated peopleand seasoned professionals whose opinions,suggestions and ideas can turn around aneconomy of a nation willing to reinvent itself.I write this because fixing Nigeria’s economydoes not require rocket science neither does itrequire a reinvention of the wheel. It is a known

fact that our economy is a mono (oil dependent)economy, and it is common knowledge thatfixing it requires a simple, well designed andsustainable plan for diversification.

Lack of visionOf all areas and available non oil resources

in Nigeria begging for exploitation like solidminerals, agricultural produce processing forincome generation, the only thing they couldoffer is increase in tax for Nigerians alreadysuffering from hunger, starvation, job loss andunemployment. Who will pay this tax? Is it thealready impoverished Nigerians whoseelectricity tariffs have been increased or theones generating their power to run theirbusinesses at unregulated fuel price caused byscarcity which the Minister of state forPetroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, has shamelessly toldNigerians will persist till the month of Mayeven though he was forced to recant his earlierstatement?

It is a shame that out of several areas thatabound for diversification of the nation’seconomy, our leaders could only think ofincrement of tax, identification of two areas inagriculture by each state of the federation andthe payment of 350 billion to contractors evenwhen the vice chancellor of Amadu BelloUniversity, Professor Ibrahim Garuba, recentlyannounced, while delivering a paper titled;“Mineral resources and Mining in Nigeria:Investment Opportunities and Challenges” ata seminar, during the 37th KadunaInternational Trade Fair, that there are about40 different solid minerals and precious metalsburied in Nigerian soil awaiting to beexploited; with 70% of these buried in thebowels of Northern Nigeria, putting theestimated commercial value of Nigeria’s solidminerals at hundreds of trillions of dollars.

On agriculture, it is also common knowledgethat the government cannot do it alone. So,rather than give the responsibility to this tier ofgovernment alone, why not extend it to the localgovernments and the unemployed who arewilling to engage in food production but whosemajor challenge is funding. So why not makefunding with reasonable interest rates and lesscumbersome and very challenging collateralsavailable as a deliberate policy to provide foodand employment for willing Nigerians whichwill in turn add up to the nation’s foreignexchange and raw materials for our industries?

Unrealistic and faulty promises PMB’s sudden realisation after 10 months

in office, that, the power situation in the countrywas no longer funny, and his promise toincrease it to 10,000 megawatts by 2019, evenwhen experts have ruled out the possibility, isdisturbing. Also, the dismay expressed by thePresident over the high cost of food items ishighly embarrassing. Is PMB just realising allthese?

I find this very disturbing; if Mr. President istruly aware of this hardship, are the forgoingdecisions the best for the revitalisation of oureconomy at this time? His admitting the factthat the plan by his party, the APC, to build1,000,000 housing units per year might not berealised, and the invitation of foreign investors

together with local domiciled big constructioncompanies to enter into commercial housingbuilding is worrisome. This is because, withthe current rate of unemployment in Nigeria,why plan to involve only big local constructionand foreign inventors when we have so manyunemployed building and civil engineers,architects and building experts? Is this adeliberate attempt to settle or compensate hisfriends and those who donated or invested inhis electioneering campaign who may beowners, share holders or invertors in theseproposed big firms?

Can’t small and medium scale companies(SMEs) be involved in this laudable project ofmass housing provision since SMEs are thehighest employers of labour in every economy?Also, why can’t the government develop anational building code to regulate the industry(if none currently exist) if the government is indoubt of the capabilities of SMEs?

Lack of capacity, focus and directionTo really prove this administration’s lack of

vision, focus, direction and capacity, PresidentBuhari, told Nigerians recently, at the party'sNational Executive Committee (NEC)meeting held at the party's NationalSecretariat in Abuja, that “For globetrotting,sometimes, you need to present your case onpersonal basis to your economic colleaguesand neighbours. “Nothing is better thanpersonal touch and I believe that we arelearning a lot and eventually, the nation willrealise so.” This is surprisingly ratherembarrassing if the foregoing is the onlyreason PMB could give as a reason for hisnumerous journeys since he assumed office.

Also, the dismay expressed by the Presidentover the high cost of food items is highlyembarrassing. Is PMB just realizing all these?I find this very disturbing; if Mr. President istruly aware of this hardship, are the forgoingdecisions the best for the revitalization of oureconomy at this time? Was this 2-day nationaleconomic council summit absolutelynecessary considering the shallow level ofreasoning and proposed solutions proffered?

The only thing theycould offer isincrease in tax forNigerians alreadysuffering fromhunger

CMYK

34 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

Geoffery AwodimulaThe best way to defend is by attacking. You

cannot stand to see your families getslaughtered before you defend them. To theFulanis, the life of a cow is more important thanthat of a human being. I am a farmer, andthese Fulanis bring their cows to destroy mycrops before harvest and I am fully aware thatthey can’t be arrested, or prosecuted becausethey have connections. Well, let us leave thetale for another day.

Nnamdi EzemaWhy are you complaining when you voted

for APC? It is one of the dividends of thechange you yearned for. My own candidadvice for the Southern states and otherstates that have been terrorised by theFulanis in Nigeria is to enact a lawcriminalising the moving of cattle withinstate boundaries complete with severepunishment on those who breach the law.

Ayoyinka Gabriel AkanbiThe Fulani herdsmen are endangered

species. So don’t expect the government todo anything about them by protecting you.You have to defend yourselves.

Electricity: The price Nigeriansmust pay, by Fashola

Woman leaderFashola, we know you are capable; keep on the good work as

enemies will always complain; but don’t be distracted. We believein you.

Ogunsuyi OlakunleThere is no political solution to the power situation in Nigeria.

It is going to be tough,it will involve continuous investment,hard work , patriotism and commitment from every citizen. It’s soscary to note that our power situation will require hundreds ofbillions of dollars investment from the private sector operatorswho in turn will want to make profit from their investment. So itmeans we have to pay more. I foresee this problem not beingresolved in this decade.

406In real countries, you must be an engineer or electro-science

based professional to be a Power Minister . Again in countries/nations, you must have average education (secondary school) tob a president.

RommelIt is an administrative job which is why any seasoned

administrator could do the job because there are engineers inthat Ministry unless you don’t understand the job of a minister

Sola AkinwandeWhy are they making refunds if they did not take money from

the public treasury? Let’s stop this hypocrisy and hatred of oneperson. Is conviction the only solution even without the court?The Presidency is not the one to convict. Where did this womanand others get the money being refunded? She definitely did notspend the money collected on campaign or elections. Why hasshe been holding such money?

Bello IbrahimWithout political will to fight corruption, the

refunded money would have remained in thehands of people who did not work for it.

Mr President, should we waitto be killed or fight?

Nenadi Usman refundspart of N2.5b cash

Sola AkinwandeWhy are they making refunds if they did not take money

from the public treasury? Let’s stop this hypocrisy andhatred of one person. Is conviction the only solution evenwithout the court? The Presidency is not the one to convict.Where did this woman and others get the money beingrefunded? She definitely did not spend the money collectedon campaign or elections. Why has she been holding suchmoney?

Bello IbrahimWithout political will to fight corruption, the refunded

money would have remained in the hands of people whodid not work for it.

2015 PDP Presidential Campaign Funds:

•Nenadi Usman

ImperialebonyWhy not wait and see? When

you want to construct a bridge,do you just break up theground and erect same in aday? There’d be diversion ofmotorists, residents will bedisplaced because somebuildings will be demolished,there will be inconveniences

Fuel Crisis: Kachikwu commissionsunderground crude pipeline

such as people selling stuffsaround the site, swirling dustand defeaning sound of trucks.By the time the bridge is fullyconstructed, it will lookbeautiful, and motorists andresidents will begin to enjoy.That’s exactly what’shappening at the moment.Nigeria is currently a

rebuilding process and foreverybody to enjoy, we mustlearn to endure someinconveniences. Sadly,Nigerians do not have thehistory of endurance andpatience.

FemsThis is not a new pipeline,it’s

been in place for over 20 yearsbut was abandoned since therefineries were down.

PowerlessconsciousDo you always need ministers

to build pipeline? Nobody canstop the train of change. Let thetrain continue, please.

A Fulani herdsman

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016 — 35

Head, National Office, WAEC

CMYK

Isaac AdenipekunONE day in November

1948, The University ofCambridge LocalExaminations Syndicate,University of London SchoolExaminations MatriculationCouncil and West AfricanDepartments of Educationconvened a meeting to discussthe future of education in WestAfrica. During the meeting, Dr.George Baker Jeffery, Directorof the University of LondonInstitute of Education wasmandated to visit West Africato assess the level of educationand requirements.

Dr Jeffery embarked on thejourney between December1949 to March 1950. At theend of the fact finding mission,he presented a report makinga case for the establishment ofa West African ExaminationCouncil. Following this, theconveners of the meeting metwith the governments of WestAfrican countries.

Conveners ofthe meeting

Unanimously, they agreedwith the idea of a West AfricanExamination council. Twoyears later in 1952, WAEC wasestablished. This is thefounding history of the famouseducational body known to allas WAEC.

Isaac Adenipekun is theHead of the council’s NationalOffice. He’s been in chargesince December 2015. And heis of the opinion that thedevelopment of WAEChas been exponentialin terms of growth:“When WAEC wasestablished in1952, it had justone small officein Yaba beforethey movedinto the highrise in 1973where it is nowsituated. It wasfrom the high risebuilding that itbegan to establishbranches

across Nigeria. Today we have12 zonal offices and 18 branchoffices in the council. That, ifyou ask me, is a huge spread.In its early days, WAEC hadless than 500 candidates in thewhole of Nigeria but today, weare examining 1.6 mcandidates.

In terms of staffing, WAECstarted with staff strength ofabout 30. Today, our staff is closeto 2,800. In the area ofdeployment of technology,WAEC took the lead as soon asit started deploying machinesto do calculations in the early70s. And from there, we’vetaken the lead in terms of ICTusage”.

Since its establishment,WAEC has become one of theworld’s largest assessmentagencies with responsibilitiesfor setting and marking a largenumber of examinations, bothlocally and internationally. Thecouncil examinesapproximately 2 millioncandidates across West Africaeach year: “In the early years,candidates had to personallycome to WAEC to makeenquiries and obtain forms.After that candidates had tocome to WAEC office or postoffice to be given the centers

where they would writetheir exams. And

when results arefinally processed,they had to cometo WAEC officesto check theirresults. But

within thelast 20 years,there’s beena lot ofimprovement.

In addition tothat, WAEC has

been organizing seminars,briefings and training forexaminers such that those whoare teachers in secondaryschools can also gainadditional knowledge. Thesupervisors are also trained onhow to conduct standardizedexaminations and in theprocess knowledge acquiredare not meant to be used forWAEC examinations alonebecause when they get back totheir respective schools, theyare expected to deploy theknowledge they have gained inconducting better internalexams”.

“All these are some of theeffort that WAEC has put intodelivering on our mandate tothe Nigerian education sector”.Upon assumption of office,Adenipekun explained that hismandates are to ensure thatWAEC continues to haveexaminations that are credible.

Credibleexaminations

To issue certificates that haveintegrity. To continuallydeploys technology for WAECto remain a cutting edgeorganization. And to remainthe examining body to beat.“That’s a huge challenge”, hequips noting that efficientmanagement, providingleadership by example andensuring that the staff and theirwelfare are properly taken careof are part of the mandate: “ itis my intention to deliver onevery one of them”, he affirms.

A major challenge forAdenipekun may be uppingthe council’s ante in terms ofits approach to examinationparticularly in the area ofComputer based Testing.

In a recent release WAECnoted that the adoption and fullimplementation of theComputer Based Test (CBT)

mode will not be suitable forcertificate examinations asagainst admissionsexaminations conducted byits sister agency, the JointAdmissions andMatriculation Board(JAMB). Computer-basedtesting (CBT) has emergedas one of the recent“innovative” approaches toassessments most pursued

by states.CBT has been lauded as the

answer to having cheaper andspeedier test delivery for stateand district-wide assessments.It is also seen by some as anavenue toward greateraccessibility for students.WAEC argues that such wouldamount to “intellectualdishonesty” as it thinks thepurpose of its examinations isto prepare candidates for life,not just to pass examinations;hence the need to examinedifferent domains which CBTcannot accommodate: “We mustlook at the purpose of eachexamining bodies and thecandidates we are talkingabout.

For WAEC, we are expectedto examine the students after 6years secondary education.And that is what we callachievement test. We want toknow what they have been ableto achieve and it is our duty toensure that we guide themproperly and not put anyimpediment that would makeit difficult for them to expressand establish what they haveachieved. And one of the wayswe’ve gone about that is bygoing to the schools wherethese students are being taughtto ensure that the teachers thatwill invigilate them are thesame teachers who taught them

Nigeria 2 years ago and thereis the issue of supportinginfrastructure (powergeneration) which needs to beaddressed. We feel that thetime period is not enough forus to consider CBT in ourexaminations.

The case of JAMB is quitefrom ours because it’s anexamination that has to do withranking in the order ofperformance based on selectedtexts. And this is basically toenable JAMB establishcandidates that are suitable foruniversity admission.

And most of their exams areobjective based while WAECexams are based on theory,objective and practical so youcan see that if you’re talkingabout CBT you must be talkingabout the objective aspect ofexaminations”.

In recent years, WAEC hashad to contend with scathingcriticisms. A major issue for thecouncil has been failure ofcandidates and withdrawal ofexaminations. Adenipekun isunperturbed.

High levelof respect

He thinks they are not justmere criticisms: “It only showsthat the WAEC clientele andother stakeholders are gettingcritical. Every attack we comeacross helps us to step up ourgame.

Not only that, those criticismshave also propelled WAEC toseek better ways of gettingthings done. Apart from all ofthese, WAEC is a newsmakerany day because the brand is avery vibrant and strong one. Inspite of all the criticisms, we arealways accorded a high levelof respect wherever we go.

I mean, I have attendedconferences abroad where otherexamining bodies wonder howwe are able to conduct examsfor 2 million candidates everyyear. That in itself is a hugeresponsibility and I mustconfess that I have enjoyed alot of goodwill working withWAEC”.

Having spent 26 years inWAEC in a variety of seniormanagement, IsaacAdenipekun thinks he hasgiven his all to assessing youngpeople at the secondary schoollevel. And he finds that beingable to build their lives aroundthat assessment is a hugeresponsibility. In his tenure asHead of National office, his aimis to take WAEC to anotherlevel. He is hoping that itwould: “become a world classexamining body and areference point for assessmentand conduct for publicexamination in the wholeworld”.

Assessing Candidates

Date/Place of birth: 1960, Osun StateEducation: B.Sc (Hons) degree in Political Science,University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife)M.Sc degree in International Relations, University of Ife(now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife)Masters in Public Administration, Lagos State University.Fellow: Institute of Corporate Administration of NigeriaMember: Nigerian Institute of Management.

BIO BRIEFS

Conductingexams for 2millioncandidates everyyear is a hugeresponsibility;being able tobuild their livesaround theassessment of theexams is also ahugeresponsibility

in schools”.“The supervisors may not be

their own teachers but theteacher that invigilates themmust be their own teacher. Soalso is the actual writing of theexams; we feel that before wemove from paper based test toCBT, it is necessary to ensurethat all the students have goodinteraction with the computer.

CBT was introduced to

Isaac

Adenipekun

36—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

Change by Buhari's govt'll come in two years—Tony Momoh

Fuel crisis: DPR goes tough on fraudulent oil marketers

By Henry Umoru

Grazing Bill'llimpoverishS-Nigeria—Rep

By Michael Eboh

By Emman Ovuakporie& Johnbosco Agbakwuru

Release orcharge ourbrother to court,family ofJonathan's cousinurges EFCC

THE Department ofPetroleum Resources, DPR,

weekend, stepped up itsmonitoring across the country,while also directing filling stationsto, henceforth, stop reserving fuelfor ‘specialised’ customers underwhatever guise.

The Nigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation, NNPC,also stated that Warri Refinery hasresumed production, while theEscravos-Warri-Kaduna pipeline,a critical downstreaminfrastructure, had been reopened.

According to DPR, any marketercaught flouting the directive willbe sanctioned.

Speaking during the monitoringof petrol stations in Abuja,Mohammed Usman, ZonalOperations Controller, Abuja,assured Nigerians that theFederal Government was doingeverything to ensure the fuel crisiscame to an end immediately, whilehe also called for support from alloil marketers.

He lamented the widespread act

of hoarding and diversion ofpetrol, explaining that itamounted to frustrating theefforts of government at endingthe fuel crisis.

He frowned on the situationwhere some petrol stationsclaimed to be reserving certainquantity of petrol in their tanksfor credit or ‘special’ customers,

stating that such action isagainst the law and is also anavenue to hoard and divertproduct.

During the monitoring, anumber of petrol stations werefound wanting in the area ofdispensing and pricing, with anumber of the stationssanctioned accordingly.

An unnamed andunlicensed filling station atIddo Sarki, along AirportRoad, was selling at N150 perlitre; they were ordered to startselling at the official price ofN86.50 per litre. Motoriststold the DPR officials thatsometimes, the filling stationsold at N190 per litre.

Sanctions defaulting petrol station

By Emeka Anaeto,Economy Editor

Oil price notch-up, currency deal strengthenNaira value

THE yet-to-be executedcurrency swap deal between

Nigeria and China may havepropped up the value of the Nairaagainst US Dollar as the localcurrency closed at average ofN318/ USD1 in the Bureau deChange, BDCs, while blackmarket rates averaged N315/USD1 last weekend.

The rate closed at N323/ USD1previous weekend.

Some black market dealers,though not particularly sure whatwas going on, told Vanguard thatpatronage had significantly gonedown for some time now, whiletheir suppliers were willing toreduce their offer rates.

But a market survey by CowryAssets Management, a Lagos-based investment house, indicatedthat the development wasconnected to the planned currencyswap deal between the CentralBank of Nigeria, CBN, and thePeoples Bank of China, PBOC.

They also indicated that “otherfactors that influence the Nairagains were the anticipatedincrease in dollar supply frominternational oil companies andthe Central Bank of Nigeria, tomeet the demands of majorimporters of Premium MotorSpirit, PMS.”

The exchange rate remainedsteady at the official window andthe interbank spot markets withruling rates of N197/USD andN199.10/USD respectively.

However, the interbank forwardsmarket for most tenors showappreciation of the local currency.

The one month, three months,six months and 12 months tenorappreciated week-on-week by0.32%, 1.46%, 3.10% and 1.35%to N200.93/USD, N204.17/USD,N209.09/USD and N221.14/USD respectively.

Some bank officials who spokewith Vanguard, attributed theappreciation to a majordampening of speculative dealsrather than any shift in realdemand or supply of thecurrency.

They said, however, that theNaira would have appreciatedby far more margin than whatwas recorded last week but forsome conflicting and incomplete

information that came fromgovernment officials on thecurrency swap.

According to them, while theCBN governor, GodwinEmefiele, was quoted as sayingthe CBN was discussing withthe PBOC on a currency swapand that an agreement had beenreached with the Industrial andCommercial Bank of China toact as Nigeria’s agent orclearing bank when the swaptransaction with the PBOC wasconcluded, a statementattributed to the Foreign AffairsMinister, Mr GeoffreyOnyeama, said the deal was nota swap, created some

confusions.The appreciation trend

during the week showed thatNaira had appreciatedsignificantly from N323/ USD1previous week to about N316/USD1 by Tuesday, butretreated to N320/ USD1 thenext day, apparently,following the conflictinginformation.

However, the comments bythe Minister of Finance, Mrs.Kemi Adeosun, at the WorldBank meeting in Washington,United States, that same daymay have led to a reboundthat brought the closing rateto below N315.

As conflicting information stalls further appreciation

FORMER InformationMinister, Prince Tony

Momoh, has called onNigerians not to expectimmediate change from thepresent government ofPresident MuhammaduBuhari, saying it would comein two years.

Prince Momoh, who madethe call at the launch of hisbook, Each Man, His Time:The Biography of an Era, atMararaba, Nasarawa State,

yesterday, said: "Change mustcome but be patient. Withintwo years, you will becelebrating change.’’

He, however, flayed thePDP-led government forallegedly diverting fundsmeant for the purchase ofarms to fight Boko Haraminsurgency in the North East.

Momoh said also he had notfought with his wife since theygot married 47 years ago.

Chairman of the occasion,Isyaku Ibrahim, who notedthat his last time of visitingAuchi was in 1959, said the

author taking the event toMararaba, where theproletarians live, was anindication that Tony Momohremained a man of thepeople.

Also speaking on theoccasion, Minister ofScience and Technology, Dr.Ogbonnaya Onu, pleadedwith Nigerians to be patientwith President Buhari,saying change was notpossible until the 2016budget was signed into lawand implemented by thepresebnt government.

ABUJA—CHAIRMAN,House of

Representatives Committee onPublic Petitions, UzomaNkem-Abonta, yesterday saidthe proposed Grazing Bill bythe Executive, if passed intolaw, will impoverish SouthernNigeria.

Abonta, who representsUkwa East/West federalconstituency in Abia State,also asked PresidentMuhammadu Buhari todeclare his interest in thematter as the bill would spelldoom for Nigeria oncelegislators endorsed it.

He said his constituents inAbia State mandated him tofight with all availablelegislative arsenals to makesure the bill failed, as theycould not afford to give theirlands to nomads.

Abonta further explained:“One thing is very clear andthat is, one's wealth should notbe used to disturb anotherperson’s wealth.

“The Fulanis are normadicin nature and we are talkingabout improving animalhusbandry. We must,therefore, find a balance onhow that may be done."

By Onozure Dania

LAGOS—THE family ofMr Azibaola Robert, a

cousin to former PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, has urgedthe Economic and FinancialCrimes Commission, EFCC, tocharge him to court or releasehim from custody.

Robert, who is theManaging Director of OnePlus Holdings Limited, wasarrested by the EFCC onMarch 23, over the $40million pipelines protectioncontract awarded to his firm bythe Office of the NationalSecurity Adviser, ONSA.

Briefing newsmen in Lagoson behalf of the family,Azibaola's younger brother, DrFaith Robert, said thecontinued detention of hiselder brother by the anti-graftagency after an Abuja HighCourt had granted him bail onApril 7, was unfair.

He said the remand order byan Abuja Magistrate’s Courtwhich EFCC relied on todetain him, had expired onApril 19.

COMMISSIONING: From left: Trade Marketing Consultant, MTN Nigeria, Mr. FidelisIdenyi; Nominator, Mr. Sadiq Oche; Vice Chairman, Old Kuntunkun Compensation LayoutResidents Association, OKCLRA, Mr. Audu Sheidu; Secretary, OKCLRA, Mr. MathiasSunday, and Chairman, OKCLRA, Chief Emmanuel Abbey, at the commissioning of the500KVA transformer donated by MTN Foundation to OKCLRA community, Gwagwalada,Abuja.

CMYK

VIRGINIA

KAPTAIN AFRIKA in “Pretty Lunatic’ By Andy Akman

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TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye” By Lanre Kehinde

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YOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYBy Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016 — 37

L E I S U R ETHOUGHT FOR TODAYTHOUGHT FOR TODAYTHOUGHT FOR TODAYTHOUGHT FOR TODAYTHOUGHT FOR TODAY

By Richard EromoseleTAURUS: Better opportunity to make money may comeyour way but those who want your affection and vice versa,may not allow you to concentrate fully. Take advantage ofthe opportunity to establish friendship with influentialpeople.

GEMINI: Most of the exciting happenings are withinyour base of operation. And healthy relationships maystart between you and other members of your work force.Take the initiative.

CANCER: When it comes to passion/romance, you comefirst. And on a day like this when love is in the air, you can’tbe left in the cold. Don’t be selfish please.

LEO: Financial success may be what you want to cel-ebrate with members of your opposite sex who unexpect-edly arouse your passion.

VIRGO: Many will desire you strongly today but you’llequally attract the green-eyed monster called jealousy es-pecially from your established relationship. Movementand communication will do the magic

LIBRA: Romantic Venus and sexy Mars are bringinginfluences of money, friendship, real love and leadershipto earth’s inhabitants. What do you want?

SCORPIO: Venus, Mars and Pluto at work today willinfluence many of you to give more time to matters-of-the-heart, especially physical side of it.

SAGITTARIUS: Love is in the air but if care is not taken,members of your opposite sex you see as your superiors (orboss) may become entangled. Watch it.

CAPRICORN; Influence of the Moon today actuallywants you to work hard but if you ignore love, you’ll not beable to concentrate on what you are doing. Friends willdrive your fun-seeking vehicle along social circles.

AQUARIUS: Some of you will be falling in love for thefirst time. And those of you who are old in the act will haverare excitement and satisfaction. Money can come in.

PISCES: You will find it relatively difficult to ignorelove as attractive members of your opposite sex may goout of their way to gain your attention.

ARIES: Powerful emotional feelings may overwhelmsome of you and make you crave secret affair (with yoursubordinates?) It’s important you don’t allow scandal.

What is wrong withme?

Dear Joshua,I have written you many letters without response, I

hope I will be lucky this time around. What’s your e-mail address?

Although, I am interested in my financial affair andwill like to know what awaits me in the future as theups and downs are giving me concern, what I wantyou to tell me is: Who is working spiritually againstmy marriage? I have married four times. Why?

Osunfunke, Ibadan.

Dear Osunfunke,If you have spiritual warfare, it is in your financial

affairs. You were endowed with special ability to makemoney for both yourself and other people.

However, three things can militate against your fi-nances namely; inability to hold on to your gains fortoo long (miscalculation) jealousy and occultic ma-nipulation by those who are green with envy.

Yet, whatever happens, dire financial misfortune isnot meant for you, especially if you heed advice fromyour star; your being spiritual will assist you.

Fortunate placement of the Moon and Venus in Libraand Sagittarius endowed you with charming and mag-netic personality which will make it easier for you toattract members of your opposite sex who will bewilling to make you happy. But after sometime, yourhidden aggressive personality and tendencies toworry will come out to the resentment of members ofyour opposite sex.

Some other times, you promise more than you candeliver. Then yours is a jealous soul (yes everybodywas born with jealous traits) but yours is extraordi-nary and if you have reason to doubt the other per-son, you may not be able to forgive.

The summary here is that there’s not much spiritualaspect working against you here but your too strongor powerful personality is what you will need to workon: if at all you have problem with love. One sure betis members of your opposite sex cannot do withoutyour magnetic pose.

God is watching

under the water andunder the dark, hop-ing and praying thatwe will not be caught.We live a life. We for-get that air bear wit-ness to our cruel act;

the sun by our shadowtakes our photograph,and our conscienceconvicts us daily.

Beware, God iswatching. Your sinswill find you out.

Think about it!

RIGHT from agesman has contin-

ued to look for ways ofclothing his naked-ness. Nakedness doesnot just mean notwearing clothesalone. It includes cov-ering our evil deeds,wicked acts, ways and

sins etc.As it was the days of

the Biblical Adam andEve, so it is today.When we commit hei-nous crime, we run forcover under the stone,

38—VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

WHAT is your reaction tothe faceoff between the

presidency and the NationalAssembly over the budget? 

Well,  I  don’t  know  if  mycomment will have any weightto bring changes. But as one ofthose  who  wrote  theconstitution, if we had thoughtthat there was no need for thePresident to present the budgetproposal  to  the  NationalAssembly,  then  there  wouldhave been no need.

But  the  fact  is  that  it  is  aconstitutional requirement thatthe  President  presents  hisbudget  and  for  the NationalAssembly  to pass his budgetinto law and during the processof passing the budget into law,obviously  it  will  undergoscrutiny and many things.

So, it doesn’t mean that whatcomes from the president willgo  to  the National Assemblyand they stamp it and return itback  to  the  executive.  Itwouldn’t have been so and if itwere so, there would have beenno need  for  the executive  tosend budget proposal  to  thelegislature.

Constituencyproject

So,  I  think  the  NationalAssembly  is  doing  what  itsupposed  to  do,  it  is  aconstitutional duty.  

Were there anything likeconstituency projects wherethe legislators will insert someprojects in the budget to beimplemented by the executiveduring your time? 

Yes, the executive implementsany policy decision that comesfrom both the legislature andthe executive. It is correct andpart  of  the  budget,  but  theconstituency  project  issomething which the executiveis  not  under  obligation  toimplement.  But  for  a  goodworking relationship betweenthe two since the executive isthe one on the ground in thefield,  there  should  be  somedegree of compromise betweenthe two of them. 

So, do you think that this

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

to implement.   People are complaining

about hardship, if you are toadvise government on this,what will be your piece ofadvice? 

Well, first of all, I will want toknow whether  the executivecomplies  with  what  thelegislature has passed. If theydon’t,  then,  whichever  sidethat fails to perform its duty canbe blamed. Like the questionyou  asked  earlier,  thelegislature passes the budgetand sends it to the executive,the executive cannot say no, wewon’t implement.

But  if  there  were  someaspects of the budget in whichthe executive made proposaland  the  legislature  did  notappropriate, that   becomes anissue to be resolved betweenthe two arms of government. 

But now that there appearsto be no love lost between thetwo arms, what is your adviceto them? 

There should always be goodrelationship between the twoarms of government so that thecountry will move on. A whileago, you spoke about hardshiphere and  there,  because  thebudget has not been signed,so, it will affect Nigerians whenthere is problem between thetwo arms. So, they must workharmoniously for the interest ofthe country.

frosty relationship betweenthe legislature and theexecutive, is healthy for thedevelopment of democracy? 

Well  if  there are no checksand balances, then we are notpractising  democracy,  it  isnormal to have disagreements.

If  I  use  the  example  ofhusband and wife now, I willcreate  controversy  becausepeople will want to know whichone is the husband, which isthe wife, so I will not use thatexample at all. But I don’t seewhat  is  impossible  for  thelegislature and the executive toagree to work together for theinterest of the masses. 

Which arm of governmenthas the power forappropriation? 

The executive proposes, thelegislature appropriates. 

Has the legislature any rightto remove anything as stability of the country, now

that you are not too strong tocontribute much, is thegovernment taking care ofyou? 

I have not seen anything fromgovernment. Nobody is takingcare  of  anything.  Maybe,  itmay have happened to otherpeople not to me, nobody takescare of me, nobody thinks aboutme.

Curbing theexcessive powers

What is more is that we aresupposed to have some sort ofpension or benefits but up tillnow nobody  thinks about  it,nobody is saying it, but I thinkthat  it  is  one  thing  thatgovernment should do. It willhelp to curb corruption, it willhelp  to  curb  the  excessivepowers seen here and there.

    So does it mean thatgovernment has abandoned itspast leaders? 

No, I haven’t said so. But Ithink the executive arm may bewaiting  maybe  because  thelegislators have not proposedanything as it is a problem forthe  legislature  andunfortunately,  it appears  thatthe  legislature  has  notproposed  anything.  So,  youcan’t blame the executive fornot  implementing  anythingbecause there is nothing for it

BUDGET: President is to propose, NASSis to appropriate — WAYASDr. Joseph Wayas served as Senate President twice in theSecond Republic when he brought flair and fashion to hispolitical carriage. Wayas, 74 and obviously weighed down byage is rarely seen on the political terrain these days,preferring to play the role of a statesman in the backstage.In this interview, he stresses on the need for harmoniousrelationships between the legislature and the executive for theoverall interest of the masses. He also says that it is theconstitutional right of the legislature to appropriate andwhere desired override the President’s intents concerning thebudget. Excerpts:

•Wayas: I think the National Assembly is doing what it supposed to do

together, the executive has thepower  to  propose  and  thelegislature has  the power  toappropriate and until we havethe two on ground, we will nothave a budget.

So, the power of appropriationlies with the legislature, whatthe  executive  does  is  justproposal. 

What of a situation thePresident decides not to assentto the passed budget based onthe fact that there were criticalissues that were removedfrom the budget proposal? 

That  is  a  very  dangeroussituation  that  we  may  findourselves  in  because  if  hewithholds the assent and thelegislature  passes  it  withoverwhelming majority, that iswith  two-third  majority  ofmembers, then it has taken careof the President signature. So,he will not have a choice but tocomply.

All  the  branches  of  theexecutive have to comply andimplement what the legislatureappropriates. 

What if the executive refusesto implement it? 

(Laughs)  I  think one  thingshould be made clear, as  theexecutive  has  the  power  toimplement, so the legislaturehas power to appropriate. Thetwo have to work together.

 You played your role during

your time to ensure the

the executive hasthe power topropose and thelegislature has thepower toappropriate anduntil we have thetwo on ground, wewill not have abudget

proposed by the executive inthe budget? 

So, what are they supposedto do? Bring it and hold a partywith it or what? For the merefact that the executive presentsthe budget for appropriation, itis indicative that if the executiveis  in excess of whatever  it  isdoing it will be checked by thelegislature. They are working

VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016—39

AHEAD the 2016governorship election,

the former Chairman Board ofTrustees of the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP), ChiefTony Anenih has met withgovernorship aspirants on theplatform of the party and otherleaders with a view to fixingthe issues in the party.

Vanguard was reliablyinformed that Chief Anenihexpressed concern over whathe described as derogatorycomments being made by someof the aspirants of the partyagainst each other, saying thatsuch attacks will do the partyno good.

Assuring the aspirants of alevel playing field in the

THERE are indications thatthe leadership of the APC

in Edo State will intensify thepeace moves geared towardsmending fences betweenGovernor Adams Oshiomholeand his deputy Dr Pius Odubu.

The peace move spearheadedby the Commissioner for Worksin the state, Osarodion Ogie,was initiated with a view todouse tension in the partyahead the primaries of theparty come June.

Odubu is a strong contenderin the race the OsadebeyAvenue and efforts are beingmade to ensure he does notclash with his bossOshiomhole, who is backing

APC intensifies peacemoves with Odubu

By Simon Ebegbulem

PLOT TO KILL OSHIOMHOLE:

the aspiration of the chairmanof the Economic Team of thestate Government, Mr GodwinObaseki.

The relationship between theduo had broken down due totheir different views on thesuccession Vanguard learntthat another meeting betweenthe leaders is scheduled forThursday this week. The twomet last week during whichboth raised up issues withOdubu accusing the governorof marginalising him, his officeand his associates.Oshiomhole, however,surprised the trouble-shooterswith his allegation that Odubuhad arranged to kill himthrough diabolical means, thereason for which the governor

•Odubu: Accused byOshiomhole

conduct of the primaries, it waslearnt that he admonishedthem to work hard as he hasno anointed candidate,following insinuations that theleaders of the party are rootingfor Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

APC governorshipaspirant, Mr. Godwin

Obaseki has promised toreview the present schoolcurriculum in the state towardsensuring that children areproperly guided towards theircorrect goals in life.

Obaseki, chairman of the EdoState Economic and StrategyTeam, spoke at a town hallmeeting at the weekendorganised by his supportgroup, Street to Street for GO2016.

Obaseki, who spoke on thetopic “The Role of the Youth inGovernance, “ equally vowedthat he would not joke with thetraining and retrainingprogrammes for school teachersin the state on the note thatonly through such willteachers have the capacity totransmit knowledge to theirpupils.

Obaseki at the programmealso promised that counsellorswould be introduced to schoolsto give appropriate guidance toschool pupils.

He said: “the present

Obaseki promises to shake upeducational system

By Emmanuel Aziken,Political Editor

•Obaseki: Education willget attention

administration which I am anintegral part of has done somuch in providing the neededinfrastructure for our schools.We have built schools andprovided furniture for effectivelearning.

What we need to do now is toprovide training for ourteachers, review our curriculumand reintroduce counselling toour school system so that ourchildren can have morepractical training and guide tobecoming that which will makethem useful to the society andgovernment in general”.

Anenih meets PDP aspirants to fix problemsBy Simon Ebegbulem

PEN-PUSHER, poet andpolemicist Odia Ofeimun an

aspirant on the platform of LabourParty has unfolded his sevencardinal programmes for thestate. Ofeimun, who worked asprincipal private secretary to thelate Chief Obafemi Awolowo in astatement issued at the weekendalso said he would plan and re-plan every village, town and cityin the state within nine monthsof assuming office if elected.

The literary icon in hisstatement said under his sevencardinal programmes; he would

Among the aspirants at themeeting were SolomonEdebiri, MatthewIduoriyekemwen and OsaroOnaiwu. The meeting was ongoing at press time.

MR Crosby Eribo, amember of the Edo

State House of Assembly, hasexplained reasons for thealleged support for Mr.Godwin Obaseki by theoutgoing governor, ComradeAdams Oshiomhole.

Eribo told Vanguard thatOshiomhole as a father wouldlike one of his children morethan the others and thatObaseki on account of hisqualities was thus favoured.

Eribo, who represents Egorconstituency said: “I havealways said it, it is only naturalfor every parent to like one

It's natural for Oshiomhole to back Obaseki— ERIBO

•Anenih: Moves in to stem crisis

By Simon Ebegbulemchild more than the others;you might not show it but it isthe truth. The governorprobably has a soft spot forObaseki whom he has workedwith over the years and I don’tsee anything wrong in that.

“The governor is the leaderof the party in the state andhe knows the best in terms ofa successor. Oshiomhole is avery intelligent man so if hesays he prefers a particularaspirant, I think there is noworry about that.

As a governor who hasworked so hard, he will notallow his works be destroyedby anybody so he must beinvolved in picking whosucceeds him.”

Ofeimun, Awo’s private secretary, plansto eliminate illiteracy

By Emmanuel Aziken,Political Editor

1. Wipe out illiteracy for allcitizens from age five to sixty

2. Re-plan and rebuild everyvillage, town and city

3. Build a Super DomeUnderground Railway Station atOba Square in Benin City

4. Create full employment byproducing sixty percent, andmore, of all goods consumed inEdo State.

5. Establish a health caresystem, free for majority ofcitizens.

6. Mobilise an aggressive solidminerals, oil and gas consortium

7. Make Edo State a properHouse of Culture.

SENATOR Ehigie Uzamere’s exit from the

PDP should ordinarily haveindicated that his politicalcurrency may have beendevalued just as he famouslysaid of the Zimbabwean dollar.Uzamere, who made history asthe first senator from Edo Southto win election to the Senatetwice, famously through twodifferent political parties,Vanguard learnt, is still withinthe permutations of the twomajor political parties in thestate.

Irrespective of hisgovernorship aspiration,

Uzamere’s other planUzamere’s offering to thestate may come in the form ofhis radio station, Speed FM96.9 which is due tocommence test transmissionnext month. The all PidginEnglish station which isexpected to have a strong biasfor political reporting shouldplay a decisive role in theforthcoming election.

Senator Ehigie Uzamere’sexit from the PDP shouldordinarily have indicated thathis political currency may havebeen devalued just as hefamously said of theZimbabwean dollar. Uzamere,

who made history as the firstsenator from Edo South to winelection to the Senate twice,famously through two differentpolitical parties, Vanguardlearnt, is still within thepermutations of the two majorpolitical parties in the state.

Irrespective of hisgovernorship aspiration,Uzamere’s offering to the statemay come in the form of hisradio station, Speed FM 96.9which is due to commence testtransmission next month. Theall Pidgin English station whichis expected to have a strongbias for political reportingshould play a decisive role inthe forthcoming election.

gave for his continued refusalto go to his deputy’s house.

40 —VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

Yemen peace talks in Kuwait stallover differences

A Saudi-led coalition has launched air strikeson Yemen in an effort to stop the Houthis’ ad-vances

THE UN-brokered Yemen peace talks are

continuing on the fourthday in Kuwait, but withgovernment and Houthirebel delegations farfrom reaching an agree-ment to end the conflict.

The delegations re-sumed the negotiationsyesterday , but an hourinto the talks, “it wasobvious for the UN spe-cial envoy [Ismail OuldCheikh Ahmed] that thetalks were going no-where”, said AlJazeera’s Hashem Ahel-barra, reporting fromKuwait City.

The Houthis and theforces loyal to PresidentAbd-Rabbu MansourHadi have observed afragile ceasefire sinceApril 11.However, thetwo sides differ on how

to move forward.“The Houthis say that

they are willing to nego-tiate a settlement butthey are the ones whohave the upper handtherefore they have tohave a bigger say in thegovernment,” our corre-spondent said.

“The government saysthe Houthis used force toseize power so they arethe ones who should beheld responsible.

“They have to handover their weapons andpull out from the maincities. Then the talks canstart.”

U.S. President Barack Obama is welcomed afterhis arrival at Hanover airport, Germany

Economy, security crises in focus as Obamaarrives in Germany

PRESIDENT BarackObama arrived in

Germany yesterday tohold talks with GermanChancellor Angela Mer-kel, one of his closest al-lies in dealing with a

shaky global economyand security crises in theMiddle East and Ukraine.

It will be the last stop ona six-day foreign journeywhere Obama has soughtto shore up U.S. alliances

he views as key to increasetrade, defeat Islamic Statemilitants and offset Rus-sian intervention inUkraine and Syria.

Obama, who is in thelast nine months of hispresidential term, spentthree days in Londonwhere he urged Britons toremain in the EuropeanUnion in a June referen-dum, a vote that couldhave global economic con-sequences.

Earlier in the week, hemet with Gulf leaders inRiyadh to try to allay fearsthat Washington had be-come less committed totheir security, especiallyafter the nuclear deal withthe Saudis’ regional rivalIran.

Prince death: Singer cremated inprivate ceremony

PRINCE has been cre-mated with a small, pri-

vate service for family,friends and musicians, hispublicist has confirmed.

The cause of his death isstill unknown and the re-sults of Friday’s autopsycould take at least fourweeks.

Prince, 57, was founddead in a lift on his PaisleyPark estate, near Minne-apolis, on Thursday, wherefans are still paying trib-utes.

Officials said there wereno signs of injuries to hisbody and no indication thathe had killed himself.

Publicist Anna Meachamsaid the singer’s “final stor-

age” would be kept private.“A few hours ago, Prince

was celebrated by a smallgroup of his most beloved:

family, friends and his mu-sicians, in a private, beau-tiful ceremony to say a lov-ing goodbye,” she said.

N/Korea to halt nuke tests if USstops drills

NORTH Korea is readyto halt its nuclear tests

if the United States sus-pends its annual militaryexercises with South Korea,the North Korean foreignminister told The Associat-ed Press in an interview inwhich he also warned thathis country won’t be cowedby international sanctions.

Foreign Minister Ri SuYong defended the coun-

try’s right to maintain anuclear deterrent, and forthose waiting for theNorth’s regime to collapse,he had this to say: Don’thold your breath.

“Stop the nuclear warexercises in the KoreanPeninsula, then we shouldalso cease our nucleartests,” he said in his firstinterview Saturday with aWestern news organiza-tion.

African music star, Papa Wembadies after stage collapse

Papa Wemba

By Emeka Aginam,with agency report

AFRICA has lost oneof its finest music

stars, Jules ShunguWembadio Pene Kikumba,popularity known asPapa Wemba.

An influential Congo-lese rumba or Soukoussinger, Papa Wemba wasborn on June 14, 1949.

He was reported tohave slumped on stagebehind a group of danc-ers at the weekend inIvory Coast.

Aged 66, Wemba wassaid to have started hiscareer as a singer in aChurch choir.

Video from the show inIvory Coast showed himslumped on stage behinda group of dancers, be-fore they rushed to hisaid.

The Congolese popularstar pioneering blend ofAfrican, Cuban and West-ern sounds became one ofAfrica’s most popular mu-sic styles. Wemba alsotoured around the world,and recorded with Britishartist Peter Gabriel.

The musician fell ill inthe early hours of Satur-day morning. The causeof his death has not beenestablished as at presstime.

He died before hecould be brought to hos-pital, a spokesman for theIvosep morgue in Abidjantold Reuters newsagency.

Early lifeHe helped modernise

Congolese rumba music,with the genre thatemerged soukous, influ-encing music across Af-rica.

Together with his bandsZaiko Langa Langa, Isifiand Viva La Musica, heracked up hit after hit, in-cluding L’Esclave and Le

Voyageur. He appearedin two feature films, LifeIs Beautiful (1987) andWild Games (1997).

Influence on fashionWemba was also a style

icon, the driving force be-hind the cultural move-ment the Sapeurs, whoseyoung men spend vastamounts on designerclothes.

On his look, Wemba toldCNN he in turn was in-spired by his parents get-ting dressed up yesterdayThey were “always wellput together, always look-ing very smart”, he said.

In 2004, he was con-victed of people-smug-gling in France and spentthree months in prison.

The conviction related toa racket whereby illegalimmigrants were taken toEurope posing as mem-bers of his band.

A Belgian court con-victed him of the samecrime in 2012, handingdown a fine of €22,000(£17,143; $24,690) andsuspended prison sen-tence of 15 months.

He was also once jailedin Zaire (now the Demo-cratic Republic of Congo)for allegedly having an af-fair with a general’sdaughter.

Tributes to ‘icon’Congolese President Jo-

seph Kabila has ex-pressed his condolences,and there are likely to belarge events paying hom-age in the coming days.

Congolese Culture Min-ister Baudouin BanzaMukalay called his deatha “great loss for the coun-try and all of Africa”, As-sociated Press reported.

Kinshasa rapperYoussoupha mourned theband leader in a tweet (inFrench), saying, “Like mycommunity, I am devas-tated by the death of PapaWemba. “He was the iconof our culture, of ourlifestyle. This is a hugeloss.” Youssoupha, said.

“I would put him in thesame bracket as Fela Kutiwhen it comes to influenceon African music,” said DJEdu, BBC 1xtra’s AfricanMusic Ambassador.

Migrants seek new routesinto Macedonia

AFTER weekss t r a n d e dat a closed border innorthern Greece, mi-grants and refugees areseeking out new, irregularroutes to get into Mace-donia, clambering throughforests and over hills un-der the cover of darkness.

As dusk fell on Saturdayevening, a Reuters witnesssaw a group of up to 70

people crossing into Mace-donia from Greece, at apoint where there is no ra-zor wire fence between thetwo countries. They dartedin and out of a forest, hid-ing from authorities.

It was roughly a 20 km(12 mile), or four hour walkfrom Idomeni, a sprawlingtent city hosting thousandsof refugees and migrantsstranded by a cascade of

border shutdownsthroughout the Balkans inFebruary.

Others at the campsitewere also mulling theiroptions to leave Idomeniand find vulnerable pointsalong the border to crossinto the Balkans, the pre-ferred route to western Eu-rope. “There is no othersolution,” said Moutaz, aSyrian from Aleppo.

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016 — 41

CMYK

42—42—42—42—42—Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard, MONDAY, MONDAY, MONDAY, MONDAY, MONDAY, APRIL 25, APRIL 25, APRIL 25, APRIL 25, APRIL 25, 20162016201620162016

Kosofe records fewermalaria cases

ON this year’s World MalariaDay, fewer malaria cases

are being recorded in Kosofe areaof Lagos State.The feat was achieved as a resultof collaboration between theLagos State government, theNational Institute of MedicalResearch, NIMR, and ReckittBenckiser, RB, Nigeria, makersof Mortein insecticide, whichreported an acclaimed reductionof malaria by 55 percent in Kosofeas part of its commitment toachieving a malaria-free Nigeria.

In partnership with NIMRthrough the Lagos State Ministryof Health, RB commissioned aresearch tagged the "MorteinOwn a Community Project" inKosofe LGA of Lagos State.

The objective of the MorteinOwn a Community project wasto quantify the efficacy ofadherence to the WHO three coreintegrated malaria preventionmethods of reducing Malaria.The final result showed asignificant reduction in the casesof malaria especially amongstchildren in homes where all theinterventions provided to themwas used.

As I speak to you,millions of peopleare suffering frommalaria all overNigeria and everyminute a childreportedly diesfrom malaria

Mosquito

FOLLOWING a successful surveillance assessment of theNational Agency for Food andDrug Administration and Control,NAFDAC, Central DrugLaboratory in Lagos, the UnitedState (US) National AccreditationBoard, has retained her status ofaccreditation of the Yaba CentralDrug Laboratory.

According to the ANAB ANSI-ASQ National AccreditationBoard of USA, the Lab conformsto the quality managementrequirements of ISO/IEC17025:2005.

The management system of thelaboratory conforms to the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 in the followingscope; - HPLC, Dissolution, UV/VIS Spectroscopy, PH, Loss onDrying (LOD), Waterdetermination by Karl Fischer andUniformity of Dosage Units(UDU).

Reacting to the development,the Acting Director-General of theAgency, Mrs. Yetunde Oniassured Nigerians that thelaboratory will continue to offerquality analytical testing servicesto all customers to producereliable and accurate analyticaltest results that meet

BATNF boosts vegetable farming in Badagry

COMMISSIONING: Chairman, Ewebe FADAMA UsersCooperative Group, Mr Mufutau Oyelekan; Area Head, Legal /External Affairs, West and Central Africa, BATN, Freddy Messanvi;a representative of the Commissioner of Agriculture, Lagos State,Mrs Abiola Ayoade; and the Baale of Ajara Topa, Chief SamuelOwolabani, at the presentation of the certificate of handover ofirrigation facilities to the Ajara Vegetable Enterprise DevelopmentProject, Ajara, Badagry, recently.

THE British AmericanTobacco Nigeria Foundation,

BATNF, has empoweredvegetable farmers in AjaraVegetable EnterpriseDevelopment Project, Ajara,Badagry, Lagos, with irrigationfacilities to boost their productivity.The facility was handed over tothe farmers at a colourfulceremony recently at the farmsettlement.

Seyi Ashade, ExecutiveDirector of BATNF, whorepresented Chief KolaJamodu, Chairman of thefoundation, expressedconfidence that the irrigationfacility will "stimulate goodproduction practices that willtranslate into higher yield,increased income of the farmersand socio-economicdevelopment of the beneficiaries

and the community."Ashade noted that vegetable,

which is the primary produce ofthe farmers, plays a very importantrole in human nutrition. Vegetablefarming, despite its key role in thenutrition mix, requires moresupport in meeting the food needsof Nigerians.

She reiterated BATNF'scommitment to "supportingsmallholder farmers in ruralcommunities, helping them toidentify and implement projects inorder to reduce poverty and makesustainable positive impact incommunities across the country,"while complementinggovernment's efforts.

The vegetable farming initiativereceives technical backup from theNational Horticultural ResearchInstitute (NIHORT), Ibadan, OyoState. The Director of Research,NIHORT, Dr Henry Akinwunmi,acknowledged the hugecontribution made by BATNF tothe vegetable segment of the AjaraFarm Estate.

Mrs. Abiola Ayoade, whorepresented Hon. OluwatoyinSuarau, the Lagos StateCommissioner of Agriculture, saidthat the vegetable estate initiativewas mainly conceived to mitigatethe periodic shortage of vegetableproducts and to optimise the useof available land for agriculture,boost food production.

international quality standards ofISO/IEC 17025:2005.

She attributed the success storyto the technical and financialsupport of USP-PQM andUSAID in strengthening thequality systems of the laboratoryand maintaining ISO/IEC17025:2005 laboratoryaccreditation.

Oni said in 2014, NAFDACCentral Drug Control Laboratoryanalysed about 80 percent ofmedicines for use in Nigeria,towards WHO Prequalificationobtained the ISO 17025laboratory accreditation.

For the first time in Africa, twoNAFDAC laboratories (theMycotoxin and the PesticideResidue labs) were accredited bythe American AssociationLaboratory Accreditation (AALA)with ISO 17025 accreditation willsignificantly boost internationalacceptance of Nigeria's export ofvalue-added food products andforeign exchange earnings.

Two other labs - FoodCompliance and HPLCLaboratories recently got ISO17025 accreditation from theAmerican Association ofLaboratory Accreditation.

US accredits NAFDACCentral Drug Lab

By Nkiruka Nnorom Speaking at the Mortein Anti-malaria seminar to mark the2016 World Malaria Day, theMarketing Director, RB, WestAfrica, Mr. Oguzhan Silivrili,stated that the project was ahuge success, revealing that a55 per cent reduction of malariacases among children under theage of 10 was achieved in KosofeLocal Government Area throughthe project.

According to Oguzhan, 627,000 people die from malariaeach year, 25 per cent is fromNigeria, mostly among childrenunder the age of five. ''As I speakto you, millions of people aresuffering from malaria all over

Nigeria and every minute a childreportedly dies from malaria'', hesaid.

"Malaria is not a destiny forNigerian children, malaria ispreventable. We have proved thisin Kosofe with a 55 per centreduction in malaria cases inchildren in only six months."

In his presentation, Dr. SamAwolola, Public Health VectorControl Specialist & Head,Malaria Research Programme,NIMR Lagos, said the six-monthproject tagged: "Own acommunity project"assessed theefficacy of the combinedinterventions of Long LastingInsecticide Nets (LLINs),Larviciding and Mortein onmalaria prevention at select

MEMBERS of the NigerianMedical Association

(NMA) will today converge atthe Gingiya Coral Hotel Sokoto,Sokoto State for the 56thAnnual General Conferenceand Delegates' meeting.

A press statement signed bythe National President, DrKayode Obembe states that themeeting which will hold 24ththrough 30th of April will havein attendance delegates fromthe 36 States of the Federationand the Federal CapitalTerritory, Abuja, Nigeriandoctors in the diaspora- from

the Americas The Associationof Nigerian Physicians in theAmericas (ANPA), from theUnited Kingdom the MedicalAssociation across the GreatBritain's (MANSAG) and theCanadian Association ofNigerian Physicians andDentists CANPAD fromCanada.

The theme of the conferenceis "Doctors in AdministrativePositions in a DemocraticDispensation". The meeting willalso review, reset and reiteratethe standards of performanceit has set for her members.

NMA holds Annual General Conference

mosquito hot spots in Kosofe LocalGovernment Area of Lagos State.He said a there was a 55 per centreduction in the cases of malaria

among children under the age of10 in homes where all theinterventions provided to themwere used.

...As Lagos, NIMR & Mortein collaborate

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016—43

I'm very much alive —IBB

MINNA—FORMER Military President,General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida,

yesterday, said he was not dead, but alive and ingood health.

It would be recalled that media (not Vanguard)was agog that the elder statesman was dead.

Babangida, who spoke to newsmen at hisresidence in Minna, said the rumour of his deathdid not come as a shock to him, saying nobody wasabove sickness or death because it had been destinedby God.

According to him: “ The rumour does not shockme, neither does it bother me because I know I

must go and meet God my creator. There is nothingreally to worry about, my religion has told me. Well,as a Muslim, I strongly believe everybody will die,everybody will die and everybody has to die. Itcould be now or in hundred years time or two daysto come, but it doesn’t matter, everybody must die.”

Speaking on the state of the nation, Babangidaexpressed optimism that Nigeria would surmountits present challenges and insisted that the future ofthe country was bright and had a lot to offer for theyounger generations.

He said: “I still believe very strongly in thiscountry, which is further demonstrated by the peoplebecause they are very industrious, hardworking,and that gives me the hope for Nigeria.”

Boko Haram: Troops ambush escaping terrorists, kill 5,arrest scores

IBB during an interview over hisdeath rumour

By Kingsley Omonobi

ABUJA—NIGERIAN Armyon clearance operations to

rid of the remnants of BokoHaram in the North East,yesterday ambushed suspectedterrorists’ escaping from theSambisa forest, killing five of themand arresting scores of others.

A statement by Col. SaniUsman, Acting Director, ArmyPublic Relations confirming thedevelopment, said, “At the earlyhours of today,( Sunday April 24,2016) , troops of 81 Battalion andsome elements of 251 Task ForceBattalion, 25 Brigade, ambushedsuspected Boko Haram terroristsescaping from Sambisa forest toFulawani village. The ambushedterrorists were trying to link upwith other terrorists or membersof their families to relocate toother places. It will be recalledthat the troops intercepted agroup of women and childrenyesterday who claimed to haveescaped from the terroristsenclave in Sambisa forest.

“However, during screeningand interrogation, it was

confirmed that they were theterrorists’ advance partyrelocating to a new safe havenfollowing intense tacticaloperations by troops. The troopssprang a surprise ambush on thegroup of escaping terrorists fromSambisa forest crossing towards

Alagarno mounted on motorcyclesand bicycles, killing five of themand recovering a number ofitems.”

According to the statement:“These include five motorcycles,nine bicycles, 80 new pairs ofbathroom slippers, assorted

laundry items, polythene bagsand mats. From all indication, theterrorists intended to link up withtheir wives and children earliermentioned, who were obviouslydispatched to wait for them closeto Fulawani for onwardmovement to other locations."

Strike: Ngige wades into Ministry of Power, Labour dispute

ABUJA—MINISER ofLabour and Employment,

Senator Chris Ngige, wadedinto the dispute between theMinistry of Power and theNational Union of ElectricityEmployees, NUEE, followingwhich workers of TransmissionCompany of Nigeria, TCN,weekend, suspended theirongoing strike. The strike wassequel to armed soldiers and

police take-over and lock-outTCN workers in what was seenas desperate bid by theMinistry of Power to take overthe defunct Power HoldingCompany of Nigeria, PHCN,headquartres and wind it upwithout addressing pendinglabour issues as agreed betweenthe Federal Government andLabour in 2012

Senator Ngige has scheduleda meeting between officials ofthe power ministry and NUEE'sleaders tomorrow in Abuja.

This came as securityoperatives, weekend, combedthe South East and Abuja forleaders of NUEE including theGeneral Secretary, Mr. JoeAjaero, over what might not beunrelated to the disputebetween the Ministry of Powerand the union following threedays industrial unrest byworkers of TCN.

However, Vanguard gatheredthat the operatives of theDepartment of State Service,DSS, in the south East were

looking for the GeneralSecretary of the union, Mr. JoeAjaero, after hearing he wascoming to the zone for awedding.Unfortunately, sincethe venue of the of the weddingwas not known, it was gatheredthat the operatives decided tovisit South East offices of NUEEto ask after Mr. Ajaero.

Confirming the report, Ajaerotold Vanguard that he was surethat the operatives looking forhim in the South-East had otheragenda because the DSS knewhow to reach any official of theunion including himself, sayingthey always did that throughinvitation.

According to him, “mytelephone number is known toofficials of DSS. They knowhow to invite us if they haveissues with us and they usuallydid that through invitationletter. But when officials of DSSstarted going from our officesin the South-East to ask afterme just because they learnedthat I came into the south eastto attend a wedding, shows asinister motive.”

By Victor Ahuma-Young

Bye-election:APC winsYobe federalconstituency

By Bala Ajiya

THE ALL ProgressivesCongress, APC, has

won the Amaturu/Tarmuwa/Gujba/GulaniFederal Constituency byeelection held on Saturday.

The Yobe federalconstituency seat becamevacant following theappointment of KhadijaBukar as a minister in thefederal cabinet.

Prof. Sunday Alao, theReturning Officer of theelection, on Saturday inDamaturu declared APCcandidate, AbdullahiKukuwa as the winner.

Kukuwa scored 23,745votes, while his closest rivalNasiru Hassan of thePeoples Democratic Party(PDP) polled 6,990 votes.

Adamu Dina of theAdvance Congress forDemocracy (ACD) scored163 votes, while JibrinLadan of the NationalConscience Party (NCP)scored 139 votes.

By Boluwaji Obahopo

Unilorin ASUUcautions overfoisted leaders

LOKOJA—ORGANISEDlabour in Kogi State, has

expressed worries overunpaid workers’ salaries andother issues affecting welfareof its members.

Nigeria Labour Congress,NLC and TUC, in a jointcommuniqué issued inLokoja, called on the state

government to use theallocation it got for the monthof February, 2016 to offsetthe outstanding December2015 salaries and otherbenefits.

The communiqué by NLCChairman, Onuh Edoka;TUC Chairman, OjoMatthew and JNCChairman, Aaron Akeji;condemned , the payment ofsalary in piecemeal, and saidthe payment of salaries for

months of October andNovember 2015 spannedthrough three weeks for eachmonth.

It also called on thegovernment to direct theMinistry for LocalGovernment and ChieftaincyAffairs to release theFebruary allocation to localgovernment areas to cushionthe effects of non-payment ofsalaries to local governmentworkers and teachers.

NLC, TUC worry over unpaid workers' salaries in Kogi

I L O R I N —ACADEMIC Staff

Union of University, ASUU,University of Ilorin,UNILORIN, Kwara State,has called on nationalleadership of ASUU tojettison alleged attempt tofoist some few returnedlecturers on the vastmajority in the universityto avoid truncatingongoing process ofreintegrating UNILORINASUU into the nationalbody.

The Chairman of thebranch,,Dr AbdulraheemUsman Adebimpe insistedthat the branch had neverbeen averse to returningto the mainstream ofASUU, hence theongoing talks with thenational leadership ofASUU through the zonalbranch.

According to him, bothparties had agreed towithdraw the court cases,while discussions wereongoing on the lifting ofbans placed on somenotable leaders of theunion before the ASUUnational leadership lastWednesday, allegedlyattempted to impose theleadership of about 13members on over 1,000members in the university.

By DemolaAkinyemi

DONATION: From left, Chairman, Oja Akande Community Development Council, Mr. OyesinaOyegbile; Trade Marketing Consultant, MTN Nigeria, Adegoke Kester; Secretary, Oja AkandeCommunity Development Council,, Madam Ruth Olayode, and Nominator of Oja Akande Community,Alao Stephen Olatunji, at the handing-over of a borehole donated by MTN Foundation as part of its'What Can We Do Together Initiative,' to Oja Akande Community, Ogbomoso North, Oyo State.

By Wole Mosadomi

CMYK

”The truth is like a lion. Youdon’t have to defend it. Let it loseand it will defend itself”- St.Augustine.

FOR the last few weeks Ihave been the subject of

absurd and outlandish headlinestories in various newspaperswho have accused me of being afraudster and who have claimedthat funds were transferred intomy bank account by the formerNational Security Adviser, Col.Sambo Dasuki and by theGovernor of the Central BankBank of Nigeria.

They have also claimed that Iused public funds for thePresidential campaign ofPresident Goodluck Jonathan.The attempt to tarnish my name,paint me as a common criminaland convict me of wrongdoingin the court of public opinionwithout even hearing my side ofthe story is petty, shameful andnauseating. It is also a reflectionof the desperation of those thatseek to pull me down anddestroy me simply because myopposition to this government hasbeen unrelenting.

In January 2015, I wasappointed as the Director ofMedia and Publicity for theJonathan/Sambo PresidentialCampaign Organisation byPresident Goodluck Jonathan.The Director-General of theCampaign Organisation wasSenator Ahmadu Alli and theDeputy Director-Generals were

44—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

The truth about PDP campaign fundsBy Femi Fani-Kayode

character and they have mostlybeen either Ministers of theFederal Republic or stateGovernors at one time or theother in our history. It was anhonor to serve alongside suchpeople and I have absolutely noregrets about doing so.

Yet given the fact that I was notthe only Director in theCampaign Organisation and inview of the fact that all theDirectors and zonal and stateDirectors got their funds from thesame source and account as I did,one wonders why only I andthree others should be singledout for this reprehensibletreatment and these falseallegations. I chose to remainsilent on the issue up until nowsimply because the allegationshave not been officially made bythe Economic and Financial

without any explanation is proofof the fact that I am beingtargetted and that those that seekto have their wicked way with meare about to pounce.

Given this it is important thatall the relevant facts are putbefore the world before I amsubjected to the Dasukitreatment, put away indefinatelyand not given the opportunity todefend myself before the public.Meanwhile, in their usualmanner, after this is done theEFCC will then flood the mediawith all manner of lies about myso-called atrocities which onlyexist in the figment of theirimagination.

The allegation of fraud and thereceipt of public funds from theNational.Security Advisors Officeand Central Bank into my bankaccount is false. These

Organisation and Mrs. NenadiUsman, the Director of Finance.My team and I prepared thebudget and it was approved.Rather than collect cash, forsecurity reasons and thepurposes of accountability I wasadvised by the Director ofFinance to open a bank accountfor this purpose, which I did.

The funds were paid into thataccount in installments at thebeginning of last year by theDirector of Finance and eachdeposit was authorized andapproved by the PresidentialAdvisor to the PCO, Chief TonyAnenih. The account that theyused to transfer the money to mewas a private company accountwhich was owned or under thecontrol of the Director of Finance.It was the same company andaccount that was used to sendmoney to all the other Directorsof the PCO and the ZonalDirectors, State Directors and allour PDP governorship andlegislative candidates during thevarious campaigns.

I made a point of asking whatthe source of the funds in thisaccount were and I was told bythe Director of Finance that thefunds were sourced from privateindividuals and privatecompanies who opted to supportand fund President Jonathan’scampaign. She told me that nomoney was paid into hercompany from any governmentofficial, account or agency. Thisshe told me in the presence ofwitnesses and I believed her.

Presidentialcampaign

I was told that there was afundraising event held by ourparty (PDP) which took place inearly January 2015 in whichbillions of naira was raisedspecifically for the Presidentialcampaign. I believed this to betrue and I had no reason to doubtit. Our funds were given to us bythe President who was the leaderof our party through the Directorof Finance of the PCO and wewere not in a position to inquireinto the sources of funding of theparty’s campaign. Indeed, it wasnot our responsibility to do so.

Once I got these clarificationsand confirmation I agreed toreceive the funds into my bankaccount and use them for theirstated purpose. The transferswere made and I used the fundsto carry out all our operationsduring the course of thepresidential campaign. It was anaggressive and well-runcampaign and we gave ouropponents a very hard timeindeed. It was also veryexpensive and we barely had theresources that we really neededbut we did an effective job withthe little we were given.

The whole nation, includingour friends and our enemies, canbear witness to that and they sawthe excellent quality of our work.Hardly anyone can dispute thisyet some fail to appreciate the factthat such a strong showing costs

a lot of money. Media andpublicity campaigns cannot berun on goodwill alone: you needcash and plenty of it. During thecourse of the election and afterits conclusion I submitteddetailed accounts of our expensesand evidence of our work to theDirector of Finance of the PCOfor onward transmission to theDirector-General of the PCO andultimately President Jonathanhimself about how the moneywas spent and they were satisfied.

Given the fact that these werenot public funds the only legalbody that can inquire into ourexpenditure of campaign fundsis President Goodluck Jonathanwho set up the PCO. I wascommended for my efforts by himand I can proudly say that myDirectorate did not owe anyindividual, service provider,organisation or media outfit thatprovided any services to us onekobo at the close of thecampaign.

Bazaarfunds

All our debts were paid andobligations met during and justafter the election. The suggestionthat there was any fraud in anyof this or that I colluded andconspired with others to usegovernment money to run acampaign is false and veryinsulting. The suggestion thatthe money was some kind of “cashbonanza” or “bazaar” as has beenreported by the leading pro-government newspaper in thecountry today is childish andabsurd.

If that had been the case Idoubt that I would have beenfoolish enough to open a bankaccount to receive governmentfunds or “bazaar funds” as thiswould have been easily traced.If I had anything to hide or if Iwas doing anything wrong Iwould have insisted on collectingcash for my operations whichwould have been far easier toconceal. The fact that the EFCCgained access to my bank accountand leaked details of it to themedia including my inflows is notonly a gross violation of myprivacy but it is also unlawful.

I was a Minister of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria ten years agoand I was a key official in thePresidency thirteen years ago. Ihad the honor and privilage ofserving my country in these twocapacities when the father of ournation, President OlusegunObasanjo, was our President.Consequently I am familiar withthe workings and importance ofaccountability, due diligence anddue process.

This is why I was very carefulwith how we managed ourresources at the Directorate andwhy I appointed a seasoned civilservant who retired from the civilservice with commendation atthe Director level as my Directorof Finance in my Directorate. Iwas also mindful of the fact that Ihad to be very careful with themanagement of funds that wereput under my care given the factthat I had been wrongly accusedand viciously persecuted by theYar’adua administration and theFarida Waziri-led EFCC withtrumped up and baseless

Continues on page 45

Alhaji Ibrahim Turaki, SAN,(north) and Governor Peter Obi(south).

Chief Tony Anenih, an elderstatesman and one of the mostdistinguished and revertedleaders in our country, was thePresidential Advisor to theCampaign Organisation. Therewere at least 10 other Directorsand Directorates apart from meand mine including theDirectorate of Mobilisation whichwas led by the respectedProfessor Jerry Gana and theDirectorate of Administrationwhich was led by Alhaji AliyuModibbo. There were also zonaland state Directors of thePresidential CampaignOrganisation in all the zones andstates of the country.

All these names that I havementioned including all the otherDirectors whose names I have notmentioned are, as far as I amaware, men and women ofimmense integrity and good

it becomes truth to those who arecontinuously subjected to it. Thisis especially so if it goesunchallenged.

Court of publicopinion

I cannot sit by silently as myname is dragged through themud in this way and I amconvicted in the court of publicopinion. This has happened tome once before and it took meseven years to clear my name. Itwill not happen to me again.Consequently I am constrainedto take this opportunity to statethe facts of this matter, set therecord straight and await mytraducers and accusers to maketheir next move. It is indeed timeto challenge those that aremaking these allegations and tokill the lie. The fact that my bankaccount was frozen on the ordersof the EFCC two weeks ago

Crimes Commission(EFCC) or anyone else butthe newspapers keepciting their sources “insidethe EFCC” as their basisfor these shamefulallegations.

Mr. Josef Goebbels,Chancellor Adolf Hitler’sInformation Ministerwhen Germany was in theterrible grip of the Naziparty, said that once a lieis repeated enough times

FEMI FFEMI FFEMI FFEMI FFEMI FANI KAANI KAANI KAANI KAANI KAOOOOOYDEYDEYDEYDEYDE

allegations are baseless, wicked,shameful and irresponsible. It isnot true that ANY money waspaid into my account by or fromthe National Security Advisor’sOffice, the Central Bank ofNigeria or any other governmentagency or institution last year orat any other time.

As the Director of Media andPublicity of the JonathanPresidential CampaignOrganisation I was asked tosubmit a budget for myDirectorate by Chief TonyAnenih, the Presidential Advisorto the Presidential Campaign

Media andpublicitycampaigns cannotbe run on goodwillalone: you needcash and plenty ofit

The exit of a political field marshall

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016—45

Dr.Mrs.Grace Braithwaite

I RECEIVED the news aboutthe demise of Dr. Tunji

Braithwaite with deep shock andgreat feeling of Nostalgia, this isbecause we have lost again, aprogressive, a detribalizedNigerian, bold and courageous,an eminent Nigeria who wasalways at the forefront ofentrenching democratic ethos,fundamental human rights, zerotolerance to corruption, andabove all, he lived an exemplarylife worthy of emulation. He wasa revolutionary thinker, teacherand crusader. The light that fearsno darkness.

Decadentsociety

Dr.Tunji Braithwaite totallybelieved in the ability of theyouths, hence, for the first timein the history of our nation, heled and championed the firstrevolutionary party in Nigeriawhich brought the Nigerianyouths into participatory politics,the Nigeria Advance party(NAP), through its symbol,sought to entrust the future of theNigerian youths into their hands.

In forming the NigeriaAdvance Party (NAP), he broughton board a few tested and trustedfriends, like Dr. Ayo Ojajune, Dr.Muyiwa Oladimeji, ComradeMallam Sanni, and ChiefSenator Ben Obi, CON. Ayo wasthe director of ideology, Muyiwawas director of organization,Comrade Sanni was ActingNational Secretary, and myhumble self was NationalPublicity Secretary. We had the

slogan: Eliminating cockroaches,rats and mosquitoes, which wasa philosophical way of saying;Eliminating bribery, corruption,poverty, ignorance and diseasein our decadent society.

I could remember vividly, sinceI was particularly close to him,that I attended all meetings withhim, such as meetings with thethen president of Nigeria, AlhajiShehu Shagari GCFR, incompany of some NPN faithfulsand leaders, like Alhaji UmaruDikko, the then minister ofTransport and Alhaji Ali Babathen Minister of Interior affairs.

We also had a meeting with thethen Head of State Gen.Muhammadu Buhari GCFR,and his deputy Brig. Gen. TundeIdiagbon on the 12th of January,1984. This was coming at a timewhen most politicians were soscared of the duo of Gen.Muhammadu Buhari and hisdeputy Brig.Gen. Tunde

Idiagbon. We also had meetingwith President IbrahimBabangida GCFR, as well asGen. Aliyu Muhammed Gusauwho was Director GeneralNigeria Security Organization(NSO), and his message to all ofthem at these meetings, was toeliminate corruption and bringabout transparent, focused anddynamic leadership that willbetter and improve the lot of theNigerian people.

He had a very rich Christian

TRIBUTE

By Senator Ben Obi

Nigeria, and had a good rapportwith highly anointed men of Godin Nigeria. He influenced theformation of PFN, when he andI started by going to therenowned tele-evangelist, lateArch. Bishop Benson Idahosa ofthe Church of God Mission,where we spent 2 nights in hisGRA Benin Residence toMobilize Pentecostal churchesinto participatory politics byhaving a body or platform, whichwas later to be called Pentecostalfellowship of Nigeria (PFN). Onour return back to Lagos, wecontinued on our mission, byvisiting the late pastor Adeboyejofounder of Foursquare GospelChurch, Pastor E.A Adeboye ofthe Redeemed Christian Churchof God, Bishop Mike Okonkwoof The Redeemed EvangelicalMission(TREM), Pastor TundeJoda of the Christ ChapelInternational Churches (CCIC),Pastor W.F Kumuyi of the DeeperChristian Life Churches, and ahost of others all in a bid tointegrate Christians intoparticipatory politics, which washitherto like a Taboo in theChristendom.

He was a Colourful andGlamorous Politician with style.He was something special, acombination of talents, withincredible knowledge of theconstitution and the law, and apassion for making the countryand politics better.

As a lawyer, he conquered thelegal world, in his astuteness, hedemonstrated vast and accurateknowledge of the law; using it toliberate the oppressed, defend

the defenseless, even in thefiercest opposition from the thenruling military junta, he not onlyremained resolute, but stood firmand firmly defended all,including defending ChiefObafemi Awolowo when he wascharged for treason.

Having the credit of bringingonboard, and registering JuliusBerger, the biggest constructioncompany in Nigeria, and whichhe became their first legalAdviser as well as holding thelegal retainerships of over 20multi- Nationals includingforeign missions and embassies,testifies to the fact that he was alawyer of great repute.

When I ponder over the demiseof this great Nigerian, his rarequalities, I have no doubt that hehas sacrificed, and giving his bestto this nation, his wise counselwill be greatly missed. No doubt,the legacies he left behind willbe transmitted from generationto generation. Although therewill never be another TunjiBraithwaite, let’s hope there aremany more like him.

I condole with you and yourentire family on the demise ofyour beloved husband, a greatleader and teacher. At thismoment of immense grief, it ismy prayer that God Almightygrant you much grace andfortitude as possible to bear thisregrettable loss. Please acceptmy heartfelt condolence.Prayerful best wishes.

•Sen. High Chief (Dr.) Ben NdiObi, CON.FNIPR wrote fromLagos

life, and wasv e r yinstrumentalin integratingChrist iansinto politics,he wasinstrumentalto theformation oft h ePentecostalfellowship of

criminal charges for the previous sevenyears. That whole ordeal almost ruinedmy life and my career but God was withme throughout and He delivered mefrom their evil because I had donenothing wrong. On 1st July 2015, I wasacquitted by a duly constituted court oflaw of all those charges and I give Godthe glory for that.

Yet the struggle continues. I amappalled at the behavior of the EFCC inthis latest matter but I am not surprisedbecause they have had it in for me formany years.

Obsessiveinterest

Their almost obsessive interest in meand their motivation to destroy me isessentially political and partly personaland this has always been so. In short,just as was the case seven years ago,they are being used by the powers thatbe and by forces that are far above them.To that extent I sympathise with them.Yet if this is an attempt to intimidate,silence or distract me they shall failbecause I am not a coward and I do not

fear them or those that sent them totorment me.

And neither will I sit by idly and watchthem trying to destroy me again. Theirallegations are malicious and self-servingand there is no substance or truth in them.We did not run the Presidential CampaignOrganization or my Directorate with paperor hot air: we ran them with money. Thereis no crime in that.

A substantial portion of that money waspaid by my Directorate directly to themedia for rallies, television, radio andnewspaper adverts and jingles togetherwith many other services rendered andwe have all the records and documents toprove it. As stated earlier those recordshave been duly submitted to the relevantquarters and they commended us for ourwork. I did not run the Directorate aloneand I had at least 10 Deputy Directors,Assistant Directors and Sub-Directors, whowere all also appointed by PresidentJonathan, working under me. I wasresponsible for the funding of each andevery one of their various operations. Ourentire team was dedicated and we allworked very hard because we believedpassionately in our candidate and ourparty.

The truth about PDP campaign funds

Continues from page 44

To be concluded

Late Dr. Tunji Braitwaite

46 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

Champions League: Ronaldo to travel for City clash

CRISTIANO Ronaldowill travel with Real

Madrid for theirChampions League semifinal against ManchesterCity.

The Portugueseinternational has not beendeclared fit for tomorrow’sfirst leg at the Etihad - butReal are confident that hewill be part of their squad.

Ronaldo was left out of

Saturday’s 3-2 win againstRayo Vallecano as aprecaution following athigh strain. But asked foran update on his fitness,Real coach ZinedineZidane said: “He willtravel to Manchester.”

Ronaldo has been inoutstanding form for theSpanish giants, scoring 47goals in 44 appearancesthis season.

Giroud disappoints as Arsenaldrop more points at Sunderland

PETR Cech and the crossbar denied Sunderland

a priceless Barclays PremierLeague victory, as Arsenalfailed to reclaim third placefrom Manchester City.

The Gunners needed towin at the Stadium of Lightto edge ahead of City onceagain, but had to make dowith a point from a 0-0 drawwhich lifted the Black Catsout of the relegation zoneon goal difference.

However, they could haveleft Wearside empty-hand-ed as Patrick van Aanholthit the woodwork with afirst-half free-kick and Cechmade a series of importantsaves after the break to keepSam Allardyce’s men at bayin front of a crowd of 45,420.

Sunderland went into thegame looking to move clearof relegation rivals Newcas-tle and Norwich - but know-ing that would be a sterntest of their recent improve-ment with the Gunnersfighting to secure a top-fourfinish.

Ranieri: Tottenham must wait‘one more year’ to win title

LEICESTER City bossClaudio Ranieri has

told Tottenham Hotspurcounterpart MauricioPochettino he will haveto wait to win the Pre-mier League title.

When asked if he hada message for Pochetti-no, Ranieri’s reply wasclear.

“Mauricio, you canwait,” Ranieri told re-porters. “Wait for onemore year.

“The pressure is al-ways at the top. Theyhave been behind allyear. I’m not bothered. Iwould love to stay fivepoints ahead.”

Louis van Gaal: Man U board willdecide my future

LOUIS van Gaalhailed Manchester

United’s “unbelievable”spirit after they beatEverton 2-1 to reach theFA Cup final — beforeadmitting his continueduncertainty about hischances of still beingwith the club nextseason.

“For the future, I willdiscuss that with myboard and others.”

Pushed about whetherhe expected to be incharge at Old Traffordnext season, Van Gaalsaid: “Yes, but yourepeat what I havealways said. It is notnews, you don’t have towrite it.”

Van Gaal, whosecurrent contract runsuntil the summer of2017, was then asked ifhe would considerwinning the FA Cup butfailing to qualify for theChampions League asuccess.

Suarez eyes PichichiLuis Suarez admits while

Barcelona winning La Ligaremains his priority, he“would welcome” thePichichi after his four goalsagainst Sporting Gijon.

Suarez netted a ‘poker’for the second gamerunning in Barca’s 6-0victory over Sporting onSaturday to move him threegoals clear of CristianoRonaldo on 34 and into thelead for the League’s top-scorer award with onlythree matches left.

“I’m surprised to havescored eight goals in threedays,” the forward said afterthe game. “Still, I alwayswant to help the team. Itwas a difficult first half.

“It wasn’t my objective tobe the top scorer, but if ithappens then I’d welcomeit. The priority is the

League. “We didn’t playwith the pace we wanted,neither did we play the ballat the speed we needed to.

“For that, we had thehalf-time break to reflectand realise that we weren’tplaying well.

“Messi is the one who isin charge at all times and

manages the team. Whenhe plays well, the teamappreciate it. He’s helpedus a lot this season.

“[On leaving a penalty toNeymar], more thananything is the confidencehe’ll have gained, whichhelps the team and benefitsus all.

Champions League: Zidane hopeful ofBenzema

REAL Madrid bossZinedine Zidane is

“hopeful” KarimBenzema will beavailable for ManchesterCity after his substitutionagainst Rayo Vallecanoon Saturday.

Benzema was hauledoff in the latter stages offirst half at Vallecas,where Madrid came backfrom behind to win 3-2,and Zidane was unable togive any updates on thestriker’s condition in lightof the ChampionsLeague semi-final firstleg on Tuesday.

“It was a hotly-contested and verydifficult game. Weencountered difficulty inthe first 15 minutes, yetwe started badly andended well.

“We’ll evaluate[Benzema], but he didn’ttake a blow. I thought hedid, but for now we’ll goback to Valdebebas andsee what he has."

“I hope it’s nothingand that he can play onTuesday, but we don’tknow yet. We know[Manchester] City willbe very difficult and wehave to prepare well.”

Pellegrini: I’ve stoppedRonaldo many times

M A N C H E S T E RCi ty boss

Manuel Pellegrini isconfident he canreplicate past successeswhen it comes tostopping CristianoRonaldo in tomorrow’sChampions Leagueencounter.

Pellegrini, who washead coach during the

forward’s first season atthe Santiago Bernabeu,says his experience offacing ManchesterUnited while in chargeof Villarreal will be keyto keeping Ronaldoquiet.

“Cristiano was signedbefore I arrived atMadrid, but I am notsurprised how well hehas done in Madrid,” hesaid. “I knew all abouthim from playingManchester Unitedwhen I was atVillarreal.

“We played them fourtimes in the ChampionsLeague and each time itwas 0-0, so defensivelywe must have beendoing something right.”

Guardiola set for ‘fight’with Atletico

BAYERN Munich arepreparing for a

tough fight inWednesday ’s UefaChampions Leaguesemi-final, first-leg.

“It will be a completelydifferent game,” saisPep Guardiola.

“It’s difficult to always

play at 100 per cent andI understand if theplayers already had aneye on Wednesday ’sgame against Atletico.”

“We will have to fightfor every centimetre andneed to be switched onfrom the very firstminute,” Bayern’s WorldCup winner MarioGoetze said.

Ronaldo

Giroud

Ranieri

Suarez

Gaal

Benzema

Pellegrini

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016—47

be an asset for the SuperEagles.

“Iheanacho is doinggreat which is a good signfor the national team,”Salisu said.

“Playing well for topclubs like City despite theyoung age shows that hehas come of age in thegame.

“Iheanacho has showedsigns of what he can dowhen given the opportu-nity with the national team,and I can say here thatpeople are going to seemore of him and otheryoung players in the Su-per Eagles’’, Salisu noted.

Meanwhile, the Man-chester City striker is al-ready dreaming of facingstar-studded Real Madridin the Champions Leaguetomorrow in Etihad.

He is is not expected tobe included in Manuel

Pellegrini’s starting XI forTuesday’s ChampionsLeague semi final first leg.

But his two goals againstStoke on Saturday provedwhat an asset he could befrom the bench. The 19-year-old has scored 11goals since breaking intoCity’s first team this sea-son - prompting Pellegrinito identify him as one of therising stars who couldshine under incomingmanager Pep Guardiola.And ahead of Real and theprospect of facing ZinedineZidane’s Galacticos,Iheanacho said: “I think Ishould dream about thatbecause it’s a great teamto dream about.

“It would be a dreamcome true to play againstthem.

“I think I’ll be happywhen I play against them.”

Iheanacho hopes his per-formance in the 4-0 winagainst Stoke will force himinto Pellegrini’s thinkingagainst Real.

IheanachoContinued from B/P

MourinhoTop of his wish-list will

be Benfica’s RenatoSanches, ZlatanIbrahimovic and JohnStones.

Louis van Gaal has ayear to run on his contractat Old Trafford but refusedto be drawn on his futureafter United’s 2-1 FA Cupsemi-final win overEverton at Wembley.

United are currently fifthin the Barclays PremierLeague and there hasbeen plenty of talk thisseason about boss VanGaal being replaced in thesummer.

And having praised histeam for their efforts onSaturday, the Dutchman -asked how importantwinning the FA Cup couldbe for the team’sdevelopment heading intonext season - said: “I amnot looking beyond thiscompetition and FA Cup,because we live in thepresent.

Portuguese coach a returnto management.

It’s understood thatdevelopment has focusedminds at ManchesterUnited on securing theservices of the serialwinner.

The Express claim thatMourinho penned acontract at Old Trafford atthe end of last week. Theyalso claim that anannouncement could bemade in the next twoweeks. That would meanacknowledging a changebefore the season finisheson 15 May. It would alsomean, followingManchester United’s winover Everton, that the FACup final on 21 Maywould be Van Gaal’s finalgame in charge.

Finally, the story thatleads the back of Expressnewspaper claims thatMourinho will have fullcontrol over the club’stransfer policy.

Continued from B/P

Buhari

Femi’s wins reflected hishard work, tirelessdedication and a braveheart which he haddisplayed.

The statement furtherrevealed that “The Britishprofessional boxer, wasborn to a Nigerian motherand father, spent his earlyyears in Nigeria beforereturning to the UK.

“He is now the currentIBF heavyweightchampion who also holdsthe British andC o m m o n w e a l t hheavyweight titles.

“Joshua is ranked theworld’s sixth bestheavyweight boxer by TheRing magazine and thesecond boxer in history towin a professional worldheavyweight title doublingas the Olympic championat the top weight.

“Femi, however, will bedefending his title by June25th, 2016.”

In a relateddevelopment, DabiriErewa has also describedthe approval of the 300million Diaspora Bondpassed by the NationalAssembly unanimously asa good development.

The presidential scribehowever, encouraged allNigerian patriots in theDiaspora to take advantageof the Diaspora Bond.

According to her, “5 – 10years maturity and annualdividends between fivepercent and eight percentway more than bank depositor certificate of depositwhich is within two percentinterest rates are certainlya plus for patrioticinvestors.”

She noted “that the bondwill give opportunities topatriots to actively engagein the welfare of their lovedcountry, Nigeria.”

Continued from B/P

Ulloa

when the heat of thepressure was supposed tobe rising dangerouslyclose to intolerable. Thegoals flew in, the crowdsang “Barcelona, we’recoming for you” and theplace has never felthappier.

Claudio Ranieri’s teamplayed as though immuneto nerves apart from a fewminutes at the start beforethey realised that SwanseaCity, with their accident-prone defence and end-of-season drift, would beobliging opponents. Afterthat, it was a rout thatsuggested Leicester arethriving, rather thanwilting, on the weight ofexpectation. “Four-nil tothe one-man team,” wasanother chant, as theevidence was suppliedabout how daft it was tosuspect Leicester withoutJamie Vardy would take on

the form of a flower withoutwater.

There will certainly bemore difficult assignmentsin the coming weeks whenLeicester finish the seasonagainst ManchesterUnited, Everton andChelsea and at this stage,with an eight-point lead, itwould be harrowing forthem, to say the least, if thispreviously unremarkableclub cannot end the mosteccentric year of their livesin possession of thechampionship trophy.They need five points fromtheir remaining fixtures tobe certain but that assumesTottenham Hotspur, insecond position, win theirlast four games, and therewas absolutely nothing inthis performance tosuggest a late meltdownfrom a team whosedurability and mentalfortitude had beenquestioned – unfairly, bysome degree – on the backof the wild 2-2 drawagainst West Ham lastweekend.

Continued from B/P

Nadal wins ninth Barcelona titleRAFAEL Nadal

equalled Argentinelegend Guillermo Vilas’srecord of 49 clay-courttitles with his ninth Bar-celona Open after over-coming defendingchampion Kei Nishikori6-4, 7-5 yesterday.

Fresh from winningthe Monte Carlo Mas-ters last week, Nadalhas now won his open-ing 10 matches of theEuropean clay-court sea-son ahead of his questto land a record 10thFrench Open in June.

Nishikori was left torue a series of missedbreak-point opportuni-ties as the Japanese’s14-match winning streakin Barcelona came to anend.

“I think I served wellwhich was very impor-tant. The fact I had a

good percentage of firstserves allowed me toplay better,” saidNadal. “In the secondset I let a lot of oppor-tunities go, but I amvery happy to have re-sisted mentally andhappy to win.”

Nishikori had madethe most of shock Nadaldefeats to claim the ti-tle in the past twoyears, but despite somestiff resistance in justover two hours on courthe slipped to a ninthdefeat in 10 matchesagainst the 14-timeGrand Slam champion.

“It’s been a greatthree years, eventhough I lost today,”said Nishikori. “I feelvery comfortable here,every year I feel veryexcited, so I hope I cancome back next year.”

Focus shifts to Okpekpeafter London MarathonWITH the 35th Virgin

Money LondonMarathon in thebooks,the world focusnow shifts to theOkpekpe international10km road race as thenext in the calendar ofI n t e r n a t i o n a lAssociation of AthleticsFederations (IAAF) labelraces.

The event,the onlyIAAF bronze label racein Africa for 2016 hasattracted a strong field ofelite athletes racing forthe $15,000 top prizemoney on offer for therespective male andfemale winners.

Spokesman for therace Dare Esan isd e l i g h t e dNigeria,through theOkpekpe race is nowattracting the attention

of the world.‘I am delighted to be a

Nigerian and delightedto be involved in thisrace which has placedOkpekpe in particularand Nigeria in generalin the consciousness ofthe wholeworld,especially thea t h l e t i c scommunity,’said Esanwho is convinced a betterview of Nigeria has beenengendered by the race.

‘Many across theworld on Sunday sawhow Eliud Kipchoge ofKenya produced anawe-inspiring marathonperformance to defendhis Virgin MoneyLondon Marathon titlein 2:03:04, just sevenseconds off countrymanDennis Kimetto’s worldrecord.

ITTF hails Lagos overNigerian Open

THE world tabletennis ruling

body, International TableTennis Federation(ITTF) has hailed theLagos State Governmentfor keeping faith theannual Nigerian Openwhich has remained one

of the most followedtournaments in Africa.

According to thePresident of ITTF,Thomas Weikert, theorganization of thetournament has made itto become one of thecherished competitionsacross the globe as wellas the highest prizemoney in the ITTFChallenge series.

In the last threeeditions, the ITTFNigerian Open hasbecome the startournament of the LagosInternational Classicswith players across theglobe gracing thetournament while it hasalso attracted moreplayers to Lagos sinceits inception in 2013.

Walcott’s future in doubt — WengerARSÈNE Wenger

admits he doesnot know what the futureholds for Theo Walcottwith the Englandforward currently a bit-part player at theEmirates Stadium.

Walcott has not starteda Premier League gamesince the 3-2 defeat atManchester United on 28February and has been

limited to substituteappearances of late. Hehas fallen behind theteenager Alex Iwobi anda fit-again Danny Welbeckin the pecking order, withjust five league goals thisseason. With his place inRoy Hodgson’s squad forthis summer’s EuropeanChampionship in thebalance, Wengerconceded he is unsure

where Walcott will beplying his trade nextseason. Asked if Walcottcould leave, Wengerreplied: “I don’t know yet.

“I’m not in transfer modeat the moment but I thinkhe has gone through abad spell. He hasresponded very well,because he said: ‘OK, Iwill work harder andmore.’

•Nadal

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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.

YESTERYESTERYESTERYESTERYESTERDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSTTTTTODODODODODAAAAAY'S PUZZLEY'S PUZZLEY'S PUZZLEY'S PUZZLEY'S PUZZLE

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORD

NPFLHeartland 1 Sunshine 0Pillars 6 Shooting Stars 0Plateau Utd 2 Rivers Utd 1Lobi 1 Tornadoes 0Abia Warriors 3 MFM 1Warri Wolves 2 Giwa 0Wikki 3 Ifeanyiubah 0

FA Cup s/finalPalace 2 Watford 1

EPLLeicester 4 Swansea 0Sunderland 0 Arsenal 0

RESULTS

•UNSTOPPABLE. . . Manchester City’s Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanachogoes around Stoke City’s Danish goalkeeper Jakob Haugaard (L) to scoretheir fourth goal during their EPL match at the Etihad Stadium. Photo: AFP

Eagles coach praisesIheanacho

By Tony Ubani,with Agency reports

K E L E C H IIheanacho’s star

performance againstStoke has earned himpraise from SuperEagles Coach SalisuYusuf.

Iheanacho scored abrace and wasresponsible for winningthe penalty that SergioAguero converted forCity’s second.

Yusuf, elated by theteenager’s performancesaid that the boy hascome of age and wouldContinues on Page 47

Mourinho signs Man Utd deal!JOSE Mourinho has

signed a contract withManchester United tobecome their nextmanager with anannouncement expected

before the end of theseason.

The former Chelseamanager has beenlinked with replacingLouis van Gaal formonths and he is widelyexpected to take over atOld Trafford. The odds ofhim doing so havebecome incredibly small.However a potentialcomplication arose whenit emerged recent;y thatParis St Germain werealso willing to offer the

Continues on Page 47 •Mourinho

Ulloa scores brace as Leicesterextend title leadPERHAPS the most

impressive part isthe way Leicester City,closing in on an almost

unimaginable piece offootball history, made thelatest stage of whatincreasingly resembles a

victory procession sucha stress-free occasion.This was their biggestwin of the season, just

Continues on Page 47•Ulloa

Continues on Page 47

Buhari congratulates IBFWorld Heavyweight Champion

By LevinusNwabughiogu

A B U J A — T h epresidency has

congratulated Mr.Anthony Femi Joshua,Nigerian-born Britishcitizen who recently wonthe IBF World Heavy-weight Champion.

The congratulationscame through astatement by SeniorSpecial Assistant to thePresident on Diasporaand Foreign Relations,Honourable AbikeDabiri-Erewa.

Erewa said that that

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