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

...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 62392

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015**

Mr & Mrs

I'll probe NNPC'smissing $20bn —Buhari

COLUMNISTS:

Clueless onJonathan andBuhari

•P.19

Can Buhari,Tinubu sharepower? •P.20

When $becamecheaper in theblack market

•P.44

Continues on Page 5

By LevinusNwabughiogu

A B U J A —Investigations

into the circumstances ofan alleged $20 billion

AGM: From left: MsObi Ibekwe, Mrs RoseOkwechime; Mr. PhillipsOduoza, Mrs OnariDuke, Mr Tony Elumeluand Mrs FolukeAbdulrazaq, all of UnitedBank for Africa, UBA, atthe 53rd AGM of thebank, in Lagos.

•Says bastardisation of military was PDP’s worst atrocity•Boko Haram issue not religious but pure terrorism•Vows to unravel why military failed to tackle Boko Haram•‘APC'll give priority to security, economy, corruption’

32 killed in Benue,Plateau, scoresinjured 7

SUPPLEMENTARY POLLS: APGA, APC to challenge result in Abia, Taraba 9

Mixed reactions traillimit on debit cards

See pull-out inside

2—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015—3

CMYK


CMYK

POCKET CARTOONVanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 —5

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

TOO often we underestimate the power of atouch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an

honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring,all of which have the potential to turn a lifearound— Leo Buscaglia

In truth, listening is the first step to inner peace.When we dare to quiet our minds and all thethoughts we inherit, the differences between us moveback, and the things we have in common moveforward. When we dare to quiet the patterns of ourpast, everything starts to reveal its kinship and shareits aliveness.

And though we can always learn from others,listening is not a shortcut, but a way to embody thislife we’re given, a way to personalize the practiceof being human. In real ways, we’re invited eachday to slow down and listen. But why listen at all?Because listening stitches the world together.Especially our personal worlds.

Listening is the doorway to everything that matters.It enlivens the heart the way breathing enlivensthe lungs. We listen to awaken our heart. We dothis to stay vital and alive. This is the work ofreverence: to stay vital and alive by listening withan open heart.We are intuitively guided to choosewhat is good for us and the whole.

Continues from Page 1

missing from the coffersof the Nigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation,NNPC, will be a priorityfor the incomingadministration, thePresident-elect, Gen.Muhammadu Buhari(retd), said yesterday.

Receiving a delegationof political stakeholdersfrom Adamawa State,Buhari also expressedshock at the treatment ofthe military by theoutgoing PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,government, describingit as among the worstatrocities of the party onthe nation.

Buhari, at the event,also reaffirmed hiscampaign promise tomake the economy,security and corruption

as the major agenda ofhis incomingadministration.

The delegation ofstakeholders fromAdamawa State, led bythe Governor-elect,Senator Jibrilla Bindow,comprised Senators-elect, House ofR e p r e s e n t a t i v e smembers-elect and otherpolitical chieftains fromthe North-East states.

Earlier in his remarks,Bindow had taskedBuhari to putinfrastructure, insecurityand youthunemployment at the topof his agenda once he issworn in.

On missingNNPC's $20bn

Noting the response ofthe outgoing

administration to theallegation of the missing$20 billion raised byformer Governor of theCentral Bank of Nigeria,CBN, Alhaji LamidoSanusi, the president-elect, who spoke inHausa said: “I heard thatsome people have startedreturning money; I willnot believe it until I seeit by myself.

“Imagine a situationwhere the former CBNgovernor, who by God‘sgrace, is now the Emir ofKano, raised an issue ofmissing billions ofmoney, not in naira butin dollars, $20 billion.

“What happened,instead of investigatingwhether it was true, theysimply found a reason toremove him. So, theseare the issues we aretalking about.

“This issue is not overyet. Once we assumeoffice, we will order afresh probe into thematter. We will not allowpeople to steal moneymeant for Nigerians tobuy shares and stashaway in foreign lands.”

Bastardizationof military

Buhari also reiteratedhis campaign promises ofensuring adequatesecurity in the land.

He accused the rulingPDP of bastardizing theNigerian military, whichhe said rendered itineffective.

He recalled the loftyfeats achieved by theNigerian Army in foreignlands, wondering why ithad been very difficult forit to curb the menace of

Boko Haram in theNorth-East to the extentthat some 14 localgovernment areas wouldbe lost to the insurgents.

Boko Haram issueis not religious butpure terrorism

He stated that it hadbecome obvious that theissue of Boko Haram wasnot religious but pureterrorism against thenation and the people.

He said: “I thank Godfor your visit. From whathe (leader of thedelegation) has said, thisproblem of Boko Haram,it is now evident, is nota religious problem. It ispure terrorism.

“I said it earlier, all thereligions we practise,both Islam andChristianity, do notsupport terrorism. So, togo and kill people eitherin the mosque or in achurch, market, motorpark or to go andslaughter children in theschool, anyone whocommits such a crimeeither does not knowwhat Allahuakbar (Godis great) means or doesnot believe in it. This isterrorism. It is our hopethat God gives us thepower to end this.

“Because of the BokoHaram crisis, some of ourfellow Nigerians fromthe North-East don’tknow where their parentsare. Some don’t knowwhere their children are,their houses have beenburnt, their cities likeBama, Michika, MubiMadagali and the rest ofthem were distroyed.

“I urge you to be

patient and ensure thatanything that will benefitour nation receives yoursupport. We will try ourpossible best and ensurethat we repair hospitals,schools, roads andensure that we get drugsin our hospitals, books,and other equipment.

Priority tosecurity,economy,corruption

“The 16 years of thePDP has furtherimpoverished thepeople, and it was thePDP, not the APP, not theCPC, not the APC.

“The three things we inthe APC will givepriority to are the issuesof security, the economy,and the war againstcorruption. These arethree things that affectall the states in Nigeria.

“We hope that like Ihave been hearing overthe radio that we haveregained most of theterritories captured byBoko Haram, we thankGod. But among theworst atrocitiescommitted againstNigeria by the PDP iswhat it has done to ourmilitary.

“It is our military thatwent to Burma, the samearmy that when I wascommissioned secondlieutenant, I did notspend three weeksbefore I found myself inKinshasha (in Congo),then (the civil war) inNigeria, Sierra Leone,then to say Nigeriansoldiers failed to retake14 local governmentareas out of 774.

“For me, who served inthe military, I find itincomprehensible exceptif I go there to find outthe reason for this. Thekind of leadershipbrought upon us by thePDP whether it isdocumented or not, it cannever be forgotten in ourhistory.”

Youth

unemployment

The president-electalso pledged to showconcern towardsunemployment once heis inaugurated.

He said: “On the issueof unemployment thatyou talked about, I wentto 35 of the 36 states ofthe federation. I went tosome states about sixtimes. I went for townhall meetings in Kano,Lagos and here in Abuja.I met with religiousleaders in churches of alld e n o m i n a t i o n s ,everybody is involved.

“From the airports tothe streets we saw youthsrunning after ourvehicles sweating, somewalking the wholedistance to wherever wewere driving to, whetherthey went to school ordid not go to school, theydon’t have jobs.

“This is the biggestproblem we have inNigeria today. Becauseof this, apart fromsecurity challenges, thenext thing is to find jobsfor our youths.

“Our youths form 60per cent of the populationin Nigeria. Without jobs,these people, who arestill bubbling withenergy, will constitute adanger to this nation. Ifour youths don’t get jobs,we will not enjoy ourstay in this nation.

“But one of the thingswe can use to fightpoverty in Adamawa isthe abundance of arableland that you have.

“Where I come from(Katsina State), theSahara (desert) haseaten into the land andour populace that wasnot opportuned to getformal education becameprivate guards becausethere is no more land tofarm but for you inAdamawa, you areblessed with land andwater for agriculture.Because of that, withinthe next four years, wewill do our best."

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

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


CMYK


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

By Peter Duru

MAKURDI — AT least 28person were feared dead

on Saturday evening whileseveral others sustained injuriesas suspected Fulani herdsmenattacked three villages atMbadwem district of GumaLocal Government Area, thehometown of Benue Stategovernor-elect, Dr. SamuelOrtom

The attackers also razedseveral houses and farmland inthe three affected villages whichinclude Tse Uosu, Gbudu andBranch Umenger.

Vanguard gathered from asource, who craved anonymity,that the crisis was sparked offby an alleged killing of twoFulani herdsmen by some yet-to-be identified youths in theaffected area.

According to him, “two daysago, two Fulanis were killed inthat area for no justifiablereasons. So, what happened isa reprisal which may haveclaimed no fewer than 28 lives."

Vanguard further learned thatthe crisis has led to mass

movement of the inhabitantsto neigbouring villages forfear of being caught in thebloody conflict, while Fulaniswere also reported to beleaving Guma in droves toparts of Makurdi, the BenueState capital, and NasarawaState.

The Parish Priest in charge ofSt. Francis Catholic Church,Daudu, where some of thedisplaced persons are takingrefuge, Rev. Fr. Solomon Mffa,lamented the outbreak of freshcrisis in the area.

He urged the incomingadministration of Gen.

Muhammadu Buhari to takedecisive steps to bring thecrisis to an end in the interestof all the parties concerned.

Contacted, the state PolicePublic Relations Officer,PPRO, AssistantSuperintendent, ASP, AustinEzeani who confirmed thecrisis said: “It was as a resultof the supposed killing of two

... Boko Haram attacks Plateau village, kills 4

By Marie-ThereseNanlong

Fulani herdsmen in that area,two days ago.

“The gang, after robbingthem and dispossessing themof their personal belongings,killed them and abandonedtheir corpses. So, the Fulaniprobably informed theirbrothers in Nasarawa and theycame and carried out a reprisalattack.”

As security men flee duty post

JOS — GUNMEN,suspected to be Boko

Haram members, weekend,attacked Shonong village inRiyom Local GovernmentArea of Plateau State,killing four people,including two members ofthe state-owned securityoutfit, Operation Rainbow.

The village had beenattacked severally by peoplesuspected to be Fulaniherdsmen in the last threemonths and casualties are

mostly women and children.In the recent attack, the

gunmen, armed withsophisticated weapons, tookthe villagers by surprise asthey were said to havestormed the village at aboutnoon and a response to thedistress call sent to OperationRainbow led to the death of itspersonnel as the gunmenoverpowered and killed two ofthem.

The gunmen made awaywith rifles seized from men ofthe security outfit as residentsfled the village to Riyom town,headquarters of Riyom Local

Government Area.A villager, Chundung

Chollom, who is also takingrefuge in Riyom, said: "Thegunmen are Boko Haram andthey have sacked the entirevillage.

"There are strongindications that the gunmenwill attack more villages, sowe are fleeing our homes withothers from nearby villages.”

Security menflee duty post

Combined security forces,comprising OperationRainbow and Special TaskForce, STF, numbering about

40 armed men and twoarmored personnel carriers,have also fled the village forfear of the terrorists.

The member representingRiyom constituency, Mr.Daniel Dem, lamented thesituation, saying the gunmenransacked the place and tookthe belonging of the securitypersonnel away.

He said: “The people areliving in fear and nothingseems to be done to put an endto the attacks and killings inmy constituency. I’m callingon relevant agencies to lookinto this thing and bring to anend the activities of theseterrorists.”

8 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

APAPA GRIDLOCK: Pedestrians decryone-way traffic

COMMISSIONING: President Goodluck Jonathan bidding farewell to the President, ChristianAssociation of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, as the Chairman, Building Finance Committee,Mr. John Opara (2nd left); the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed (left) and wife of the CANPresident, Mrs. Helen Oritsejafor (3rd right) and others watch after the President commissioned theJubilee Resort and Leadership Centre at the CBD, Abuja, weekend. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida.

Five killed aspedestrianbridgecollapses ontaxi in Kano By Jonah Nwokpoku &

Ediri Ejoh

By AbdulsalamMuhammad

LAGOS—PEDESTRIANS along the traffic-ridden

Oshodi Apapa Expressway havedecried the recklessness of one-way traffic drivers, and called forconstruction of pedestrianbridges along sections of theexpressway that witness massivemovement of pedestrianscrossing from one side of thehighway to the other.

Some pedestrians, who spoketo Vanguard at the popularSecond Rainbow junction andOtto Woff Bus Stop, said thesituation has conferred on theroad the most dangerous roadstatus in Lagos.

They identified the sections ofthe highway that needpedestrian bridge to include:Second Rainbow, Mile 2FESTAC side and Otto Woff BusStop.

Drivers resort to driving one-way when the majorexpressway is blocked by thetrucks and tanker driversgoing to lift petroleum productsat Apapa. The problem iscompounded by motorcycleriders who also ply one-way,driving at very reckless speed,with little consideration forpedestrians trying to cross theroad. This creates bedlam,making crossing the road arisky adventure.

A nursing student, Miss JoyEmaku, who plies the road toher residence in Apapa toldVanguard: “This road hasturned into a nightmare tomotorists and a death trap topedestrians. People die herefrequently. It is quiteunfortunate that people haveto go through this in order to

go over to Apapa. Thissituation has made it expedientfor an over head bridge to beconstructed at Otto-Woff, seeingthat it is a major area that leadsto other major roads in thestate.”

She explained that: “Therehave been countless accidentsalong this axis because of theuncontrollable traffic ascommercial buses as well asmotorcycles take one-way toavoid the heavy gridlock. As aresult of this, countless soulshave been swallowed up onthis road when crossing over tothe other side.”

On his part, a businessman,Harmony Ubani, argued thatdeath toll in the area has risenconsiderably since last year.

“From August to December,

2014, there were at least threedeaths in one month, recordedalong this road. I cross this roaddaily going to work fromAjeromi and I had to stop forabout 20 to 30 minutes waitingfor a safe time to cross the road.Sometimes, I had to go throughBoundary just to be on the safeside.”

“What is most dangerous isthe recklessness with which thedrivers taking one way drive.They drive as if they are on theirright of way. Sometimes it isunderstandable that it is not theirfault but they don’t seem toconsider the danger and risk theyput the lives of their passengers,”lamented Chukwudi Ozoadibewho plies the road daily fromOshodi to Coconut.

“This makes it very difficult for

Call for construction of foot bridges

people to cross the road withoutrisking being killed by oncomingvehicles from either side of theroad,” he added.

Also speaking, anotherpedestrian, Jacob Lawsonnarrated his experience seeing abus driving one-way kill a youngwoman.

According to him, “It was afterAlaba Express bus stop. The ladywas trying to cross to Fatgbemsside when the bus coming againstthe traffic hit her and she crash-landed, hitting her head on theroad. It was the goriest sight Ihave ever seen. She hit her headwith force and crushed her skullsinto bits of pieces.”

He added: “Do you know howmany people that have lost theirlives on this road? I think the onlyway to stop all these collateraldeaths is to build pedestrianbridges along those strategiclocations where people crossmostly. For instance, Mile-TwoFESTAC side bus stop needs abridge, Second Rainbow junctionneeds a bridge and Otto Woff busstop needs a bridge as well.”

Recently at Otto Woffe, themedia reported a death of middleaged woman killed by a containerthat skidded off its truck.According to the report, the truckdriver braked automatically whenit tried to avoid an oncoming busdriving one-way.

The Apapa gridlock has defiedall solutions. Deaths andcriminal activities along the axishave become collateraldamages. Industry experts,especially in the oil and gassector say until the issue of tankfarms clustering at Apapa isaddressed, the traffic problemmay continue to linger. Thereare expectations that theincoming government will dosomething about the situationand return sanity to the road.

K A N O — F I V Epassengers in a

taxi were believed tohave died yesterdayevening in Kano, as apedestrian bridge underconstruction on SheikJafar road collapsed onthe moving cab.

The pedestrian bridge,which is located atKarshen waya by Gidanmai, was designed tocheck and curtail riskassociated with crossing theroad in the denselypopulated Doroyi suburb.

An eyewitness, SalisuIbrahim, told Vanguard thatthe incident occurredaround 5.00 pm as the cabgot to the bridge.

Malam Ibrahim said thecab had five people onboard, including the driver,adding that it would havebeen a miracle if any of thepassengers had survivedthis accident.

The eyewitness furtherdisclosed that thepassengers weretrapped, pointing outthat it will take a craneto rescue the batteredautomobile and itsoccupants.

When contacted, thepolice image maker inKano, ASP Magaji MusaMajia, said rescue effortswere on to free thetrapped passengers at thetime of filing this report.

THE All ProgressivesCongress, APC, has

warned officials of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan’sAdministration to desist fromcreating more problems for theincoming government of GeneralMuhammadu Buhari.

The party also decried thereported allegations of last minutelooting of the nation’s resourcesand the hurried recruitment intopublic service and rushedprivatization of key financialinstitutions by the administrationclaiming such egregious actionswill have serious repercussion.

In a statement by the NationalPublicity Secretary of the party,Alhaji Lai Mohammed, he saidthe party has been inundated withcalls and messages by concerned

Nigerians alerting the party ofunscrupulous actions of someofficials in the government ofPresident Jonathan.

He said, “While the JonathanAdministration remains inoffice till midnight of May 28,governance in the country willnot stop because a newPresident has been elected butthe outgoing Administrationmust not create any moreproblems for the incominggovernment than it hadalready done or to tie the newgovernment’s hands throughsome suspicious actions”.

“For example, the NationalCouncil on Privatization whichis headed by the VicePresident has just approvedthe financial bid opening fortransaction advisers for theprivatization of the three

Development FinanceInstitutions in the country, theBank of Agriculture, Bank ofIndustry and Nigeria CommodityExchange. The question is: Whatis the rationale for rushing thisexercise with just weeks left forthis administration? Also, therehave been reports yet un-refutedof a planned hurried recruitmentinto the Nigeria ImmigrationService, (NIS) after a previousattempt ended in a nationaltragedy and the fleecing ofinnocent job seekers by mindlessfederal government officials.Apart from the fact that this last-minute recruitment is suspect, itis irregular” he added.

Mohammed went further, ”TheCivil Defense, Fire, Immigrationand Prisons Services Board(CDFIPSB) is only empoweredto recruit, promote and discipline

only senior officers (levels 8 andabove). The power to recruit,promote and discipline juniorofficers is vested in the differentservices, in this case theNigeria Immigration Service.Therefore, the recruitmentexercise now being conductedby the Federal Civil Serviceunder the auspices of thePresidential Committee toAssist on ImmigrationRecruitment usurps thefunctions of the Board as itrelates to recruitment of SeniorOfficers (level 08) and that ofthe Immigration Service as itrelates to Junior Officers (levels07 and below)”.

He, however, said the APCwill not waste time in probingthe Jonathan administration,but will get down to workupon assumption of office.

By Gbenga Oke

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

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 — 9

N256.2bn debt threatens fuel importation

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

FAAN, ARIK AIRFACE-OFF: ArikAir paid FAANN4bn in 2014

By Sebastine Obasi

LAGOS—THERE areindications that the nation may

be heading for another fuel scarcityfew weeks to the May 29, handoverto the incoming Muhammadu Buhariadministration, as the MajorMarketers Association of Nigeria,MOMAN, has threatened to stopimportation due to government’sinability to pay N256.2 billion debt.

The Executive Secretary ofMOMAN, Mr. Obafemi Olawore,while briefing journalists in Lagossaid that the Association may not beable to import petroleum productsagain as a result of the debt. He said,“MOMAN is finding it difficult tocontinue its operations. The debts arerising. MOMAN is fed up with stocktoday, no product tomorrow. Soon wemay have to rely on NNPC forsupplies. This could be a problembecause NNPC has issues with itssuppliers over debt also.”

Olawore painted a grim picture ofthe situation thus, “The industry isbleeding. Our suppliers are at ourneck. As at April 22, what we have inour Apapa depots will only last forthree and half days, which shows thatour members are finding it difficult tobring in products. Presently, we arebeing owed N256.2 billion.”

Giving a breakdown of the amount,he said that in February, thegovernment paid marketers N100billion subsidy claim through post-dated Sovereign Debt Note (SDN),which is expected to mature by theend of April. Prior to that, thegovernment was indebted to the tuneof N315.8 billion.

“If you deduct the N100 billion fromthe N315.8 billion, you will haveN215.8 billion. “Besides, thePetroleum Products PricingRegulatory Agency (PPPRA) hadearlier approved Batches T and U forlast quarter of 2014, for paymentwhich amounted to N30.5billion. “In2015, we also have Batches A and Bfor the products imported by

...As fuel scarcity loomsMOMAN which have beenapproved by PPPRA but had notbeen paid. “This also amountedto N9.7 billion. So the money puttogether is N256 billion,” he said.

The Executive Secretary alsoexplained that the banks did nothelp matters, as they refuse tohonour the post-dated SDN,while transporters are spoilingfor a showdown becauseMOMAN is owing them aboutN20 billion. The Central Bankof Nigeria, CBN, last week toldbanks to get tough with baddebtors. Also, in the 2015 budgetpassed by the House ofRepresentatives, no provisionwas made for subsidy.

Earlier in April, MOMAN hadwritten a letter to the Minister ofFinance stating the position ofthe Association as regards thedebt. In the April 13 letter, titled,potential drastic reduction in theoperations of the downstreamsector, which was signed by

Olawore, MOMAN stated thatthe Minister assured marketersthat they would be fullyreimbursed for the interest(incurred due to the late payment)and foreign exchange differentialelements of the “under recovery”within 30 days of the February,2015 meeting.

MOMAN further stated,“Regrettably, despite your abovecommitment and assurances, theindustry to date has only receivedapproximately N30 billion inFOREX differential claims out ofN100 billion. In the same vein,only N345 billion has beenreceived in core subsidy paymentscovering payments up to Q2.

“Specifically, only threecompanies out of the sixMOMAN companies receivedpayments for FOREX differentialsand no company, MOMAN orDAPPMA has been paid interestcharges on delayed payments.”

The letter further stated, “As ofMarch 31, 2015, the total amountdue to marketers based on all

claims verified by PPPRA is inexcess of N270 billion. We areaware that the amount allocatedto petroleum subsidies in the2015 budget is N200 billion. Thisis a great cause of concern toour members.”

MOMAN requested that theMinister ensured the sanctity ofthe PPPRA guidelines, whichstated that the relevantgovernment agencies vestedwith the authority to administerthe petroleum subsidy fundscheme honour the sanctity ofthe sovereign debt notes and the45 days payment deadlines.

MOMAN had been at theforefront of deregulation of theoil and gas industry. LastJanuary, when the FederalGovernment reduced thepump price of petrol from N97to N87, the association advisedthe government to takeadvantage of the lower crudeoil price to deregulate thedownstream sub-sector of theoil and gas economy.

L A G O S —CONTRARY to

the claim by the Federal Air-port Authority of Nigeria,FAAN, that Arik Air has notbeen paying its bills andhonouring its financial ob-ligations to the aviationagencies, Vanguard inves-tigations revealed that ArikAir paid FAAN about N4 bil-lion in 2014.

An impeccable source toldVanguard that “FAAN gotN4bn revenue from Arik Airlast year and the airline hasbeen meeting its obligationto the agency through thepay-as-you-go payment sys-tem introduced about twoyears ago to curb incessantaccount reconciliation disa-greement between aviationagencies and airlines”.

According to the source,“Payments made by Arik Airto FAAN in 2014 amountingto N4bn are as follows:

“In January, 2014, Arikpaid N335,562,212.50; paidN318,575,002.50 in Feb;N327,359,180 in March;N370,417,622.50 in April;N349,471,655 in June;N315,530,737.50 in July;N344,486,305 in Sept; andN447,232,602.50 inDecember.This is contrary tothe claim that Arik has notbeen paying its bills.“

This figure include park-ing and landing fees, rent,passenger Service charge(PSC), fuel surcharge.

By Lawani Mikairu

THE ALL Progressives GrandAlliance, APGA and the All

Progressives Congress, APC, whichlost last Saturday’s supplementaryelections in Abia and Tarabarespectively have expresed theirresolve to challenge the outcome ofthe election in court saying they weredissatisfied with it.

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,governorship candidate in Imo state,Mr Emeka Ihedioha as alsodescribed the supplementary electionin the state as a sham.

In Abia state, INEC had in the earlyhours of Sunday declared Dr. OkezieIkpeazu of PDP the winner of theelection held on April 11 and 25th2015 with a total vote of 264, 713against Dr. Alex Otti of APGA who

polled 180,882 votes.However, reacting to the result,

the National Chairman of APGA,Chief Victor Umeh announcedthat the party did not accept theresult.

He said, “We have come toinevitable conclusion that ourparty will reject the election result.APGA decided to reject the resultof the election not because itcannot lose in electoral contest butbecause it has evidence that thepoll did not meet internationalminimum standard. We aregoing to challenge thisfraudulent action in court at thetribunal to salvage the mandategiven to Dr Alex Otti”.

Umeh lamented that INEC hadignored its complaints about thegovernorship election results fromObingwa, Osisioma and Isiala

Ngwa North local governments,which the Returning Officer,Professor Benjamin Ozumba hadcancelled and later reversedduring the collation of the resultsof the April 11 governorship poll.

In his remarks Dr. Alex Otti saidthat he wholly agreed with theposition of his party’s NationalChairman, insisting that “Abiapeople have spoken with theirmandate but those that haveheld the state down did not allowthe will of the people to prevail.The battle has just started; weare going to challenge thischarade at the tribunal. Whathappened was a rape ofdemocracy.

“I think INEC has a lot ofquestions to answer. I’ve neverseen an organization thatperforms its duties in a shoddy

manner as INEC”, Otti noted.Also, the All Progressives

Congress (APC) candidate in thejust-concluded governorshipelection in Taraba, Sen. AishaAlhassan, has rejected theresults of the poll as announcedby INEC on Sunday.

Addresing a press conferencein Jalingo shortly after theannouncement of the results,Alhassan described the entireelections process as a “daylightrobbery” and said the partywould challenge the results inthe elections petitions tribunal.

“The combined governorshipelections in Taraba werecharacterised by violence,massive rigging, ballot snatchingand abuse of the card readers inmost parts of the state by the PDPand their allies,” she said.

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

By Chidi Nkwopara, AnayoOkoli & John Mkom

FG reappointsEzoem provostof FCE, Asaba

P R E S I D E N TG o o d l u c k

Jonathan has approvedthe renewal of theappointment of Dr.Nwanze Ignatius Ezoemas Provost, FederalCollege of Education(Technical), Asaba,based on merit.

The appointment is forfour years with effectfrom today.

The registrar, RotimiAdepoju, on behalf of themanagement, staff andstudents, had alreadycongratulated the Provost,wishing him a fulfillingsecond term, and enjoinedall to co-operate with himin his laudableprogrammes to steer theCollege to greater heights.

CMYK


COLLAPSED BUILDING: Lagos seals1, 423 structures last year

SIGN-ON PARTY: From left; MI Abaga; Mr Kufre Ekanem, Corporate Affairs Adviser,Nigeria Breweries Plc; Banky W; Sound Sultan & Naeto C at 2015 Star Music Trek ArtisteSign-on Party, at Federal Palace Hotel , Victoria Island, Lagos. Photo by Kehinde Gbadamosi.

Appointspiritualadviser,retiredGeneraladvisesBuhari

LAGOS—AT least 1, 423 structures were sealed by

the Lagos State Government forcontravening construction permitlast year, while 437 defective/distressed buildings wereidentified.

The state government,however, demolished 16 illegaland distressed buildingsidentified within the sameperiod.

These were contained in thedocument signed by the StateCommissioner for PhysicalPlanning and UrbanDevelopment, Mr. Toyin Ayindeand obtained by Vanguard.

Ayinde said the promptresponse of the state governmentensured there were fewercollapsed building in the yearunder review, adding “The statehas declared a zero tolerance tobuilding collapse in the state.”

According to him “During theyear under review, a total of 5,910buildings were identified andserved contravention notices. Ofthis number, a total of 1,423 weresealed for non-compliance out ofwhich 395 were later unsealed forcompliance. However, 94 brokenseal were discovered andresealed by the state government.

“Forty-two building insurance

policies were verified, while 108court summons were served onproperties out of which 66 casesare still pending while 42 caseshave been decided. 437 defectivebuildings were also identified.

“In 2014, 367 petitions/complaints were received out ofwhich 45 were approved forsealing. 102 were amicablyresolved, 208 are still underprocessing while 12 wereapproved for removal. Five out

of the 12 cases approved forremoval were achieved while theremaining seven are awaitingfurther directives,” he added.

The commissioner said eightstructures collapsed during theyear under review. And it includesthe Synagogue Church Of AllNations, SCOAN building,adding “all the rubbles fromthese structures have beenremoved and discarded.”

Ayinde explained that the

structures removed and rubbleswere strategies adopted by thestate government to forestallcollapsed building and loss oflives in the state.

Also, the General Manager ofthe Lagos State Building ControlAgency, Mrs. AbimbolaAnimashaun said to forestallcollapsed building, the agency hasestablished its offices in the 20 localgovernments and 37 Local CouncilDevelopment Areas, LCDAS.

… Takes preventive measures against malaria

By MonsuruOlowoopejo

LAGOS—THE Lagos StateGovernment has adopted a

multi-pronged strategy toeliminate malaria in the state.

The strategies include: Vectorcontrol interventions, preventivetherapies, diagnostic testing,treatment with quality-assuredArtemisinin-based CombinationTherapies (ACTs), and strongmalaria surveillance.

Commissioner for Health, Dr.Jide Idris, who made this knownat the weekend during acommunity sensitizationcampaign to commemorate thisyear’s World Malaria Day at theAmu Market in Mushin LocalGovernment Area, said thatmeasures put in place by the state

government were geared towardscombating malaria.

Highlighting the variousintegrated preventive measures,Idris, who was represented by theDeputy Director in charge ofDisease Control, Dr. RotimiAgbolagorite, explained that LongLasting Insecticide Nets (LLINs)have been deployed tocommunities, as well asdistribution of nets in public healthfacilities to children who hadcompleted their immunizationschedule and also to pregnantwomen who booked for antenatalcare, adding that pregnantwomen were routinely given inthe prescribed mannerSulphadoxine Pyrimethamine(SP) for Intermittent PreventiveTreatment of malaria during

Ante Natal Clinics.“Another preventive strategy

being deployed in the state is theIndoor Residual Spraying (IRS)which is the application of long-acting chemical insecticides on thewalls and roofs of houses for theeffect of curtailing malaria

transmission. The 6th round in the series of

IRS activities was implemented inseven LGAs namely Ojo, Ikorodu,Badagry, Amuwo-Odofin, Kosofe,Epe and Ibeju-Lekki LGAs in 2014and approximately 650,000 roomswere sprayed”, Idris said.

THE South AfricanDepartment of International

Relations and Cooperation, hasexpressed shock at the recall ofNigeria’s High Commissioner toSouth Africa, Ambassador MartinCobham and Deputy HighCommissioner, Uche Ajulu-Okeke over the xenophobicattacks against foreign nationalsincluding Nigerians. South Africadescribed the recall as an“unfortunate and regrettable”diplomatic step.

In a statement, ClaysonMonyela, spokesperson forDIRCO, said the South Africangovernment was shocked that theNigerian government wouldresort “to such an extraordinarydiplomatic step to express outrageat actions or behaviour of another

government”.According to Mr Monyela, “we

are not sure which actions orbehaviour of the South AfricanGovernment the NigerianGovernment is protesting. It isonly Nigeria that has taken thisunfortunate and regrettable step.If this action is based on theincidents of attacks on foreignnationals in some parts of ourcountry, it would be curious for asisterly country to want to exploitsuch a painful episode forwhatever agenda.”

The. South African authority saiddespite the recall, the countryremained committed to a strongbond of friendship and bilateralrelations with Nigeria despite thedeath of 84 South Africans at acollapsed guest house ofSynagogue Church of All Nationson September 12, 2014.

LAGOS—THE OoduaPeople’s Congress, OPC, has

passed a vote-of-confidence in itsFounder and President, Dr.Frederick Fasehun, saying therewas no crisis in the organisation.

The group also dissociated itselffrom Fasehun’s purportedexpulsion by a group, which

A retired General, Alphonsus

Chukwu hasrecommended a six-pointagenda for President-elect,Muhammadu Buhari,advising him to appoint aspiritual adviser in linewith what obtains in theUnited States of America,USA.

He also tasked the in-coming government to, asa matter of urgency, reducethe movement in convoy bygovernment officials to savecost.

General Chukwu furtheradvised that the President-elect should strengthen theNigeria Police Force andother security agencies byencouraging the enlistmentof more youths.

According to him, ''Buharishould encouragegraduates to join the armedforces as recruits by offeringthem good salaries andencouraging communitypolicing in the country assoon as possible.''

Commending PresidentGoodluck Jonathan forconceding defeat, GeneralChukwu noted that,contrary to expectations thatthe elections would plungethe nation into chaos, itrather produced aPresident-elect in anelection generallyadjudged as free and fairwhile internationalobservers described theresults as credible.

“Apart from beingadjudged as free and fair,the President evenconceded defeat ever beforethe results were conclusive.That is why is it obviousthat the visible peace whichreigns in the country before,during and after theelection is from God and notthe act of man,”he said.

By Esther Onyegbula

claimed to have appointed newleaders to run its affairs.

In a statement by its PublicitySecretary, Sylvester Eweka, thegroup described Fasehun’s removal as “a joke taken too far,”adding that Dr. Fasehun remainedthe founder and substantivePresident of OPC worldwide.

The OPC, however said plansat denigrating the leader was a

concoction of troublemakers, whowere bent on treading the path ofperdition.

The group said the Fasehun-ledOPC had in 2014, expelledleaders of the group,including: Dare Adesope(former Secretary), AlhajiTaofiq Adeyemi (OrganisingSecretary) and Olusola AjayiEdward (Publicity Secretary).

By Olasukanmi Akoni

Xenophobia: South Africa condemnsNigeria’s recall of HighCommissioner

OPC passes vote-of-confidence in FasehunBy Dapo Akinrefon


ONDO DEPUTY GOV: Probe panel submitsreport today

By Dayo Johnson

By Dayo Johnson

Ondo bans ogogoro, puts Irele death toll at 23

By GbengaOlarinoye

Thunderstormwreaks havocin Osun

AKURE—THE seven-member probe panel

inaugurated last week to lookinto allegations of grossmisconduct levelled against theDeputy Governor of Ondo State,Alhaji Ali Olanusi, weekend,rounded off its sitting.

The panel is expected tosubmit its findings today, to thestate House of Assembly whichmandated it to probe allegationsagainst the deputy governor.

Reports had it that theembattled deputy governor mayapproach the court, today, tostop the action of the probepanel.

Rounding off its sitting inAkure, the chairman of theprobe panel, OlatunjiAdeniyan, assured that it wouldbe fair to all parties in line withthe law setting up the body.

Counsel to both the House ofAssembly, Dayo Akinlaja,(SAN), and that of the deputygovernor, Dr BensonEnikuomehin, argued forseveral hours on the issue ofproper service of the notice ofimpeachment.

Dr Enikuomehin said hisclient was not properly servedto appear before the panel.

He, therefore, argued that thepanel could not continuesitting, citing Section 36 subsection 1,2,3 of the constitution.

Dr Enikuomehin told theprobe panel that it was the sonof his client who instructed himto appear for his father who wasout of the country on a routinemedical check up.

He said the deputy governorhad already written thegovernor to that effectand demanded that his client

be properly served by theAssembly.

However, in his counterargument, Dayo Akinlaja(SAN), said the appearance ofDr Enikuomehin for the deputygovernor showed that his clientwas well served.

Akinlaja presented a copy ofa letter signed by the deputygovernor informing thegovernor of his intention totravel on April 27 to prove thatthe deputy governor was indeedin the country.

The counsel to the Assembly,therefore, prayed the panel todiscountenance Enikuomehin’sclaims.

Akinlaja stressed that thenumerous evidence on ground

attest to the fact that the deputygovernor was in the countryand was well and properlyserved the summons as well asthe notice of impeachment.

Chairman of the panel, afterthe argument and counterargument, called for a shortbreak to rule on thesubmissions of counsel.

The panel, on resumption,ruled that after consideringarguments of the two parties,sufficient evidence on groundshowed that the deputygovernor was properly servedthe summon.

After the ruling, counsel tothe deputy governor excusedhimself, telling the panel thathe wouldn’t be able to continue

because he had nothing else towork on.

Two witnesses gave evidencesduring the sitting.

They include the Chief of Staffto the governor, Dr KolaAdemujimi and the PermanentSecretary, Deputy Governor’sOffice, Kehinde Temikotan .

Counsel to the AssemblyAkinlaja led them in evidenceas witnesses on all the sevenallegations levelled against the deputy governor.

The witnesses provided bothoral and documentary evidenceto substantiate allegations thatAlhaji Olanusi abused his officeby condoning his youngerbrother and S.A who allegedlycommitted forgery.

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

AKURE—AS normalcyreturned to Irele area of

Ondo State, following theoutbreak of a strange disease, thestate government, weekend, putthe death toll at 23.

The disease, according togovernment, ravaged Ayadi andOde Irele communities in Irelecouncil area of the state.

But the natives of thecommunity, including the ChiefPriest, High Chief Lemo,attributed the death recorded tothe desecration of the MalokunShrine by unknown persons whocarted away sacred objects.

High Chief Lemo said,weekend, that the god had beenappeased hence the stoppage inthe death toll last week.

The state governmentconsequently banned the

consumption of local ginpopularly called ogogoro, havingdiscovered that those that diedconsumed the local brew.

It denied that 30 persons diedin the two communities.

The government said that thosethat died were mainly okadariders in the community in whomethanol poison was discoveredfrom the samples taken forexamination by medical experts.

The Health Commissioner, DrDayo Adeyanju, said theadditional five lives lost were notnew cases nor were they amongthose that were hospitalised.

Adeyanju pointed out that thosethat were hospitalised hadregained their sight and hadreturned home while themonitoring still continues.

According to him, the fivedeaths recorded in addition to the18 that were reported earlier

came from families that madereports because of thesensitisation by government andother stakeholders after theoutcome of the preliminaryinvestigations, which revealedthat victims developed theailment after consuming the localgin contaminated with ethanolpoison.

Adeyanju explained that oneof those that regained his sightsaid he did not take much of thedrink but only a sip.

“Our clinical analysis revealsthe fact that there were no knownviruses, while toxicology reportshave confirmed our primesuspicion of ethanol poisoning.

The commissioner said theNational Agency for Food DrugAdministration and Control(NAFDAC) report on the fivesamples taken showed thatvictims had 16.3 per cent of the

poison in their systems.He said that having discovered

the cause of the ailment to beethanol poison, the governmenthad banned the production, saleand consumption of the locallybrew gin in the state.

The commissioner said thegovernment and other stakeholders would embark onsensitisation programme on thispolicy and any person or groupof persons that contravened thepolicy would be prosecuted.

“We have reviewed ourstrategies and embarked onsensitisation to let people knowthat locally-made gin isprohibited.

“ We will also embark onsearches because this batch ofethanol-containing gin musthave gone round because fourcases were discovered outsideIrele,” he said.

O S O G B O —SCORES of

residents of Osogbo, theOsun State capital, havebeen rendered homelessfollowing thunderstormthat accompanied heavyrains at the weekend,which wreaked havoc inmany parts of the towndestroying buildings andelectrical installations.

The areas mostlyaffected by thethunderstorm include OjaOba, Igbona, Ago Wande,Ibokun Road, amongothers where roofs ofmany buildings wereremoved and electricpoles damaged.

In many parts ofOsogbo, the rain whichstarted late Saturdayevening was light andlasted for barely 10minutes, while in otherneighbourhoods, it washeavy withthunderstorms.

During Vanguard’s visitto the affected areasyesterday, it wasgathered that the areasworst hit by thethunderstorms wereneighborhoods with oldbuildings.

Along Ibokun road andOja Oba, roofs of manybuildings were blown offand walls of some oldbuildings pulled down bythe thunderstorms.

However, at Igbona andAgo Wande areas, somenew buildings wereaffected, while someelectric poles weredestroyed.

When contacted, theRegional Manager,Branding andCommunication, IbadanElectricity DistributionCompany, IBEDC,Kikelomo Owoeye,confirmed that someinstallations of thecompany were affected.

She said that at Oke Ijetuarea, the feeder of thecompany had to beswitched off, because ofloss of some lines, toforestall any accident.

She added that someareas within the statecapital were in darknessbecause of some lines thatwere affected, assuringthat the management ofIBEDC, was workingtowards restoring supplyto the affected areas assoon as possible.


Ndokwayouths urgesupport forOkowa's govt

Delta HOSTCOM backs Uduaghan’sDESOPADEC bill

By Emma Amaize

A-Ibom residents cautioned againstconsumption of toxic meat

TRIBUNAL: Edo PDP Rep candidate seeksnullification of Akpatason's election

By Gabriel Enogholase

Bayelsa is PDP state —ELDERS

DTHAmember-electthanks IkaSouth voters

A S A B A — H O S TCommunities of

Nigeria Producing Oil andGas, HOSTCOM, Delta Statechapter, led by BenjaminIwetan, has thrown its weightbehind the plan by thegovernor of the state, DrEmmanuel Uduaghan, toreform Delta State OilProducing AreasDevelopment Commission,DESOPADEC.

Governor Uduaghan hadsent a bill to the state Houseof Assembly for theestablishment of Delta StateOil Producing AreasCommission, Five EthnicNationalities Oil ProducingDevelopment Agencies, FiveEthnic NationalitiesProducing Areas InvestmentCorporations and OtherMatters ConnectedTherewith.”

The bill, which has passedfirst reading, will come up forsecond reading tomorrow.

But, the national leadershipof HOSTOCOM, headed byPrince Maikpobi Okareme, isopposed to the bill, sayingthat the governor wants toscrap DESOPADEC.

Differing with its national

leadership, Delta HOSTCOMin a letter, dated April 24, tothe Speaker of Delta StateHouse of Assembly, called forspeedy passage of the bill,saying: “We have thoroughlystudied the 29-page bill andhereby state that it is inconsonance with ourobjectives, hopes and

aspirations as oil and gasproducing ethnic nationalitiesin the state.”

He said that the bill ifpassed into law would fasttrack development of oilproducing communities,adding that Ika and Aniochaethnic nationalities should beincorporated into

DESOPADEC, its agenciesand corporations sincesignificant exploration andexploitation of oil and gas hadbegun in the areas.

“We also sue for proper andaccurate assessment ofquantities of oil and gasproduced in these areas,” headded.

B E N I N — P E O P L E SDemocratic Party, PDP,

House of Representativescandidate for Akoko-Edofederal constituency in Edo

State, Mr. Oladele Bankole-Balogun, has asked theelection petition tribunalsitting in the Benin, to nullifythe declaration of Mr. PeterAkpatason of the AllProgressives Congress, APC,

by the Independent NationalElectoral Commission, INEC,as winner of the election intothe lower House of theNational Assembly.

In his petition, Bankole-Balogun is further praying the

tribunal to declare that theAPC candidate was not dulyelected by majority of thelawful votes cast on March 28,2015 National Assemblyelections.

He is further contending thatthe APC candidate returnedunlawful thump printed votesfrom his community in Uneme-nekhua, ward 9 unit 1,2,3 andAiyetoro in company ofsecurity agents, adding that hesubmitted the same himself atlocal government areacollation centre.

Bankole, who expressed firmbelief that the tribunal woulddo justice in the matter, is alsopraying the tribunal to declarehim winner of the election.

According to the petitioner:“The APC candidate, deepdown his heart, knew that Idefeated him at the poll. Ihave no doubt that the tribunalis made up of a team of testedprofessionals who will notonly promote the rule of law,but will also seek to advancethe frontiers of gooddemocratic processes inNigeria. Hence, my completetrust and belief that mymandate will be returned tome as expressly and as timelyas possible.”

By Samuel Oyadongha

UYO—AKWA Ibom Statecitizens and residents

have been warned againstpatronizing and consuming thepoisonous skin meat beingimported into the state by yet tobe identified persons.

Director of Veterinary Services,Ministry of Agriculture andMineral Resources, Dr. ObotObot, who gave the warningduring an interaction withnewsmen, weekend, said the saleof the skin meat, known as kpomoin local parlance, in some marketsin the state was discovered fourmonths ago .

Obot added that the stategovernment, in collaboration withthe Department of State Services,DSS, had already taken proactivesteps to apprehend those behindthe importation of the poisonous

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

He said, “The state governmentthrough the Veterinary ServicesDirectorate has commencedsensitization campaign to the

local and urban markets, becauseit is imperative that we talk topeople so that they will watch outfor the toxic meat which accordingto reports is being imported intothe country from Europe."

By Samuel Oyadongha

YENAGOA—A group ofBayelsa elders under the

aegis of Bayelsa DevelopmentForum, yesterday, said that thestate remains a PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, state andstronghold.

The elders' position followed theoutcome of the general electionsin the state, where the PDP clearlyshowed it had no opposition inthe state.

The group in a statement inYenagoa by its Chairman, Chief

Thompson Okorotie, also laudedthe Independent NationalElectoral Commission, INEC andsecurity agencies for their highlevel of service delivery in theconduct of the state House ofAssembly election in the state.

BDF said: “We are happy withthe violence-free electionsconducted under free, fair andcredible atmosphere throughoutBayelsa State. We commend theleadership quality of GovernorSeriake Dickson and his deputyJohn Jonah, who was thechairman of the Central

NDOKWA YouthN a t i o n a l

Vanguard, NYNV, hastasked Deltansirrespective of theirpolitical parties, ethnicnationalities andreligions, to support thegovernor-elect, Sen.Ifeanyi Okowa, when heassumes office nextmonth.

National President ofNYNV, Ozegbe Adoh,said that since theelectoral process wasflawless and devoid ofrancour, citizens of thestate should continue inthe same vein when Dr.Okowa commences histenure in office.

According to Adoh,Okowa did not win onthe platform of tribe andreligion but rather on thegoodwill of the peoplewho affirmed that theyprefer him to lead themin the next four years.

He congratulated thewinners of variouselective positions in thejust concluded electionsin Delta State.

THE member-electfor Ika South

constituency in Delta StateHouse of Assembly, Mr.Festus Okoh, has thankedhis constituents for votingfor him in the justconcluded state House ofAssembly election.

Addressing a largenumber of constituents, whotrooped to his residence inAgbor-Obi shortly after hewas declared winner,Okoh, who was elected onthe platform of Accord Party,said he was overwhelmedby his choice as the newlegislator for the area in thestate House of Assembly.

He dedicated his successat the poll to everyindigene of Ika South LocalGovernment Area andpromised to provideeffective representation tothe constituents.

He said: “No matter thecontest that we engage infrom time to time, the factthat we are the same peoplewith a common root,common aspiration andvision will spur me to workfor everyone and attractdevelopment to the entirearea not minding whichparty one belongs to."

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


By JohnboscoAgbakwuru

Delta Assembly threatens to arrest commissioners overland allocation

By Festus Ahon

BAYELSA PDP CRISIS: Senatorfaces probe

ASABA—DELTA StateHouse of Assembly has

threatened to order the arrestof immediate past and currentCommissioners for Lands,Survey and UrbanDevelopment, Sir PatrickFerife and Mr MisanUkubeyinje, for failing tohonour its invitation to explaindetails of allocation of land inthe state in the last four years.

Secretary of the HouseCommittee, Judith Nwaka,had in separate lettersaddressed to the two men,invited them to appear beforethe adhoc committee lastFriday, April 24, to explaindetails of allocations of landsin the state in the past fouryears, but they sentrepresentatives.

Angered by their refusal toappear in person, Chairman ofthe five-member adhoccommittee, Sam Obi, restatedthat the House would nothesitate to bring the two menin handcuffs should they failto appear before it today.

The commissioners,Ukubeyinje and Ferife areexpected to appear with someofficials of the Ministry ofLands, Survey and UrbanDevelopment with all relevantdocuments in 15 copies thatwould assist the committee inits investigation.

Obi described as sad anddisrespectful, the refusal of theduo to appear before thecommittee last Friday andexpressed displeasure overthe attitude of the two men.

He said: “The House will notfail to take certain legal meansto make the twocommissioners appear inperson before the committee ifit finds out that their actionswere deliberate. If anyoneinvited by the House fails tocome voluntarily, he or shewill come in handcuffs.

“I, therefore, direct that themeeting be rescheduled forMonday, April 27. TheSecretary of the committee willdo another letter inviting thetwo commissioners to appearin person before the committeeat 10 o’clock in the morning,”

he added.Flanked by three other

members of the committee,

Martin Okonta, also a formerSpeaker, Pat Ajudua andJoseph Oshevire, Obi said

the committee was not out towitch hunt anybody but toright perceived wrongs.

A-Ibom councillors faultelection observer's report

A B U J A —EXPULSION

hammer is now danglingover Senator EmmanuelPaulker representingBayelsa Central on theplatform of PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, lessthan five weeks to the endof the senenth Senate as thestate chapter of the PDP hasset a panel to investigatehim and other party leadersin the state over allegedanti-party activities in thelast general elections.

But some members of thePDP who have expressedtheir anger over thedevelopment havecautioned against themove, saying it could affectthe party in the 2016governorship election.

Staging a protest inAbuja over the moves to axePaulker and other PDPleaders from the party, theangry PDP group said if theplan was not stopped, itcould worsen the chancesof the PDP in the 2016election.

The protesters, operatingunder the umbrella of SaveBayelsa PDP Forum, SBPF,who later addressedjournalists said that whatwas needed in the party washarmony among partymembers and not disunity.

The leader of the forumPere Time Newman, drewattention of the nationalleadership of the PDP towhat he called unhealthydevelopments in BayelsaPDP.

Newman disclosed thatthe state chapter of the party

on Tuesday set up a panelheaded by the state deputygovernor, to investigateallegations of anti-partyactivities against Paulkerparticularly as they affectedthe performance of the partyin the last elections andsubmit its report in twoweeks.

THE Conference ofAkwa Ibom

Councillors, under theaegis of The Deciders,have taken a swipe at theEuropean ObserverMission, EOM, over itsreport on the conduct ofelections in Akwa IbomState.

In a communiqueissued at the end of itsmeeting in Uyo by allmembers of the group,the councillorsrepresenting the 329Wards in the state,frowned at the Europeanobserver team arguingthat the minor incidencesof violence in one or twospots in the entire state,did not warrant a blanketclassification by theEOM team.

Commending theIndependent NationalElectoral Commission,

INEC, for the conductof credible and fairelections in Nigeria,especially, in the April11, 2015 governorshipand House of Assemblypolls in the state, thecouncillors also thankedtheir teemingconstituents for comingout and voting en-massefor the candidates of theirchoice in the exercise.

The councillors scoredthe security agencieshigh for ensuringpeaceful and orderlyelections across thevarious polling units andwards in the state anddeclared theiracceptance of the resultsas declared by INEC asbeing a true reflection ofthe wishes of theelectorate in Akwa IbomState.

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

CMYK


2015 Polls: PDP to sanctionmembers for anti-party activities

By Henry Umoru

ABUJA— AFTER apost-mortem of

March 28 and April 11general elections whereit lost the Presidency tothe Presidentialcandidate of AllProgressives Congress,APC, GeneralMuhammadu Buhari(retd), the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,has concluded plans tosanction its memberswho allegedly indulgedin anti-party activitiesthat contributed to itsdefeat.

The ruling party whichcontrolled thePresidency and theHouse ofRepresentatives and theSenate for 16 years since1999, did not only sufferpresidential defeat, butalso lost in its traditionalstates of Plateau, Niger,Kaduna, Benue, Bauchiand Jigawa.

It also became anopposition party in theSenate with 46 senators,while the APC has 60senators, same appliesto the House ofRepresentatives.

Speaking withjournalists in Abuja,weekend, DeputyMajority Leader, Houseof Representatives, MrLeo Ogor, said the partyhad taken the decision todeal with errant memberswho contributed to itsdefeat, against thebackdrop that theypretended to be workingfor the PDP, whereas theywere working for the APCto the detriment of theparty.

Ogor, who representsIsoko North/ Isoko SouthFederal Constituency ofDelta State in the Houseof Representatives, notedthat the move was part ofmeasures put in place byPDP to sanitise the partyas well as reposition it.

He said those whowould not be punished bythe party would be thosethe party was unable toestablish a genuine caseagainst them.

He said: “As a party wehave a constitution anddefinitely if you want to bea party member you mustknow that the party issupreme. If it can beestablished, but we wouldnever compromise theprinciple of fair hearing.

‘’If it can be establishedand proved beyondreasonable doubt thatMr. A. or Mr. B worked

against the party, thenI think the party wouldtake the necessarydecision in respect ofthat particular subject.

“But for now, what wewant to look at is what isbefore us: why we failed

so woefully, how do weaddress this issue, howdo we take this party toa higher realm ratherthan for some people tostart calling for thedisintegration of ourparty.”

Court rules on contemptcharge againstOkonjo-Iweala, June 3

By IkechukwuNnochiri

ABUJA— JUSTICEAbdul Kafarati of the

Abuja Division of the Federal High Court hasfixed June 3 to deliverruling on contemptcharge against theMinister of Finance, DrNgozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The minister wasaccused of disobeying acourt order that had onFebruary 25, 2014,directed her to release toa civil society group,Centre for Social Justice,CSJ, details of statutorytransfers in the 2013budget to six FederalGovernment’s agencies.

The six agencies thatthe court directed theFinance Minister toreveal their statutorytransfer details in the 2013budget include NationalJudicial Council, NJC;N i g e r - D e l t aD e v e l o p m e n tCommission, NNDC;Universal BasicEducation Commission,UBEC; NationalAssembly; IndependentNational ElectoralCommission, INEC andNational Human RightsCommission, NHRC.

Following allegedrefusal of Dr. Okonjo-Iweala to comply with thecourt order, theapplicants, CSJ, throughits lawyer, Mr. KingsleyNnajika, filed a Form-49,which is a motion forcommittal of the FinanceMinister to prison forcontempt.

The group told the courtthat despite that she wasserved with a copy of thesubstantive judgment andthe enrolled orders, DrOkonjo-Iweala declinedto obey the judgment,forcing the applicant toserve her the initial Form-48 (notice of consequenceof disobedience of courtorders) beforesubsequently filling aForm-49 (motion for orderof committal) against her.

CSJ had sued theminister upon herrefusal to honour itsrequest, made under theFreedom of Information(FOI) Act.

In his judgment in thesuit on February 25, 2014,Justice AbdulkadirAbdulkafarati upheldCSJ’s claim and orderedthe minister to, amongothers, supply theinformation requested bythe applicant.

Tony Momoh turns 76 today

LAWYER and journalist,Mr. Tony Momoh, turns

76 years today. Tony wasborn into the Momoh royalfamily of Auchi, Edo Stateon April 27, 1939 as the165th child of King Momohthe First.

He was employed in theDaily Times as a Sub Editorin 1962. From there, he leftto the University of Nigeria,Nsukka (UNN) to readMass Communicationwhich he later completed atthe University of Lagos(UNILAG) because of thecivil car in the country atthat time. He also read lawat UNILAG and was calledto the Bar in 1975.

He occupied variouseditorial and administrativepositions in the Daily

Times before he wasappointed a minister in1986.

He was Secretary andlater President, NigerianGuild of Editors, as well asChairman, NationalRegistration Council of theNigeria Union ofJournalists.

Momoh has also servedon the Boards of NigeriaAirways, the NigeriaMedia Merit Award(NMMA), the NigerianPress Council and AfricanRefugees Foundation. Heis a fellow of theCommonwealth JournalistsAssociation and theNigerian Guild of Editors.

He is married to Janetand they are blessedwith four children.


Primate Okoh urges Gen Buhari to ignore party defectorsBy Chimaobi Nwaiwu

Ihedioha describes the gov result as a sham

ARCHBISHOP Metropolitanand Primate of Anglican

Church of Nigeria, Most RevdNicholas Okoh, yesterday, calledon President- elect, GeneralMuhammadu Buhari, not to giveany politician defecting from hisparty to join All ProgressivesCongress, APC, any position in hisgovernment, describing suchpeople as lacking in credibility.

He said,“If I were the President-elect, I will not give them anythingbecause they are not people to betrusted. They lack credibility, theyare people who are destroying thecountry, and they did not work forthe party so why are they joiningthe party now."

Archibishop Okoh, who spoke atAll Saints Cathedral, Onitsha,Anambra State, shortly after theconsecration of three Bishops,said: “The administration is a newone, it has set its programmes andthe person who needs advice isnot the new government butNigerians. They need thecooperation of Nigerians to maketheir programmes succeed, so weask Nigerians to please cooperatewith them in our own interest,because if we cooperate they willdo good work but if we don’t, theycannot do anything."

He urged the incoming

government to ensure it kept toits campaign promises, stressing,“We know no government cantouch everything in thecomprehensiveness of humanlife, so they cannot do everything,it is the duty of the incominggovernment to study those areas,particularly the embodiment oftheir campaign promises. I believeit was the manifesto that enabledthem win, so they should look atit and see that they implement it.”

Archbishop Okoh, whileconsecrating the three Bishops,

told them to “be shepherd andnot a wolf to the flock of Christ,feed them and do not devourthem, seek the lost, uphold theweak, restore health to the sick,lift the down trodden, ensurediscipline but forget not mercy,be so merciful and be not tooremiss.”

He thanked the governor ofAnambra State, Chief WillieObiano, for hosting andaccommodating them, addingthat the governor was committedto neutralizing the relationship

between the Roman Catholicsand the Anglicans Church inAnambra State.

Governor Willie Obiano, on theoccasion, expressed happinessfor attending the occasion,saying it was the first time hewas witnessing the consecrationof three bishops at the sametime. “You must not exploit thebut grow the flock; you must behonest with them if you wantthem to respect and obey youand above all be compassionatewith them,” he said.

Abia gov poll: APGA agent questionsauthenticity of Obingwa result

UMUAHIA—ChiefAhamdi Nweke, the

agent of the AllProgressives GrandAlliance, APGA, in thesupplementary elections inAbia, has questioned theauthenticity of the resultfrom Obingwa LocalGovernment Area.

Raising objections to theresults of Saturday’s re-runelection in nine LGAs,Nweke said that theObingwa result sheet borethe stamp of UmuahiaLGA.

The result showed thatPDP polled 82,240 votes asagainst 1,952 scored byAPGA. Nweke pleadedwith the Returning Officer,

DEPUTY Speaker of theHouse of Representatives

and Imo State gubernatorialcandidate of the People’sDemocratic Party, PDP, ChiefEmeka Ihedioha, has expressedserious reservation that despiteinstances of identified electoralmalpractices, the IndependentNational Electoral Commission,INEC, went ahead to declare theAll Progressives Congress, APC,candidate as the winner.

Ihedioha stated this, yesterday,while reacting to the declarationof Chief Rochas Okorocha aswinner of the governorship pollin the state.

He said he was not happy thatINEC released the result, in spiteof instances of identified electoralmalpractices, including the arrestof over 25 Imo State INEC staffwho conspired with theopposition to manipulate andchange results of the electionsalready declared in favour of thePDP.

Ihedioha expressed anger atthe manner the electoral umpiretreated the public confession ofan INEC Returning Officer whowas forced under gunpoint todeclare false results in favour ofthe APC in the gubernatorialelection.

He recalled that INEC wentahead with the release of theresult, despite several arrests offully armed men impersonatingpolice officers and recordedinducement of INEC staff atGovernment House, Owerri, onthe eve of the election as capturedin photographs, audio and videorecordings by local andinternationalobservers.

W h i l erecalling thatin spite ofp r o v e nwidespreadincidents ofswapping of

PDP votes in fabour of APC, allof which eroded the validity andcredibility of the exercise, INEChad gone ahead to declare theAPC candidate winner, he said:“As a democrat and law abidingcitizen, I wish to acknowledge thedeclaration of the results byINEC.”

Ihedioha said he would studythe details of the resultsannounced very carefully andcommunicate his position in thenear future.

He urged Imo people tomaintain the peace and keep thedream of rebuilding the statealive.

Ukwa NgwaprofessionalscongratulateIkpeazu

A LEADINGorganisation in

Ukwa Ngwa nation, theUkwa Ngwa Professionals,has congratulated Dr.Okezie Ikpeazu of PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,following his victory in AbiaState governorship polls,which were concludedyesterday.

In a statement by ChiefTheo Nkire, the groupdescribed Ikpeazu’ssuccess at the polls as "thevictory of light overdarkness; the victory of truthover falsehood, a victory forfairness, equity and justice"We salute you, Dr. Ikpeazu,for your uncommoncandour in the face of allprovocation. We salute allAbia people for their abilityto decipher the truth fromfalsehood and their decisionto stand by the truth at alltimes. We salute you inparticular, Chief TheodoreOrji, the outgoing Governorof Abia State for keepingfaith with the Ukwa Ngwapeople and for standing byus to the end. We shallnever forget."

The group urged all Abiapeople and friends of thestate to join hands withIkpeazu as he grappleswith the gargantuanproblem of moving AbiaState to its pride of place.

Prof. Benjamin Ozumba, to“take a look at the resultsheet, which is with youhere,"adding, “All I amasking is for the returningofficer to look at the resultsheet from Obingwa in thepresence of the two INECnational commissioners andcommissioners of police.

''The result sheet bears thestamp of Umuahia, whichis in another senatorialdistrict; please show it forthe world to see,” Nweke,a legal practitioner, said.Healso protested the resultfrom Osisioma polling area,saying that the figures in theresults sheet were atvariance with the resultsfrom the polling units.

I was neverarrested—Uzodinma

By Evelyn Usman

SENATOR HopeUzodinma representing

Imo West Senatorial District ofImo State, yesterday, said hewas never arrested overalleged electoral malpracticesduring the just concluded ImoState governorship and Houseof Assembly re-run elections.

He, however, cautionedpoliticians to desist fromtarnishing the reputation oftheir opponents in the nameof playing politics. Uzodinmawho was reacting to report ofhis alleged arrest alongsidesome members of his familyin his country home, advisedpoliticians to uphold theinterest of the country assmearing their opponentsnames would not help thecountry's democracy to thrive.

Explaining what transpiredon the election day, Uzodinmasaid APC thugs and theparty’s agents attempted tosnatch some ballot boxes fromOru East and Oru West whichwere the Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP)’s strongholdsunder his leadership in thestate.


APC's call forcancellationof Enugu govpoll baseless—GROUP

Election monitors flay conduct of military inImo supplementary poll

By IkechukwuNnochiri

Okorocha thanks Imo people

By Chidi Nkwopara

ABUJA—A coalition of60 Civil Society

Organisations, CSOs, involved inmonitoring elections in Nigeria,yesterday, decried what itdescribed as the brutish andunprofessional conduct of militarymen deployed for Saturday'ssupplementary election in ImoState.

In a statement it issued in Abujayesterday, the coalition, whichsent observers to monitor thesupplementary governorshipelections in Abia, Imo and Tarabastates on Saturday, said theinvolvement of the military inpolicing elections in Nigeria mustbe situated within a strict protocolof rules of engagement.

It noted that most of the militarymen that participated in theelectoral process in Imo State hadno name tags, a situation it saidmade it difficult to identify them.

It said: “There was sufficientsecurity presence in Abia, Tarabaand Imo States. The military

personnel deployed in Imo Statewere overly aggressive.

‘’They detained and restrictedthe access of domestic accreditedobservers and media personnelto polling unit across the threesenatorial zones.

“It is important to note thatmilitary personnel across the threesenatorial zones where theelection held in Imo State had noname tags making it difficult toidentify officers.

‘’One of the cars used by theofficers had the followingregistration details NA 02234.”

It harped on the need todevelop election protocols andtraining of military personnel forsubsequent elections.

Besides, the CSOs maintainedthat appointment, control and

oversight activities of ResidentElectoral Commissioners, RECs,including their relationship withthe national headquarters ofINEC, must be reviewed with aview to finding a balance thatwould enhance oversight withoutundermining state effectiveness.

The group said further: “Thecurrent arrangement has provedto be problematic. A lot is still leftto the discretion of RECs and thatdiscretion has been abused.

‘’The provisions of theConstitution and the Electoral Actin this regard will need to bereviewed and reformed.

“Following from the April 11,2015, governorship elections, theIndependent National ElectoralCommission (INEC) declared thegovernorship elections in Abia,

Imo and Taraba states asinconclusive and scheduledsupplementary elections to holdon Saturday, April 25, 2015.

”INEC conductedsupplementary governorshipelections in the affected states aswell as senatorial and SstatesAssembly elections in several ofthe wtates where elections did nottake place due to irregularities.

”In Abia State, supplementarygovernorship elections wereconducted in 276 polling unitsacross nine Local GovernmentAreas. In Taraba State, electionswere conducted across 159polling units in 10 LocalGovernment Areas. Imo Statealso had elections in 259 pollingunits across 23 local governmentareas."

OWERRI—IMO Stategovernor, Chief Rochas

Okorocha, said yesterday, thathe was dedicating his victoryat the polls to the citizenrywho remained the pillars ofhis success.

Chief Okorocha stated thiswhile speaking at athanksgiving service held atGovernment House Chapel,Owerri.

“I dedicate my victory at thepolls to the entire Imo people.They are the main victors asthey had stood by me in thelast four years and neverwavered in their support formy administration,” Okorochasaid.

The governor said he hadalways asked God to blesshim so he could bless others,adding that he also asked Godto give him leadershipposition to positively impacton the people.

While repeating that thevictory was for Imo people, thegovernor also noted that hehad redeemed his campaignpromises.

“I have redeemed mycampaign promises. Now, mypeople can enjoy freeeducation. Kidnapping is nowa thing of the past.

‘’Now, it is time for jobcreation, establishment ofindustries and employment forthe unemployed,” thegovernor added.

Chief Okorocha disclosedthat the first beneficiaries of thejob placement would be the25,000 youths waiting foremployment, adding that 1,000others would be moved toTurkey for industrial training.

He appealed to hisopponents not to see him asan enemy but rather urgedthem to join hands with himto build the state.

“I suffered a lot of campaignof calumny and hate speechesfrom my opponents but onething they would never say isthat I did not work.

‘’Now, I am the governor ofthe APC, APGA and PDP. So,I call on them to join handswith me to build this state,”Okorocha pleaded.

By Francis Igata

Enugu Eastsenatorialpoll: Nnamanipetitionselectiontribunal

ENUGU—A group,Enugu-042 Peoples

Assembly, EPA,yesterday,dismissed calls by the AllProgressives Congress,APC, governorshipcandidate, Okey Ezea,seeking the cancellation ofthe April 11 poll allegingthat the Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, andIndependent NationalElectoral Commission,INEC, colluded to ensureIfeanyi Ugwuanyi’s victory.

EPA's stand followedoutburst by Ezea, againstthe PDP, INEC and securityagencies for allegedlymanipulating the processin favour of the PDPcandidate.

In a statement jointlysigned by EPA chairmanand secretary,Oliver Nwekeand Innocent Ozoemenarespectively,the group said:“Calls by Ezea seeking thecancellation of a free, fairand credible poll which wemonitored in the companyof international observers,media and securityagencies, are baseless andunfounded."

By Francis Igata

ENUGU—FORMERgovernor of Enugu

State, SenatorChimaroke Nnamani,has petitioned theNational AssemblyElection Petition Tribunalin Enugu challengingthe declaration of SenatorGil Nnaji of the PeoplesDemocratic Party,PDP, asthe winner of Enugu Eastsenatorial election by theIndependent NationalElectoral Commission,INEC.

Confirming thedevelopment in a pressstatement in Enugu,state chairman of Peoplefor Democratic Change,PDC, Mr. Sunday Ani,said the action wasnecessitated by thew i d e s p r e a dirregularities thatcharacterised theelection.

EFCC'sdocuments forforensic reportsin alleged oilsubsidy thefttrial werephotocopies—WITNESS

By BartholomewMadukwe

A Lagos High Courtsitting in Ikeja has been

told that documents used incarrying out forensic reports inthe trial of alleged oil subsidy theftallegation against WalterWagbasoma and two others by theEconomic and Financial CrimesCommission, EFCC, werephotocopy generated.

Wagbasoma is facing trialalongside Adaoha Ugo-Ndagi,Fakuade Babafemi, a staff ofPetroleum Pricing RegulatoryAuthority, PPPRA, and his firm,Ontario Oil and Gas Limited.

This disclosure was made beforeJustice Lateefa Okunnu by thedefence witness, RaphelOnwuzurigbo, under crossexamination by the leadprosecution counsel, RotimiJacobs (SAN).

According to the witness,Onwuzurigbo relied onphotocopy specimen in carryingout scientific analysis of thesignature on the document.

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

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


CMYK

OPINION


By Alex Atawa

OPINIONRevisiting electronic votingRevisiting electronic votingRevisiting electronic votingRevisiting electronic votingRevisiting electronic voting

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

NOW that the elections are over, weshould be looking ahead to 2019

general elections. However, before thatmajor election, we must first deal withBayelsa governorship election in August2015 and Kogi in December 2015. Thesetwo States promise to be battlegrounds forthe ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)and the new opposition PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP). Subsequent tothese, Edo, Ekiti, Osun, Ondo andAnambra States will pick their respectivegovernors. Governorship elections wereheld on April 11, 2015 in the followingtwenty-nine (29) States of the federation:Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi,Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi,Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna,Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos,Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Oyo, Plateau,Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

Some years back, I wrote a piece titled“Electronic Voting for dogs and baboons”based on the controversial statementattributed to the now President-elect. Inthat piece, I inquired as follows” “Whatpuzzles a lot of us and the countlesscourageous elderly village women, whostood in line and withstood the elements,to register to vote in early 2011, was whythe same technology/methodology(biometrics) was not employed for the

actual voting a few months later? Theunknown answer to the villagers is thatSection 52(1) (b) of the 2010 Electoral Actsays: “The use of electronic votingmachine for the time being is prohibited.”One wonders if the same honourablemembers of the National Assembly whopassed the Electoral Bill into law were notthe same one that approved the huge sumsof money for the DDC machines used inthe voters registration exercise. Did it notoccur to them that they were giving toNigerians with one hand while takingaway with the other hand?”

In all humility, it will seem as thoughINEC heard me partially because in thebuildup to the 2015 elections, theIndependent National ElectoralCommission (INEC), decided to utilise thepseudo-electronic voting by using theSmart card Readers (SCR) to accreditvoters who had Permanent Voters Cards(PVCs). The PVCs and SCRs were frothwith problems, based on inadequatetraining of ad hoc staffs, but moreimportantly malfunctioning of the SCR.

Assuming the ubiquitous problems withthe SCRs are resolved, it now begs thequestion, why can’t we have completeelectronic voting? Pessimists will postulatethat those who are afraid of losing electionsare the ones against electronic voting.Otherwise, if you are sure of getting thepeople’s mandate, you will supportelectronic voting. If as we approach 2019and we really seek to move forward in ourdemocracy, then we must support completeand full electronic voting.

Also, with electronic voting, we will nolonger need our bifurcated electoralprocess. In other words, accreditation andactual voting will seamlessly appearcontemporaneous. Furthermore,reporting of results will be instantaneous.An unbiased observer will admit thatdelayed collating and release of resultsencourage fraud. The gap in time makes itsusceptible to introduction of fraud andits twin brother called rigging.

Most civilised nations do not havesegmented voting process. In fact, eventhose that have hailed our use of card

readers are miffed by the two-prong votingsystem of Nigeria. In a recent story in VitalNew titled “Separation of Accreditation,Voting Periods Will Reduce Fraud”, weread that “the Chairman of theIndependent National ElectoralCommission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega,has explained his rationale and preferencefor separating accreditation from voting,especially with the introduction of thecontroversial PVC readers. He stated thatthe separation of accreditation and votingperiods reduced fraud in the votingprocess, including double voting.” I willrespectfully disagree.

The lapse of time allows formanipulation of numbers. Another benefitof electronic voting is that it will make itdifficult, if not impossible, to inflate votes.Those questionable “Sokoto votes” orriverine numbers will be a thing of thepast.

The 8th National Assembly will have amajority of APC lawmakers. If they arereally progressive, they should progresstowards sponsoring a bill to allowelectronic voting. The deliberate speedsome lawmakers used to authorise use ofPVCs could be applied to allow electronicvoting, unless there are other ulteriormotives for maintaining the status quo.

In conclusion, Nigeria needs electronicvoting. Electronic voting, for all intentsand purposes, will be a panacea toelection fraud.

The deliberate speedsome lawmakersused to authoriseuse of PVCs could beapplied to allowelectronic voting,unless there areother ulteriormotives formaintaining thestatus quo

Cholera – ACountry’s Shame

TWO ignored factors that emphasise governments’insensitivity to Nigerians – overwhelmingly un-

acceptable sanitary conditions and the abysmally lowlevels of access to medical services – have helped inthe ricocheting cholera outbreaks.

Contaminated water, unhygienic handling andpoor food preparations are among factors that aidrapid spread of cholera. Its high mortality rate isevidenced by the number of States reporting deaths.

Access to hygienic drinking water in Nigeria islimited by low investment in the sector, drought, andpoor plan that have seen demand for water outstripsupply for years. Cholera benefits from these, andNigeria’s public health system that is totally reactive.The health authorities pay minimal attention topreventive medicine. Even when they have advancenotice of epidemics, they ignore them.

Cholera is not a tropical disease. Low standardsof hygiene and quality of drinking water make itprevalent in the tropics, parts of Asia and theAmericas. In the 19th century, cholera outbreakswere common in the United States of America andBritain. Improvements in health standards, particu-larly drinking water and the availability of flushing

toilets have distanced human waste – a great sourceof the disease – from water sources and made chol-era a rarity in those regions.

Areas where flooding destroys toilet facilities andinject their contents into public water sources areprone to cholera. It is little wonder that the diseasehas facility to spread in Nigeria. In many places,water for domestic use is contaminated by poorlydisposed human wastes.

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

The prompt administration of oral rehydration saltsto replace lost fluids nearly always results in cure.In especially severe cases, intravenous administra-tion of fluids may be required to save the patient’slife. Left untreated, however, cholera can kill quicklyfollowing the onset of symptoms.”

Water management is critical. While routinepreaching about use of safe water persists, the realityis that millions of Nigerians lack access to cleanwater. It is advisable that they boil their water, andavoid ice blocks that could have been made withwater from doubtful sources. The cholera bacteriaare known to survive the freezing process. Foodneeds to be cooked properly and human wastedisposed in ways that would not contaminate watersources.

The good, old benefits of washing hands after usingtoilets are still important to curtail the spread ofcholera and other diseases. Governments, however,must ask themselves how they spend the billions ofNaira they budget for health annually. It is a shamethat in the 21st Century, hundreds of our people diefrom preventable causes while governments tally thenumbers and gleefully announce the statistics.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 —19

CMYK

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

By Francis Ehigiator

Dialectic of Okunbo’s politics andDialectic of Okunbo’s politics andDialectic of Okunbo’s politics andDialectic of Okunbo’s politics andDialectic of Okunbo’s politics andethnic considerationethnic considerationethnic considerationethnic considerationethnic consideration

Clueless on Jonathan andClueless on Jonathan andClueless on Jonathan andClueless on Jonathan andClueless on Jonathan andBuhariBuhariBuhariBuhariBuhari

THE 2015 general elections have comeand gone, but the ripples of victory and

defeat that they have generated across thecountry have been so profound that theyare yet to settle. For the first time in theannals of presidential elections in Nigeria,an incumbent president, GoodluckJonathan, was defeated by the oppositionAll Progressives Congress (APC)presidential candidate, GeneralMuhammadu Buhari.

This has forced spontaneousrealignments across the political landscapewith a good number of politicians switchingplatforms. While a few gladiators dumpedthe Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for theAPC and vice versa before the March 28,2015 presidential election, there was a galeof movements from the PDP to the APCafter the defeat of President Jonathan inthat election. Some founding leaders andmembers of the PDP who had benefited somuch from the party in terms of electiveand appointive positions left the partywithout as much as a whimper.

With eyes, possibly fixed on the sharingof national cake in Abuja, principles tooka whimsical flight. It was all a parade ofabsurdities and ideological somersaults forthose who claimed to be guided by someform of political ideology. Thedevelopment left those (especiallybusinessmen) who have hugely investedtheir hard-earned resources in thedevelopment of the PDP and in support ofelective office-seeking members, withoutgetting anything in return, in a reasonable

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

This is the position in which the politicaldrum major and PDP leader in Edo Southsenatorial zone, where I come from,Captain Hosa Okunbo, found himselfimmediately after the March 28, 2015Presidential and National Assemblyelections. I am aware that Okunbo is asolid businessman in the billionaireleague; he is, according to media reports,a good friend of President GoodluckJonathan. This perhaps explains hisdecision to withdraw his support for thethen Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)in Edo state in 2011 and give the same toPresident Jonathan and his PDP.

Okunbo had stuck out his neck for hisfriend (Jonathan) in the March 28presidential election in spite of pressurefrom many of his kinsmen and women toact like typical businessmen who wouldsponsor candidates of both the ruling andthe opposition parties in the same

election(s). He had chosen to actdifferently, preferring to publicly identifywith the PDP and thus expose himself tothe vagaries of the tension of political goalsand objectives.

His investments in the actualisation ofthe second term aspiration of Jonathanyielded results in Edo state. He was ableto deliver his Edo south zone with thehighest voting population to Jonathan. Hewon three of the four House ofRepresentatives seats fair and square whilethe APC won the fourth in a controversialmanner. Overall, Jonathan won Edo statebut the victory was not enough to give hima countrywide presidential election victory.

The new realities that crystallised afterthe March 28 presidential election were amixed bag of sort: Jonathan and PDP lostthe Federal Government; the PDP is notthe government in control of Edo state; andinterestingly, a Bini son, Chief JohnOdigie-Oyegun, is National Chairman ofthe APC, whose party has just won thepresidential election. What this presentsto all Binis, although those in the PDP maynot like it, is that their own is holding themost powerful and influential position inthe ruling party whose government willswing into action on May 29, this year.

This development and other forward-looking considerations coalesced into thestrategic move by Okunbo to review hispolitical beliefs, decide to support hisbrother, Odigie-Oyegun, to be able to winall the State House of Assembly seats inthe April 11 elections. If Okunbo hadwanted to go the whole hog, he wouldhave won the seats for the PDP, but thequestion is, of what benefits will that befor a Bini ethnic nation in desperate questfor national accommodation andintegration? He would have workedagainst the very objective of Bini

development, liberation andtransformation that he has over the yearsespoused, and for which he has exposedhimself politically for possible “viciousattacks”. Now, an APC government isstepping in the saddle on May 29 whilean APC government is already in place inEdo state. So, what else is there to fight forother than for all Binis to align with thepresent realities?

Okunbo, from all indications, has keyedinto these realities by supporting theelectoral victory of Binis into the StateLegislature on the APC platform. Indeed,with the role he played in the April 11 StateHouse of Assembly elections, I believe itis time Okunbo rose above politicaldifferences to strengthen his commitmentto the liberation and transformation ofBenin ethnic nationality in the context ofnational politics.

Having staked his reputation andbusiness interests by not only exposinghimself to politics but also taking up theposition of PDP Edo South SenatorialLeader for the sole purpose of offering astrong voice and representation to the Binis(who has been largely short-changed andmarginalised in terms of strategicappointments) in the Federal Government,all Binis irrespective of their politicalaffiliations and tendencies should rallyround Okunbo to accelerate theactualisation of the Benin agenda for rapidintegration, accommodation, infrastructuredevelopment and transformation.

This is the only workable and viableoption that the Binis must embrace underthe fast-consolidating leadership ofOkunbo working in concert with Odigie-Oyegun and other well-meaning Binileaders.

Send Opinions & Letters to:[email protected]

IT struck like a thunderboltfrom the blues. It was an

unexpected goal; against the runof play. One second, SuleimanAbba was Inspector General ofPolice (IGP) the next, he wasgone with the wind in what canbe called Hurricane Jonathan. Itwas the second time in two weeksPresident Goodluck Jonathanwas making unexpected moves,leaving most of us clueless.

The other was declining to signthe constitutional amendmentsinto law. The first reactions in themedia were that the sack of Mr.Abba was “suspicious” a “politicalvendetta” and for “no justifiablereasons” So how can a presidentsaid to be “clueless” make suchbaffling moves, leaving thepolitical class speechless? Notmany expect the quiet Jonathanto continue asserting hismandate; some expect him tohave sought the refuge of hisvillage. One of the first reactionsto the sack came from AlhajiIbrahim Coomassie, the IGPunder the Abacha andAbdulsalam military regimes. Theretired cop concluded that the

sack was “suspicious” becauseMr. Abba is from the North. I hadnot realized that, and I am surePresident Jonathan who pickedAbba above his seniors (whowere then forced to retire) had notknown that Abba is from theNorth. Until now, I did not knowthat Abba was the IGP of the Northwhich would make it “suspicious”for a President from the South tosack him.

A second reason AlhajiCoomassie gave is that if the sackis linked to the general elections,President Jonathan should nothave removed Abba. I concede itis the prerogative of a retired copto engage in speculations. A thirdreason given by the elderStatesman is that the sack didnot follow due process. I agreewith him; rather than PresidentJonathan exercising hisprerogative to appoint and firethe IGP, he should have subjectedit to a national referendum.

There are other commentatorswho have called on President-elect, General MuhammaduBuhari to reject Abba’s sack. I amsure there is a lot of logic in this;

the President-elect can over-rulethe incumbent President! Theonly weakness that I see in thisbrilliant call, is that theconstitution does not permit twopresidents to govern the countrysimultaneously; Jonathanremains the President andCommander-In-Chief of theRepublic until he hands over onMay 29. After General Buhari issworn in, he can recall andreinstate all the IGPs and militarychiefs Jonathan had removed.That will be his prerogative.

Just as many of us are cluelesson Jonathan, so are we onBuhari. He is no messiah, butmany insist he is. Buhari remindsme of the chief priest in the play,Kinjeketile by Tanzanianplaywright, Ebrahim. N. Hussein,who gave birth to a word, and theword gets bigger and bigger,until it becomes far bigger thanthe priest himself. Alarmed by thehuge expectations of hissupporters, Buhari has had to tellthem not to expect miracles. Butmany of them insist on miracles.

I am sorry, but those who votedfor Buhari in expectation ofmiracles are mistaken. The factthat the Vice President-elect is aserving pastor, does not meanNigeria is now in in the‘Atmosphere of Miracles’

Those who expect miraclesshould, in the first place havedrafted Sheik Ibrahim El-Zak-zaky and Pastor Enoch Adeboyeon the ballot. Surely, a SheikAhmad Gumi as PresidentialCandidate and Pastor TemitopeJoshua as running mate or viceversa, would have been an idealticket. Then we can have miracleson per second billing in a pay-as-you-go system. In any case,why did such people over theyears, reject the candidature ofmy brother, Pastor Kris Okotieeven when he repeatedly toldNigerians that God had revealedto him he would win thoseelections? Why is it now that weare demanding miracles?

To show how clueless some ofus can be, I hear it said all overthe place that we havecomparatively done very wellbecause we have a nascentdemocracy. How can that be whenwe have been having generalelections since the 1950s? Weshould not accept such insult. Butwhy do so many people insist thatour electoral process is still in itsinfancy? I can make some guess.First, twenty nine years of militaryrule has blinded us to the fact thatwe had over fifteen years ofelections before the first coup inJanuary, 1966.

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

electoral process must also be inits infancy. They fail tounderstand that we are sodemocratic, open-minded andchildren-friendly; that we are justcatching them young. After all,these are the leaders and votersof tomorrow.

I watched a report/documentaryon Silver Bird Television onunderage voting, and was fullof commendation and admirationfor the electoral staff the way theyhandled the children. First,realizing that these special voters,(some looking like nine or ten yearolds) can be rowdy, specialqueues were created for them.Then card readers patiently putthem through the identificationprocess before voting. This isgood for our electoral processbecause in the next five-eightyears when these children areeligible to vote, their invaluableexperience as underage voters,will give them a head start overtheir contemporaries.

On the social media, I read abrilliant justification or argumentfor underage voting; it is moredemocratic than a single adultthumb printing scores of ballotpapers. As a Nigerian, I amhappy to be swept along by theflood of accolades that havepoured in from the internationalcommunity. The world had notexpected us to pull off theseelections without much violenceand bloodbath. Don’t forget thatthe prophetic Americans hadspied into the future andannounced that Nigeria willbreak up in 2015. But here weare, united and strong. ProudlyNigerian!

After GeneralBuhari is swornin, he can recalland reinstate allthe IGPs andmilitary chiefsJonathan hadremoved. That willbe his prerogative

Okunbo, from allindications, haskeyed into theserealities bysupporting theelectoral victory ofBinis into the StateLegislature on theAPC platform


OPINION

By Ben Abhulimen

*Mr. Abhulimen, a commentator on national issues,wrote from Lagos.

Can Buhari, Tinubu share power?Can Buhari, Tinubu share power?Can Buhari, Tinubu share power?Can Buhari, Tinubu share power?Can Buhari, Tinubu share power?

What's wrong in Opposition?

WITH a month to the inaugurationof an All Progressives Congress

(APC) federal government, the streetpartying to celebrate the sweepingsuccess of the nation’s most successfulopposition party in history is windingdown. Now is the time to tackle thechallenges of success. The question onour lips today is: can the APC survivethe two tests of its manhood which lie inwait for it? Between May 29th 2015 andMay 28th 2019, the incoming rulingparty will be sorely tested with twochallenges: (1) power sharing at theoutset of its reign and (2) the strugglefor the party’s tickets towards the endof the tenure. How will the APC fare?

The party’s supporters and enthusiastswill answer right away by saying theAPC has already conquered the biggestobstacles of forging a successful mergerof parties and unseating the rulingPeoples Democratic Party (PDP). But itneeds to be noted here that capturingpower is one thing, keeping it is yetanother. PDP collapsed because it couldno longer maintain the internal cohesionnecessary for continuation as a rulingparty. It had little or no problem withpower sharing, but the integrity couldno longer be maintained in the strugglefor its tickets in 2015. If the APC wishesto last long as a ruling party, these twoelements must be satisfied, in additionto good governance, of course.

There are some danger signals that,once you see them manifesting withinthe APC, then you can start a mentalcountdown to the end of its reign. Oneof them is political greed. That was oneof the factors that led PDP to failure. TheParty thought that the larger its size themore invincible it would be at the polls.This was the factor that made formerPresident Olusegun Obasanjo to ensurethat the opposition was not allowed tostand on a firm footing. Eventually, manyopposition party leaders dumped theirparties, jumped into PDP and some ofthem even got prestigious posts at alllevels. PDP was reduced to a free-for-all bazaar.

The upshot was that there were toomany interests, and once they could notbe satisfied, they automatically turnedaround to constitute internal oppositionin the PDP. If you check the history ofthe PDP as a ruling party, especially atthe Centre, it was the PDP NationalAssembly members that stood in theforefront of opposition against theExecutive Branch. The Presidencyunder Obasanjo fought and changed theleadership of the National Assembly ledby its party men. It was PDP Senatorsthat prevented President Obasanjo from

using the constitution amendment of2004/2006 to grab an extra term of office.The APC only became a living threat toPDP when five states controlled by theParty moved over to APC. All these weretraced to internal power strugglesoccasioned by too many selfish interestsclashing against one another.

Preying onPDP's remains

The APC is large enough to stand inthe same danger, unless it opts to learnfrom the foibles of its predecessor in thepresidential seat, the PDP. It must resistthe temptation of preying on whatremains of the PDP. It must also ensureit does not interfere in the affairs of theparty. Though a political party is like achurch which never rejects newmembers, it must not give away covetedposts to opportunistic newcomers. Infact, the party should place all

newcomers on probation for at least fouryears to prove their genuine commitmentto the APC before they qualify for itsprivileges. Giving away plum positionsto newcomers will create ill feelingsamong those who fought and enduredfor the APC to become the ruling party.

Rather than putting emphasis onincreasing its size, the APC will do itself– and our democracy – a favour byfirming up party principles and policiesand keeping members within itsideological bounds through disciplineand internal democracy. The PDP shouldalso pay attention to creating a newideological character for itself. What weneed within the next four years is to ableto choose between the party of theProgressives and the Democrats. Solidideological grounding, not mereephemeral size, is the only thing thatwill ensure the longevity of both the APCand PDP.

The second issue that will determineAPC’s fate as a ruling party is how itmanages its ethno-regional differences.Put it in another way, how it handlesthe political interests of its principalleaders: President-elect, GeneralMuhammadu Buhari, and its erstwhileNational Leader, Asiwaju Ahmed BolaTinubu. That these two gents were ableto forge an alliance that successfully sawoff the mighty PDP is a great feat whichhas become a milestone in the nation’spolitical history. However, that is wherethe problem starts.

Right now, the APC is still a gang-upof seventeen states of the old NorthernRegion and four states of the old WestRegion, with one vassal state each fromthe old Eastern Region (Imo, whose fateis still hanging) and old Mid-West(Edo). The PDP has been completelyshut down in Northern Nigeria, save forGombe and Taraba. The APC revolutionin Northern Nigeria even put away theissue of “Middle Belt”. The Minoritiesof the North went with their Hausa/Fulani Majorities, just as the Southern

Minorities (except Edo) went with theirIgbo Majority neighbours. How will fourstates of the South West cope under thedeadweight of seventeen states of theNorth in the APC? It is more like amaster-servant partnership – what apartnership!

How will Tinubu continue to be the“National Leader” of the APC with hispower bloc forming such a miserableminority in the partnership? Though itis agreed that Tinubu’s South West madeBuhari’s victory possible (just as theSouth East did for President GoodluckJonathan in 2011) how will that standwhen an all-out power struggle ensues?This question becomes even moregermane when we realise that under ourpresidential system, the president is theLeader of the ruling party. Buhari is nowthe Leader of the APC. What becomesof Tinubu, since two captains cannotcommand one boat?

Buhari andregional supporters

A lot will depend on the mentalattitude that Buhari and his regionalsupporters are coming into thisdispensation with. If they are comingwith the old mindset of Northerndomination and Southern dependency,then we are in for a rough ride, just as Ihave always warned. Will Buhari andhis Northern support group resist thetemptation of seeing this as adispensation of the North having“snatched” power back with their might?Or have they learned from the historyof their past attitude which made theidea of the North’s return to powerunpopular in the South in the pastsixteen years? Has Buhari put aside thementality of North’s alliance with theWest with which he once ran this countryalong with the late retired MajorGeneral Tunde Idiagbon, whereby theentire East and its Minorities werevirtually shut out of national relevance?That was why they refused to vote forhim, apart from the President Jonathanfactor.

Buhari can still surprise many of hiscritics by seeing himself not just asMuslim/Arewa president or even as apresident of a North and West allianceagainst the rest of the country. If he isable to carry every section of the countryalong, not only in the selection of topgovernment officials but also in thedistribution of the benefits of goodgovernance, the entire nation willembrace him. His Party will also benefit.Everything now depends on Buhari.

SOME years ago, Friday May 14, 1999 , I wrote anarticle along this line and it was published in Vanguard

newspaper. As a result of the present political situation, it isnecessary to reflect extensively on the content and spirit thereof,vis avis the current political situation. After much deliberation,one has come to conclusion that our politicians have notchanged really in character and actions. However, what isapparent is that in politics change is inevitable and to capturepower, any political party or group must remain focused,resilient, consistent and continually strategising in charting itspolitical pathway with vision and ideas.

Secondly, there is nothing wrong in been in opposition. Theresponsibility to the governed is as much as those in the centreof power. It can be said without equivocation that defectionparticularly at the eleventh hour of the game in order to avoidbeing in opposition is unnecessary and disservice to the people.It is just being clever by half and carries no honour, integrity,credibility in the scheme of things.

Politics is a game of numbers and being a contest, there mustbe a winner and a loser. It is a game to capture power, derivedfrom the will of the people. It entails the people of like mindsaggregating together to wrestle this power. In a broader sense,politics is “the maneuvering for power or advantage within agroup or state”. In the process of pursuing this power, anypolitician or party will certainly find himself or itself on oneside of the political divide. However, whatever side of the

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

How alive are Nigerian politicians to this responsibility? Itis a fact of political experience that Nigerian politicians areseriously averse to be in opposition. This is self-evident in theway and manner they jostle for power at all costs. They are soobsessed with the fear of being in the opposition, that theycould easily resort to Machiavellian approach to capturingpower.

From the view point of history of elections in this country,rigging remains a fundamental issue. It is predicated on thefear of losing power. It has been the bane of the electoralprocess fromtime past. International observers who were onduty during the recent elections testified to the ugly incidenceof electoral malpractices. It is indeed very unfortunate that wehave not still learnt any lesson after so many years of conductingelections. It is quite intriguing and ironical to know that it isnot only the winner who rig. It involves both the loser and thewinner but the loser cries most because he has been outsmartedby the winner.

However, why are our politicians so afraid of been on theopposition bench? The reasons for such fear are not far fetched.Every politician has the ambition to achieve political set goaland in this wise to grab power and use it to advance his political

politicians have used power dangerously and callously indenying their opponents all the good things of the life includingfundamental human rights. There have been evidence of theuse of state apparatus for oppression, utter discrimination andskewed distribution of amenities and infrastructuraldevelopments. The ruling party at the local or regional andfederal level had in the past pursued heartlessly, the policy ofexclusion or alienation thereby making the opponent irrelevantin the scheme of things. Many tend to scramble more for thespoils of office and self-aggrandisement than renderservices tothe electorate. The rise to political power has become the easyway to amass wealth illegally. Consequently, many politiciansare propelled to want to be at the centre at all times and by anymeans. They want to belong and be relevant. They feel seriouslythreatened at the sideline of political power.

But what is wrong in opposition if a politician is true to hispolitical beliefs and ideology? The late Chief ObafemiAwolowo, Chief Anthony Enahoro, late Mallam Aminu Kanoand few others were notable politicians who were not dreadedbeing in opposition and stuck firmly to their political ideologyirrespective of the swing in the political pendulum. There is nogainsaying in the fact that late Chief Obafemi Awolowo andMallam Aminu Kano are today even larger in death than whenthey were alive because of their political and ideologicaldispositions.

It is, however, an inescapable reality of the time that in theemerging political dispensation, the country needs strong andqualitative opposition to serve variety of ends.

beliefs and ideals for the goodof the people. This remainsthe fundamental baseline inthe political game plan,however, what is in practicein Nigeria may be different.

It is a fact of history that

If Buhari is able to carryevery section of thecountry along, not only inthe selection of topgovernment officials butalso in the distribution ofthe benefits of goodgovernance, the entirenation will embrace him.His Party will also benefit

The country needsstrong andqualitativeopposition to servevariety of ends

CMYK

APRIL 27, 2015

BY BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE,ADERONKE ADEYERI, TUNDEOJO, OLACHI USUWA

Bank customers are dividedover the reduction in theamount of foreign exchange

that can be accessed for overseastransactions through Naira debit/credit cards.

Two weeks ago, the Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN) reduced the limit onNaira debit card for overseastransactions to $50,000 per person perannum from $150,000. It also reducedthe limit for daily withdrawal to $300per day from $1,200 per day. Thereduction is on Naira denominatedMasterCard or Visa Card, linked tobank accounts in Nigeria.

A cross section of bank customerswho spoke to Financial Vanguard onthe policy were however divided onthe necessity and impact of the policyon the economy. While some criticisedthe reduction, saying it would hurttheir businesses, others commendedthe reduction, saying it would helpcurb wastage of foreign exchange andcorruption.

Criticising the new limit, Mr.Chiedu Igwe, an importer said, “Theidea of reducing the debit card limitto $50,000 per person per annum isdiscomforting. I travel out often to getitems for my trade and that aside; Ispend money on vacations using aNaira debit card. So with this newlimit on debit card, how am I going tokeep up with my business andpersonal foreign exchange needswhile I am overseas? I wish theimplementation of the policy could bere-adjusted if possible to helpbusinessmen like me.

Another businessman, “Mr. Lekanof LakeSide Clothing said, “I am notcomfortable with the reduction,because I travel overseas to purchasemost of what I sell in my stores. Imake use of my debit card forshopping whenever I travel abroad,and I travel more than once in a year.So this new limit will disrupt mybusiness plans.”

Corroborating these views, Mr.Umaru Hassan, a customer ofDiamond Bank, Apapa, said that thereduction in limit is not good forbusiness people, as most of themalways travel abroad to purchase

Banks commence implementation

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

goods and conduct other businessrelated activities that involves the useof money. “The idea of reducing thelimit to $50,000 per person, per annumis an indirect way of reducing theirability to do business”, he said, addingthat the CBN should reverse thepolicy.

On the contrary, veteran producer,director and actor, Prince Jide Kosokocommended the reduction, saying itwould help curb the outrageousspending of many Nigerians. He said,“CBN has brought up the policy toredeem the value of the Naira. I know

this will not go well with someNigerians but the CBN has the powerto do it. Many Nigerians travel abroadand spend their annual savingswithin one month in the name ofholidays”.

Similarly, actress Ronke Ojo,commended the reduction saying it isanother means of eradicatingcorruption. “It is obvious thatelectronic banking has generatedsome hiccups in the economy.However, the policy is a means to curbour excesses and eradicate corruptionin the country,” she said.

According to Mr. Harrison Owoh,Chief Executive Officer, H.J TrustBureau De Change, “The reductionin limit would minimise the variousabuses associated with the use ofNaira debit card overseas, like roundtripping. He noted that some peopleuse the card to withdraw dollarsabroad at cheaper exchange rate, andthen import the dollars and exchangethem at higher exchange rate.

Banks commence implementationMeanwhile, banks have

commenced implementation of thereduction in limit on Naira debit card

Continues on page 22

Mixed reactions traillimit on debit cards

CMYK


Economy

Continues from page 22

for overseas transactions byinforming their customersabout the new limits

For example, GTBank in anemail message to itscustomers said, “We write toinform you of the CentralBank of Nigeria’s (CBN)decision to reduce the Foreignexchange spending limit onNaira MasterCard from$150,000 to $50,000 perannum.

This means that you canspend up to $50,000 in a yearusing your GTBank NairaMasterCard when abroad(shopping online at foreignstores, ATMs and POS). Inaddition, the daily cashwithdrawal limit for the NairaMasterCard has also beenreduced to $300 per day.Please see below the newlimits for both spending usingyour Naira MasterCard andcash withdrawal abroad”.

Similarly, First CityMonument Bank (FCMB),informed its customers via anemail message saying, “DearCustomer, the new foreignexchange spending limits onyour FCMB card is shownbelow. This means that whenyou are abroad, you can onlyspend up to $50,000 or itsequivalent annually(shopping online at foreignstores, ATMs and POS). Inaddition, the daily cashwithdrawal limit for FCMBcards have also been reducedto $300 or its equivalent perday.”

Limit not applicable toDomiciliary Accounts

Meanwhile, there areindications that the reductionin limit is beingmisinterpreted to include useof Naira debit cards for localtransactions and, also debitcards linked to Domiciliaryaccounts.

Indications to this effectemerged from a circularissued by the CBN, Directorof Trade and ExchangeDepartment, Mr. OlalekanGbadamosi. The circular titled,“Clarification on Circular ofApril 13, 2015. Re: Usage ofNaira Denominated CardsOverseas, stated, “It has beenobserved that some sections ofthe public are giving differentinterpretations to the recentcircular on the usage of Nairadebit denominated debit cardsoverseas. It has thereforebecome necessary to providethe following clarifications:

For the avoidance of doubt,the circular refers to nairadenominated cards (debit andcredit) to be used overseas only.Debit/Credit cards used locallyare not affected by this circular.Debit/Credit cards linked tocustomers' DomiciliaryAccount to be used overseas arenot also affected. Authoriseddealers are to take note andbring this to the attention oftheir respective customers.”

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

Mixed reactions trail limit ondebit cards

35 ships laden with fuel, otherproducts, berth in Lagos

Thirty-five ships areexpected to arrive in

Lagos Ports with fooditems, petroleum productsand other goods from lastweek Thursday to May 10,according to the NigerianPorts Authority (NPA). TheNPA said in Lagos that theships would sail in withgeneral cargo, palmoilein, bulk, sugar,ethanol, bulk gypsum,bulk wheat, bulk fertiliser,bulk rice, second-handvehicles, petrol and fresh

fish. It said five ships laden withrice, crude palm oilein and bulkmalt had already arrived at theports waiting to berth. The NPAalso indicated that nine otherships had sailed in with petrol.

“Five more ships carrying baseoil, kerosene, aviation fuel anddiesel are also waiting to berth.Another 25 ships are currentlyat the ports, discharging crudepalm oilein, bulk rice, buckwheat, general cargo,containers, bulk sugar, bulkgypsum, petrol, bulk gas andkerosene,” it said.

Deutsche Bank fined record $2.5 billion inrate rigging inquiry

U.S. and Britishregulators fined

Deutsche Bank $2.5 billionand its British subsidiarypleaded guilty to criminalwire fraud as it became theeighth financial group tosettle allegations of rigginginterest rate benchmarks.

The record penalty in aseven-year investigation thathas shredded the bankingindustry’s reputation takesthe total fines imposed onsome of the world’s topfinancial institutions to morethan $8.5 billion. Twenty-one

traders and brokers facecriminal charges.

U.S. regulators finedGermany ’s largest bank$2.175 billion and Britishwatchdogs imposed a 227million pound ($341 million)penalty for its role in a scamto manipulate the LondonInterbank Offered Rate(Libor) and its Euribor cousin- together benchmarks forhundreds of trillions of dollarsof financial products andloans worldwide.

Britain’s Financial ConductAuthority (FCA) said the

misconduct involved at least29 Deutsche Bankindividuals includingmanagers, traders andsubmitters based mainly inLondon but also in Frankfurt,Tokyo and New York.

It accused Deutsche Bankof inadequate systems andcontrols, failing to providetimely, accurate informationand misleading the UKwatchdog by claiming itsGerman regulator BaFin hadprevented it from sharing areport, when this wasuntrue.

Promasidor delighted withentries for 2015 QuillAwards

Promasidor NigeriaLimited, makers of

Cowbell, Loya, Toptea andOnga and, promoters ofthe prestigious QuillAwards in Nigeria, hasexpressed delight at thenumber and quality ofentries submitted so far forthis year’s edition of theawards.

In an interview in Lagos,the company’s Head ofLegal and PublicRelations, Mr. AndrewEnahoro, disclosed thatwith barely a week left forthe entries to close,journalists working withnational and regionalnewspapers in the countryare still rushing in theirentries on a daily basis.

He noted that the trendof the entries received anduploaded since January 29

2015, when the call for entriesopened shows that journalistshave keen interest in the sevenaward categories which areBrand Advocate of the year;CSR/Industry Report of theyear; Best Photo story of theyear; Best Report on Nutrition;Best Report on Children;Education Reporter of the year;and Future Writer of the year.

Enahoro said: “For each of thecategories, a winner willemerge. Winners from each ofthe categories with the exceptionof the winner of the Best PhotoStory of the Year will be givenhigh-end laptops while thewinner of the Best Photo Storyof the Year will be given a high-end camera. The overall winnerof all categories will proceed ona four-week certificate course inJournalism at the highlyacclaimed ThompsonFoundation in the U.K.

British Airways offerssummer discountsBritish Airways has

announced discountsfor the coming summerfares in its Club World,World Traveller and WorldTraveller Plus to a range ofworldwide destinationsfrom Lagos and Abuja,Nigeria. The discountsapply to all existing andpotential customers ofBritish Airways, who wantto get great deals on flightsto the United Kingdom,Europe or North Americawhen booked from 16thApril to 15th May, 2015 andfor outbound travel from16th April to 30thNovember, 2015.

With this offer, WorldTraveller customers can flyto Europe from $257 and toNorth America from $541.Customers on the World

Traveller Plus however can flywith $1,585 to North Americaand those on the Club World canfly from $3,599.

Commenting on thediscounts, British Airways,Regional Commercial Manager,West Africa, Kola Olayinka, saidthe latest offer was in line withthe company’s desire to offergreat deals to customers desirousof spending as well ascelebrating with their familymembers and friends abroadduring the summer period.

Olayinka added, “We arealways determined to offer ourcustomers good value for theirmoney and continuously supportthem with amazing discounts,especially during the summer,when most of them will betravelling outside the country tosee their loved ones.”


Economy

CMYK

APCON to support creativity initiatives

The AdvertisingP r a c t i t i o n e r sCouncil of Nigeria

(APCON) has pledged tocontinue to support creativeinitiatives in the advertisingindustry in order toencourage talented youngindividuals. APCONRegistrar, Mr Garba Kankarofi,told the News Agency ofNigeria (NAN) in Lagos thatthe council would also supportinstitutions where advertisingpractitioners work.

“We have so many talented

youths and individuals in theindustry that need to beencouraged to bring out thebest in them. The advertising

industry is a creativeindustry that requiresvisions, ideas, concepts andtalents to carry out their

works, “ Kankarofi said. Theregistrar said that thecouncil hosted a MassCommunication student of

the University of Lagos, MissSimileOluwa Fayombo, threeweeks ago.

“The student is the awardwinner of Roger HatchuelAcademy based in the UnitedKingdom. The competitionwas organised among masscommunication students invarious institutions within andoutside Nigeria. We in APCONare proud of such a winnerfrom Nigeria and I am indeedsure that Nigeria will also beproud of her, “ he said.Kankarofi said that APCONwould not relent in supportingany individual, group andinstitutions that would makethe industry to flourish.

Gemalto launches software to protect bankcustomers from online fraud

Gemalto, a digital securityfirm launched its newly

integrated transactionmonitoring software, the EzioDynamic Fraud Manager,which is used to track fraud

related bank transactions.The company, in a statement,said that the new software hadthe capacity to protect bankcustomers from fraud and givethem a unique user

experience.“The Ezio Dynamic Fraud

Manager enables real-timecalculation of the actual riskof individual onlinetransactions.

To ensure that Nigeria’sgrowth can be wide,inclusive and

sustained, the incomingMuhammadu Buhariadministration must focus onbuilding infrastructure,institutions and people.Nigeria has big infrastructuregaps, which represented hugecosts to businesses and topeople. Over the past threedecades, per capita output ofelectricity in Nigeriaremained virtually flat. Only16 per cent of all roads arepaved, compared with 58 percent in South Asia. Theinvestment needs to addressthis is in the region of billionsof dollars.

Good enough, Buharirealises that Nigeria needs toimprove governance,transparency and createsound economic frameworksfor growth which is buildinginstitutions. Buildinginstitutions rather thanindividual office holders bythe government, would ensurethat revenues and benefitsfrom mineral resources couldbe better captured for nationalbudgets and generating morejobs. Nigeria needs to buildpeople to reap the dividendsof its rapid population growth.An increase by even onepercentage point in theworking age population couldboost GDP growth by half apercentage point. For this tohappen, however, good jobsneed to be created in theprivate sector.

Today, only one in fivepeople in Nigeria finds workin the formal sector. This mustchange. With wider access toquality education, healthcareand infrastructure services,Nigeria can change all of that.

Buhari does not need amagic wand to achieve this.In the nation’s archive arevolumes of developmentplans that long charted a pathtowards these lofty economicgoals or ideals.

The nation’s set objectives inthe third National

What Buhari must do to moveeconomy forward (2)

development plan are whatNigerians are clamouring fortoday.

The plan had envisagedincrease in real income of theaverage Nigerian; evendistribution of income amongindividuals and socialeconomic groups in thecountry; reduction in the levelof unemployment; increase inthe supply ofhigh levelm a n p o w e r ;reduction oft h edependence ofthe economyon a narrowrange ofa c t i v i t i e s ;b a l a n c e ddevelopment –t h eachievement ofbetter balancein the development of thedifferent sectors of theeconomy and variousgeographical areas of thecountry; increasedparticipation by Nigerians inthe ownership andmanagement of the productiveenterprises; greater self-reliance, that is increaseddependence on internalresources in seeking toachieve the variousobjectives of society.

What is required of theBuhari administration isincreased efforts to achieveoptimum utilisation ofNigeria’s human and materialresources; development of

technology; reduction inrural-urban migration; thepromotion of a new nationalorientation conducive togreater discipline, betterattitude to work and cleanerenvironment.

The main economic thrust ofthe Buhari administrationshould be in the direction ofincreased self-reliance and

considerable reduction ofNigeria’s continueddependence on the externalsector in general and thePetroleum sector in particular.If Buhari pursues theseobjectives rigorously, Nigeriawould no longer be playing acatch up game in the globaleconomy.

Buhari needs to returnNigeria to its roots, plans,strategies and push tobecome relevant in the eyesof other nations. This willrequire greater sacrifices ashe has told his politicalfriends and foes especially interms of establishedconsumption habits if

resources are to be freed forpressing development needs.There will be no room forsubsidy. It must free resourcesfor development. This strategywill demand a greater spirit ofinnovation, hard work, andgreater utilisation of domesticresources and in particular, theinvolvement of the massesespecially at the local level in

perceived as fairly deliveringbasic services to all Nigeriansrather than prioritising itsown constituency.Moreover, Buhari will haveto be inclusive and avoid thepitfall that many Africancountries still suffer - that ofpolitical rather than merit-based appointment togovernment positions thatrequire technical skills. Aqualified and dedicatedcabinet will have to beestablished if the social,economic and politicalchallenges of Nigeria are to beaddressed and eventuallyeradicated.

Although the Nigerianeconomy seems to be growing,the economic growth benefitshave failed to trickle down tothe larger population. Arecent study points out thatconsidering Nigeria's incomeper capita only, nothing haschanged since 1970.Nevertheless, the country hasbecome much richer thanks tothe exploitation of its oilresources. Thus, despitebeing the biggest economy inAfrica, Nigeria ranks 160 outof 177 countries on the scaleof the Human DevelopmentIndex (HDI). The wealthremains concentrated within afew individuals, most of whomhave strong politicalconnections. This has tochange and that is the realchange Nigerians areyearning for.

the developmentprocess.

Buhari must make aconscious effort tomobilise the Nigerianmasses for theimplementation of thenew Nigeria vision. IfChina couldsuccessfully mobiliseits populace to achievethe second largesteconomy position outof obscurity, yes,Nigeria can. Nigeria

and China have certain thingsin common, a growingpopulation, an emergingmiddle class that constitutesa huge market for industrialproducts and a huge landmass. Yes, Nigeria can moveinto the league of topeconomies of the world. Allthat Nigeria needs is aneffective leadership. LikePeter Drucker said: “Effectiveleadership is not about makingspeeches or being liked;leadership is defined byresults not attributes.

For Nigeria to succeed inthis regard, the newgovernment must be

Buhari needs to returnNigeria to its roots, plans,

strategies and push tobecome relevant in the eyes

of other nations; this willrequire greater sacrifices as

he has told his politicalfriends and foes


CMYK

Business & Economy

Mark OkpanachiOgah

“Buhari`s victory will boostinvestors' confidence inNigeria. In the last 16 years,the Nigerian government hasbeen ruled by highly corruptpeople in office, but with theemergence of Buhari and hiszero-tolerance for corruption,our institutions will bestrengthened.

Because Buhari is assertive,strong-willed and above all,experienced, which is themother of all lessons, there willbe very minimal if any negativeinfluence or any form ofGodfatherism, which has beena bane in the Nigerian politicalcircle.”

Glenn Davies,Singapore:

Mr. Buhari’s election is agame changer for

Nigeria and for Africa as awhole. The very nature of howthis election was won shines apositive light on Africa’s largesteconomy and sends a clearsignal to the rest of thecontinent. Not only does theelection mark the first time anincumbent president has lost are-election in Nigeria, but it hasdone so without violence,although this still remains ahigh risk. This is a great startto what I believe will beNigeria’s turning pointmoving forward.

Buhari stands for change andthis is exactly what Nigerianeeds. Nigeria’s growth hasbeen impressive to watch anda prodigious place to dobusiness over the pastfew years. More recentlythough, this growth has slowedand the country marred byharrowing violence and the riseof extremist insurgents. MrBuhari will need some ‘quickwins’ to settle the country'snerves and prove why he waselected. First priority on thecards will be to carefully andstrategically choose his team -this will be key to his success. Then shortly after look toaddress the main issuesheadlining being Security anddefeating BokoHaram, addressing falling Oilprices - countering this withnew positive stimulatingmeasures, and of course,commencing the arduousand incredibly challengingprocess of ridding the countryof corruption. I feel Mr Buharican then focus on some morepositive key initiatives such asbetter infrastructure, industrydiversification and creatingnew jobs and opportunities.

There’s no doubt that Mr

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

Buhari’s success will havegiven Nigeria new credibilityon the African andinternational stage. This willtranslate into heightenedinterest fromneighbouring countries and international allies keen to workwith Nigeria, and willbe extremely positive for theeconomy overall.

But it won’t be an easy road -monumental challenges lieahead. I don’t think Mr Buharin e e d sto overcomplicate thingsthough to make a realdifference in Nigeria. If hesimply only focused on twoissues - Security andCorruption - he will go downin the history books andNigeria will overnight be abetter place. Getting these tworight will rev up the economyand let the world know Nigeriais open for business.

Glenn Davies is Group CEOof Inigmah

Leopold Ebegbuna

Leopold Ebegbuna: "I seeMuhammadu Buhari

struggling to redress Nigeria’smajor challenges. ThePresident-elect promised anend to the Boko Haraminsurgency that has killedthousands of Nigerians andforced over a million to become

Internally Displaced Persons,IDPs. He campaigned on areputation as an anti-corruptioncrusader, and made populistpledges such as stipends forpoor people and health care forall, etc.

The reality is that by the time

etc.Fulfilling his election promise

of change will be herculeanespecially starting with thosewho sponsored and supportedhis election within his party.My concern is that his abilityto deal with these individuals,who are perceived to becorrupt, will determine hissuccess at the macro level.

Besides, at 72 years, largelynot cerebral, and largely out oftune with the principles ofmodern day economic indicesand technology, I see himstruggling to redress Nigeria’smajor challenges. He is likelyto be overwhelmed by themleading to slowing down in theprocesses and in somecircumstances, abdicatingresponsibilities. Yes, Buharimay be pious, it remains to beseen his capability for curingNigeria’s challenges especiallycorruption and insecurity. Heis not likely to have theresources to fully execute hiscampaign promises ofuniversal health care, monthly$25 payments to vulnerablepeople and defeating BokoHaram, etc. With the oilaccounting for over 70% of totalrevenue, now around $50 perbarrel, he will battle withincreasing tax, improving thecurrency, the external reserve,etc. The result is likely to besome form of austerity - bigsocial spending programmes,such as universal health care,may have to wait, the task ofrebuilding the northeast,crucial to putting an end toBoko Haram, may be difficult.If he can reduce the wage billof politicians and civil servants,who alone account for the hugerecurrent expenditure, he willremain very popular among themasses.

Leopold Ebegbuna is MD/CEO of Rising Light GlobalCompany

Prince A. OlumuyiwaLatunde,

I campaigned and voted fora candidate with a good

pedigree in the person of Gen.Buhari. I’m glad this changehas finally come and withoutsounding too spiritual, Godhas a purpose in this and it’smy prayer that we, asNigerians will not miss itagain. His election marks a newbeginning and turning pointfor so many things, notablyaddressing the issue of stealingpublic funds with impunity andreducing waste across theboard. This must stop.

Buhari is a true Nigerian, aleader of repute; leadershipcorrects many things becauseof its features such as

prudence, integrity, boldness,calmness, good decision-making because of goodlistening, religious and mosttimes, they don’t come withtoo many words but actions.Our new President is notlacking in any of thesequalities. We haveexperienced him in “Khaki”and now “Babariga.” Heshould be a rallying point tounite Nigeria and get everyonecommitted. God bless the lateDora Akunyili, it’s time to havea genuine rebranding.

Once again, in the comity ofAfrican Nations, Nigeria willtake her place and set a goodexample for others to follow;build infrastructure andgenuine base that justifies thelargest economy in Africathrough aggressive production,mechanized farming anddeveloping human capital likeIndia that will measure up toany job in this global villageinstead of drugs and internetfraud.

Prince A. OlumuyiwaLatunde, President,Emilaug Energy

Andrew Diack, SouthAfrica

It is saddening that we asAfricans celebrate a

peaceful transition which in thisday and age, should be thenorm. In a positive light, greatprogress was made andhopefully indicates a brighterfuture. A major concern is BokoHaram and hopefully will bedealt with decisively.

I’m not that informed of thenew incoming president(Muhammadu Buhari). Whatare his aspirations/goals forNigeria and the region? Is hesomeone of honour/integritywho is committed to makingthe transition? What supportdoes he have from hisministers and are they capableof delivering? These are allquestions I currently don’thave a viewpoint on. As for medoing business in Nigeria, thatis my goal. About time westarted utilising our resourcesto make this continent thepower house it should be.”

Andrew Diack,Founding Member,Cyber Logistics

Culled from Africa BusinessPanel with over 14,000members. This is thelargest Online B2BMarket Research Panel inAfrica. Membersare guaranteed a largeamount of privileges. Ona regular basis, weconsult African CEOsabout their views onbusiness.

Mark Okpanachi

•Glenn Davies

•Leopold Ebegbuna

•Andrew Diack,

Buhari takes office at the endof May, he’ll inherit a treasurydepleted by the global drop inthe price of oil, Nigeria’sbiggest export, he will be leftto figure out how to put an endto Boko Haram insurgency,the IDPs, fighting theentrenched corrupt practiceswhich had flourished for years,

He will battle withincreasing tax,improving thecurrency, theexternal reserve,etc. The result islikely to be someform of austerity -big social spendingprogrammes, suchas universal healthcare, may have towait


Business & Economy

Seplat PetroleumD e v e l o p m e n t

Company Plc, FBN Capitaland London Stock Exchange, LSE alongside aconsortium of other Nigerianbanks have struck a $1.4billion seven years securedterm facility acquisition deal.

The new facility, alongsidea new US$300 million threeyear secured revolvingcredit facility providedconcurrently byinternational banks,refinanced Seplat’s existing

NIPC boss blames protest on directors,insists on change

BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU

The change processsweeping through theNigerian Investment

Promotion Commission(NIPC) may not have gonedown well with some directorsof the Commission whomwere alleged to haveinstigated the recent protestagainst the ExecutiveManagement of the agency.NIPC’s Executive Secretary,Mrs. Saratu Umar toldJournalists at a press briefingin Abuja Wednesday, thatsome key directors of theCommission that are not intune with her change process,are fomenting trouble in theoffice so they can cover uptheir activities in the company.

She said that some directorswere indicted by theCommission’s audit of itsaccount books and want tofrustrate her effort at all costin order to prevent beingexposed and prosecuted.

She told the Media that thefindings of the audit findingsrevealed that several millionof naira were misused by thedirectors who spurred the staffto kick against her.

She however deniedspending or contracting heroffice furniture which theprotesters alleged gulped overN30 million, adding that heroffice is still as it was whenshe assumed office

According to her “My officeis still the way I met it when Iassumed duty; I have notchanged anything. Anybodycan walk in and see forhimself. I felt there werepressing issues that neededattention, so I did not spendany N35 million furnishingmy office. That you canconfirm. Repositioning theagency for optimal servicedelivery is my top priority butthose who are used to the oldways of doing things are theones misinforming the staff.”

She also denied issuingqueries to staff, stating that itis not her responsibility to dothat whilst the Director ofAdministration is there to seeto that.

She explained that some ofthe staff members allegedlyqueried by the director incharge of Human Resources,Mr Mutawali Kukawa, wereactually those found to beperpetual late comers,pointing out that nomanagement would condoneany act of indiscipline by itsworkers.

Though, she admitted errorsin the queries issued as somestaff that had proceeded on

leave were also not spared.“The Director, Human

Resources, told me that it wasjust a memo he issued seekingexplanation on why theaffected staff should come towork late or even absentthemselves from work for days.But I pointed out to him thatthose on leave were alsoincluded, which should not beso because they have genuinereasons for being away, so itis unfair to punish them and Iasked him to go and correctthat”

“On the issue of query, I saidthey needed to make it more

explicit, that it was not a querybut memo, because we aretrying to avoid them thinkingit was a query becausesomebody will ask, if it was aquery why am I withdrawingit? But today, we wereexpecting to conclude thematter, only to come and findthe gate locked, and that tellsme that the indicted directorsare bent on causing problemsbecause the issues raised havebeen exhaustivelyaddressed.”

Umar further explained thatthe Director was working toredress that when the protest

started. “I can understand theagitation of the staff, becausethe message was wronglyconveyed; there was acommunication gap whichthe indicted directorsexploited”.

Umar further debunked theallegation that she issuedover 150 queries to staff, andthat about 600 files werelying on her table unattendedto since November 2014 notuntil she got hint of theprotest before she shed offsome of the files on her table.

Seplat , FBN Capital, others close $1.4bnloan facility

BY PRINCEWILLEKWUJURU

debt portfolio to ensure arobust capital structure andstrategically position theCompany for future oil andgas acquisition opportunitiesin Nigeria.

Commenting on thetransaction, Austin Avuru,Chief Executive Officer ofSeplat, noted “We are pleasedto have extended our bankingrelationships with severalexisting and new lenders,both Nigerian andinternational. This successfulre-financing, whichcommenced several monthsago, significantly enhancesour already robust capitalstructure and underscores thequality of our asset base”.

Kayode Akinkugbe,Managing Director of FBNCapital Limited said: “FBNCapital is very proud of theinstrumental role it playedin assisting Seplat tostructure the local financingto optimize its capitalstructure”. He went furtherto state that the FBNHoldings Group isdelighted to assist thegrowth of indigenous oil &gas companies within thesector and will continue todeploy its extensive debtarranging experience andstructuring expertise inexecuting complex androbust transactions in recordtime”.

Itua PackintroducesGerman fluxpumptechnology toNigeria

I tua Pack Limited, apioneer of product

processing and packagingtechnology industry in Nigeriahas introduced German fluxpump technology into thecountry.

Flux is a world renownedbrand for the higheststandards in pumptechnology. It all started in1950 when the Germancompany first manufacturedelectric barrel pumpsaccording to its own designsand patents. Continuallyincreasing customer demandsstimulate the company policyof ongoing development ofnew, high quality pumps tomeet various market needs.

Today FLUX-GERATEGMBH offers a wide range ofproducts which can beconfigured individually. Forinstance Flux pumps are usedin the chemical andpharmaceutical industry, inmachine and plantconstruction and in electro-plating companies, in sewagetreatment plants and in thefood industry. Whether as astand-alone or a systemsolution, Flux quality meanslong useful life, excellenteconomic efficiency and amaximum of safety.

According to the ServiceEngineer of the company Mr.Akinyemi Awodele each ofthese products has its specificfunctions, which heenumerated thus: Mixers –offers a complete range ofmixers for agitating, mixing,dissolving, stirring anddiluting low to mediumviscosity liquids. The completerange of mixers is based on amodular design, allowing theuser to select the individualcomponent part to meet itsspecific requirement; FlowMeters – maximummeasurement accuracy, ensureabsolute safety, control andreliability in liquid handlingbe it manual, automatic orcomputerized dispensingoperation of different liquids;Vertical Centrifugal ImmersionPumps – with high deliveryrates centrifugal immersionpumps combine maximumefficiency with a robust andreliable construction, resultingin a pump that provides theultimate in process security,especially for transferringcorrosive or abrasive fluids.

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


Banking & Finance

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

BVN will boost retail credit—NIBSS CEO

The Bank VerificationNumber (BVN)initiative will help to

boost retail credit in thebanking industry by helpingbanks to identify andblacklist fraudulentcustomers,

Managing Director of theNigeria InterbankSettlement System (NIBSS),Mr. Ade Shonubi, who isresponsible for theimplementation of the BVN,stated this in a statement,explaining that once banksare able to identify andblacklist fraudulentcustomers, they would beencouraged to extend loans to those customersthat are credit worthy and do not have any record ofbeing delinquent borrowers.

The BVN is an initiativeaimed at protecting bankcustomers and furtherstrengthening the Nigerianbanking system. It is aninitiative of the Central Bankof Nigeria (CBN), inconjunction with theBankers’ Committee meantto address the safety ofcustomers’ funds, avoidslosses through compromiseof personal identificationnumbers and other criminalactivities in the industry.

Shonubi noted that apartfrom the challenge ofidentifying customers, amajor hindrance to retailcredit in the Nigerianenvironment was theperception that mostNigerians are crooks whowould look for ways of

failing to repay loans. Hepointed out that the BVNwould address this problemby helping to identify anddistinguishing fraudulentNigerians from law abidingand honest citizens.

He said, “When the BVNproject came up, there werethree key things. First and

most important of all is for usto identify our customers andto identify them uniquelyacross banks and acrossaccounts. So, once you haveBVN, even if you have 10bank accounts, it is the sameBVN that will be tied to thebank accounts. Now, relatingto identifying is the possibility

of banks blacklisting peoplewho have committed financialinfractions. It could befraudsters; it could be peoplewho have gone to forgedocuments because whathappens today is that thesame guy will go to a bank,commits fraud, then runs toanother bank and becausethere is no way of tying allthese activities across. So, wefound out that there werequite a lot of losses related tothese individuals from onebank to another.

Consequently, he said theBVN would allow lendersbegin to build retail credit. Heexplained: “This is becausea concern for bank is, if I lendyou money now and you goaway, how do I identify you?So, you find that the entireretail consumer lending is topeople with formalemployment, that is why yousee everybody running to theoil companies to say ‘let’sgive your staff car loan; let’sgive your staff consumerloan; let’s give your staff TVloans.’ But there are a lot ofself-employed peopleworking in smallerorganisations, who shouldalso benefit. “Nobody wantsto take the risk on thembecause if they resign todayand run off, how are yougoing to get your money?Once they have bankaccounts, the BVN allows usto identify them.”

Sterling Bank partners firms to boosteducation

Sterling Bank Plc hassigned a

memorandum ofunderstanding (MoU) withsome firms in the educationsector to digitise andsimplify learning process atall levels of education.

The partnership is also tomake the learning solutionsaffordable for students inprimary, secondary andtertiary education levels.

Some of the partnersinclude HR & P Solutions,Netlibrary Nigeria Limited,QC-Investment Limited andthe DFID-DeepenProgramme.

Speaking at an event heldin Lagos, the ExecutiveDirector, Finance &Strategy, Sterling Bank, Mr.Abubakar Suleiman notedthat fundamental to the

progress of any nation iseducation.

He said the objective of theinitiative is to transformeducation and make it ‘sexy’again for people to want toinvest in education and alsofor start-up companies to seeeducation as where there is aclear demand.

The bank’s executivedirector added: “The idea isto digitise all the educationalcontents and make it cheaperfor the students to afford. Weare to develop devices thatwould provide digitalsolutions for student.

“We also recognise that thegovernment does not have theresources. There is nowherein the world where thegovernment provides all theneeds of the society. So, it isclear that as some point,financial intermediation is

required. We have alsolooked at our partners andthey have the same desire.

“Most of them are trying totake advantage of moderntechnology, firstly, to make itcheaper and more affordablefor people to access education.Secondly to also make surethat we are providing therelevant education because asthings evolve, if you stay withthe traditional educationalmethods, you will not beprepared for the new world.

“Like every partnership, thisis not charity. Sterling Bankis not a charity organisation,neither is any of our partners.The intention is notsustainable unless there is asound economic logic behindit. So, whatever we are doingis to make sure that five yearsfrom now, this partnership issomething that is stillongoing.

Fidelity staffdonate watertreatment toNigerian Navy

Staff of Fidelity BankPlc. working under the

auspices of the FidelityHelping Hands Programme(FHHP), a special vehicle forthe Bank’s Corporate SocialResponsibility (CSR) practiceconstructed water treatmentplant and donated computersand other office equipment tothe Nigerian Naval MedicalCentre, Naval Dockyard,Victoria Island. Lagos.

Commissioning the project,Managing Director/ChiefExecutive Officer, FidelityBank Plc. Nnamdi Okonkwosaid that the Bank, as asocially responsibleinstitution, takes pride in itshumble accomplishment inentrenching the culture oftrue and responsiblecitizenship among staffmembers through regulartraining programmes andintegration exercises in theBank’s various businessoffices. “It is this passion forour country and our peoplethat has motivated the staffdriven initiative which wefondly call the FidelityHelping Hands Programme”.

Commending the bank forthe donation, AdmiralSuperintendent, NavalDockyard Limited, RearAdmiral SylvanusChinweuba, who representedthe Chief of Naval Staff, saidthat the donation is ademonstration of thecommitment of Fidelity Bankto the welfare of itscommunity. He assured thatthe equipment would bejudiciously used andencouraged the bank toextend this gesture to otherareas of the armed force.

While commending the staffof the Human ResourcesDivision of the Bank, who intheir little corners,contributed their widow’smite to construct the watertreatment plant and provideoffice equipment for theNaval Medical Centre,Okonkwo noted that FidelityBank is the only bank in thecountry where staff memberscontribute their salaries toembark on projects thatimpact on the lives of theirhost communities.

“Fidelity Bank strives toreinforce strong, healthyCommunity Relations byidentifying with communitiesin activities that are mostrelevant to them.

BY BABAJIDEKOMOLAFE


Banking & Finance

Ecobank Rapid Transferhas been named the

official money transfer servicefor the 3rd Okpekpe 10kmroad race scheduled for May16th in Okpekpe town, in EdoState. The Okpekpe Race,now an InternationalAssociation of AthleticsFederation (IAAF) BronzeLabel Race will attract over3000 local and internationalprofessional athletes. Alsosports enthusiasts from acrossthe world are beingexpected.

Announcing the bank’spremium partnership inLagos, Ecobank’s DeputyManaging Director, TonyOkpanachi, said the EcobankRapid Transfer is best suitedfor the competition that hasgrown to have globalrecognition.

According to Mr.Okpanachi, the EcobankRapid Transfer is aninnovative money transferservices available withinNigeria and countries inAfrica where Ecobank ispresent. “The service wasconceived out of the need toprovide quick, convenient,accessible, and reliablemoney transfer services forcustomers and non-customersof the bank”.

Okpanachi is optimistic thatthe Ecobank Rapid Transferwill provide the much-needed ease of financialtransactions during and afterthe competition, and urged allthe participants to availthemselves of theopportunities provided by thebank.

In his words: “This is anEcobank proprietary sendand receive money transferproduct available in allEcobank branches in Nigeria.The product allows you tosend and receive moneywhere Ecobank has itsfootprint within Nigeria andin over 36 countries in Africa.It is our way of supportingthis international race to easethe burden of fund transfer. ”

The Rapid Transfer hereiterated is very suitable forsports men and women,schools/students, travelers,parents, foreign nationalsresiding in Nigeria.

The Okpekpe Race whichholds on May 16 has receivedendorsements from local andinternational athletes as wellas governments across thecontinents of the world.

Ecobank’smoney transferservice forOkpekpe RoadRace

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

Council moves to ensure best practicein banks’ IT Standards

The Council ofInformation Technology

Standards (IT StandardsCouncil) in the bankingindustry has commencedmoves to ensure global bestpractices in the way banksdeploy and use of informationtechnology to drive theirservices.

The Council is reviewing theIT Standards Blueprint toalign with current realities andtrends and is also planning todrive an industry wideremediation exercise on thegaps identified during thebaseline assessment that wasconducted last year on thebanks.

Indication to this emergedwhen Deputy Governor,Operations, Central Bank ofNigeria, Alhaji SuleimanBarau met with the outgoingIT Standards Councilmembers to discuss theactivities of the Council andprogress made against theirmandate within the last twoyears.

The need to define IT

Standards for the industry arosein 2010 during the Industryinfrastructure transformationprogramme where the CBN inconjunction with the BankersCommittee sought to identifyways to reduce the significanthigh cost to income ratios ofBanks within the industry aswell as improve operational

efficiency. This transformationprogramme is coordinated bythe Shared Services Office inthe Central Bank of Nigeria andis the driver of the collaborativestrategic response by theFinancial Services Industry torealize reduction in theindustry annual cost base.

IT which is the key driver of

banking was however laggingglobal best practices; limitingbanking operating efficiency,cost effectiveness, regulatoryinformation and riskmanagement practices. Toaddress this gap and provideguidelines for application andutilization of InformationTechnology, Industry ITStandards were defined toarticulate and provide a pointof reference for the utilizationof IT. The IT Standards cutacross different IT capabilityareas and include those toimprove information security, ITservice management, andsystems availability andinformation exchange.

The achievements of the ITStandards Council within thelast 2 years include: the releaseand publishing of the ITStandards Blueprint to Industryin January 2014 and the hostingof the blueprint on the CBNwebsite; The development ofan aggregate rating system thatwill be used to rate thecompliance of banksindividually and as an industryto these Standards; And lLastlythe conduct of a Baselineassessment of three priorities 1IT Standards on the DepositMoney Banks (DMB) todetermine their level ofcompliance to the Standards.Barau commended the Councilon their achievements andassured them of his continuedsupport and the support of theCBN. He reiterated that themandate given to the Councilwas an important one andwould go a long way to drivethe adoption of world class ITStandards in the NigeriaFinancial Services Industry,enabling the Industry reap thefull benefits of its investmentsin Information Technology.

First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited,a subsidiary of FCMB Group Plc has

intensified its quest for low cost funds by acquiring500,000 new customers in its operating year endedDecember 31st 2014. Meanwhile Shareholders ofthe FCMB Group has approved the payment of acash dividend of 25 kobo per ordinary share, forthe year ended December 31, 2014.

Speaking at the AGM, the Chairman of FCMBGroup, Dr. Jonathan Long, stated that the Group,which comprises First City Monument BankLimited, FCMB Capital Markets Limited and CSLStockbrokers Limited, ‘’has achieved a strong andsustained growth over the past three years”,adding that during the past year, the Groupcontinued the profitable development of its corebanking, capital markets and stock-brokingbusinesses”. This he added is reflected in thehuge number of customers acquired by FCMBLimited during the year.

Also speaking at the AGM, the GroupManaging Director/Chief Executive of First CityMonument Bank Limited, Mr. Ladi Balogun,pointed out that the Bank made considerableprogress on the priorities it set out last year,including accelerating market share in retailbanking, primarily through consumer finance;enhanced investment in customer experience asa means of growing customer base andcontainment of operating expense.

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

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

borrowing customers during the year withloan disbursements which demonstrates thebroad impact we are having on theeconomy”. According to him, the Bank alsoprovided greater convenience for its retailcustomers by rolling out 245 new ATMs, justas it migrated more customers to alternatechannels.

Balogun told the shareholders that, ‘’weare very much on course to build a dominantretail banking business well diversifiedacross lending, savings deposits,bancassurance and payments. Overall, weare confident this progress and momentumwill be sustained, as we continue to growour market share through service excellenceand improve our efficiency ratios”.

Commenting on the development and thefinancial statements of the Group, theCoordinator of Independent ShareholdersAssociation of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir SunnyNwosu, commended the Board andManagement of FCMB Group Plc for theperformance and dividend payment, despitethe particularly challenging operatingenvironment for banks in 2014. He addedthat, ‘’the increase in the Group’s profit fromN16b in 2013 to N22b in 2014 iscommendable. It is a clear signal that thingsare looking up. We are also happy thatFCMB has emerged as a strong player inretail banking and from what we have seenso far, we are optimistic that the Bank willcontinue to wax stronger”.

BY BABAJIDEKOMOLAFE


Corporate Finance

302 capital market operatorsmeet new capital baserequirements… 144 operators yet to comply

About 302 capitalm a r k e toperators have so

far complied with the newcapital base as directed bythe apex capital marketregulator, Securities andExchange Commission,SEC .

The commission hadannounced a new capitalbase for the variouscategories of capital marketoperators, in which

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

According to the latest dataobtained from the SEC, out of449 registered capital marketoperators, 302 operators havemet the new capital base ,representing 67 per centcompliance, while 144operators are yet to meet thenew capital requirement.

Details showed that out of235 registered Broker/Dealer,135 operators have met thenew capital, representing 57per cent compliance, while 98

operators are yet to comply;For Issuing Houses, out of 72operators, 66 operators havemet the new capital,representing 92 per centcompliance, while six are yetto comply; For Registrar, outof 22 operators, 15 have metthe new capital base,representing 68 per cent,while seven are yet to comply;For Trustees, out of 28operators, 12 have met thecapital base, representing 43per cent compliance; ForRating Agency, Out of fiveoperators, three have met the

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

Commenting on therecapitalisation issue, theActing Director General,SEC, Mr. Mournir Gwarzosaid, the operators are allaware of the graciousextension the SEC Boardgranted. We set up a marketCommittee comprising SEC,Nigerian Stock Exchange,NSE and Central SecuritiesClearing System, CSCSwhich have been workingwith Trade Groups to addressrelated issues. Based on thelatest returns we havereceived from operators thelevel of compliance isencouraging although wewill conduct a verificationexercise at the end of thisrecapitalisation to confirmcompliance.

Commenting on the activityof the commission in the areaof strengthening andrefocusing the SEC, he said“We are streamlining theoperations of the Commissionto focus on its core mandatesas apex regulator. We believethis will make us moreeffective and efficient. Wehave worked on a neworganisational structurewhich will be fullyimplemented this year.

On the empowerment oftrade groups and SelfRegulatory Organisations,SROs, he said “ As we focuson the big issues, we arecommitted to empoweringTrade Groups and SROs toplay more important roles inregulating their members. Anexample is the newComplaints ManagementFramework which we havereleased that ensures investorcomplaints are dealt withmore swiftly starting from theoperator, to the Trade Groupor SRO level before reaching

May & Baker returns to profitability, rewardscustomers

BY PETER EGWUATU

BY PETER EGWUATU

May & Baker NigeriaPlc, has returned to

profitability in the financialyear ended December 31,2014, just as it rewardedcustomers for theircontribution in lifting thecompany higher.

Result for the year 2014,shows that the companyrecorded a 990 per centgrowth in profit. From apre-tax loss position ofN11.4 million in 2013, thegroup recorded a pre-tax

profit of N101.1 million.Similarly after tax profit roseby 161 per cent from anegative of N103 million in2013 to a positive of N63million in 2014. This wasachieved on a group turnoverof N7 billion, against N6.3billion in 2013, a growth of10.2 per cent.

Cost containment andefficient resource utilisationwere responsible for thepositive signals by way ofreduced financing charges,distribution, sales andmarketing expenses all whichcombined to deliver healthierbottom-line.

Key extracts of the auditedreport and accounts of May& Baker for the year endedDecember 31, 2014 madeavailable by the NigerianStock Exchange (NSE)showed a growth of 10.2 percent in sales for the group.The company boosted itsoperational profitability with16.2 per cent increase whilesales and marketing expensesdropped by 3 per cent andfinance costs also dropped by4.2 per cent. However,finance cost still remains achallenge to the company.

Meanwhile, themanagement of May & Baker

Nigeria Plc has assured itscustomers that it wouldcontinue to value their inputsand feedback in the decision-making process of thecompany.

Managing Director, May &Baker Nigeria Plc, Mr.Nnamdi Okafor, gave thisassurance at the company’scustomers’ forum. Accordingto him, the company revivedthe annual nationalcustomers’ forum not only toreward outstandingperformance but to engenderbetter intimacy with andobtain feedback from itscustomers.

Fidson’s PATincreases by307%

Fidson Healthcare Plchas recorded a 307 per

cent growth in Profit AfterTax, PAT for the financial yearended December 31, 2014.

Specifically, the companyrecorded a PAT ofN631.8million in 2014 asagainst N154 .9 million inpreceding year. It alsorecorded a growth in ProfitBefore Tax, PBT by 250 percent for the financial yearunder review. The PBT stoodat N249.6 million as againstN249.6 million in 2013.

According to the resultreleased on the NigerianStock Exchange,NSE, thecompany reported a modestgrowth in revenue of 5 percent Year on Year, YoY.

The Earning Per Share, EPSof the company increasedfrom N0.10 in 2013 to N0.42in 2014.

Fidson grew its grossmargin by 7 per cent, fromN5.1 billion in 2013 to N5.4billion in 2014 whileoperating profit increasedmarginally by 5 per cent withoperating margin remainingat 15 per cent of revenue.Despite the economicchallenges, harsh marketconditions and increasingfinancing cost faced duringthe year, cash flow improvedwith the company ’s cashposition increasing by 51 percent from 2013. The increasein long term debt during theyear is as a result of theissuance of a 5-year fixed rateBond to refinance someexpensive short-term debtandaugment working capitalrequirements.

The company’s focus onextensive brand building ofits innovative and high qualityproducts enhances itsfinancial growth and itsability to maintain significantmarket share in key diseaseareas. This is supported byrobust sales and distributionchannels as well aspersistentdiligence inensuring products’ integritythrough various anti-counterfeiting initiatives.

Fidson’s ultra-modernWHO Good ManufacturingPractice (GMP) compliantplant, where she wouldmanufacture IV fluids inaddition to existing productofferings is scheduled to beoperational before the end of2015. This would broaden thecompany’s products base,increase its capacity andconsequently profitability andgrowth opportunities.

FORUM - Managing Director, May & Baker Nigeria Plc, Pharm. Nnamdi Okafor presentinga plaque to Mrs, Abosede Kazeem, Managing Director, Tanimola Pharmacy Limited at the2015 Customers Forum of May & Baker Nigeria Plc held in Lagos


CMYK

Corporate Finance

SEC set to revive corporate bondsmarket, Commodities Exchange

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

has said that it is taking stepsto address the perceiveddormancy in the corporatebonds market.

The Acting Director Generalof SEC, Mr. Mounir Gwarzo,disclosed this while briefingof capital marketcorrespondents at the end ofthe first quarter of 2015Capital Market Committee,CMC meeting in Lagos.

He stated that members ofthe CMC are alreadyconsidering suitable ways torevive that segment of thebonds market, hithertodominated by the FederalGovernment Bonds.

“We looked at the corporatebonds market, which has beenquite dormant and we lookedat ways to revive the marketbecause it has always beendominated by the FGNbonds,” he said

Gwarzo also emphasizedthe need to revitalise theCommodities Exchange,saying that the committeemandated to chart ways torevive the Exchange has comeup with a report, whichimplementation will sooncommence.

According to him, “Thehouse was very concerned bythe fact that we do not have avery vibrant commodityexchange and we are happywith the new acting managingdirector, who has been in thesystem since the inceptionand she is very excited that

she wants to get the exchangegoing.

“Happily enough, themarket already has acommittee and the committeehas submitted an extensivereport on the ways theexchange will be revived. Sothe house has mandated theCommodities Exchange to lookat that report and where itneeds any advice orintervention from the market,we will do so.”

Speaking on funding forInvestment and SecuritiesTribunal, IST, the acting DGsaid, “We have a committee

that is comprised of SEC, theNigerian Stock Exchange,NSE and the CentralSecurities Clearing System,CSCS, on the funding of IST.In the first instance, weagreed that part of our feesshould be ceded to IST; we allrecognise the importance ofIST to this market. It hasplayed a very important roleand it also play a role to theinvestors as well.

“So between the threeorganisations - SEC, NSE andCSCS, we have ceded someamount of fees that we pay toIST. But moving forward, we

have made certainsuggestions to IST. It iseither they become part ofthe judiciary so that they willbe funded from source or themarket will find a way toincorporate them. For now,we think that with the littlemoney we are giving them,we are empowering them todo their job.”

Commenting on the levelof preparedness for take-offof the Investors’ ProtectionFund, he admitted that theFund could alleviate some ofthe fears investors have thatstop them from investing inthe market, saying, “SEChas taken a giant step insetting up the investors’protection fund and somehuge amount of money hasalso been set aside for thefund. The board of the IPFhas almost been constituted.The names of the membershave been drawn. What nowremains is to constitute theboard.”

“It has been agreed thatone or two operators thathave problems and havegone through ourAdministrative ProceedingsCommittee department willbe beneficiaries of the IPF.What we are doing now isverification becauseimmediately the IPF cameon board; many peoplecame up saying they haveissues. So, immediately wefinish our verifications, weshould be able to pay someamount of money,” headded.

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

Access Bank Plc hasrecorded a growth of 21

percent in its profit before taxfor the first quarter endedMarch 31, 2015. During thequarter, profit before tax roseto N16.5 billion as from N13.6billion posted in thecorresponding period in 2014.

The bank also announcedprofit after tax of N13.7billion, which was up 11percent from N12.3 billion inrecorded Q1 2014.

Its gross earnings was up34 percent to N76.7 billion forits first quarter ended March31, 2015, compared to N57.3billion posted in the same

period in 2014.The group audited

International FinancialReporting Standard, IFRS,results for the period showedthat the bank’s net interestincome grew by 17 percent toN46.4 billion from N39.6billion in Q1 2014, benefitingfrom a loan portfolio growth in2014 and improved yields onfixed income securities.

The non-interest income ofN30.4 billion in Q1 2015compared with N17.6 billionin Q1 2014, increased by 47percent, supported by growthin net trading income.

Operating income of N54.0billion grew by 28 percent inQ1 2015 compared to N42.2billion in the corresponding

period, while the return onaverage equity (ROAE) of19.2 percent in Q1 2015,improved by 50bps from 19.7percent in Q1 2014.

Commenting on the results,Herbert Wigwe, the GroupManaging Director, notedthat the bank’s financialperformance in the firstquarter of 2015 marks steadyprogress towards keystrategic objectives. “Ourfocus remains on the deliveryof sustainable value to ourshareholders. We continue todeepen and broaden our top-tier corporate relationshipswhilst optimising andgrowing our diverse retailcustomer base to support low-cost liability growth,” he said.

Access Bank’s profit before tax up21% in Q1

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

Despiteearnings beats,expectationsdim for laterquarters

Most U.S. companiesso far this earnings

season have managed to beatWall Street profit forecastsdespite weak sales, butinvestors hoping corporateheadwinds have died downmay need to temper theirenthusiasm.

Of the 169 Standard & Poor’s500 companies that havereported so far, 71 percent beatearnings estimates, many ofwhich were modest to beginwith, Thomson Reuters datashowed. But they did so withhelp from share buybacks,cost-cutting and othermeasures, instead of robustsales growth.

Despite those beats, analystsare now trimming their profitand sales expectations for thesecond quarter on the beliefthat the stronger U.S. dollarand sharply lower oil prices,widely held to have hurt first-quarter results, will continueto dampen business growth fora while.

“The fact that you’re seeingsome companies beat on thebottom line is not going tochange the story. You’re goingto see some pretty uglynumbers over the next coupleof quarters,” said Dan Suzuki,senior U.S. equity strategist atBank of America-MerrillLynch in New York.

World’s biggestfor-profit collegechain plans$1bn IPO

Laureate EducationInc., the largest for-

profit college network in theworld, is interviewing banksfor a $1 billion initial publicoffering in the U.S., peoplewith knowledge of the mattersaid.

The company, whosehonorary chancellor is formerPresident Bill Clinton, hasbeen meeting with potentialunderwriters for an IPO thatcould value the educationjuggernaut at about $5 billion,said the people, who asked notto be named discussingprivate information. Thecompany, based in Baltimore,owns 84 universities, mostly inemerging markets.

Laureate was taken privatein a management-led $3.8billion buyout in 2007, backedby an investor groupincluding KKR & Co. andCitigroup Inc.


CMYK


CMYK

Homes & Housing

ByYINKA KOLAWOLE Housing microfinance: Panacea

for Nigeria’s housing deficitH o u s i n g microfinance, otherwise knownas microfinance for housingor incremental financing, isregarded as the applicationof a microfinance basedapproach to housing finance.While the concept ‘housingmicrofinance’ is relativelynew in development circles,the practice is not.

Access to housing andaccess to housing finance bylow income earners is acritical development issuefacing most countries aroundthe globe. Many householdsin Africa are unable to accessmortgage finance eitherbecause it does not exist orbecause it is inaccessible.

UN Habitat notes in areport the predominance oftwo extreme outcomes ofcurrent shelter systems thatare being witnessed today -affordable shelter that isinadequate, and adequateshelter that is unaffordable.The report goes on to statethat within the next 20 yearsit is unlikely thatconventional sources offinance will be available inmany developing countriesfor investment on the scaleneeded to meet projecteddemand for infrastructureand housing. With deficits inpublic budgets and thepersistence of weak financialsectors, the situation seemsuntenable. Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, incomelevels are such that themajority of householdscannot afford to buy the leastexpensive house, even ifmortgage finance wereavailable.

OpportunitiesNigeria represents a

potentially huge market forhousing development,mortgage and housingmicrofinance lending. At theAfrica GRI 2014 delegateshighlighted the fact thatdespite high transactioncosts, the returns are high.The Global Real EstateInstitute (GRI) is a globalclub of senior real estateinvestors, developers andlenders that runs itsactivities through a collectionof annual meetings focussedon different regions of theworld.

The delegates noted thatwhile the government and itsvarious institutions arepaying substantial attentionto the mortgage market, thepotential of the housingmicrofinance market isincreasingly beingacknowledged. With apopulation of more than 100 million low-income peopleand a small mortgage market,housing microfinance has

The Lagos StateGovernment also establishedthe Lagos State Co-operativeHome Ownership IncentiveScheme (Lagos CHOIS) toprovide housing for low andmedium income households.

The state governmententered a partnershipagreement with First WorldCommunities Limited underthe CHOIS initiative in 2005to build 10,000 houses inthree senatorial areas ofLagos namely; Abijo, Agbowaand Badagry. As part of theagreement, GovernorBabatunde Fashola recentlycommissioned CHOIS City, a460 housing unit residentialestate located in sub-urbanAgbowa-Ikosi in Epe.

In 2013, the FederalMortgage Bank of Nigeria(FMBN) launched itsInformal Sector CooperativeSociety Loan Scheme,designed to enable informal

sector participants to accessthe benefits of the NationalHousing Scheme. FMBN’sManaging Director, Mr.Gimba Ya’u Kumo, explainedthat scheme will provide aplatform for members to formhousing cooperatives toaccess loans for estatedevelopment. To qualify forthe facilities, participants areexpected to make a minimummonthly contribution of N450for at least six months. Thescheme involves the issuanceof e-collection cards tocontributors, which will inturn streamline the collectionprocess and cut outdeficiencies of manualcollection, while allowingcontributors real time accessto their contribution records.The loan facility offersborrowers a 24 monthsrepayment period at 10 percent per annum forhouses worth not more thanN5 million.

Also in the same vein,Prime Asset Housing Co-operative Multi-purposeSociety, a private initiative,was established to enablepeople pool resourcestogether for the purpose ofowning their homes. TheHome Ownership Savings(HOS) plan of theCooperative is to facilitatepooling of savings towardssecuring or meeting requireddeposit payment for aproperty (built or landed),mortgage financing or anysuch expenditure geared tofacilitate members’ houseownership drive.

Housing supplyThe private sector continues

to deliver new housing unitsfor the luxury and high-income bracket. It isestimated that the formal andinformal private sectorprovides over 80 percent ofthe housing stock in Nigeria.Though there is insufficientdata on the proportion ofprivate, government andindividual contributions tothe housing stock, it isgeneral knowledge that theincremental building byindividuals on landpurchased by private landowning families is the mostprevalent, particularly withrespect to housing low andmedium income groups.

Nigeria’s housing deficit isestimated to be over 17 million units and growing atabout 780 000 units yearly,due to the high cost ofbuilding and slowconstruction process. Of the17 million unit deficit, LagosState is estimated to have adeficit of one million.Between 1999 and 2011, thestate government built 3,766housing units in 17 housingestates, averaging 316 unitsannually. In the last fiveyears, however, the rate ofdelivery has improveddrastically. In 2012, the totalnumber of units deliveredinto the market was slightlyabove 1,500 units and thisrose by 48.2 percent with2,299 housing units deliveredin 2013. However, this is stillnot meeting the demand.

Way forwardCentre for Affordable

Housing Finance in Africa(CAHF) has undertakenvarious research initiatives toexplore the state of housingmicrofinance across sub-Saharan Africa, highlightinginnovation and providingrecommendations forattention by financialinstitutions andgovernments.

“Our work is focused onsupporting the growth of ahousing micro-lending sectorin Africa, with more playerssupported by more investors,reaching more clients,” itstated.

Generally, in Africa, highincome earners use their ownresources to build or buyhouses for themselvesoutrightly, the middle classand low income earnersfinance their ownconstruction gradually overtime. Housing microfinancemakes it possible to addresshousing needs progressively,step-by-step, towards a largerhousing vision.

With apopulation ofmore than 100 million low-income peopleand a smallmortgagemarket, housingmicrofinancehas enormouspotential inNigeria

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

enormous potential inNigeria.

Accessible mortgageWith an aim to ensure that

all Nigerians are able to owna home, the FederalGovernment is using threestrategies – land swapinitiatives, affordable andmass housing schemes andaccessible mortgage finance.

In addition to unveiling theNigerian MortgageRefinance Corporation(NMRC), the federalgovernment also launched anational N960 billionhousing scheme for labourunion members. Similar tothe NMRC, the Lagos Stategovernment launched theLagos Home OwnershipMortgage Scheme (LagosHOMS). A Public PrivatePartnership (PPP) initiatedby the government andadministered by the LagosMortgage Board (LMB), itaims to support first timebuyers in the state topurchase decent homesthrough accessible mortgagefinance. When the schemewas flagged off in February2014, 1,104 housing unitswere completed and 3,156units were at various stagesof completion. Both NMRCand Lagos HOMS are PPPsand this is fast becoming oneof the key strategies used bythe government to drive thegrowth of housing delivery.As well as the private sector,the government is workingwith non-governmental andnon-profit organizations todeliver homes to low-incomeearners.


CMYK

Interview

BY EBELE ORAKPO

N igeria has all the indices for greatness so one wonders why it isnot great. Some have pointed at poor leadership andfollowership, corruption, poverty etc as culprits but one tends to

agree with a popular Nollywood actor, Mr. Nkem Owoh who in one of hismovies, wondered aloud if Nigerians were made by God’s apprentice. Nigeriais blessed with abundant natural and human resources, highly talented andresourceful people, high quality natural resources, yet, it seems to be movinground and round in circles. In this interview with Professor John AroyeOkhuoya, Professor of Mycology and Director, African Centre for MushroomResearch and Technology Innovation, University of Benin, hespeaks on how Nigeria can partake of the multi-million dollarmushroom industry.

Nigeria must tap into mushroom market — ... Market forecast to reach $50,

Introduction:I had my first degree in

Microbiology here. I was one of thefirst 100 students of the Universityof Benin when it was MidwesternInstitute of Technology. Thereafter,I worked briefly in the RubberResearch Institute and then wentabroad for my PhD. I came back in1981 and started lecturing in 1983 inthe Department of Botany (nowDepartment of Plant Biology andBiotechnology, University of Benin.I became a professor in 1995. I havebeen training undergraduate andpost-graduate students in MushroomScience.

Interest in mushroom:I grew up in the rural area and we

used to go for mushroom hunting inthe village, collecting wildmushrooms for sale in the evenings.My father gave me some informationon the different mushrooms that weate. That was how the interest came.I have developed this area ofresearch over the years and at a point,we felt that this university should bea reference point. We introducedMushroom Science in ourcurriculum. At undergraduate level,we have Introduction to MushroomScience, and then I developed amaster’s and PhD programmes inMushroom Science.

Mushroom production is still verylow in Nigeria hence many of ourpeople still depend on collection ofmushrooms from the wild. This isfraught with the danger of collectingpoisonous with edible ones.Commercial farming holds the key tothe eventual elimination ofoccasional mushroom poisoning inour population.

Categories of mushrooms:There are four main categories of

mushrooms.Edible mushrooms (those you can

eat as food); Medicinal mushroomsused in taking care of certain ailments;Poisonous mushrooms (these aredeadly). There are also mushroomsthat are both medicinal as well asedible. Then the last category is theMiscellaneous group which containsmushrooms whose values are not yetestablished.

Nutritional values:Edible mushrooms are rich in

protein, B-vitamins and containmoderate amount of vitamin C. Theyare, however, low in carbohydrateand are generally preferred to freshvegetables because weight for weight,the body absorbs all of mushroomseaten without wastes. Common edible

species in Nigeria are Pleurotustuber-regium or tuberous mushroom(very common in South-East andused in cooking egusi soup. Itproduces tuber in the dry season andthen in the rainy season, they breakthe ground and begin to producefruiting bodies. The tuber, referredto as sclerotium, is the form themushroom uses to hibernate in orderto survive the harsh conditions of thedry season. In our folklores, it isbelieved that for the native doctor tosee the future, he will have to make apaste of the tuber, and rub his eyesand he will see visions.) Other ediblespecies are: Lentinus squarrosulus,Auricularia auricula, Lepiota sp,Termitomyces spp, Volvoriellaesculenta, Lycoperdon spp amongothers.

Differentiating poisonousfrom edible mushrooms:

In our traditional system, Nigerianshave always eaten mushrooms. In theSouth-East, they eat a lot ofvegetables and mushrooms. In my

they tell you that when you see amushroom with flies perching on it,it shows it is edible because it did notkill the flies. That is not reliablebecause there is a mushroom calledAmanita muscaria. Flies perch on itthough it is not edible. It is noted forits hallucinogenic properties sowhen flies eat this mushroom, theyfall into stupor, temporarily dead andat the end, they recover. So you

cannot rely on that method of identifyingedible mushrooms. But the point is theyhave been able to identify the ones they eatright from the beginning and they have stuckto those ones. Here at the centre, we haveour own ways of identifying them usingchemistry but we advise people to eat thoseones that are known to be edible.

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

own area inEdo North,we havemushroomsin ourd i e t a r ysystem, soour eldersknew thedifference.They hadtheir ownways ofidentifyingthem but werefer tothose waysas oldw i v e s ’f a b l e sb e c a u s ethey are notr e l i a b l e .F o re x a m p l e ,

Mushroomproductionis still verylow inNigeriahence manyof ourpeople stilldepend oncollection ofmushroomsfrom thewild

*Edible Lentinus squarrosulus mushroom growing on a dead mango tree

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

Commercialfarming holds thekey to the eventualelimination ofoccasionalmushroompoisoning in ourpopulation


Interview

the multi-million-dollarPROF IKHUOYA

,034.12 million by 2019

we get the mechanism/technology to produceedible mushrooms so that our people caneasily access them. That is what is happeningin the UK and other developed countries;they cultivate and sell edible mushrooms inthe market. If you rely on collecting from thewild, you are likely to collect both edible andpoisonous mushrooms. That is why we areadvocating that in Nigeria, we have gotten toa stage where we should be eating cultivatedmushrooms. The beauty of it is that thespecies we have in Nigeria are very delicious

a n dcomparablewith anytype ofmushroomfrom anypart of theworld. Sothe purposeof thiscentre is tofirst of all,d o c u m e n tas much aspossible, alla v a i l a b l eidentifiablemushroomsin the wholeof WestAfrica Sub-

region, particularly Nigeria, and have a genebank because right now, most of themushrooms we used to eat as children aredisappearing as a result of deforestation. Thisis the best time for us to begin to store some ofthe ones that are still available so that we canhave our own gene bank for future use. Apartfrom meeting our national needs, contributingto national nutritional diet, we can also beginto export and earn foreign exchange. That iswhat we are doing here - we train people, createcapital, and as much as possible, simulatepeople to be interested in mushroom farming.

Mushrooms and health:In Ghana, there is a strong belief

that making a paste of Pleurotustuber-regium and rubbing it on amalnourished child, will make thechild fatten up. I don’t know how truethat is. Mushrooms have a highpercentage of protein, amino acidsand all other minerals that help indevelopment of our immune system.For those who want to lose weight, itis very good.

A lot of products have beendeveloped from mushrooms. Forexample, a product used in thetreatment of arthritis fromganoderma, a mushroom fromChina, and so many other suchproducts. We can produce themhere. We have ganoderma tea,mushroom tea etc.

Mushrooms have been indicated inthe treatment of HIV/AIDS. You canhave our garri, rice, bread, etcfortified with mushroom myceliumso you will not be eating ordinarygarri, but garri that is fortified with alot of protein. That is our vision. Weare developing the technology.

AIDS treatment:As a matter of fact, WHO sponsored

one of the top mushroom scientiststo develop some mushroom productsthat helped to treat an AIDS patientin South Africa. What that product

did wast oenhancet h eappetiteof thep a t i e n tbecauseone oft h et h i n g swe seew i t hA I D Spatientsis thatthey loseappetite,l o s ew e i g h ta n dgradually

die. It was found that when their foodwas fortified with mushroom, theappetite increased and they atemore, put on weight, and startedliving healthy lives.

Forex earner:Mushroom is a foreign exchange

earner for many developedcountries; a multi-million-dollarbusiness in America, Europe, muchmore in China and other Asiancountries. They use it for medicinal

and nutritional purposes. Most of themushrooms we have in oursupermarkets are imported. We canproduce them here in large quantities.Chief Olusegun Obasanjo started amushroom farm which is no longerproducing because of the technologyinvolved in producing exotic strains.

Some of our local farmers are nowtrying to produce our tropicalmushrooms. We have developed manylocal species and strains that aresucculent, sweet and delicious whichwe can recommend and assist farmersin growing if they wish to go intomushroom farming.

Environmental cleanser:The mushroom also plays a lot of

role in environmental cleansing. Wehave found that some mushrooms areable to absorb heavy metals from theenvironment and so when you growsome edible mushrooms in a pollutedenvironment, they absorb the heavymetals so you cannot eat them, theybecome agents of filtration, trying tofilter those chemicals that aredangerous to health from theenvironment.

Bioremediation:One of my students did his PhD on

bioremediation. He found out thatsome of our mushrooms when grownon soils that have been so bastardisedthrough pollution, can rejuvenate thesoil through increased biomass.

Cultivating mushrooms:It is quite easy. Like I said, we have

spent quite some time to study ourindigenous mushrooms. We havedone a lot of survey in different partsof the country, on the type ofmushroom they eat, the historybehind most of the mushrooms etc.,and we have developed thetechnology using local resources togrow them.

Mushroom cultivation involves fivemajor stages:

Bed preparation: You preparemushroom bed using differentsubstrates. We have worked outdifferent substrates using agriculturalwaste like banana leaves, stems, oilpalm fruit fibre, oil palm bunch, bananapeels and corn husks which we treatchemically.

Spawning (mushroom seedplanting). After a while, the myceliumwill grow and run through the systemand in few days, you see the whole placewhite. If you leave it like that, you maynever get fruiting bodies so we do whatis called casing.

Casing: You cover it with calciumcarbonate soil and you are by that acttelling the mushroom to stop

It tells itself, ‘before I die, let meproduce my kind.’ So it begins toproduce spores because it wants tosurvive and in the process, it begins tohave fruiting bodies which the farmerharvests.

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

The first day you harvest, after twoor three days, you harvest again, untilthe fourth or fifth time when the yieldwill be decreasing and then you canstop.

Packaging: The final step ispackaging.

Each step requires careful handlingfor best results.

Not all mushrooms follow all theabove five steps. Some species requirespecific conditions for their growthand development.

Spent substrate:The beauty of this farming process is

that even the spent substrate can beused for growing other vegetables. Itwill become organic fertiliser sonothing is wasted.

The Centre:University of Benin was kind enough

to sponsor this centre and it wascommissioned by President GoodluckJonathan last November. Within ashort time, we have achieved so muchin the areas of capacity-building,mushroom production, and our targetis to raise farmers that can produce incommercial quantities. We willstimulate people to go into makingmushroom products for health,medicinal and nutritional purposes.

It is a simple thing but it has taken usa long time to get to where we aretoday. We are hoping that thegovernment, corporate organisationsand private individuals will come inhere, use our technology and expertiseto go into business and developwhatever product they want todevelop.

We will assist them because we havethe expertise.

vegetating andgrow up, youdivert themushroom fromvegetative top r o d u c t i v ephase. When youput that soil, themushroom isshocked, it isbeing starved ofnutrients so itstarts looking fora way of survival.

We aredeveloping thetechnology;we can fortifyour garri,bread, riceand otherfoodstuff withmushroommycelium soyou will not beeatingordinary garri

We haveworked outdifferentsubstrates usingagriculturalwaste likebanana leaves,stems, oil palmfruit fibre, oilpalm bunch,banana peelsand corn huskswhich we treatchemically

*Prof. Okhuoya (l) and his former student, US-based Prof. Omo showing off Lentinus edodes(shiitake), edible and medicinal mushroom

*Edible mushroom growing on dead part of a living tree

*Edible mushroom, Volvariellavolvacea growing on oil palm bunch

34 —Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

Insurance

The Association of AssetsCustodians of Nigeria,

AACN, has said that it is setto hold its fourth annualinvestor conference inLondon.

The conference which isbilled to hold on 7th of Mayhas the theme, Nigeria:Navigating changes,extracting opportunities.

Speaking to journalists inLagos, AACN President,Mrs. Kemi Adewole, said thatthe purpose of the event is toprovide expert insight onNigeria’s current markettrends, and an opportunityfor significant interactionamong the various Nigeriacapital market operators andinvestors.

She said that the 2015investor conference will host

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

NCRIB gains wider acceptabilitywith Limra’s recognition

The Nigerian Council ofRegistered InsuranceBrokers (NCRIB) can

now access the database ofLIMRA, a world acclaimedfinancial services researchconsultancy body, followingits admission.

Conveying the NCRIBadmission during the 2015International Business trip ofthe Council’s delegates toMalta, Europe, the OperationHead of LIMRA Europe,Middle East and Africa, CarlaBaldivia said with theadmission, NCRIB would nowhave access to the database ofthe association and be able toaccess yearly global financialreports by the body.

“As a LIMRA member, yourCouncil will now have accessto all the research, webinarsand market facts in additionto the information centre thatgathers resources from morethan 128 periodicals” Baldivianoted.

Responding, the Presidentof the NCRIB, Mr. AyodapoShoderu who led theCouncil’s delegation notedthat the NCRIB has a visionof exploring all avenues toplace the Council and itsmembers on the global plane.

He said, coming on the heelsof similar admission by theBritish Insurance BrokersAssociation (BIBA), Shoderusaid that the challenges beforeNCRIB members was nowhigher in a bid to match upwith its growing globalreputation.

Also, during a lecture oncustomer service, brokers weretold to imbibe multipleintegrated channels ofcustomer service in order tomeet the yearning needs oftoday’s clients.

According to SeniorRegional Executive of LIMRA,

Mr. Manolis Kyriacou, currentand future customers havehigh expectations for servicequality through all channelsthey could utilize to connectwith the provider.

“Insurance intermediariesthat successfully deliver theirservices competently will mostoften improve relationshipand outcomes with theirpolicy holders,” he said.

As a leading insurance andfinancial services tradeassociation, LIMRA’s purposeis to be the trusted source of

industry knowledge. Itcurrently provides research,learning and developmentprograms to more than 850financial services companiesthroughout the world.

Serving its members fornearly 100 years, thesefinancial services firms turn toLIMRA first for research,serving as a catalyst for newideas, to better understandthe industry, and plan for thefuture, learning anddevelopment programs, toassess, train, and increase

distribution productivity, aswell as develop the nextgeneration of corporateleaders and connections withindustry leaders and peersthrough study groups,committees, and conferences.

The tour was rounded offwith visits to leadinginsurance companies andbrokerage companies such asMiddle Sea and AssikuraInsurance Brokers wheredelegates had robust insightsinto operation of insurancebusiness in Malta.

AACN set to host investors’ conference in Londonspeakers representing theregulators and key marketoperators such as Governor ofthe Central Bank of Nigeria,CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele;acting Director General of theSecurities and ExchangeCommission, SEC, Mal.Mounir Gwarzo; ExecutiveDirector, Market Operationsand Technology, NigerianStock Exchange, NSE, Mr.Adeolu Bajomo; and MD/CEO of the Central SecuritiesClearing System, CSCS, Mr.Kyari Abba Bukar.

Other speakersparticipating in paneldiscussions include Dr,Abraham Nwankwo, DirectorGeneral, Debt ManagementOffice, DMO; Mr. BolajiBalogun, MD/CEO ChapelHill Denham; Mr. Bola

Onadele. Koko, MD/CEOFMDQ OTC Plc; Mr. BolaAjomale, MD/CEO NASDPlc; Mr. Bayo Olugbemi,President of the Institute ofCapital Market Registrars(ICMR), and some majorforeign portfolio investorsand global custodians.

Adewole said, “AACNcontinues to strive for greaterefficiency in Nigerian capitalmarket, with a firmunderstanding of theimportance of bringing theplayers in the markettogether. The 2015 investorconference will provide aplatform to facilitate dialoguebetween foreign investorsand Nigerian capital/financial market operators,while keeping participants

abreast of Nigerian securitiesmarket developments.”

Founded in 2009, themembers of the associationare Citibank Nigeria Limited,First Bank of Nigeria, FirstCity Monument Bank,Stanbic IBTC Bank,Standard Chartered Bankand United Bank for Africa.The association is dedicatedto establishing global bestpractice standards in allaspects of the Nigeriansecurities market and thedevelopment of the market,including promoting thecustody business in Nigeriaand making the Nigeriasecurities market moresuitable for investors.

Stories by ROSEMARYONUOHA

Real Estate DevelopersAssociation of Nigeria

(REDAN) has affirmed itsreadiness to join hands withthe President-Elect, GeneralMuhammadu Buhari, inactualising his promise of onemillion housing developmentyearly.

REDAN’s newly electedPresident, Rev UgochukwuChime, who gave theassurance in Abuja.According to him, “REDANhas set up a committee tocome up with a road map onhousing development as aposition paper to bepresented to the newadministration forimplementation. “We willalso work closely with theadministration to ensure thatthe Land Use Act is amended.REDAN will step up itsadvocacy and liaison with theNational Assembly toexpedite the passing of theLand, Housing, foreclosurelaw; Mortgage and RealEstate related laws proposedby government with theNational Assembly since2006.”

The REDAN president alsosaid its members will workwith respective governmentagencies and researchinstitutes to ensure reductionin cost of obtaining permitsand approvals relating toland for mass housingdevelopment. “We will focusefforts on land administrationin favour of real estatedevelopers; developtechnology to utilize localmaterials and achieveconsiderable cost ofconstruction; encouragegreen construction; ensuremembers adhere to standardin process and product s ofhousing development and;comply with NationalBuilding Codes and extantlaws on land and housingconstruction. We shallcollaborate with stakeholdersin the government, builtindustry and businessspheres to step up artisans,trades and craftsmen /womentraining and re-training toempower Nigerian citizenryespecially the largepopulation of youths,” hestated.

He assured that theassociation will work closelywith the National Assemblyto make REDAN an Act of theNational Assembly that willensure standard in thehousing sector.

REDAN readyfor Buhari’s1m houses

BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU

CMYK


CMYK

CMYK

Micro-Finance

“Unsold Nigeria crudegrows as buyer interest falls”.PUNCH, Thursday, April 9,2015, p 41.

The story by Femi Asu,went on to state that“Weak buying from

Asia and other regular buyersof Nigerian crude oil has lefta large overhang of March,April and May cargoes, it waslearnt”. For those who mightnot fully understand theimplications of that report, itis necessary to spell them out.

The first casualty, and it hasbeen in that position since lastyear, is the 2015 budget whichis now nothing more than anacademic exercise. With crudeoil prices hovering betweenUS$45 and US$60 per barrel,the budget which out-goingFinance Minister first basedon $78 per barrel crude oilprice, had by February beendropped in the dust bin. Now,with volume suppliedimperiled by weak demandfrom our traditional customers,it is obvious that the Age ofCrude is surely over in Nigeria– at least for a while.

Incidentally, this is not thefirst time this will beannounced on these pages. Inan article published inDecember last year, titled THEAGE OF OIL IS OVER FORNIGERIA, the point had beenmade that the forces which haddriven the global price ofcrude oil to the low levels itreached then and alsoreduced the demand forNigerian crude are not onlylong-term in nature, but theywere then just gatheringmomentum. The news report

Nigeria without oil is now areality

above only points to themajor economic crisis facingthe nation – startingimmediately. By the timePresident Jonathan handsover the leadership ofNigeria to Buhari, thecountry would have onceagain been classified as anear bankrupt economy. Ourearnings from crude oil willjust about be sufficient to payfor all the foreign loans takenby the Federal and stategovernments.

For Buhari and Nigeria,lightening has struck twicein a life time. By the time hewas propelled to the Head ofthe military junta inDecember 1983, SecondRepublic politicians, atFederal and state levels hadfrittered away the first crudeoil bonanza and left Nigeriawith a huge debt which laterbecame our debt trap. ByOctober 1985, PresidentBabangida, who toppledBuhari, was alreadylamenting that, “It is truethat we have run throughone of the greatest financialbonanzas that ever happenedto a nation in need; so fastand so recklessly that wemay wonder if ever happenedat all!”

The harsh measures whichBuhari took, which shouldhave produced salutaryeffect, were denounced by

the same Nigerians who hadbeen impoverished. Today, aswe approach a democraticchange of government, wecan surely repeat whatBabagida said about thebonanza which SecondRepublic politicians wasted.From 1999 till date,politicians representing allthe politicalparties haveonce againrun througha n o t h e rb o n a n z am o r er e c k l e s s l ythan in the1 9 8 0 s .Buhari, onceagain is fatedto inherit an a t i o n a lpurse totallydepleted bysixteen yearsof Obasanjo,Yar’Adua andJonathan, atthe centre. State governors,especially those newlyelected, will also findthemselves wishing theynever ran for office. Eventhose who are continuing inoffice face a massive revolt ofpublic servants and theNigerian populace as theywill increasingly fail to fulfilltheir election promises.

So, the second casualties ofthe impending economicdoom are the public servants.Even states which struggled

to pay salaries before theelections will now startdefaulting in payments.Governors going on May 29,2015, will simply abscondfrom their states and leavetheir successors to face theoutrage of public servants.

Unpaid contractorsconstitute the third set of

victims of thechange in thefortunes ofNigeria. It isalmost certainthat anycontractor, stillunpaid by anygovernment— Federal,State or Local– and who isnot well-c o n n e c t e dwith theP r e s i d e n t ,Governor orChairman, canforget about

being paid for a long time tocome. The in-cominggovernments, cash strappedmeet current obligations, andhaving failed to receive thekick-backs from over-inflatedcontracts will not be in a hurryto pay past debts. The greatwave of defections from PDPto APC is partly a reflectionof the desperation ofcontractors whose money istrapped as their formerbenefactors leave office.Hundreds of thousands of

contractors face personalbankruptcy; and, their banksalso risk being savaged by theconsequences of both crudeoil calamity and the changeof governments nationwide.Abandoned projects willproliferate.

Every economic catastropheinvariably manifests itself inthe banking sector – whichhad actually placed itself inharms way by financing thebuy-out of International OilCompanies, IOCs, by localinvestors. The rush for thegates by the IOCs shouldhave served as a warning toNigerians who had moremoney than sense, and theirbankers, that something mustbe wrong, if so many multi-nationals are leaving. EvenIOCs who had taken theposition of “wait and see” inthe past are no longer waiting– because they have seenenough. And, what they seeis a nation whose oilexploration is no longerattractive.

Finally, PIB is dead. Twicethe Jonathan administrationpresented the bill to theNational Assembly, NASS,and, twice government lackedthe WILL to see it through.The PIB which would havebenefited the oil-producingareas immensely will now beburied in the graveyard ofprocrastination andpresidential inertia. Decadesfrom now people from theNiger Delta will continue toshake their heads that one oftheir sons allowed thisopportunity to pass. For thefolly of leaders; peopleperish.

Every economiccatastropheinvariablymanifests itself inthe banking sector –which had actuallyplaced itself inharms way byfinancing the buy-out of InternationalOil Companies,IOCs, by localinvestors

LAUNCH - From left: Mr. Eniola Ositelu, Marketing Manager IkejaCity Mall, Mrs. Timilehin Lajubutu, and Mr. Uzoelum Chukwunalu,Marketing Coordinator and Operations Manager, Cold StoneCreamery Nigeria, Mr. Olusola Adeeko, Human Resource Manager,Eat‘N’Go Nigeria and Mrs. Temilola Akinmuda, On Air Personalitywith Cool FM Nigeria during the launch of Cold Stone Creamery atIkeja City Mall.

LAPO Micro finance Bank(MfB) has awarded

scholarship to about 750students who are children ofit's clients who meet therequirements set by thescholarship board, targeting100, 000 scholarship by 2022.

The bank conducted ascholarship ballot exerciseacross all the zones of itsoperation in the country and1000 students qualified for thescholarship but 750 who meetthe requirement would benefitthe scheme.

Speaking at the annualscholarship ballot exercise inLagos, Managing Director,LAPO MfB, Mr. GodwinEhigiamusoe, said that about5000 beneficiaries have

LAPO awards scholarship to 700 studentsStories byPROVIDENCE OBUH

emerged from the schemewhich started in 2007.

He explained that theessence of the balloting wasto make the process ofselection of beneficiaries as

transparent as possible and tojustify the confidence reposeon the organization by theclients over the years.

Ehigiamusoe said, “ wetarget in the next five to seven

years about 100,000 studentwill benefit, since we startedin 2007 we have continuouslybeen doing it on annual basisand we will continue toprovide the scholarship. We

started with 32 students in2007, by 2014 we have done5,000 students but 2015 we aredoing 700, we hope to do1000 or five thousand nextyear.

Conscious abut proximity, Cold Stone Creamery (CSC)Nigeria, makers of premium ice cream has made its début

at the Ikeja City Mall to benefit customers within the environ.CSC is owned by Eat N’ Go, a restaurant group whose mission

is to become the premier food operator in Africa, offering icecream experience including: Ice Cream, Ice Cream Cakes,Shakes, and Smoothies the way you want it.

Speaking at the shop opening ceremony, MarketingCoordinator, Cold Stone, Mrs. Timilehin Lajubutu, said thatthere are alternative cream for everybody but according todemand, “for people who are on the big side, we havesomething for them, such as: low fat yoghourt, healthy mix-in,nuts,coconuts fruits, smoothies and purely ice cream for thegenerality. She said that CSC was officially launched inSeptember 2012 and has grown to 13 stores across Nigeriaincluding, Lagos, Ibadan and Enugu.

Cold Stone Creamery débuts inIkeja City Mall



E-Commerce

LAUNCH - From left: Consultant, Digital Financial Services, Department for InternationalDevelopment (DFID), Ms. Susie Lonie; Chairman, Board of EFInA, Mr. Yemi Cardosa andConsultant, Digital Financial Services, Ms. Lesley-Ann Vaughan during the launch of EFInARequest For Proposal 6 event and workshop in Lagos.

One of the most notablefeatures of online

shops, since online retaildebuted in Nigeria, is itscheap prices of goods.Compared with the offlinemarket prices, these onlineshops, despite free shippingservices and high cost oflogistics, still manage tomaintain clear edge in termsof price while still offeringquality goods.

One of the online shops thathas maintained this traditionsince inception is Nigeria’spioneer online retailer,Jumia.com.ng. They haveconsistently maintainedcompetitive pricing in almostall items on offer. How do theyaccomplish this? How havethey been able to sustain thisdespite the recent devaluationof the Naira? Why are theirproducts always cheaper? Arethey packaging counterfeitedproducts online and selling toNigerians? This is becausemost times, their prices are soridiculously low that they can’tbut arouse suspicion.

An investigation into some ofthe prices Jumia offers for someproducts showed a consistentcompetitive pricing with eveninternational online retailerslike Bestbuy.com and Amazon.Take for instance the SamsungGalaxy S5 – Copper Gold. Thisgoes for about $569 onAmazon.com which whenconverted into the local

Lack ofaccess to bigdatahinderinge-paymentgrowth – ObiChief Executive Officer

of eTranzactInternational PLC, Mr.Valentine Obi has identifiedlack of access to big data asa threat to the growth ofelectronic payment inNigeria. He disclosed thisknow while speaking as amember of a paneldiscussion at the justconcluded Mobile WestAfrica held in Lagos.

According to him, “Onebig prerequisite for financialinclusion and fraud controlfor financial institutions is acheck called “Know yourCustomer (KYC). It is one ofthe biggest challenges weface in the paymentsindustry, and all players cancome together to help solvethis issue.”

He said: “Thet e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n scompanies own a lot of userdata and can help thepayments platforms bysharing this data. There is abig need for thet e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n scompanies to share data inorder to safeguard andprotect customers from fraudjust like banks share datawith the switchingplatforms.”

Can Jumia sustainaffordability drive withoutcompromising quality?Stories by JONAHNWOKPOKU

currency, the Naira will beabout N119, 000 depending onthe exchange rate. The sameproduct goes for $499.99,about N105, 000 on anotherinternational retailer,Bestbuy.com. These pricesexclude the shipping costincluding the customs andclearing duties, should onedecide to buy from thesestores. However in Nigeria,this same product goes forbetween N100, 000 and N105,000 in different online stores.It’s only Jumia.com.ng thatsells the product at N95, 230,according to the priceinformation available at theirwebsite at the time of thisreport.

Take also the BlackberryPassport. This could only beobtained at Jumia.com atN119, 500 against the N126,000 to N130, 000 that it couldbe obtained from other onlinestores nationwide. This pricealso comfortably beats aretailer like Bestbuy.comwhere the device goes forabout $667 which is aboutN133, 400.

Besides the electronicsegment, home appliancesalso enjoys favourable rates onJumia such as the Emel PlasticElectric Kettle-P006-Whitewhich goes for about N10, 875whereas the cheapest price itcan be bought elsewhere isabout N12, 200.

More so, in categories likefashion, their prices also beatthat of their competition by atleast 2 per cent. For instance,

a pair of Vanessa’s secret’sshoes which cannot be foundanywhere below N9, 000 inother online stores is availableat N6, 495 on Jumia.com.

About qualityThere is no gainsaying it,

that with many online retailshops springing up in recent

that one only needs somecommon sense to realise therehas been compromise onquality. In this regard, someshoppers who have shoppedfrom Jumia said from theirexperience, the quality ofgoods offered on the platformis not compromised.

Chukwudi Ozonna toldVanguard, “I was scepticalabout this online dealsespecially the quality of theproducts since they are alwayswilling to offer cheaper prices.But then one day I needed atelevision for my children’sroom. I saw a 22 inch LG TVon Jumia at N21, 900. I wassceptical about it but then afterI prized it offline and saw thatthe same TV goes for N29, 000,I decided to give it a try. Ihave used that TV for twoyears now; it has never hadany fault. It was an original LGproduct. I don’t how Jumiadoes it but I do know they dosell quality products at veryaffordable rates.”

Jumia and affordabilitySpeaking to Vanguard in an

exclusive interview on howJumia Nigeria maintained itscheap rates, Co-ManagingDirector, Jumia Nigeria, Dr.Jonathan Doerr said: “Jumiadoes not sell at cheaper ratesbecause it offers inferiorproducts. We are able to offerproducts at affordable priceswhich are less than otheronline retail companies andthose of brick and mortar storesdue to its wide assemblage ofbrand partners. You just nameit, from Apple to Infinix toLego, Samsung, L’oreal andmore, Jumia has been able toforge lasting and favourablepartnerships with the biggestbrand who are able to offerJumia their products atreduced tariffs and sometimeseven exclusively. Thesebrands are happy and alwayswilling to work with Jumia dueto a proven track record ofservice delivery, customersatisfaction and guaranteedvolume of sales.

According to him, thecompany leverages on itshuge customer base, and itsresultant economies of scale todrive down cost.

He said, “Speaking ofguaranteed volume of sale, ineconomics, there is a conceptcalled ‘Economies of Scale’.This concept explains thatthere are cost advantageswhich certain enterprisesenjoy due to their larger size,output and scale of operation.Being that Jumia Nigeria isthe biggest online retail storein Nigeria, accessible andpatronized daily by tons ofNigerians nationwide, it onlyadds up that unlike the others,Jumia Nigeria can now affordto plummet profit margins andprovide lesser priced productsto customers due to a reducedoverall operating cost.”

times, the price reduction hasbeen motivated more by thequest to beat competition. Thishas also meant somecompromises on the quality ofgoods. In some unregulatedonline marketplaces, theprices are even so ridiculous

Compared withthe offlinemarket prices,these onlineshops, despitefree shippingservices andhigh cost oflogistics, stillmanage tomaintain clearedge in terms ofprice while stilloffering qualitygoods

US technology giant Googlereported a 4 per cent increasein profits to $3.59bn, as strongadvertising sales helpedboost the firm’s bottom line.Google said advertising salesfor the first three months of2015 were $15.5bn, an 11 percent increase from the sameperiod a year earlier.

Total revenue also increasedby 12 percent to $17.3bn, butlike other US firms, thecompany was hurt by thestrong dollar.

Shares in the firm rose morethan 3 percent in trading aftermarkets had closed.

There had been fears onWall Street that profits wouldbe weaker due to investmentin new businesses andweaker advertising revenueas more people access Googlevia mobile devices, whereadvertising rates are lower.

Google profitsbuoyed by adrevenue




CMYK


CMYK

Economy

•Mr Mounir Gwarzo, Acting Director General of Securitiesand Exchange Commission

Amidst concerns oversudden flattening of the

bull run in the Nigerian stockmarket, dealers arespeculating large inflows ofForeign Portfolio Investments(FPIs) on the heels of the postelection market rally.

World’s biggest sovereignwealth fund (SWF), Norway’sGovernment Pension FundGlobal (GPFG), is said to berefreshing its interests in theNigerian market after a tactical‘hold action’ late last year.Many dealers were workingon the expected surge in theFPIs after the elections but thedeals which were said to worthover USD20 billion were not yetconcluded as at last week.

Last year, GPFG added fiveAfrican states to the number ofcountries it approves asmarketplaces for trading inequities. It is keen to takeadvantage of the pace ofeconomic growth across Africato garner profitable returns onequity investments.

Its investments in Nigeria, asat the end of 2014 was USD63million (about N12 billion),which included stocks incompanies listed on theNigerian Stock Exchange(NSE).

About USD15.6 million (N3billion) or 23.5 per cent of thefund’s investments in Nigeriawent into the stock of ZenithBank while USD13.9 million(about N2.8 billion) or 21 percent of the FPI went intoGuaranty Trust Bank’s stock.The least in the allocation of itsFPI in Nigeria went into AccessBank stocks at USD2.1 million

Stories ByEMEKA ANAETO,Economy Editor

ForeignPortfolioInvestmentsexpected toincreasein Q2

Technical hitchhamperstransactions inNigeria’s BondsMarketTrade on local debt was

stalled after the glitchaffected central bank’s tradingplatform, traders said, addingthat they were concerned theproblem that started onWednesday could run into nextweek, threatening bondsettlement in the interbank,Reuters reported last weekend.

“(There is) no tradingcurrently going on in the marketas a result of the unresolvedtechnical glitch on the centralbank’s platform,” one dealersaid.

“We have seen fresh interestby some offshore investors,mostly a roll-over of maturedfunds and local pension, whichhas driven up demand for localdebt before the glitch,” a seniortraders said, referring to atechnical fault that hit trading.

Overnight lending rateshalved to an average 6 percenton Friday from 12.25 percent lastweek after central bank retiredlarge matured bonds andtreasury bills in the week,boosting liquidity in the market,traders said. However, thetechnical glitch that hit theCBN’s trading platformhindered major fund transfersand placement in the market.

“The market liquidity wasboosted by repaid maturedbonds and treasury bills worthabout 806 billion naira (USD4billion), but because of thetechnical fault, many traderswere unable to transfer or placemoney in the market,” one dealersaid.

(about N400 million) or 3.2 percent.

Other stocks that benefitedfrom this FPI includeInternational Breweries Plc,Larfarge Africa, Nestle,Nigerian Breweries, SeplatPetroleum, Stanbic IBTC Bankand UACN Plc.

The Norwegian SWF whichhas extended its FPI to includefive more African countries intotal has investment in 169companies in Africa.

Although the slump in globaloil prices has hurt Nigeria,Africa’s largest economy, the

International Monetary Fund(IMF) as well as several global

economy watchers still projectimpressive growth rates forNigeria and Sub-SaharanAfrica generally. Also, thenumber of middle-classhouseholds in the region hasgrown exponentially in the lastdecade. The Norwegian SWFis, therefore, determined topour more cash into thisemerging market, according toVentures Africa, a major Africaneconomy publication.

“Which new markets we enterdepends on which markets areavailable for investment, whatmarket opportunities there are,and market standards,” thefund said in its latest report.“We will continue to add newmarkets to the portfolio as soonas they meet our requirementsfor market standards.”

Although only 0.7 percent ofthe USD814 billion of TheNorwegian SWF’s investmentwas in the continent byDecember 2014, the fundappears poised to increase itsequity outlays in Africa. In astrategy report for 2014 – 2016released last year, NorgesBank Investment Management(NBIM), manager of theNorwegian SWF, said it wouldadd external mandates as itenters into new markets andsegments.

It said it expects to have 100external mandates by 2016,with the share of fundsmanaged by external bodiesexpected to have risen by 5percent. ”We use externalequity managers for themajority of our emergingmarkets investments and for allour investments in frontiermarkets,” the fund said.

The Nigerian Federal House ofRepresentative on Thursday passed the

sum of N4.5tn budget for the 2015 fiscal yearwith an increase of N135.4bn over initialproposal submitted in November 2014. Inaddition, the House has adopted an oilbenchmark of US$53.0, daily oil productionof 2.3mbpd, exchange rate of N190.00/US$1.00 and fiscal deficit/GDP ratio of 1.1%.Surprisingly, no provision for fuel subsidywas made in the approved 2015 AppropriationAct. A further review of the 2015 proposedbudget shows a 4.3% increase in totalexpenditure to N4.5tn in 2015 from N4.7tnin 2014. In the same vein, capital expendituredipped significantly by 50.3% from N1.1tnin 2014 to N0.6tn in 2015 despite theinfrastructure deficit in the country.

2015 Federal Budget: Matters Arising — AfrinvestIn spite of the acclaimed plan of the Federal

Government to reduce overheads, recurrentexpenditure (non-debt) increased 5.6% fromN2.5tn in 2014 to N2.6tn in 2015, accountingfor 58.8% of the total expenditure.

Debt service now accounts for 21.2% of thetotal expenditure on the back of thepersistence Y-o-Y increase in debt service(+33.9%). This will continue to be a sting inthe tail for the government in coming years.

A further breakdown of the debt serviceshows that about N894.6bn and N59.0bn willbe used for domestic and foreign debtsrespectively. Nevertheless, as a result of therebasing of the GDP, fiscal deficit to GDPstayed flat at 1.1% in 2015.

Consequently, the new Government willbe confronted with the challenge of

The least in theallocation of its FPIin Nigeria wentinto Access Bankstocks at USD2.1million (aboutN400 million) or3.2 per cent

implementing the 2015 budget in view ofthe current economic realities of lower oilproceeds. Meanwhile in anticipation thatthe Transition budget would likely becomelaw before the eventual take-over by thenew Government, the Buhari led incomingadministration has highlighted avenues toincrease the country’s revenue sources. Asa result, the next Government has proposedto run a lean government whilst blockingthe various revenue leakages.

Afrinvest, Nigeria’s leading finance andinvestment house, reasons that although,the execution of the 2015 budget may posea challenge for the incomingadministration, savings from the variousleakages and cost reduction may go a longway in supporting the successfulimplementation of the 2015 budget.

Nigeria'sNigeria's

CMYK


Agric

Aviation

The month of May is going tobe a special year in the annalsof Nigerian history as General

Muhammadu Buhari will be sworn inas the President of the country havingdefeated the incumbent, PresidentGoodluck Ebele Jonathan.

In the same month of May anotherNigerian, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina,the current Minister of Agricultureand Rural Development, might beelected the President of the AfricanDevelopment Bank as the financinginstitution is electing a new presidentto replace the incumbent PresidentDonald Kaberuka.

Dr. Adesina, who has gotten thesupport of General Buhari, will beslugging it out with a number of top-level finance officials in the regionwho have equally announced theirinterest in running for the position.

Other candidates short-listed for thepost along side Dr. Adesina,areEthiopia’s Finance Minister, SufianAhmed; Cape Verdean FinanceMinister, Cristina Kamara; currentVice President of the Islamic

MAY: Nigeria’s month with history asAdesina seeks to lead AfDBBY JIMOH BABATUNDEWITH AGENCY REPORTS Development Bank, Birama Sidibe

and Chad’s Finance Minister, KordjéBedoumra.

According to the AfDB Board, theselection of the most eligiblecandidates to succeed PresidentDonald Kaberuka was done by aSteering Committee of the Board ofGovernors at a meeting held inAbidjan on 11 Feb. Kaberuka iscurrently serving his second five-yearterm as AfDB President.

The out going AfDB President,Donald Kaberuka, many watchers ofthe financing institution said has takenthe bank to an enviable height thatanybody coming must be able to domore .

It is here that Dr. Adesina Akinwumiwealth of experience come in to totackle some pressing challenges inAfDB as many believe that the bankfaces competition for influence inAfrica from emerging players likeChina.

Realising the expectation from thebank, Adesina has promised Africa abank that will increase private sectorlending to curb widening inequalityon the continent.

“I see a bank that needs to do more

in the private sector,” Adesina said.He would focus on “new financialinstruments that can tap into thesepools of money, give us lower interestrates and long-term capital that Africacan use towards development.”

He also promise to focus the bank’sown lending on projects that havetrouble attracting private investors,such as water and sanitation in thepoorest countries. The AfricanDevelopment Bank’s private sectorlending was about $2.1 billion in 2013,up from $250 million in 2005, he said.

If elected, increasing access toenergy through infrastructureexpansion would be his top priority,followed by growing private sector jobsand industrialization, youthemployment, reviving ruraleconomies, and regional integration,he said.

For those who have followed Dr.Adesina’s career will not doubt hiscapacity to deliver when the chips aredown.

Adesina was AGRA’s Vice-Presidentfor Policy and Partnerships for fiveyears, before moving to his current roleas Nigerian Agricultural Minister.

While at AGRA, Akin Adesina helped

farmers and agro-dealers in Ghana,Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzaniaaccess over US$100 million in financethrough the use of innovativefinancing instruments.

He also worked to design the risksharing facility for the Central Bankof Nigeria, which leveraged US$3.5billion of lending from banks toagricultural value chains.

In 2011 Adesina become theNigerian Minister for Agriculture, andhas implemented a range of measureswhich have resulted in significantchanges in Nigeria’s agriculturalsector.

One of these measures is his effortsto make Nigeria self-sufficient in riceproduction.

By encouraging greater involvementof private seed companies into the riceindustry and providing farmers withsubsidized access to seed andfertilizer, since 2012, rice productionhas increased by seven million tons,while net farmer incomes have risenby $2.5 billion. Nigeria is on-track tobe self-sufficient in rice production by2018.

Adesina has also been commendedfor transforming the Nigerian fertilizerindustry by improving transparencyinto the supply and distribution offertilizer, by ending the government’srole in the buying and distribution ofseed and fertilizer.

By LAWANI MIKAIRU

The introduction of Aviation Cabotage law will saveNigeria 200 Billion Naira

annual revenue lose and stimulatethe development of indigenouscapacity and facilitate the pursuit fordeep local participation in the aviationsector. This is the view of Dr OlisaAgbakoba, a Human right Lawyer,Aviation and Maritime Consultant.

Agbakoba made this view knownduring a seminar on setting aviationagenda for incoming government ofGeneral Muhammadu Buhari. Hesaid the dwindling oil revenue hasmade it absolutely necessary for theincoming administration to focus onAviation sector for economicdiversification. And this, according tohim, calls for an Aviation Sector ActionPlan (ASAP). Cabotage law willcompel the aviation sector to reservecertain percentage of the market forlocal airlines and stakeholders.

Agbakoba said “With about 170million persons and regionaleconomic potentials, 22 airports, agrowing mass of flying middle class,Nigeria’s aviation requires massive

Aviation Cabotage will save N200bnannual revenue loss — Agbakoba

revamping in terms of infrastructure,legal, institutional and administrativeframeworks. “

“The Economic Benefits of Aviationand Performance in the Travel &Tourism Competitiveness IndexReport 2013 states that the aviationindustry supports tourism andinternational business by providingthe world’s only rapid worldwidetransportation network. Airlinestransported 2.8 billion passengers and47.6 million metric tonnes of air cargoin 2011, connecting the world’s citieswith 36,000 routes. By providing theseservices, the aviation industry playsan important role in enablingeconomic growth and providingvarious economic and social benefits.”

By DANIEL ETEGHE

The Med-View Airline said it hassigned a partnership

agreement with First bank of Nigeriafor online payment platform called“MasterCard Internet Gateway Service”(MIGS).This was contained in astatement signed by its Chairman, AlhajiMuneer Bankole and made available toaviation reporters on Thursday in Lagos

Med-view partners Firstbank on e-paymentThe statement noted that the service

would enable customers with Master/Visa cards to make payments onlineanywhere in the world.

According to the statement, this is toensure that Med-View brings its servicecloser to its numerous clients who desireto buy their tickets online within thecomfort of their home or offices withoutstress.

“This option of payment is in addition

to the Interswitch platform designedmostly for customers with Naira Mastercards.

“And the book-on-hold platform wherecustomers could walk into any bank inNigeria and pay for their reservationsmade online.To achieve this, customercan make reservation online and choosethe option “I want to pay with Master/Visa card” when they get to the paymentplatform,” it said.

COMMISSIONING - from left Mr Ishaq Naalah, Assistant General Manager,Business Development, Medview Airline; Mr Christophe Penninck, CEO, Bi-Courteney, Aviation Services Ltd; Alhaji Muneer Bankole, MD/CEO, MedviewAirline and Mr Akin Akinfemiwa, Group CEO, Forte Oil PLC during thecommissioning of the new Boeing 737 - 400 Aircraft acquired by MedviewAirline on arrival at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos on sunday.Photo Lamidi Bamidele

CMYK

Advertising & Promotions


CMYK

No doubt, companiesare increasinglyrecognising the

strategic importance of buildingbusiness practices that createsustainable economies,environments and societies. Inthe business world, CorporateSocial Responsibility, CSR is anindispensable tool for corporatelegitimacy and competitiveedge.

Even as Foreign DirectInvestment, FDI, is a keenlypursued objective ofdeveloping nations, its questhas lead to multinationalshaving access to emergingeconomies and when they areeventually admitted, thecompanies do not live up to theCSR demands of their hostcommunities.

In Nigeria for example, ShellPetroleum DevelopmentCompany, SPDC, MobileProducing, MTN, Airtel, BritishAmerican Tobacco Company ofNigeria Foundation, BATNF,Glo DHL, Promasidor,Guinness, Dufil, Nestle NigeriaPlc to mention but few, had comeup with some developmentprograms in host communitiesthrough their variousFoundations in order tomaintain their social license tooperate, with focus in areas suchas health, education andcommunity-building. Yet, whenparticularly oil companies likeShell, Mobil, Total and BATNattempt to implement a CSRagenda, they are regularly atarget for social activism onissues of malpractice.

Likewise, the water of lifeproject embarked upon byGuinness Nigeria Plc in partsof the country only ran for a fewmonths. A check at some of thewater sites in Ajegunle, Agege,Ogun state and other placesshowed that the sites are lyingfallow, this according toresidents was as a result inabilityof water to flow from the tapsafter commissioning and thatsince then Guinness have not

The good and ugly sides of CSR

returned to find out how theproject is performing.

Speaking, Franklin Emejo, aresident of Mba street inAjegunle, said water stoppedflowing few months after it wascommissioned. The story wasthe same in Agege area for theGuinness water of live project.In Ijebu-Ode consumers pay atoken to fetch the water, themoney Guinness said is tomaintain the project.

The bore hole constructed byDufil Prima Foods, owners of theIndomie brand had the samefate befall it as residents inOrile- Iganmu say waterstopped flowing longtime ago,likewise in other parts thecompany cited the project.

Speaking, Andrew Ojei, aresident of Orile -Iganmu, saidthat some of the CSR activitiesare shams. His words, “it is areap off in terms of tax reductionfrom the federal and internalrevenue offices. It’s a reap offin terms of deceit of the citizenrywho associate themselves withthe brands.” Even thoughmultinational investors or FDIinflow into multinationals ortransnational corporations withthe financial strength of somecorporations larger than that ofmany developing countries; areexpected to meet their CSR

requirements, companies stillremain adamant to plight oftheir operating communities.

A Non GovernmentalOrganization, NGO, Waterwarehouse Nigeria official,Ngozi Maduekwe, said that themajor problem is that most of theCSR projects are not the needof the people. “Communitiesshould be consulted beforecarrying out their activities, acommunity may require schoolbut construct water which maynot be their immediate need,they may require road and youbuild them clinic, these are someof the problems associated withwhat she called unplanned CSRinitiative.”

However, even when thesemultinational corporations makeso much profit, giving back totheir host communities throughthe concept of CSR becomes aproblem, asserts Igwe Odinaka,Head, Research at OrlickCommunications. He stated thatmost of the multinationals failto live up to laws governing theiroperations and activities, withregards to giving somethingback to society.

For example, Coca-Cola ismandated by USA law tocontribute no less than $100million annually towards theprogress of Hollywood, theAmerican movie industry. But inNigeria, no such initiative isavailable for Nollywood.

It was the late Senator UcheChukwumerije who tried in thiscapacity to institute the 1percent contribution for CSRwas frustrated along the line bysome the multinationals.

Even though some CSRactivities are riddled with deceitand controversy, their somecompanies that have performedwell in terms of giving back tothe society.

While Nigerian Breweries Plchas run a couple of reality TVshows and talent hunt eventssuch as AMBO box office,rested Music Quest, thesecannot be compared toHeineken’s support for theBritish Film industry as seen bythe millions of pounds itpumped into Skyfall, a JamesBond movie. Odinnaka retorted

But Adelaja Toki of TokiMabogunje and Company,argued that a company willgenerally be more proactive inits country of origin, when itcomes to living up to itsobligations. Its CSR activities inother countries would be only asmall percentage of its profit,when it looks at the huge tax itpays on revenue it generates,as well as remunerations to thelocal staff.

Thus, the establishment of abusiness integrity movementand the subsequent coming intobeing of the Convention onBusiness Integrity, CBI with thesupport of leaders of thoughtlike Dr. Christopher Kolade, Dr.Michael Omolayole, Mr.Akintola Williams, and Prof. PatUtomi, among others.

CBI has as its objective, thepromotion of ethical businesspractices, transparency and faircompetition in the private andpublic sectors, amongst otherthings. Living up to its billing,the business integritymovement has since wonconverts among illustriousNigerians and institutions.

Guinness Nigeria Plc, AccessBank, GTBank, MTN NigeriaCommunications Limited, andSAP Nigeria, among others aresignatories to CBI which aimsto move the Nigerian businesscommunity towards a state ofvisible zero tolerance forcorruption, and higher CSRperformance by companies, yetthis is lacking.

Winners have emerge from the IkejaCity Mall Promo rewarded loyalty

at its promo tagged: ‘EasterEggtravaganza.’ The promo which was inthree folds, first was the ‘Easter BunnyPromo’, to participate, shoppers droppedreceipt of N5,000 purchase with theircontact details at designated boxes placedat three entrances of the mall.

In a raffle draw, winners won giftsdonated by participating stores. The storesinclude Mr Price, Cold Stone, BheerhugzCafe, Sports World, Nike, Swatch, Da Viva,black|Up, Bruno’s Place, Jack & Jones,Seven Eagle Spur Restaurant, Harmony, V

ICM rewards loyaltyBy MILDRED IBRAHIM

Shop, Shoprite, Mango, Enzzo, DivaAccessories, Kidz Country, KFC and muchmore. Six winners emerge from this promo.

Another section of the promo was thetreasure hunt, called-’The Easter BunnyTreasure Trail’ where shoppers had tosearch twitter, Facebook and the Ikeja CityMall blog for clues about participatingtenant stores to help them locatetreasures(The Easter Eggs) strategicallypositioned inside participating stores. Theclues were uploaded on the eve of EasterSunday to ensure fairness in the wholeprocess.

Only shoppers who purchased itemsworth N5,000 on Sunday wereautomatically qualified for the second phaseof the promo.

With 21 kids that so farhave emerged in the

Indomie Independence day,IID award, search for the winnerof the 8thedition has begun.

The Group Managing Directorof Dufil Prima Foods Plc,Deepak Singhal, owners of theIndomie noodles brand,represented by Tope Ashiwaju,Public Relations/EventManager of the company, while presiding over the pressconference to usher in the8thedition of the heroes award,said the 2015 IID award wherethree kids who have braved theodds and displayed exceptionalcourage in the face of dauntingchallenges to save a situationwould be selected, recognized,rewarded and then celebratedfor their act of heroism.

The GMD went on to say thatthe three kids to be selectedwould have demponstratedremarkable acts of great couragedespite the unfavourableconditions they foundthemselves.

According to him, “so far 21children have received theawards and have their namedengraved in gold in our hall offame as heroes of Nigeria.” We are about to start theprocess of discovering anotherset of heroic children," he stated.

IID awardproduces 21winners

Communitiesshould beconsulted beforecarrying out theiractivities, acommunity mayrequire school butconstruct waterwhich may not betheir immediateneed

Stories by PRINCEWILLEKWUJURU

Knorr Taste Quest, anannual cooking

competition organized byUnilever Nigeria Plc, hasincreased its Star prize toN5miilion.The company disclosed thiswhen the Brand BuildingDirector, Foods, Mrs. NsimaOgedi-Alakwe, spoke at thethird edition press briefing ofthe competition tagged:‘Master class,’ where shestated that the winner will getN5million.According to her, the cashprize was premised on publicopinion, while stating thatwith the amount the winnercan still get a car of his or herchoice.Aside the N5million, the winnerwill receive kitchen equipmentsand cartoons of Knorrseasoning, she stated.She alsonoted that the prize of N1millionand N500,000 will be won by thefirst and second runner-uprespectively.Ogedi-Alakwe, who said thatregistrationis on viawww.knorr.ng.

Unilever increases‘Knorr TasteQuest’ prize toN5m

PRESENTATION: Barrett Kofi,Marketing Manager AGYA AP-PIAH BITTERS Company Limited;Samuel Ohemeng,ProductionManager, with Andrews Akolaa, Acting CEO, and JosephAjah,Managing Director Strategic and Pratical Nigeria Limit-ed, during the media presentaion of AGYA APPIAH BITTERS inLagos. PHOTO: AKEEM SALAU.

Business & Economy

Email:[email protected], [email protected] page:www.lesleba.com/blog2Website: www.lesleba.comTel:0805 220 1997


CMYK

Omoh Gabriel - Group Business EditorBabajide Komolafe - Deputy Business EditorClara Nwachukwu - Energy EditorPeter Egwuatu - Asst. Business EditorYinka Kolawole - Snr Bus. CorrespondentFavour Nnabugwu - Insurance CorrespondentGodwin Oritse - Maritime CorrespondentGodfrey Bivbere - Maritime CorrespondentMichael Eboh - Energy ReporterFranklin Alli - Industry/Agric. ReporterIfeyinwa Obi - Maritime ReporterRosemary Onuoha - Insurance ReporterNkiruka Nnorom - Capital Market Reporter

CONTRIBUTORSPrincewill Ekwujuru - Media/MarketingJonah Nwokpoku - E-CommerceNaomi Uzor - IndustryProvidence Obuh - Micro FinanceLAYOUT - Graphics Department

No plans to extend deadline for capital marketoperators — SEC boss

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

said that Sept. 30 deadline fornew minimum capitalrequirement for marketoperators would not beextended.

The acting Director-Generalof SEC, Mr Mounir Gwarzo,said in Lagos that thecommission had no plans toextend the deadline.

“The deadline has come tostay,” he said adding that thecapital requirement would beimplemented vigorously. Thedeadline is still Septemberand progress is being made,

Nigerians havebecome familiarwith the irregular

cycles of stable supply andintermittent scarcity in themarket for various products,ranging from essentialcommodities, such as sugar,bread and salt to the equallyimportant market for petroland kerosene. Expectedly,prices of these items spiralwhenever there is a supplydeficit, while prices willcollapse when supply levelsare once again restored.Indeed, in a free market,prices of goods and servicesfaithfully follow this pattern;curiously, however, themoney market in Nigeria (aswell as in several otherAfrican countries) is one ofthe few exceptions, where acommodity (in this casemoney) which is alleged to beconstantly in surplus,becomes increasinglyexpensive and costs well over20% to borrow!

For some unknown reason,the management of theseEconomies remains in denialof the causative link betweenthe ever-sliding rates of theirdomestic currencies againstthe dollar and the unceasing,unbridled, deliberatedomestic creation of excessivecash surpluses by therespective monetaryauthorities. In the Nigerianexperience, for example, theuninhibited increase andfailure to successfully controlmoney supply, made theattainment of a stronger Nairaexchange rate impossible,even, when we“consolidated” best everforeign reserves of about$60bn with extended importspayments cover.

Consequently, what hasbecome an abiding feature inNigeria, is the constantspectre of deliberately createddomestic cash surpluseschasing rations of dollar

When $ became cheaper in the black marketsupplies, which are controlledby the Central Bank.

Clearly, wherever productsare rationed, an insidiousblack market which willrecycle scarce supplies forresale at higher prices willevolve; ultimately the blackmarket price becomes aproduct of the extent of supplyshortage and the number of‘distributors’ in the chainbefore it reaches the finalconsumer. What is clear,nonetheless, is that a blackmarket generallycompromises supply sourcesand distorts marketdistribution to instigatehigher prices and excessiveprofiteering in the sale of anyscarce commodity.

Similarly, in the context ofNigerian’s foreign exchangemarket, the inability of ourmonetary authorities tosuccessfully modulate thebalance between Naira anddollar supply, in favor of theNaira, has led to an artificiallyinduced dollar scarcity in aclearly vibrant andinexplicable governmentfunded black market. Consequently, inconsonance with thecharacteristic feature ofhigher prices whenever thereis market scarcity, it wouldtherefore be an aberration ifthe black market price of thedollar ever falls below theofficial or interbank exchangerate.

Nonetheless, such anapparent price aberration,unexpectedly, transpired inthe recent past in our ownforeign exchange market!Indeed, barely a week beforethe Presidential polls, marketwatchers noted that the blackmarket dollar exchange ratehad fallen from aboveN220=$1 to between N212 -

N215=$1; furthermore,between the weekend of thepresidential polls and theEaster Holidays, the Nairafurther strengthened on theblack market to below N210,while the official rateremained steady at aboutN197 = $1.

The real drama, however,came in the last couple of daysbefore the state elections,when the Naira exchange ratein the black marketstrengthened below theofficial rate to sell, reportedly,for as low as N195=$1! Theunexpected appreciation ofthe Naira in the black marketwas interpreted in somequarters as an expression of

the Naira could only becomestronger, if the monetaryauthorities significantlyincreased the supply ofdollars, while keepingconstant or actually alsoreducing Naira supply anddemand. Well, there is noovert evidence that there wasany significant unusualreduction in money supply,during the period in question,although the extended EasterHolidays may have, despitethe availability of ATMs,reduced free access for hugemovements of Naira for largetransactions. So, if strongerNaira exchange rate in theblack market was not theresult of a significantdifference in the Naira supplyside of the equation, then wemay turn to the dollar supplyside for an answer. Inotherwords, was there anyapparent increase in dollarsupply or did the hoarders ofdollars decide to simplyoffload their holdings belowcost price as part of theircelebration of MuhammadBuhari’s victory?

There is nothing to suggestthat CBN spiked its dollarsupply to Bureau de Changeduring this period; ifanything, the CBN hascontinued to intermittentlyreduce the amount of forexallocations to BDCs becauseof supply challenges.Conversely, there wereunconfirmed media reports ofdollar bounties, which weredeployed to attract votesthroughout the federation bythe political class in the lasteight weeks and particularlyin the two weeks between theFederal and State elections.Evidently, the compact valueof the dollar made it thecurrency of choice for easymovement for the job that had

to be covertly done to improvethe chances of victory at thepolls.

The actual value of dollarsdeployed for this purpose isnot known, but it was certainlylarge enough to temporarilyoverwhelm subsisting Nairasupplies with BDC operatorsto make the Naira relativelyscarce against the dollar. Itwas consequently no bigsurprise therefore, that theheavy inflow of dollars intovibrant black market centresin Lagos, Kano, Ibadan, PortHarcourt, Abuja etc. quicklystrengthened the Nairaexchange rate below theofficial N197=$1.

The ready availability of asignificant Cache of dollarsfor election campaigns isprobably an indication thatCBN’s attempt to reduce themenace of bulk importation ofdollars since 2013 must havebeen an abysmal failure.

Clearly, the sales of dollarsbelow the official interbankrate is probably also reflectiveof the usual bargain pricesaccepted for prime qualitystolen goods. Thus, if theCBN did not suffocate theblack market with dollarsupply, then the politicalclass which, presumablytemporarily did so, did notcare much about receivingmarket value for the dollarsshared, probably because, inthe manner of stolen property,they did not have to put inany shift to acquire the dollarsthey liberally spread amongsttheir supporters.

Expectedly, nonetheless, thedollar surplus wasunsustainable and the Nairanow once again exchanges inthe black market for overN220=$1.

SAVE THE NAIRA, SAVENIGERIA!!

public confidence that GenBuhari will ‘make’ the Nairastronger when he assumespower.

The question, however, iswhether or not such publicsentiments are strong enoughto make any black marketforex dealer offload their stockof dollars at prices below thecost of purchase; if not so,what then could havehappened?

Well, a fall back to the solidground of the law of supplyand demand may provide uswith a plausible answer. Thus,

the level of compliance hasgone up but we aredetermined to keep to thatSeptember. 30, no shaking, nogoing back. There is no goingback and we are happy theway we are receivingresponses from all the capitalmarket operators,” Garzo said.

SEC had on December. 19,2013 issued a new capitalrequirement for capital marketoperators with December. 31,2014 as deadline for operatorsto recapitalise. SEC inresponse to numerousrepresentation from the capitalmarket community, extendedthe recapitalisation deadline

to September. 30, 2015. Thecapital market regulator hadearlier increased theminimum capital base forbroker/dealer by 329 per centfrom the existing N70 millionto N300 million.

Broker, which currentlyoperates with capital base ofN40 million, will now berequired to have N200million, representing anincrease of 400 per cent.

The minimum capital basefor dealer increased by 233per cent from N30 million toN100 million.

The question,however, is whetheror not such publicsentiments arestrong enough tomake any blackmarket forex dealeroffload their stock ofdollars at pricesbelow the cost ofpurchase


CMYK


CMYK


Fire razes gasstation inLagos

By Evelyn Usman

Generator fire kills WAEC candidate

Candidates arriving for the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, 67th Regular Course entranceexamination in Abuja. NAN PHOTO.

E X P L O S I O N ,weekend, rocked a

gas station at Ago Okotaarea of Lagos State,injuring several persons.

Five buses loaded withover one hundred gascylinders, two gas tankersand surface tanks, twoheavy duty generating setsand one Peugeot car wererazed in the resultant fire.

The incident whichoccurred at Allen gascompany about 4pm,Saturday, sent everyone,including motorists plyingthe route on their heels.

It was gathered that whilesome customers werewaiting to buy gas, adeafening sound from oneof the cylinders occurred.Before any one couldascertain what the problemwas, the explosion wasreportedly followed by ballsof fire.

Its cause was attributed toleakage from one of thecylinders which spilled toone of the powergenerating sets. Fearstricken residentsreportedly made efforts toput out the raging fire to noavail, until the arrival offire service officials.

Director, Lagos State FireService, Mr Rasak Fadipe,told Vanguard that no lifewas lost.

B A U C H I — T R A G E D Ystruck, yesterday, as a

teenager writing the WestAfrican Senior SchoolCertificate Examinations,WASSCE, in Bauchi State, diedof the burns he got after tryingto start a power generating set,which went up in flames.

It was learned that MubarakAliyu Gidado, 16, was rushedto Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

University Teaching, ABTUTH,where he died two days lateras a result of the injuries hesustained from the incident.

His father, Aliyu MohammedGidado, said his son, an SSSIII student of FOMWAN ModelSecondary School, Bauchi, wastrying to start the generatorwhen the incident occurred.

He said: “Around 7p.m., afterevening prayers, my son wentto start the generator. The fueljust ignited and the flames

burnt him. When he came outof the area, his body was burntfrom head to toe.

“The doctors gave him a 50-50 chance, but his conditionworsened and he was placed onlife support machine, but hisheart failed and he gave up.”

The bereaved fatherexpressed shock becauseMubarak had been putting onthe generator for several years.

He said: “As a father, youcannot quantify the grief of

losing a child. It is God thatgives and takes and we cannotquestion him.

“I thank God for Mubarak’slife. He was an obedient child.He wanted to study ComputerScience, but now he is no more.

“He was a good child. Thewhole Islamic school studentsand teachers came to my houseto sympathize with me onlearning of his death. May hissoul rest in peace.”

Muktar Gidado, uncle of thelate Mubarak, described hisnephew as full of hopes.

“He was a very brilliant child.He memorized 40 chapters ofthe Quran and he had a Quranin his pocket that day. He wasa determined boy, respectfuland obedient.”

Lawal Yusuf, Head of DaarCommunications office, Bauchiand neighbour to the Gidado atthe Federal Low-cost Housing,Bauchi, said Mubarak’s deathwas most painful because theboy was focussed in life.

He said: “It is sad. Tragic. Healways came first or second inhis class. Even at his hospitalbed, he was reminding hisfather that he had Mathematicspaper to write the next day.”

... as fire guts TV stationMeanwhile, Bauchi State

Police Command has reportedthat there was a fire incidentearly Sunday morning atSunnah TV Station situatedalong Kobi Street, Bauchi.

The command’s PublicRelations Officer, DSP HarunaMohammed, said the scene wasvisited and cordoned off bypolice patrol team attached toTownship Division, to preventlooters from taking advantageof the incident.

Mohammed said thedepartmentof fire service putout the fire with the assistanceof good Samaritans in the area.

Apart from the building, otherproperty destroyed by the fireincluded four sets of computersand other accessories.

SAPELE—AN accidentalong Benin-Sapele road,

involving a navy blue 18-seaterToyota Hiace bus and a ToyotaSienna, weekend, claimedthree lives, with others injured.

The accident, which occurredalong Obayantor village axis ofthe road, was said to have

happened at about 8:35am onSaturday morning.

An eyewitness said the Hiacebus and Sienna car with numberplates, Lagos XL 617 AGL andDelta BUR 598 AA, respectively,were heading towards Beninfrom Warri when the accidentoccurred.

The witness, who gave hisname as Paul Ogodo, said the

accident happened when thebus, with obituary posters, lostcontrol and rammed into theSienna bus from behind,causing both vehicles to skid offthe road.

Ogodo said some of theinjured passengers, who weretravelling to Ekpoma, Edo State,for a funeral, were taken to StellaObasanjo Hospital, Benin.

Three die in Benin-Sapele Road accidentBy Perez Brisibe

OWERRI—A three-storeybuilding located along the

road leading to Imo StateUniversity Teaching Hospital,Orlu, has collapsed. But no lifewas lost.

Vanguard learned that thebuilding was still underconstruction when it collapsedyesterday afternoon, followinga downpour that lasted forseveral hours the previous day.

A resident of the area, whoalso claimed to be aneyewitness, told Vanguard hewas on the other side of the roadwith his friends when theysuddenly heard a loud noise.

He said: “On turning to thedirection of the loud noise, wenoticed that the three-storeybuilding had collapsed.

“Our happiness is that it

occurred when there wasnobody in the building and nolife was lost.”

The man recalled that the ill-fated building, which wasstarted last year, was nearingcompletion before its tragiccollapse.

Another villager, who simplyidentified himself asChukwuemeka, linked thecollapse to poor foundationand faulty technicalcalculations by the contractor.

Chukwuemeka, who claimedto be a civil engineer,explained that he took theposition because the otherstorey buildings on the sameaxis had been standing foryears and still looking strong.

He expressed regret thatsome contractors were notbothered about soil textureand the damaging effect

collapsed structures could haveon their reputation.

3-storey building collapses in OrluBy Chidi Nkwopara

ENUGU—A mob,weekend, swooped on

revenue agents working forEnugu South LocalGovernment Area over allegedindiscriminate seizure of vehi-cles along Zik Avenue Road.

The officials, OrdiClement and Ndubuisi Ordi,who sustained injuries duringthe attack, had allegedly forciblyseized a vehicle, which causedmultiple accident on the road.

It was further gathered thatthe action of the revenue agents

angered sympathizers, whomobilized and pounced on thembefore the arrival of policemenfrom Uwani division, whorescued them.

Police Public Relations Officer,Enugu Command, Mr. EbereAmaraizu, said policemenaverted what could have led tothe death of the revenueenforcement officials.

He said: “The suspects havebeen arrested and all thevehicles involved in theaccident towed to the station fornecessary action, whilenormalcy has been restored.”

Revenue officials cause multipleaccident in Enugu, escape lynching

By Francis Igata

ANTI-ROBBERY teamof Ogun State Police

Command, Eleweran, hassmashed a 10-man robberygang that has been terroriz-ing Ewekoro Local Govern-ment Area of the state.

Leader of the gang, iden-tified as Bayo alias Abana,and two of his members werearrested and are currentlyhelping the Police in theirinvestigation.

Following a tip-off, thePolice swooped on the gangat Sofuolu village, inEwokoro council of the statea 1a.m.

Among the items recoveredfrom the robbery gang areAK-47 assault rifles, pumpaction rifles with rounds ofammunition, charms andother dangerous weapons.

Baale of Sofuolu village,Chief Abiola Ogundele, saidAbana and his gang hadbeen terrorizing the villagersand the adjoining villagessince May last year and thatat a stage, he had to relocatefrom the village.

Ogun Policeburst robberygang

By Suzan Edeh

48—Vanguard,48—Vanguard,48—Vanguard,48—Vanguard,48—Vanguard, MONDAY, MONDAY, MONDAY, MONDAY, MONDAY, APRIL 27, APRIL 27, APRIL 27, APRIL 27, APRIL 27, 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015

WHAT is immunisation? Immunisation is when a

person is made resistant to aninfectious disease and this is oftenachieved by vaccination.Immunisation is a protection thatis given by vaccination. Theperson is given a vaccine thatcontains a modification of the or-ganism that causes the infection,such that when the person isexposed in the future to thatorganism, he or she is protectedfrom it.Why is it important for ba-bies?

It is important to get babiesimmunised because when theyare born, they have little or noimmunity, so they are prone toinfectious diseases. They have alittle protection from their moth-ers' immunity but that waneswithin a short time. The time toimmunise a baby is right frombirth. There is an immunisationprotocol that is followed. The vac-cination protects them and pre-pares them for the challengesahead from the infectious diseasesthat can occur.

In Nigeria, the NationalProgramme on Immunisation,NPI,stipulates the number of

Ignorance often the causeof resistance to immunisation

• Dr. Obianuju Ozoh.

times it is out of ignorance andproper education can suffice.Sometimes it is as a result of cul-tural and religious factors andagain presenting the facts willhelp to over come some of these.It is important to understand thatbecause immunisation has beentaken up by so many people someof those diseases that are coveredare no longer affecting others eventhose who have not received thevaccination (herd immunity). Butif many people stop gettingtheimmunisation, those diseaseswill come back and the threat forthose who are not immunised willincrease. So we need to encour-age everybody to get immunised.Do adults requireimmunisation?

Yes a number of vaccinationssuch as the pneumococcal vac-cine, HPV, chicken pox, typhoidfever and influenza vaccines maybe required by adults. The indi-cations for some adultimmunisation include age andthe presence of certain medicalconditions.Tell us a little about thepneumococcal vaccine

The pneumococcal conjugatevaccine has been shown to be ef-fective in preventing infectionfrom the pneumococcal organismwhich causes pneumonia, men-ingitis and blood infection. Thisis a major cause of death amongthe elderly and those with manymedical conditions.

Medicalconditions

It is recommended for childrenand it is included in the NPI. It isalso recommended for adults overthe age of 65 years and also forthose less than 65 years but whohave other conditions such as dia-betes, HIV infection, cancers,sickle cell, lung diseases etc.There is a guideline that is usu-ally followed for adult pneumo-coccal vaccination.What is the role of healthcareproviders in closing theimmunisation gap?

Their role is to educate and ad-vise patients on the benefits ofimmunisation and to identifythose who have fears and con-cerns regarding immunisationand to address them. Sometimespeople are not aware of the vac-cine they need, so the health careprovider has a role in educatingtheir patients about the right vac-cines that are available and en-couraging them to get those vac-cines.

The government is trying toreach the rural areas that were notadequately covered bydecentralising immunisation andscaling it down appropriately andthe reach has increased. Pneu-mococcal vaccine uptake particu-larly among adultshas not beenoptimal and I think we need tohighlight its benefits in reducingthe burden of pneumococcal in-fection.

immunisations and the schedule.Some of them are mandatory,others are optional, but what youare seeing in Nigeria is a standardthat has been approved by theFederal Ministry of Health.Is immunisation for everychild and why are there somany visits required?

Immunisation is for every childand protects for a long time.Itgives good protection but it hasbeen shown that no vaccine is 100percent protective, howeverwhen some children get the dis-ease after vaccination the sever-ity is much reduced. An unvacci-nated child has not received pro-tection as required.

The schedule for immunisationthat has been designed is evi-dence-based and the timing ofeach vaccine determined, there-fore multiple visits may be re-quired.Is immunisation for childrenonly?

Children under the age of fiveare mainly vaccinated but thereis also immunisation for 12-13-year-olds and for adults too.Can the first breast milkfrom the mother serve asimmunisation?

immunisation. It helps the childto fight infections but it is notimmunisation and the benefitslast only for a short time. Someimmunisations shots protect be-yond one condition, some vacci-nations come in combinations, sowith one shot a person can getprotection for multiple infections.Where can people getimmunised?

Immunisation has been madeavailable to everybody. At everyhealth centre, General Hospital,and government hospital, thereis an immunisation centre thatruns a programme for mothers totake their children for regularimmunisation. At the governmenthospital, immunisation is free forthe diseases that are in the na-tional programme. It is not op-tional.

If you go to a private hospital,you are going to pay forimmunisation. But governmenthas recognised that there must bea public private mix, becausesome people will still not go tothe government hospitals there-fore many private hospitals alsorun immunisation programmes.. They follow the NPI and mustmake sure they maintain the coldchain so that the vaccines are safe.It has been recognised thatsome mothers are resistantto immunisation, how canthis be addressed?

Benefits of immunisation far out-weigh the risks. The side effectsof immunisation such as fever aremild and will resolve even with-out treatment. Some people oftenhave the concerns of long-termside effect but it has been shownthat these side effects are rarecompared to the protection re-ceived from immunisation. Toaddress this, it is first importanttounderstand why a woman isresistant to immunisation. Many

— Dr. Obianuju Ozoh, Pulmonologist & Senior Lecturer, CMULAS the world marks this year's immunisation week, April 24-30, Consultant Pulmonologist (specialist in the lungs andbreathing), Dr. Obianuju Ozoh, highlights the challenges ofchildhood and adult immunisation in Nigeria.In this interview with Sola Ogundipe, Ozoh, who is also a SeniorLecturer at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, identifiesthe role of healthcare providers in preventing and reducing theburden of Vaccine Preventable Disorders, including pneumoniaand other pneumococcal disorders through immunisation. Ex-cerpts:

NIPDs: Lagos targets 4m children

Sometimes peopleare not aware ofthe vaccines theyneed, so the healthcare provider has arole in educatingtheir patientsabout the rightvaccines

THE Lagos State Governmenthas said 4.3 million children

were immunised againstchildhood vaccine preventablediseases including polio duringthe March National ImmunisationPlus Days, NIPDs, in the Stateeven as it is targeting more fourmillion children in the AprilNIPDs.

Disclosing this last week,Special Adviser on Health to theLagos State Governor, Dr.Yewande Adeshina said theMarch NIPDs had 96 percentcoverage.

She said the April NIPDscommences 25th through 28thApril, and that the Expert ReviewCommittee on Polio Eradicationin Nigeria recommended tworounds of NIPDs in March and

April 2015 to ensure that twodrops of supplemental oral poliovaccine are administered tochildren aged 0 - 59 months.

"NIPDs campaign is essentiallya Polio campaign initiated underthe Polio Eradication Initiative inNigeria which aims to immuniseat least 95 percent of childrenaged 0-59 months with Oral PolioVirus (OPV) in all LGAs,regardless of their previousimmunisation status; to reducezero dose rate, that is children thathave never receivedimmunisation before; to increaseroutine immunisation coverage;and to promote integration ofother child survival.

The campaign will involvehouse-to-house, transit and fixedpost teams while children athomes, markets, churches,mosques, major car parks and

social event venues would bespecifically targeted.

"Lagos State will mount 752fixed posts, 2,189 house-to-house,and 1,712 transit Teams. Planshave been made to implementactivities that would attractchildren and caregivers tovaccination posts like vaccinationpost banners, drumming, music,giving of 'pluses' to immunisedchildren, amongst others. Thehours of service will be between7 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily for thefour days" she explained.

Stressing that the immunisationservice is free, Adeshinaappealled to parents andcaregivers to ensure that alleligible children receive poliovaccine irrespective of theirimmunisation status when healthworkers come knocking at theirdoors.

By Chioma Obinna

The first breast milk that comesfrom the mother is high in immu-noglobulin that is protective of thechild, but it does not replace

VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015—49

How PDP can survive the harshlife of opposition — Mamora

Continues on page 50

Three thingshappened to PDP.The first wascomplacency, thesecond wasarrogance of powerand the third wasenthronement ofimpunity

•Mamora

ERSTWHILE speaker of the LagosState House of Assembly, former deputy minorityleader of the Senate, Senator Olorunimbe Mamorawas the deputy director general of the successful AllProgressives Congress, APC Presidential CampaignOrganisation. In this interview, Senator Mamora bareshis mind on the person of the president-elect, thechallenges of the campaign and developmentsemanating from the victory of the APC among otherissues. Excerpts:

By Henry Umoru

consider the background to themerger, the parties that cametogether and then of course thedefecting governors particularlyfrom the PDP that also joined.

Emergenceof the merger

So everybody had a role to play,but I must specifically give kudosas it were to the leaders of all theparties that were involved inensuring that the merger becamea reality against all odds.

You don’t have to startrecounting all that happened,attempt to scuttle the mergereven when the merger eventuallycame to be and of course settingup the structures of the party,ward congresses, localgovernment congresses, statecongresses, and the nationalconvention. People thought thething would collapse; it is notpossible, strange bed fellows andall sorts of things like that.

And then you would not forgetso soon when some people alsocame claiming that APC is theirown brand.

For me, I would tell you that allalong I believed the hand of Godwas in the whole project. And Ijust had it within me that the handof God was in the whole project,and we finally got the rightcandidate.

Seriously, for me and with alldue respect to all the otherpresidential aspirants, for thispoint in time the best man thatcould have won that election withof course God in the project couldnot have been no other personthan Gen. Mohammadu Buhari,seriously. It became an ideawhose time has come, andnobody just could stop it.

Of course I acknowledge all theother presidential aspirants;

Atiku Abubakar, RabiuKwankwanso, Sam Nda Isaiahand Rochas Okorocha, all ofthem.

When you look at even thehistory of nations, you willdiscover that at some point intime, at a particular point in time,God would just give the people,that is, the man for this point intime.

If you talk of America, you willtalk of Abraham Lincoln, if youtalk of Britain, you would talk ofWinston Churchill, if you talk ofSouth Africa, you would talk ofNelson Mandela, if you talk ofSingapore, you would talk of LeeKuan Yew, if you talk of France,you will talk of Charles de Gualle;so all these individuals came ata time or God just presented themat a time and everybody wouldjust key into it.

Campaignperiod

So it was against thisbackground that we faced all theodds and like I said, I had thatconviction within me that God isin this project. And look at theelectioneering campaign period,look at all the campaign ofcalumny against the person ofGen. Mohammadu Buhari, hate,propaganda and all that,viciously attacking his personand in spite of all that, in fact itgot to a point that all these attacks,they became positive in the sensethat people were beginning tolook beyond whatever.

All these attacks became asource of sympathy towards thepresidential candidate then ashe was. Then of course thecertificate saga which was a non-issue to start with. And one thingI always and still tell people uptill now is that the greatest thinggoing for Gen. MohammaduBuhari is moral authority, it is thegreatest asset. His integrity isthere, but moral authority is themain character that can stand upand say yes and nobody wouldquery that and none of his peershas that kind of quality.

As the Deputy Director-General of the campaign, didyou at any time entertain fearof defeat before the election?

Not really the issue of fear, butthere were concerns and therewere even some anxiousmoments, but the peace of Godwas with me personally and I hadthe cause to express my owninner thoughts to Gen. Buharihimself, that God was with us inthe project taking into cognisancethe problems created for us bythose who wanted to scuttle themerger.

I also remember an attempteven on the General’s life whenthere was a bomb attack on hisconvoy and he escaped.

I felt that for me, that itself wasa good omen that God has apurpose for this man’s life for thiscountry, that he couldmiraculously escape or he couldbe miraculously delivered in thatsituation, that itself was enoughto convince me that God has a

purpose for this man in Nigeria.Again, I said it earlier on,

wanting to displace a sittinggovernment at the federal levelin Africa and in Nigeria where ithas never happened before, soit was historic, and of courseknowing the amount of moneythrown out, seen and unseen, theamount of the vicious campaign,so if it was money, we would benowhere to be found because wecould not match the PDP moneyfor money, no.

They also had all the stateapparatus at their disposal, andall these convinced me that it wasthe Lord’s doing.

Given what happened to thePDP, what are you putting inplace to ensure that you manageyour success?

My prayer is that our own lotwould not be like that of the PDP,

but at the same time, I would alsowarn that we are not immune towhat happened to PDP.

For me, three things happenedto PDP. The first wascomplacency, the second wasarrogance of power and the thirdwas enthronement of impunity.And it was like, no, we are theones there, nothing will happen,we can do whatever we like. Sothose were the three things thatdestroyed the party and broughtthe party, PDP, to her kneelscompletely. So, we should alsobe mindful.

In fact, I even said it somewherebefore now, that PDP is evenlucky for the Nigerian people tohave tolerated the party for 16years, I pray that we would alsobe lucky enough. You see, theexpectations are more thanbefore, very high now.

What do you make of thechange?

I am not unmindful of what thechallenges ahead are and whatit means is that we must alwaysremind ourselves of thesechallenges. We must always keepour eyes on the ball so that wedon’t miss the goal.

We must keep our promisesparticularly the three majorareas; insecurity which we musttackle, the second is corruption,the third is the economy; thoseare the three major areas andthey are interwoven. What thepresident- elect has been saying,in essence, is that it may taketime to achieve certain things.

Turnaround instock market

But I have gone further to saythat certain things even with hiselection, without beinginaugurated, with his electioncertain, things happened, therewas a turnaround in the stockmarket, the price of dollarrelating to naira fell, those aresome positive signals and whichare just based on the man, Gen.Buhari, the president elect ofNigeria, everything is just fallingin place and that is the kind ofthing that you need because withhis election already, some levelof stability is already beingexperienced in the system whichwe now need to build upon.Even the investors both withinand outside, there is alreadysome kind of confidence cominginto the system.

To complement this, the peoplehe would work with, must thinkalong the same line with him.

I can assure you that the bit Iknow of the president elect, heis ever mindful of who arearound him because he cannotdo it alone and that is why theconstitution has given him thatlatitude to assemble a team whowould work with him either asmembers of the cabinet or asspecial advisers or in variousother positions.

I could remember on several

HOW was the campaign?Expectedly it was tough in the sense

that we were trying to displace a sittinggovernment which in its self is a herculean taskin Africa and in fact in anywhere in the world.Never has it been done in Nigeria, so this isthe first time that you would have an oppositionparty come in to defeat the ruling party, theincumbent president.

So we knew what to expect, we knew what toface, but we were undaunted because we weredetermined, we wanted it, we worked for it andGod did it at the end of the day. So I wouldn’tgo too far without saying it is the Lord’s doing,as we say and to God be the glory.

But I will also give credit to the leaders of theparty and in saying this, you would want to

50—VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

Continues from page 49

•Mamora: Change will be challenging

occasions during thecampaign, you would seethe masses that virtuallymobbed him and youwould be wondering thesepeople they haveexpectations.

So he is very consciousof what is at stake and Iknow that he would bringon board those who wouldbe in the best position toassist him in achieving theset goals, objectives andthe vision which he has forthis country.

Don’t you think that thecontinuing failure of yourparty to resolve the zoningof offices could tear yourparty apart?

The party will not tearapart, that is the first thingto say. For a party that isas vibrant as APC, it isnothing unusual. What isimportant is that at the endof the day, the party woulduphold the principle ofjustice, equity and fair play.

Whatever that is going onnow, at best they are justconsultations. No decisionhas been taken, they arejust consultations and it isgood to consult wide andput heads together, giveand take, work outconsensus and what haveyou to achieve what is best.

Crashprogramme

It is not about anindividual, tribe, geo-political zones, it is aboutNigeria. And once wekeep Nigeria as our focusand we all collectivelyagree to work for what I callthe best interest of thiscountry, then we will getto that Promised Land.

What advice would yougive to the PDP to surviveas an opposition party?

First, I would probablyjust borrow from one of therecent press releases of mydear brother, irrepressibleLai Mohammed where hesaid that the PDP would bewilling, I think he gave theadvice to Olisa Metuh, thePDP National PublicitySecretary that he would bewilling to give him a crashprogramme on how to bean opposition spokes man.

So I think I would justadvice Olisa Metuh to takethe advantage of that freecrash programme offeredby Lai Mohammed on howto be an opposition spokesman, which is on a lighternote.

But on a very seriousnote, PDP should adoptthe approach of APC interms of not engaging indestructive criticism. I justmentioned earlier on thatwe would not be perfect,

How PDP can survive harsh life — Mamora

we are very conscious ofthat because perfectionbelongs to God. What PDPshould look out for is togive constructive criticismand be up and doing.

You know that was whatour party was doing and Icannot over say it. LaiMohammed, theopposition spokesman tillMay 29, did a wonderfuljob in that capacity becausehe would comment oneverything and anythingin a very positive manner.So that should be the kindof rule.

On those dumping thePDP for the APC?

I am not too comfortableby this influx of a lot ofpeople particularly eventhe big wigs in PDP nowmoving into APC indroves. Yes, people arewelcome, but what wewant is value addition, wedon’t want fair weatherbirds, no because that maybe dangerous.

Some of these peoplewith all due sense ofresponsibility, some ofthem may just be politicalvirus that would end upinfecting and invadingand then go on todestabilize and destroy,that is the way I look at it.

Some of them, I am notsaying all of them, some ofthem may just be what Ihave just said politicalvirus which would infect,invade, destabilize anddestroy their host and in

this instance the APC.People must learn to be

consistent in what they doand we cannot have abalanced democracy in anatmosphere devoid ofrobust opposition. It isimportant for me to say this.We need that robustopposition to keepconstantly the ruling partyas it were or thegovernment at that pointthe incumbent governmenton its toes. Because whena government or the rulingparty is kept on its toes,then you will always knowthat there is another partywaiting in the wings to takeover.

This is the way it shouldbe. It should just be asituation of if I don’t getwhat I want here, let mejump. It doesn’t help thesystem. We must help thesystem to grow to what wewant it to be.

Politicalevolution

For me, happily enough,through a process ofpolitical evolution, weseem to have establisheda two party system in thecountry, which I havealways considered the bestoption for us because it isthe kind of situation thatprovides the bestadvantage to abort thethings that tend to divideus; the primordialsentiments, the north southdichotomy, the east westdichotomy, religious, tribal,ethnic sentiments and allthat. It is a two party systemthat provides the bestoption to abort thesedivisive tendencies in theland.

So that is my advice forthe opposition, the PDP, letthem also feel it this timearound, now that the tablehas turned. It is good toknow how it feels to be onthe other side.

On a veryserious note,PDP shouldadopt theapproach ofAPC in terms ofnot engaging indestructivecriticism

Vanguard, MONDAY Vanguard, MONDAY Vanguard, MONDAY Vanguard, MONDAY Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, , APRIL 27, , APRIL 27, , APRIL 27, , APRIL 27, 2015—512015—512015—512015—512015—51

Several months after fire tragedy, tradersstill count losses Lament govt neglect

By Chris Onuoha

SUNDAY June 9, 2013,is a day that traders at the

Speedwell Plaza, Trinity Spare partsmarket in Olodi Apapa, nowremember with pain and regret.It was a day their shops at theplaza were razed by fire that leftthem suffering huge losses andbeing heart-broken. Two years after,they are yet to recover from thatdisaster as they are still lamentingtheir losses. This is after severalSave- Our-Soul, SOS, letters andappeals to the Lagos StateGovernment have failed to yield anycomforting response.

The traders, under the aegis ofSpeedwell Plaza Union, arehowever, not discouraged by thelack of response to their cry or theoutright indifference by the LagosState Government and the LagosState Emergency Relief Agency,LASEMA, to their suffering . Theyhave intensified their appeals,telling all concerned about theirplight and pleading forhumanitarian intervention that willbring succour to them.

It will be recalled that on thatfateful day in June 2013, over 150shops and goods worth more thanN500 million were destroyed by fireat the Trinity Road, Speedwell Plazain Olodi Apapa. The fire wassuspected to have been caused bypower upsurge. Though no life waslost, about three people sustainedvarious degrees of injury.

Citizens indistress

According to some members of theUnion executive who spoke toVanguard Metro, VM, on theincident, “in spite of several lettersand appeals sent by the Union tothe Lagos State Governor,Babatunde Fashola, the StateCommissioner of Special Dutieswhose office is directly in charge ofcitizens in distress in Lagos State,the chairman of Ajeromi LocalGovernment Area and otherrelevant bodies, there has been noaction taken to assuage our lossesand alleviate our plight since theunfortunate incident, thus leavingus stranded.”

The Chairman of the Union,Theophilus Okeke, whileexpressing dismay over the attitudeof the state government to theirplight, said: “We are suffering; lifehas not been the same since the fireincident. Our children cannot go toschool anymore and our domesticneeds cannot be met, promptingsome of our members to relocate tothe village.”

Okeke said: “As you can see now,many of us affected by the fireincident have been reduced to zerolevel after millions of naira whichwe borrowed from banks to facilitateour businesses got lost in the fire.Some of our members have diedfollowing the untold hardship thatcame their way as a result of whichthey were unable to pay hospitalbills when they had healthchallenges and psychologicaltraumas. Unable to make ends meet,some have resorted to doing menialjobs to sustain themselves. We owethe banks heavily and we need helpto get our lives back on track.”

Speaking in a sorrowful voice, hesaid: “We all know it is a naturaldisaster, but as tax-paying citizens

of this country, we feel governmenthas an obligation to look after ourwelfare in our moment of need likenow that we are left to the mercy offate.”

Okeke also queried why theirplight should be ignored whensome people in similar situation inthe state are getting assistance fromgovernment. He cited the case ofthe N87 million compensationgiven to victims of the Surulere rainflood disaster in February 2014 bythe Lagos State Government.

Mr. Okeke used the opportunityto once again appeal to the LagosState government to help alleviatetheir suffering, saying: “We are veryinstrumental in the electioneeringprocess of the state and also havea fair share in the economic growthof the state through our commercialactivities and immovableproperties. We have alsocontributed our quota in helpingthe Fashola administration succeedand hoping his successor will notforget us. I am strongly appealingto the Lagos State governmentonce again to come to our aid asthings have been very difficult forus since the incident.”

According to Okeke: “GovernorFashola paid a visit to the site twodays after the incident andpromised to rebuild the plaza withconsideration to the initial occupantsof the burnt shops first before othersafter completion. Two weeks afterhis visit, the plaza was cordonedoff by a private developer withoutany physical works or constructiongoing on.”

Vandals are better armed than us— Lagos NSCDC

By Bose Adelaja

TWO months after the anti-vandals squad of the Nigeria

Security and Civil Defense Corps,NSCDC, was attacked by somesuspected pipeline vandals in Oke-Oko, a border town in Ikorodu, theLagos State Command of theCorps has come out to say that thelaw enforcement agents wereoverwhelmed by the sophisticatedweapons employed by the vandals,adding that three of its men werestill missing.

The NSCDC State Commandant,Gabriel Abafi, also said that thevandals are being sponsored bysome individuals, a situationwhich, he said, has enabled themprocure better and moresophisticated weapons than theanti-vandals squad. He therebycalled on both the Federal and stategovernments to declare theaffected area a danger zone, sayingonly the combined team of themilitary and other securityagencies can put an end to the illicitbusiness.

Lamenting that the vandals havebeen having a field day since theincident occurred, the commandantsaid he has intensified the searchfor the missing men through otherrelevant security outfits in the state.‘’We are still searching for three ofour men. In the event, we havecontacted all the intelligenceorganisations to help us in the

search. Unfortunately thevandals are having a field dayin the community and this is sopainful because what belongsto the entire nation is beingcornered by some individualswho have sponsors andbuyers,’’ he lamented.

Abafi also said the affectedfamilies have been contacted tojoin the state chapter in prayersfor the missing officials as therewas no clue to theirwhereabouts.’’We want to keepthe names secret so thatemotions will not be raised byindividual families who havebeen coming to our office. Also,we have been pleading withthem to join us in prayers,’’ hesaid.

The NSCDC official called onbuyers of vandalised productsto desist from the act, saying:‘’If there are no buyers, thesepeople will stop operation.”

We hereby urge both the stateand Federal governments todeclare the place a no-go-areato the vandals, even if it meanstaking possession of the area,’’he said.

Meanwhile, the residentshave urged government toprovide adequate security in thecommunity as the vandals havere-grouped, even threateningthe community in defiance of lawenforcement agents.

Unable to makeends meet, somehave resorted todoing menial jobs tosustain themselves;we owe the banksheavily and we needhelp to get our livesback on track

*Fire fighters battling to put out the inferno at the Speedwell Plaza, Trinity Spare parts market in Olodi Apapa


CMYK


CMYK


Rivers: Election petition tribunal receives 17 petitions

Reps Speakership: CJF makes case forS-South, S-East

L-R: President, DuPont Turkey, Middle East, Africa and Pakistan, Mr. Pierrick Le Gallo, Country Manager,DuPont Nigeria, Mr. Seydou Kane; and Managing Director/CEO, Financial Derivatives Company Limit-ed, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, during DuPont Business Forum themed “Business Outlook for Nigeria in thenew Political Context”, in Lagos

THE Justice andD e v e l o p m e n t

Consultative Forum, JDCF, said,yesterday, that it would be unfairto deny the North-east geopolitical zone the position of theSenate president, noting that theregion braved securitychallenges to produce thesecond largest number of votesfor the All Progressives Congress,APC.

A statement by its leader, Mr.Elisha Ishaku said the regiondeserves an influential positionin the legislature to championthe reconstruction of thedamages caused by BokoHaram insurgents.

His words: ''From when I canremember the leadership of thesenate when zoned to the northhas always been taken by thenorth central. I don’t think weare asking for too much. Look atthe recent devastations in theNorth East, we have lost a lot tothe insurgencies and we are stilllosing, our children are beingkidnapped in hundreds, ourwives and women molested,brothers and husbands killed,families without their homes, thedestruction is massive.”

It’ll be unfair todeny North-eastsenate presidency—Justice Forum

By Emman Ovuakporie

A B U J A — A Nadvocacy group,

the Coalition for Justice andFairness, CJF, weekend,cautioned the All

Progressives Congress onthe dangers of excludingthe South South geo-political zone from itszoning formula, particularlyin the Speakership of theHouse of Representatives.

The CJF said in astatement that the APCadministration having hadthe president-elect, Gen.Muhammadu Buhari fromthe North West and the vicepresident-elect, Prof. YemiOsinbajo from the SouthWest, it was alarmedfollowing reports of theAPC zoning the NationalAssembly leadership to theNorth East and South Westregions, by implicationexcluding the South Southand South East geo-politicalregions.

CJF in the statementsigned by its convener,Muraina Ahmed, warnedthat the exclusion of thezones will negate thefederal character principleenunciated in section 14(3)of the NigerianConstitution.

The statement read inpart: “For the records, theAPC as the majority partyhas the conventionalprivilege to zone the officesof Senate President,Deputy Senate President,Speaker and DeputySpeaker of the House ofRepresentatives. Theknotty issue that will testAPC’s abhorrence ofimpunity, which was one ofthe major reasonsNigerians voted for theparty, is the zoning of thelisted leadership offices in

•as presidential tribunal enters no case against Buhari’s victory

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA—THE PresidentialElection Petition Tribunal

which was originally scheduledto conduct its proceedings at theAbuja Division of the Court ofAppeal, is in the process ofpacking up, as no single casewas lodged against the victory ofthe President-elect, GeneralMuhammadu Buhari.

Section 285 of the 1999Constitution, as amended,specifically provided for petitionsto be entered before the tribunal,21 days from the day the finalresult was declared by theIndependent National ElectoralCommission, INEC.

Investigations by Vanguardrevealed that the 21 daysdeadline expired last week, withneither the Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, nor any other party orpresidential candidate, moving tochallenge Buhari’s electionvictory at the tribunal.

It will be recalled that on threedifferent occasions, Buharihimself had gone before thepresidential election tribunal tochallenge the election victories ofex-Presidents OlusegunObasanjo (2003), late UmaruMusa Yar’adua (2007), and that

of Goodluck Jonathan (2011).Meantime, 11 petitions havebeen lodged before the RiversState Election Petition tribunalwhich was relocated to conductits proceedings in Abuja.

The Secretary of the tribunal,

Mr. Deborah Musa whoconfirmed this to Vanguard,further disclosed that all thepetitions were based on theNational Assembly election thatheld in Rivers State on March28.

She said that so far, no petition

has been filed against theoutcome of the governorshipelection that saw the emergenceof the erstwhile Minister ofEducation, Chief Nyesom Wikeas the governor-elect for the state,adding, however, that the timewithin which such petition couldbe filed, had yet to elapse.

CMYK


CMYK


CMYK


CMYK

VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardCLASSIFIED

M B I O N W U — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissMbionwu OliveChinonye, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Nnajiofor OliveChinonye. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Abia StateUniversity, Uturu andgeneral public pleasetake note.

AYODEJI—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Ayodeji OlanikeEsther, now wish to beknown and addressedas Adekunle OlanikeEsther. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

N D U K W U — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissNdukwu BernadineNgozi, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. BernadineNgozi Aririguzo . Allformer documentsremain valid. FederalUniversity ofTechnology, Owerriand general publicplease take note.

O K E N W A — I ,formerly known andaddressed as OkenwaPatience Amarachi,now wish to be knownand addressed asEjikeude PatienceAmarachi. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

OTIVERE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss OtivereComfort Edoja, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Awoyale ComfortEdoja. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

O L U G B A D E — I ,formerly known andaddressed asOlugbade BasiratAjoke, now wish to beknown and addressedas Adebayo BasiratAjoke. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

E Z E N W A T A — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissEdith NnekaEzenwata, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Edith Nneka Okunbor.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

OSIGWE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Osigwe JaneChidinma, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Agbisi Jane Chidinma.All former documentsremain valid. NnamdiAzikiwe University,Awka and generalpublic please take note.

DAUDA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss DaudaMuyibat Ajoke, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Bamijoko MuyibatAjoke. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

I K E C H U K W U — I ,formerly known andaddressed asIkechukwu Ezinkwo,now wish to be knownand addressed asEmmanuel I. Ezinkwo.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

OFOH—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Ofoh Enifome, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Nwabudike Enifome.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

OBRUCHE —I,formerly known andaddressed as MissGlory Obruche, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Glory OmovidonorMukoro. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Delta StatePolytechnic, OtefeOgharha, and generalpublic please takenote.

A D A U G O — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissJuliet Adaugo Ejiogu,now wish to be knownand addressed asMrs. Juliet AdaugoOkukporo. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

A N E K W E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissNgozi PromiseChinenye Anekwe,now wish to be knownand addressed asMrs. Ngozi PromiseChinenye Ojukwu. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

O N W U D I W E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissJoy EberechukwuOnwudiwe, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs. JoyE b e r e c h u k w uEzechiedo. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

ALETOR—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss LawrentaOsebhahiemen Aletor,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.L a w r e n t aO s e b h a h i e m e nOmokpua. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

ONYAGBODOR—I,formerly known andaddressed as MissO n y a g b o d o rHappiness E, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Omuajale HappinessE. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Nigeria PoliceForce and generalpublic please take note.

A N U K W U — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissAnukwu AnthoniaUsobunandu, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.O b o d o e c h i n aA n t h o n i aUsobunandu. Allformer documentsremain valid. DeltaState Polytechnic,Ozoro and generalpublic please takenote.

KASSIM—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Toyin AtinukeKassim, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. Toyin AtinukeImo Uffot. All formerdocuments remainvalid.General publicplease take note.

YOU CAN BOOK YOUR ADVERT AT:

TRINITY MALL,79/81 OBAFEMI AWOLOWO WAY,

IKEJA. CALL: 08035449960, 07031322957

MURPHÝ'S PLAZA 27, SANUSI FAFUNWA STREET,

VICTORIA ISLAND.CALL: 08038092373, 08033163424



CMYK


CMYK


Garba warns players ahead of Germany tripAHEAD of their training

tour of Germany, Fly-ing Eagles coach ManuGarba has warned his play-ers that they are not em-barking on a jamboree.

The 30 players currentlyin camp are travelling toGermany for a training tour,where they will be joinedby the other invited over-seas based players andManu has said in no un-clear terms that the play-ers’ futures on the team willbe decided there.

“The players we are tak-ing to the World Cup willbe decided there so theymust keep working hard.They mustn’t think goingto Germany means goingto the World Cup becauseif they stop working hard,they stop making the team.

“Going to Germany is notfor sightseeing or jamboree,it is our final leg of prepa-ration and the players mustshow more zeal and com-mitment if they are to makethe final team because thatis what we are going thereto do and nothing else,” hesaid.

Manu also admitted thathe and his coaching crewalready have an idea ofsome of the players that willmake the final squad, butinsists they will only maketheir final decisions aftertheir German exercise.

“From our training ses-sions so far we have someideas but nothing will bedecided until we have fin-ished our preparations inGermany.”

Ibe signsnewLiverpooldeal till2020

N I G E R I A Ny o u n g s t e r

Jordan Ibe hascommitted his future toLiverpool as he inked along-term deal that willsee him remaining atAnfield till 2020.

According to LiverpoolEcho, the contract isreward for the 19-year-old forward’s impressivedevelopment, with Redsboss Brendan Rodgersconfident Ibe canbecome a significantplayer for the club in thecoming years.

Ibe hit the limelightwith some sterlingperformances withDerby County in the firsthalf of the season wherehe played on loan,scoring five times, withan assist in 20 leagueappearances.

He has earned thepraise of captain StevenGerrard who crownedhim man of the matchagainst Everton inFebruary and managerBrendan Rodgers whotagged him“sensational.”

Ibe is a player ofsignificant potential,and 2015/16 could wellbe his breakout year forLiverpool.

Ighalo’s Watford return to EPLODION Ighalo’s

Watford havesecured a return to thePremier League, eightyears after they wererelegated.

The club got a 2-0 winover Brighton onSaturday with Ighaloplaying while theirclose rivals falteredand they thus earnedtheir place with the big

boys in the EPL.F o u r t h - p l a c e d

Norwich drew 1-1 withRotherham while third-placed Middlesbrough,Kenneth Omeruo’s club,fell to a 4-3 defeat toFulham.

The Championshipleaders could secure thetitle if second-placedBournemouth lose to

Bolton on Monday.Ighalo has had a very

successful season withWatford where he hasscored 20 goals so far.

His hot form with theChampionship sideearned him a call up tothe Super Eagles duringthe two friendly matchesin March againstUganda and SouthAfrica.

Imo wins Etisalat U-15 School CupG O V E R N M E N T

Secondary School,Imo emerged winners ofthe second edition of theEtisalat U-15 School Cupafter beating GovernmentModel School, Bida, Niger4-2 carting home the trophyin a thrilling final gameplayed at the CamposSquare Mini-Stadium,Lagos Island last weekend.

For its feat, the winning

school also took home thestar prize of N2 millioneducational award andN50,000 each to playersof the team, while thefirst-runner upGovernment ModelSchool, Bida, Niger, wenthome with N1 million andN30,000 for each player ofthe team.

The second runner-up,Winners College Akure,

Ondo who defeatedWashington MemorialGrammer School, Anambrathrough the ‘sudden death’penalty shootout after both

schools had played for 90minutes and extra time received the sum ofN750,000 and eachplayer took home N20,000.

NNPC-Shell Cup: 27Schools qualify forzonal preliminaries

TWENTY -SEVENschools have

emerged as championsfrom the state finals in theongoing 17th edition ofthe NNPC-Shell Cup forNigerian secondaryschools sponsored by theShell PetroleumDevelopment CompanyJoint Venture.

According to theNigerian School SportsFederation, organisers ofthe event, the statechampions will nowcompete in zonal

preliminaries betweenApril 27 and May 01,2015 in nine zones.

The quarterfinals willtake place from May 8while the semifinal andthe final matches areslated for May 22 and 24respectively at the TeslimBalogun Stadium, Lagos.

The NNPC-Shell Cuptournament has created aplatform for the discoveryof new football talentssome of whom havesubsequently played forthe Nigerian national

Odemwingiehappy withemotionalreturn

PETER Odemwingiehas spoken about his

happiness after takingpart in a competitivefootball match for the firsttime in eight months.

The 33-year-oldruptured his kneeligaments on August 30,2014 during Stoke City’s1-0 win over champions,Manchester City in aBarclays EnglishPremier League game atthe Etihad Stadium.

Odemwingie returnedto action on Saturday ashe replaced JonathanWalters in the 80thminute of Stoke City’s 1-1 draw with Sunderlandin a Premier Leaguegame at the BritanniaStadium.

UP CHAMPIONS ... Government SecondarySchool, Owerri, Imo State players celebrate afterlifting the Etisalat U-15 Soccer Champions in Lagos

CELEBRATION ... Flying Eagles players in joyous celebration after scoring a goal

•Ighalo

•Ibe


Fabio Quagliarella (R) of Torino FC in action against Angelo Ogbonna ofJuventus FC during the Serie A match between Torino FC and Juventus FCat Stadio Olimpico di Torino on April 26.

CHELSEA moved astep closer to win-

ning their first PremierLeague title in five yearswith a draw against sec-ond-placed Arsenal. Thecontest started off slowlyas both teams broke downtheir opponent’s rhythmswith a string a of petulantfouls.

Jose Mourinho’s mennearly took the lead in the15th minute when Oscarsprung the home-side’soffside trap.

The Brazilian raced inon David Ospina’s goaland hooked the ball overthe on-rushing Colom-bian. The ball seemeddestined to nestle in backof the net but was clearedoff the line by LaurentKoscielny.

The Blues had a hugeshout for a penalty in the22nd minute when CescFabregas - who was re-

Chelsea close in on titleturning to the Emiratesfor the first time - ap-peared to be fouled in thebox by Santi Cazorla.

The visitors protestedfor a spot-kick to beawarded, but had theirappeals were wavedaway by referee MichaelOlivier - who booked theSpaniard for simulation.

Arsene Wenger’s side

immediately cranked upthe pressure on the visi-tors after Fabregas’ diveand began to imposetheir will on the runawayPremier League leaders.

However, despite domi-nating the latter stages ofthe first-half, the northLondoners failed to testBlues stopper ThibautCourtois.

The second-periodstarted the same as thefirst and neither side cre-ated any goldenopportunites

Per Mertesackershould’ve given the hoststhe lead in the 68thminute when the ball fellto him just inside the pen-alty box.

Bayern Munich clinched their thirdconsecutive Bundesliga title courtesy of

Wolfsburg’s 1-0 loss to BorussiaMonchengladbach.

Pep Guardiola’s side beat Hertha Berlin 1-0on Saturday to put them within sight of the title.

Wolfsburg had to beat Gladbach, who moveup to third, to make Bayern wait another weekfor their 25th title, but lost to an injury-time MaxKruse goal.

Treble-chasing Bayern are in the ChampionsLeague and German Cup semis.

They will have little time to celebrate thissuccess as they face rivals Borussia Dortmundin the last four of the domestic cup on Tuesday.

Bayern are bidding for their third consecutivedomestic double, and second treble in threeyears.

Guardiola has won five domestic titles in hissix years as a manager; three out of four withBarcelona and now two in two for Bayern.

The Bavarians face Barca in the ChampionsLeague semi-finals in May.

Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said:“Retaining the title is a magnificentachievement. All credit to the coach and theteam. They’ve been fantastic throughout, in aseason following a World Cup where we had ahost of players in action.

“We’ll have a magnificent party at some stage,no worries. But all in good time. When we do,it’ll be a huge celebration.”

Bayern win 25thBundesliga title

Fabio Quagliarellastruck against his old

club to give Torino theirfirst Derby della Molewin in 20 years, butJuventus hit thewoodwork three times.

The Granata hadn’t wonthe Derby della Mole for20 years, home or away,since a 3-2 result in 1994-

Torino delay Juve's title celebrations95. Andrea Pirlo defeatedthe Granata in the lastminute when these sidesmet earlier this season, aheartbreaking loss forGiampiero Ventura’smen. Claudio Marchisiowas suspended withPatrice Evra, Paul Pogba,Martin Caceres,Kwadwo Asamoah and

Romulo sidelined. OmarEl Kaddouri returnedfrom a ban for the hosts,while Fabio Quagliarellafaced his former club.

Torino did get theirequaliser just before thebreak. Quagliarellapulled back from the rightand Matteo Darmian’sfirst touch was poor, butthe bobble turned out tohelp, as he was able tobeat Gigi Buffon on thehalf-volley.

Pirlo almost scored asecond in identicalfashion on 52 minutes,but this time it smackedagainst the upright andback out.

Instead, Torino took thelead for the first time.Omar El Kaddourithreaded through forDarmian, whoimmediately rolled acrossfor Quagliarella to side-foot home from five yards.This season Quagliagoalhas scored against all hisformer clubs – Juventus,Napoli, Sampdoria,Fiorentina and Udinese.

Bruno Peres had adangerous solo run andQuagliarella’s attemptedoverhead kick waswayward.

Everton punish slack Man UtdM A N C H E S T E R

UNITED failed toleapfrog their noisyneighbours after ahumbling at the hands ofRoberto Martinez’sruthless Everton atGoodison Park. Louis vanGaal’s men dropped tofourth in the tablefollowing ManchesterCity’s 3-2 win over AstonVilla on Saturday andthey failed to shine on asunny Merseysideafternoon.

Toffees midfielderJames McCarthyrounded off a quickcounter-attack to stunUnited in the fourthminute before defenderJohn Stones headed in a

second before the break.The visitors pushed for

a way back in during thesecond-half but KevinMirallas took advantageof some slack defendinglate on to fire past DavidDe Gea and secure allthree points.

Van Gaal made just onechange to his sidefollowing last weekend’s1-0 loss at Chelsea withDaley Blind coming in forRadamel Falcao.

But Everton were quickout the traps andpunished United fromtheir own corner asMcCarthy picked up aloose ball and drovethrough some weakresistance to smash home.

Bayern players celebrate

BATTLE...Arsenal's Sanchez (l) battles Chelsea's Fabregas for the ball in yesterday's match at Emirate


CMYK

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. Advert Dept Hotline: 01-4544821; Abuja: 09-2341102, 09-2342704. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. Advert:[email protected]

Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

How to Play Sudoku

Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line canhave two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (alsonine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within abold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1through 9. This means that no number can appear twicein any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, divisionor multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

FRIFRIFRIFRIFRIDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSTODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLE

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

CMYK

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORD

BUNDESLIGABayern win!— Pg 62

Premier LeagueChelsea step closer — Pg 62

La LigaJuve title delayed— Pg 62

Glo PremierLeague

Enyimba 3-2 SharksRangers 3-0 El-Kanemi WarriorsAkwa United 2-0DolphinsKano Pillars 2-1 FCTarabaSunshine Stars 3-2Wikki TouristsAbia Warriors 1-0Shooting StarsKwara United 1-0Nasarawa UnitedLobi Stars 1-1 GiwaFCBayelsa United 0-0Gabros FCWarri Wolves vsHeartland (PP, replayMonday 8am)

RESULTSEPLEverton 3 Man Utd 0Arsenal 0 Chelsea 0

SERIE AAtalanta 2 Empoli 2Genoa 3 Cesena 1Hellas Verona 3 SassuoloLazio 1 Chievo Verona 1Parma 1 Palermo 0Torino 2 Juventus 1Fiorentina 1 Cagliari 3

LA LIGAMalaga 1 Deportivo 1Almeria 2 Eibar 0Sevilla 2 Rayo Vallecano 0

BUNDESLIGAPaderborn 2 Werder Bremen 2M/gladbach 1 Wolfsburg 0

FRENCH LIGUE ISaint Etienne 1 Montpellier 0Lens 0 Monaco 3

Across1 Impel (4)4 Intelligence (3)6 Tight (4)8 Coming (6)9 No-one (6)10 Owned (3)12 Fashion (5)14 Memorise (5)15 Attempted (5)18 Beg (6)20 Harmony (6)24 Loaded (5)26 Enlist (5)28 Broader (5)30 Layer (3)32 Larger (6)33 Beast (6)34 Intend (4)35 Noise (3)36 Dregs (4)

Down2 Wireless (5)3 Perform (7)4 Having (4)5 Nurse (4)6 List (5)7 Experience (7)11 Expert (3)13 Epoch (3)16 Sick (3)17 Defective (3)19 Thoughtful (7)21 Novel (3)22 First (7)23 And not (3)25 Tool (3)27 Harmonium (5)29 Escape (5)30 Poke (4)31 Story (4)

Across: 2, Tense 7, Devil 8, Melon 10,Magic 12, Fat 13, Remit 15, Logical 17,Eroded 19, Won 20, Deleted 23, Died 25,Down 26, Devoted 30, Pad 31, Denote 34,Shelter 37, Moral 38, Awe 39, Debit 40,Piety 41, Sewed 42, Speed.

Down: 1, Defer 2, Timid 3, Elated 4, Soil 5,Refined 6, Total 9, Lac 11, Cowered 13,Ready 14, Moved 16, Got 18, Decoded 21,Donor 22, Angel 24, Deplete 27, Vat 28,Demise 29, Chair 32, Noted 33, Tamed 35,Ewe 36, Reap.

KlitschkodecisionsJennings

WLADIMIR Klitschko retained

his heavyweight worldtitles with a comfortable12-round unanimous de-cision over previouslyunbeaten American Bry-ant Jennings before re-vealing Tyson Fury islikely to be his next op-ponent.

The Ukrainian did lit-tle to impress US fightfans at the fabled Mad-ison Square Garden inNew York in his 22ndstraight victory and an18th straight heavy-weight world title de-fence.

Documents

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